Art Appreciation

Week 1: Introduction to the CourseThe Nature of Art (Ch. 1)

Awareness, Creativity, and Communication (Ch. 2)

• Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (1917)

• Every time you look at an art work, think: “What is art?”

“What is art?”Plato Aristotle Kant

Plato

Plato

• His answer to “what is art”: art tries to reach the ideal (the God-like)

Aristotle

Aristotle

• His answer to “what is art”: art should express harmony

Kant

Kant

• His answer to “what is art”: art is the product of genius

“What is art?”Plato Aristotle Kant

• Every time you look at an art work, think: “What is art?”

Deer and Hands, Las Manos Cave, Argentina (15,000 B.C.)

The purposes of art

The purposes of art

• Picturing everyday life

The purposes of art

The purposes of art

• Personal expression

Deer and Hands, Las Manos Cave, Argentina (15,000 B.C.)

Barnett Newman, Cathedra (1951)

Barnett Newman, Cathedra (1951)

What does Cathedra teach us?

What does Cathedra teach us?

• Artists have intentions

What does Cathedra teach us?

• Artists have intentions • Our experience of art does not always match

artists’ intentions

What does Cathedra teach us?

• Artists have intentions • Our experience of art does not always match

artists’ intentions • Art can cause emotions, sometimes quite

extreme

The nature of creativity

The nature of creativity

• All humans are creative: we create relationships, a home, goals for ourselves

The nature of creativity

• All humans are creative: we create relationships, a home, goals for ourselves

• Artists create art objects

The nature of creativity

• All humans are creative: we create relationships, a home, goals for ourselves

• Artists create art objects • We create our responses to those art objects

What is art?

• On a piece of paper, answer, in your own words, the following:

• 1. Art is _____________________________.

• 2. Art is not __________________________.

Vocabulary

• the arts - "music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts (painting, sculpture, film, architecture)”

Vocabulary

• Medium / media (plural)

Vocabulary

• Medium / media (plural)– The material and technique through which a work

of art is made

The media we will study

The media we will study

• Painting

Types of media

• Oil painting

The media we will study

• Painting • Sculpture

Types of media

• Sculpture

The media we will study

• Painting • Sculpture • Architecture

Types of media

• Architecture

The media we will study

• Painting • Sculpture • Architecture• Film / photography

Types of media

• Film and photography

The media we will study

• Painting • Sculpture • Architecture• Film / photography

Purposes and Functions of Art

Purposes and Functions of Art

• Communicating information

The Tree of Jesse (1150-1170)

The Tree of Jesse (1150-1170)

Purposes and Functions of Art

• Communicating information

Purposes and Functions of Art

• Communicating information • Art for day-to-day living

Purposes and Functions of Art

• Communicating information • Art for day-to-day living• Art for worship and ritual

Purposes and Functions of Art

• Communicating information • Art for day-to-day living• Art for worship and ritual• Art as personal expression

Other purposes and functions

• Social causes

Goya, The Disasters of War

Global Warning (Chaz Maviyane-Davies, 1997)

Other purposes and functions

• Social causes• Art for visual delight

Miriam Schapiro, Heartland (1985)

Exercise # 1

• 1. What media is used? • 2. What do you think inspired the artist to

create this piece? What is the artist trying to express and how do you know? (What might the title of this painting be?)

• 3. How do you feel about the piece? (If opinions in your group differ, and they likely will, record everyone’s different thoughts).

Edvard Munch, Jealousy (1895)

Munch vs. Goya

For next time

• Skim Chapter 1 and 2. Read Chapter 3 (Visual Elements) and Chapter 4 (Principles of Design)

• Visit class website for this week’s discussion question