Using the concepts of "artistic form," "participation," "content," and "subject matter," as they are defined in the book, describe an experience of you own as to how art affected, changed, or enriched you.
For example, several years ago I was in the St. Louis Museum of Art. There was a large sculpture called "Spilled Files." It was large file rack 15 feet tall and 30 feet wide, like x-ray or patient files in a physician's office, that were filled with glass sheets. The glass sheets had spilled into a 30 foot by 30 foot area of broken glass. The glass was roped off by poles and ropes around a foot and a half tall.
It was nothing but broken glass, and I felt cheated. I continued to look at the pre-Columbian exhibits, a Picasso, and a few modern sculptures and paintings, and I kept coming back to look at the broken glass. How did they dust it? How could they move it and keep it the same? Was this exhibit consciously arranged? I decided that it wasn't art and left the museum feeling disappointed.
When I walked outside, everything looked different. The way that I "viewed" the world, my perceptions of the world, had changed. I decided that it was art.
30 comments:
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I think the same applies to art in the sense that art to one person may not be to another. I am trying to think of “art” that I have seen that has changed me in some way and after sleeping on it for a night, I finally figured out what “art” I have seen that changes me. I work with children everyday. A picture drawn by a preschooler who can barely keep the marker in her hand might look like scribbles to one person, but to me, its art. A lot of the time I need to ask a child what is in their picture and it never ceases to amaze me how there is no hesitation in their words. They know exactly what it is. Being a teacher, I know the kind of work their small hands and fingers go through to hold a pen or pencil and to get an oval when they want a circle is an awesome feat. Knowing the content of the picture along with the attention the child gives to their artwork makes it art to me. It has changed the way I look at children’s pictures. Each one holds a story and all a person has to do is ask.
In response to "mshimek", I really appreciated your view on childrens "scribbles" being art. They may be one of the purest forms of art. Having 5 children of my own, I am continually amazed at how much I learn from my children, and thier art is no exception. It really provides a window into thier world as they express themselves through thier art work. Taking the time to ask them about it is often a very rewarding experience, that also opens my eyes to the world around me.
Dan
I really agree Dan and mschimek. As you know, I have several siblings myself, and I also have got to experience their art. It's always amazing to me how perceptive young children can be. Often times you'll ask them what they drew, and then they'll tell you. Many times their answer is something that will completely surprise you. It's like "where did you hear about that?" So yeah, if some of the stuff out there can be reffered to as "art," then so can the work of kids as well.
Nude is usually used to in a work of art. Something that is truly beautiful not someone! Naked is usually naughty poses. Naked is a very much misused. People need to learn the difference.
I never knew that a work of art was something to do with the human body. I always thought it could be anything to do with art.
I always did think that perception and conception were closely related.
To be considered a work of art, there are four things taken into consideration. Artistic form, participation, content, and subject matter.
Artistic form usually implies a strong point of perceptible unity. Lines, colors, texture, shape, and space in a painting are used for a good effect.
Participation only means what we are likely to be feeling and doing in our experience of the painting. Participation experiences of art is a painting so fruitful it enriches our lives.
Content is fused in it’s form. The word content to me means everything inside the work of art. I consider content and artistic form inseparable. Like the photograph form Adams lacks content, because the meaning is not merged with the form.
Now subject matter is what the content interprets. If every work of art has content , every work of art has subject matter. It may be any aspect related to human interest. Anything related to human interest is a value.
If you were to take a painting redo it without color and reducing the size, it will destroy the power that the original.
The nude pictures to me are no big deal. I think it’s weird though how a women body can be exposed and a mans body is usually never exposed these days.
Natalie B,
Very interesting point at the end of your post. You really don't see as many nude portraits of men than women.
From the time that I have been young I have visited my uncle’s work shop where he is an artist.
My uncle is a glass artist, and blows glass pieces in the Twin Cities area. I guess I thought that this was “normal” and this was just what he did. I would refer to his work as: these are his “witch balls” (hollow, colored, round shaped glass that can hang) assuming that as long as they were the same color they were pretty much the same, not so.
I now see that each and every piece is a unique piece of art. The colors that go into it, the way in which he swings that metal pole that holds the extremely hot glass, all make up just a tiny bit of how he can make each and every piece so very different. He makes many different works of art. Witch balls, perfume holders, glass lamps, glass bowls and the list goes on and on! All of these have affected the way that I look at art in general. I always look at things twice, appreciating the differences instead of looking at everything as being very similar.
Going back to what mschimek states: Childrens drawings and how they are art. This is amazing to me, you are so right in saying that it is tough for them to make an oval when they know so well how to make a circle.
I started with my daughters in early headstart last year, and I was constently trying to help them do their art, and I was gazing around a different school one evening for an ECFE night nad I saw "It is the process that makes the project." Form that day on, I totally got it, and I appreciate and love their art so much more now. It's now my interpretation of how the project should have been done, it is truly THEIR art!!
Well, I suppose the most recent event that I can think of, was when I was reading chapter 1 in “Humanities Through the Arts” last week. The first pieces of art were Echo of a Scream, The Eternal City, and both of Picasso’s pieces. Though a couple of them were incredibly abstract, I had no problem calling them “art,” and thinking about the questions after each piece simply confirmed what I already believed to be true. Then, almost out of nowhere, came this stark contrast to all of those pieces: Composition in White, Black, and Red by Piet Mondrian. The minute I saw it, I was struck by its apparent simplicity and near emptiness. In complete contrast to the previously viewed pieces, it had virtually no subject matter except for its many vertical and horizontal lines, and its odd color sequence. The first thing I though was, “Hey… anyone could draw a couple of lines, add some color, and call it good.” With that, I concluded that, though it may be considered a “piece of art” (however unworthy it may be), it must not have taken too much talent and time to whip a thing like that together. For that matter, it must not be that difficult for anyone to produce a piece of “art”… or so I thought. With that, I continued on in the text.
What surprised me though, was the urge that I felt on numerous occasions to return to the picture. I was continually going back for another look, another glance to consider what the artist was thinking. Why did he organize the lines in such a way? What was the purpose of the black and red blocks? Balance perhaps? Because Mondrian’s painting was completely pure form, it was necessary that it, first and foremost, interest the viewer. As I am writing this, it is clear to me that Mondrian must have accomplished at least part of that objective, or else I probably would not have continued to go back to it. It would seem to me that art is not only supposed to intrigue the viewer, it is also meant to draw them in, convey a particular message or emotion, perhaps make them question, or, on occasion, change the way that they see things. This piece has certainly done that for me! At the very least, it has challenged me to consider more closely my initial perception of a piece of art. I also believe that the way I view art, and even the simplest things that surround us everyday, has definitely changed… for the better! I can guarantee, that the next time I see a piece of comparable simplicity, I will think twice before I discard it as an unworthy piece of art.
Yeah, I am reffering back to Natalie's post (#4). You made several good points. I agree, you do see much less of the male nude in art, and especially more and more these days. It does seem, though, that the Greeks had their fair share of male nudity displayed in sculptures, etc.
One time that I can remember, where art changed my outlook on things happened when I first started photography. In my freshman year in high school, I was one of the few that were asked to start taking a photography class by my art teacher. When I first started, I thought that I was going to learn how to take a better picture, and learn the elements of being a great photographer. As the first class began, my teacher placed many different photographs up on the wall. He then asked us to point out what was special about each photograph. I just sat there and stared at it. I thought I knew what I was talking about, maybe it was the color, or the subject it self. As I kept looking at the photo, my teacher then placed some of his favorite paintings next to the photographs. I was thrown for a loop. I never thought, that paintings and photography even compared. Could they be in the same class? That first day, my instructor taught my classmates and me the importance of looking at a subject and finding the art and beauty of it, only then could we become photographers. As the year progressed, I learned just that and became more of an artist through my photographs. From my first day of class I have progressed into a photographer. I took photography class all four years of high school, won awards, and had the opportunity to have my work be judged by a college photographer, who said that he was impressed with me work. But I think that the most important lesson that I apply before I snap a picture, is that I look at every subject in an artistic way. I perceive it differently; even the ugliest object can make a beautiful photograph. An example is the other day, we were in church and as I got up to attend communion, the sunlight hit the stain glass window so perfectly, I wished I had my camera. I look at everything differently. My fiancé says that I always look at something as if it were a photograph, and what is wrong with that. Art is the beauty of this world.
Refering to brittany's blog. I totally find that blowing glass is such an art form. I have always wonder have they do it.I have seen it done from a special on TV that my art class had to watch. It so unique. How do they do that, it looks so easy, just blowing into a long tube, but I know that there is so much more to it then that. I would love someday to see an artist like that in action.
Back to Mandi's blog, I totally agree with the whoe photography thing. I haven't actually taken a formal photography class, but a good friend of mine is an awesome photographer. He's never had any classes either! He only uses manual cameras and will only take b and w photographs. Some of the stuff that I've learned from him simply through talking with him is amazing. To think that even the most odd, out of place thing could make a great photograph is cool. In fact, one time, while he was burning his family's garbage, he noticed a toy doll in the barrel. As the trash continued to burn, he saw the doll kinda get enveloped with flames and then it became almost framed with the fire. So, he grabbed his camera and took this amazing picture of this doll while it was burning. Now, some may think this a little too far, but it was really amazing.
The first thing that I thought about when hearing art that has really changed me, was when on a trip Europe and we went to Germany. While in Germany we went to a museum within a concentration camp. Everything in that museum really moved me but the photographs were the ones that moved me that most. The art work and photographs that I saw there I will never forget. Some of them were so gory and had such detail that they just hit me strait to my heart and soul. I would just sit and look at all the photographs and would think about all that those people went through and how horrible it was. I would look into the faces of the people and see the expression and emotions on their face and it just ripped me apart. There was the young child that really had no idea what was going on. They had no idea that they were going to be killed just for being who they were and what religion and ethnically they were. Then a would also think about how people could do that to one another and think that it was ok, and there was nothing morally wrong with what they were doing. They were doing it just because one horrible person told them to, and also told them how to think and act. I don't think that I will ever forget what those photographs looked like, and the expression on the faces of the people in the photographs.
I too agree with mschimek, children's art work is also very interesting. I also work with young children every day and see the "scribbles" that they create. They are so amazing in what they do. You ask them about the picture and they tell you the whole story plus behind the art work that they just created. I love looking at children's art work, and also watching they create the art work. They take such pride in what they are doing and what they have accomplished.
I’m a very detail oriented, technical person and somewhat of a perfectionist. These are good qualities to have in my career field being an aircraft mechanic/avionics technician, but one of the weaknesses I have is the ability to “see” art. I am fascinated by machinery and inventions and could spend hours looking at the simplest of inventions, intrigued by how someone was able to design and build it. Art, on the other hand, only catches my eye for a moment.
A couple of years ago, I had the chance to go the Washington D.C. and visit the Smithsonian. It was a good thing my wife was with me or I may not have seen any art while we were there! The air and space museum is like a magnet to me! But we did go through several other buildings and saw some incredible exhibits. I can’t think of a particular painting or sculpture that stood out to me, but the Holocaust museum changed my view of the world forever. The exhibits were captivating. Although most of the museum was dedicated to the Nazi’s attempt to eradicate the Jews from the earth, there were some displays on more recent and even current genocides going on today. Seeing what the Jews went through was very moving, but I was impacted much more by learning more of what is taking place in my lifetime. It conveyed a sense of debt or responsibility to do something about it.
Looking back and applying what I have learned so far in this course, I would like to go back and look at the exhibits again and try to see what is art and what is news or a history report. I’m sure there are some of both. I am hopeful that through this course my ability to see and understand art will increase along with my appreciation for it.
Dan J.
(in reply to Dan's post)
Dan, what you say is so true. A couple of years ago, my Dad was going to go to the Holocaust Museum, but the trip ended up being canceled due to a "lack of interest." I know it is an amazing, eye opening experience, and I would really like the chance to go there sometime. In a way, it probably gives you a greater appreciation for one of the reasons that our men were over there fighting, dying.
I would have to say the most moving piece of art I've experienced were when my husband and I visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. I remember reading the book when I was a young girl, and feeling completely sympathetic towards her and her family as I'd read it.
When my husband and I walked behind that bookcase and up the stairs to her room, we turned to look out her window. There were realistically proportioned, translucent pictures covering the window. It resembled what Anne Frank would be looking at if she were the one looking out. It was a mirage of Nazi soldiers marching down her street. The sense of fear rushed over me, as if I has re-entered the story I'd read as a young girl. Only this time, I was standing in her room and fearfully looking out the window, as she once did.
Ever since viewing that piece of art, my eyes were open to how art can produce such a powerful emotional response.
(In response to krolfes)
That must have been so emotional going through that museum within the concentration camp. I've seen photos of people in the camps before, which was moving in itself, but I couldn't imagine actually being in the camp and experiencing those pictures. Wow!
There is a big difference between naked and nude. Nude is an art. It is looking at the body for art and not for enjoyment or excitement. When someone is nude their body is being respected and no one is talking about how big her breasts are or ridiculing how there body appears. They are looking at it to make a piece of art, which portrays a women or man respectfully.
If someone is using the word naked it usually has some sexual remark behind it. No one looks at a playboy and says that they are nude they say they are naked. In my opinion naked is used for pornography or in a sexual manner, it isn't respectful to the person they are using it towards.
I had never really given art much thought. My walls were decorated with home interiors, arrangements picked out by the saleswoman who used her taste to design my home. I guess it, meaning art, didn't really much move me. However, on one occasion a few years ago I saw a original painting which moved me so deeply that I had to purchase a print. Beyond it's beauty it actually spoke a message through the strokes of the artist brush. At first glance my eye was drawn to the hand in the center of the painting. The outstretched hand held a figure of a man on bended knee with his face cradled in his hands. Around the hand there is a blaze of yellow and orange light. As I glanced at the wrist I noticed a wound. The outer edges of the painting were dark. As I contemplated the picture I was so drawn to I noticed that in the outer darkness shapes could be defined. The shapes had eyes of red. I also noticed that above the head of the man was a image of white similar to an abstract form of a dove. This was not seen upon first glance. As I thought of what the artist was trying to convey I beleive I understood the message of the artist. The man in the center is praying, he is humbling himself before his God. He is being held up, cradled in the strong hand of his Savior. Bathed in his glory of light. The wound in the wrist made me think of Jesus and how for those who beleive there is safety in His presence and salvation through the wounds on His wrist. The light around the hand was holding back the darkness, the darkness that held the demonic forces that loomed to attack. I wondered what the man's prayers were about.
I beleive that the subject matter demanded my participation and the content inspired me. I guess that is what it takes for art appreciation, inspiration and each of us are inspired by different objects of art. Not everyone of us will understand or appreciate each peice but when you find the one you do it speakes volumes to you.
I can say that it has taken me all week to think of a form of art that has changed my way of looking at the world or at art differently. I took an art history class one semester, I had a hard time, I don’t really get what some people see when they look at art.
One of things that I found was really interesting was the study of the age of great cathedrals and Gothic art. While looking at these masterpiece cathedrals I was amazed at how much history and art were involved in building these beautiful works of art!! The one most intriguing to me was the Chartres Cathedral in France. The details in the royal portal and the jamb statues in the doorways were unbelievable after a closer look.
I can’t imagine how it would feel to be inside of this cathedral. With all of the stained glass, rose windows, high gothic elevations of the ribbed vaults with pointed arches and flying buttresses. I would feel so small in this huge place. In those days there was no electricity, they put the huge stained glass windows pointing to the east so that the first light of day would shine through the glass, what an amazing place of beauty to worship the Lord!!
After studying these cathedrals I have never looked at our church the same! It truly is a place of beauty and history!! Genuinely a work of art!
In response to a couple of people that stated about childrens art as they are the artist. My son is 3 and loves to draw, color and so on. For Christmas we bought these coffee cups that you use these special markers and you can draw on them and after 1 minute the drawing is permenant. So we gave them to the grandparents who loved the "art" they recieved. As my son was drawing on the one for grandma, i asked him is that a purple flower as thats what it looked like to me. His response was no mom its a dinosaur. So just like artists they are the one that can interpret the art the best and you can only use your imagination and ask if you are not sure.
My other experience with art is when I lived in Kansas City, MO. Its one of those things that you again can not assume. When i moved to KC I saw these 4 towers downtown and thinking wow things are bigger in the larger cities as these towers, so assumed, where art and i thought they were just really big radio station towers. I did think it was odd that 4 of them being so close to one another but this was the first time i had lived in a large city. After living in KC and seeing all the art around the city it opened my eyes to realize that art is not just a sculpter or a painting that even the oddest things can be art and its all in how you look into and is definataly like mschimek quoted Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
In high school i took an art class and we went to an art gallary. I looked at a lot of painting and sculptures but none of them really got my attention. Pictures of different sized shapes and colors thrown about on a peice of paper make me wonder who would ever thing these are special enough to be hung for display. In my mind anyone can do that? There may be more meaning to the way the shapes and colors are put about, but it just doesnt interest me enought to stay and look longer.
Good art to me would be a painting of humans,places,animals etc.. not random shapes
i agree with your post mschimek, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, because not everyone is going to see things they way each of us do, and something we may think is the prettiest or niceest looking piece of art to a critic could be awful. So, that was neat that you mentioned that.
(In response to mschimek)
I guess when we look at how children display the need for artistic expression, it shows how innate, even at that young of age, the need for expression really is.
I don't work with children everyday, but it is always interesting to see how fresh and un-stereotypical their point of view is when displayed through their art.
I remember when I was about 14; I went with my aunt to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts museum. We saw an exhibit of hand blown glass. I remember as soon as we walked in there was a huge hanging piece full of colors but mostly blue and orange. As we got to the exhibit, we saw bowls and vases and glasses and bulbs. Any ordinary things we could think of this man (who I regretfully can’t remember him name) had made mundane things seem brilliant. Although it wasn’t a painting I saw it as the most beautiful art there. The most memorable piece on display was a dark blue vase. It stood about 2 feet tall and slender. Of course, participation was immediate. I clung to that piece, staring at it in a showcase with bright lights almost making it glow. The artistic form was obvious as well. It was tall and slender with slight curves that made it look as if it were a piece of grass blowing in wind. It had a few lighter shades of green and blue through it, which were twisted with the shape. I remember watching a video on how he did it which made me appreciate it even more. The slow process to make something beautiful was intriguing. I think when we left, we both had a heightened appreciation for the things we usually don’t see.
Growing up I wasn't brought up around art. We always had paintings hanging on our walls but their only purpose was to occupy wall space, as long as they coordinated with the sofa. After reading chapter 2 I look at our paintings a little differently, I always thought that different brush strokes onto the canvases were painted for no particular purpose. But, now as I look at some of that art works it seems as though every stroke is strategically placed. I have a relative who is big into the arts and paints very, very well for an amateur. His specialty is abstracts which are always brilliant. Every Christmas every member from my mother side gathers together and we play a Christmas game we simply call as the ‘dice game’ and each member has to bring three gifts, and every year he wraps up three of this pieces and enters them into the game and as predicted every year we are all fighting trying to get doubles on the dice to be able to claim the paintings. It is always an exciting event. I have a few of my relatives pieces that I’ve won of the years and always seemed to think they were just nice to look at, but that was because I never really knew the ways of how to interpret any kind of art. But, I look at them now and his content and artistic form is cleverly depicted within his work. It’s was neat learning the different ways of determining a work of art from others that aren’t. I certainly stop to take another look when I pass by any paintings I happen to see just to test out their theories. So far they have proven to be true, but at times I do tend to disagree.
An encounter I have had with art would be when I saw the painting of Street in Saintes-Maries by Vincent Van Gogh. When I saw that painting I was shocked and could not believe my eyes. You see the strange thing is that I had never before seen that painting yet I had dreamed of it twice. My dream had been of that same place on the painting, I was walking along the houses on the painting. At first I found myself lost in the dream since I had never before seen a place like that. In my dream I was wearing a dress and with my hair down, I’m guessing it must have been summer. People we’re out of their houses doing laundry, some cooking inside and I was walking in and out of those small houses, it was as though I knew those people personally and they knew me as well. The second time I had the dream it was the same, this time there was a corridor that connected all the houses together. The houses didn’t have doors, so you could just walk in one and you could go right or left and step into the other house. There we’re chimneys in all of the houses and the same bushes were there. There was a breeze of summer. It was a beautiful dream. Recently before my computer broke down I was looking on the internet for paintings of Vincent Van Gogh when I came across that picture and I could not believe my eyes. It was the same place I had been in my dream. I decided that the subject matter was my dream and I started to appreciate art more. Maybe Vincent Van Gogh had the same dream I did and that inspired him to draw his painting.
Art.... I see art in many different views. I am a paramedic so I see art in the human form. Kids crying when they break a leg, its art for the way body is and what we consider "normal". Northwood this summer, was art. Art of distruction and dismay to the town. Buildings and trees everywhere, things "not belonging" But when you look deep into every situation it is art.
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