Art

Revision as of 02:47, 1 Nov 2013

Religious painting,Venice Italy. Photo courtesy of Classroom Clipart (http://classroomclipart.com)

Art, in its broadest meaning, is the expression of creativity or imagination, or both.

Throughout the written history of mankind, various constrictions have been applied to the broad concept. Most individuals know what they consider to be art, and what they believe is not art. Additionally, groups, such as acedemia, have a vaguely shared notion of what is, or is not art.

The word art is often used to refer to the visual arts, and arts is used to refer to visual art, literature, music, dance — the fine arts. However, such distinctions are the subject of many discussions and debates.

Art seems to be almost universal throughout the human race — integral to the human condition. There are no cultures that do not participate in it to some extent, and child art is created by all from about the first birthday.

Etymology

Padua, Italy.Photo courtesy of Classroom Clipart (http://classroomclipart.com)

The word art derives from the Latin ars, which, loosely translated, means "arrangement" or "to arrange", though in many dictionaries the word's listing is a tautologically translated as "art". This is the only universal definition of art, that whatever it is was at some point arranged in some way. A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include artifact, artificial, artifice, artillery, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymological roots.

Defining art

There is often confusion about the meaning of the term art because multiple meanings of the word are used interchangeably. Individuals use the word art to identify painting, as well as singing.

Characteristics of art

Requires creative perception both by the artist and by the audience
Elusive
Communicates on many levels and is open to many interpretations
Connotes a sense of ability
Interplay between the conscious and unconscious part of our being, between what is real and what is an illusion
Any human creation which contains an idea other than its utilitarian purpose.
That which is created with intention to be experienced as art

Art Forms

Florence, Italy. Photo courtesy of Classroom Clipart (http://classroomclipart.com)

Judgements of value

The word art is also used to apply judgements of value, as in such expressions as "that meal was a work of art" (the cook is an artist), or "the art of deception", the highly attained level of skill of the deceiver is praised. It is this use of the word as a measure of high quality and high value that gives the term its flavour of subjectivity.

Making judgments of value requires a basis for criticism: a way to determine whether the impact of the object on the senses meets the criteria to be considered art, whether it is perceived to be ugly or beautiful. Perception is always colored by experience, so a reaction to art as 'ugly' or 'beautiful' is necessarily subjective. Countless schools have proposed their own ways to define quality, yet they all seem to agree in at least one point: once their aesthetic choices are accepted, the value of the work of art is determined by its capacity to transcend the limits of its chosen medium in order to strike some universal chord (which, oddly enough, tends to be the most personal one).

Institutional definition

Many people's opinion of what art is falls inside a relatively small range of accepted standard, or "institutional definition of art" (George Dickie 1974). This derives from education and other social factors. Most people did not consider the depiction of a Brillo Box or a store-bought urinal to be art until Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp placed them in the context of art (i.e.; the art gallery), which then provided the association of these objects with the values that define art.

Most viewers of these objects initially rejected such associations, as the objects did not, themselves, meet the accepted criteria. It required that the objects be absorbed into the general consensus of what art is for them to achieve the near-universal acceptance as art in the contemporay era. Once accepted and viewed with a fresh eye the smooth, white surfaces of Duchamp's urinal are strikingly similar to classical marble sculptural forms, whether the artist intended it or not. This type of recontextualizing provides the same spark of connection expected from any 'good' art.

Consensus

The work of painter Jackson Pollock appeared to be the result of throwing and pouring of paint on a canvas, apparently without skill and brought into question the validity of much contemporary art (1960 to present). To most people his work seems to be something that any 3-year-old could easily do. There is often such consensus of agreement about what can be considered art. This consensus does not appear to be static over time, and can be seen as being similar to evolution's doctrine of survival of the fittest, where even good ideas inevitably disappear and are ploughed under by history, while other ideas survive.

Social class

Art is often seen as belonging to one social class and excluding others. In this context, art is seen as a high-status activity associated with wealth, the ability to purchase art and the leisure required to enjoy it. The palaces of Versailles or the Hermitage in St. Petersberg with their vast collections of art, amassed by the fabulously wealthy royalty of Europe exemplify this a view. Collecting such art is the preserve of the rich.

However, there is a (not always deliberate) tradition of artists by bringing their vision down to earth, and inhabiting a mundane, even poverty stricken, world. The life of Vincent van Gogh is a classic example of this starving artist tradition.

Before the 13th century in Europe, artisans were considered to belong to a lower caste, since they were essentially manual labourers. After Europe was re-exposed to classical culture during the Renaissance, particularly in the nation states, (Florence, Siena), of what is now Italy, artists gained their association with high status. Though arrangements of 'fine' and expensive goods have always been used by institutions of power as marks of their own status. This is seen in the 20th and 21st century by the commissioning or purchasing of art by big businesses and corporations as decoration for their offices.

The use of art

There are many who ascribe to certain arts the quality of being non-utilitarian. This fits within the 'art as good' system of definitions and suffers from a class prejudice against labor and utility. Opponents of this view argue that all human activity has some utilitarian function, and these objects claimed to be 'non-utilitarian' actually have the rather mundane and banal utility of attempting to mystify and codify unworkable justifications for arbitrary social hierarchy.

Art is also used by clinical psychologists as art therapy. The end product is not the principal goal in this case, rather a process of healing, through creative acts is sought.

The ?use? of art from the artist?s standpoint is as a means of expression. When art is conceived as a device, it serves several context and perspective specific functions. From the artist?s perspective it allows one to symbolize complex ideas and emotions in an arbitrary language subject only to the interpretation of the self and peers.

In a social context, it can serve to soothe the soul and promote popular morale.

From a more anthropological prospective, it is a way of passing ideas and concepts on to later generations in a (somewhat) universal language. The interpretation of this language is very dependent upon the observer?s perspective and context. From a subjective perspective, art has many uses dependent upon the state of the mind that asks the question ?what utility might art have??

Context

Photographs of un-posed 'real life' are generally considered art, even though many photographs simply seek to reproduce by machine what people can see with their own eyes. However, the reproduction is not neutral — the artist selects the image. This is also one of the goals of found art: to recontextualize the art of everyday objects.

Skill

A common view is that art requires a creative and unique perception of both the artist and audience. For example, a common contemporary criticism of some modern painting might be, 'my five-year old could have painted that' — implying that the work is somehow less worthy of the title art, either because the viewer fails to find meaning in the work, or because the work does not appear to have required any skill to produce. This view is often described as a lay critique and derives from the fact that in Western culture at least, art has traditionally been pushed in the direction of representationalism, the literal presentation of reality through literal images.

Art can connote a sense of trained ability or mastery of a medium. It can also simply refer to the developed and efficient use of a language so as to convey meaning, with immediacy and or depth.

Communicating emotion

Art appeals to human emotions. It can arouse aesthetic or moral feelings, and can be understood as a way of communicating these feelings. Artists have to express themselves so that their public is aroused, but they do not have to do so consciously. Art explores both human emotions and ways to arouse them — and good art brings something new and original in either of these two respects.

Creative impulse

From one perspective, art is a generic term for any product of the creative impulse, out of which sprang all other human pursuits — such as science via alchemy, and religion via shamanism. The term art offers no true definition besides those based within the cultural, historical and geographical context in which it is applied.

Development of symbols

Work with the influence of other artists of the past and present, much of the development of individual artists deals with finding principles for how to express certain ideas through various kinds of symbolism. For example, Vasily Kandinsky developed his use of color in painting through a system of stimulus response, where over time he gained an understanding of the emotions that can be evoked by color and combinations of color. Contemporary artist Andy Goldsworthy, on the other hand, chose to use the medium of found natural objects and materials to arrange temporary sculptures; the only record of these sculptures brought back to the world comes in the form of a modest photograph.

Art as an entity

Definitions of art and aesthetic arguments usually proceed from one of several possible perspectives. Art may be defined by the intention of the artist as in the writings of Dewey. Art may be seen as being in the response/emotion of the viewer as Tolstoy claims. In Danto's view, it can be defined as a character of the item itself or as a function of an object's context. For Plato, art is imitation.

Forms of art

There are a variety of arts, including visual arts and design, decorative arts, plastic arts, and the performing arts. Artistic expression takes many forms, painting, drawing, sculpture, music, literature, performance art, printmaking, film, and possibly architecture are the most widely recognised forms. However, since the advent of modernism and the technological revolution, new forms have emerged. These include, photography, comics, video art, installation art, conceptual art, computer art and, most recently, video games.

Within each form, a wide range of genres may exist. For instance, a painting may be a still life, a portrait, a landscape and may deal with historical or domestic subjects. In addition, a work of art may be representational or abstract.

Most forms of art fit under two main categories: fine arts and applied arts, though there is no clear dividing line. In the visual arts, fine arts refers to painting, sculpture, and architecture, arts which have no practical function and are valued in terms of the visual pleasure they provide or their success in communicating ideas or feelings. The one exception is architecture, which involves designing structures that strive to be both attractive and functional. The term applied arts is most often used to describe the design or decoration of functional objects to make them visually pleasing. Artists who create applied arts or crafts are usually referred to as designers, artisans, or craftspeople.

History of art

See main article: Art history

Clip Art and Pictures

Lesson Plans, Resources and Activites

Art Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/)
Ceramic Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Ceramics/index.htm)
Sculpture Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Sculpture/index.htm)
Painting Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Painting/index.htm)
Drawing Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Drawing/index.htm)
Middle School Art Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Middle_School/index.htm)
High School Art Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/High_School/index.htm)
Elementary Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Elementary/index.htm)
Early Childhood Lesson Plans (http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/Art/Early_Childhood/index.htm)

Cultural differences of art

Several genres of art are grouped by cultural relevance, examples can be found in terms such as:

 * [[:Category:Philosophy of art|Philosophy of art]]
 * ''[[What Is Art?]]''
-== Further reading ==
-* [[Peter Magyar]], ''Thought palaces.'' Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura Press, 1999
-* [[Aristotle]], ''Metaphysics''
-* [[Plato]], ''Theory of forms''
-* [[Carl Jung]],  ''Man and his Symbols''
-* [[Gyorgy Doczi]], ''The Power of Limits''.
-* [[John Zerzan]], ''The Case Against Art''
-==External links==
-* [http://www.insecula.com/ Great Museums in the World (Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Picasso &#8230;)]
-* [http://cgfa.sunsite.dk CGFA: A Virtual Art Museum] Very large website with good reproduction quality scans of thousands of paintings
-* [http://www.art-atlas.net Art-Atlas.Net] The International Art Directory
-* [http://www.artlex.com Dictionary of Art Terms]
-* [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/ Artcyclopedia].
-* [http://www.centrebouddhisteparis.org/En_Anglais/FWBO/The_Arts/the_arts.html Art and the spiritual life]
-* [http://samvak.tripod.com/artist.html Art as a private language]
-* [http://www.multimediakunst.net/ contemporary art community, current art competitions]

Art