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What types of styles can be associated with works of art?
Recurrent and distinctive features in works of art (a definition for "style") can be described in relation to the following characteristics. Temporal (time): pre-historic (Paleolithic, Upper-Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Stone Age, Iron Age), Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine, Etruscan, Roman, Early Christian, Medie- val, Carolingian, Ottonian, Gothic,Renaissance, Baroque, 18th century, 19th century, 20th century, Pre-Columbian, Ming, Sung, Chou, Han, Fugiwara, Ka- makura, Ashikaga, and Nara. Geographical (place): African, American, Assyrian, Chinese, Egyptian, European, Greek, India, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Oceanic, Northern European, Persian, Peruvian, and Sum- erian. Cultural: Balinese, Bamana, Celtic, Chinese, Egyptian, Eskimo, lbu, Kwaktuil, Maori, Ma- yan, Minoan, Moorish, Navajo, Peloponesian, Roman, Senufo, Sioux. Types of Styles: abstract, abstract-geometric, anti-mannerist, archaic, baroque, classic, impres- sionistic, manneristic, naturalistic, neoclassic, non-objective, painterly, realistic, representational, and romantic. School/Custom/Tradition: Abstract Expressionism, Ash Can, Barbizon, Bauhaus, Blaue Reiter, Byzantine, Cinema Verite, Constructivism, Hudson River, Impressionism, Coptic, Cubism, Dadaism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Florentine, Futurism, Hard-edge, Hellenistic, Minimal, Naturalism, New Realism, Op, Orphism, Pointillism, Pop, Precisionism, Primitivism, Realism, Regionalism, Siennese, Song, Surrealism, Venetian,Yamato-e.
Idioms (styles of individual artists, just a few examples): Bergman, Bernini, Bramante, Brunelleschl, Cellini, Duccio, Fellini, Giotto, Kuro- sawa, Rembrandt, La Tours, Van Gogh, Frank Lloyd Wright. Fusion of Styles: Etruscan-Italian, French-Baroque, Greco-Roman, Hellenistic, Italian Renais- sance, Northern Renaissance, Spanish Gothic.
Learning About Art a multicultural approach
Introduction to Basic Questions
- What questions might we ask about the visual arts?
- What does a multicultural gallery of art look like? Exploring the Nature of the Visual Arts
- How do sign, symbol, and metaphor relate to the world of the visual arts?
- How do the aesthetic dimensions of experience differ from other aspects of experience?
- Why and how should art be defined broadly but critically?
- How do we engage in the aesthetic analysis of works of art?
- How does the expressive import of works of art differ from their historical- cultural contexts? Exploring the Values of Art
- How does art fulfill personal and psychological needs?
- What are several vital social and cultural functions of art?
- How does the study of art contribute to attaining the goals of formal edu- cation?
- What do you study when you study art?
- How does art relate to achieving and maintaining a thriving economy?
- What careers and occupations can be associated with the visual arts?
- What are the goals and methods of artistic versus scientific research?
What is art?
- Should natural objects be considered as works of art?
- Is art anything we want it to be, or does the term "art" refer to objects that have special characteristics?
- What conditions need to exist before we are willing to classify something as art? While all types of objects and events may involve us in the aesthetic aspects of experience, are we willing to call all of them art?
- What are the components of an aesthetic response?
- How does an aesthetic focus differ from other types of emphases?
- We may respond to the aesthetic qualities in a variety of objects produced by people who have no word for art in their language. Are we willing to call such objects art even though they were produced primarily as objects to give form to values and traditions, and not as art, per se; i.e., objects designed pri- marily to evoke responses to aesthetic qualities?
- Can people who have not been taught how to make art produce works of art?
- Are children able to produce art? Is art found only in art museums?
- Can objects that are primarily functional be considered as works of art?
- Under what circumstances can we consider utilitarian objects as works of art? What does a work of art express?
- The intentions of the artist?
- Only what art historians tell us about the work?
- Anything we want it to express? Is it strictly an individual thing? How does art serve the individual and society?
- In what ways does art serve the psychological needs of artists and/or con- sumers of art?
- What role does art play in a consumer oriented materialistic society?
- Are there careers and occupations that require a background in the visual arts? What are the differences between art and science?
- How do artists and scientists differ in their approaches to their work?
- What are the primary goals of artistic and scientific research? A Gallery of Multicultural Art Works
How do sign, symbol and metaphor relate to the world of art?
Works of art become most meaningful for us when they evoke thoughts and feelings. This occurs when we venture beyond merely identifying a work's visual elements (the character of its lines, shapes, colors, etc.) and the ways in which these elements are organized. It is essential to consider the proposition that works of art speak to us through both their formal organization and the signs, symbols and metaphors that can be associated with them. How these additional components can be defined and identified is demonstrated through the follow- ing series of exercises. How does one move beyond what is literally there? When we look at a painting all that we can actually see are shapes and the tex- tures and colors of paint on the canvas which absorb and reflect varied amounts of light. But there is much more to react to if we contemplate the character of the shapes and colors and how they relate to each other. To illus- trate this principle in a very direct way, carefully observe shapes A and B. shape A BOBO shape B KIKI Shapes A and B are drawings of simple shapes. To the left of these shapes are two words. Which word relates to which shape? If you sound-out each word you should readily associate shape B with "tactility" because this word's piercing, staccato-like sounds correspond to the sharp angularity of the shape. The soft, undulating rhythms associated with "bobo" conform to the round, flowing char- acter of shape A. We have just demonstrated that there are implied meanings in both aural and visual forms that are elicited by the nature of what actually exists within these stimuli. Everyone can sense how differences in sound and appearance evoke variations in feelings and thoughts, even though there are only lines that define shapes or letters that create words.
In our next exercise we see another example of this phenomenon. Words can appear in type faces in such a way that what the word describes can actually be felt. The character of the letters evoke these kinds of associations. A person's name may be spelled out without regard for any particular meaning, but the nature of the type selected may suggest something about a person's appearance or character. In the following exercise, what characteristics would you associate with each variation in the use of type to spell out the name Mary? Please check the most relevant characteristic: pleasant austere quiet whimsical tranquil joyous tormented elegant
Two intersecting rectangles appear in both shape A and B; these are their literal (actual) qualities, as are the variations in the thickness of lines that define these forms. What is not literal are the associations which we make with these two shapes. Western culture teaches us that when we see such intersecting rectan- gles we call such forms "crosses." These particular arrangements of shapes be- come signs for a cross. We also are taught that Shape A is referred to as a Greek Cross, and Shape B as a Latin Cross. Other shapes that we encounter elicit other associations. In works of art we often see signs (or representations) for hands, noses, shoes, trees, mountains, animals, houses, furniture, etc. None of these objects actually exist in works of art (except perhaps for tableaux, 3-D collages, interiors, etc.). Signs also become symbols when they represent something else, but also through a process of association; i.e., a material object is used to represent something that is not visible. These crosses function as symbols for us because our western culture has taught us to make particular associations with these images. Shape A symbolizes some type of health service. Shape B stands as a symbol for Christianity. In language, a metaphor is a figure of speech that transfers one thing to an- other through implied comparisons. It is used to infuse writing and speech with vitality, which make both more interesting; e.g., "he was really crucified by his competitors" or "the artist made minced meat out of his colors." Visual meta- phors are implied as a consequence of analyzing the relationships between the formal structures and subject matter of works of art. In addition to their role as symbols, the crosses can also function as visual metaphors if we will take the time to analyze their form-content relationships.
How does art relate to the aesthetic aspects of experience?
What is art? Is art anything we want it to be, or does art refer to objects and/or events that have particular characteristics? We can begin to answer these ques- tions when we think about how we react to what our senses enable us to per- ceive. We are capable of responding passionately to an extraordinary range of stimuli; e.g., the intensity of reds, oranges and violets in a tropical sunset; the striking black and white patterns on the bark of birch trees; or the extraordi- nary contrast in scale between humans and a massive water fall.
While such natural phenomena often evoke "ooh" and "ah" responses, manufac- tured stimuli can also elicit such reactions. For instance, the graceful arches in a suspension bridge, the thrust toward the sky of a very tall building, or the subtle elegance of a ceramic vase can provoke feelings ranging from astonish- ment to serenity. These kinds of reactions are not always associated with responses to such forms. Natural and manufactured forms often serve as stimuli for thinking about other things. We may, for example, view the sunset to predict the weather for the following day. Or, we can look at the suspension bridge and es- timate how much time will be saved by crossing it rather than taking an other route. But, when we focus on the inherent characteristics or qualities of a phe- nomenon, we respond to its non-utilitarian aspects, and become engaged in an "aesthetic" encounter. To clarify the nature of such a focus we need to contrast it with other types of encounters.
Is Everything That Evokes a Response to Aesthetic Qualities Art? While all types of objects and events -- existing in nature and manufactured by humans -- may evoke an aesthetic response, are we willing to call all of them art? Under what conditions will we classify particular objects and events as art? Can we really refer to a tree or a mountain as a work of art even though these phenomena were created by the forces of nature, and not as forms organized to involve us in their aesthetic qualities? Responses to the aesthetic (inherent) as- pects of natural phenomena are based upon our human predisposition to react in this manner. We may refer to a tree as "lonely" or "stately" and to a mountain as "majestic" or "foreboding" but such responses are based upon our acquired sense of what constitutes such characteristics, and not anything that nature has prescribed within a given form. We may respond aesthetically to a variety of objects produced by people who have no word for art in their native language. Are we willing to call such objects art even though they were produced as objects to give form to tribal values and traditions, and not as art, per se; i.e., objects to be experienced aesthetically? Why is it possible for art to be produced under such conditions? Because the qualities that we respond to aesthetically were implanted within the forms cre- ated, not by an accident of nature, but as a consequence of the imperatives of a human society. Tradition requires particular organization of inherent qualities that results in evoking responses that are congruent with responses to ac- knowledged works of art. Can people who have not been taught how to make art produce art? Can chil- dren produce art? The untutored and the child can produce art because the forms they create can and do involve us in aesthetic encounters. The organiza- tion of sensory elements -- shapes, colors, etc. -- that evokes our responses occurs, consciously or subconsciously, because of the predisposition of human beings to produce (and respond to) aesthetic stimuli. Untrained artists, referred to as primitives, have produced works that are in world renowned museums. Spontaneity, naiveté, and a direct appeal to our emotions are characteristics we often associate with works produced by three to ten year olds, which we classify as "children's art."
Anonymous, The Cat, c. 1840. Museum of American Folk Art Washington, D.C. Angel, a watercolor painting by a 10 year old English boy Apparently, if we think about art as manufactured forms (but not natural phenomena) which involve us primarily in the aesthetic aspects of experience, then it is possible to assign the term "art" to all manner of objects and/or events, including commercial and primarily utilitarian objects, as well as works produced in preliterate societies and by those without training regardless of age.
approached in ways that are relevant to particular groups, these areas can also be investigated by non-philosophers; e.g., students ranging from the primary grades through graduate school can also address the following questions in terms of their own levels of sophistication.
- Defining what is and what is not art: what conditions must be present for something to be called art? what concepts enable us to identify qualities in works of art and the nature of its aesthetic form? what meanings can be con- veyed by works of art?
- Engaging in the aesthetic encounter and making valid responses to works of art: what is the nature of aesthetic experience? what are appropriate ways for looking at art? what does a work of art express?
- Identifying standards and making critical judgments about art: what are the differences between personal preferences and objective judgments? can there be a set of standards for what is beautiful? how do we distinguish between beauty and ugliness?
- Clarifying the role of the artist and the creative process: how does making art differ from other activities? what does it mean to be expressive, imaginative, or original?
- Exploring the nature of the art world, and the relationships between art and ideology and morality: how do the meanings in works of art relate to the artist's culture? is art amoral? apolitical? are art forms part of other values? how does the "art world" relate to other cultural institutions? There are, of course, no single "right" answers to these questions. It is when searching for the most logical, relevant and reasonable explanations and con- clusions that one expands his or her understanding of and appreciation for the nature and values of art.
Art criticism: judgement versus taste
To initiate our discussion, let us observe this full color reproduction of a por- trait by Amedeo Modigliani. How might one react to this work of art? One per- son might assert that this lady was not to his liking, he could never fall in love with someone that looked like her. Another, might believe that she was just plain ugly and, therefore, would hate this painting. Amedeo Modigliani La Femme de l'Artiste, 1918 Oil on canvas, 39 ½ x 25 3/4" Norton Simon Museum Pasadena, California The Modigliani portrait distorts, exaggerates and simplifies facial and bodily features for expressive purposes. Its almost flat areas of color, delicate contour line, and gesture of head and hands echo the central figure in Botticelli's great Renaissance masterpiece The Birth of Venus. Modigliani's work is a metaphor for a classical view of femininity. Most people will observe these distortions but they do not readily see how these function to say something special about the
consists of orange, mixed with vermilion and two or three yellows, edged with a thin line of black or bistre. Claude Roy, Modigliani (Albert Skira: New York, 1985), pages 72- Although it cannot be expected that everyone can achieve this level of sophisti- cation, instead of "I like it ...don't like it" responses, one can learn to provide reasons for preferences. When reasons are provided for one's judgments, a ba- sis exists for both discussion and evaluation. Attempting to articulate the rea- sons for one's responses enables observing with greater clarity and accuracy.
Art criticism: the values of knowing how to engage in art criticism
The skills associated with making informed responses to visual stimuli are also related to other aspects of being art educated. In order to engage responsibly in the production of art, one must continually assess the nature of what is be- ing created; i.e., the artist must serve as his or her own critic. This is accom- plished intuitively (without conscious thought) and/or by engaging in the ob- jective analysis of what is created. As was alluded to previously, making relative and comparative judgments requires that one possess a background of infor- mation that relates to what is being evaluated, therefore, the need for studying art history. Explore the nature of art history Relating philosophical issues (aesthetics) to art criticism consists of inquiring into and speculating about not only the possible values of art criticism but also its methodology. For example, speculating about the criteria that should be utilized to make judgments about the value of art forms. Or, discussing (talking or writing about) whether it is sufficient that a work of art involves us in aes- thetic experience or must it possess other attributes in order to be judged truly exceptional: what about the level of the work's innovation? concern for impor- tant social values? reflection of significant historical events? Reasonable expectations for what can be accomplished include asking our- selves to engage in identifying and discussing the visual qualities (sensory properties) in works of art, as well as in one's own works. As one attains greater sophistication, he or she should be expected to also begin to analyze how works are organized and to speculate about their possible meanings. When dis- cussing works with others, agreed upon criteria should be employed for as- sessing the extent to which works have been successful in meeting these crite- ria. The wrong question to ask is "do you like it?" Much better questions are
concerned with directing perceptual and analytical activity. What do you see? How is it organized? What ideas or feelings are being expressed? These are the types of more directive open-ended questions that provoke thought and dis- cussion. One of the best strategies is to actually study examples of art criticism, which are easily available in local and national newspapers. However, journalistic criti- cism is usually superficial compared to the more scholarly criticism that is found in books and journals; e.g., the quote about Modigliani. When we carefully examine works of art, we are sharpening our perceptual tools; we are both building and utilizing our storehouse of the images required for making sense out of experience. When we make objective judgments about what works of art do for us emotionally and intellectually, we are engaging in analytical and critical thinking. Specifically, art criticism leads to a greater un- derstanding and appreciation of works of art, ranging from recognized master- pieces to the monuments of our built environment to forms that make-up our popular culture.
The discipline of art history
Answering what, when, where, who, how, and why Perceiving works of art aesthetically begins with an objective analysis of their inherent qualities or properties, which can reveal the following features of a work of art.
- Sensory Properties - qualities that we experience through our senses: shape, line, texture, value, color, space, and scale.
- Formal Properties - how sensory properties are organized to achieve a sense of unity, balance, movement, and dominance.
- Technical Properties - appearances of shapes, values, colors, etc., that are due to the use of particular materials and techniques.
- Expressive Properties - how a work's subject, for instance, a turbulent sea- scape or youthful portrait, combined with the other "properties" contribute to evoking: (a) feelings such as fear, loneliness or joy, or a sense of tension or tranquillity, and/or (b) ideas and ideals associated with, for example, the power of nature or the innocence of youth. In addition to these properties, a work of art will reflect the time period and the geographic area in which it was produced, and/or the particular way its creator utilizes and organizes its properties. When a work of art is analyzed in terms of these characteristics, the nature of its "style" is being investigated. The style of
