Defining art

How would you define ‘art’? For many people art is a specific thing; a painting, sculpture or
photograph, a dance, a poem or a play. It is all of these things, and more. They are mediums of
artistic expression. Webster’s New Collegiate dictionary defines art as “The conscious use of
skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” Yet art is much
more than a medium, or words on a page. It is the expression of our experience. Joseph Brodsky
hints at a definition of art in his poem “New Life”:

“Ultimately, one’s unbound / curiosity about these empty zones, / about these objectless vistas, /
is what art seems to be all about.”

Art is uniquely human and tied directly to culture. It takes the ordinary and makes it
extraordinary. As an expressive medium it allows us to experience sublime joy, deep sorrow,
confusion and clarity. It tests our strengths, vulnerabilities and resolve. It gives voice to ideas and
feelings, connects us to the past, reflects the present and anticipates the future. Along these lines,
art history, combined with anthropology and literature, are three main sources in observing,
recording and interpreting our human past. Visual art is a rich and complex subject whose
definition is in flux as the culture around it changes. Because of this, how we define art is in
essence a question of agreement. In this respect, we can look again to the dictionary’s definition
for an understanding of exactly what to look for when we proclaim something as ‘art’.

Form and Content

The two basic considerations of art are form: its physical and visible characteristics, and content:
the meaning we derive from the work. These two terms are roped together in the climb to
understand what art has to offer us. As we examine art from different times, styles and cultures,
the issues of form and content will apply to all of them.

Two basic considerations we need to be acquainted with are form: the physical and visible
characteristics inherent in works of art, and content: the meaning we derive from them. Formal
distinctions include a work’s size, medium (painting, drawing, sculpture or other kind of work)
and descriptions of compositional elements such as the lines, shapes and colors involved. Issues
of content include any visual clues that provide an understanding of what the art tells us.
Sometimes an artwork’s content is vague or hidden and needs more information than is present
in the work itself. Ultimately these two terms are roped together in the climb to understand what
art has to offer us.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the philosophical argument about the nature of beauty. It’s an idea central to any
exploration of art. Aesthetics deals with notions of taste, cultural conventions and the judgments
we make based on our perceptions.
As deep as visual art is embedded in the fabric of our lives, it still is the source of controversy
and irony. It thrives on common experience yet contradicts ideas of ourselves. Art is part of the
culture it’s created in, but can reflect many cultures at once. From where you and I stand today
art has become probably more complex than ever. We need a way to access the visual
information of our society, of past cultures, and cultures not known to us to have a way to
understand what we are looking at.

Subjective and Objective Perspectives

So, the first level in approaching art is learning to LOOK at it. In future discussions we will
spend more time in pure observation than you probably have done before. Generally, we tend to
look at art in terms of "liking" it FIRST, and "looking" at it later. From this perspective, the
"subjective" (knowledge residing in the emotions and thoughts of the viewer) almost completely
dominates our way of looking at art. In the arts, it is especially important to begin to develop an
informed or objective opinion rather than just an instinctual reaction. An objective view is one
that focuses on the object’s physical characteristics as the main source of information. This does
not mean that you will remove or invalidate your subjective feelings about a work. In fact you
will find that the more informed you become, the more artwork will affect you emotionally and
intellectually. It does mean that you will learn alternative ways to approach art, ways that allow
you to find clues to meaning and to understand how art reflects and affects our lives.

It’s complex, but the satisfaction of looking at art comes from exploring the work to find
meaning, not shying away from it simply because we don’t ‘understand’ it. Finding a definition
is important because of the role art plays in societies and cultures.

Artistic Roles

 Description

A traditional role of visual art is to describe our self and our surroundings. Some of the earliest
artworks discovered are drawings and paintings of humans and wild animals on walls deep
within prehistoric caves. One particular image is a hand print: a universal symbol of human
communication.

 Portraits

Today portraits, landscapes and still life are common examples of description. Portraits capture
the accuracy of physical characteristics but the very best also transfer a sense of an individual’s
unique personality. For thousands of years this role was reserved for images of those in positions
of power, influence and authority. The portrait not only signifies who they are, but also solidifies
class structure by presenting only the highest-ranking members of a society. The portrait bust of
Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, dated to around 1300 BCE, exemplifies beauty and royalty. The full-
length Imperial Portrait of Chinese Emperor Xianfeng not only shows realism in the likeness of
the emperor, it exults in the patterns and colors of his robe and the throne behind him.

 Landscapes

Landscapes – by themselves – give us detailed information about our natural and human made
surroundings; things like location, architecture, time of day, year or season plus other physical
information such as geological elements and the plants and animals within a particular region.
‘Nebamun Hunting Fowl’ (below) is loaded with specific plant and animal life in Egypt’s Nile
river delta. This wall painting, dating from around 1350 BCE, shows the scribe Nebamun as he
stands in a reed boat near a thicket of papyrus capturing ducks. His cat actively grabs at two
birds as they try to fly away. Amongst the different species are hawks, butterflies, herons,
songbirds, and fish. The figure sitting in the boat is his daughter. The larger female figure
standing at the stern is his wife. The artist records the scene in great detail; he paints every
feather on the birds, and every scale on the fish beneath the boat.

 Scientific Illustration

Indeed, in many western cultures, the more realistic the rendering of a scene the closer to our
idea of the ‘truth’ it becomes. In the 15th century German artist Albrecht Durer creates vivid
works that show a keen sense of observation. His Lobster from 1495 is uncanny in its realism
and sense of animation.

 Enhancing Our World

Enhancing the world of our everyday lives is another role art plays. This role is more utilitarian
than others. It includes textiles and product design, decorative embellishments to the items we
use every day and all the aesthetic considerations that create a more comfortable, expressive
environment.

 Narratives: How Artists Tell Their Stories

Artists can combine representation with more complex elements and situational compositions to
bring a narrative component into art. Using subject matter – the objects and figures that inhabit a
work of art -- as a vehicle for communicating stories and other cultural expressions, is a
traditional function of visual art.

The narrative tradition is strong in many cultures throughout the world. They become a means to
perpetuate knowledge, morals and ethics, and can signify historical contexts within specific
cultures. Narrative takes many forms; the spoken or written word, music, dance and visual art are
the mediums most often used. Many times one is used in conjunction with another. In his
Migration Series Jacob Lawrence paints stark, direct images that communicate the realities of the
African American experience in their struggle to escape the repression of the South and
overcome the difficulties of adjusting to the big cities in the North.

 Spirit, Myth and Fantasy

Tied to the idea of narrative, another artistic role is the exploration of other worlds beyond our
physical one. This world is in many ways richer than our own and includes the world of spirit,
myth, fantasy and the imagination; areas particularly suited for the visual artist. We can see how
art gives a rich and varied treatment to these ideas. Artist Michael Spafford has spent his career
presenting classical Greek myths through painting, drawing and printmaking. His spare, abstract
style uses high contrast images to strong dramatic effect. A Smiling Figure from ancient Mexico
portrays a god of dance, music and joy. A third example, Hieronymus Bosch’s painting the
Temptation of Saint Anthony, gives the subject matter both spiritual and bizarre significance in
the way they are presented. His creative imagination takes the subject of temptation and raises it
to the realm of the fantastic. There is an entire module devoted to the idea of the other world later
in this course.

Artistic Categories

Visual arts are generally divided into categories that make distinctions based on the context of
the work. For example, Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ would not fall into the same category
as, say, a graphic poster for a rock concert. Some artworks can be placed in more than one
category.

 Fine Art

This category includes drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs and, in the last decade, new
media that are in museum collections and sold through commercial art galleries. Fine art has a
distinction of being some of the finest examples of our human artistic heritage. Here is where
you will find the Mona Lisa, and ancient sculpture, such as the Gandhara figure from India
below, and stunning ceramics from different cultures and time periods.

 Popular Culture

This category contains the many products and images we are exposed to every day. In the
industrialized world, this includes posters, graffiti, advertising, popular music, television and
digital imagery, magazines, books and movies (as distinguished from film, which we’ll examine
in a different context later in the course). Also included are cars, celebrity status and all the ideas
and attitudes that help define the contemporary period of a particular culture.

Handbills posted on telephone poles or the sides of buildings are graphic, colorful and
informative, but they also provide a street level texture to the urban environment most of us live
in. Public murals serve this same function. They put an aesthetic stamp on an otherwise bland
and industrialized landscape.

 Decorative Arts

Sometimes called "crafts," this is a category of art that shows a high degree of skilled
workmanship in its production. Craft works are normally associated with utilitarian purposes, but
can be aesthetic works in themselves, often highly decorated. The Mexican ceramic vessel below
is an example. Handmade furniture and glassware, fine metalworking and leather goods are
examples of craft.

 Artistic Styles

The search for truth is not exclusive to representational art. From viewing many of the examples
so far you can see how individual artists use different styles to communicate their ideas. Style
refers to a particular kind of appearance in works of art. It’s a characteristic of an individual artist
or a collective relationship based on an idea, culture or artistic movement. Following is a list and
description of the most common styles in art.

 Naturalistic

A naturalistic style uses recognizable images with a high level of accuracy in their depiction.
Naturalism also includes the idealized object: one that is modified to achieve a kind of perfection
within the bounds of aesthetics and form. William Sydney Mount’s painting The Bone Player
gives accuracy in its representation and a sense of character to the figure, from his ragged-edged
hat to the button missing from his vest. Mount treats the musician’s portrait with a sensitive
hand, more idealized by his handsome features and soft smile. Note: click the image for a larger
view.

 Abstract

An abstract style is based on a recognizable object but which is then manipulated by distortion,
scale issues or other artistic devices. Abstraction can be created by exaggerating form,
simplifying shapes or the use of strong colors. Let’s look at three landscapes with varying
degrees of abstraction in them to see how this style can be so effective. In the first one, Marsden
Hartley uses abstraction to give the spare “Landscape, New Mexico” a sense of energy. Through
the rounded forms and gesture in treatment we can discern hills, clouds, a road and some trees or
bushes.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Birch and Pine Trees -- Pink combines ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ abstraction into a
tree-filled landscape dominated by a spray of orange paint suggesting a branch of birch leaves at
the top left. Vasily Kandinsky’s Landscape with Red Spots, No. 2 goes further into abstraction,
releasing color from its descriptive function and vastly simplifying forms. The rendering of a
town at the lower left is reduced to blocky areas of paint and a black triangular shape of hill in
the background. In all three of these, the artists manipulate and distort the ‘real’ landscape as a
vehicle for emotion.

The definition of ‘abstract’ is relative to cultural perspective. That is, different cultures develop
traditional forms and styles of art they understand within the context of their own culture (see
‘Cultural styles’ below), and difficult for another culture to understand. So what may be
‘abstract’ to one could be more ‘realistic’ in style to another. For example, the Roman female
bust below looks very real from a western European aesthetic perspective. Under the same
perspective, the African mask would be called ‘abstract’. Yet to the African culture that
produced the mask it would appear more realistic.

In addition, the African mask shares some formal attributes such as the exaggerated eyes and
mouth, and the painted lines and designs found on the Tlingit ‘Groundhog Mask’ (below under
‘Cultural styles’) from Canada’s west coast. It’s very possible these two cultures would see the
Roman bust as the ‘abstract’ one. So it’s important that we understand artworks from cultures
other than our own in the context in which they were originally created.

Questions of abstraction can also emerge from something as simple as our distance from an
artwork. View and read about Fanny/Fingerpainting by the artist Chuck Close. At first glance it
is a highly realistic portrait of the artist’s grandmother-in law. You can zoom it in to see how the
painting dissolves into a grid of individual fingerprints, a process that renders the surface very
abstract. With this in mind, we can see how any work of art is essentially made of smaller
abstract parts that, when seen together, make up a coherent whole.

 Non-Objective

Non-objective imagery has no relation to the ‘real’ world – that is – the work of art is based
solely upon itself. In this way the non-objective style is completely different than abstract, and
it’s important to make the distinction between the two. This style rose from the modern art
movement in Europe, Russia and the United States during the first half of the 20th century.
Pergusa Three by American artist Frank Stella uses organic and geometric shapes and strong
color set against a heavy black background to create a vivid image. More than with other styles,
issues of content are associated with a non-objective work’s formal structure.

 Cultural Styles

Cultural styles refer to distinctive characteristics in artworks throughout a particular society or

culture. Some main elements of cultural styles are recurring motifs, created in the same way by
many artists. Cultural styles are formed over hundreds or even thousands of years and help
define cultural identity. Let’s find evidence of this style by comparing two masks; one from
Alaska and the other from Canada. The Yup'ik dance mask from Alaska is quite stylized with
oval and rounded forms divided by wide bands in strong relief. The painted areas outline or
follow shapes. Carved and attached objects give an upward movement to the whole mask and the
face carries an animated expression.

Celtic art shows a cultural style that’s been identified for thousands of years. Its highly refined
organic motifs include spirals, plant forms and zoomorphism. Intricate and decorative, the Celtic
style adapted to include early book illustration.

Perception and Visual Awareness

Visual information – images from media and the environment around us – dominates our
perception. Our eyes literally navigate us through a visual landscape all our lives, and we all
make decisions based on how and what we see. Separating the subjective and objective ways we
see helps us become more visually aware of our surroundings. Scientifically, the process of
seeing is the result of light passing through the lens in our eye, then concentrating it on the retina
at the back of the eye. The retina has nerve cells that act like sponges, soaking up the information
and sending it to the visual cortex of our brain. Here the light is converted to an image that we
can perceive – the ‘truth’ – as we understand it to be. We are exposed to so much visual
information every day, especially with the advent of mass media, that it’s hard to process all of it
into specific meaning. Being visually aware is more complicated than just the physical act of
seeing because our perceptions are influenced by exterior factors, including our own prejudices,
desires and ideas about what the ‘truth’ really is. Moreover, cultural ties to perception are many.
For example, let’s look at three images that share one particular element; that of raised arms, and
see how we perceive each one according to what we know about them.

Art is a resource for questioning our perceptions about how objects and ideas present themselves.
The Belgian artist Rene Magritte used his easel as a soapbox to confront the viewer with
confounding visual information. Click the hyperlink to watch a short video where Magritte
considers language and perception.

There is a difference between looking and seeing. To look is to glance back and forth, aware of
surface qualities in the things that come into our line of sight. To see is more about
comprehending. After all, when we say “I see” we really mean that we understand. Seeing goes
beyond appearances. So, as we confront the huge amounts of visual information coming at us we
start to make choices about what we keep and what we edit out. We concentrate on that which
has the most meaning for us: a street sign that helps us get home, a view of the mountains that
lets us enjoy a part of nature’s spectacle, or the computer screen that allows us to gather
information, whether it’s reading the content in this course or catching up on the day’s news or
emails. Our gaze becomes more specific, and with that comes specific meaning. At this point
what we see becomes part of what we know. It’s when we stop to contemplate what we see – the
view of the mountain mentioned above, a portrait or simple visual composition that catches our
eye – that we make reference to an aesthetic perception. That is, when something is considered
for its visual properties alone, and their relation to our ideas of what is beautiful, as a vehicle for
meaning?
 No matter how visually aware we are, visual clues alone hinder our ability to fully comprehend
what we see. Words, either spoken or read as text, help fill in the blanks to understanding. They
provide a context, a historical background, religious function or other cultural significance to the
art we are looking at. We ask others for information, or find it ourselves, to help understand the
meaning. In a museum or gallery it may be wall text that provides this link, or a source text,
website or someone knowledgeable about the art.

Now that we have a basic understanding of:

What art is,

the cultural roles it plays, and

the different categories and styles,

we can now begin to explore more specific physical and conceptual issues surrounding it in the
next module. Before we do this however, this is time to complete a quiz and some other learning
activities.

The Importance of Art Appreciation

The term art encompasses a large variety of works, from paintings to sculptures, architecture to
design, and in modern times, digital art. Everyone can appreciate and marvel at art, and being
subjective in nature, different art forms appeal to different people. Art appreciation, however,
refers to the exploration and analysis of the art forms that we are exposed to. It can be highly
subjective, depending on an individual’s personal tastes and preferences, or can be done on the
basis of several grounds such as elements of design and mastery displayed in the piece. Art
appreciation also involves a deeper look into the setting and historical implication and
background of the piece, a study of its origins.

Art Appreciation, Jennard GalleriesArt is dynamic, with new trends and styles emerging at a fast
pace. However, the final attempt of the artist is that it speaks to the viewer on a personal level
and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Art opens up the stream of subconscious and intends
to personally touch every person that comes across it.

Art appreciation is extremely relevant for multiple reasons. It is a good way to understand the
history behind the work, and the period from which the piece originated. Artists often reflect the
problems that they face, and the issues of the society in their work. By analyzing and putting
ourselves in the mind of the artist, we can better study how differently society functioned then,
compared to now. We can empathize and relate to the problems they faced on a personal level.

Art is meant to stimulate thought and conversation between its viewers. By reflecting on a piece
of art, we delve into our own experiences and nostalgia, thus a piece of art means something
different to every person that comes across it. Art appreciation helps open up the mindset of the
people, by listening to different perspective es and views as well as interpretations of the art, it
encourages thoughtful conversation and the understanding that there is more than one approach
to everything.

For many people, art is meant to express something that we ourselves feel unable to express or
convey. Through its visual medium it evokes feelings of joy, sadness, anger and pain. That is
why art appreciation is so important in bringing that one final element to complete the work, and
that is our interpretation. Our perspective brings the artwork to life as it changes for every person
around it.

It is important to foster art appreciation and analysis, as it helps us value the art in how it appeals
to us and what it means to each person. It delves into the history and the story behind the art, as
well as a look into the lives of the artists. It enables one to critically analyze a work, along lines
of design, mastery and techniques. Most importantly, however, art appreciation stimulates
though and analysis, provokes an individual to look past what meets the eye and open our mind
to the views of others.

References:

wikieducator.org/Art_Appreciation_and_Techniques/Definitions,_Artistic_Roles_and_Visual_T
hinking

educationworld.in/the-importance-of-art-appreciation/