Introduction to Art

1
Introduction to Art

• Art Criticism-
• An organized approach for studying a work of art.

2
Description

• Make a list of all the things you see in the work
  including
• The size of the work, the medium used and the
  process used.
• The subject, object, and details.
• The elements of art used in the work.
• Look at the credit line.
• BE OBJECTIVE-be general, do not use personal
  feelings or meanings-just list what you see (A
  person, not a mother. People, not men.)

3
Analysis

• Collect facts about the elements and principles
  of art
• How are the principles used to organize the
  elements (line, color, value, shape, form, space,
  and texture).
• How has the artist used the elements and
  principles to create the content (the theme or
  meaning).

4
Interpretation

• What message does this artwork communicate to me?
• Explain or tell the meaning or the mood of the
  work.
• Use your intelligence, imagination and courage to
  determine the message.
• You must back up your opinion with facts and
  clues you collected during Description and
  Analysis.

5
Judgment

• Determine the degree of artistic merit.
• FIRST LEVEL IS PERSONAL-do you like the work?
  Dont forget you have to support your opinion
  using art terms.
• SECOND LEVEL-you use aesthetics to help you
  decide whether the work is successful.
• A work can be very successful aesthetically, but
  you might not want to live with it!

6
Aesthetic Theories and the Quality of Art

• Literal qualities
• Formal qualities
• Expressive qualities

7
Imitationalism-Literal Qualities
Andrew Wyeth Christinas World. 1948

• Realistic
• Imitates reality
• Focuses on realistic representation
• Imitates life

Duane Hanson Sculptor 1925-1996
Queenie II, 1988
Richard Estes-Holland Hotel,1984
8
Formalism-formal qualities

• Composition
• Emphasis on the formal qualities-the arrangement
  of the elements of art using the principles of
  design.

Frank Stella Flin Flon XIII
Victor Vasarely
Wassily Kandinsky
9
Emotionalism-Expressive qualities

• Content of the work of art
• Emotional response from the viewer
• Work must arouse a response of feelings, moods,
  or emotions

Francisco de Goya, The Third of May, 1808
Edward Munch, The Scream
Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait
10
The Four Steps of Art Criticism

• Description- What do I see?
• Analysis- How is the work organized?
• Interpretation-What message does this artwork
  communicate to you?
• Judgment-Is this a successful work of art?

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Formalism?
Imitationalism?
Emotionalism?
Frida's life began and ended in Mexico City, in
her home known as the Blue House. She gave her
birth dates as July 7, 1910, but her birth
certificate shows July 6, 1907. Frida was born an
imaginative storyteller and this was one of many
ways she rearranged the truth. Although she was
spunky and courageous, Frida Kahlo lived a life
of pain and suffering, mostly in the artistic
shadow of her famous husband, Diego Rivera.
Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1938. Oil
on Masonite.
12
Emotionalism?
Imitationalism?
Formalism?
Fish received her BA from Smith College,
Northampton, Massachusetts and her MFA from Yale
University School of Art Architecture, New
Haven, Connecticut. She is well known for her
brilliantly hued, light filled still lifes and
landscapes with figures, and an exciting body of
prints in a variety of media. Her work is in the
collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York the Whitney Museum of American Art, New
York the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas The Art
Institute of Chicago, Illinois Powers Institute,
Sydney, Australia and others.
Fish Vase, Oil on canvas, Janet Fish
13
Imitationalism?
Formalism?
Emotionalism?
Elizabeth Murray was born in Chicago in 1940. A
high school teacher recognized her talent and
created a scholarship for her at the Art
Institute of Chicago. She developed a style that
combines painting with sculpture. Murray is now
considered a master of the shaped canvas.
Elizabeth Murray, Bowtie, 2000, Oil on canvas,
85 x 77 1/2 inches