Chapter 1 Recap – A World of Art Typed Journal #1 due Chapter 1 Recap – A World of Art What do all artists share? What are the roles of the artist? What is active seeing?

What do all artists share? The desire to create What are the roles of the artist? Artists help us see the world in new and innovative ways Create visual records of specific times and places Imbue objects with beauty and meaning Give form to feelings and ideas What is active seeing? Looking closely at a familiar image to consider what it represents

Chapter 2 – Developing Visual Literacy Thinking Ahead How does subject matter differ from content? What is representational art? What constitutes an artwork’s form? 4. What is iconography?

Communicating with the Visual World We are surrounded by images, but how do we read visual information? It is impossible to recognize, understand, or communicate how visual art affects you without language. This requires you to build up your vocabulary for the arts; you need to learn how to describe art. What terms, phrases, concepts, and approaches do you use to think critically about visual images?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words That being said, it seems rather inadequate to describe artwork by simply saying, “I like this painting.” WHY? What is it that first catches your eye, and keeps your interest when you look at an artwork? Is it the color, the size, the texture, what it is about?

Ch. 6, p. 107 Shirin Neshat Fervor 2000 Gelatin silver print http://vimeo.com/77076334 Ch. 6, p. 107 Shirin Neshat Fervor 2000 Gelatin silver print 66 × 47 in.

What is Your Level of Visual Literacy? You can be surrounded by books, but if you do not know how to read, then you will be lost by the pages of text around you. We are surrounded by images, from television, to magazines, to the internet. Do we really understand how to read the information in these images, or are we lost? How do we build visual literacy?

Essential Concepts in Visual Literacy Consider these ideas when thinking about how to read images: Relationships among words, images and objects in the real world The distinctions among form and content in art The idea of representation Conventions in art Iconography

Words and Images René Magritte, La Trahison des images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe) (The Treason of Images), 1929. Oil on canvas, 21 ½ x 28 ½ in. www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/246

Lorna Simpson, She, 1992. Photographs, four dye-diffusion transfers (Polaroids) and plaque, 29 x 85 ¼ in.

Subject Matter vs. Content The subject matter of an artwork is what the image literally depicts. For example, the subject matter of Magritte’s painting is a pipe. The content of the work is what the image means. This may be far more complicated than the subject matter. The content of Magritte’s painting invites us to think critically about the representations that we see all around us in daily life.

Lorna Simpson. Necklines. 1989 Lorna Simpson. Necklines. 1989. Three silver prints, two plastic plaques. 68 ½ x 70 in.

Shirin Neshat. Rebellious Silence, from the series Women of Allah. 1994. Gelatin silver print and ink. 11 x 14 in.

Triumphal Entry (page from a manuscript of the Shahnamah of Firdawsi), Persian, Safavid culture. 1562–1583. Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. 18 11/16 x 13 in.

Nezami. Page from a copy of Nezami’s Khamseh (the “Quintet”) illustrating a princely country feast, Persian, Safavid culture. 1574–75. Illuminated manuscript. 9 ¾ x 6 in.

Describing the World Words and images are two different systems that we use to describe the world. Words are an abstract system: they communicate information in a way that bears no physical resemblance to the object. For example, the word “COFFEE;” the “C-O-F-F-E-E,” looks nothing like the beverage, yet it still refers to it. Images represent the world, and traditionally one of the main goals of images has been to capture a picture of the way the natural world appears.

Some works of art better resemble the natural world than others. Some artists do not make art with the goal of accurately representing the natural world. A vocabulary has developed to describe how closely, or not, the image resembles visual reality itself.

Does this image refer to anything specifically Does this image refer to anything specifically? Or is it a visual arrangement of shapes and colors?

vs. “COFFEE” We understand what both things mean, and we agree that they mean the same thing. The picture is representational – it represents the way the drink actually looks. The letters are abstract – they look nothing like the way the drink does in the real world, but we understand that they refer to it. vs. “COFFEE”

Basic Terminology Generally, we distinguish a work of art as belonging to one of three groups: Representational Abstract Nonrepresentational (or Nonobjective)

Representational Abstract Nonrepresentational (Nonobjective)

Representational Art Representational art portrays natural objects in a recognizable way. The work actually looks like what it represents. Abstract art is still representational art, but it is an abstraction of reality. The artist uses this abstraction to make the viewer more aware of the formal elements, yet the image still refers to something recognizable.

The more the representation resembles what the eye sees, the more it is said to be an example of realism. When a work is so realistic that it appears to be a photograph, it is said to be photorealistic. Chuck Close, Mark, 1978-79

Albert Bierstadt. The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak. 1863 Albert Bierstadt. The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak. 1863. Oil on canvas. 73 ½ x 120 ¾ in.

Wolf Kahn. Afterglow I. 1974. Oil on canvas. 42 x 66 in.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Man’s Love Story. 1978 Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Man’s Love Story. 1978. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. 6 ft. 11 ¾ in. x 8 ft. 4 ¼ in.

Nonrepresentational Art Nonrepresentational, or nonobjective works of art do not refer to the natural or objective world at all. These works of art are primarily concerned with questions of form. Form is the overall structure of a work of art. This is generally opposed to the overall content of a work of art, but all form has meaning, and with nonobjective art, the form is the meaning.

Kazimir Malevich. Black Square. ca. 1923-30. Oil on plaster Kazimir Malevich. Black Square. ca. 1923-30. Oil on plaster. 14 ½ x 14 ½ in.

Beatriz Milhazes. Carambola. 2008. Acrylic on canvas. 54 7/8 x 50 5/8 in. http://www.jamescohan.com/artists/beatriz-milhazes/video/

Meaning and Culture Our understanding of a work of art is highly dependent on understanding its cultural context. Without considering or respecting cultural context, we make ourselves vulnerable to understanding the artwork only through our own cultural prejudices. We are ethnocentric.

Consider these two sculptures Consider these two sculptures. Do you believe that one is superior to the other? Do you understand the different intentions and aspirations of the two different cultures that created them?

Iconography Within understanding the artistic goals of different cultures, we can begin to examine an individual culture’s iconography. Iconography is a system of visual images, the meaning of which is widely understood by a given culture or cultural group. These visual images are symbols, that is, they represent more than their literal meaning.

This is an image that is relevant and used/understood in our time This is an image that is relevant and used/understood in our time. Notice how there are no words or descriptions present. Do you understand what this image symbolizes? Are you aware of its content beyond its subject matter?

This iconic statue represents far more than a robed woman holding a torch upwards. For over 100 years this work of art has stood for hope, the promise of a brighter future, and freedom.

This symbol has been in use for over 3000 years This symbol has been in use for over 3000 years. Its meaning has changed as different cultures and time periods have used it. What is your first understanding of it, and how is that determined by your cultural understanding of it?

Lower six panels of the center lancet window in the west front of Chartres Cathedral, France, showing the Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds, and the Adoration of the Magi. c. 1150.

Amitabha Budda (Amida), the Buddha of Infinite Light Amitabha Budda (Amida), the Buddha of Infinite Light. Kamakura period, Japan, 13th century. Gilt bronze. height overall 18 ¾ in.

Jan van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami, c. 1434. Oil on oak panel, 32 ¼ x 23 ½ in.

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Charles the First. 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat. Charles the First. 1982. Acrylic and oil paintstick on canvas, three panels. 78x 62 ¼ in. overall.

Thinking about Visual Conventions John Taylor. Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge, 1867. 1966. Drawing for Leslie's Illustrated Gazette, September-December. 1867 Howling Wolf. Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge. 1875–1878. Ledger drawing, pencil, crayon, and ink on paper. 8 x 11 in.

Homework: Register for MyArtsLab Read Chapter 3 Seeing the Value in Art, and answer multiple choice questions 3. Respond to Typed Journal #2 Due: A week from today– Monday, February 2