Aesthetics Part 1 The Andy Warhol Museum Carnegie Museum of Art FOR EDUCATION USE ONLY ©2008 The Andy Warhol Museum, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. You may view and download the materials posted in this site for personal, informational, educational, and non-commercial use only. The contents of this site may not be reproduced in any form beyond its original intent without the permission of The Andy Warhol Museum. Except where noted, ownership of all material is The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Objectives: Develop and use a common language for aesthetics. Increase knowledge of aesthetics in meaning and in application. Analyze an artist’s motivation for making aesthetic choices. Improve listening and reasoning skills through group dialogue.

Vocabulary Check Intuition 1.a. The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes: immediate cognition. b. Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight. 2. A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

Perception The word, perception, comes from the Latin word: Capere - to take Per (the prefix) - ‘completely’ 1.The process, act, or faculty of perceiving: OBSERVATION 2.The effect or product of perceiving: CONCEPT . Psychol. a. Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory. In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information.

3 Definitions for Aesthetics: 1. a particular taste for, or approach to, what is pleasing to the senses--especially sight; 2. a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art and beauty; 3. a particular theory or conception of beauty or art.

Definition one: Aesthetics Function: noun 1. a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses--especially sight.

Aesthetics in this definition is something that appeals to the senses Aesthetics in this definition is something that appeals to the senses. Someone’s aesthetic has to do with his or her perceptual or artistic judgment. It comes from the root word: Aesthesia: the ability to feel or perceive; being awake and able to feel senses. The opposite is: Anesthesia: the inability to feel or perceive; to be asleep or non-feeling.

We make informal aesthetic choices every day. From what we wear . . .

to the things we buy: books, music, and objects for our homes.

Who does this in today’s popular culture? Public figures make aesthetic choices to convey something about who they are. Andy Warhol wore various silver wigs throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s to change his personal appearance--to create a signature look. Who does this in today’s popular culture? Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait (Fright Wig), 1986, Polaroid™ Polacolor ER, 4 1/4 x 3 3/8 in. (10.8 x 8.6 cm.). ©AWF

The aesthetic choices we make influence many parts of our lives. We all have a personal aesthetic (preferences and tastes based on what we see).

How would you describe the aesthetic quality of your classroom at school?

How would you describe the aesthetic quality of your bedroom?

What aesthetic qualities do you perceive in this photograph of Andy Warhol in his Silver Factory? Andy Warhol at the Silver Factory with Cow wallpaper and Silver Clouds, 1965-1966, Photo ©Stephen Shore

Warhol used some of the aesthetic qualities of his environment in his artwork. What are the similarities between this portrait and the photograph in the previous slide? Andy Warhol Silver Liz Studio Type (1963). ©AWF