1. ART IN YOUR
WORLD

2. What is Art?
Art is a visual statement that communicates an idea, expresses a feeling, or presents an interesting design.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Gloomy Day
Wood. 118 x 163 cm (46 ½ x 64 3/16”).
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

3. Developing Perceptual Skills
To perceive is to become aware through the senses of the special nature of objects.
Learning From Art
You can always learn from art, whether or not you choose to pursue art as a vocation, or career.
Avocational and Career Opportunities
Pursuing art for personal enjoyment or as a career can help strengthen your problem solving skills, and improve communication

4. Examining artworks Artists and Their Work
Artists are people who use imagination, creativity, and skill to communicate ideas in visual form.
Artists and Their Work
Artists are creative thinkers who often use their problem-solving skills. Artists
combine a knowledge of art materials, tools, and methods with a rich imagination
and deep sensitivity. They use this combination to present their views of and
reactions to the world around them.
Fine Art
Fine art refers to art valued for its appeal or success in communicating
ideas or feelings.
Applied Art
Applied art is art made to be functional as well as visually pleasing.

5. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
Artists, by nature, have strong perceptual skills and vivid imaginations. Sometimes,
Artists will go beyond their imaginations in search of inspiration.
Sources of Inspiration
Nature. Sometimes artists look to their natural surroundings and record them. The first major group of landscape artists in Canada was called the Group of Seven. They painted the Canadian landscape according to their personal style and movement of the times. The Group was commissioned by the federal government to record the Canadian landscape from an artistic point of view.

6. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
Myths and Legends. Some artists borrow ideas from famous works of literature such as stories written by the Greek poet Homer in The Odyssey or other stories from Shakespeare’s plays and so on.
St. George the Dragonslayer.
Novgorod School. Early fiftteenth
Century. 82 x 63 cm (32 ¼ x 24 ¾”).
Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

7. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
Artists of the past. Artists of a particular time period often influence each other. Artists also learn from and build on the work of artists who came before them.
Raphael.
St. George the Dragonslayer.
Oil on wood.
28.5 x 21.5 cm (11 1/8 x 8 3/8”).
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C. Andrew W. Mellon Collection.

8. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
International, historical, and political issues. Other artists may be influenced by recent events or events of their time. Those events may influence their art and the message that they are conveying within the artwork.
Emanuel Leutze. Washington Crossing
the Delaware Oil on canvas.
387.5 x 644 cm (149 x 255”).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, New York. Gift of John
Stewart Kennedy, 1897.

9. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
Spiritual and religious beliefs. Visual artists of every culture use their culture to create objects and images to express spiritual beliefs.
Michaelangelo. The Creation of Adam. c Fresco.
480 cm × 230 cm (189.0” × 90.6”) Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
Vatican City, Papal State.

10. Artists and Ideas Sources of Inspiration
Ideas commissioned by employers. Many individuals or organizations can hire artists to create works of art. Such employers are called patrons. Patrons of the arts are sponsors, or supporters, of an artist or art-related events such as exhibitions.
Diego Velazquez.
Las Meninas.
1656. Oil on canvas.
x 276 cm (10’ 51/2 “ x 9’ 3/4”).
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain,

11. Understanding Art
Just as in reading works of fiction, there are three ways to examine works of art. These are subject, composition, and content. Each of these answers a question central to a complete understanding of the work.
Robert Harris. A Meeting of the School Trustees.
1885. Oil on canvas.
102.2 x cm (40.25” x 100.4”).
The National Gallery of Canada,
Ottawa, Canada.

12. Understanding Art The Subject
The subject is the image that viewers Can easily identify. The subject answers the question, “What do I see when I look at this artwork?”
Childe Hassam. Bridge at Old Lyme.
1908. Oil on canvas.
60cm x 65.1 cm (23 5/8 “ x 25 5/8”).
Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
Eva Underhill Hollbrook Memorial Collection of American Art,
Gift of Alfred H. Hollbrook.
Jackson Pollock. Number Oil on canvas.
112.1 x 86.7cm (44 ¼” x 34”). Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut.
Gift of Tony Smith. ©2003 Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society, New York.

13. Understanding Art The Composition
Composition in art is how the formal properties are used to create unified artworks. Formal properties refer to the way the elements of art are organized by the principles of art. Artists use these formal properties to create unified artworks.
Childe Hassam. Bridge at Old Lyme. (Detail)

14. Understanding Art The Content
In art, content is defined as the message, feeling, or idea an artwork communicates. Content answers the question, “What does the artwork mean or say?”
Childe Hassam. Bridge at Old Lyme. (Detail)

15. Understanding Art The Credit Line
A credit line is a listing of important facts about an artwork.
Reading a Credit Line
Most credit lines are made up of six facts. These facts, in the order in which they
appear, are as follows:
The artist’s name. This information always comes first.
The title of the work. Many titles give useful information about the subject of content. Some are meant to arouse viewers’ curiosity.
The year the work was created. In the case of older works, c. may appear before the year. This is an abbreviation for circa, which means “around” or “about” in Latin.
The tools and materials used in creating the work. Artists use many different materials to create works of art. Watercolour paint is one of these materials. Pencil is another.

16. Understanding Art The Credit Line (con’t.)
Reading a Credit Line (con’t.)
The size of the work. Size helps you imagine how the work would appear if you were seeing it in person. Height, in centimeters as well as inches, is always listed first. The width is listed second. A third number refers to depth if the artwork is three-dimensional.
The location of the work. Location includes the name of the gallery or museum where the work is housed. City and state/province are also provided, along, sometimes, with country.
Lawren S. Harris. North Shore, Lake Superior
Oil on canvas x 128.3cm. Purchased 1930, National Gallery of Canada (no. 3708)