1. CHAPTER 1 Aesthetic Experience Where does art come from? -Unique to humans -Urge to create: 1. meaning and form 2. structure in our world so it reflects our ideas 3. an exploration of the possibilities of new technologies/materials What do artists do? 1. Create places for human purpose 2. Create extraordinary versions of ordinary 3. Record and commemorate 4. Give tangible form to the unknown 5. Give tangible form to feelings + ideas 6. Help us see the world in new ways

2. Creativity -sensitivity -flexibility -originality -playfulness -productivity -fluency -analytical skill -organizational skill ARTISTS focus on VISUAL creativity Can you become more creative??

3. Looking + Responding -Perception -Knowledge CHAPTER 2 What is art? Audience Beauty

5. Appearances -Should art always depict something recognizable? Representational art – art that depicts something real that we recognize Naturalistic art – faithful representation of how things are actually seen Abstract art – starts with something real; continues further

6. Style – characteristics that are recurring in an artist’s way of doing something Stylized – somewhere between naturalism and abstraction (representational art that conforms to a set style)

7. Nonrepresentational/Nonobjective – (was a backlash against photography) no connection to the visible world Meaning Form – the way art looks: size, shape, materials, color, composition Content – what is it about? Subject Matter – what does it depict? Context – web of connections to the world: Where did it come from? History/tradition? Audience?

8. Objects Traditional forms vs. “New” forms: installation art sound/light art performance art video art CHAPTER 3 Themes in art: 1. Visual delight (day-to-day forms) 2. Sacred 3. Politics + Society 4. Stories + History 5. Daily life 6. The human experience 7. Invention + Fantasy 8. Nature 9. “Art for art’s sake”