Introduction to Fine Arts - Ch. 1 - Byrne

CH 2 WHAT IS A WORK OF ART? There is no definition for a work of that that seems completely adequate, nor universally excepted. Usually said to be something made by a person. Sunsets, beautiful trees, “found” natural objects such as grained driftwood, sings by birds, and a host of other natural phenomena are not considered works of art, despite their beauty. Identifying Art Conceptually 3 criteria for determining where something is a work of art. - The object or event is made by an artist. The object or event is intended to be a work of art by its maker Recognized experts agree that it is a work of art. Identifying art Perceptually Perception is what we can preserve, conception is what we know or think we know - - We often recognize an object because it conforms to our conception of it. o EX. In architecture we recognize churches and office buildings as distinct because of our conception of what churches and office building are supposed to look like The ways of identifying a work of art mentioned, depend on the conceptions of the artist and experts on are and not enough on our perceptions of the work itself. Artistic Form ALL OBJECTS AND EVENTS HAVE FORM - - - - They are bounded by limits of time and space, and they have parts eight distinguishable relationships to one another. o Form is the interrelationships of part to part and part to whole. To say that something has artistic form, implies a strong degree of perceptible unity. o It is artistic form that distinguishes a work of art from objects or events that are not works of art. Artistic form reveals, clarifies, enlightens, and gives fresh meaning to something valuable in life, some subject matter Disunity or playing against expectations of unity can also be artistically useful at times. o Some artists realize how strong the impulse toward unity is in those who have perceived many works so f art o Contemporary attitude toward the loose organization of formal elements is a norm, and the highly unified work of art is thought of an “old-fashioned.” It seems that the effects achieved by a lesser degree of unity succeed only because we recognize them as departures from our well-knows, highly organized forms Participation Works of art are created, exhibited, and preserved for us to perceive with both undivided and sustained attention. - If a work of art requires our participation in order to understand and appreciate it fully, we have an indication that the work IS art. The ultimate test for recognizing a work of art, then, is how it works in us, what it does to us. Participative experiences of works of are communions – experiences so full and fruitful that they enrich our lives - Such experiences are life-enhancing not just because of the great satisfaction they may give us at the moment but also because they make more or less permanent contributions to our future lives Participation and Artistic Form The participative experience – the undivided and sustained attention to an object or event that makes us lose our sense of separation from that object or event – is induced by strong or artistic form. - Participation is not likely to develop with weak form because weak from tends to allow our attention to wander Artistic form clearly identifies a whole, or totality. o In the visual arts, a while is a visual field limited by boundaries that separate that field from its surroundings Content The ideas and feelings that the details and their organization awaken within us keep merging with the form. - The form constantly intrudes, however unobtrusively, it will not let us ignore it. Artistic from fuses or embodies its meaning with itself In addition to participation and artistic form, then, we have come upon another basic distinction – content. - - Unless a work has content – meaning that is fused or embodies with its form – we shall say that the work is not art o Content is the meaning produced by artistic form. We do not perceive an artistic form and a content. We perceive them as inseparable. Subject Matter The meaning, or content, of a work of art is what is revealed about a subject matter. Subject Matter and Artistic Form Whereas a subject matter is a value – something of importance – that we may perceive before any artistic interpretation, the content is the significantly interpreted subject matter as revealed by the artistic form - The subject matter is never directly presented in a work of art, for the subject matter is never directly presented in a work of art, for the subject matter has been transformed by the form. The canscious intentions of the artist may include magical, religious, political, economic, and toher purposes; the conscious intentions may not include the purpose of clarifying values. o Yet underlying the artists activity – going back to cavework – is always the creation of a subject form that illuminated something from life, some subject metter Participation, Artistic Form, and Content - Participation is the necessary condition that makes possible out insightful perception of artistic form and content. The insight we have gained will tend to refocus our vision so that we will see similar subject matters with heightened awareness