PART ONE CHAPTER 1: LIVING WITH ART THIS INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO ART COVERS THE FOLLOWING KEY TOPICS: •THE IMPULSE FOR ART •WHAT DO ARTIST DO? •CREATING AND CREATIVITY © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. KEY TERMS • aesthetics • megaliths • Neolithic • selective perception • vanitas © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. AESTHETICS Branch of philosophy that deals with feelings aroused by the sensory experiences of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Our responses to the natural world and questions such as “What is art?” are issues of aesthetics. © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Constantin Brancusi. Bird in Space, c. Constantin Brancusi’s studio. He spent his life searching for forms as simple and pure as those wordsforms that seem to have existed forever, outside of time He was born in a village in Romania, and spent most of his adult life in paris, upon his death in 1957 he willed his studio to the french government, and his studio was recreated later in a museum. In the center there are 2 versions of Brancusi’s Endless Column In front of the white column is a horizontal marble form shaped like a submarine over a disk like shape, he called it Fish. It doesn't’t look like an actual fish but the movement of a fish. To the left of the dark column arching up in front of a patch of wall is one his most famous famous works Bird in Space . It does not depict a particular bird, it portrays flight a feeling of soaring upward. Brancusi said that the work represents the soul liberated from matter. THE IMPULSE FOR ART What we know of human history indicates that no society has lived without some form of art. The ability to make images is uniquely human and it is the starting point for creating art. © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=3OLaNtKoJFk The Chauvet Cave: © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnJjSwNgxfk Stonehenge The Chauvet Cave: images on its walls have been painted 32,0 00 years ago Galleries and chambers of the Chauvet has over 300 depictions of animals lions, mammoths, rhinoceroses, cave bears, horses, reindeer, red de er or aurochs, muskoxen bison and others as well as palm print s and stencil silhouettes of human hands. Here is the left sectio n of the lion panel. Further study by French archaeologist Jean Clottes has revealed much about the site. The dates have been a matter of dispute but a study published in 2012 supports placi ng the art in the Aurignacian period, approximately 32,000–30,0 00 years BP. A study published in 2016 using additional 88 radi ocarbon dates showed two periods of habitation, one 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and the second from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago with most of the black drawings dating to the earlier period. Stonehenge consists of concentric circles of megaliths which are very large stones surrounded in turn by a circular ditch it was built in several phases weighing some 50 tons each, the stones were quarried many miles away, hauled to the site and shaped by blows from stone hammer. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.[1] Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.[9] Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another five hundred years. Stemmed Vessel from Weifang, Shandong, China. Neolithic period, c. 2000 B.C.E. Black pottery, thin biscuit; height 10-1/2 inches. Longshan Culture, unearthed in 1973 in Rizhao City, Shandong Province. China. Courtesy of Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics of Shandong Province. © Cultural Relics Publishing House, Beijing Medium Decorative and Ceremonial Objects World Culture China What Do Artist Do? Artists in all societies create art that that addresses questions that are universal. These artistic tasks they take on are to: 1. Create places for some human purpose 2. Create extraordinary versions of ordinary objects 3. Record and commemorate 4. Give tangible form to the unknown 5. Give tangible form to feelings and ideas 6. Refresh our vision and see the world in a new way © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Maya Lin. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1982. Black granite, length 492 feet. © Catherine Karnow/Corbis Medium Architecture World Culture The Americas The Kente cloth Was woven in west Africa by artist of the Asante people it is a spectacular example of a type of textile known as kente. Kente is woven in hundreds of patterns each with its own name history and symbolism. This would’ve been for ceremonial occasions Create extraordinary versions of ordinary objects Insert visual(s). Suggestion: 1.7 Kente Cloth © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Manohar. Jahangir Receives a Cup from Khusrau, 1605–06. Opaque watercolor on paper, 8-1/16 x 6 inches. © The Trustees of The British Museum 1920,0917,0.2 Medium Paintings World Culture India Shiva Nataraja. India, 10th century C.E. Bronze, height 5-1/4 inches. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. AK-MAK-187 Medium Sculptures and Installations World Culture India Vincent van Gogh labored to express his personal feelings as he stood on the outskirts of a small village in France and looked up at the night sky. Van Gogh had become intrigued by the belief that people journey to a star after their death and that there they continue their lives. The stars have been exaggerated surrounded by Halos of radiating light as if each were a brilliant sun. a great wave or a whirl pool rolls across the sky a cloud perhaps or some kind of cosmic energy. Give tangible form to feelings and ideas Insert visual(s). Suggestion: 1.10 The Starry Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7EAOnVkdbc © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Ernst Haas. Peeling Paint on Iron Bench, Kyoto, 1981. Kodachrome print. Ernst Haas/Getty Images Medium Photographs CREATING & CREATIVITY Artists are devoted to visual creativity. Creative people, in general, tend to possess certain traits: 1. Sensitivity: heightened awareness 2. Flexibility: adapt to new possibilities 3. Originality: creatively problem-solve 4. Playfulness: humor & experimentation 5. Productivity: ability to generate ideas 6. Fluency: free flow of ideas 7. Analytical skill: exploring problems 8. Organizational skill: coherently ordering things © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Scans showing nerve traffic pathways through white matter in the brain. Arrows point to regions where nerve traffic slows in individuals identified as…Scans showing nerve traffic pathways through white matter in the brain. Arrows point to regions where nerve traffic slows in individuals identified as creative. Courtesy Rex Jung, Mind Research Network. (appeared in NY Times Sat. May 8, 2010, “Charting Creativity: Signposts of a Hazy Territory.”). Courtesy Rex Jung, Brain & Behavioral Associates, PC Mike Kelley. Kandors Full Set, detail, 2005–09. Cast resin, blown glass, illuminated pedestals; dimensions variable. Art © Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. All Rights Reserved/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Photo Fredrik Nilsen, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery Medium Sculptures and Installations © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Initiated by Kelley in 1999, the Kandors series comprises numerous represent ations of Superman’s birthplace, the city of Kandor. The popular Superman story recounts the adventures of an alien being sent to Earth as a baby to escape the total destruction of his home planet, Krypton. However, it turns out that Kandor was not, in fact, destroyed. Shrunk and bottled by the villainous B raniac, the futuristic city was later rescued by Superman and protected under a bell jar in his sanctuary, the Fortress of Solitude. For almost a quarter -century in comic-book time, Kandor and its miniature citizens survived in Superman’s care, sustained by tanks of Kryptonic atmosphere – a constant re minder of his lost past and a metaphor for his psychic disconnection from his adopted planet. LOOKING AND RESPONDING The key to looking at art is to become aware of the process of looking to better understand why art can mean different things to different people. •Selective Perception: Filtering information to allow us to focus on the immediate tasks at hand. This is a process utilized when looking at art. •Vanitas: (Latin for “vanity”) Refers to the fleeting nature of earthly life and happiness. This is an approach for responding to art and exploring visual associations. © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Science tells us that seeing is a mode of perception, which is the recognition And interpretation of sensory data what comes into our eyes, ears, nose, mouth and Fingertips and what we perceive from it. Visual perception our eyes take in information In light Patterns. Not everyone's visual perception is the same not all people notice the Same things or interpret them the same. One reason for differences in perception is The profound amount of detail available to our attention at any given moment. Mood Can sometimes influence how we interpret things, the way we grew up cultural, relation ships we have had, places we have seen. The subjective nature of perception explains why a work of art may mean different things to different people. The more you know About art the more you will appreciate it and look at it more deeply. 1.14 Vanitas © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. From a panoramic perspective, Juan de Valdés Leal’s Vanitas is full of jumble of objects with a cherub looking over them and a man hiding behind curtain In t he foreground to left, a skull crowned with a laurel wreath, which is usually c rowns those who have achieve great success. Whatever a man gained during his life, he has to face death like any other people. Then come two flowers: one in full bloom whilst the other already dying, reflecting the flourishing and dying of life. It is the end of life. Let us retrospect the time before death according to the oil painting. These objects can be divided into three groups: Firstly, dice and playing cards, suggesting a luxurious life wallow in games of chances. Secondly, a cascade of medal, money and jewelry leads up to an elaborate crown, indicating honors, wealth and power. Finally, books and scientific instruments demonstrating pursue for knowledge, which can also be regarded as means to achieve these honor. Audrey Flack, Wheel of Fortune, Vanitas Jim Hodges. Every Touch, 1995. Silk flowers, thread, 18 x 16 feet. Audrey Flack became facianated with the vanitas tradition, she created a Series of her own Wheel of Fortune Vanitas. • The skull reminds us of death • Hourglass, calendar page and guttering speak of time passing • Necklace, mirrors, powder puff and lipstick symbols of Vanity • A dice and a tarot card evoke the roles of chance and fate Jim Hodges, Every touch, seems very diffferent that Flacks or Leal’s Vanitas Touch is made of silk flower petals ironed flat, intermingled, and stuck together To form a large curtain. Even though Every Touch may not direct our thoughts as Firmly as the other two artworks, we approach it the same way. We look and try to Become aware of our looking. More questions are asked, and we question our Feelings. http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=vBLvusSwHRk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= BsrLVPu5otI LIVING WITH ART: SUMMARY Works of art can have many meanings. The greatest works of art can transcend time to speak to each new generation. Key Terms Key Topics The Impulse for Art What Do Artist Do? Creating and Creativity © 2016, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. aesthetics megaliths Neolithic selective perception vanitas
