• The Nature of Art and Creativity
What Is Art?
• Work of art-visual expression of an idea or
experience formed with skill through use
of a medium
• Media/medium-type of tools used to create
the artwork
– clay, fiber, stone, wood, paint, video,
photography,
• Some communication can only be
expressed through visual form or music...
Purposes and Functions of Art
• Art can:
– tell us things
– elevate our spirits
– show beauty
– show injustice
Art for Communicating Information
• Through the ages, art has been used to
impart information
Lauren Greenfield. The View North, toward Burj Dubai. 2009.
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Dorothea Lange
Robert Frank
James Nachtwey
Art for Day to Day Living
• Objects made to delight the eye as well as
serve useful functions
Yves Behar. Mission One. 2009.
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Eames
Dish. East Iran. 10th Century.
Diameter 8-1/4".
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Art for Worship and Ritual
• Through the ages people have used art to
use for prayer, worship, magic, and
ceremony
Dance Wand in Honor of Eshu. Elegba Cult. Yoruba, Nigeria.
Height 19-3/4".
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Beatrice Wood (1893–1998). Chalice. 1986.
7-5/8" × 7/8".
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Stephen Cox. St. Anselm's Altar. 2006.
Height 35".
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Art for Personal Expression
• The artist uses their medium to express
their personality and/or feelings to the
viewer
Rembrandt van Rijn. Self-Portrait. 1658.
52-5/8" × 40-7/8".
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Yong Soon Min. Dwelling. 1994.
72" × 42" × 28".
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Romare Bearden. Rocket to the Moon. 1971.
13" × 9-1/4".
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Romare Bearden
• “ The biggest thing I learned was reaching
into your consciousness of black
experience and relating it to the universal.”
Romare Bearden.
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Romare Bearden. Prevalence of Ritual: Tidings. 1967.
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Art For Social Causes
• Humans are influenced by what they see
• Artists can use their art to influence the
public
Francisco Goya. The Disasters of War, No. 18: Bury Them and Say
Nothing. 1818.
5-7/8" × 8-3/8".
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Félix González-Torres. Untitled (Death by Gun). Installation view. 1990.
44-1/2" × 32-1/2".
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Félix González-Torres. Untitled (Death by Gun). Single sheet. 1990.
44-1/2" × 32-1/2".
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Christian Boltanski
Chaz Maviyane-Davies. Global Warning. 1997.
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Art for Visual Pleasure
• Art is often identified solely by this
definition
• Art made to be visually attractive and well
crafted
Decorative Panel from the Alhambra. Granada, Spain.
Nasrid Period, 14th Century.
60" × 50-5/8".
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Miriam Schapiro. Heartland. 1985.
85" × 94".
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What is Creativity?
• The ability to bring forth something new
that has value
Robin Rhode. He Got Game. 2000.
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Untrained Artists
• Outsider artists or folk artists- people with
no formal art education
– folk artists work within a tradition
– outsider artists rarely know about the
trends and history of art
• they work outside of traditional art
guidelines
Anna Zemankova. Untitled (M). c. 1970s.
24-1/4" × 17-3/4" (61.6 × 45.1 cm).
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Sabatino "Simon" Rodia. Nuestro Pueblo. Watts, Calif. Distant view.
1921–1954. Height 100'.
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Sabatino "Simon" Rodia. Nuestro Pueblo. Watts, Calif.
Detail of enclosing wall with construction tool impressions. 1921–1954.
Height 100'.
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James Hampton. Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium
General Assembly. c. 1950–1964.
10'6" × 27' × 14'6".
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Mola Embroidery