Mini Art Lecture GOALS:

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Mini Art LectureGOALS

• NOT memorizing names, dates, specific works
  (though that never hurts)
• Recognize attributes of art works that identify
  it as a certain style/movement or as created by a
  specific artist
• WHY? So that the next time you visit an art
  museum you actually have something to do
• (ask lots of questions)

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Introduction to Art

• Lecture One
• OK, so what is it?

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What is Art?

• Unique to humans - the sharing of ones
  imagination
• Aesthetics
• The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature
  of beauty
• Visual Communication
• Impossible to define - it can only be described
• The continuum of abstraction gt gt gt

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Representational
Totally Abstract
Abstraction
La Jaconde (Mona Lisa) Leonardo da Vinci (1503)
Woman in an Armchair Pablo Picasso (1941)
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Number 1A - Jackson Pollock (1948) context is
everything
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Why is Art?

• Communication
• like poetry, its rules are flexible
• To understand ourselves and our universe
• For the artist, its like sharing a good joke
• The Cool Factor

Self Portrait Paul Cezanne (1879-82)
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Starry Night Vincent van Gogh (1889) emotion
and color
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Number 1A - Jackson Pollock (1948) context is
everything
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What is Good Art?
I dont know much about art, but I know what I
like.
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What is Good Art?
I dont know much about art, but I know what I
like.
Really means I like what I know.
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What is Good Art?
I dont know much about art, but I know what I
like.
Auguste Rodin (1886)
Constantin Brancusi (1912)
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What is Good Art?
I dont know much about art, but I know what I
like.

• Art vs. Craft
• Craft is predictable, it takes aptitude, it
  attempts the possible
• Art is unpredictable, it takes talent, and
  attempts the impossible (Michael Jordan?)
• Form and Content (both are essential!)
• Form What does it look like?
• Content What does it mean? (not Jordan)
• What is a Masterpiece?
• the test of time
• does it move people?

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Michelangelo
David - 1501-04
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Michelangelo

• An acknowledged masterpiece
• Nude vs. Naked

David - 1501-04
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Rembrandt van Rijn Self-portraits Another
acknowledged master
Age 34 - 1640
Age 54 - 1660
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Why Look at Art?

• You will relate to it if you allow yourself
• Historical artifact
• Escapism
• Layers of meaning (CONTENT) gt gt

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Jan Vermeer Woman Holding Scales (1665)
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Jan Vermeer Artist in His Studio aka Allegory of
the Art of Painting aka Allegory of Fame (1665)
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How Should I look at Art?

• Approach with an open mind
• Allow yourself to get into it
• Give the artist the benefit of the doubt
• Try to see the work in the context in which it
  was created / the artists motives
• Art History helps here
• Ask yourself WHY the elements look the way they
  do
• Then, and ONLY then, you can judge its quality

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So

• Look at the work
• Try to understand the work
• Analyze its form and content (if any)
• Then judge from a position of knowledge and not
  preference

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The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci (1495-98)
Andy Warhol Marilyn (1964)
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The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci (1495-98)
Andy Warhol Marilyn (1964)
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now you know