Art Appreciation: Definition, Function & Style

• GEC 5: Art Appreciation covers the definition of art, its functions, styles and factors affecting art style, and principles of art.
• Mr. Chris Davidson is the instructor.

Definition of Art

• Art stimulates senses and cognitive abilities.
• It allows for the expression of emotions and the exploration of the subjective self.
• Art serves as a means of communication or conveying insights and emotions.
• Without art, life lacks meaning.
• Plato (427-347 BC) viewed art as an imitation or copy of reality, an illusion or collection of reflections.
• Plato believed that true forms originate from God, making them flawless and impossible to replicate, thus considering art as an imitation of what is real.
• Leo Tolstoy defined art as the creation of objects or elements from the external environment that please the senses.
• According to Tolstoy, art unifies people by producing the same feelings and sentiments, contributing to a better and more progressive life and society.
• Eugene Veron stated that art is an external manifestation created through lines, movements, sounds, colors, and emotions and reflects human subjectivity in stimulating the senses.
• Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) called art "the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world."
• Da Vinci stated that art reveals an individual's imagination and serves as a universal language for communicating feelings and ideas from human experiences.

Functions of Art

• Expression of the imagination: Art provides a means to express the imagination (things, places, ideas that are unreal or unknowable) in nongrammatical ways.
• Ritualistic and symbolic functions: Art used in religion, spiritual or magical rituals, performances and dances as a decoration or symbol of a god or other divine quality.
• Communication: Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. Most forms of communication have an intent or goal directed toward other people.
• Entertainment: Art seeks to evoke a particular emotion or mood for relaxing or entertaining the viewer.
• Motion Pictures and Video Games are examples of art industries that function as entertainment.
• Political change: Twentieth-century art uses visual images to communicate political messages in order to bring about political change.
• Social causes: Art aims to raise awareness for a large variety of causes, including AIDS, autism, cancer, and human trafficking.
• Psychological and healing purposes: Art therapists, psychotherapists, and clinical psychologists use art therapy, such as The Diagnostic Drawing Series, to determine a patient’s personality and emotional functioning.
• Propaganda or commercialism: Art influences popular conceptions or mood, particularly on political issues.
• Art serves as a subtle way to manipulate emotional or psychological responses toward a particular idea or object, as seen in efforts to sell a product.

Style and Factors Affecting Art Style

• Geographical Factors: the places where artists stay influence their work.
• Historical Factors: Historical events exert influence on an artist.
• Social Factors: Events that are happening in society influence the art.
• Ideation factors: Ideas coming from various people influence artists.
• Psychological factors: Works produced by an artist are affected by their psychological makeup, or framework.
• Technical factors: Use of strokes, brushes, and techniques affect the art style.

Principles of Art

• Balance is the concept of visual equilibrium, relating to the physical sense of balance.
• Successful compositions achieve balance symmetrically or asymmetrically.
• Symmetrical balance can be described as having equal "weight" on equal sides of a centrally placed fulcrum, also referred to as formal balance.
• Symmetrical balance's axis may be horizontal or vertical.
• Asymmetrical balance, informal balance, is more complex and difficult to envisage.
• Asymmetrical balance involves placement of objects to balance objects of varying visual weight around a fulcrum point.
• Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design.
• The issue is the relationship between objects, or parts, of a whole.
• It is necessary to discuss proportion in terms of the context or standard used to determine proportions.
• Rhythm can be described as timed movement through space.
• There is an easy, connected path along which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs.
• Regular rhythm occurs when intervals between the elements, and the elements themselves, are similar in size or length.
• Flowing rhythm signifies directional movement.
• Progressive rhythm shows a developing sequence of forms.
• Alternating rhythm displays alternation of elements, and may be applied to all kinds of rhythm.
• Emphasis, or interruption, marks the locations in a composition which most strongly draw the viewers' attention.
• Unity summarizes all of the principles and elements of design.
• Variety refers to the diversity of a work of art.
• Unity refers to the coherence of the whole, the sense that all of the parts are working together to achieve a common result; a harmony of all the parts.

Exploration of art's definition, encompassing its sensory stimulation and emotional expression. Discussion of Plato's view of art as imitation and Tolstoy's perspective on art's unifying power and sensory appeal. Includes art styles and principles.