Art: Definition, History, and Appreciation

• Art appreciation is an artistic expression shaped by personal experiences

Definition of Art

• Art lacks a single definition, often describing beauty or aesthetic skill
• Art is the deliberate creation of something beautiful, meaningful, or creative

History of Art

• "Art" originates from the Latin "Ars," meaning "Art, Skill, or Craft"

Pre-History of Art

• Altamira, Spain, contains the first cave paintings from the Paleolithic or Stone Age
• Experts attribute the cave art to modern humans, Homo sapiens
• Cave art primarily features paintings in red, using iron oxides (hematite), or black, using manganese dioxide and charcoal

Ancient Greek

• Ancient Greeks viewed art as an imitation of reality

• Art expresses thoughts, emotions, institutions, and desires, and shares individual experiences

• Art extends individual personality

• Art helps people to express feelings, thoughts, and identities

• Art helps people to understand history, culture, and the lives of others

• Art can develop soft skills like creativity, collaboration, and adaptability

• Art teaches about the past and how people overcame challenges

• Art encourages appreciation of the world

• Art opens minds to new ideas and experiences

Functions of Art

• A piece of art's function depends on the artist's intent, time period, and cultural context

Physical Functions

• Artworks created to perform a service have physical functions
• Architecture, crafts like welding and woodworking, and interior and industrial design serve physical functions

Personal Functions

• Art can express oneself, communicate thoughts, or offer aesthetic experiences
• Art can be a way to express feelings and emotions
• Art can communicate a thought or point to the viewer
• Art can provide an aesthetic experience for both the artist and the viewer
• Art can entertain

Social Functions

• Art raises awareness, challenges norms, and inspires action
• Art communicates ideas, influences collective behavior, and conveys opinions about life
• Art expresses humanitarian concerns, political views, or beliefs
• Art celebrates events like holidays, parades, and dances
• Art reinforces identity and ideological connections

Art as Mimesis

• Plato thought all art is imitation of ideal forms created by God
• Concrete experiences are shadows of ideal forms

Art as Representation

• Aristotle saw art as representing reality using imitation to convey universal truths
• Art integrates parts into a whole through creative processes

Art for Art's Sake

• Kant stressed art's beauty should be appreciated without moral, social, or political concerns

Art as Communication of Emotions

• Leo Tolstoy thought art communicates feelings and experiences

• Art is a universal form of expression

• Art history studies art from across the world, from ancient times to the present

Medieval Art (500-1400)

• The Middle Ages or "Dark Ages" had economic and cultural decline after the Roman Empire's fall in 476 A.D.

Renaissance Art (1400-1600)

• Renaissance art focused on nature, individualism, and self-reliance

Mannerism (1527-1580)

• Mannerism features artificiality, bizarre colors, compressed space, elongated proportions, and exaggerated anatomy and creates anxiety in viewers

Baroque (1600-1750)

• The Baroque period features ornate visual arts and architecture
• The Baroque art style was characterized by grandeur and richness, and had human intellectualism as well as global discovery

Rococo (1699-1780)

• Rococo offered a softer aesthetic than Baroque
• This style featured lightness, elegance, and curving natural forms

Neoclassicism (1750-1850)

• Neoclassicism drew inspiration from classical Greek and Roman art

Romanticism (1780-1850)

• Romanticism originated in late 18th-century Europe, emphasizing emotions, nature, and individual experience

Art Nouveau (1890-1910)

• Art Nouveau uses long, sinuous, organic lines
• Art Nouveau was often used in architecture, interiors, jewelry, glass design, posters, and illustration

Impressionism (1865-1885)

• Impressionism developed in 19th-century France, based on painting outdoors spontaneously
• Common impressionist art subjects were landscapes and everyday scenes

Post Impressionism (1885-1910)

• Post-impressionism started in the 1880s, reacting to Impressionism
• Post-impressionist artists used symbolic content and geometric shapes, using brushstrokes and colors to express emotion

Fauvism (1900-1935)

• Fauvism was a French movement from the early 20th century
• This style used bold colors and brushstrokes to express spontaneous responses to nature

Expressionism (1905-1920)

• Expressionism emphasizes the artist's subjective feelings and emotions
• Expressionism can be characterized by distorted forms, intense color, and uninhibited brushwork

Cubism (1907-1914)

• Cubism analyzes, breaks, and reassembles objects in abstracted forms to depict them from multiple viewpoints

Surrealism (1916-1950)

• Surrealism aims to revolutionize human experience by balancing rationality with the power of the unconscious and dreams
• Surrealist artists find magic and beauty in the unexpected

Abstract Expressionism (1940-1950)

• Abstract expressionism began in the U.S. after World War II and is characterized by non-objective paintings
• This style uses color, brushstrokes, and drips to convey emotion

Op Art (1950s-1960s)

• Op art or optical art is an abstract style using color, line, and shape to create optical illusions
• Op art became popular in the 1960s, influenced by color and perception theories

Pop Art (1950s-1960s)

• Pop art uses mass media, consumer goods, and everyday imagery to challenge art boundaries

Arte Povera (1960s)

• Arte Povera is an Italian movement using everyday materials to challenge the commercial art world

Minimalism (1960s-1970s)

• Minimalism expands on abstract art by eliminating important forms to showcase an object's simplicity

Conceptual Art (1960s-1970s)

• Conceptual art prioritizes the idea behind artwork over its physical form and emerged in the 1960s

Contemporary Art (1970-present)

• "Contemporary art" refers to art made by living artists, responding to a culturally diverse, technologically advancing world

Representational

• Representational art aims to depict recognizable objects or subjects from the real world
• Figurative art depicts real-world objects, events, or subjects

Non-representational/Non-objective art

• Non-objective art does not reflect or describe persons, places, or things in the natural world
• This art is defined by color, shape, brushstrokes, scale, and method

Realism

• Realism portrays subjects realistically without artificiality, artistic constraints, or implausible elements

Idealization

• Idealization represents objects according to an ideal form or type to make the world look perfect

Abstraction

• Abstraction replaces or extracts characteristics to reduce objects to essential features

Distortion

• Distortion alters scale, shape, or visual characteristics to communicate a concept, emotion, or visual impact

Surrealism

• Surrealism combines conscious and unconscious perceptions to merge dream and reality
• Artwork that visually captures surreal, illogical and charged imagery experienced in dreams

Content

• Content is the communication of feelings, ideas, and reactions connected to a subject
• Content is not the subject of things in the piece

Scribble Drawing

• Scribble drawing is an art therapy technique developed by Florence Cane
• This practice helps to spontaneously lose, draw and see unconsciousness