CHAPTER ONE LECTURE: Understanding Art
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Objectives for this chapter:

• With training and practice art can be interpreted and understood.
  
• Artists exhibit originality of thought, a requirement of creativity.
  
• Art is universal. 
  
  
  But what is Art?
  
  
  Magritte

"Every child is an artist. 
The problem is how to remain 
an artist once he grows up." 
-Pablo Picasso

Learning to See

Chapter 1: Understanding Art


Jean-Michel Basquiat, "Dustheads", 1982 

A central point that the authors make clear from the beginning of The Art of Seeing is that "Art" is many things, depending on who is making it and who is looking at it. Both the creator and the viewer must use skill and imagination in their respective approaches to art. Art is an international language that transcends the ordinary. Given a source of inspiration, artists can create a meaningful experience, for themselves and others. By analyzing the various sources, elements, forms, and techniques used to create art anyone can learn how to see and to appreciate art.

"Girl with Green Eyes", 1908, painting by Henri Matisse

"Toy Story", Computer Generated Movie, John Lasseter / Lee Unkrich / Ash Brannon 


There are many answers to the question "What is Art?" It is sometimes dependent on the personal experiences of the artist and the viewer. However, one general statement might be that it is about the transforming power of creativity. Different cultures have different definitions of beauty, but all cultures create art. The drive to create art is difficult to define or explain, even by artists themselves. The impulse may come from the application of imagination to an idea, and it may come from something deeper and inexplicable. While training and practice are necessary to become proficient at making art, it is the imagination that drives the artistic process and the creative impulse. Understanding content helps us understand the art. However, that understanding is not universal, nor is it always fixed in time. Both the artist's intentions and the viewer's perceptions will be affected by their respective experiences and knowledge. While we strive to understand content, it is important to note that art does not have to have a meaning beyond simply the beauty of the form.


Four Step Sculpture, 1995, by JimJim

"The most potent muse of all 
is our inner child" 
- Stephen Nachmanovitch

Art in Context is a great website which has links to hundreds of artists. Browse around to get a look at a variety of artists and their work.

Check out how the arts contribute to a well rounded education.

A great journal dealing with art and technology is Leonardo published by MIT Press.

Visit Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party", which is a symbolic history of women in Western civilization designed to teach women's history through a work of art that can convey the long struggle for freedom and justice. Read Judy Chicago's biography and take a look at the works that make up the Dinner Party.

Culture Shock! Viewer discretion advised! 

(Use this webpage to do your SURVEY #1 assignment. See this in Week #1 of your online classroom.)

Are the Arts dangerous? Issues of censorship and controversy are explored in this dynamic website. Artists featured in this site address such perennially divisive topics as race, religion, politics, sex, and violence. The site is designed so that visitors must make the choice of what they wish to view, listen to or read, and may opt out of seeing any objectionable material.

Address of this page:
http://hhh.gavilan.edu/jedberg/1.html

Last updated: August 25th, 2010

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