Understanding Contemporary Art: Description, Interpretation, and Value, Study notes of Art

Download Understanding Contemporary Art: Description, Interpretation, and Value and more Study notes Art in PDF only on Docsity!

http://courses.washington.edu/art120/

1. CONTENT OF ART

Talking

about

art:

Describing

and

interpreting

What

is

Contemporary?

What

is

art?

What

is

it

good

for?

Aesthetics.

Art’s

value.

Value

judgment

The

art

world:

its

players

and

institutions

MediumThemeVocabulary words:

/

Media

Subject

matter

MarcelAppropriationConceptContextContent

Duchamp

“Readymades”

Aesthetic

judgment

/value

ClusteringTheme:

of

ideas

around

a

particular

topic.

Why looking at themes?

Non-chronological look at current art in the West,

Not organized by mediums, formal characteristics, and

movements, (“–ism”)

Better reflects on what is happening in art currently,

Allows flexibility of interpretation and discussion while

“cherryartists that mainly serves didactic purposes and allows toNote: It is an artificial categorization of artworks andintroduces a spectrum of artistic choices and ideas.

pick”

among

various

topics

to

find

“vital”

or

“historically

important”

ones.

1. TALKING ABOUT ART:

Description

(Verbal

pointing)

-

objective

-relies on internal information in the work:

subject matter, medium and form

Interpretation

(“Aboutness”)

-

subjective

-in relationship to a system of rules, cultural-relies on external information outside the work

etc.conditions, worldview, knowledge, history, biases, beliefs,

Evaluation

(Value

judgment)

-

extremely subjective

-according to a specific value system

• Edouard Manet: The bar at the Folies-Bergeres
  • Jeff Wall: Picture for Women

1. Can be gathered by looking at the work Internal Information = Visible in the work What?Describing Art:

Subject matter = Imagery

(persons,

objects,

places,

Subject It is different fromevents in a work of art)

(

theme

, main idea, recurring topic) = What is the

Used interchangeably withwork about?

Content

: Everything that’s in the work of art.

matter, form, media.Intent, meaning, handling of visuals: subject

2. Medium/media

=

materials (C-print, pencil on paper,

porcelain)

-

or used to refer to a group of

artworks

3. Form = Compositional elements (photography, ceramics)

Representation/non-representationAbstraction/realismvariety, repetition, rhythm, balance, emphasis, etc…- Principles of design: scale, proportions, unity,color, texture, mass, space, volume - Formal elements: line, dot, shape, light&value,

External Information:

Context

• Where does the artwork live?

Physical location,

-

Place in culture, society, history, art

2. and how does it relate to these?history, etc.

Concept

placement, etc.form, meaning, interaction with the viewer, Artist’s intention behind the work:

2. WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY?

Art of our time

Artist is usually still alive

Being in flux: constantly changing

There is no unified, crystallized interpretation or theory

of it (categories are in flux)

Diverse nature of issues, styles and forms

Part of our Culture and visual culture

In opposition to modernism. Second half of 20th c. Postmodern art / Postmodernism Specific set of characteristics. Art from late 19th c. through mid-20th c. Modern art / Modernism Terms with different meaning:

Contemporary

Art:

Some

Peculiar

Characteristics

Forms and media?

Relationship to other disciplines and popular culture?

Means of production and dissemination?

Artist’s role in culture?