What
Is Art?
We can see several ways to define about art. There for
I try to express any definition in this text.
I could
tell you that art plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich.
Imagine, just for a minute, a world without art! Art stimulates different parts
of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of
emotions in between. Art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves.
For some people, art is the entire reason they get out of bed in the morning.
On the other hand, art is such a large part of our everyday lives that we may
hardly even stop to think about it.
Key points
- The meaning of art is often shared
among the members of a given society and dependent upon cultural context.
- The nature of art has been
described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as "one of the most elusive of
the traditional problems of human culture."
- Some purposes of art may be to
express or communicate emotions and ideas, to explore and appreciate formal
elements for their own sake, or to serve as representation.
- Art, at its simplest, is a form of
communication and means whatever it is intended to mean by the artist.
Now lets we can try to learn leo Totstoy,s definition about Art
... In order correctly to define
art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it as a means to
pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it
in this way we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the means of
intercourse between man and man.
Every work of art causes the
receiver to enter into a certain kind of relationship both with him who
produced, or is producing, the art, and with all those who, simultaneously,
previously, or subsequently, receive the same artistic impression…
What Are the Functions of Art?
We can see many functions in the
art. Such as,
I
The Physical Functions of Art
The
physical functions of art are often the the most easy to understand. Works of
art that are created to perform some service have physical functions.
II
The Social Functions of Art
Art
has a social function when it addresses aspects of life, as opposed to one
person's point of view or experience.
For
example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did
this art exert influence on the German population? Decidedly so. As did
political and patriotic posters in Allied countries during the same time.
Sometimes
having specific pieces of art in a community can perform the social function of
elevating that community's status.
A Calder stabile, for example, can be a community treasure and point of pride.
III
The Personal Functions of Art
The
personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There
are many types of personal function, and they are subjective and will therefore
vary from person to person.
An
artist may create out of a need for self-expression,
or gratification.
S/he might have wanted to communicate
a thought or point to the viewer. Perhaps the artist was trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both
for self and viewers. A piece might have been meant to "merely" entertain others. Sometimes a
piece isn't meant to have any meaning
at all.
Why Are the Elements of Art Important?
The
elements of art are important for several reasons. First, and most importantly,
a person can't create art without utilizing at least a few of them. No
elements, no art -- end of story. And we wouldn't even be talking about any of
this, would we?
Secondly,
knowing what the elements of art are
enables us to
(1)
describe what an artist has done,
(2)
analyze what is going on in a particular piece
(3)
communicate our thoughts and findings using a common language.
Why we must learn history in art?
Each
semester students find themselves enrolled in Art History classes for the first
time. Ideally, they enrolled because they wanted to study the history of
art and are enthusiastic about the prospect. This isn't always the case,
however. Students may take Art History because it is required, or it seems like
a good choice for AP credit in High School, or even because it is the only
elective that fits into that semester's class schedule. When one of the latter
three scenarios apply and a student realizes that Art History is not going to
be an easy "A," questions invariably arise: how come I took this
class? What's in it for me? Why should I study art history?
Why?
Here are five compelling reasons to cheer you.
i.
You
see, every artist operates under a unique set of circumstances and all of them
affect his or her work. Pre-literate cultures had to appease their gods, ensure
fertility and frighten their enemies through art. Italian Renaissance artists
had to please either the Catholic Church, rich patrons, or both. Korean artists
had compelling nationalistic reasons to distinguish their art from Chinese art.
Modern artists strove to find new ways of seeing even while catastrophic wars
and economic depression swirled around them. Contemporary artists are every bit
as creative, and also have contemporary rents to pay -- they need to balance
creativity with sales.
No
matter which piece of art or architecture you see, there were personal,
political, sociological and religious factors behind its creation. Untangling
them and seeing how they connect to other pieces of art is huge,
delicious fun!
ii.
This may come as news, but art
history is not just about drawing, painting and sculpture. You will also run
across calligraphy, architecture, photography, film, mass media, performance art, installations, animation, video art, landscape design, and decorative arts like arms and
armor, furniture, ceramics, woodworking, goldsmithing, and much more. If
someone created something worth seeing -- even a particularly fine black velvet
Elvis -- art history will offer it to you.
iii.
An art history class also
requires you analyze, think critically, and write well. Yes, the five paragraph essay will rear its head with alarming
frequency. Grammar and spelling will become your best friends,
and you cannot escape citing sources.
Listen,
I can practically hear you groaning from here, but don't despair. These are all
excellent skills to have, no matter where you want to go in life
iv.
Each
of us springs from a genetic soup seasoned by innumerable generations of cooks.
It is the most human thing imaginable to want to know about our ancestors, the
people who made us. What did they look like? How did they dress? Where did they
gather, work, and live? Which gods did they worship, enemies did they fight,
and rituals did they observe?
