Subject-and-Content Art for art appreciation subject

art appreciation power point presentation

1. SUBJECT AND CONTENT

2. One of the major hurdles that spoils an individual’s engagement with an artwork is the notion that in order to appreciate it, one must be able to extract a specific image, isolate the artist or maker’s intention, and unearth a particular meaning.

3. Failure to do so automatically implies a failure of comprehension and therefore, failure of experience. This, however, relegates art engagement and therefore appreciation to the very few who had training and instruction in producing and in reading art. THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE.

4. PERCEPTION The primary stage of engaging with art. The beginning of engagement is through looking at the artwork. However, like any tool, it is but one component.

5. What makes the difference is the awareness in the process of looking where subjectivity is essential in navigating through the artwork.

6. It is illustrated in the way that selective perception renders one or two details more prominent than others, prompting the viewer to focus on some details as essential or as standouts. SUBJECTIVITY

7. In viewing art, there are clues that mediate between the artwork and the viewer, allowing the viewer to more easily comprehend what he is seeing.

8. Three Basic Components of a Work of Art Subject Content Form

9. The visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining the artwork; the “what” SUBJECT

10. The meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork; the “why” CONTENT

11. The development and configuration of the art work – how the elements and the medium or material are put together; the “how” FORM

12. In order to flesh out what the subject of the artwork is, it is important to first look at the constituent figures that are perceivable on the surface of the canvas or the sculpture and the manner in which the artist chose to depict those figure. From these, the type of subject can then be inferred.

13. Types of Subject

14. Representational Art These types of art have subjects that refer to objects or events occurring in the real world. Also termed figurative art because the figures depicted are easy to make out and decipher. “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci

15. Non - Representational Art Art forms that do not make a reference to the real world, whether it is a person, place, thing, or even a particular event. It is stripped down to visual elements, such as shapes, lines, and colors that are employed to translate a particular feeling, emotion, and even concept. Also termed non-figurative art.

16. Non-representational Jackson Pollock The works of Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) an American painter, who is known for his “action paintings,” are often subjected to these remarks. Pouring, technique, the radical method that Pollock contributed to Abstract Expressionism.

17. Non - Representational Art “Number 1A” by Jackson Pollock (known for his “action paintings”)

18. Convergence, which was a collage of colors splattered on a canvas that created masterful shapes and lines that evoke emotions and attack the eye.

19. Representational art and abstract art

20. One source of confusion is the notion that non-representational art is the same as abstract art. This is essential to discuss because it introduces the fact that representational art and non-representational art is not a clear-cut-divide; rather, they exist in a spectrum.

21. Abstract  art exists on a continuum, from somewhat realistic representational work, to work that is not based on anything visible from the real world.  .

22. Representational Art Abstract Art Non-Representational Art

23. Pablo Picasso He is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture. Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky Generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art .

24. “Head of a Woman” by Pablo Picasso – cut metal that is hinged on a metal base

25. As a guide, an artwork, depending on the degree of distortion or abstraction, may be adjudged as leaning more toward one over the other. Abstract art is in itself a departure from reality, but the extent of that departure determines whether it has reached the end of the spectrum, which is non-representational– a complete severance from the world.

26. Sources and Kinds of subjects

27. For non-representational art, a higher, level of perceptiveness and insight might be required to fully grasped the feeling, emotion, or concept behind the work. For representational art, it is easier to infer the subject matter because from the figures depicted in the artwork, there is already a suggestion as to its implication.

28. Sources of subjects

29. Nature “Die Ebene von Auvers ” (Wheat Fields Near Auvers ) by Vincent van Gogh

30. “Landscape near Monte Carlo” by Claude Monet “The Hay Harvest” by Camille Pissaro “Still Life with Skull” by Paul Cezanne “ Chichester Canal” by J.M.W Turner

31. “Planting Rice” by Fernando Amorsolo “Pasay Beach” by Fabian Dela Rosa

32. Greek and Roman Mythology

33. Judeo Christian Tradition

34. Sacred Oriental Texts

35. History

36. In the history of art, it is important to remember that the source and kind of subjects were not merely a product of the artist’s inclination and choice.

37. A closer examination of the various art movements and artworks created within those movements will indicate that notions of freedom and independence, which are presumed to be enjoyed by artists, were not without limits or restrictions.

38. For instance, a particular kind of subject and the way it is visually translated may be traced in relation to the art patrons (those who commission the artworks), the favored artistic style and canons, and more importantly, the norms and trends prevailing in the artist’s milieu.

39. Content in Art

40. The meaning or message that is expressed or communicated by the artwork.

41. LEVELS OF MEANING Factual Meaning Conventional Meaning Subjective Meaning

42. Factual Meaning The most rudimentary level of meaning for it may be extracted from the identifiable or recognizable forms in the artwork and understanding how these elements relate to one another.

43. Conventional Meaning Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, and symbols and other cyphers as bases of its meaning.

44. Conventional Meaning These conventions are established through time, strengthened by recurrent use and wide acceptance by its viewers or audience and scholars who study them.

45. Subjective Meaning When subjectivities are consulted, a variety of meanings may arise when a particular work of art is read.

46. Subjective Meaning These meanings stem from the viewer’s or audience’s circumstances that come into play when engaging with art (what we know, what we learned, what we experienced; what values we stand for).

47. Subjective Meaning Meaning may not be singular, rather, multiple and varied.