The Visual Arts

A short presentation about the Visual Arts that discusses the meaning of visual arts, the types, philosophical perspective, its subject, sources, and levels of meaning. This presentation was created for the subject Humanities: Art Appreciation.

1. The Visual Arts Report by: Veronica Baje

2. The Visual Arts Visual Arts are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video, film making, and architecture.

3. Visual Arts include: Fine Arts – refers to an art form practiced mainly for its aesthetic value and its beauty rather than its functional value. Contemporary Arts – include number of modern art forms such as: assemblage, collage, mixed-media, conceptual art, installation, happenings and performance art, along with film-based disciplines such as photography, video art, and animation, or any combination thereof.

4. Decorative Arts and Crafts – includes ceramics and studio pottery, mosaic art, mobiles, tapestry, glass art, and others. Other – graphic design, fashion design, and interior design. New types of body art may also fall in this category which includes tattoo art, face painting, and body painting.

5. Philosophical Perspective of Arts

6. Art as mimesis (Plato) Mimesis is derived from the Greek word “ mimos ” meaning to imitate. It is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, receptivity, similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the presentation of the self.

7. Art as representation (Aristotle) Similar to Plato’s writings about mimesis, Aristotle also defined mimesis as the perfection, and imitation of nature

8. Art of Art Sake "Art for art's sake" is the usual English rendering of a French slogan from the early 19th century, " l'art pour l'art “. Used to convey the idea that the chief or only aim of a work of art is the self-expression of the individual artist who creates it.

9. The Subject of Art

10. Representational of Objective Representational art or figurative art represents objects or events in the real world, usually looking easily recognizable. It uses form and is concerned with what is to be depicted in the artwork.

11. Non-representational or Non-objective These are those arts without any reference to anything outside itself. It is non-objective because it has no recognizable objects. It is abstract in the sense that it doesn’t represent real objects in our world.

12. Sources of Subject Art

13. Primary Sources Provide first hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented.

14. Secondary Sources Interpret and analyze primary sources. Because they are often written significantly after events by parties not directly involved but who have special expertise, they may provide historical context or critical perspectives.

15. Some of these sources of art subject are: Nature History Greek and Roman mythology The Judaeo-Christian tradition Oriental Sacred Texts Other works of art

16. Kinds of Subject Still Life Landscapes, Seascapes & Cityscapes Animals Portraits Figures Everyday Life History and Legends Religion and Mythology Dreams and Fantasies

17. Different Levels of Meaning

18. Factual Meaning The literal meaning or narrative content in the work which can be directly apprehended because the objects presented are easily recognized.

19. Conventional Meaning Refers to the special meaning that certain object has in a particular culture or group of people.

20. Subjective Meaning Any personal meaning consciously or unconsciously conveyed by the artist using a private symbolism which stems from his own association of certain objects, actions, or colors with past experience.