What is Art?

What is Art?

Art is a collection of ideas produced by human skill, imagination and invention

Art can be• Visual• Music• Literature• Dance• Theater• Or a combination of these

Why make art?To decorate our world

Interior of a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Contemporary ceramic pieces

Why make art?To describe or explain our past

Cave painting from Lascaux, France Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks

Why make art?To use in ceremonies

African masks Aboriginal painting

Why make art?To explore our world

Frederick Church

Why make art?To express our moods, feelings or

ideas

Keith Haring Dorothea Lange

Why does art look like it does?

• What is the function of the artwork?

• Who is it being made for?

• What materials are available to make the artwork?

• When and where did the artist live?

When an artist creates a work of art, he/she must decide on

Subject or theme (landscape, portrait, object, event…)

When an artist creates a work of art, he/she must decide on

Medium (paint, pencil, marble, wood, computer, photograph)

Computer generated art Wood sculpture

When an artist creates a work of art, he/she must decide on

Composition (focal point, balance, rhythm, unity, variety)

Edward Hopper Beverly Buchanan

When an artist creates a work of art, he/she must decide on

a message

Keith Haring

Dustin Shuler

When an artist creates a work of art, he/she must decide on

a mood

Mark Rothko

How do we make sense of art?

What we see when we look at a work of art depends on

• Our experience

• Our knowledge

• Our imagination

• Our mood

• And what the artist wants to show us

Look closely!

• What is happening here?• What mood or feeling is the artist expressing?• How do you feel when you look at this image?

What is abstract art?

• A work of art that uses lines, shapes, colors, forms, patterns and textures rather than showing objects, scenes and people as they appear in real life

• The artwork focuses more on the “language of art”

Abstract art

Frank StellaKenneth Noland

Abstract art

Christo and Jean-Claude

Andy Goldsworthy

Abstract art

Andy Goldsworthy Robert Smithson

What is the future of art?

The future of art depends on the future of life on earth and how artists react to it.

Art will always be affected by personal emotions, opinions, world events and new technology.

Nam June Paik, Global Encoder