Introduction to Art

Art Criticism-An organized approach for

studying a work of art.

Description

• Make a list of all the things you see in the work including:– The size of the work, the medium used and the

process used.– The subject, object, and details.– The elements of art used in the work.– Look at the credit line.– BE OBJECTIVE-be general, do not use personal

feelings or meanings-just list what you see (A person, not a mother. People, not men.)

Analysis

• Collect facts about the elements and principles of art:– How are the principles used to organize the

elements (line, color, value, shape, form, space, and texture).

– How has the artist used the elements and principles to create the content (the theme or meaning).

Interpretation

• What message does this artwork communicate to me?– Explain or tell the meaning or the mood of the

work.– Use your intelligence, imagination and

courage to determine the message.– You must back up your opinion with facts and

clues you collected during Description and Analysis.

Judgment

• Determine the degree of artistic merit.– FIRST LEVEL IS PERSONAL-do you like the

work? Don’t forget you have to support your opinion using art terms.

– SECOND LEVEL-you use aesthetics to help you decide whether the work is successful.

– A work can be very successful aesthetically, but you might not want to live with it!

Aesthetic Theories and the Quality of Art

• Literal qualities

• Formal qualities

• Expressive qualities

Imitationalism-Literal Qualities

• Realistic

• Imitates reality

• Focuses on realistic representation

• Imitates life

Duane HansonSculptor 1925-1996

Queenie II, 1988

Andrew Wyeth

Christina’s World. 1948

Richard Estes-Holland Hotel,1984

Formalism-formal qualities

• Composition

• Emphasis on the formal qualities-the arrangement of the elements of art using the principles of design.

Wassily Kandinsky

Frank Stella

Flin Flon XIII Victor Vasarely

Emotionalism-Expressive qualities• Content of the work of art• Emotional response from the viewer• Work must arouse a response of feelings,

moods, or emotions

Francisco de Goya, The Third of May, 1808

Edward Munch, The Scream

Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait

The Four Steps of Art Criticism

• Description- What do I see?

• Analysis- How is the work organized?

• Interpretation-What message does this artwork communicate to you?

• Judgment-Is this a successful work of art?

Formalism?

Imitationalism?

Emotionalism?

Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1938. Oil on Masonite.

Frida's life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known as the Blue House. She gave her birth dates as July 7, 1910, but her birth certificate shows July 6, 1907. Frida was born an imaginative storyteller and this was one of many ways she rearranged the truth. Although she was spunky and courageous, Frida Kahlo lived a life of pain and suffering, mostly in the artistic shadow of her famous husband, Diego Rivera.

Fish Vase, Oil on canvas, Janet Fish

Fish received her BA from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts and her MFA from Yale University School of Art & Architecture, New Haven, Connecticut. She is well known for her brilliantly hued, light filled still lifes and landscapes with figures, and an exciting body of prints in a variety of media. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Powers Institute, Sydney, Australia; and others.

Emotionalism?

Imitationalism?

Formalism?

Imitationalism?

Formalism?

Emotionalism?

Elizabeth Murray, “Bowtie”, 2000, Oil on canvas, 85 x 77 1/2 inches

Elizabeth Murray was born in Chicago in 1940. A high school teacher recognized her talent and created a scholarship for her at the Art Institute of Chicago. She developed a style that combines painting with sculpture. Murray is now considered a master of the shaped canvas.