Evaluating Art

Transcript

1. Evalua&ng  Art.    What  is  Art  Cri&cism?  
   What  is  Art  History?  
   Reading:  
   Ar=orms,  ch.  13  
    
   Terms/Concepts:  
   Form,  Content,  Meaning,  
   Subject  MaIer,  Intent,    
   Theory,  Formalism,  Art  for  
   Art’s  Sake,  Greenbergian  
   Formalism,  Expression  
   Theory,  Catharsis,  Arousal  
   Theory,  Contextual,  Social  
   History  of  Art,  Zeitgeist,  
   Marxism,  Psychoanalysis,    
   Postcolonialism,  Museums,  
   Framing  Devices,  White  Cube,      
    
   

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2. Leonardo  da  Vinci,  The  Last  Supper,  1495-­‐1498  
   Form   Content  
   

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3. Form  is  the  totality  of  the  physical  and  visual  aspects  
   of  a  work  of  art.  
   Form   Content  
   

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4. Content  is  the  meaning  of  a  work  of  art.  
   Form   Content  
   

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5. What  specifically  is  content?  
   Subject  MaIer  
   Ar&st’s  Intent  
   Viewer’s  Interpreta&on  
   The  “Message”  
   

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6. Art  Cri&cism  vs.  Art  History  
   Art  Cri&cism  
   serves  to  assess  art’s    
   value  to  us  now.  
    
   Art  History  
   serves  to  analyze  
   art  in  its  historical    
   context.  
   Both  Art  Cri&cism  and  Art  History  rely  on  Art  Theory.  
   

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7. the·∙o·∙ry  
   noun  \ˈthē-­‐ə-­‐rē,  ˈthir-­‐ē\  
   plural  the·∙o·∙ries  
   1:  the  analysis  of  a  set  of  facts  in  their  rela&on  to  one  another    
   2:  abstract  thought  :  specula&on    
   3:  the  general  or  abstract  principles  of  a  body  of  fact,  a  science,  or  an  
   art      
   4a  :  a  belief,  policy,  or  procedure  proposed  or  followed  as  the  basis  of  
   ac&on  learn>  b  :  an  ideal  or  hypothe&cal  set  of  facts,  principles,  or  
   circumstances  —ogen  used  in  the  phrase  in  theory  have  always  advocated  freedom  for  all>    
   5:  a  plausible  or  scien&fically  acceptable  general  principle  or  body  of  
   principles  offered  to  explain  phenomena      
   6a  :  a  hypothesis  assumed  for  the  sake  of  argument  or  inves&ga&on  b  :  
   an  unproved  assump&on  :  conjecture  c  :  a  body  of  theorems  
   presen&ng  a  concise  systema&c  view  of  a  subject  equa&ons>    
   

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8. Theory  acts  as  a  lens  to  focus  your  inquiry.  
   

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9. Basic  Ques&ons  
   1.  What  is  my  first  response  to  the  work?  
   2.  When  and  where  was  the  work  made?    By  
   whom  and  for  whom  was  it  made?  
   3.  What  did  the  work  originally  look  like?  
   4.  What  does  the  form  contribute  to  the  works  
   meaning?  
   5.  Where  would  the  work  originally  have  been  
   seen?  
   6.  What  purpose  did  the  work  serve?  
   7.  What  is  the  &tle?    Does  it  contribute  to  the  
   works  meaning?  
   

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10. Major  Theories  of  Art  Cri&cism  
    •  Formalist  Theories  
    •  Expression  Theories  
    •  Contextual  Theories  
    •  Marxist  Theories  
    •  Psychoanaly&c  Theories  
    •  Postcolonialist  Theories  
    General  Approaches  
    (In  Ar6orms,  ch.  13)  
    Specific  Theories  
    

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11. Art  as  Form  
    Key  Figures:  
    Victor  Cousin  
    Theophile  Gau&er  
    Clive  Bell  
    James  McNeill  Whistler  
    Dante  Gabriel  Roses  
    Clement  Greenberg  
    Rosalind  Krauss  
    Michael  Fried  
    Victor  Cousin  
    

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12. Art  as  Form  
    James  McNeill  Whistler,  Peacock  Room,  1876  
    

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13. Art  as  Form  
    Josef  Albers,  Study  for  Homage  to  the  Square,  1954-­‐1956    
    

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14. Useful  Ques&ons  
    1.  What  does  the  work  look  like?  
    2.  How  does  the  work  use  the  “elements  of  
    design”  (i.e.  composi&on,  color,  line,  etc.)?  
    3.  How  are  the  “principles  of  design”  (i.e.  rhythm,  
    balance,  emphasis,  etc.)  present  in  the  work?  
    4.  How  do  the  “elements”  and  “principles”  interact  
    with  one  another?  
    5.  What  do  you  reac&ons  to  the  work’s  form  say  
    about  your  taste?  
    

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15. Art  as  Expression  
    Key  Figures  
    Plato  (5th  century  BCE)  
    Aristotle  (4th  century  BCE)  
    Leo  Tolstoy  (1828-­‐1910)  
    R.G.  Collingwood  (1880-­‐1943)  
    BenedeIo  Croce  (1866-­‐1952)  
    John  Dewey  (1859-­‐1952)  
    Ernst  Cassirer  (1874-­‐1945)  
    Susanne  Langer  (1895-­‐1985)  
     
    Leo  Tolstoy  
    

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16. Art  as  Expression  
    Eugene  Delacroix,  Liberty  Leading  the  People,  1830  
    

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17. Art  as  Expression  
    Wasily  Kandinsky,  ImprovisaBon  28,  1912  
    

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18. Useful  Ques&ons  
    1.  What  is  your  ins&nctual  reac&on  to  the  work  
    of  art?  
    2.  What  emo&ons  are  present  in  the  work?    
    How  are  they  present?  
    3.  Who  was  the  ar&st?  
    4.  What  were  the  emo&ons  of  the  ar&st  was  
    trying  to  express?  
    5.  What  message  was  the  ar&st  trying  to  
    convey?  
    

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19. Art  as  Evidence  
    Key  Figures:  
    Arnold  Hauser  (1892-­‐1978)  
    Theodor  W.  Adorno  (1903-­‐1969)  
    Louis  Althusser  (1918-­‐1990)  
    Walter  Benjamin  (1892-­‐1940)  
    Pierre  Bourdieu  (1930-­‐2002)  
    Shifra  Goldman  (1926-­‐)  
    Albert  Boime  (1933-­‐2008)  
    Jules  Prown  (1930-­‐)  
     
    Arnold  Hauser  
    

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20. Ar&st  
    Art   Viewer  
    Context  
    

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21. Ar&st   Art  
    Viewer  
    Context  
    

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22. Ar&st  
    Art  
    Viewer  
    Context  
    

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23. Useful  Ques&ons  
    1.  When  and  where  was  the  work  of  art  made?  
    2.  How  does  the  work  of  art  illustrate  the  values  or  
    social  condi&ons  of  this  &me?  
    3.  Does  the  work  of  art  conform  to  or  rebel  against  
    prevailing  ideals  of  this  context?  
    4.  What  was  life  like  for  people  when  this  work  
    was  made?  
    5.  What  were  the  social  and  economic  condi&ons  
    of  the  &me  and  place  the  work  was  made?  
    6.  Who  was  the  ar&st?    How  did  they  fit  in  this  
    cultural  context?  
    

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24. Contextual  Theories  
     Marxist  Theory  
     Psychoanaly&c  Theory  
     Postcolonial  Theory  
     Gender  Theories  
     Racial  Theories  
     Queer  Theories  
     Viewer-­‐Response  Theory  
     Structuralist  Theory  
     Post-­‐Structuralist  Theory  
    

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25. Framing  Devices  in  Museums  
     Choice  of  objects  to  
    display.  
     The  grouping  or  
    separa&on  of  objects.  
     The  categoriza&on  of  
    objects.  
     The  loca&on  of  displays.  
     The  design  of  displays.  
     The  didac&c  materials.  
    Museums  “frame”  our  understanding  and  interpreta&on  of  cultures  and  historical  periods.  
    

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26. Museum  Displays  Can…  
     Tell  a  story.  
     Create  rela&onships.  
     Contextualize  objects.  
     Lend  importance  to  
    objects.  
     Declare  an  object  to  be  
    an  artwork  or  an  
    ar&fact.  
    

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27. Naviga&ng  Space  
    Plan  of  the  Hamilton  Building  and  the  North  
    Building,  Denver  Art  Museum.  
    

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28. Naviga&ng  Space:  
    The  White  Cube  
    Resnick  Pavillion,  LACMA  (Los  Angeles  County  
    Museum  of  Art).  
    

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29.  
    Naviga&ng  Space  
     
    Kirkland  Museum  of  Fine  &  Decora&ve  
    Art,  Denver,  founded  in  1980.  
    

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30. Reading  Room,  Denver  Art  Museum.  
    The  Enlightenment  Room,  Bri&sh  Museum  
    

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31. Posi&oning  
    Paris  Salon,  18th  century.  
    

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32. Grouping  
    Thunder  Bay  Museum,  Thunder  Bay,  
    Ontario  
    

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33. Grouping  
    Lawrence  A.  Fleischmann  Gallery,  Smithsonian  
    American  Art  Museum,  Washington,  D.C.  
    

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34. Grouping  
    

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35. Grouping  
    Portland  Art  Museum  
    

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36. Ligh&ng  
    SeaIle  Art  Museum,  SeaIle,  Washington  
    

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37. Ligh&ng  
    Oklahoma  City  Museum  of  Art  
    

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38. Denver  Art  Museum  Free  Day:  This  Saturday  October  6th  
    Direc&ons  to  the  
    museum  and  
    transporta&on  
    op&ons  are  on  
    Blackboard.  
    

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39. Use  this  worksheet  to  guide  your  visit.  
    Download  
    Worksheet  from  
    Blackboard!  
    From  your  worksheet  write  your  3-­‐4  page  paper  
    

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40. Interroga&ng  the  Museum  is  due  October  23rd  
    

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