Abstract Art has always had a social aspect that is a representation of the inner functions of the culture from which art is created. Formal theories on the social nature of art, however, were not formed until the 16th century when the waxing and waning of artistic movements was seen to be affected by changing tastes in art patrons. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many different and diverse social theories emerged to draw connections between art and society - which created which? French socialist, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, said that 'art for art's sake' was an impossibility and that art sprung, regardless of the artist's inspiration or motivation from the archetypal (a more modern term) forces that governed the society, often invisibly. Art stands, in many ways, as a social criticism as well as an honoring of the society. Art is a commentary, on some level, about the artist's perception of the world. That perception is shaped by the undercurrents of political, religious and social life of the particular time. Identity, in particular, in art is marked by a defined or hidden connection to the audience with recognizable symbolic language. In the case of architecture, we have the ultimate visual special creation which creates its own distinct sense of identity. The Cathedral of Notre Dame stands as one of the most significant structures embodying both visual and spatial constructs to modify the viewer's and visitor's perception of the self.
Abstract Describes how Sand and Kahlo both used their experiences of pain and love in their art and how their desire to equal the men in their fields expressed itself in uniquely liberating ways.
Abstract In Chinese art and literature the representation of landscapes is frequently encountered. Over centuries, artists and poets have devised complex grammars that govern their depiction of the natural world. This paper will explore these grammars with respect to works by Xie Ling-yun, China's premier early landscape poet and Fan K'uan, one of the greatest of all Chinese landscape painters. Two respective works of this poet and painter will be discussed in order to demonstrate two singularly different approaches to the idea of the artistic representation of landscape.
Reviews this book by John Ruskin and Charles Jencks on the role of the artist in relation to the times he lived in, focusing Victorian England and the 20th Centur.
1,150 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 5 sources, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract John Ruskin and Charles Jencks represent different historical conceptions of art and architecture. Ruskin in the Victorian-age of England and Jencks is in the more erratic eclecticism of the 20th century. Each critic offers particular views on the role of the artist in relation to society, however Ruskin's can be understood as one that desires to control the artist and Jencks recognizes that art is invariably a free expression of the individual. The responsibility is thus different: Ruskin believes the artist is responsible to society, and Jencks believes that society has a responsibility to the artist, in that artists represent a challenge to public perspectives and this challenge is always reflective of social change.
Abstract One of the greatest creative figures of the Renaissance period in the arts, Leonardo da Vinci was much more than a painter and sculptor. He was a genius who conceived primitive ideas for the submarine, helicopter and even the calculator. In this paper, I will reveal facts about the man's life, works, and legacy, which continues today and always will.
Abstract Plato and Aristotle both had similar views on imitation in art. But they differed in key ways as well. As we will see, Plato viewed mimesis as a kind of paradox. All in all, Plato's view of mimesis seems generally negative, for all the danger it presents to morality. Aristotle more or less adopted Plato's main points, as we will also see, but redefined some of the rather strict Platonic ideas about art and its uses, making it much less 'alarming' and potentially corrupting. This paper will explore the areas of overlap in the Platonic and Aristotelian views of mimesis, as well as the differences, making a case for a similar, yet profoundly different view of it in the conclusion. It begins by outlining both theories of imitation, and follows by discussing the respective strengths and shortcomings of both before concluding.
Abstract This paper examines issues such as the development of transferable skills, the ability of the arts to motivate children of this age. The author refers to the studies of well known psychologist Piaget to discuss the way that the arts aid with the psychological development of elementary school children. The paper argues that the inclusion of arts is not only beneficial for the children but also indirectly for many other stakeholders.
Abstract This essay discusses how mechanical reproduction has resulted in the retreat from reality. The techno-formulation of reality, which is the mechanical reproduction of images, has served to change human perception. The problem of prime time television serves as an example of this reality, since it fosters graphic incoherence.
Abstract This paper discusses Plato's opposition to the imitative arts, including painting, and how he wanted them excluded from the State. The author points out that he believeds that the arts presented people with mere appearances instead of real things. The paper examines Leo Tolstoy's opinion that art expressed the emotion of life and T.S.Eliot views that good art was a reflection of an understanding of the past. The author feels that both Eliot and Tolstoy showed Plato's view to be very narrow in scope.
This paper discusses the basic ideas discussed in Anderson's (1990) "Reality Isn't What It Used to Be" that explores the significance of postmodernism and cyber-culture in multimedia art.
650 words (approx. 2.6 pages), 2 sources, 2002, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper explains that the perspective of limitless possibilities in production is linked with the possibility that a moral aesthetic is bound up with all cultural activity. The author remarks that 21st century artists are in a position to explore the possibilities that engage art and multimedia in evocative representations.
Abstract This essay examines Francesco de Simone Ferrucci's famous art work the "Madonna and Child." In many respects, Ferruci's painting of the Madonna and child represented certain themes in late fifteenth-century Florentine art. The painting depicted the living body and represented the religious theme of what the Madonna and Child symbolized. More than anything else, Ferrucci focused on showing the loving nature of the Madonna herself.
Abstract This essay will argue that Leonardo's "The Last Supper" is a Renaissance rather than Medieval work because it embodies the scientific spirit of the age. As will be seen, Leonardo's approach to the theme and execution of the painting reflect not religious inspiration but scientific aspiration. In this work the artist focused a Renaissance passion for experimentation, his innovations in the area of perspective, and the distillation of his years of observation and study of human movement, emotion and form. Indeed, even those qualities of the painting that have been pointed to as flaws in Leonardo's vision are, it will be shown, characteristic of the Renaissance rather than the Middle Ages.
Abstract This essay will focus on the role of color in Klee's compositions, and his viewpoint of it. One painting will be a case in point to demonstrate color's part in Klee's aesthetic endeavors.
Abstract This paper provides the reader with a detailed report about artist Frank Stella. The writer of this paper takes us on an exploratory journey through Stella's life and times as well as the type of art he is most well known for.
