Art Appreciation

• Alice Guillermo

  Palanca Awardee, researcher, art critic, professor, renowned writer
• "Reading the Image"


  Guidelines on how to analyze or interpret images from different sources like advertisements, text or even paintings
• Art belongs in society and history since these two fields of studies are always interconnected
• Basic information that must be documented in any artwork

  • Title of the work
  • Artist
  • Medium and technique
  • Dimensions/measurement
  • Date of the work
  • Origin
• Considerable research is vital in understanding a work of art as its meaning can grow over time
• Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" completed in 1512, in 1990 Dr. Frank Lynn Meshberger made an observation that the outline of the work looks like a human brain
• Art's meaning


  Combination of intellectual, emotional and sensual significance that the piece can pass on to its viewers
• Viewers can look at any piece and interpret it differently according to their background, experience and culture
• Semiotics

  The study of signs
• Symbol

  Any movement, action, illustration, sequence, or occurrence that conveys meaning
• Language


  The structural system or grammar of speech, as well as the decision made by a speaker to express that pertinent information
• Parole

  The practical implementation of the language system inside a specific language, or the articulation of the system through spoken words or written representation
• Signifier


  The physical part of the sign, the actual spoken or written word
• Signified

  The mental construct, the idea or meaning of a symbol
• Types of signifiers

  • Icon - physically represents the meaning
  • Index - demonstrates what it represents
  • Symbol - has no similarity between the signifier and the signified, culturally linked
• Images should not be isolated or segmented, but rather perceived in a very connected manner
• The two sources of meaning include the universal human experiences (psychological or physical) and socio-cultural conventions of a particular society
• Iconic plane


  Deals with the unique attributes, parts, and characteristics of the picture
• The iconic plane involves selecting the subject with political and social impacts
• Contextual plane


  Putting the work in context and its relationship to society
• Evaluative plane

  Determining what is considered a value in the artwork and the underlying social issues conveyed
• Art history

  The historical study of visual arts focused on identifying, classifying, describing, assessing, interpreting, and comprehending art products
• Objectives of art history

  • Establish authorial origins of artworks
  • Authenticate the artist
  • Determine the era of cultural development
  • Analyze the influences of the artist
  • Gather biographical documentation about the artists
• Art history also examines art styles and traditions across periods, movements, and schools
• Iconography

  Analyzing the symbolism of works of art
• Art historians are interested in the works of art represented at the time of creation as a way to learn about the civilizations of the past
• Cave Art

  Paintings, engravings and scripture during the Ice Ages, commonly made from hematite (iron oxide), manganese and charcoal dioxide
• Egyptian Art

  Focused on the principle of cohesion or ma'at, representing the beautiful universe of gods, sculptures as sanctuaries for spirits or deities
• Greek Art

  Images of epic wars, scholarly philosophers, gleaming white buildings, and limbless nudes, bringing a huge impact to the modern arts
• Roman Art

  Suffered from a reputation crisis, many significant works were duplicates or influenced by earlier Greek originals, varied approaches due to the vast geographical location of the Roman empire
• Medieval Period

  Featured glass mosaics, wall paintings, and metalwork, Byzantine art was traditional and primarily religious, with little realism and serious, somber themes
• Chinese Painting

  Recognized as "guóhuà", with two primary methods: "Gongbi" using precise brushstrokes, and "xieyi" style ink and wash painting
• Japanese Print


  Woodblock printing launched into the Han dynasty, used for inexpensive books and mass processing of prints
• Renaissance Art

  Marked a shift towards realism, humanism, and individualism, with a focus on the human form and perspective
• Woodblock printing

  Art launched into the Han dynasty, until its Edo era in 1603 to 1868
• Handscrolls

  Inexpensive books used for woodblock printing, later converted to mass produce prints
• Japanese print

  • Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji
• Japanese print

  • Features a huge arching wave that threatens to consume two boats below, while Mount Fuji sits serenely in the distance
  • Fostered by centuries of peace during the Edo period and development of a sophisticated road system, creating a culture of leisure travel and desire for prints of famous landscapes as cheap souvenirs
  • Encouraged by Western imports of prints and drawings representing new ways of looking at the world
• Renaissance art

  • Portrayed religious images, including the Virgin Mary or Our Lady, seen by contemporary audiences as objects of devotion
  • Many were painted as altarpieces for inclusion in Catholic rituals, donated by patrons who sponsored the mass
• Renaissance art

  • Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci