midterms

• Subject


  The visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining the artwork
• Content


  The meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork
• Form


  The development and configuration of the artwork– how the elements and the medium or material are put together
• Representational art


  • These types of art have subjects that refer to objects or events occurring in the real world
  • Often termed figurative art, because the figures depicted are easy to make out and decipher
• Representational art


  • Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
• Non-representational art


  • Does not make a reference to the real world, whether it is a person, place, thing, or even a particular event
• Non-representational art


  • Works of Jackson Pollock
• Abstract art


  A departure from reality, but the extent of that departure determines whether it has reached the end of the spectrum, which is non-representationality – a complete severance from the world
• Abstract art


  • Paintings of Vasily Kandinsky
• Abstract art


  • Head of a Woman, Mougins (1962) by Pablo Picasso
• Nature as source of inspiration


  Artists have explored diverse ways of representing nature from plants to animals; the qualities of bodies of water and the terrain of landmasses; and even the perceivable cycles and changing of seasons
• Greek and Roman mythology as source of inspiration

  Episodes that transport the viewer to heroic encounters of Achilles and Aeneas; warnings about man's folly like the vanity of Icarus; the wit and cunning of Odysseus; the beauty of Aphrodite and the athleticism of Myron
• Judeo-Christian as source of inspiration


  Stems from a belief in a lone creator of the universe or what is called as monotheism and had an immense influence from Western civilization
• Judeo-Christian inspired art


  • Sistine Chapel frescoes by Michelangelo
• Significant events in the affairs of humanity as source of inspiration


  From early breakthroughs such as the discovery of fire and the overthrowing of geocentric theory in favor of a sun-centered universe, succeeding advancements brought by discovery, innovation and man's incessant search for glory plotted a dynamic course of history
• Significant event inspired art

  • Goya's El Tres de Mayo
• Factual meaning


  Pertains to the most rudimentary level of meaning for it may be extracted from the identifiable or recognizable forms in the artwork and understanding how these elements relate to one another
• Conventional meaning


  Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, symbols and other cyphers as bases of its meaning. These are established through time, strengthened by recurrent use and wide acceptance by its viewers or audience and scholars who study them
• Subjective meaning


  Stems from the viewers' or audiences' circumstances that come into play when engaging with art
• Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

  • Factual meaning: Depicts Adam and God
  • Conventional meaning: Alludes to the correspondence of the body and the commonly held belief that man was created in the image and likeness of God
  • Subjective meaning: The silhouette of God aligns with the shape of the human brain, suggesting the most important quality imparted to man was intellect