art in society chapter 4

Formalist Criticisms

emphasizes formal analysis.

Visual Culture

writings attempt to integrate all of the visual components of contemporary culture. People in industrialized nations consume massive numbers of images every day. Art works are only a part of these images and are analyzed in relationship to, film, advertisements, the Internet, television.

Writings About Art

Art writings help us understand the full meaning of artworks.

Context for the Creation of an Artwork:

Context consists of the external conditions that surround a work of art. Context includes many factors: historical events, economic trends, contemporary cultural developments, religious attitudes, social norms, other artworks of the time. Physical surroundings: Physical surroundings and the location affects the meaning of the artwork, events at a location can also change the meaning of an artwork. Method of Encounter: This refers to the nature of our meeting with an actual art work in a physical space. A photograph of an artwork communicates only a fraction of the total experience.

Formal Analysis

Formal Analysis studies the elements and principles of art and how they are used in specific works. Visual elements are carefully considered and offer an organized and satisfying visual experience. Formal analysis can be used even if we don't know anything else about the artwork.

Postmodern Philosophical Positions

Postmodern philosophical positions are a set of philosophical viewpoints that question Modernism and alternatively endorse "little" narratives, a bricolage of stories/images, celebration of difference, plurality, paradox. Postmodernism deals with subjectivity, nuances and ambiguity, and Modernist philosophies' stated certainties.

Content Analysis

Subject Matter: Subject matter is the matter under consideration in a work of art. All works of art have subject matter, even abstract or non-objective works. Subtext refers to the underlying message or the ideas in the artwork. Iconography: Iconography is a visual metaphor an image or element that is descriptive of something else. Iconography is a system of symbols that refers to complex ideas. Symbol an image or element that stands for or represents some other entity or concept. Symbols are culturally determined and must be taught. The study of signs in verbal or written communication is call semiotics.

Modernist Criticisms

The Modernist philosophical position presents master narratives which specify the "correct" way of analyzing art.

Personal Interpretation

You can also have your own meaning for a work.

Pyschoanalytic Criticism

analyzes art as the product of individuals shaped by their pasts, their unconscious urges, and their social histories

Post Structuralism

believes that there is not one single meaning to an artwork, but rather multiple meanings because each viewer approaches the artwork with varying perspectives.

Relational Aesthetics

focuses on human relationships and social spaces rather than emphasizing art objects in private galleries, homes or museums.

Deconstruction

holds that from the inside, any system looks natural and coherent, but it is in fact filled with unseen contradictions, myths, or stereotypes. Jacques Derrida introduced the idea of deconstruction.

Structuralism

holds that to understand a work of art, you need to study the structure of art and the complex interrelationship of all its parts. Structure gives meaning to art, like a sentence gives structure and meaning to the words contained in it. Structuralism was originally applied to the study of language and the term semiotics refers to the study of or signs in verbal or written communication.

Ideological Criticisms

is rooted in the writings of Karl Marx, and deals with the political aspects of art. Even artwork that may seem neutral is still political.

Feminist Criticism

s concerned with the oppression of groups (especially women) in society. Feminism advocates equal social, political, and economic rights for all women and men. Feminist critics and art historians researched women artists ignored in the past. Feminists have broken down barriers encountered by women's artwork and the media they use. Modernist critics have denigrated pottery, weaving, and decorative work as minor arts.

Phenomenology

values the perceiving subject's point of view and feelings.