Chapter 2: What is a Work of Art?

When was the Pop Art movement?

1950s-1960s

What is participative experience induced by?

strong or artistic form. -participation is not likely to develop with weak form because weak form tends to allow our attention to wander. -artistic form makes our participation possible

The subject matter needs to be transformed by _______. As the subject matter is never directly presented in a work of art.

the artistic form. -Artistic form transforms and, in turn, informs about life.

What is one indication of strong artistic form?

the fact that participation occurs.

What is a second indication of strong artistic form?

the way it clearly identifies a whole, or totality. -in the visual arts, a whole is a visual field limited by boundaries that separate that field from its surroundings.

What is the definition for perception?

what we can observe

What is the definition for conception?

what we know or think we know

Are perception and conception closely related?

yes

What would not be artistic form?

-a form that lacks a significant degree of unity (unity is the state being united or joined as a whole) is unlikely to accomplish this EXAMPLE: -Our daily experiences usually are characterized more by disunity than by unity. Consider the order of your experiences during a typical day or even a segment of that day. Compare that order with the order most novelists give to the experiences of their characters. One impulse for reading novels is to experience the tight unity that artistic form usually imposes, a unity almost non of us comes close to achieving in our daily lives. ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Think of music. Noises and random tones in everyday experience lack the order that most composers impose.

What is value?

-anything related to a human interest is value -some values are positive, such as pleasure and health -other values are negative, such as pain and ill health.

Summary of chapter

- a work of art is a form-content. An artistic form is a form-content. An artistic form is more than just an organization of the elements of an artistic medium, such as the lines and colors of painting. The artistic form interprets or clarifies some subject matter. The subject matter, strictly speaking, is not a work of art. -When participating with a work of art, one can only imagine the subject matter, not perceive it. The subject matter is only suggested by the work of art. The interpretation of the subject matter is the content, or meaning, of the work of art. Content is embodied in the form. The content, unlike the subject matter, is in the work of art, fused with form. We can separate content from form only by analysis. -The ultimate justification of any analysis is whether it enriches our participation with that work, whether it helps that work "work" in us. Good analysis or criticism does just that. But, conversely, any analysis not based on participation is unlikely to be helpful. Participation is the only way to get into direct contact with the form-content, so any analysis that is not based upon a participative experience inevitable misses the work of art. Participation and good analysis, although necessarily occurring at different times, end up hand in hand.

Who is Eddie Adams, and what did he create?

-Eddie Adams was an Associated Press Photographer -Eddie Adams took the news photograph called "Execution in Saigon" in 1968, where it was taken on one of the main streets of Saigon in February 1968. This photograph shows Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the South Vietnam's national police chief, killing a Vietcong captive. -Adams stated that his picture was an accident, that his hand moved the camera reflexively as he saw the general raise the revolver. -Adams captured General Loan's execution of a Vietcong captive. He said later, "The general killed the Vietcong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world."

We will consider four basic terms related primarily to the perceptual nature of a work of art: 1.) Artistic Form

-Form is the interrelations of part to part and part to whole. To say that some object or event has form means it has some degree of perceptible unity. BUT, to say something has artistic form usually implies a strong degree of perceptible unity. -It is artistic form that distinguished a work of art from objects or events that are not works of art. -Artistic form implies that the parts we perceive- for example: line, color, texture, shape, and space in a painting- have been unified for the most profound effect possible. -Artistic form reveals, clarifies, enlightens, and gives fresh meaning to something valuable in life, some subject matter.

Francisco Goya

-Francisco Goya created an oil on canvas panting called "The Prado, Madrid" (May 3rd, 1808. 1814-1815) and the subject matter is execution (Just like Eddie Adams photograph "Execution in Saigon"), which is shown through the artistic form. -Goya's painting of Napoleonic soldiers executing Spanish Guerrillas the day after the Madrid insurrection portrays the faces of the victims, but not of the killers.

According to the significant form theory, would Bell and Fry see Goya or Adam's photograph as a work of art?

-If you ignore the objects and events represented in the Goya, significant form is present. All the details depend on one another and jell, creating a strong structure. Therefore, according to the significant form theory it is a work of art. -If you ignore the objects and events represented in Adam's photo, there is no significant form. The organization of the parts is too loose, creating a weak structure. Therefore, according to Bell and Fry , it would not be a work of art. "To appreciate a work of art, we need to bring with us nothing from life, no knowledge of its ideas and affairs, no familiarity with its emotions." -Bell

Who is Jim Dine, and what did he create?

-Jim Dine is considered an important American artist -He created "shovel" in 1962 and it was first shown at an art gallery in New York City. However, Jim Dine did not make the shovel himself. Like most shovels, the one in his construction, although designed by a person, was mass-produced. -Dine mounted the shovel in front of a painted panel and presented this construction for serious consideration. The construction is described as "mixed media", meaning it consists of several materials: paint, wood, a cord, and metal.

Kevin Carter

-Kevin Carter took the photograph called "Vulture and Child in Sudan" which was published in the New York Times on March 26th, 1993 and it won the Pulitzer Prize for photography in 1994. The form isolates two dramatic figures. The closest is a starving Sudanese child making her way to a feeding center. The other is a plump vulture waiting for the child to die. This powerful photograph raised a hue and cry, and the New York Times published a commentary explaining that Carter chased away the vulture and took the child to the feeding center. Carter committed suicide in July 1994 -Carter saved this child but become so depressed by the terrible tragedies he had recorded in Sudan and South Africa that he committed suicide a year after taking this photograph.

We will consider four basic terms related primarily to the perceptual nature of a work of art: 4.) Content

-Somehow artistic form goes beyond itself, referring to objects and events from the world beyond the form. Artistic form informs us about things outside itself. These things- as revealed by the artistic form- we shall call the "content" of a work of art. -unless a work has content (content is the meaning that is fused or embodied with its form) we shall say that the work is not art. -Content is the meaning of artistic form. -Artistic form always informs (has meaning or content) -artistic form and content are inseparable, they work together -when the form is weak, we experience the form (artistic form) and its meaning (content) separately

Why does Goya's painting have content, but Adam's photograph not have it?

-The content of the Goya is its interpretation of the barbarity of those executions -Adam's photograph lacks content because it merely shows us an example of this barbarity.

Is "Shovel" by Jim Dine a work of art?

-We can hardly discredit the construction as a work of art simply because Dine did not make the shovel; after all, we often accept objects manufactured to specification by factories of genuine works of sculpture. We also accept collages by Picasso and Braque, which include objects such as paper and nails mounted on a panel, are generally accepted as works of art. Museums have even accepted objects such as a signed urinal by Marcel Duchamp, one of the Dadaist artist of the twentieth century, which in many ways anticipated the works of Dine, Warhol, and others in the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Paul Cezanne

-created the oil on canvas painting in 1886-1887 called "Mont Sainte-Victoire" -Cezanne painted Mont Sainte'Victoire in Aix, France, throughout his life. Local legend is that the mountain was home to a god and therefore a holy place. -With this painting, you could name it, identify its maker, classify its style, recall its background information- but this approach will not lead us into the Cezanne as a work of art. Of course, such knowledge can be very helpful, but only when it is under the control of our experience of participating with the painting. Otherwise, the painting will fade away. Its splendid specificity will be sacrificed for some generality. Its content or meaning will be missed.

Subject Matter Continued

-only subject matter with interesting latent or uninterpreted values can challenge the artist, and the artists discovers these values through form

What things are not considered works of art?

-sunsets, beautiful trees, "found" natural objects such as grained driftwood, "paintings" by insects or songs by birds, and a host of other natural phenomena are not considered works of art, despite their beauty.

We will consider four basic terms related primarily to the perceptual nature of a work of art: 3.) Subject Matter

-the content is embedded in the artistic form, and the content interprets subject matter. -The meaning (also known as content) of a work of art is what is revealed about a subject matter.

Does Goya or Adams have a higher degree of perceptible unity?

-the part-to-part and the part-to-whole relationships are much stronger in Goya's painting than Adam's photograph -It is suggested that Goya's painting has a higher degree of perceptible unity than Adam's photograph. -Quick note: This is not the final conclusion, no judgement about these two are indisputable (unable to be challenged or denied). Indeed, that is part of the fun of talking about whether something os or not a work of art, we can learn how to perceive from one another.

what does a "work of art" imply?

-the term "work of art" implies the concept of "making" in two of its words- "work" and "art" (short for "artifice"). -a work of art is usually said to be something made by a person. (a human origin)

What is the ultimate test for recognizing a work of art?

-the ultimate test for recognizing a work of art is how it works in us, what it does to us, -Participative experiences are experiences so full and fruitful that they enrich our lives. Such experiences are life-enhancing due to not only great satisfaction, but also because they make more or less permanent contributions to our future lives. EX: Does da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" heighten your perception of a painting's underlying structure, the power of simplicity of form, and the importance of a figure's pose? If not, presumably they are not works of art.

What are the downfalls of trying to determine whether something is a work of art, even with the three criteria?

-unfortunately, one cannot always determine whether a work meets these 3 criteria only by perceiving it. -In many cases, for instance, we may confront an object such as "Shovel" by Jim Dine and not know whether Dine constructed the shovel, thus not satisfying the first criterion that the object made by an artist; or whether Dine intended it to be a work of art; or whether experts agree that it is a work of art. In fact, Dine did not make this particular shovel, but because this fact cannot be established by perception, one has to be told. Looking at art just through perception is the downfall -Identifying art conceptually seems to us as not very useful, because someone intends to make a work of art tells us little.

What are the three criteria for determining where something is a work of art?

1.) The object or event is made by an artist 2.) The object or event is intended to be a work of art by its maker 3.) Recognized experts agree that it is a work of art. (this is important, but this criterion is debatable)

Does a very strong unity (artistic form) define a work of art?

A very strong unity does not necessarily identify a work of art. That formal unity (artistic form) must give us insight into something important.

Why do we tend to value the perceptible unity of artistic form?

Because strong, perceptible unity appears so infrequently in nature.

Do we often recognize an object through perception or conception?

CONCEPTION! -we often recognize an object because it conforms to our conception of it EX: in architecture we recognize churches and office building as distinct because of our conception of what churches and office buildings are supposed to look like.

What is the contemporary (modern) view on artistic form?

For some people, the contemporary attitude toward the loose organization of formal elements is a norm, and the highly unified work of art is thought of as old-fashioned. However, it seems that the effects achieved by a lesser degree of unity succeed only because we recognize them as departures from out well-known, highly organized forms.

We will consider four basic terms related primarily to the perceptual nature of a work of art: 2.) Participation

Must give and sustain our undivided attention so that we lose our self-conscious- our sense of being separate, of standing apart of the painting -Only by means of participation can we come close to a full awareness of what the painting is about. -If a work requires our participation in order to understand and appreciate it fully, we have an indication that the work is art. -It seems as is the Goya painting requires more participation than Adam's photograph, as the Goya painting requites sustained attention -Sustained attention or participation cannot be achieved by acts of will. The splendid singularity of what we are attending to must fascinate and control us to the point that we no longer need to will our attention. We can make up out minds to give our undivided attention to something, but if that something lacks the pulling power that grasps out attention, we cannot participate with it.

Do you have to have sustained attention (paying attention to detail) for every "work of art"?

No, like in Eddie Adams photograph, there is no need for sustained attention BUT in Francisco Goya's oil on canvas painting of "The Prado, Madrid" , sustained attention is necessary for getting the total form.

Roy Lichtenstein

Subject matter: comic strips Hopeless 1963 magna on canvas (page 31 of textbook) -hopeless treats an emotional moment that is familiar to everyone who has ever been involved in the breakup of a love affair.

Out of the four basic distinctions: subject matter, artistic form, participation, and content, which is the most fundamental (fundamental: forming a necessary base or core; of central importance) ?

The most fundamental is participation.

The ways of identifying a work of art: conception and perception

The ways of identifying a work of art depend on the conceptions of the artist and experts on art and not enough on our perceptions of the work itself

What is the approach that is simple and flexible and that depends largely on perception to see whether the art possesses artistically perceivable qualities. This method brings us to reasonable grounds for distinguishing certain objects or events as art.

We will consider four basic terms related primarily to the perceptual nature of a work of art: 1.) Artistic Form -the organization of a medium that results in clarifying some subject matter 2.) Participation -sustained attention and loss of self-awareness 3.) Subject Matter -some value expressed in the work of art 4.) Content -the interpretation of subject matter

When is there significant form?

When the lines, colors, and the like pull together tightly, independently of any objects or events they may represent, there is a significant form.

What happens when we are participators?

When we are participators, our thoughts are dominated so much by something that we are unaware of our separation from that something. Thus, the artistic form initiates and controls thought and feeling

Even If you disagree with the conclusions, clarification helps understanding and understanding helps _________ .

appreciation.

Any important subject matter has many different ____________

facets (features) (see page 39 in textbook)

According to the proponents of significant form......

if we take explicit notice of the executions as an important part of Goya's painting, then we are not perceiving properly. We are experiencing the painting not as a work of art but rather an illustration telling a story, this reducing a painting that is a work of art to the level of commercial communications.

In our interpretation _______

in our interpretation (the book), a work of art creates an illusion that illuminates reality

What is the subject matter in both Adam's photograph and Goya's painting?

negative values are the subject matter of both Adam's photograph and Goya's painting. -But the photograph, unlike the painting, has no content. The photograph simply presents its subject matter. -The painting on the other hand, the artistic form of the painting enriches or interprets its subject matter, says something significantt about it. The subject matter of the painting is not just there in the painting. It has been transformed by the form.

Is there a clear definition that if universally accepted for a work of art?

no

Who claims that the presence of artistic form - what they call "significant form" - is all that is necessary to identify a work of art.

philosophers of art: Clive Bell and Roger Fry