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I. Toward a Definition of Art

A. Function - the intended job of the artwork within a culture at the time it is made

B. Visual form - allows the work to be seen/touched, and ideas to be communicated

includes formal elements, composition, and materials

C. Content - ideas associated with each artwork

1. Renaissance - the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art,

literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to

the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.

2. Cubism - a style of painting and sculpture developed in the early 20th

century, characterized chiefly by an emphasis on formal structure, the reduction

of natural forms to their geometrical equivalents, and the organization of the

planes of a represented object independently of representational requirements.

3. Masquerades - a party, dance, or other festive gathering of persons

wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant, historical, or fantastic

costumes.

D. Aesthetics - involves the look and feel of an artwork and the attributes that elevate

it above other objects, a branch of philosophy dealing with art, its sources, forms, and

effects, goes beyond individual tastes or preferences

E. Art and Style Vocabulary

1. Representational - when an artwork contains entities from the world in a

recognizable form

2. Naturalistic - imagery depicted as it is seen in nature

3. Idealized - natural imagery that strives to represent perfection

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4. Expressionism

5. Expressionist - communicates heightened emotions, often through urgency

or spontaneity

6. Surrealism

7. Surreal - bizarre or fantastical sequences, often dreamlike in nature

8. Nonobjective - nonrepresentational, forms that are completely fabricated

by the artist

9. Abstracted - imagery derived from reality, but distorted

10. Style - The manner of artistic expression of an individual, historic period,

or civilization

11. Cultural style - Recurring and distinctive features in works from a

particular place and era

12. Culture - The totality of ideas, customs, skills, and arts of a people

13. Civilization - Highly structured society

F. Art Within Visual Culture

1. Visual Culture

a) Fine art - refined objects that are transcendent of everyday values

works that are meant to be appreciated for their cultural, intellectual, or

aesthetic content

b) Popular Culture - is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes,

images, and other phenomena that are

within the mainstream of a given culture

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c) Craft - sometimes distinguished from art and refers to specific

media such as ceramics, glass, woodworking, weaving, etc.

2. Ikebana - the Japanese art of arranging flowers.

G. Fine Art

1. Fine Art

H. Popular Culture

1. Anime - a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by

highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality.

2. Kitsch - Shallow or pretentious art; shows emotional appeal that is

generalized, superficial, and sentimental

3. Camp

I. Craft

1. Mihrab - (in a mosque) a niche or decorative panel designating the kiblah.

J. Other Categories

II. About Artists

A. The Context for making Art

B. Training artists

1. Apprentices - where many artists start

2. Guilds - organization of artisans and craftsmen developed in medieval

Europe

3. Kitab Khana - royal atelier which copied and illuminated book

4. Academies - Europe 15th C.

C. Making the Art Object

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D. Innovation and Self-Expression

E. The Role of the Artist in Various Cultures