Different Art Aesthetics

1.) Imitationalism
- Focuses on realistic replication.
Imitationalism judge’s artwork based on how real it looks. An Imitationalist is
focused on creating art that looks as real as possible and believes that artistic success
can only be achieved through the exact recreation of an image. From an Imitationalist
viewpoint, if an artwork does not look real or believable it is not of any value. Some
extreme Imitationalists have used their talent for recreating believable space and form
to create works of art that make you think they are actually real.

For example, Mona Lisa by Leonardo

DaVinci. You can call this as successful because of
the color, you can recognize the texture of her thick,
dark, simple dress with a pleated bodice, with gold
embroidery. The mountains and steams on her
background as well has her smile. If you look in the
eyes of Mona Lisa, you will notice that she’s having
an eye to eye contact with you but if you move and
still looks in her eyes, you will feel that she’s staring
at you.

2.) Fomalism
- Places emphasis on the design qualities
Formalism is the study of art based solely on an analysis of its form or the way it
is made and what it looks like. Formalism also describes the critical position that the
most important aspect of a work of art is its form, the way it is made and its purely visual
aspects rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world. In
painting therefore, a formalist critic would focus exclusively on the qualities of color,
brushwork, form, line and composition.
 The Scenacio by Paul Klee is an example of
formalism. The simple colors and shapes, Paul
makes use of various shades of orange, red, and
yellow to reveal portrait of an old man. Artistic use
of shapes gives the false impression that one eye
browse is raised. His left eye brow is represented
by a triangle while the other one is made of a
simple curved line. The portrait is also called Head
of a Man Going Senile and intentionally mimics
children's artwork by using ambiguous shapes and
forms with minimal facial details.

3.) Emotionalism
- response of feelings, moods, or emotions in the viewer.
Emotionalism places emphasis on the expressive qualities. According to this, the
most important thing about a work of art is the vivid communication of moods, feelings,
and ideas. Emotionalist critics require that a work of art must get a response from
others.

E x a m p l e o f E
screaming individual was the result of having an
anxiety because of the volcanic eruption, which
indicates the orange sky.
 You can judge art using just one aesthetic theory or more than one, depending
on the type of art and your own purposes. If you limit yourself to using only one theory,
however, you may miss some exciting discoveries in a work. Perhaps the best method
is to use all three. Then you will be able to discover as much as possible about a
particular piece of art.
Look at the painting
of Julio Larraz entitled
Papiamento. You may
use the theory of
Imitationalism to judge
this work as
successful because
the artist has painted
everything very
accurately. You can
recognize the texture
of the freshly pressed,
white cotton dress, the
light flickering on the
large, tropical leaves,
the texture of the trunk
of the palm tree, the
palm fronds, the
yellow sand of the
beach, and the
beautiful blue of the
Caribbean waters.
Someone else may choose the theory of Formalism to judge the work as successful
because the artist has arranged the objects so that the foreground is in shadow and the
background glows brightly with sunshine. A third person may choose the theory of
Emotionalism because of the mysterious mood created by hiding the woman in the
shadow of the tree, or because the painting may arouse in the viewer emotional
associations with memories of a vacation on a Caribbean island.