Art Appreciation

CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY

Carolyn Schlam, Chapter 4: Twenty Questions … And One More For Good Measure, The Joy Of Art: How
to Look At, Appreciate, and Talk About Art, 2020: 74-106.

1. Beauty is defined as “combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases
the aesthetic senses, especially sight.”

2. What pleases one may not please another.

3. There is no general agreement on what is beautiful.

4. The word art has been inextricably connected to the word beauty for centuries.

5. Art is communication.

6. Judge the “beauty” of an artwork by its success in communicating the artist’s message.

7. Beauty may be redefined not by its appearance, but its expressiveness.

8. Even if we open up the concept of beauty to be more than attractiveness, and call it
expressiveness, this too is equally subjective.

9. Artists from different times and cultures have standards totally different from what we now think
of as beautiful.

10. Approach the artwork as a world unto itself.

11. Rather than asking, “Is this beautiful?” ask “What is the artist saying in this work?”

12. Without the intention on the part of the artist to say something, the work is not an art.

13. Intention is the overriding intelligence that is directing an artist’s every choice.

14. A clumsy, unskilled person can create art.

15. A work does not have to be expert, neat, and professional to be art.

16. Edvard Munch’s The Scream (1893) is a portrait of inner turbulence that captivates us
with its directness.

17. Underlying the skill is something more important.

18. Artists keep trying to express as fully as their ability allows, and this involves bringing their skill
to level up.

19. A work of visual art is a unique expression of an idea or emotion.

20. Some works of art speak so effectively and are so pertinent to the human condition that we
consider them masterpieces.

21. Masterpieces of art are thought to be the best examples of any time or art movement.

22. Every craftsperson is not an artist and every object is not a work of art.

23. A utilitarian object becomes art when it transcends its function.

24. A utilitarian object can be art, but it must be more than well made to rise to this designation.

25. A craft is the utilization of skill to create something, usually associated with the making of objects.

26. Carpentry and furniture-making, glassmaking, pottery and ceramics, metalsmithing, fabric and
textiles, sewing and quilting are crafts.
Art Appreciation
CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY

Carolyn Schlam, Chapter 4: Twenty Questions … And One More For Good Measure, The Joy Of Art: How
to Look At, Appreciate, and Talk About Art, 2020: 74-106.

27. Making art arises from the intention to make a statement, be it emotional, narrative, or political.

28. Making craft does not usually or necessarily arise from a similar intention.

29. Every painting and sculpture is not, by its nature, a work of art.

30. Phoebe Scott’ s torso, pressed (2018) depicts a female torso tied by a string.

31. Art may incorporate craft, but transcends it. Art may lack craft and yet still be art.

32. Taste can be developed.

33. We like different things because we have different experiences, come from different cultures,
have different environments, live in different times.

34. Taste is a function of many factors, some known and some not.

35. Culture often influences our likes and dislikes as we are encouraged to conform.

36. Art is so varied that there are pieces that appeal to many people for many different reasons.

37. The more you know about art, the more you will be able to discern why you like something
and the more open you will be to other forms of expression.

38. Commercial art has a purpose and that is to advance through imagery something that is for sale.

39. Many commercial art pieces can rise to the level of being considered works of art.

40. The difference between commercial and fine art is that fine art is created by the artist
as purely an expression, with no intention of promoting anything other than itself.

41. The illustrations by Toulouse-Lautrec that were created as commercial art, but because
of their beauty and universality, rise to the level of fine art.

42. Norman Rockwell’s posters for theater productions and movies are especially expressive
they considered artworks in their own right.

43. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Poster for AristideBruant (1960) crosses the line between commercial
and fine art.

44. All the tools in the visual artist’s toolbox have the ability to stir us.

45. We react emotionally to color, shape, size, line, texture, and to the narrative or characterization
an image may convey.

46. Artworks are made by human beings with a whole bag of emotions, and that comes through into
their work.

47. Since emotion is a major component of our lives, it plays an essential part in art.

48. The work can be expert, but if it does not convey emotion, it may only be wallpaper.

49. Wallpaper is decorative, but it is not art because it has to do more than cover a wall to be art.

50. Only a human can be an artist because only a human has a developed consciousness.

51. A child may do something that is artful, even beautiful, but he or she does not know why.

52. Every copy is actually a translation into a two- or three-dimensional medium.

Art Appreciation
CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY

Carolyn Schlam, Chapter 4: Twenty Questions … And One More For Good Measure, The Joy Of Art: How
to Look At, Appreciate, and Talk About Art, 2020: 74-106.

53. An artist may attempt to imitate or reproduce the look of what he sees but is doing it in a different
language, the language of his medium.

54. Instead of a direct reproduction, his intention is to interpret, the approach is entirely different.

55. An interpretation is a way to see something and to explain it.

56. An expression is more involved with emotion, a way to make one’s feelings known.

57. An expression may possibly be more personal or exaggerated than an interpretation of the same
source.

58. The art accepted for exhibition fulfills the mission of a curator or curatorial board
and also their personal taste.

59. Culture helps to have a context for evaluating a work of art.

60. Although culture influences art and is a reflection of prevailing mores and standards,
art plays a large part in advancing culture.

61. Leonardo da Vinci, born 1452, defined as the epitome of the Renaissance, the “Renaissance man.”

62. Vincent van Gogh, said of Rembrandt, “Rembrandt goes so deep into the mysterious that he says
things for which there are no words in any language.”

63. There is excellence in every era, every genre, and every style of art throughout history.

64. The new does not supplant the old in terms of value.

65. The masterworks of the greatest artists of all time stand out and survive, surpass and outlive their
time and culture.

66. Visual intelligence can be taught and nurtured.

67. Some of us are born with a higher visual intelligence.

68. Some of us see more than others, and are more interested in what we see.

69. Being completely open to finding the good is the best approach to utilize when viewing art.

70. The more you know, the wider will be your appreciation field.

71. There is art that strives for expressiveness, authenticity, and originality and there is art
that is made for effect, imitation, sentimentality, and sensationalism.

72. Women artists have been and continue to be recognized and their work exhibited
and discussed.

73. Most people do feel more comfortable looking at representational art because of the element of
familiarity.

74. Recognizing the subject matter gives us a starting point.

75. Non-objective works are more difficult to read.

76. It does take a bit of a stretch to get into abstract art.

Art Appreciation
CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY

Carolyn Schlam, Chapter 4: Twenty Questions … And One More For Good Measure, The Joy Of Art: How
to Look At, Appreciate, and Talk About Art, 2020: 74-106.

77. In a masterpiece, all the elements work together in magnificent harmony.

78. Every work of art is not a masterpiece.

79. Sometimes, overfamiliarity with an artwork or art movement breeds contempt.

80. It takes fresh eyes to enjoy art, and when our eyes have been exposed to ridicule, mockery,
and derision, our experience has been spoiled.

81. Art, all the arts, require us to be our best selves.

78. Visual art is just one of the ways to express, to individuate, and to share.

79. The wonder is that every piece of visual art is unique.

80. Whether you are a maker or a viewer, art makes our lives better.