important terms & ideas from sayre, chapters 1-3
TRANSCRIPT
THE VISUAL WORLD Important terms & ideas from
Sayre, Chapters 1-3
Roles of the Artist
Artists help us see the world in new or innovative ways
Artists make a visual record of the people, places, and events of their time and place
Artists make functional objects and structures (buildings) more pleasurable and elevate them or imbue them with meaning.
Artists give form to immaterial—hidden or universal truths, spiritual forces, personal feelings.
Seeing & Visual Literacy
“Seeing is believing” is a common assumption.
Seeing is both physical and psychological.
Visual conclusions are influenced by an individual’s complex perception of the world: filtered through history, fears, emotions, customs, desires.
Concepts of Visual Literacy: The relationships among words, images, and objects in the world
The idea of representation
The distinctions among form and content in art
Conventions in art
Iconography
Words & Images
Rene Magritte, The Treason of Images, 1929 Oil on Canvas 21 ½ x 28 ½ in.
Words & Images
What is this?
Representational portrays natural objects in recognizable form
Realism attempts to be photo-realistic
Abstraction is representational, but less realistic
Nonrepresentational (or non-objective) does not refer to the natural or objective world at all
Andy Warhol, Race Riot, 1963, Acrylic & silkscreen on canvas, four panels each 20 x 30 inches.
Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak, 1863, oil on canvas, 73 ½” x 120 ¾”
Naturalism: realistic elements, but presented in a biased or subjective way
Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak, 1863, oil on canvas, 73 ½” x 120 ¾”
Kasimir Malevich, Suprematist Painting, Black Rectangle, Blue Triangle, 1915, oil on canvas, 26 1/8” x 22 ½”
Kasimir Malevich, Suprematist Painting, Black Rectangle, Blue Triangle, 1915, oil on canvas, 26 1/8” x 22 ½”
Form & Content in Non-Objective art
In this example, the art is about form. So its content has to do with form.
Malevich is demonstrating how purely formal relationships can transform otherwise static forms into a visually dynamic composition.
Iconography: a system of visual images the meaning of which is widely understood by a given cultural group.
Symbols: visual images that represent something more than their literal meaning
Iconography and Cultural Context
Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, Kamakura period, Japan, 13th century
Mudra: symbolic hand gestures
Raised right hand: symbolizes Buddha’s fearlessness
Lowered left hand: symbolizes the granting of protection
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Charles the First, 1982, Acrylic & oil paintstick on canvas, 78 x 62 in.
Basquiat employs symbols of his own & other’s making to create a coded visual language
“S”: Superman, and SAMO (Basquiat’s graffiti pen name)
Crown: Basquiat’s symbol for African American hero
“X”: OK, All right. Basquiat discovered this in a book section “Hobo Signs.” But we also associate X with a negative-crossing out.
What other symbols do you see?