Chapter 2 Developing Visual Literacy
Art is a visual language. Images are read just like sentences in a book. The deliberate decisions that artists make about Form (color, size, media, composition) are like words in a sentence.
René Magritte. The Treason of Images. 1929. 21 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.
Re-presentation When looking at any work of art (painting, sculpture, film, photograph, advertisement), we always want to be aware that the artist or producer is the mediator between the idea and the viewer. Every decision regarding form (color, media, size, composition, etc.) is deliberate in order to best communicate a particular idea. They re - present familiar ideas to us.
How do you read this image? How is your reading of this image influenced by your culture? How is an understanding of context important to the understanding of this work? Shirin Neshat. Rebellious Silence, from the series Women of Allah. 1994. 11 x 14 in.
Triumphal Entry, page from manuscript of the Shahnamah of Firdawsi, Persian, Safavid culture, 1562-1583 opaque watercolor and ink and gold on paper, 18 11/16 x 13 in.
Page from a copy of Nezami s Khamseh (the Quintet ) illustrating a princely country feast, Persian, Safavid culture, 1574-75, illuminated manuscript, 9 3/4 x 6 in.
- Representational: We can recognize what the work represents. Sometimes we call it realistic. - Non-representational: The work doesn t represent anything that we see in the world around us. It is not objective or realistic. - Abstract: The work is not realistic, but we can still recognize what it is. The subject has been abstracted. Think Picasso. We can tell that some of his paintings are of women but they are not realistic. They have been abstracted. know these terms!!
Albert Bierstadt, Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast. 1870. Oil on canvas, 4' 4-1/2" 6' 10". Seattle Art Museum. Gift of the Friends of American Art at the Seattle Art Museum, with additional funds from the General Acquisition Fund, 2000.70. Photo: Howard Giske. [Fig. 2-6]
Is the previous painting representational, abstract or nonrepresentational?
- Representational: We can recognize what the work represents. Sometimes we call it realistic. - Non-representational: The work doesn t represent anything that we see in the world around us. It is not objective or realistic. - Abstract: The work is not realistic, but we can still recognize what it is. The subject has been abstracted. Think Picasso. We can tell that some of his paintings are of women but they are not realistic. They have been abstracted. know these terms!!
Albert Bierstadt, Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast. 1870. Oil on canvas, 4' 4-1/2" 6' 10". Seattle Art Museum. Gift of the Friends of American Art at the Seattle Art Museum, with additional funds from the General Acquisition Fund, 2000.70. Photo: Howard Giske. [Fig. 2-6]
Sublime - often works of art that represent powerful natural events or landscapes are called sublime. The sublime is something that inspires awe, and possibly fear. It is often a concept that is so awe inspiring and powerful that we can t quite grasp it. Think natural phenomena like catastrophes, immensely beautiful landscapes, the enormity of the universe, etc. We can t quite wrap our minds around the sublime. This was a popular subject matter in the 19th century as pioneers were discovering the raw natural landscape of the West. * know this term!!
Wolf Kahn, Afterglow II, 1974, oil on canvas, 42 x 66 in.
Is this Representational? Abstract? or Nonrepresentational? Wolf Kahn
What is the difference between objectivity and subjectivity? How is this related to Nonobjective artwork? *know these two terms!
Old Mick Tjakamarra, Honey Ant Dreaming. 1982. Acrylic on canvas, 36 27".
Kazimir Malevich, Black Square. ca. 1923 30. Oil on plaster, 14-1/2 14-1/2". Musée National d'art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Inv. AM1978-631. Photo Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/ Jacques Faujou. [Fig. 2-13]
azimir Malevich, Black Square, 1923-30, oil on plaster, 14 x 14 in. Representational? Abstract? Nonrepresentational?
Beatriz Milhazes. Carambola. 2008. 54 7/8 x 50 5/8 in. How is context important to understanding this work?
Apollo Belvedere (detail), Roman copy after a 4th-century BCE Greek original. Height of entire sculpture 7' 4". Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican City.
African dancing mask from Ulivira, Lake Tanganyika. Lateral view. Wood, Height 24". The Courtauld Gallery, London.
What is iconography? The study of the symbols and signs within a work of art. Signs and symbols are like words and sentences. We read them just like we read a paragraph or a book. Amitabha Budda (Amida), the Buddha of Infinite Light. Kamakura period, 13th century.
Let s read the iconography of this painting. The visual elements are like words in a sentence, almost making the painting a document. What do you read? Jan van Eyck. Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. c. 1434. 32 1/4 x 23 1/2 in.
Jan van Eyck. The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami (detail). 1434.
Jean-Michel Basquiat. Charles the First. 1982. three panels, 78 x 62 1/4 in. overall. Is this work Objective or Subjective?
Which of the works in the following two slides is more realistic? And why? Which one is easier to read?
John Taylor. Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge. 1867.
Howling Wolf. Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge. 1875 1878. 8 x 11 in.
What do you need to know? - Significance of Magritte s Ceci n est pas une pipe - If I show you a work of art, be able to tell me if it is representational, abstract, or nonrepresentational - Know the meaning of the word sublime - Know the difference between objective and subjective - Know the meaning of the term iconography