Living With Art - 9/3/10

Artists work to do a lot more than just create something thats interesting to look at, artists perform at least four other important functions outlined in this reading.

First, artists record. Secondly, artists give "tangible form to the unknown." Third, artists "give tangible form to feelings" as well. Fourth, artists offer "an innovative way of seeing."

During lecture, we discussed as a class several things that could classify something as art. Some of these were:

•  there was effort put into it
•  it inspires thought and/or emotion
•  the usefulness of the piece 
•  instinctual/not instinctual characteristics 
•  the artist simply thought of it
•  there was effort
•  people like the way it looks

There were many more than this, and some weren't really agreed upon as a whole. For example, using the reasoning that "something looks good" as a characteristic to classify something as art may not be agreed upon by everyone who views it.

What is considered art, varies because peoples points of views vary.

Representation - where one thing stands in for another. 

Styles of representation discussed:

1. Naturalistic - as in nature.
2. Realistic - true to life.
3. Stylized- simplified to emphasize important details.
4. Abstract - highly stylized (may not be recognizable).

We also created a "Scale of Representation" which has the realistic to the furthest left, and the stylized and abstract to the furthest right, everything else falls into place between.

While you can't specifically determine what makes a person 'creative', nearly all creative people tend to possess certain traits. Some of these mentioned are:

1. Sensitivity - gives a person a heightened awareness of the senses.
2. Flexibility - easily adapts to new situations to see the possibilities.
3. Originality - giving uncommon responses to situations and in problem solving situations.
4. Playfulness - sense of humor, experimentation with work.
5. Productivity - the ability to create ideas and (most of all) follow through with them.
6. Organization - ability to have things in  an effective order.

Even when being many of the other things mentioned in class and in the reading, art is always an expression of the artist. The art shows the artists expression to the viewer.