Non-Objective Art

In the contemplation of art, or rather the conceptually intangible definition it currently possess, it is imperative to be mindful that “art” has been utilized as a promotional device, ceremonial item, aesthetically purposed article or perhaps none of these or all. It is because of this vague term that Carolyn Dean, in her text, “The Trouble with (The Term) Art”, makes a case for the consequences of applying the term “art” in societies that lacked such a notion which also accounts for the Western-centric lens the field intrinsically utilizes when viewing non-Western art. The claim is deftly supported by the utilization of expert accounts in the subject, alternative perspectives for what is considered the current norm, and self-examining questions,

In Arthur Danto’s essay, “The Artworld”, he explains the integration of materials such as masks and weapons into the artworld and having to shift the criteria by which people judge things as works of art as opposed to merely everyday objects (204). Danto creates an imaginary character named Testadura in order to help demonstrate the points that he makes. This character, Testadura, described by Danto as a “plain speaker and noted philistine” appraises pieces of art in a way that garners criticism from both us as readers, and Danto as the writer (205). Testadura sees everything that he can physically see, all that we can physically see. However, he cannot understand it as a work of art because of his lack of artistic identification that constitutes something as a work of art (208). Without the skill of artistic identification, Testadura will always be suspended in the purgatory of being literally correct by observing the physical aspects of art but being eternally unable to fully correctly appraise a work for the innate significance it holds representatively beyond the material.

In a world that has become immune to accepting all types of art, Marya Mannes believes we have lost our standards and ability to identify something as “good” or “bad”. In her essay, “How Do You Know It’s Good”, she discusses society’s tendency to accept everything out of fear of wrongly labelling something as being good or bad. She touches on various criteria to judge art, such as the artist’s purpose, skill and craftsmanship, originality, timelessness, as well as unity within a piece rather than chaos. She says that an individual must decide if something is good “on the basis of instinct, experience, and association” (Mannes). I believe that by using standards and the process of association, we will be able to judge what makes an art piece good in comparison to others. However, Mannes forces me to consider the difference between what may be appealing versus what is actually good, and when deciding which art we should accept, which is truly more important. I believe that “good” and “bad” are two ends of a large, subjective spectrum of grey area. It is possible for a piece of art to be good in some areas and bad in others, and if something does not live up to all of our standards, it does not necessarily mean it should be dismissed. Thus, I believe my personal standards for judging art are based on which my standards are largely based on the personal reaction evoked from a piece of art. Though I agree with Mannes’ standards to an extent, I believe that certain standards, such as evoking a personal response, can be more telling of if a piece of art is good as opposed to its timelessness, or the level of experience of an artist in his/her craft.

Clark begins by stating how art produced during the mid-nineteenth century was seen as deeply political, explaining how the ideas of the avant garde were intrinsically linked to the wider social and historical conditions. Looking to the work of Courbet, Clark states that the artist was influenced by the Realism of the French avant garde, yet asserts that Realism itself was influenced by Positivism, which in turn is the result of ‘Capitalist Materialism’ (10). In order to uncover the relationship between art and its social context, Clark argues that one must deal only with ‘overt’ analogies between form and context, as these can be criticised directly (11). Such analogies, Clark asserts, must be considered alongside two key ideas. First is the artist’s relationship with the public, which Clark compares to the idea of the unconscious, implying that the artist possesses an innate awareness of society’s ingrained values and beliefs. Second is the notion of art’s independence from history, by which Clark refers to the aesthetic traditions which remain, unlike aesthetic ideologies, unaffected by the conditions in which they are

Controversial pieces of art are nothing new; artists express their opinions and beliefs in their work, and those who see the artist’s views as problematic speak out against it. Art encourages debate, and debates can be angry and emotion-driven. But when a piece of art is created that is almost universality looked upon as having corrupt morals, the debate tends to switch “I disagree with what this art portrays” to, “this work of art should not be allowed in society, regardless of its quality.”

Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.

This style favored subjective perception and rebelled against life-like depictions. In a similar way, because unregenerate hearts cannot fully recognize the handiwork of God in art and in the natural world, unbelievers can only appreciate art at a subjective, superficial level, even if they understand the historical and cultural context of a given work of art. Believers, however, can see the deeper meaning behind even the artist’s message because they recognize that all artwork reflects the creativity of the original

In today’s society, we are constantly being bombarded with visual art forms. Whether they be classical paintings from the Renaissance, a towering and modern skyscraper, or even a cheesy 90’s R&B music video, they all have one thing in common. According to Carolyn Dean’s definition, these would all fall under the category of “art by intention.” In her essay “The Trouble with (The Term) Art” she advocates a distinction between art by intention and what she deems “art by appropriation.” The difference is that one work was created with the intention of being consumed for visual pleasure, while the other was not. However having been educated in the Western school of thought, many art historians cannot help but project their rigid definition of art onto civilizations that may have

Understanding art is often thought of as being an unreachable goal, but art should not be considered arbitrary because it influences the cultures and societies around us. The purpose of this paper is to define and also establish my opinions on Pensacola Christian College’s (PCC) definition of art, the bibliosophy of art, and Dr. Francis Schaeffer’s criteria for art. These topics are useful for artists as well as anyone else critiquing art, and can also serve as guidelines and standards for an artist when they create art.

Creativity and originality have always been a large part of Jaylyn’s personality and daily life. She has always been a creative and unique person. She enjoys painting, listening to music, and she even knows how to play the guitar. She also has very unique and interesting taste in music and in the art she chooses to create. Gray is also her favorite color.I have never encountered someone who considers gray their favorite color. Her favorite movie is also Tucker and Dale vs Evil and I have never had the privilege of watching it. I know she has unique art techniques as well as the talent for art because I saw her creating tissue art once before with hand sanitizer and markers. Once blended correctly, the tissue was vibrant with a multitude of

Philosopher Arthur Danto, author of “The Artworld,” an artistic criticism, states that “to see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry—an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld” (201). Artistic theory, according to Danto, requires the presence of a subject, style, rhetorical ellipses, and that of historical context. Danto is capable of developing this view on art with the aid of an imaginary character, Testadura. Testadura, however, makes mistakes, as well as corrections, about the objects before him.

Arthur C. Danto in “The Artworld” provides us with the argument that, “To see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry-an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld.” Danto shows us the importance of the artworld in order to know that a work of art is more than just what we can plainly see. Danto provides two theories he calls the “IT” (Imitation theory) and the “RT” (Reality theory). With these two theories, Danto explains how we can define art and why “The Artworld” is needed to help understand art, because after all, “these days one might not be aware he was on artistic terrain without an artistic theory to tell him so.”

Throughout the vast history of art, historians can find connections throughout the centuries. Artists from the beginning of humankind have been inspired by the world around them. From the Apollo 11 stones to present day, history and culture have provided inspiration and have been the focus of various pieces. Examining artwork from the 15th-18th century, viewers can be shown a whole world that would be unknown to us without these artist’s contributions. History, religion, and cultural events have sculpted the art world, and we can observe this through many pieces during the 15th-18th centuries.

As onlookers peer into the artworks in front of them, there is no question as to whether or not they considered what the artwork means, where it came from and what the artist was interested in who created it. The

For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and