What Is Art? 2.0
My view on what art is has not been significantly changed and I still see that art can be anything and usually is an imitation of life. The philosopher Plato once stated, “art imitates life.” Learning art history helped me realize how true this statement is. Throughout the year, we looked at many different types of artworks and analyzed each along with its function and meaning. Many artworks looked at were created as a source of beauty and knowledge, but some were created to be used in society. From the cave paintings at Lascaux to the street graffiti of Banksy all show that art is a witness of life that spans lifetimes and centuries. Many of the artworks are still in museums today and are analyzed to find out the function and significance of them from the time that they were created. From art history, we can see how artworks line up with important historical events that occurred, often times being influenced by these events; artworks also give us insight into what life was like before written records were present.
Throughout the class, when we learned artworks, we classified them into periods of time or with the civilization that produced them. Some of the most memorable ones for me were learning about the Greeks, the Renaissance, and Contemporary art. Learning about art from these periods opened me up to new perspective. I realized that although these cultures are very different from each other, but they are similar in the way that most art was produced due to what goes on outside. The Greeks had different time periods of art that matched up with different events that occurred. For example, the Hellenistic period was after the Greeks were defeated. The art is defined with emotional and dramatic sculptures and artworks.
I strictly saw art as something to be framed in an art show or made for aesthetic purposes only; however, throughout the year, I realized that art is not made only to be looked at and admired. Although some of the works were made for aesthetic purposes, others had a function in the lives of the people. For example, when we learned about the tympanum of the Last Judgment, I realized that it was created more than for decoration. From analyzing the work, I could see that it was created as a way to scare worshippers. They would walk in with sin and walk out cleansed. I found this very interesting because without taking this class, I probably would have seen all the works only made for aesthetic purposes.
In the beginning of the year, I said that art is “a catalyst for different movements in history” and I stand by this statement. During this class, we were able to connect significant historical events with artworks produced during the time period. I also realized that different art movements influenced each other. For example, contemporary artists are still influenced by artworks created in the Ancient Greek and Roman times or the Renaissance period.
Current day art is very different from what art was like many centuries ago. Although artists influence each other, art will always be changing. Art today compared to art created a century ago and compared to art that will be created a century later will be different. We do not know how much or how little art will change in the future, but it definitely will be different than it is today.
Although I cannot imagine art that is created currently to influence future art, I know it is true. We can see this from the different cultures we learned about this year throughout art history. The art created in my life will influence the people in the future. More art forms may appear due to what technology can create, but artworks that are considered art today will not change and will still be analyzed and considered art in the future.
I think that it is very interesting how everything changes in a couple years, but art stays the same. Art from 100 years ago will be considered art in the next 100 years. It is fascinating that art is unchanging in a world that changes very often. After taking this class, I feel like I will have a different perspective looking at art because I have learned a lot and will definitely pay more attention to artworks I see from now on. Art history has helped me realize that art is not as boring as I thought and I will probably be more interested in artworks now.
My view on what art is has not been significantly changed and I still see that art can be anything and usually is an imitation of life. The philosopher Plato once stated, “art imitates life.” Learning art history helped me realize how true this statement is. Throughout the year, we looked at many different types of artworks and analyzed each along with its function and meaning. Many artworks looked at were created as a source of beauty and knowledge, but some were created to be used in society. From the cave paintings at Lascaux to the street graffiti of Banksy all show that art is a witness of life that spans lifetimes and centuries. Many of the artworks are still in museums today and are analyzed to find out the function and significance of them from the time that they were created. From art history, we can see how artworks line up with important historical events that occurred, often times being influenced by these events; artworks also give us insight into what life was like before written records were present.
Throughout the class, when we learned artworks, we classified them into periods of time or with the civilization that produced them. Some of the most memorable ones for me were learning about the Greeks, the Renaissance, and Contemporary art. Learning about art from these periods opened me up to new perspective. I realized that although these cultures are very different from each other, but they are similar in the way that most art was produced due to what goes on outside. The Greeks had different time periods of art that matched up with different events that occurred. For example, the Hellenistic period was after the Greeks were defeated. The art is defined with emotional and dramatic sculptures and artworks.
I strictly saw art as something to be framed in an art show or made for aesthetic purposes only; however, throughout the year, I realized that art is not made only to be looked at and admired. Although some of the works were made for aesthetic purposes, others had a function in the lives of the people. For example, when we learned about the tympanum of the Last Judgment, I realized that it was created more than for decoration. From analyzing the work, I could see that it was created as a way to scare worshippers. They would walk in with sin and walk out cleansed. I found this very interesting because without taking this class, I probably would have seen all the works only made for aesthetic purposes.
In the beginning of the year, I said that art is “a catalyst for different movements in history” and I stand by this statement. During this class, we were able to connect significant historical events with artworks produced during the time period. I also realized that different art movements influenced each other. For example, contemporary artists are still influenced by artworks created in the Ancient Greek and Roman times or the Renaissance period.
Current day art is very different from what art was like many centuries ago. Although artists influence each other, art will always be changing. Art today compared to art created a century ago and compared to art that will be created a century later will be different. We do not know how much or how little art will change in the future, but it definitely will be different than it is today.
Although I cannot imagine art that is created currently to influence future art, I know it is true. We can see this from the different cultures we learned about this year throughout art history. The art created in my life will influence the people in the future. More art forms may appear due to what technology can create, but artworks that are considered art today will not change and will still be analyzed and considered art in the future.
I think that it is very interesting how everything changes in a couple years, but art stays the same. Art from 100 years ago will be considered art in the next 100 years. It is fascinating that art is unchanging in a world that changes very often. After taking this class, I feel like I will have a different perspective looking at art because I have learned a lot and will definitely pay more attention to artworks I see from now on. Art history has helped me realize that art is not as boring as I thought and I will probably be more interested in artworks now.
