Art by Perception
At the start of this class, I was faced with the question: What is Art? At first I couldn't quite decide what I thought art was. I began thinking art was humanity, or a representation of self realization. Eventually, I decided art was the language of humanity: the way in which we could communicate to one another no matter cultural barriers or even the barriers of time. Art historians today are constantly analyzing and debating the meanings, functions, and content of art from hundreds and thousands of years ago. Although they may not live in the same time period as the artists who created these works of art, the art still can convey something of importance, something of intention or immediacy that makes people today care and feel a need to experience and understand the artists and artworks from history. This same impact can be felt when viewing crosscultural works of art. You don't have to be american to be affected by an american artwork; you don't have to speak arabic to understand and experience artworks by arabian artists. This is the conclusion I came to before taking AP Art History. Although my opinion on what art is has not completely changed from this mindset, I have recognized that even if art is a language, it is not an inherent universal language that completely transcends the differences between cultures.
I’ve come to realize that to fully understand and appreciate a work of art as it is intended, you must also understand some of the cultural background and context of the artist and the time at which the artwork was created. It’s unavoidable that people are products of their environment, so most of the time a piece of art is affected by the culture of the artist and the time period in which it was painted. Although this insight is not always necessary to appreciate a work of art, it helps the viewer understands the work better than before and therefore experience the artwork more strongly than before. This is the same way a language works. When you learn a foreign language you have to understand what each word or sound means before you can understand the language when it’s spoken to you. Although sometimes you can get off the hook by relying on body language and universal gestures or basic knowledge of a foreign language’s vocabulary, you would never be able to fully communicate with a person who speaks a different language than you unless you learn that language and the meaning behind each word. You can go to germany and express your thanks by smiling or by saying thank you in german if you already know the basic vocabulary, but you could never truly explain your gratitude because of the language barriers. The same can be said of art if seen as a language. There are universal signs and gestures in art that most people can feel instinctively. A dark blue and agitated scenery would create unrest in someone based on the universal understanding that blue and dark colors create sober moods. However, say the painting was painted during a time of war and a child was alone in the center of the painting. Knowing the painting was created during a time of war would lead you to the conclusions that maybe it expressed the sorrows and calamity of war. Not knowing the painting was created during a time of war could lead you in the direction of interpreting the painting in a number of different ways: loss, abandonment, internal loneliness, the tumultuous confusion of adolescence, or personal tragedy. Although you may come to a similar vein of meaning, much of the meaning and effect of the painting would become lost in translation.
I still feel art is a language that ties all of humanity together like I did at the beginning of the year; I just realize that it’s a bit more complicated than an innate understanding. Art is a language of interpretation, perspective, and culture. It is the story of humanity’s constantly evolving perspective.
At the start of this class, I was faced with the question: What is Art? At first I couldn't quite decide what I thought art was. I began thinking art was humanity, or a representation of self realization. Eventually, I decided art was the language of humanity: the way in which we could communicate to one another no matter cultural barriers or even the barriers of time. Art historians today are constantly analyzing and debating the meanings, functions, and content of art from hundreds and thousands of years ago. Although they may not live in the same time period as the artists who created these works of art, the art still can convey something of importance, something of intention or immediacy that makes people today care and feel a need to experience and understand the artists and artworks from history. This same impact can be felt when viewing crosscultural works of art. You don't have to be american to be affected by an american artwork; you don't have to speak arabic to understand and experience artworks by arabian artists. This is the conclusion I came to before taking AP Art History. Although my opinion on what art is has not completely changed from this mindset, I have recognized that even if art is a language, it is not an inherent universal language that completely transcends the differences between cultures.
I’ve come to realize that to fully understand and appreciate a work of art as it is intended, you must also understand some of the cultural background and context of the artist and the time at which the artwork was created. It’s unavoidable that people are products of their environment, so most of the time a piece of art is affected by the culture of the artist and the time period in which it was painted. Although this insight is not always necessary to appreciate a work of art, it helps the viewer understands the work better than before and therefore experience the artwork more strongly than before. This is the same way a language works. When you learn a foreign language you have to understand what each word or sound means before you can understand the language when it’s spoken to you. Although sometimes you can get off the hook by relying on body language and universal gestures or basic knowledge of a foreign language’s vocabulary, you would never be able to fully communicate with a person who speaks a different language than you unless you learn that language and the meaning behind each word. You can go to germany and express your thanks by smiling or by saying thank you in german if you already know the basic vocabulary, but you could never truly explain your gratitude because of the language barriers. The same can be said of art if seen as a language. There are universal signs and gestures in art that most people can feel instinctively. A dark blue and agitated scenery would create unrest in someone based on the universal understanding that blue and dark colors create sober moods. However, say the painting was painted during a time of war and a child was alone in the center of the painting. Knowing the painting was created during a time of war would lead you to the conclusions that maybe it expressed the sorrows and calamity of war. Not knowing the painting was created during a time of war could lead you in the direction of interpreting the painting in a number of different ways: loss, abandonment, internal loneliness, the tumultuous confusion of adolescence, or personal tragedy. Although you may come to a similar vein of meaning, much of the meaning and effect of the painting would become lost in translation.
I still feel art is a language that ties all of humanity together like I did at the beginning of the year; I just realize that it’s a bit more complicated than an innate understanding. Art is a language of interpretation, perspective, and culture. It is the story of humanity’s constantly evolving perspective.