Judging Art

Judging Art3/19AgendaArt ExposureAesthetic JudgmentsUniversal Standards

How do/should you judge art?Art ExposureIs this song art?

Consider any discussions or notes from last week!

Judging ArtMain Questions:What distinguishes good art from bad?How much of it is objective?How much is influenced by culture we grow up in?How much is influenced by personal taste?Aesthetic JudgmentIt is a paradox

On one hand: there are STANDARDS of aesthetic judgment and some judgments are better than othersOn the other hand: beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no accounting for tasteAesthetic JudgmentStandards of Judgment

Justifies a teacher grading a piece of creative writing, or a composition, or a paintingSuggests that there are criteria for distinguishing good art from badAesthetic JudgmentTaste

You cannot argue about tastes in the arts (similar to tastes in food, right?)You like it or you dont.

But can we educate are tastes?!Question 1Michael Jordan was one of the best basketball players of all time.

Is this a fact or an opinion?How is it similar and how is it difference from the kinds of judgments we see in art?Question 2It is a great work of art, but I dont like it.

How, if at all, can someone say this with consistency?Aesthetic Judgments = disinterested?Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Big difference between judgments of taste and aesthetic judgments

AJ = make a universal claim and have a sense of ought built into themKant and AJ1. I like this painting2. This painting is beautiful.

Statement 1Differences can coexist.Statement 2Contradicting each otherbeautiful implies other ppl should see it tooKant and AJIn our aesthetic judgments we are suitors for agreementKant and AJWhat distinguishes aesthetic judgments from personal taste?

They are disinterested.Kant and AJIf you are going to judge a work of art based on its merits, you should not bring your biography with you.Kant and AJKant we should look at art disinterestedly.

DOES NOT mean we should be uninterested, but we should go beyond our individual tastes and preferencesWe need to appreciate it from a more universal stand point.You dont have to like something to appreciate it.Question 3 It is a great work of art, but I dont like it.

What are some examples of this in your own life?

Universal Standards3/23AgendaArt ExposureAre there universal standards in art?

How do you judge art?Art ExposureExperience Through InquiryArtwork: What do I see?Context: What else can I learn?Interpretation: What does it mean?Connections Across Art: How does it compare to other artworks?Personal: What does it mean to me?Connections across subjects: How does it relate to other subject?Connections to Quotes.

Art ExposureExperience Through Inquiry

The Singing Butler Jack Vettriano

Are there universal standardsWrite down 5-10 adjectives that come to your mind when you look at the painting

Are there universal standards?5-10 adjectives again

Universal Standards1 Compare your lists with your partners. Similarities? Differences?

2 -What, if anything, does this suggest to you about the nature of aesthetic judgment?

Painting 1: The Lake, Pentworth: Sunset, a Stag Drinking TurnerPainting 2: The Mud Bath - Bomberg

Yes Universal StandardsVitaly Komar and Alexander MelamidSimilar universality in musical tastesSimilar tastes in art landscape paintings?

Biology? American Dominance?Question 1Do you think the world is becoming culturally more homogeneous?To what extent do you think that your own cultural tradition is under threat?Question 2To what extent do you think there are universal standards of what makes a face a face beautiful?To what extent do you think it varies from culture to culture?Cultural DifferencesAre people seeing similarities because they WANT to see similarities?

There may be universal ELEMENTS to different parts of art, but we should be careful not to blind ourselves to the differences.Question 3How much can we learn about the way a culture sees the world by studying the art that it produces?Art and Knowledge: Day 13/25AgendaArt Exposure using Experience through InquiryArt and knowledge: Art as Imitation

What is the purpose of art? What knowledge can you gain from art?Cultural Art Exposure

South African Art

Fishing Boats Irma SternArt and KnowledgeArt as imitationArt as communicationArt as educationArt as ImitationImitation or Copy TheoryThe purpose of art is to copy reality.(Mimetic Theory Mimesis)Imitation TheoryMichelangelo, Ausguste RodinWe expect paintings/novels to be true to lifeThroughout history, the arts have been driven by the desire to achieve a perfect likenessImitationPhotos questioned everything! (but should they. essential you)Why try to copy the world by paint when a perfect image can be created w/ a click of a button?Complete revolution in arts that caused a questioning of traditional arts. Especially musicCopy TheoryRelation to Perception (creative interpretation?)

Sophisticated View great art helps us to see the world with new eyesMaybe drawing attention to unnoticed aspects?Copy TheoryArt can subtly influence the way in which we experience the worldQuestion 1Do you think that people turn to the arts to be more challenged or to be comforted?

Should the arts comfort or should they challenge?Question 2The camera never lies.

Do you agree or disagree with this quote?Quote 1Life imitates art far more than art imitates life. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

What do you think he meant by this?Question 3When Picasso was told that his portrait of Gerturude Stein didnt look like her, he said, Never mind! It will!

What do you think he meant by this?

Gertrude Stein