Art Appreciation-Chapter13

Evaluating Art

Chapter 13

Evaluation

• We all evaluate by express our likes and dislikes every day

• Quality– The idea of what makes an artwork quality

varies form person to person, culture to culture, and age to age

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Dawn Marie Jingagian. Shy Glance. 1976.18" × 24".


Elizabeth Louise Vigee-LeBrun. Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat. 1782.97.8 × 70.5 cm NG1653.

Evaluation

• Once you decide whether you like a piece or not, you need to ask yourself why you like or dislike it?– Ask yourself what you are looking for.

What do you find valuable in a piece of artwork?

Art Criticism

• Art criticism refers to making discriminating judgments

• Three basic theories– Formal theories which focus attention on

composition and how an artwork is influenced by past works of art

– Contextual theories which consider art as a prodct of a culture and value system

– Expressive theories which pay attention to the artist’s expression of a personality or world view

Formal Theories

• Looks carefully at how the composition come together to create a visual experience

• They believe that the most important influence on an artwork is past artwork that the artist has seen or studied

• The subject or theme of the work is less important

• The date of when the work was made is very important


Titian. Pietà. 1576.149" × 136".

Contextual Theories

• Contextual theorist look and the environment that the artwork was made in. The cultural values, politics, economy…

• They tend to ask the question: What was going on in the culture at that time?

Expressive Theories

• All artwork is made by people. The skill level, personal intent, emotional state, gender, etc will effect the creative process

• The most important information to expressive theorists is: Who made the artwork?

• They are looking for psychological insight, personal meanings


Frank Modell.

Technology

Art Appreciation-Chapter13