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ART APPRECIATION Lesson 4

The document discusses the key components of art: subject, content, and form. It defines subject as the visual focus or image in the artwork, content as the meaning communicated by the artist, and form as how the elements and materials are arranged. It then describes representational art as having subjects that refer to real people, places, or events, while non-representational art does not depict reality and focuses on visual elements like shape and color. The document provides examples of sources and types of subjects commonly depicted in art, and explains how the subject, factual meaning, conventional meaning, and subjective meaning can provide insight into an artwork's content or message.

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523 views3 pages

ART APPRECIATION Lesson 4

The document discusses the key components of art: subject, content, and form. It defines subject as the visual focus or image in the artwork, content as the meaning communicated by the artist, and form as how the elements and materials are arranged. It then describes representational art as having subjects that refer to real people, places, or events, while non-representational art does not depict reality and focuses on visual elements like shape and color. The document provides examples of sources and types of subjects commonly depicted in art, and explains how the subject, factual meaning, conventional meaning, and subjective meaning can provide insight into an artwork's content or message.

Uploaded by

charity villanueva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ART APPRECIATION Lesson 4: Subject and Content

In viewing art, there are clues that mediate between the artwork and the viewer, allowing the viewer
to most easily comprehend what he is seeing
These clues focus are the three basic component of art:
1. Subject- the visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining the artwork; the
“what”
2. Content- the meaning that is communicated by the artist or the art work; the “why”
3. Form- development and configuration of the artwork- how the elements and the medium or
material are put together; the “how”

 In the science, experimentation is the key to proving a hypothesis or a large theory.


 In the arts, there are observable qualities that the artwork holds that will point to its subject, and
sometimes even to its content. (look at the constituent figures that are perceptible, the manner
in which the artist chose to depict those figures)

TYPES OF SUBJECT
Representational Art
 These type of art have subjects that refers to object or events
occurring in the real world.
 Also termed figurative art because the depicted are easy to
make out and decipher.
 Despite not knowing who Mona Lisa is, it is clear that the
painting of a woman that is realistically-proportioned;
 Only the upper torso is shown;
 A beguiling and mysterious smile is flashed
 The background is a landscape.

Non-representational Art
 Art forms that do not make a reference to the real world,
whether it is a person, place, thing, or even a particular
event.
 It is stripped down to visual elements, such as shape,
lines, and colors that are employed to translate a particular
feeling, emotion, and even concept

Non-REPRESENTATIONAL ART and abstract art


 Is non-representational art the same with abstract art?
 There are no clear-cut divide, rather, they exist in a spectrum
 Abstract art can be non-representational or representational art.

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART REPRESENTATIONAL ART

 Looking at the
ABSTRACT combination of
lines, shape, and colors of the sculpture will point
the head of the woman.
 Even with abstraction of the image, this work is arguably representation art.
For non-representational art a higher, level of perceptiveness and insight might be required to fully
grasped the feeling, emotion, or concept behind work.
For representational art, it is easier to infer the subject matter because from the figures depicted in the
artwork, there is already a suggestions as to its implication

SOURCES OF SUBJECT KINDS OF SUBJECT


 Nature  History
 History  Still life
 Greek and Roman Mythology  Animals
 Judeo- Christian tradition  Figures
 Sacred Orient Text  Nature
 Other work art  Landscape
 Seascapes
 Cityscapes
 Mythology
 Dreams
 Fantasies

Example of sources and kinds of subject

Vincent van Gogh, “Die Ebene von Auvers” (1890). Oil on canvas. Ӧsterreichische Galerie Belvedere
Collection

 Artist who attuned with nature


 He saw art and nature are inseparable, often fining solace and happiness in his painting.
 “if I felt no love for nature and my work, then I would be unhappy.” Van Gogh Museum, 1882)

Content in Art

 The meaning or message that is expressed or communicated by the artwork.


In understanding the content of art, it is important to note that there are various level of meaning:

 Factual meaning
The most rudimentary level of meaning for it may be extracted from the identifiable or recognizable
forms in the artwork and understanding how these elements relate to one another.

 Conventional meaning
Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, and symbols and
other cyphers as bases of its meaning
These conventional are established through time , strengthened by recurrent used and aide
acceptance by its by its viewer or audience with scholars who study them.

 Subjective Meaning
When subjectivities are consulted, a variety of meanings may arise when a particular work of art is
read.
These meaning stem from viewer’s or audience’s circumstances that come into play when
engaging with art (what we know, what we learned, what we experienced; what values we stand for)
Meaning may not be singular, rather multiple and varied.

Example Analysis
Subject: biblical art
Factual Meaning: Creation Story (creation of man)
Conventional meaning: man was created in the
image and likeness of God
Subjective meaning: endowment of intellect to a
man from God.

Michelangelo, “Creation of Adam”


from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1814)

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