A Shared Visual Language

As we've just seen, the word “art” is a tricky one.  I want to go over a few more words that you may have heard before and tell you how I use those words.  Then we will have a greater shared language for  the rest of our time in this class.  I want to go over some words that relate to artistic style and give you some examples of the types of art I associate with this terminology.

Idealized/Idealization

(Roman copy of a work by Myron Diskobolos (Discus Thrower) bronze original c. 450 BCE; marble copy probably 2nd century CE)

• This is the sort of thing that comes to my mind when I hear someone say the word idealized.  What that means to me is that the subject has been perfected by the artist.  I don't think I have ever seen anyone who looked as perfect as this guy.  If I ever thought I did, I doubt he would take off his clothes to let me make sure!  The person shown here does not have an ounce of fat, a blemish, or any other physical imperfections.  He fits the ideal proportions of his culture and has symmetrical features.  It's a little hard to believe the sculptor didn't do at least a little tweaking.

Naturalistic

(Head of a Roman Patrician c.75-50 BCE)

• Some people would say that this sculpture is realistic.  I would try to use a different word.  For me, saying that something is realistic, leads to a long philosophical debate on the nature of reality.   Also, there is a style and period of art called “Realism,” so applying this word to other types of art gets confusing.  I prefer to call art like this naturalistic.  When I say a work is naturalistic, I simply mean that it does not look like the artist altered the subject very much.  The man this portrait represents probably looked just like this stone version.  It seems like it must be an accurate recording of his appearance because, for one thing, I don't see why he would want his portrait to to look like this if he was actually an ancient Roman hottie.  I certainly do not think the artist idealized this representation.

Abstract/Abstracted/Abstraction

(Alberto Giacometti Large Standing Woman I &II  1960)

• When I use the words abstract/abstracted/abstraction, I am referring to a work with a recognizable subject.  This is a good example of what I think of as abstract.  I see that the work represents a subject I recognize but not in a way I have ever seen.  I can tell these are people but I have never seen anyone that looks like this.   Well, maybe Amy Winehouse or Nicole Richie look like this, but most healthy people are not this tall and thin.  The artist played around with the visual appearance of something we see regularly.  He made abstract figures.

Non-Representational

(Alma Woodsey Thomas Light Blue Nursery 1968)

• Some people would call this painting “abstract art.”  Maybe you can see something you recognize when you look at this work.  It might look like a sunset for instance.   I think different people would see different things though.  That is why I call this type of art non-representational.  The painting does not represent a recognizable subject.  It is made up of lines, shapes, colors and patterns that do not look like  anything other than lines, shapes, colors and patterns.  It non-representational.

It will also be important to keep the following in mind so that we are on the same page for the rest of the course.

• Two-dimensional (2d) arts  include painting, drawing, printed arts and photography.  Three-dimensional (3d) arts include sculpture, architecture and many functional objects.
• I will be using the following abbreviations for dates, CE (common era) and BCE (before common era).  BCE  refers to the years “before the common era.”  You may have learned this designation as BC.  CE refers to the common era, which includes our lifetimes.  You may have learned this designation as AD.  If you do not see any designation, assume that it is CE, during the common era.

• The abbreviation “c.” stands for circa when an exact date is not known.  A small “c” before a date, it means the date is approximate or around that time.  If you see a date written like this: “c. 1425”  that means the work was done about 1425.