How to Interpret Abstract Art - Art Appreciation & Fine Arts - 0 views
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Joshjua Tangitau on 11 Jun 08Do you ask yourself any of these questions?\n\nWhat is abstract art? Is it the same thing as Modern Art? How can I interpret and evaluate a piece of abstract art? Can it have a subject or a meaning? Are there different types of abstract art?\n\nIf you want to discover the answers, and ask more questions, this course is for you!\n\nAbstraction is not a style of art, like for example, Baroque or Cubism. It is, rather, about the subject matter and our reading of it. An artist expressing the beauty of a landscape can paint a picture of the landscape, but how can an artist make a piece of artwork about an emotion such as fear, or an idea such as purity, or a quality of a painting such as shape, weight or rhythm? It might be worth considering your expectations of some other art forms; music and dance for example\n\nThe art critic Herbert Read wrote in 1931, �We must not be afraid of this word �abstract�. All art is primarily abstract�. But many people are afraid of abstract art, and feel that it is alien territory! In this course we will approach abstract art via art with which we, perhaps, feel more comfortable and learn to extend our skills of interpretation and understanding. We will also make sure that terms bandied around in art speak such as �abstract, �figurative�, �realism�, �representational� are clearly defined.\n\nWe will explore what we mean by realism and abstraction in Western art by looking at images from the ancient Egyptians, through Classical art, early Christian and Mediaeval art, to the Renaissance, until the late 19th century. We will then explore the break with convention in Modernism, look at experiments with colour and form in the early Modern era, and at some of the key ideas of the first abstract artists.\n\nWe will examine the historical, social and political context of early Modernism, against the backdrop of rapid industrialization, the Bolshevik revolution and the years leading to the great war.\n\nAbstract Ar
