1.

1 Porch of the Caryatids, Erec h the um, Acropo lis, Athens,

c. 421-4 05 BCE.

PREVIEW
What is art? No single definition holds for all times and
places, but this chapter gives a few working definitions.
It also covers the ways that we describe, classify, and study
art and the way that art fits into our overall visual culture.
At the end, we look at artists, creativity, and the making
of art.

ART AND Look also for Art Experience boxes, which encourage
you to photograph art, make art, or analyze images or
objects around you.
ART MAKING
Humans make art to understand life, to communicate
emotions and ideas to others, or.Jo simp ly create
something beautifu l. Here are ways to understand and
apprec iate art.

3
TOWARD A DEFINITION OF ART A RT EXPERIENCE Be an art photographer. Use your
camera or phone to photograph five or more objects
To answer the question "What is art?" we need to know
you think function as art, and explain why you chose
for whom and when. For example, the ancient Greeks of
them. Choose objects that are familiar to you in your
the fifth and fourth centuries BCE believed that art should
daily routine.
both glorify man and express intelligence, clearness, bal­
ance, and harmony, as exemplified by the Porch of the
Ca,yatids (Fig. 1.1). If we look at ancient Chinese culture,
we find sculpture and porcelain works that express the Visual Form
power of the emperor. For the United States at the begin­
Another primary question to ask about a work of art is
ning of the twenty-first century, we define art like this: Art
"What elements compose it, and how are they arranged?"
is a primarily visual medium that is used to express ideas
Almost all artwork has physical attributes, so it can be seen
about our human experience and the world around us.
or touched and so ideas can be communicated. For any
Basically, the definition of art is not universal and
work of art, its materials have been carefully selected and
fixed. It fluctuates and changes because cultures are alive
organized, as have its line, shape, color, texture, volume,
and changing, and we will see more examples of this in the
and so on. Chapters 2 and 3 are all about visual form, but
middle of this chapter. However, for now, you can begin
we will compare two artworks here to introduce the basic
to analyze and understand art from any time and place
ideas.
by focusing on four major areas: function, visual form,
Figure 1.2 is the Veranda Post: Female Ca,yatid and
content, and aesthetics. We will discuss them one by one,
Equestrian Figure, carved before 1938 by Olowe of Ise in
but in fact they are all interrelated.
Nigeria. Its function was to symbolize and strengthen the
power of a Yoruban ruler. Compare it to Figure 1.3, another
Function sculpture intended to assert the authority of a ruler, the
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, from the Roman
When you look at any work of art, one first question is "For
Empire around 175 CE. In two very different cultures, a
what purpose was this originally made?" At the time it is
ruler on horseback functions as an image of power.
created, a work of art is intended to do a job within a cul­
But the visual form of each is different-and in ways
ture. Here are some of its many functions:
that are meaningful to each culture. In the wooden
■ Art reflects customs and concerns related to food, Veranda Post, horizontal elements are minimized, while
shelter, and human reproduction (Chapters 5 and 6). verticality emphasizes the authority of the king on
• Art gives us pictures of deities or helps us conceive of top. For the Yoruban culture, inventive forms and rich
what divinity might be. It is also used to create a place details were important, so we see a pistol, spear, dramatic
of worship (Chapter 7). headdress, textures, small female figures (caryatids), and
■ Art serves and/or commemorates the dead (Chapter 8). so on. The visual form of this sculpture is suitable for a
■ Art glorifies the power of the state and its rulers. It Yoruban king.
celebrates war and conquest-and sometimes peace In contrast, the Equestrian Statue ofMarcus Aurelius
(Chapter 9). has a roundness and a volume that are different from the
• Art reveals political and social justice and injustices visual form of the Veranda Post. Extraneous items and
(Chapter 10). details, including armor, are stripped away, referring to
■ Art records the likenesses of individuals and aids us in the fact that Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher as well as
understanding ourselves, our bodies, and our minds, an emperor. Also significant is the material, hollow-cast
thoughts, and emotions (Chapter 11). bronze, which is durable, expensive, and difficult to work.
■ Art promotes cohesion within a social group and Bronze distinguishes this piece as a costly and important
helps to define classes and clans (Chapter 12). royal Roman portrait.
■ Art educates us about who we are within the world Scholars, art historians, and museum curators study
around us (Chapter 13). art from the past, like these two sculptures, and educate us
■ Art entertains us (Chapter 14). about the ways in which visual form and function are inter­
twined in works of art. By studying art, they (and we) glean
Finally, the art of the past serves to educate us about ear­ considerable information about the historical moments
lier cultures, while contemporary art is a mirror held up to from which they come. These scholars also study content,
show us our current condition. which we will see next.

4 CHAPTER ONE ArlandArtMaking

 1.3 Equestria11 Statue ofMarcus Aurelius, Rome, c.175 CE.
Bronze, approx.11' 6" high. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
This sculpture was also meant to reinforce the ruler"s power but

I
in this case in ancient Rome.

ART EXPERIENCE Be your own artist. Choose one

of the many functions of art described in this chapter,

-----
and create an artwork that serves this purpose. What
decisions did you make about visual form?

Content
Art has content, which is the mass of ideas associated with
each artwork. Asking about content is critical to under­
standing any artwork. If you consider the entirety of art
production, you will see that it reflects humans' percep­
tions of and responses to all aspects of spiritual life and
earthly life, from birth to death and the hereafter, and of
everything in between. It brings everything from the mun­
1.2 OLOWE OF !SE. Vera11da Post: Female Ca,yatid a11d dane to the cosmic into sharp, concentrated focus.
Equestria11 Figure, Yoruba, before 1938. Wood, pigment, 71" high. Content is communicated through the following:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
In Nigeria. this sculpture was meant to reinforce the power of the ■ The art's imagery
local king. ■ Its symbolic meaning

Toward a Definition of Art 5

1.4 SANDRO BOTTICELLI. The Birth of Venus, Italy, c.1482. Tempera on canvas, approx. 5' 8" X 9' l". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

The content of a work of art includes its imagery and its cultural references. Some content is obvious. but other content is hidden.

■ Its surroundings where it is used or displayed ancient Greeks and Romans in high esteem. But the period
■ The customs, beliefs, and values of the culture that was marked by conflicting currents because the Catholic
uses it Church was a major force at that time and it disapproved
■ Writings that help explain the work of the depiction of pagan deities.
Likewise, the content of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is
Content can both be immediately apparent and revealed only upon study. Originally, Picasso intended to
require considerable study. For an example, just by look­ paint a brothel scene of prostitutes with their male cus­
ing at Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus (Fig. 1.4), from tomers. But he made radical changes as the work pro­
1482, and Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon gressed, ending with an image of intertwined figures and
(Fig. 1.5), from 1907, you immediately see the imagery. space that began an art movement known as Cubism.
Both are paintings with multiple figures in the composi­ He was influenced by African masks, like the Ceremonial
tion, and female nudity is at least part of the subject mat­ Mask Known as a Mboom or Bwoom, from the Kuba or
ter. Venus is painted in a more realistic, traditional style. Bushongo culture of Central Africa, circa nineteenth­
The blocky, simplified Demoiselles appears- to be more twentieth centuries (Fig. 1.6) . At that time, African
modern and less interested in popular ideas of beauty. In artworks like the Mask were being brought to Europe
visual form, both paintings seem balanced side to side, through colonial trade, and they dramatically influenced
with a figure in the middle. Western art. Also, Picasso's blending of figure and space
However, much of the content is not readily apparent echoed the theories of scientists like Albert Einstein on
and requires deeper study. The Birth of Venus celebrates an the mutability of matter, energy, and space. Clearly, the
ancient Greek myth and glorifies the beauty of the female content contains complex ideas related to European
body. When it was painted in 1482, it reflected the ide­ ideas of sexuality, to colonialism, and to modern scien­
als of the early Italian Renaissance, which elevated the tific theory, all of which may require study to learn and
importance of man, emphasized learning, and held the understand.

6 CHAPTER ONE ArtandArtMaldng

 1.5 PABLO PICASSO. Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon, Spain/France, 1907. Oil
on canvas, 8' X 7' 8". The Museum of
Modern Art, New York.
Artwork reflects the cultural moment
when it was made-in this case. the
modern era at the beginning of the
twentieth century.

1.6, right Ceremonial Mask Known as a Mboom or Bwoom, Kuba,

Central Africa, c. nineteenth-twentieth centuries. Wood, beads,
shells, and cloth, head-sized. Royal Museum for Central Africa,
Tervuren, Belgium.
Influences can cross cultures. The works of modern artists such as
Pablo Picasso were influenced by African masks.

In the same way, the Ceremonial Mask Known as a

Mboom or Bwoom has its own obvious and hidden content.
Visibly, it is a decorated helmet mask, made of wood, beads,
shells, and pieces of cloth. Less apparent is the fact that it
was originally used in African masquerades, which are
traditional celebrations that blend dance, art, song, and
ritual. Many African peoples stage masquerades to reenact
important creation events, spirit works, and ancestor sto­
ries. This mask represented the people over whom a king
asserted his authority.
Thus, all three works (Figs. 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6) have a mass
of meaning, or content, explained by scholarly research
and critical writings. We will delve more deeply into
how meaning is embodied in art in Chapter 4, Deriving
Meaning.

Toward a Definition of Art 7

Aesthetics about beauty and that beauty could be universally defined
for all times and places. That universalist position is dis­
The last basic question regarding any artwork is "What credited now because there is no worldwide agreement
are its aesthetic qualities?" Aesthetics involve the look and
about what constitutes beauty and because philosophers
feel of an artwork and the attributes that elevate it above
today consider many qualities other than beauty as sig­
other objects. These change from age to age and from place
nificant attributes of art. What do you think is the role of

I
to place. While some cultures may value the look and feel
beauty in relation to art today?
of a well-executed oil painting, others may value the intri­
cacy and pattern of finely woven natural materials.
Aesthetics is also a body of written texts that deal with ART EXPERIENCE Talk about art. Choose two

art, taste, and culture or that examine the definition and cultures outside of your own, and select one artwork

---
appreciation of art. Ancient Greeks wrote about aesthet­ from each of them. Compare and contrast the artworks

ics as they understood it. Thinkers from India, Japan, and and discuss them with fellowstudents.

China wrote about their cultures' aesthetic systems. In

several African, Oceanic, and Native American cultures,
Art and Style Vocabulary
the practice of art demonstrated a clear aesthetic long
before there was written material about it. You are think­ We pause for a moment in our discussion to learn some
ing aesthetically when you reflect critically while reading a basic terms to describe art and art styles. These will be
book like this one. Aesthetics as a body of knowledge goes helpful for the rest of this chapter and throughout the
beyond individual tastes, since it reflects the preferences book.
of a large segment of the culture's population. Art is representational when it contains entities
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the from the world in recognizable form. Another related
West, aesthetics focused on the idea of beauty, and the stan­ term is naturalistic, which is recognizable imagery that is
dard for beauty was ancient Greek sculpture, such as the depicted very much as seen in nature (Fig.1.7).
Porch of the Cmyatids on the Erechtheum (Fig. I.I). This In idealized art, natural imagery is modified in a way
approach led to the notion that aesthetics was essentially that strives for perfection within the bounds of the values

,./? ,:,
11,h
/.,
,' ..,�-

\ "'
<

� ��}
,
_.

_,/

,,

1.7 An illustration of, from left to

right by row, naturalistic, idealized,
expressive, surreal, abstract, and
v�1�
.\
. .I(
I f"'
nonobjective drawings. , ,, I

8 CHAPTER ONE Art and Art Making

and aesthetics of a particular culture. The Veranda Post individual artist. A cultuml style consists of recurring
(Fig. 1.2) and the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and distinctive features that we see in many works of art
(Fig. 1.3) are both rendered in idealized styles, yet they are emanating from a particular place and era. For example,
quite different because each culture had its own definition the cultural style of ancient Egyptian art (with strong out­
of what is ideal. Idealized art is often orderly and balanced lines and flattened figures in flattened space) helps us to
vertically and horizontally. group its paintings across hundreds of years. Stylistic dif­
In addition to naturalistic or idealized, representa­ ferences make the art of ancient Egypt readily distinguish­
tional art can be expressive or surreal. Expressionism or able from other cultural styles. (To further define, culture
expressionist art communicates heightened emotions is the totality of ideas, customs, skills, and arts that belong
and often a sense of urgency or spontaneity. Expressive to a group of people. In contrast, a civilization is a highly
styles frequently appear bold and immediate rather than structured society, with a written language or a very devel­
carefully considered or refined. They often feature dis­ oped system of communication, organized government,
torted imagery and may appear asymmetrical or off bal­ and advances in the arts and sciences.)
ance. Surrealism or surreal refers to art with a bizarre or Cultural styles are recognizable across a broad spec­
fantastic arrangement of images or materials, as if tapping trum of art objects created by a people. For example, dur­
into the workings of the unconscious mind (Fig. 1.7). ing the seventeenth-century reign of King Louis XIV of
In contrast to representational art is nonobjective France, the court style, which was ornate and lavish, could
(nonrepresentational) art, which contains forms that are be seen in everything from architecture to painting, furni­
completely generated by the artist. Another term, abstract ture design, and clothing (see the background in Fig. 1.17).
art, is often used to mean the same thing as nonobjective, Even hairstyles were affected, with big elaborate wigs.
but there is an important distinction. Absti·acted imagery What qualities do you see shared by contemporary art,
has been derived from reality by distorting, enlarging, and/ popular music, and the latest ads for clothing?
or dissecting objects or figures from nature (Fig. 1.7). Pablo Differences in cultural styles become apparent when
Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Fig. 1.5) is abstract, but studying a particular art form that appears across the
the manipulated imagery is still recognizable. Therefore, globe. For example, Islamic mosques are built around the
Picasso's work cannot be called nonobjective. world to provide a place for Muslims to congregate and
All of these terms can be used to describe style, pray together. But local styles differ from each other, as we
either of the art output of a whole culture or of that of an can see with the Grand Mosque in Djenne, Mali (Fig. 1.8),

1.8 Grand Mosque,

Djenne, Mali, 1906-
1907.

All mosques have

certain necessary
features. but here
they are translated
into architectural
styles that are
favored by North
Africans and that
use readily available
materials.

Toward a Definition of Art 9

1.9 Badshahi Mosque, main
entrance, Lahore, Pakistan,
1672-1674.
This is a mosque translated into a
Pakistani architectural style.

1.10, right VINCENTVANGOGH.PortraitofMme. Ginoux

(L'Arlesienne), 1889. Oil on canvas, 23½" X 19½". Galleria
Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome.
Vincent van Gogh is well known for his unique painting style. yet
even his work reflects cultural and artistic influences.

and the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan (Fig. 1.9).

Both are imposing buildings with towers, yet each design
is influenced by its cultural preferences and by locally
available building materials. And cultural styles are not
static. They evolve as a result of many circumstances,
including changes in religion, historical __events such as
war, and contact with other cultures through trade or
colonization.
Style can also refer to the work of an individual art­
ist, who can develop a unique, personal style. The artist
Vincent van Gogh is famous for his expressive paintings
rendered in thick paint with broad areas of strong colors,
like the Portrait ofMme. Ginoux (L'Arlesienne) (Fig. 1.10),
from 1889. However, no artist operates in a vacuum. Van
Gogh's unique style shares attributes with the styles of
other artists of his time, including Impressionists such

10 CHAPTER ONE ArtandArtMaking

 1.11 PAUL GAUGUIN. Woman in a
Coffeehouse, Madame Ginoux in the Cafe
cle la Gare in Aries, 1888. Oil on canvas,
28¾" X 36¼ ". Pushkin Museum of Fine
Arts, Moscow.
Note the similarities and differences
between Gauguin"s and van Gogh·s
paintings of Madame Ginoux.

as Claude Monet (see Fig. 14.14) and Postimpressionists personal computers. The images we make are distributed
such as Georges Seurat (see Fig. 13.29) and Paul Gauguin through many means, such as mass media, the Internet,
Fig. l.ll). All of these artists applied bright colors in galleries, museums, stores, and ads.
a thick way and often chose subject matter from every­ We will look at some of the categories within visual
day life. culture in a moment. Before we begin, however, remember
Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh were closely asso­ that these categories are culturally determined. Some cul­
ciated for a while, sharing lodgings and painting together, tures, both past and present, do not even have a term that
as evident in Gauguin's Woman in a Coffeehouse, Madame corresponds to ours for art. And other cultures have their
Ginoux in the Cafe de la Gare in Aries (Fig. 1.11). Each paint­ own categories of art that differ from those in the United
ing has shared and unique qualities. Note the similarity in States. One example, which we already mentioned in rela­
Madame Ginoux's pose but the differences in her attitude, tion to Figure 1.6, is the masquerade in sub-Saharan Africa,
in the overall scene, and in the color choices. Between an important ritual art form that has no direct equivalent
these two artists' examples, which one appeals to you in the United States. (The only remotely related celebra­
more, and why? tions are Halloween and Mardi Gras, which are connected
to the Christian traditions of All Soul's Day and Lent,
respectively.) Another example of different categories for
ART WITHIN VISUAL CULTURE
art comes from the Japanese, who value ikebana as an art
Art is part of visual culture; that is, it is part of the vast form, unlike most Western cultures. The closest transla­
amount of imagery that humans create and proliferate, tion of ikebana is "flower arranging," but it is much more
that comes to us through all kinds of media, and that is so than that, as it is a disciplined art form governed by strict
important in our everyday lives. rules and mixed with spiritual awareness.
Imagine life 200 years ago, with few books, few pic­
tures, no phones, no television, no computers, no Internet,
CONNECTION The Japanese also value traditional
and so on. Compare that lack of visual culture with today,
puppetry as an art form. For more on Japanese Bunraku
when we are inundated with images and visual objects that
puppetry, see Figure 14.20.
humans make. Consuming that imagery has become far
more fascinating and absorbing to many people than the
actual world in which we live. Visual culture is the result That said, let us turn to three categories of visual cul­
of technological innovation in the broadest sense, whether ture in the United States today: fine art, popular culture,
it is the development of chalk, oil paints, printing, or and craft.

Art within Visual Culture 11

 1.12 Sculpture Gallery in the
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lyon.
These are examples of Fine Art
from the late 1800s.

Fine Art
Fine art is a category of refined objects considered to be
among the highest cultural achievements of the hwnan race.
Fine art is believed to transcend average human works and
is produced by artists with unique sensibilities. Museums
and galleries are institutions closely associated with fine art.
As we mentioned at the very beginning of this chap­
ter, cultures are constantly evolving in their definitions
of what constitutes art. In the 1800s, fine art in Western
cultures consisted of oil painting, sculpture, and architec­
ture, usually in the idealized styles seen in Figure 1.12, and
was mostly located in palaces and churches.
Since the 1800s, fine art has expanded dramatically,
along with the overwhelming growth of visual culture. Now
it includes all kinds of new media, such as film, photogra­
phy, prints, and, most recently, installation, performance,
video, and computer art (Fig. 1.13). An exhibit of fine art
might include almost any kind of material or technology­
or even junk. You can find art in public spaces and recre­
ation areas (see Figs. 15.9 and 15.11), in addition to muse­
ums. Street art is also a potent force i"n communities,
sometimes as commissioned murals and sometimes as
unsanctioned graffiti and paintings. Figure 1.14 shows a
beautifully drawn rooster that covers a two-story wall in a
small public square in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In addition, definitions of fine art are in flux when
Western people look at art from other cultures. In 1880, 1.13 An exhibition at the Pinakothek Der Modern in Munich,
works like the Mask Known as a Mboom or Bwoom (Fig. 1.6) Germany's largest museum of modern art.
would not have been displayed in art museums in the There has been a major expansion in materials used in art making
United States or Europe. But now the art from Oceania, and in the ways art is displayed.

12 CHAPTER ONE Arta11dArtMaki11g

 1.14 An example of street art in San
Juan, Puerto Rico, 2013, which is possibly
referring to the popular culture of cock
fighting.

1.15 Interior of New York's Metropolitan

Museum of Art, with permanent
installations of the arts of Africa, Oceania,
and the Americas.

the Americas, Africa, and Asia is a prominent part of major encompasses graphic design, product design, and informa­
art museums in Western cultures (Fig. 1.15). tion design. Popular art is often perceived as being more
Do you think all art across world cultures is "fine art"? accessible, inexpensive, entertaining, commercial, politi­
And two other questions to ponder: Is it necessary to have cal, naive, or colorful than fine art. Among all categories of
the word art in Western vocabul�ry? Would its lack make visual culture, this one is growing the fastest.
a difference in the creativity in Western culture? It is important to study popular culture while study­
ing fine art because the two are interrelated and parts of
Popular Culture a continuum that contains much of the visual imagery
Popular culture in Western nations consists of magazines, that Western culture produces. Popular culture and fine
comics, television shows, advertising, folk art, tattoos, cus­ art often influence each other. Popular culture objects
tomized cars, graffiti, video games, posters, websites, cal­ share many attributes of fine art, in that they can also
endars, greeting cards, dolls, souvenirs, toys, movies (as be analyzed along the lines of function, visual form, and
opposed to art films), snapshots, and commercial photog­ content. They reflect the values and structures of our
raphy (as opposed to fine photography). This category also social systems, political hierarchies, and religious beliefs.

Art within Visual Culture 13

Popular culture is studied academically in visual culture, and installations of large-scale inflatable art. His work
art history, philosophy, and anthropology courses. Some is a blend of Western and Japanese fine art, popular
objects from popular culture eventually "become" art­ culture, design, and anime (contemporary Japanese
for example, popular prints like Las bravisimas calaveras animation) and always reflects a self-conscious con­
guatemaltecas de Moray de Morales by Jose Guadalupe sumerism. Murakami also sells multiple-edition prints
Posada (Fig. 1.16). Now carefully preserved in a univer­ of works on paper and canvas through galleries and
sity library, this print was originally inexpensive and the Internet. His 2010 exhibit in the Palace at Versailles
widely distributed like an editorial cartoon, with large, juxtaposes the magnificent yet pompous array of the
running skeletons (calaveras) that represent two assas­ palace's marble and gold with the brash plastic bright­
sins who brought death and chaos to Guatemala over a ness of his sculpture.
century ago. A subcategory of popular culture, called kitsch,
Some artists want to occupy the space between fine comprises artwork that is shallow or pretentious or
art and popular culture. For example, Kiki, from 2010 overly calculated to be popular. Objects or images are
(Fig. 1.17), is by the contemporary Japanese artist Takashi kitsch if they display an emotional appeal that is gen- ·
Murakami, who produces paintings, designer handbags, eralized, superficial, and sentimental. Unlike the best

1.16 JOSE GUADALUPE POSADA. Las

bravisimas calaveras guatemaltecas
de Moray de Morales, 1907. Pictorial
broadside verse, full sheet, printed recto
and verso, lavender paper; zinc etching.
University of New Mexico Art Museum,
Albuquerque.

The boundary between fine art and

popular culture is often blurred. This
poster. which was inexpensive and widely
distributed at the time it was made. is
now collected in libraries and museums.

14 CHAPTER ONE Artanc/ArtMaking

 1.17 TA KASH! MURAKAMI. Kiki.
Manga sculpture in the Venus
drawing-room. Exhibition in the
state apartments and gardens of
the Chateau Versailles outside
of Paris in 2010.
Notice the contrast between the
fine art surroundings and the
popular culture qualities of Kiki.

1.18 TheSmithso11ia11
Institution's 150th A1111iversa,y
Float in the 1996 Rose Parade
in Pasadena, California.
Artwork that is sentimental or
calculated to please may be
considered as kitsch.

of fine art or popular culture, kitsch does not provide buildings appear diminutive and cute-not like sites of
an original experience, a uniquely felt emotion, or a serious research.
thoughtful, introspective moment. The Smithsonian Like all other categories of visual art, the idea of
Institution's 150th Anniversary Float in the Rose Parade kitsch is evolving and changing. Critics such as Susan
(Fig. 1.18), with its collection of images from astronauts Sontag have reclaimed some kitsch as camp, which
to the first airplane to pandas to butterflies to baseball, means that objects and images of such extreme artifice
is meant to appeal to all and offend none. The museum (and often banality) have a perverse sophisticated and

Art within Visual Culture 15

1.19 TIM HAWKINSON. Bear, 2005. 23' 6" high, 370,000 lbs. Stuart
Collection, University of California, San Diego. 1.20 Gheordez Prayer Rug, Turkey, eighteenth century. White
This work is a cross between a toy and monumental art. mihrab (prayer niche) with two Turkish floral columns. Wool,
height 65¾", width 48¾". Museum fuer Angewandte Kunst,
Vienna.
aesthetic appeal and that they reveal "another kind of This rug is an example of an object that could be classified as fine
truth about the human situation" (Sontag 1966:287). art or as craft.
Other artists incorporate and transform sentimental or
cute items in their work. The artist Tim Hawkinson, who
is known for his inventive, humorous, or fantastic art, involves making objects rather than images, although
created the nearly 200-ton stone Bear (Fig. 1.19), a cross craft may involve surface decoration. Often, craft objects
between a teddy bear and Stonehenge. There is an inter­ have a utilitarian purpose or perhaps evolved from a utili­
esting association between the surfaces of a soft, fuzzy tarian origin. In addition, however, they display aesthetic
childhood companion and the rounded, weathered sur­ and/or conceptual attributes that go beyond mundane
faces of ancient stones. use. Like the distinction between fine art and popular
Do you think there should be a demarcation between culture, the art/craft distinction is culturally specific and
fine art and popular culture? Why? in flux.
We will look at one example here, but we could take
CONNECTION Stonehenge contains
up literally thousands of craft objects and analyze their
circles of ancient, enormous boulders,
relation to or distinction from fine art. The Gheordez
presumably set up for agricultural
Prayer Rug (Fig. 1.20), from eighteenth-century Turkey,
rituals, and is located in southern
is a good example of an object that might be categorized
England. See Figure 7.26.
as craft or art. Like other woven objects, it is craft, but
its aesthetic qualities and ritualistic uses carry it beyond
a utilitarian function. The intricate pattern echoes tile
Craft
work in mosques, and the white niche in the center is like
Craft refers to specific media, including ceramics, a mihrab, an architectural feature in a mosque that marks
glass, jewelry, weaving, and woodworking. Craft usually the direction of Mecca.

16 CHAPTER ONE ArlandArtMah·i,1g

Other Categories ABOUT ARTISTS
There are other ways to categorize art. Disciplines such A discussion of art would not be complete without looking
as drawing, photography, and sculpture may be grouped at artists, their training, and the roles they play in society.
as separate categories. And, of course, as we have already
seen, some cultures have their own distinct categories
The Context for Art Making
outside of these previous examples. We will see all of these
forms again in later chapters in this book. Artists make art, but before we begin that discussion, we
Art can be categorized chronologically according to cul­ want to discuss the many ways that many other people con­
tural styles through the years, like "a histmy of Renaissance tribute to the process of making art. These include patrons,
art" or "art from the Middle Ages." A geographic approach technicians, skilled workers, craftspersons, laborers, mem­
studies the art from a particular area, usually also in chron­ bers of institutions, and the regular person on the street.
ological order-for example, "the art of Africa" or "the art of When we think of big works like the Egyptian Stepped
the American West." Pyramid ofDjoser and Tomb Complex (Fig.1.21), from 2650
This text's approach is thematic. Fundamental con­ BCE, we realize, of course, that many people contributed
cepts and themes form our basis for discussing art from to building this project, including engineers, skilled work­
many different cultures, as seen in Chapters 5 through 14. ers, and thousands of laborers, supervised by priests and
These fundamental global experiences include food, shel­ architects. But even the concept of a pyramid was a "group
ter, reproduction, sexuality, deities, places of worship, project." The pharaoh was the patron who provided the
politics, power, social protest, social affirmation, the mind, funding and impetus for the project. The design of the
the body, race, gender, class, clan, nature, knowledge, tech­ pyramid was the vision of one architect, Imhotep, .and
nology, entertainment, and visual culture. he was able to build structures in stone that were higher
Other divisions are possible! You as an observer of art and larger than any seen before. Nevertheless, all earlier
can create your own categories for grouping artworks, and Egyptian tombs were prototypes that enabled him to con­
these areas can vary according to your preference. What ceive his design; Imhotep's own design was a key develop­
new categories would you add? ment for the later refinements in the pyramid style to be

1.21 IMHOTEP. Stepped Pyramid ofDjoser (right) and Tomb Complex, Saqqarah, Egypt, 2650-2631 BCE.

Works of art are the products of artistic vision and the cultural environment that fosters it.

AboutArtists 17
made in the Great Pyramids of Giza (see Fig. 8.4). Plus, the Persian royalty from the thirteenth to the seventeenth
members of the Egyptian priest class already had devel­ centuries sponsored the kitab khana, libraries and work­
oped complex belief systems about the afterlife, and their shops of highly trained artists who produced fine illumi­
rituals directed the design of temples and tombs. nated manuscripts. Art academies in Europe appeared in
Other art forms-film, architecture, and any work of the fifteenth century. One of the most famous was France's
large scale-obviously require the active participation of powerful Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture,
many people to be realized. Even small-scale work, such as founded in 1648 by King Louis XIV to control the decora­
a student's oil painting, requires the input of teachers, past tive arts, architecture, painting, and landscape architec­
painters, and art critics to provide the necessary background ture for his enormous, lavish palace at Versailles and its
of skills and ideas. The materials are developed by artists and surrounding gardens as well as for his other residences.
scientists and manufactured by art supply firms. The student Although art academies still exist in much-modified form,
probably has financial support, showing that parents, politi­ most artists in the United States today study art in a col­
cians, wealthy donors, or university administrators consider lege's or university's art department.
the study of painting to be important enough to pay for it. Some artists are self-taught, receiving no formal art
training. Some work in isolation. For fourteen years,
Training Artists James Hampton of Washington, D.C., worked on The
Artists need to acquire skills. Traditionally, many started Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium
as apprentices in established art workshops to learn General Assembly (Fig. 1.22), laboring over it daily from the
materials, manual skills, and styles from mature artists. time he finished his day job as a janitor until the middle
There are examples of this system all around the world. For of the night. He dreamed of opening a storefront ministry
example, Leonardo da Vinci was trained as an apprentice after retirement. By the time he died, he had produced a
in the workshop of the artist Andrea de! Verrocchio, where heavenly vision with 180 pieces, made from inexpensive
he received an education in humanities as well as learn­ or cast-off materials.
ing chemistry, metallurgy, painting, casting, and more.
Making the Art Object
Throughout Africa, artists traditionally were trained in
the apprentice method, learning the tools and methods as How does an artwork get made? In many cases, individual
well as aesthetic standards. Most apprentices do prelimi­ artists make their own artwork. Michelangelo Buonarroti
nary rough work, and the master artist finishes the piece. did most of the painting on the colossal Sistine Ceiling
In addition to apprentice systems, more structured because he was dissatisfied with the work that his collabo­
institutions have existed for training artists. In medieval rators did (see Fig. 7.21). Vincent van Gogh painted all
Europe, specialized societies called guilds preserved tech­ his own paintings because, as he wrote to his brother
nical information for artists and regulated art making. Theo, he valued the act of creation more than life itself.

1.22 JAMES HAMPTON.

The Throne ofthe Third
Heaven ofthe Nations
Millennium General
Assembly, c.1950-1964.
Gold and silver aluminum
foil, kraft paper, and
plastic over wood
furniture, paperboard,
and glass, 180 pieces in
all, overall configuration:
10½' X 27' X 14½'.
Smithsonian American
Art Museum, Washington,
D.C.
Some artists are untrained.
as is the case with James
Hampton. who produced
this large sculpture in the
evenings after working his
day job.

18 CHAPTER ONE ArtandArtMaking

 1.23 ANDO OR UTA GAWA HIROSHIGE. Basket Fen)',
Kagowatashi, Hida Province, nineteenth century.
Woodblock print, 13½" X 9". Leeds Museums and
Galleries (City Art Gallery), United Kingdom.
Prints in nineteenth-century Japan were the products
of collaborations among skilled professionals.
including the artist. the block carver. the papermaker.
and the printer.

But sometimes art objects are made by workshops, produce their works of art. Sometimes art making is a col­
by communities, in collaborations, and through group laborative activity among professionals of equal standing.
commissions. The knowledge and skill of each collaborator are essential
to the final art product. An example is traditional Japanese
CONNECTION Peter Paul Rubens prints, like Basket Feny by Ando or Utagawa Hiroshige
maintained one of the largest (Fig. 1.23), requiring the combined skills of many profes­
and most prolific workshops in sionals, all commissioned by a publisher. The artist makes
seventeenth--century Europe, an original drawing, but the print itself is executed by a
producing vast numbers of artworks host of other professionals, including a papermaker, an
and employing many skilled workers. engraver, and a printer, as illustrated in Figure 3.14.
See the Abduction of the Daughters of In addition, sometimes communities come together
Leucippus (Fig. 12.9). to make a work of art. An ea1:ly precedent occurred in
medieval Europe, when citizens of small, growing cities
We have already discussed apprentices in workshop built impressive cathedrals that were symbols of commu­
situations in Italy (and in the rest of Europe) and in Africa nity pride (see Fig. 7.39). Trained craftsmen were surely
as well as the kitab khana of Persia. Even today some needed, but the average untrained townsperson provided
artists hire assistants to help build, assemble, paint, or labor and support.

About Artists 19
 Some artists blend both approaches. Jaune Quick-to­
See Smith's Genesis (Fig. 1.25) contains aspects of innova­
tion and self-expression, but at the same time she is
re-creating old forms. On the one hand, Smith has applied
thick, expressive, gestural strokes of oil paint on top of a col­
laged layer of newspaper articles, photocopied images, and
pieces of fabric. On the other hand, she is preserving old
forms. Referring to Native American creation myths, she
has incorporated native symbols, sculptures, and lines from
stories, along with glorifying the buffalo, an animal with
mythical standing. She has blended traditional native imag­
ery and mythology into late-twentieth-century art styles.
To Smith, all her works are inhabited landscapes, full of life,
which is an essential Native American cultural idea.

<;:ONNECTION In the lower-right

corner of Genesis, Jaune Quick­
to-See Smith has drawn an image
of a 700-year-old Native American
ceramic vessel called Mother and
Nursing Child (see Fig. 6.32),
showing the importance of re­
creating and preserving old forms.

1.24 Displaying the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Washington, D.C.,

October 11, 1992.
The Role of the Artist
Ordinary people contributed to the making of this work of art and
also contributed to the funding for it and for AIDS research. in Various Cultures
Depending on the culture, artists may be considered ordi­
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, begun in 1989 (Fig. 1.24; a dif­ nary people, skilled workers, priests, or people with special
ferent view is on page 242), provides a contemporary exam­ or prized skills.
ple of community art making. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a Among the Hindu-Balinese people on the South Pacific
composite of thousands of 3- by 6-foot panels, each made by island of Bali, almost everyone makes art-visual art, dance,
ordinary people to memorialize someone they lost to AIDS. or music-although certain people are recognized as teach­
It is a collection of individual remembrances, which together ers or people of superior ability. In Bali, art, religion, and
create the whole fabric. Individual panels may be naive or social institutions are completely intertwined, resulting in
may be sophisticated, but collectively they are very moving. the production of impermanent artworks as well as wooden
The quilt is an ongoing effort of the Names Project, begun by statues and large stone temples. Although simple offer­
gay activist Cleve Jones in San Francisco in the 1980s. It is ings are made every day to deities, ancestors, and demons,
also used as a fund-raising tool for AIDS research. Balinese women make large sculptures of fried, colored rice
dough like the Sarad offering (Fig. 1.26) for temple festivals.
Innovation and Self-Expression Offerings like this exist but a short time and can be used only
How important are innovation and self-expression in art once, but the obvious care and skill that go into them indi­
making? Innovation is the making of something that is cate the significance of art in everyday life.
new. Self-expression refers to individual artists' own per­ In some cases, making art is tied to gender roles. In the
sonal ideas or emotions, embedded in the works of art they traditional Sepik culture in Papua New Guinea and also
make. While innovation and self-expression can be seen in among the Navajo of North America, men made certain
much of the art made in the United States today, they are not kinds of art, while women made others.
ubiquitous. And there are some cultures in which artists fol­
CONNECTION Read more on the Sepik rituals and
lowed formulas or copied other works because their culture
artworks in Chapter 12, page 353.
valued the re-creation of old forms more than innovation.

20 CHAPTER ONE ArtandArtMaking

 1.25 JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE
SMITH. Genesis, 1993. Oil,
collage, mixed media on
canvas, 5' X 8' 4". Museum of
Art, Atlanta.

Art is often innovative and

unique, while at the same time
borrowing from existing styles
and symbols.

1.26 Sarad offering in Bali. Crafted of dyed rice dough, intricate 1.27 Bailie Seated Female Figure. Wood. Private collection.
sarad offerings are made during temple festivals by Balinese
Baule artists are not associated with the sculptures they produce;
women. Bali, Indonesia, c. 1990.
rather, the owners/commissioners of the artwork are associated
In Bali. making art is tied with everyday rituals, and almost everyone with the artworks because they perform the rituals that give the
participates. works their meaning.

In some cultures, artists are skilled workers or labor­ Africa, artists are skilled professionals, and the best
ers, just like others who make things. For example, medi­ earn prestige and high pay, but the artists' names are not
eval artists and craftsmen who built the large cathedrals associated with the sculptures they make. Rather, the
were not famous personalities but were more like skilled owner of the piece performs rituals and develops the art­
union members. In Communist China from the 1950s work's spiritual cult, like the Baule SeatedFemale Figure,
through the 1980s, artists were not to seek personal which represents a spirit wife (Fig. 1.27). A Baule ritual
glory but rather to work anonymously at making art sculpture could be less effective if its human maker is
for the common good. Among the Baule people of West emphasized.

About Artists 21
 tt '·
.....J;;:�:...
-� . .
1"\,.,.t"'·�f
·--�--..--r�· �
•+ . . •

1.28 LEONARDO DA VINCI. Proportions ofthe Human Figure

(VitruvianMan), c.1492. Pen and ink on paper, 13½" X 92/3''. 1.29 JOSEPH BEUYS. The Pack (das Rudel), 1969. Volkswagen bus
Galleria dell' Accademia, Venice. made in 1961, 24 sleighs, each equipped with fat, felt blankets,
belts, and torchlight, 78" X 157" X 394". Staatliche Museen Kassel,
Artists can be considered geniuses in some cultures and during
Neue Galerie, Kassel, Germany.
some time periods; for example. Leonardo da Vinci was renowned
for his artistic skills and contributions to science. Artists can be spiritual leaders in their community.

And, of course, in some cultures, artists are consid­ produced medieval manuscripts, which were often hand­
ered people with special or prized skills. In particular, in written and illustrated prayer books or Bibles. Men in
Europe since the Renaissance, many European artists several Native American tribes conducted ritual ceremo­
were considered to be creative geniuses. One such artist nies that involved making art.
was Leonardo da Vinci, who also made contributions to Even in the twentieth century, some artists engage
the study of hydraulics, zoology, geology, optics, physics, in practice that is considered shaman-like. For exam­
botany, and anatomy, like the Proportions of the Human ple, Joseph Beuys was known for creating work that he
Figul'e (Fig. 1.28). To Leonardo, observation was essen­ intended to help heal the traumatized human spirit after
tial to understanding the mechanics and !he beauty of the the horrors of World War II and to show a new way of liv­
world and, thus, the foundation of both science and art. ing in the world. His 1969 work The Pack (Fig. 1.29) is a
Finally, since art is often a vehicle for spirituality, an conscious turning away from the industrialized modern
artist who makes spiritual art is sometimes also a holy per­ state, represented by the van, to a more primitive human
son, priest, or shaman. In the Cook Islands in Polynesia, existence, represented by the sleds. Beuys equipped each
artists who carved ritual sculptures were also priests who sled with what humans need for this new journey: a flash­
trained for a long time as apprentices, not only to attain light for navigation, felt blankets for protection, and fat for
art skills but also to acquire the spiritual power inherent sustenance (http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/
in their tools and materials. Monks in monasteries beuys/room6.shtm).

22 CHAPTER ONE ArtandArtMaking