by Hawkeye07 » Tue Dec 06, 2016 1:29 pm
Just because you grouped several dissociated objects together and proclaim it "Art" doesn't necessarily make it so. Here's a good explanation of my meaning...
Art Is Form and Content.
At it's most basic level, art is form and content. Let's break down the two terms:
Form means:
The elements of art,
the principles of design and
the actual, physical materials that the artist has used.
Form, in this context, is concrete and fairly easily described -- no matter which piece of art is under scrutiny.
Suppose you've written: "One half of all art is form. Here is how Goya's The Shootings of May Third, 1808 fits in." You would then go on to provide details about how Goya used color, value, space and line (elements of art). He used balance, contrast, emphasis and proportion (principles of design). He composed the aforementioned elements and principles on canvas, using brushes and oil paints (the physical materials).
The example just given employed a work of Western art, and was written in English. It doesn't take much of a leap in imagination, though, to understand that the concepts behind "form" could be applied to any piece of art, created anywhere on earth, at any time, using any language. With that, we have successfully covered "form."
Content, now, gets a little more tricky. Content is idea-based and means:
What the artist meant to portray,
what the artist actually did portray and
how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.
Additionally, content includes ways in which a work was influenced--by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist's use of hallucinogenic substances--at the time it was created. All of these factors, together, make up the content side of art.
Returning to the Goya example, you might comment on the fact that the shootings were an actual event. Napoleon had invaded Spain, at the time, and subjected it to six years of war and revolution (political and social influences). There had been a revolt by citizens of Madrid, and they were summarily executed (historical context). Goya, obviously, didn't think this was good and recorded the stark horror for all posterity. (He was successful at conveying that which he meant to convey.) We react to the painting in our different ways--usually with mixed feeling of revulsion, anger and sorrow.
Again, we are discussing content using one picture as an example, but the same parameters apply to any piece of art.
The first section of this article is applicable when defining art, with infinite variations, up to and including, "The way my girlfriend puts on her eyeshadow is art."
Just be sure that when you define art, your main argument includes "Art is form and content."
An Aircraft Mechanic only needs two tools, Duct Tape and WD40.
If it moves and it's not supposed to - use the Duct Tape.
If it doesn't move and it's supposed to - use the WD40.
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