Comparing and Contrasting Western and Non-Western Art - Essay Example

Art History Artists, both western and non-western, incorporate design principles as the major building blocks. In addition to the principles of design, there are design elements that most artists stick to while making their drawings. While almost all designers incorporate all elements of design, other artists tend to go against this norm and instead attain some level of compensation merit for the disregard. Nonetheless, it is always advisable for artists to abide by the rules in order to produce quality work. Among the major design elements include line, shape, direction, size, texture, color and value. However, of greater concern to artists are the principles of design that include balance, gradation, repetition, contrast, harmony, dominance and unity. Balance, as a principle of design entails the distribution of visual weights of objects, texture, space and color. The balancing varies depending on whether the design is a scale, symmetrical or asymmetrical and radial. For the case of a scale, the elements are balanced in such a way that the object appears to be very stable. Symmetrical balancing implies a division of an object into results into two mirror image objects. Asymmetrical balancing results in two different sides that are equally balanced. In radial balancing, the arrangement of elements is around a central point in a circular manner, and may or may not be balanced. Gradation is generally employed to enhance the perception of movement in an object. Size gradation produces a linear perspective while color gradation produces an aerial perspective. Another principle that artists find useful is repetition. When complimented with variation, observers find it more interesting to look at repeated images that are almost similar except for the slight variations introduced. Contrast is another principle of great concern to artists. It refers to the collocation of opposing elements through e.g. the use of colors. Most artists, either present or in the past, found the idea useful and more effective when located at the center of interest of an object. Complimentary to contrast is harmony, a practice that creates similar effects as contrast except that it employs color combination to produce a satisfying effect. Contrary to the previous two principles, dominance is employed to create a sense of monotony, especially when the objective is to put emphasis on a given aspect. Finally, the principle of unity has also been employed variously by a number of artists to relate the design element with the idea being expressed. For instance, most artists use a rough texture, angular lines or a dominant leaning direction to present an assertive subject. Given the above-mentioned effects, the principles of design have always found their way into artistic ideas, among both western and non-western artists. For instance, the Pakistan born artist Anila Agha and Susan Kliewer from California have shown great usage of these principles of design in their drawings. As Wolfrom observes (11-14), ignoring design principles leaves the visual success of any work to chance. However since no artist wants to bear the tag of a failure, incorporation of the design principles is an important adventure, and forms the core ingredients of quality art work. Review of western art Western art on a broader spectrum refers to art form Western Europe, but can be used to refer to geographically widespread art whose roots can be traced back to Europe. In an attempt to categorize different forms of western art, academics have always used successive periods and and/or movements that characterize the history of man and rt. For instance, famous categories make use of such periods as Renaissance, Romanticism, realism, modernism, to name but a few. However, an inclusive method for this attempt is yet to be realized as factions with different opinions always disagree on certain elements. Nevertheless, given the wide array of art categories, exploring these ideas helps in the provision of more information regarding the history of art, and plays a role in its development as well. Western art focuses on several aspects. Among these aspects include the subject matter, for which artists aim at enable people to achieve complete understanding of their work (Kleiner, 5a). The traditional way of categorizing pictures is based on the subject matter, with the major subject matters being historical, mythological, and religious. Typical of these art works are writing of images, a concept that refers to the ability to study symbols, representative images as well as disguised ideas. It aids in analyzing both the content and the subject of an artwork. Personification is another skill that have been used extensively in western art. This involves the presentation of abstract ideas collated in human form. For example, many people associate liberty with a robed woman wearing a rayed crown and holding a torch in her hand, a perception influenced by the Liberty Statue found in New York. Another aspect that is typical of western art is their attachment to the person who paid for the drawing. Many art analysts concur that majority of artwork are the way they are due to influence from the people who paid for them. In line with this is the idea of availing the identity of the artist. Many artists, especially after the renaissance period, adopted the art of signing their works, a practice that has enabled academics to establish the artist behind the respective drawings. However, other works have been found whose owners remain elusive since they were not signed. Review of non-western art Non-western art refer to any art collection that have their origin from outside Western Europe and the Americas. Cotter observes that non-western art, both ancient and those of the recent past, cannot be found in major art museums in the US. How this does not imply the lack of such in their native places of origin. The reason as to why they are not available in the US is because the expected result from cultural diversity and multicultural surge have failed to spur their development in the country, and ancient are out of access for deportation to the US. However, of greater concern to this study are the major aspect characteristic of non-western art, especially the ancient ones. Gardner and Fred (56-58) observe that with the presence of language and the ability to write, art became a visual as well as a literary endeavor. He notes that in places such as Arabia, India, China and Persia, skillful use of calligraphy were dominant practices in art. Secondly, art in most parts of the East had extensive use of abstract ideas. For instance, given the fact that Islamic culture prohibits the display of human form implies that most of their art revolves around the language. This explains why most art from the East, and especially form Islam professing communities involve non-literal images such as architecture, geometric tile designs, etc. Furthermore, art from such places also contain calligraphy of religious quotes and phrases from the Quran. Just like the western art that continually undergo development and evolution, non-western art also continue to build on the traditional art practices. A good example is China that has successfully developed a modern art scene. In addition to this evolution, non-western art have also been influenced by western art. For instance, Gardner and Fred (78-81) observe that art from Latin America show to a certain extent fusion with Spanish art and in other instances with African art. Another aspect characteristic of non-western art though not unique to it is the presentation of drawings in in form of portraiture and sculptures. Chinese art, for instance, feature portraits of rulers, male and female alike just as is the case with western art. Images from regions where Hindu and Buddhism are the dominating religions, as well as pagan images can be found in various places such as Korea, India, Japan and Thailand. Egyptians also had images of their King, Pharaoh, in form of portraits and statues. Comparing and contrasting western and non-western art The universal agreement is that western and non-western art have a number of similarities in certain aspects such as the major objectives and context, differences exist as well. To begin with, there is a difference in the medium on which the works are presented. Kleiner (63b) notes that many western arts are done on canvas, while many artworks from China for example, are done on thin rice papers. However, Kleiner points that in Africa, Middle East, Asia and South America, beadwork, woodwork and textile are the dominant mediums. Secondly, a greater percentage of western art depict human bodies, contrary to non-western art where geometric patterns were the prevalent form of art. Additionally, while western art stresses the importance of color, non-western art centers on calligraphy predominantly features blank ink. Cultural differences have also been noted between western and non-western art. In many non-western communities, and is often perceived as communal and therefore largely focuses on family and the society. However, western culture premised predominantly on the individual, hence the many human portraits that are characteristic of western art. Finally, western and non-western art can be separated from each other based on religious and philosophical grounds. Kleiner (72b) notes that religion and philosophy have had extensive influence on art. He notes that Christianity has had an influence on western art just like Buddhism and Hindu have influenced non-western art especially from Asia. A good example is the belief that the extensive geometric patterns found on art from Muslim professing communities represent the eternal nature of Allah. Art has been in existence for as long as civilization has been around. It is for this reason that we are able to find great paintings from the past that allow us to learn the ways of life of our ancestors. However, art has been evolving with time and as such we can find artworks that are a totally different from the preceding works. Furthermore, cultural interactions have had extensive impacts on nature and quality of works. As has been broached earlier, there exist artworks that are a fusion of two cultural practices, and which are better presented. Works Cited Cotter, Holland. Under threat: the shock of the old. The New York Times. 2011. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/arts/design/non-western-art-history-bypasses-the-ancient.html?_r=0 Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardners Art Through the Ages: Non-western Perspectives. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: A Concise History of Western Art. Boston, Cengage Learning. 2013a. Internet resource. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: Backpack Edition, Book C: Non-Western Art to 1300. Boston, Cengage Learning, 2015b. Internet resource. Wolfrom, Joen. The Visual Dance: Creating Spectacular Quilts. Lafayette, Calif: C & T Pub, 2009. Internet resource. Read More