Art and Materiality - Essay Example

? Art and Materiality Task: Art and Materiality The 20th century featured several contemporary artists and remains a period when great and plausible innovations in artworks came up. There were experiences of transitions in the forms of artistic creations, as well. It remains a convincing basis of knowledge that 20th century artists transformed the nature of expressing ideas through vast media including artworks. Most common interpretations of contemporary arts, as a term, attribute them to diverse artworks notably created after 1945. However, some scholars and critiques of art settle on the 1970s as the cut-off period for the definition of the beginning of contemporary art. Contemporary art vividly integrates life because of its formalization of novel real life practices through artistry. It is widely admissible that contemporary artwork appreciates life practices by the conveyance of diverse notions that are inherent in most artworks. There are distinction between things and objects as applied in artworks but none of them solely dominates the materiality of art. Things are expressions of human relations to the world while objects express the extent of performance of the relationship expressed in an artwork. Objects, as used in art, best perform the role of an intermediary and a catalyst that communicate the assertion of the artist. In as much as different artist choose one of the two forms of materiality, objects or things, they may change from one to another. Art criticism is the comprehensive judgment of artworks based on diverse aspects. The vast dominance of a variety of art renders art criticism as one of the most interesting themes in exploring art and materiality. The criticism explores diverse facts about art including their qualitative judgments and determining whether artworks are objects or things. It allows the evaluation of art based on qualitative methods and an understanding of the quality of the artworks that determines the artists’ level of success. The diverse materiality aspects of visual arts addresses in art criticism include its conservation and the decorative value. The argument as to whether art is an expression that uses objects or things, however, may vary extensively. Artworks are a means of communicating ideas and thoughts of the artists. In some instances, it is to create social change and political transitions in another. Other artists, through their artworks, intend to explore the theme of social diversity among communities. Some artworks also inspire and empower historical issues through their cultural values. The role of the artwork dictates the consideration of art as an object or things. Cultural expressions, as a role of artwork would be achievable, best, by the use of objects that are representative of the culture depicted. Although the materiality of things can show value when used to express culture, artists prefer objects to things. In contemporary art, artists appreciate the existence of materiality as an important reason for their effort to explore nature and other aspects of life, in totality, through creativity. Contemporary art serves as the factor that combines human imagination to reality. The artworks of Jean Tinguely, a Swiss, attracted plausible interest in the 20th century. The exemplary manifestation of decline of modern industries and of species extinction of species remains an appreciation of things that exist in world as well as objects. The kinetic artwork that Tinguely displayed concentrated on the theme of destruction. He created artwork that displayed mechanical structures and dominated by objects that are part of human’s daily interactions. Most of his artworks experienced the predominating of the consequences of malfunctioning of objects. Chaos I is one of the most remarkable and historic arts by Tinguely. Damien Hirst’s shark forms one of the greatest artworks that attract massive numbers in most museums, to date. The controversial artwork by Hirst is unquestionably an impression of thoughts. This renders contemporary art a representation of things, other than objects. The artwork is a manifestation of experiences in the minds of humanity rather than showing the mere objects that exist in the universe. The artwork creates a grasp of life in the mind of the viewer and appropriately brings out the notion of the contemporary artworks being things. The shark, displayed in the artwork, creates the notion of death in the mind of the living. The artwork uses the shock factor to bring out the reality that all humanity shall die. It aims at reminding viewers of the brutality facing them and of which most people ignore, unfortunately. Hirst tries to reinstate to the viewers of the artwork that the failure to notice things in life does not hide the things through the exploration of the wish counter the physical impossibility that most people hold in their minds. It is clear, through the artwork, that the thought of physical impossibility is an expression of the mindset of most human beings living in negligence of the reality. This is a representation of things through artwork. Anish Kapoor’s artworks dominate most art galleries for their outstanding beauty and attraction. Kapoor remains one of the greatest artists in Britain for the exemplary artworks including creations from pigments. The white sand is one of the best artworks by Kapoor, made in 1982, which is a depiction of objects. This creates the vitality of expressing art in form of objects. The use of scale in Kapoor’s artworks is effective communicating ideas, distinctively. He employees color in a naturalistic manner. The artwork, White sand, was a creation after Kapoor’s visit to India and observed raw pigments used for in cooking. The objects, raw pigments, are used in dyes and rituals. Conceptual art created the idea of artworks as tools of thinking and not mere interpretation as paintings and presentation of sculptures. The perception of artworks as mere objects, therefore, changed in contemporary art and diversity in interpretations included things. Every structure in art is supportive of a unique idea that the artist intends to communicate. Art, therefore, is a flexible term that swings according to the boundaries set by the artist who defines the art by its uniqueness. There are questions over what art should entail as well as the audience that artworks should display. Experimentation of art in diverse ways forms the basis of art, as objects or things, as considered from different perspectives according to the adopted nature of art adopted by contemporary artists. The limits of contemporary art, as objects or things, set the difference between reality and artwork. The compositions of art, objects or things, undergo redefinitions, in consideration of aesthetic and social contexts. Advances in philosophical thoughts change the consideration of art, as objects or things. Contemporary artists work in diverse media and restriction of artists to traditional categories that limited their artworks to paintings, portraits or sculpture does not exist anymore. The diversity in media used by contemporary artists featured the use of technological advances to come up with diverse artworks that range from things to objects. Virtual reality, as part of the advancements, boosted the livelihood of most contemporary artworks. The advancement of art detached the notion of judgment of art as product primarily used for marketing. The distinctive ability of humans to express ideas through diverse ways is the sole realization that artists prove through their artworks that creates the interpretations of ordinary life materials a possibility. The extent to which viewers of artworks are sensitive of the materials used in as artwork is the materiality. It extends to the viewers’ level of understanding and interpretation of the aesthetics that is in the artwork1, as being the role of the artist. The materiality of an artwork affects the imaginations and feelings that a viewer adopts. Materiality is of great significance in creating the physical understanding of any artwork. The expression of the importance of an artwork through its materiality is independent of its form, as an object or a thing as depicted in different performances. Materiality of an artwork, therefore, functions as the in creating its roles. Materiality in art emanates from the consideration that there is universal acceptance of art, both as objects or things as depicted in performance art. The aesthetic assessment of artwork artworks assumes diverse forms, both as an object or things, rendering materiality as a one of the aesthetic concepts used to evaluate the value of artworks. Materialism in art evolved from the considerations of art’s purely visual characteristics. Based on a theoretical approach, diverse considerations are likely outcomes while defining the visual aspects of art. Materiality in art, therefore, is prone to change from objects to things. Assessment of diverse forms of art assumes the criteria of materiality. It is noteworthy that materiality in arts extends beyond the threshold of mere consideration of art’s material existence. It, however, includes the features of artwork that are intellectual and interpretable from the information as its history and credibility. The materiality of an artwork has an impact on its content and full interpretation by the viewers. Whether an artwork receives the interpretation as an object or a thing is subject to different factors as its production and authenticity. The aspects that viewers identify in an artwork dictate its classification as an object or thing. The influence of art on the viewers’ senses, experiences and personal preferences forms a core consideration in interpreting the materiality of any artwork. Although the aesthetic appreciation of a piece of artwork first emanates from the picture depicted by the art’s physical appearance, the intrinsic meaning of the piece of art has a plausible contribution, as well. The nature of the development of the relationship of viewers’ with a piece of artwork assumes a gradual trend. Artist, therefore, may choose to create the materiality in artwork from that of an object or things such as performance. When presented as objects, there exists the transition of the concept presented by the artwork from the static nature of the object to the interpretation of the viewer. This interpretation may take time to develop when the artwork materiality assumes the nature of an object. On the contrary, when materiality of artworks that assumes the nature of things are easy, for non-professional viewers, to interpret and allocate meaning. This explains the change of materiality presentation as an object to things. An object has high scale of physicality as compared to things. Most objects, as presented in artworks, depict creations by hand works or through technological advancement. The interpretation of the viewers of the artwork is dependent on factors as the level of refinement and polishing that the artist dedicates to the art. In cases where there are likely circumstances of limitations to refine objects, artists would adopt the materiality of things. The low level of physicality in artworks presented as things renders it suitable to present artworks that need high refinement level, if presented as objects. Artifacts that are of high tangibility level as paintings also attract the adoption of things as the mode of materiality. Contemporary artists aim to evoke the aesthetic reactions of their viewers. This explains the validation of the materiality used in their artworks, whether objects or things, that can work against the limitations that exist pertaining the best materiality adopted. This is another reason for the change between the adoption of materiality from objects to things and reverse in some instances. Every artist targets to affect viewers’ consciousness and affect their interpretation of the context of the artwork. Achieving this goal depends brings the importance of internality in art. This refers to the use of an authentic and intrinsic means to dictate the nature of interpretations that viewers of an artwork adopt. The measure of the artist’s professionalism is the extent to which the artist can evoke subtle and paradoxical feelings in viewers of an artwork. All these are factors that come to effect based on the materials used in the artwork. The quality of an artwork being possessive of unique matter is a great consideration in an effort to even subtle and paradoxical emotions of its viewers. The emotion results from the material used in the work that should emanate from the artist’s perspective. The character and form in the art material used by the artists depends on the choice of the artist. This creates the art to have an impact that exceeds the effect of its components by initiating an extra transformation power and feeling in the viewer. Artists, therefore, prefer using the right materials that can attract the attention of the viewers of the artwork presented. The desire to strike a differential feel in viewers explains the interchanging selection of materiality, from objects to things and the reverse. The response of viewers towards a similar piece of artwork may be varied and diverse. There is a difference in the aesthetic sense of viewers based on several variables as experience. Attraction to art also depends on viewers’ familiarity with the forms of systems expressed in the artwork. This explains the implications of the individual points of reference on the interpretation of the materiality on an artwork. A viewer, based on the context of relating the work, may adopt a different perception of the materiality from that adopted by a fellow viewer. The material situations of the viewer of an artwork may dictate the classification as being an object of things. A viewer, as well, may refer to the materiality of an artwork as fixed to an object or things. The same viewer may also interpret the materiality of an artwork to shift according to difference in contexts. The perception of the viewer may show a shift in materiality of a piece of artwork or a constant position that it remains an object or things. Viewers’ interpretation of objects part of materiality in art is subject to the level of their engagement of the senses. The level of commitment of the viewers’ senses dictates the interpretation of the aesthetic value of the artwork. Professionals in artwork show superiority because of their deep engagement of the senses and are prone to have deeper perception that their counterparts, non-professionals. The prior experience of a viewer with similar forms of artworks or other forms of art is among the determinants of the perception of the viewers. All these factors affect the interpretation and position taken by viewers of the materiality of artwork, whether objects or things. In all the works identified, materiality remains the most outstanding and identifiable feature. The identifiable difference in the material composition of the artworks influences viewers’ interpretation. Before considering the artist, style or image represented, the impact of a contemporary artwork is a making of its materiality. Viewers of any artwork should understand its materiality to interpret its aesthetic value. Philosophical understandings of viewers’ interpretations show that it is an immediate activity during interaction with the artwork. The subjective sense of viewers of the artwork observed may change from being an object to a thing. The viewer maintains the autonomy to make judgments and interpretations of the materiality of an artwork. However, the judgment may contrast that of the artists regarding the materiality of a similar artwork. The artists’ interest in the artworks may have evolved throughout time as opposed to the instantaneous interest of the viewer. This explains the possibility of a difference in interpretations of materiality in artworks. Things, as a form of materiality, capitalize on the notion of placing the viewer of the artwork in the context of its occurrence. An example is that of performance that engages the viewer to act in response to the artwork. The engagement of the viewer creates the ideal of the role of reality in evoking reactions. It is impossible to alienate arts from aesthetics when assessing its value. The contribution of modern aesthetics to the ability to evoke pleasure and feelings of any viewer of a piece of art is a measure of the success of the artist. An appreciated number of viewers attach the aesthetics of an artwork to the material features that it possesses. The dimensions of the artwork emanate from the material features in an artwork’s composition. The innate perception and consciousness of an artist constitutes that creation of an art. The artwork, therefore, qualifies as the outward expression of the innate sensitivity of the artist, which may differ according to the interpretation of the viewer. The deep interest of the artist determines the materiality used that can best pass the theme intended in the artwork. The scrutiny of any artwork remains the same even in its consideration as an object or things. Materiality remains of high significance in interpreting contemporary art. Reference Arnold, D, Art History: Contemporary Perspectives on Method, John Wiley & Sons, Malden, MA, 2010, p.51. Read More