Gendered Art Critique - Report Example

Gendered Art Critique Horowitz (11) begins chapter 3 by asking the reader whether he/she has ever observed anyone puta lamp of clay on a potters wheel and after that, form a pot out of it. He continues by asking whether we have ever seen a glassblower form a vase simply out of a shapeless and molten matter. Barnet (220), on the other hand, claims that much of his book is dedicated to discussing what people perceive or simply feel when they are looking at an artwork. He claims on the same page that one must not only look at a simple picture as art but also motifs of certain happenings, for example, why did the laborer become a prominent subject in the 19th century European painting? Jamison Green, who discussed art form a gender point of view, says that art starts when we start to exercise the power of creativity, to change the environment, to enhance our vocabulary, our bodies, our clothing, to learn new languages and achieve a much greater mobility. He strongly bases his arguments with the change in human behavior that has happened over time, for example, men turning gay and women turning lesbians. The final article by Dutton is referred to as "What is Art?" and through the other topics raised above, we can summarize as all this authors asking the simple question of "what is art?" Maybe to pick the most acknowledged definition of art that most scholars agree upon is that art refers to a range of human activities, as well as the products of those activities. To the common man, art is simply visual, which includes painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and the things of that sort. However, the authors above take a different turn by giving a scholastic definition of art. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these different views that these authors have and how they support each other to answer the definition of art given above. Dutton (52) present 12 elements that one needs to consider when thinking about what is art. These elements are (1) whether there is any direct pleasure achieved from the item; (2) whether the skills in the object or performance are special or unique; (3) whether the style of the object or performance is recognizable with regards to form, expression or composition; (4) whether it is fully original (novelty); (5) whether it forms a critical base or allows one to elaborate on its elements; (6) whether is represents the imaginary or real experiences of the world; (7) whether is focuses on an exceptional dramatic experience; (8) whether there are some elements of expressive individuality; (9) whether there are some elements of emotional saturation; (10) whether the artwork intellectually challenges the mind, i.e., it should have human intellectual and perpetual capabilities; (11) whether it acknowledged the tradition and institutions of art and finally the most important; (12) whether it offers the producer and the consumer imaginative experience. We can support Duttons arguments by discussing works from Horowitz (14) to show these two authors connection in what art can be considered to be. Horowitz (14) claims that paintings depicting famous historical judgments were strategically placed in Flemish law courts during the 15th century to remind judges and lawyers of their responsibilities. Today also, paintings of Lincoln and Washington are placed in courthouses to achieve the same purpose that the paintings did in the past (Dimitrakaki 60). This supports some of Duttons elements of art such as 1, 8 and 12. Barnet (221) discusses some of the key methodologies of approaching art, but claims that such approaches are not mutually exclusive. Mutually exclusive means that one element does not have to depend on another element to call something art. To go back to Duttons (52) elements, an object or painting can form a direct pleasure but fail to acknowledge the tradition and institutions of art and still be considered art. He also looks at art in the context of social relations. When it comes to discussing this topic, it is hard to gay and lesbians come into question, but they still do. Barnet (229) claims that art in the social platform begins with the fact that women and men are different. For example, women bear children and men do not. Going back to the definition of art, it involves human activities and products of those activities; thus, women undertake certain activities and the product leads to a child. Barnet (229) and Green (59) support each other when they claim art is formed in the roles that men and women occupy in the society. However, what makes ones mind to trigger is the role that gays and lesbians have given themselves. A woman falling in love with another woman alters her social duties which sends ones mind on a thinking spree of even how that would be possible, but as the elements of art claim, one should be able to express individuality and also have an emotional saturation or even better, be intellectually challenged (Dimitrakaki 70). Green (67) says that art starts when we start to exercise the power of creativity, to change the environment, to enhance our vocabulary, our bodies, our clothing, to learn new languages and achieve a much greater mobility. He strongly bases his arguments on the change in human behavior that has happened over time, for example, men turning gay and women turning lesbians. Feminist art affirmed that experience and meaning were as important as form. Postmodernism abandoned the rigid style and form of Modern Art (Dimitrakaki 72). Feminist art also had an issue with whether the historical Western canon, mainly male, truly echoed “universality.” Feminist supporters played with the ideas of identity, gender, as well as form. They utilized performance art, video, plus other artistic expressions, which would come to be important in Postmodernism, but had not been traditionally considered as high art. Instead of “Society vs. Individual,” feminist art idealized connectivity plus it saw the artist as a significant element of society, and not working separately. This, basing it on Duttons (52) art elements can be considered as to acknowledging the institutes of art such as society at large. Horowitz (11) claims images can, at times, be overly compelling that people react to them as if they were the real thing. These reactions can be rather automatic. For instance, if an artist draws a portrait, people tend to think that the portrait is the artist. The change of materials in the work of painters is particularly uncanny as it is not the objects, which they make but the images that they form (Dimitrakaki 98). The glass of a vase or the clay of a pot is never very far from peoples consciousness when they look at those objects. In general, the material of a sculpture affirms itself upon humans (Horowitz 11). However, in a painting, people might look contentedly at the trees and never see the paint. These above statements support points 5, 6 and 7 of Duttons (52) element of art that describe the elements of art as whether it forms a critical base or allows one to elaborate on its elements; whether is represents the imaginary or real experiences of the world; whether is focuses on an exceptional dramatic experience. In conclusion, art refers to a range of human activities, as well as the products of those activities. To the common man, art is simply visual, which includes painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and the things of that sort. However, as we have seen the elements of art, which are supported by all the authors referenced it this article, art is simply something unique that takes the mind into a frenzy. Works Cited Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Writing Guide About Art, 9th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Dimitrakaki, Angela. Gender, ArtWork and the Global Imperative: A Materialist Feminist Critiquemore. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013. Print. Dutton, Denis. The Art Instinct. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2005. Print. Green, Jamison. The Art and Nature of Gender. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2001. Print. Horowitz, Anthony. The Power of Five: Oblivion. New York: Walker Press, 2012. Print. Read More