Hey everyone…
Hope your having a great week…. the studio is filled with that fresh paint smell again… hope to have new work out this week… Lately I have been out and about and spending some time looking at others art….always interesting to me is what some of the patrons are saying…. being an abstract artist I have heard it all… from “what the hell is that?”…. to “what was he smoking?”…. to my personal favorite…..”anybody could do that” …….. One of the things I have found is that those making those comments really don’t have an understanding of what they are looking at …..It got me thinking about the different themes of art….maybe they need a little help …for me I think when viewing art you need to understand the theme of it first… doing so will give you a greater appreciation of what you are looking at… an understanding of what the artist was saying…. and assist in developing a connection with the artist….
There are a lot of theories about the different themes of art…and a lot has been written…. for me I agree with most that there are 9 themes of art…
1. Visual Delight and the Arts of Daily Life– Visual Delight: Holds aesthetic appeal and is engaging to the senses. Art for Daily Life: Slice of life may be recognized by functionality. Art for daily life may also attempt to capture a moment of the mundane.
2. Sacred Realm-Often visually communicates abstract concepts dependent on faith on a more concrete way. Works may be used for worship or to contain holy objects…etc.
3. Politics and the Social Order– Political art often has an underlying agenda and uses imagery as a means to an end. Social art lend to class status, economic conditions, gender roles, ethnicity in a given time/place…etc.
4. Stories and Histories– are visual arts that portray the actions that were accomplished by heroes and legends of the past. This includes stories such as the folktales and the lives of the saints that have been in existence and application in all the generations.
5. Looking Outward: The Here and Now- Often time or site specific (time capsule). Allows you to glimpse at a given culture or time period through the object.
6. Looking Inward: The Human Experience-Introspective, has a contemplative and/or empathetic quality.
7. Invention and Fantasy– Pulls from the realm of the imagination. This type of art is not often founded in logic or reality.
8. Art and Nature– May use landscape or rural settings to evoke emotion.
9. Art and Art of the Sacred Realm-Often borrows from commonly used content or from preceding works, e.g. Rembrandt’s sketch of Leonardo’s Last Supper. Can borrow through content, technique, style, medium or theme.
so next time your heading to the galleries and viewing great art… start with what theme the artist is working with…. you’ll be miles ahead and understanding more…… then instead of asking me what I am smoking…. you can join me!!….lol… have a great week everyone… new work out this week….
peace…
…………….james
pic of Studio 7 in the arts district…can you guess what theme?…
