Essay on The Meaning of a Work of Art - 626 Words

By nature, human beings seek to understand and to be understood. We are curious about life. We want to express our personal interpretation of the world around us, and we want to know the interpretation of others to discover how it compares to our own. Art begins with the creator. An artist is driven to express his or her unique perspective be it a musical score, a painting, a literary work, or any number of other forms. There is satisfaction in the mere act of creating, but the work is fulfilled when it strikes a chord in the being of another. Art is a means of relating one specific insight to others by way of emotion, intellect, and the senses. Art is communication, and its greatness can be determined by the impact it has on both the†¦show more content†¦It is unrestrained by convention and contains abstract musing as well as a certain wildness. Interestingly, you can appreciate the piece for what is says of the artist or interpret it according to your own experience of lif e. Either way, the work arouses an emotional response as does all music. Not only does art appeal to the senses and evoke our emotions, it also appeals to our intellect. A 76-year-old lawyer is quoted as saying, I think good art is when I can hear the ideas bouncing off each other in my brain. This is where aesthetics are for me--not in my retina.† (Gopnick) Many works, particularly literary efforts, stimulate our intellect. Think of the parenting skills instilled by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. How many people questioned their prejudices after reading this literary work? Consider the lives changed by the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Powerful photographs make us contemplate the atrocities of war, hunger, and neglect. Art from different cultures causes us to ponder alternative lifestyles. Art from the past allows us to understand social, economic, and cultural trends of the time. We are enriched by the intellectual content of art. Art broadens our understandin g of life. According to psychologist, Sir Frederick Charles Bartlett, â€Å"As viewers begin to understand an artist’s message, it becomes more meaningful and less effort is required for interpretation.† Forsythe. At first glance, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Lawrence Tree is anShow MoreRelatedJohn Berger and History1537 Words   |  7 Pages John Berger claims that all power, authority, and meaning that was once held by an original work of art has been lost through the mass reproduction of these works that has occurred in recent years. He writes of an entirely bogus religiosity (116-117) that surrounds these art objects and that the meaning of the original work no longer lies in what it uniquely says but in what it uniquely is (117). He claims that because of reproduction, the art of the past no longer exists as it once did (127). ObviouslyRead More Art in Our World Essay1078 Words   |  5 Pages ll art is not only part of society, but is the product of the bel iefs and values of the artist and the audience. I believe that the world is divided in the same manner as the human brain. There is the scientific side and the artistic side. Everything in the world can be placed in at least one of the two categories. Furthermore, I believe that neither side is dominant over the other. From this thought, I conclude that society is composed of both science and art, both expressing beliefs and valuesRead MoreDad Artistic And Literary Movement950 Words   |  4 Pagesartists or writers no longer believed that their work needs to be picturesque and flawless. Whereas the traditional artists and writers considered that aesthetic and perfection of their work is primary, as Hugo Ball wrote, â€Å"For us, art is not an end in itself,† for Dada artists and writers, the aesthetic of their work was not as important as the idea itself. Confronting the established traditions of art or literature, Dada became the first major anti-art/literature movement. A part from not meeting theRead MoreWhat Is A Theory Of Art?1446 Words   |  6 Pagesa theory of art? Why might one think these criteria lead to a circular theory of art? Why would one be wrong in this assessment? Critics have been trying to determine what exactly the definition art is for many years now. Throughout history, identifying what was art and what was not was presumed to be obvious. Therefore, one was able to differentiate between art and ordinary things as easily as one could tell one ordinary object from another. However, in the twentieth century, art began to changeRead MoreVisual Art Plan By Otto Dix And James Gleeson1392 Words   |  6 PagesVisual art Plan Artists all around the world have used metaphor in their pieces of work to convey meaning. â€Å"A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.† Most if not all pieces of art you can see in a museum or out on the street have remanets of metaphor beneath them. Artists use metaphor in their work to tell a story or a time period or in this case meaning. As the old saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. TheRead MoreJohn Bergers Ways of Seeing Summary Commentary1210 Words   |  5 Pagesabout how different classes of people perceive art, how its meaning has changed through the ages, and how the introduction of technology has affected it. Berger seems to be an extremely controversial art critic, based off opinions of him that range from â€Å"stimulating† to â€Å"preposterous†. He has been praised numerous times, yet condemned just as much. His writings can seem extremely complex and difficult, even cryptic at times; but trudging through his works can yield many fascinating nuggets of truthRead MorePeople Meet Nature By Knut Rasmussen1663 Words   |  7 Pagesasked Sealdog for the meaning behind the story, Sealdog mentioned that not all stories needed to have morals to be meaningful. Sometimes stories can be told for the sake of humor or enjoyment (Isberg, 2007). Often people feel the need to attribute a greater significance to everything and disregard what they perceive as useless. In this paper, I will be looking at whether or not there is a requirement in society for art and literature to be useful. The utility of diverse art forms stems from an individual’sRead MoreJohn Berger Ways Of Seeing Analysis1582 Words   |  7 Pagesspeaks of how the meaning of artwork is dynamic, because we cannot visit the past and truly know what each artist is thinking and feeling as he paints his work, so it changes with one’s personal experience and the contex t in which one experiences them. He also speaks of how critics â€Å"mystify† artwork of the past, attempting to set in stone their personal meaning of the piece, closing the door of interpretation to anyone who reads their commentary on the piece. Who is to decide the meaning of advertisementsRead MoreArts in Culture1509 Words   |  7 PagesArts in Culture Art is about ideas and representing them into visible perceptions and concepts. These ideas come from the heart and mind of the individual artist, putting all the talent they have into the artwork. In a way, that makes everyone that can specialize in a certain activity and create their expressions an artist. A cook preparing a meal with an appetizing appearance, an artist painting a beautiful painting, or a football star breaking a tackle for a game-winning touchdown all have theRead MoreWhat Is Art?, And Marcel Duchamp s The Creative Act1067 Words   |  5 PagesToday day, art still is a controversial subject of aesthetics, in discussing whether variety form of modern visual art is art or not. In Laurie Schneider Adams’ article â€Å"What is Art?† and Marcel Duchamp’s â€Å"The Creative Act†, they have own criteria to definite what the nature of art, its meaning and its function. In evaluation Doris Salcedo’s art work Atrabilious, a set of worn s hoes encased in rectangle niches on the wall. I agree with their explanation of art thought the combined in structure and