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Art History

Lecture 1

21 February 2013

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What Role does Art Play in Society?

Art plays a lot of roles in society. Music is one

form of art that is interpreted from real life

into music and helps portray deeper

understanding of life by listening to different

styles of musician's work. Art also provides

spectators the chance to immerse themselves

into paintings of famous artists and interpretthe meaning of another form of art.

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The role an artist plays in society is largely

dependent on the personality of the artist and

on that artist's chosen subject matter. An

artist can lead, follow, uplift or provoke with

their work. Art is often a reflection or

extension of personality. Art is so versatile

that the artist can take whatever role theywish, given the right art for a given set of

social circumstances. Teresa Dye

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The artist records history for future

generations, art reaches out & touches people

around the world, it can lift people when they

are down or create controversy, art is a very

important part of society. Pearl Roger

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The artist provides society with emotions, color,and texture. Scientists think up of ways to makelife easier, builders and technicians turn thosescientific ideas into tangible objects. These things

help us - they blend our foods, put roofs over ourheads, make mowing the lawn easier - but theynever add real emotion. Artists come in to playon our emotions and subconscious thoughts.

Amazingly, artists know how to elicit these strongfeelings by creating images on canvas and clay.Andre Deherra

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The artist brings color and light to society. A

dull and dreary day can be brightened up with

a visit to an art gallery. Art in the home or

office can totally transform a place, it

becomes a focus point. A little ray of sunshine.

Neil Stewart

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Artists see things in a totally different way,

they challenge the boundaries of rules, society

and imagination yet also keep us in touch with

the past.Linda Hoey

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Art is a huge part of all communities being

that it creates a sense of culture! Without

culture how can any community truly consider

themselves a community?-Robbie Craig

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Art takes us out of ourselves. It allows us to

address the big questions in life. It makes us

think of ourselves and mortality-Alice Helwig

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The artist is one that takes risks, makes

changes and always develops new ways at

looking at old trends and shaping them into

something amazing... The artist is a different

bread of human with an understanding of

creativity and invention.- Darryn Rae

h h l f h i

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What Is the Role of the Artist-

Intellectual in Society?

What is the role of the artist the intellectual

artist in modern society? If the role of the

artist is obviously and intrinsically tied to the

role of art, then what is the role of art? In

modern society? Or in any society?

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Art reflects reality at the very least. Art is

humanitys attempts to recreate reality, to

create reflections of reality and imagination

& creativity are part of reality thus also

reflections of imagination; but then what is

good art? How is it separate & distinct from

ordinary or bad art?

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The role of the artist then is connected to the

role of art, in whatever medium oil on

canvas, watercolor, charcoal, pencil, colored

pens, other canvas work, photography,computer art, sculpture, performance art,

theater, movies, TV, poetry, novels, literature,

music, dance, cave paintings,

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The artist creates the art but not out of thin

air but within a societal context, supported

and buffetted by the conditions of the time

the resources, the technology, theintelligence, the knowledge, the economic,

political, social, cultural and religious /

philosophical conditions of the moment of thecreation of the art.

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What is art? Is everything the artist creates

art? Is there bad art and good art?

Why does art reflect reality? Is that all it does?

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Art projects back to humanity knowledge and

awareness of the reality which in turn allows

humanity to understand reality better better

than what? Better than it did before the art.The essence of good art then is that it does

this in a qualitative different and higher level

than bad art.

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Within the context of the conditions of society

at the moment of the creation of the art, the

artist as a human then through the creation of

his or her or their art creates something that ifit is good art is able to reflect the reality of

the artist and the community and project back

to that community communication aboutreality that allows the community to better

understand that reality.

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If the reality is not a good reality, then the art

the good art is able to communicate more

to the majority of the community than simply

an awareness of the reality; it can projectways and avenues to change that reality. Or at

least project back to the community of

humanity that reality needs to be changed forthe good of the community.

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What is reality? Is this beyond the question

before us? If art reflects reality and can be

used to change that reality then we must

know what reality is? Art reflects the humanconditions of the time if those conditions or

part of them are inhumane, then art can be

instrumental in changing those conditions forthe better.

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Human conditions include the materialobjective context that humanity finds itselfliving in, the environmental conditions, the

economic, political, social, cultural conditionsof the moment, what humanity knows, theknowledge of the time. Of course, humanitydoes not live in a moment alone; conditions

are constantly changing. But there aresufficient time-place equilibriums to be ableto say there are historical moments.

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The Role of the Artist

The artist then creates the art in whatevermedium at a historical moment; the art notonly reflects that historical moment, it is areflection of that reality, that historical moment.

Through the creation and presentation and thenabsorption by others within the community ofthe art, the artist is able to reflect the historicalmoment and project into the community an

awareness of the moment, an awareness of thehumane or inhumane conditions of that moment,and an awareness that the inhumane conditionsneed to be changed for the better.

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What about the artist who does not do this,

who does not understand this, or does not try

to do this say, the artist who creates

commercial renditions of an original purely forfinancial reasons? Is this an artist? Does one

have to create original works of art to be an

artist? Is this person not an artist or at least abad artist who creates bad art?

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The role of the good artist, then, is that of one

who creates or helps to create good art, that

reflects reality, projects an awareness of the

inhumane conditions of that reality, and waysto change those conditions.

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Is the Mona Lisa good art?

Now we have to qualify and quantify. How

does the Mona Lisa project an awareness of

the inhumane conditions of reality and ways

to change those conditions? How can we say

the Mona Lisa is not good art? In fact, isnt it

great art that has stood the test of history?

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The Mona Lisa is excellent art because it hasstood the test of time, that it projects theawareness of the history of humanity, how an

ambiguous smile is able to remain so overhundreds of years, projecting back to us anawareness of the history of humanity, that asmile was a smile five hundred years ago. Not

all good or great art has to project back to ushow to create barricades and topplegovernments.

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If art to be great, only has to remind us of our

humanity and our history, then wouldnt a lot

of artifacts and daily instruments of former

times amount to that ?

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The more the art projects back to humanity its

conditions, the more humanity is able to

understand its conditions. And if they need to

be changed for the good of humanity, thengood art can instruct.

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The role of the artist then when confronted withinhumane conditions of humanity is to create artthat is instructive to humanity so the members ofthe community can change those conditions. One

way to achieve that is to reflect an awareness andunderstanding of our own humanity, to remind usof our beauty, our fragility, our limitations, ourtemporal experience, our strengths, our fears,

dreams. The Mona Lisa does this despite a labelof solely being a portrait of a ruling class woman because it does these other things remindingus hundreds of years of the ambiguity of life.

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Pre-Historic Art Mesopotamia

Ancient Greek and Egyptian Art

Roman Art and Byzantine Art

Christian and Islamic Art

Gothic Art

Early High Renaissance Art

Baroque and Rococo Art Art History Development from 19th to 21st

Century.