In this class we discuss the modern definition of art, and then a number of variants over time.

1. MODULE 3.1
ART THEN

2. what is art?
STRICT, MODERN, WESTERN DEFINITION
• A relatively modern invention—last couple of centuries in
Europe.
• Something that is made for “pure, disinterested
contemplation.”
• Something that is appreciated for its sensuous qualities
(for example, its form, its coloring, its tactile appeal, its
sound).
• An invention of the West, though we have appropriated
objects from around the world to join this category

3. some functions of art
Our goal today: understanding art through its uses.
decoration of people and dwellings for beauty,
interest, status
statements of power that impress and intimidate
stockpiling of material wealth in the form of gold
and gems
ritual in which a whole community participates
expressions of artistic skill in transforming paint
and canvas into a wealth of illusions

4. the “art” context
As John Dewey warned us, context can easily
get in the way of our actual connection with
art.
Every object, even the most prestigious,
prized possession of a great museum, was
made by a human with the intent of
communicating with other humans.

5. The Art Institute of Chicago

6. The Art Institute, 1900

7. The Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, designed by Renzo Piano, 2009

8. Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877, installed at the Art Institute

9. location of Blombos Cave, virtually at the tip of South Africa

11. exterior of the cave

12. The Indian Ocean, seen from inside the cave. Layers of sandbags are
protecting the surface from the excavators walking in and out.

13. BLOMBOS CAVE,
SOUTH AFRICA
excavation at work, note
the meticulously flagged
layers
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/e
p/Blombos.html

14. incised ochre,
Blombos Cave,
c. 77,000 BCE

15. Marine shell bead excavated at Blombos Cave, South Africa,
dating to 70,000 years ago (string of beads at bottom is a reconstruction)

16. next slide
Cueva de las manos, (Cave of the Hands)
Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
c. 7300 BCE

19. decoration
Art may find its origin in a human tendency to decorate
anything and everything that we make.

20. useful objects: combs
Jade comb,
China,
c. 400 BCE
Ivory comb,
Etruscan (ancient Italian)
6-5th century BCE

21. useful objects: swords
Ancient Persia, , c. 750-650 BCE
sword hilt, silver, (iron
blade)
Ancient Korea, Bronze Age sword hilt,
Between 900-300 BCE

22. Precious courtly objects
The original bling
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=TSyLLWZ5jp8

23. Precious courtly objects
Objects like these were created to impress and intimidate.
Crown Jewels,
Tower of London
England

24. Status and power
“I’m the king, and you
are not.”
“This are the symbols of
my worldly power and
wealth.”

25. Napoleon in his coronation garb,
painted on porcelain after a lost
painting by Gérard.

26. What creates value in art?
Reliquary of Ste.-Foy at Conques

27. Reliquary Statue of Sainte
Foy Abbey Church of
Conques
Conques, France
Late 9th or 10th century with
later additions

28. Reliquary: receptacle used to
store or display sacred objects

29. Nkisi figure
Kongo
early 20th century

30. devotional booklet, ivory
German, c. 1330

31. Simone Martini (and Lippo Memmi),
The Annunciation, tempera on
panel with gold leaf, c. 1333, 10’1”
x 8’8”
Fra Angelico, The Annunciation,
fresco in cell 3, Convent of San
Marco, Florence , c. 1440

32. Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (open), completed 1432, Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent,
Belgium

33. Jan van Eyck, Mary Crowned, detail of the Ghent Altarpiece, completed
1432, Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent, Belgium

34. Jan van Eyck, Mary Crowned, completed 1432
Jan Vermeer
Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665-6,
oil on canvas, 17 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches