Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation: Bridging Art and Other Disciplines, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Art

Download Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation: Bridging Art and Other Disciplines and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Art in PDF only on Docsity! 93 New Horizons in Education, Vol.58, No.2, Oct 2010 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation Sophia S.M. Law Lingnan University Abstract Background: Under the challenge of many post-modern theories and critics on art and art history, the boundaries and definition of art has becoming more diverse. Conventional art appreciation no longer covers all the debates and issues arising from the complex meaning of art in the modern world. Art education today must widen students’ vision of art appreciation. Focus of discussion: The experience central to art appreciation relates one to a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary exposure. This paper aims to elucidate the close relationship between art and other disciplines including aesthetics, anthropology, history, social studies, and even science. It demonstrates how such integrated perspective can be conveyed to the students of different levels. Art appreciation, in many ways, is the study of human behaviours and experience, both past and present. Cross-disciplinary knowledge and comparative studies of various art help understand the meaning of art both in its microscopic and macroscopic levels. Arguments: Conventional art education focuses on the intrinsic values of art, having well defined objects to study for their artistic qualities and theoretical bases. Today, the world of art has lost much of its autonomy. The paper argues that we can take art as a way of seeing and therefore will be better understood by relating art to its social, historical and cultural context. An interdisciplinary approach to art appreciation will widen students’ perspective of and sensitivity to the meaning of art, and could be attained by students of different levels. Conclusion: The interdisciplinary vision of art appreciation accords with the vision of Liberal Studies. It enhances students’ analytical and critical thinking, broadens their world of ideas, and hones their judgement of cultural products and related issues. Key words: art appreciation, interdisciplinary vision, liberal studies 跨學科的藝術欣賞 羅淑敏 嶺南大學 摘要 背景：在各種後現代主義的沖擊下，藝術的界限和定義越益繁雜模糊，傳統的藝術欣賞已無法處理各類新的 藝術形式和現代社會為藝術帶來的種種問題。今天，藝術教育需為擴闊學生欣賞藝術的視野。 目的：藝術欣賞涉及廣泛的學術領域，本文探討藝術與其他學科的密切關係，闡述如何引導不同程度的學生 通過跨學科的思維來欣賞藝術。藝術欣賞可以是探討古今人類創作行為和經驗的研究，跨科學的視野，比較、對 照的方式有助明白藝術的意義。 論點：傳統藝術欣賞注重藝術的內在價值，重藝術分析和風格理論。在現代社會的架構中，沒有純粹的藝 術。藝術可以看成是一種看法，反映的是某時代的歷史和文化背景，因應不同程度，我們可以或深或淺的與學生 探討一切與藝術創作相關的議題。 總結：跨學科的視野能夠開闊學生藝術欣賞的角度，增進他們的分析和批判能力，思考和掌握各類傳統的獨 特性，切合通識教育的要求。.     關鍵詞：藝術欣賞、傳統藝術教育、跨學科的視野、通識教育 Sophia S.M. Law 94 In its mission statement the International Society for Education Through Art (InSEA) outlines the nature and ultimate goal of art education: Education through art is a natural means of learning at all periods of the development of the individual, fostering values and disciplines essential for full intellectual, emotional and social development of human being in a community. (http://insea.org). In art education, creation and learning are intertwined through the processes of making and responding to art. The two fundamental aspects of art education are creativity and appreciation. Creativity signifies the actual process of art making through which the student acquires the skills and techniques of making art. It is a process of learning through the senses that requires self-direction and which brings to light an understanding of the self and the environment. Art appreciation refers to the ways of responding to a work of art, of interpreting and understanding the work in particular and the meaning of art in general. It is an intellectual process of recognizing the different forms of perception and presentation embodied in art. Art appreciation is a multifaceted channel that exposes students to a broad spectrum of disciplines including aesthetics, anthropology, history, cultural and social studies, and even science. This paper elucidates how such exposure is both possible and necessary in art appreciation, and how it can be attained for students at different levels. Conventional art appreciation and its challenges Conventional art appreciation focuses on the intrinsic values of art, by analyzing and appreciating the qualities specific to the various artistic elements, such as composition, form, colour, light and space. It studies a well defined set of objects according to their formal qualities and artistic distinction and is often characterised by varied forms of stylistic analysis and connoisseurship. The conventional approach is based on aesthetics and art history, and focuses primarily on works found in museums and galleries. Accordingly, conventional art appreciation studies the talent and artistic excellence of the masters and their masterpieces. As Gombrich (1995) succinctly states in the beginning of his book, The Story of Art: “There reality is no such thing as art. There are only artists” ( p.3). This exalted notion of individual creativity has been treasured by art educators and connoisseurs throughout modernity. Over the past few decades, however, the myth of masters and masterpieces has steadily losing its magic in the face of challenges from the many post- modern theories and criticisms of art and art history. At the same time, the definitions of what constitutes art have becoming more diverse than ever. In Ways of Seeing, John Berger (1972) described oil painting as a celebration of private property, a form of publicity for the privileged classes. Edward Said (1978) pointed out that the “Orient” has long been romanticized by the West through a subtle but persistent Eurocentric prejudice against the cultures of Asia and the Middle East. He provoked criticism of how art might serve the interests of power in specific historical, intellectual, and even economic settings. Both Berger and Said’s theories confront the authority of conventional art history by asking intuitive questions about whose perspective dominates the writing of art history, and who defines what we should see and how it should be appreciated. For many years, the myth of masters and masterpieces has directed our appreciation of art towards the canon of works defined by art history and collected in museums. Yet beyond this canon, there is potentially an equal number of excellent works that have been neglected by art historians 97 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation college students towards further topics of interest such as art and psychology. Art as a way of seeing John Berger (1972) stated that “Seeing comes before words” (p.7). Seeing is a primitive kind of learning. Unlike the mechanical process where a camera captures an image, seeing is a sophisticated process of perceiving images and generating vision. As George Roeder (1995), points out, vision depends on how we look at things, and how we look relies very much on how others sees the thing. For all levels of students, the best way of illustrating such an apparently simple but complex theory is by comparing the image of the cows found in the Lascaux cave iii paintings with that of Jean Dubuffet’s The Cow with the Subtile Nose, dated 1954iv. Neolithic peoples saw cows as wild beasts with threatening power, an idea with which modern people are unlikely to connect. Modern people tend to see cows as productive animals that work for and are manipulated by man. The tremendous difference between the two perspectives is a consequence of the way our perception of cows has changed through the years. By appreciating the two images, students from different levels can visualize Roeder’s theory to varying degrees. For college students, the two different images of cows can mark the beginning of an intellectual journey into the social formation of the visual and the visual construction of the social field. In Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology, W. J. T. Mitchell (1987) questions the difference between images and words, the system of power and canons of value. In a later interview, Mitchell further elucidated that the idea of vision and the idea as vision both have their histories (Dikovitskaya, 2006, p. 244). Donald Lowe (1983), expresses a similar notion in the History of Bourgeois Perception in claiming that perception in Western civilization has changed over the course of five periods in European history. The styles of different periods can be appreciated as a reflection of the ways in which people saw the world in their times. Even for students in junior grades, this will extend their vision of seeing art to more than just a style. Art as cultural history Vi s ion i s unden iab ly a soc io -cu l tu ra l construction. It is a selective and structural process largely based on the interests and preferences of the viewer. Visual experiences are necessarily contextual, and are bound by social and cultural factors. No artist can be totally isolated from people and time, and how the artist sees the world embodies the traces of his or her times. As Moxey points out, aesthetic criteria do not exist outside of a specific historical context (Dikovitskaya, 2006, p.14). Art appreciation, even at the level of its aesthetic concern, is thus a study of cultures and times. The works of the Italian Renaissance reflect a vision of faith through their presentation of the perfect harmony of law and order found in Nature. The sense of beauty and perfection evoked by Raphael’s The Betrothal of the Virgin, dated 1504 (Fig.1)v is a glorification of God that is totally different from the stern-looking images of God produced in medieval times. In Byzantine art God and the saints are usually portrayed in frontal view with solemn facial expressions against a iii Image link: http://maelstorm.itgo.com/photo.html iv Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/D/dubuffet/cow_with_subtile_nose.jpg.html v Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/raphael/raphael_sposalizio.jpg.html Sophia S.M. Law 98 golden background (Fig.2)vi. For medieval people, the heavenly world could only conform to an unearthly sense of absolute power, as suggested by the tangible glittering gold. However, with the emergence of humanism after the Black Death in Europe the European vision of God. began to change. Renaissance artists, under the influence of humanism, perceived God in a very different way from their medieval predecessors. Mary in Raphael’s Madonna dell Granduca, dated 1505,vii and God in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, dated 1511,viii are idealized loving figures that can be approached by humans. These images visualize the Medieval sense of “darkness” and the meaning of humanism in the Renaissance. They are useful and vivid resources for teaching and learning Western history. Art appreciation is a good way of connecting history and the social sciences. In studying representation, Janet Wolff suggests paying close attention to the image and using theories developed in the humanities and the social sciences to address the complex ways in which meaning is produced and circulated in specific social contexts (Dikovitskaya, 2006, p. 53). Evelyn Welch’s (1997) Art and Society in Italy 1350-1500 provides a new way of looking at Italian art of the fifteenth century by discussing contextual issues, such as artist-patron relationships, and the political and religious uses of art at a level above mere aesthetic concern. To demonstrate Welch’s perspect ive in classroom, we can compare the religious art of the Italian Baroque with that of the Italian Renaissance. The aesthetic qualities of both are distinctive and admirable, yet the painters of the two periods presented their religious subjects in two completely disparate ways. Caravaggio’s The Death of the Virgin, dated 1605 (Fig. 3),ix and Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, dated 1485 (Fig.4),x have little in common. Whereas the former depicts a mundane middle-aged woman lying pale and frail on her deathbed, the latter presents a young and beautiful woman in an elegant pose. Caravaggio’s rendering of light and dark is so natural and convincing that his figures almost become real characters in life, and his work evokes the sense of a real death. Although Da Vinci’s figures are also very three-dimensional, his use of lines is so distinctively impressive that his work provokes a graceful sense of ease and flow that is idealistic rather than naturalistic. Caravaggio’s naturalism and Da Vinci’s idealism are not the random consequences of two individual preferences. Rather they are a reflection of the different social and cultural contexts of the two periods in which the artists lived. These two religious works cannot be appreciated fully if we are unaware of the significance of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. After the Reformation, Europeans were greatly influenced by the humanistic sense of individualism advocated by Martin Luthur. Accordingly, Christian art needed to be closer to people, and artists sought ways to evoke human emotions as naturally as possible. Caravaggio’s naturalistic, un-idealized rendering of his figures aims to induce our natural emotion toward a dying person as intimate to us as a mother. This pursuit of “naturalism” was commonly shared by European painters of the seventeenth century (Martin, 1977, vi Image link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meister_von_Daphni_002.jpg vii Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/raphael/madonna.jpg.html viii Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/michelangelo/creation.jpg.html ix Image link: http://www.abcgallery.com/C/caravaggio/caravaggio30.html x Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/leonardo_virgin.jpg.html 99 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation p.41). In contrast, Da Vinci’s elegant, idealized figures belie a notion of perfection eschewed by Renaissance painters. Without understanding the changing cultural contexts of the two periods, we cannot fully appreciate Caravaggio’s naturalism and Da Vinci’s perfection. From admiring the beauty of the works, to uncovering the social and historical context embodied in the images, we can encourage students to appreciate the works from different levels and integrate their knowledge of history, social science, and art appreciation coherently. Art and science Scientific discoveries in history did not simply change our ways of living, they also transformed our understanding of the world. European oil paintings of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries depict how science opened a new perspective of time, space and light for the European artists of the times. The Baroque landscape paintings of the seventeenth century are often admired for their panoramic sense of space and the way they precisely detail a particular moment. The vision of space and time found in these landscapes is characteristic of the age of science in Western civilization. Telescopes and microscopes were invented near the beginning of the seventeenth century. Later, Galileo perfected his telescope and discovered four of the nine moons of Jupiter. In 1656, the Dutch scientist Christian Huygens made the first pendulum clock, enabling time to be counted in seconds. These discoveries extended the European artists’ vision of the world into the universe and gave precision to the concept of time, enabling them to see the world differently from their predecessors. Ruisdael’s The Windmill at Wijk, dated 1670 (Fig.5), portrays an enormous sense of space beyond that possibly imagined by any Western painter before the seventeenth century. The light arising in the distance from beyond the horizon of the sea creates an infinite sense of space on the canvas. The rolling clouds in the sky foretell the coming of a rainstorm, illustrating a precision of time. The land in the foreground is shaded by the clouds while the windmill stands motionless between the light and the dark. The painting freezes a moment in a quiet scene that presages a forthcoming chaos. In all, the presentation of this painting evinces a hitherto unknown sense of time and space, which can help science students see the meaning of science in vivid terms. The novel sense of time and space envisioned by the Baroque landscape painters also induced new achievements in Christian art. Peter Paul Rubens’ Raising of the Cross, dated 1610 (Fig.6), is no ordinary representation of the subject of crucifixion. Unlike most crucifixes, which in the past were depicted standing in an up right position, Rubin’s crucifix is shown diagonally, both across the painting surface and inclining into the depth at the back. The torso of Christ’s body and the facial expressions of the figures are real and intense, making the painting affective and dramatic, and provoking a vivid sense of witnessing the actual event. It exhibits the particular moment during the raising of the cross when the cross is halfway towards being upright. This notion of capturing the precise moment of a drama is often found in Baroque art. Other prime examples include Caravaggio’s The Sacrifice of Isaac, dated 1601,xi and Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa, dated 1645.xii The impact of scientific discoveries on the xi Image link: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/caravaggio/caravaggio_sacrifice_of_isaac.jpg.html Sophia S.M. Law 102 may be significantly misread or naively interpreted. Some of the best examples of contemporary art include those done by Chinese artists such as Zhang Xiao Gangxv and Yue Min Jun.xvi Young people tend to be more engaged with contemporary art, and at the college level, appreciation of contemporary art can connect students to many worldwide issues such as globalization, consumerism and problems of monopoly. Although the many complex issues involved in appreciating modern art might be too difficult for junior students to comprehend, modern images such as graffiti and comics can encourage younger students to think about the meaning and function of art, and to promote their awareness of social and community identity. Art appreciation and liberal studies As the definition of art becomes increasingly dispersed, art appreciation has to extend its boundary to cover all of the debates and issues arising from the complex meaning of art in the modern world. This form of liberal studies uses art and images as a tool to get transcend different disciplines. When Hong Kong implemented its New Secondary School curriculum in 2009 Liberal Studies was included as a core subject to enable students to make meaningful connections across different disciplines. Yet, many teachers find bridging and connecting the various disciplines a great challenge. Similarly, students find it difficult to articulate and communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively using such a wide range of references. The principle is to avoid compartmentalization of our knowledge of different fields. The integrative approach to art appreciation, as elucidated in this paper, serves to meet the vision of Liberal Studies, getting knowledge across various disciplines and enhancing students’ ability of critical thinking in the process of learning. Art appreciation can connect various disciplines in a close and seamless manner, and provides rich resources to teaching and learning Liberal Studies. Art of any kinds can be a subject of Liberal Studies. Egyptian art is a perfect illustration to visualize the meaning of ancient civilizations. Chinese flower-and-bird tradition serves well as a connotation to ancient Chinese literature. Caricature and comics ranging from those done by Goya in the eighteenth century to contemporary comics are interesting means to examine issues related to politics, popular cultures, commodity and society. The integrative approach to art appreciation enhances a self- directed issue-based learning for students at all levels, and helps them develop an understanding of a wide range of perspectives and values in more interesting and vivid ways. The study of art is, in many ways, the study of human behaviour and experience, both past and present. Students of different ages can study such behaviour at different levels. Theories of anthropology, social sciences, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies, can be taught in simple terms for students in lower grades, or elaborated at a deeper level for college students. Comparative studies of the art of different cultures can give students, even in primary schools, to a better awareness of the unique features of different traditions. This can also improve students’ analytical and critical thinking, broaden the scope of their knowledge, and hone their appreciation of cultural products and art- related issues. Although the aesthetic and intrinsic values of art are important aspects of art appreciation, an interdisciplinary vision of art will greatly enrich students’ experience of art appreciation, and foster xv Image link: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/artpages/zhang_xiaogang_family.htm xvi Image link: http://www.yueminjun.com/cn/gallery/oil/zoomo10_new9.html 103 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Appreciation values and interests essential for their full intellectual, emotional and social development, as advocated by InSEA at the beginning of this essay. References: Alland Alexander Jr. (1977). The artistic animal: An inquiry into the biological roots of art. New York: Anchor Books. Arnold, Walter S. (2009). Staglieno - The art of the marble carver. Ohio: Edgecliff Press. Benjamin, Walter (1960). The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In lluminations. New York: Schocken Books. Berger, John (1978). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books. Cubitt, Sean (2002). In the beginning: Third text and the politics of art. In R. Araeen, S. Cubitt, & Z. Sardar (Eds.). Third text reader on art, culture and theory. London and New York: Continuum. Dissanayake, E (1995). Homo Aestheticus. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. Dikovitskaya, Margaret (2006). Visual studies - The story of the visual after the cultural turn. London: MIT Press. Duchamp, Marcel (1961). Apropos of ‘Readymades. Retrieved Feburary 23rd 2010 from http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/ courses/phil%20of%20art/duchamp6.htm Duchamp, Marcel (1917). New York City. The Blindman. 2, 5. Gombrich, E.H. (1995). Story of art (3rd ed.). London: Phaidon Press. Kuspit, Donald (2004). End of art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lowe, Donald (1983). History of bourgeois perception. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1983. Marin, John Rupert (1977). Baroque. England: Penguin. Mitchell, W.J.T. (1987). Iconology image, text, ideology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Moxey, Keith (1996). Animating aesthetics: response to the Visual Culture Questionnaire. October 77, 56-59. Roeder, George H. (1995) The censored war: American visual experience during World War Two. Yale: Yale University Press. Said, Edward (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon. Walker, John Albert (1999). Art and outrage. London: Pluto. Welch, Evelyn (1997). Art and society in Italy 1350-1500. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Author Dr. Sophia S.M. Law, 羅淑敏 Dept. of Visual Studies, Lingnan University e-mail: [sophialaw@ln.edu.hk] Received: 18.6.10, accepted 2.8.10, revised: 5.8.10 List of illustrations Fig.1 Raphael The Betrothal of the Virgin 1504 Works of the Italian Renaissance reflect a vision of faith through their presentation of the perfect harmony of laws and orders found in Nature. This painting evokes a sense of perfection and beauty. Fig. 2 Meister von Daphni ca.1100 In Byzantine and Medieval art God and the saints are usually portrayed in frontal view with solemn facial expressions against a golden background. Fig. 3 Caravaggio The Death of the Virgin 1605 Caravaggio’s Virgin is presented as a mundane middle- aged woman lying pale and frail on her deathbed. His figures are so natural that they almost become real characters in life. Fig. 4 Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of the Rocks 1485 The use of lines is so distinctively impressive that this work provokes a graceful sense of ease and flow that is idealistic rather than naturalistic. Fig. 5 Ruisdael The Windmill at Wijk 1670 The enormous sense of space and the precision of time were exhibited in this painting are beyond the imagination of Western painters before the seventeenth century. Fig. 6 Peter Paul Rubens Raising of the Cross 1610 The notion of capturing the precise moment of a drama is vivid in this painting. Fig. 7 Jing Ho Mt. Lu ca.900 Fig. 8 Guo Xi Early Spring 1072 Fig. 9 Fan Kuan Autumn Travelers Dwelling in the Mountains ca.1000 The colossal and panoramic composition found in ancient shanshui aims to convey the universal rules and orders in nature.