Essay for Art and Design Class

2 Choices €“ Pick one or the other for this week’s essay

Choice #1 €“ Is It Art, Is It Craft?

Discuss whether the distinction is valid €“ or not! (300-500 words) Submit in Blackboard directly or as an uploaded MS Word DOC This week’s chapter (Ch. 14) deals with creations and media that some critics and writers regard as different from or even lesser than fine art. This has as much to do with the evolution of artwork and writing about art in the so-called Western world as anything else; there are many cultures around the world that regard all forms of creativity as art. Or that may not even have the term art in their language €” what people make for whatever purpose is precious and spiritual within their daily life and rituals (spears for hunting, or votives for the garden). I want you to choose a craft object (from Ch 14), and take one OR the other point of view about it, to aIDress this question: is this a work of art? WHY or WHY NOT? What makes something achieve the status of art? Can a vase be art, or only a ceramic sculpture, that cannot hold water? Can the form be functional, but the surface treatment be art? Pick an image from Chapter 14 €” and identify it by Fig. xxx and Title, and Artist/Creator/Designer in your title €” and argue either for or against its position as an artwork, or merely as a well-created or -designed entity within its field. Identify what we value in our culture, and how art is positioned within our culture. What is lasting and what is merely decoration. Justify your statements with arguments from our book, or defend your own position with quotes from other sources, cited appropriately. Don’t just tell me what you think or feel €” build a well-supported argument that would convince the skeptical doubter.

OR €¦.

Choice #2 €“ You Are There!

Imagine being at 2 of these places of worship (300-500 words)
Submit in Blackboard directly or as an uploaded MS Word DOC

In this essay you will be blending information learned from our look at Architecture in previous chapter(s), and information from the Ancient World (Ch 17) and the Age of Faith (Ch 18). Refer to these Figures in your World of Art textbook:

€¢    Stonehenge, p. 418, Fig. 17-5 See MyArtsLab.com/Closer Look/Chapter 17/Stonehenge Or €“ <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-stonehenge.html> (a 50 minute video)
€¢    Acropolis, p. 428, Fig. 17-8 See <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/glorious-parthenon.html> (click on the image for a 50 minute video)
€¢    San Vitale, pp. 441, Figs. 18-5 See MyArtsLab.com for a virtual panorama (eText/page 441/click on Explore at bottom of page €¦. slow to load)
€¢    Mosque of Córdoba, p. 447, Fig. 18-12 (also, look at eText, p. 441 and click on Thinking Thematically) Chartre Cathedral, p. 451, Fig. 18-17 (also, look at eText, p. 451 and click on Explore)
€¢    Beta Ghiorghis, p. 461, Fig. 18-32 (also, look at eText, p. 461 and click on View)

Pick any two (2) of them, and I want you to imagine you are at these locations. Describe what each place LOOKS like to you. Talk about each from an analytical point of view, how it is constructed, how the exterior and the interior relate to each other, the sense of scale, the use of materials, whether it is simple or complex, whether it is adorned or unadorned. Use terms and tools for looking at art that we have studied for the first 16 chapters. Then, describe how each of the 2 places you have chosen make you FEEL.

Imagine you are a citizen of this culture, in the ancient time, and you are coming here to worship. (You may not understand the religion or faith very well from your point of view now, but try to shed stereotypes or preconceptions, and imagine.) How does this location or structure affect you? What aspects of it are inspiring or mysterious, and make you wonder? How is this place effective as a cultural place to gather and why? In your last paragraph, try to compare the two spaces and what makes them similar, and what makes them different. What we are learning is that all cultures from all periods of time worship in some way. What do you think about the role of spirituality in art and architecture?