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6/23/2019

The Mixed Case

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Mercury by Giambologna. Image: Tetraktys. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

           The visual fine arts provide an intellectual, or spiritual experience, but if an artwork also serves some non-artistic purpose, its meaning can be confused and even undercut by that competing purpose. For instance, Giambologna’s sculpture of Mercury serves no other purpose than what we derive from our experience of the figure’s vital physique and free, open pose. (Pose is the configuration of the entire figure.) But if Mercury served as a weathervane, and it turned according to the direction of the wind, our experience of the figure would be consistent with encountering a being determined by some external force -- a conclusion opposed to Giambologna’s vision. Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa offers an image of a certain kind of being in a certain kind of world. It depicts a woman who has a calm demeanor, intelligent expression, with a serene landscape behind her. But should the Mona Lisa appear on the fabric of a carpet that is used as a floor covering, our ability to contemplate what that vision means to us would be mixed with, and undercut by, Mona Lisa being walked on and marked by wear and tear. An image of a bird in flight carved on a panel enables us to appreciate the significance of a healthy, unfettered creature. That same image carved onto the handle of a soup ladle cannot offer us that same kind of experience -- the bird would be functioning as part of a utensil that serves soup, not seen in flight against an open sky.

            Historically, the ways in which the arts have been made and used have often resulted in mixed cases of fine art and decorative art. Many sculptures and paintings have been attached to other objects: walls, altars, vessels, grave markers. For much of history, paintings were on interior walls (framed, stand-alone paintings are a relatively recent invention). Nevertheless, in most mixed cases it is possible to clearly distinguish the artwork from the object to which it is attached. The main criteria for distinguishing something as being a work of fine art in the mixed case are: the completeness of the representation (Does it depict an object, like an apple or human figure?) and the scope of its aesthetic meaning (Can it embody a profound theme such as “Life is good,” or is it merely a limited referent such as a pattern of flowers?). In most mixed cases the work of art is the primary focus and that from which the associated object gains a meaning that it would not otherwise have. An example of a mixed case of fine art used in a decorative way would be a painting or relief sculpture of a human figure on a door. Such an image decorates the door, but if it depicts the figure in a way that conveys a theme, it can also be an object of contemplation.

            Despite the mixed uses of a great deal of art, we can focus on the metaphysics of the artworks to the extent that each work allows -- meaning, we can consider what the artworks suggest about life and our world in general apart from any other use that the artworks may have had. For example, we could study Egyptian statues that were meant to be inhabited by spirits of the dead, but we can ask what those statues show us about the Egyptians’ view of life.

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2/24/2019

A GLOSSARY THAT HELPS

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The glossary for Windows on Humanity is unlike those of other art history survey texts. Windows on Humanity provides a unique treatment of aesthetics terms and includes fewer technical terms. Internet search engines are presumed to be available to the reader to provide encyclopedic technical information. Additionally, the established survey art histories — Gardner, Janson, Stokstad et al — have excellent glossaries for technical terms. While accurate technical art terms are readily available online, online explanations of aesthetics principles and concepts are often confusing or incomplete. Survey glossaries often do not include terms that are essential to our understanding of art and its history — terms like “art,” “dramatize,” and “concretize.” The Windows on Humanity glossary explains art-related principles and concepts, as well as technical terms, in familiar, non-academic language and without terminology from other fields such as Gender Studies, Economics, or Theology.

In the post-authoring phase of the book, glossary entries are being organized to help make the reader’s experience seamless. New terms will appear in the text either italicized or in bold type. Terms are either followed in the text by a brief description in parentheses or they are footnoted. Footnotes at the bottom of the page are more easily referenced than when they appear at the end of chapters. That said, final formatting of the book is not yet settled. Terms will also be listed alphabetically at the back of the book in a glossary with fuller descriptions and examples when needed, giving readers the opportunity to learn more about a term if they want.

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6/15/2018

WELCOME

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Welcome to the WINDOWS ON HUMANITY blog! Here you’ll find information on topics and materials related to the book, to art history, and even to tie-in topics about the art world today.

My chief aim is to support the reader experience by answering readers’ questions, developing material presented in the book, and providing supporting information from beyond the book!

I’ll be posting on topics like: the best image sources for art, great books on art, and the latest news from the world of art history and arts-related archeology.

Posts will also explore the rich subjects of art principles, the purposes for which people have made art in the past, historical trends in artistic style, and changes in the methods that have been used in artistic creation across history.

For teachers, helpful tips and suggestions will be offered for how to use WINDOWS ON HUMANITY to support a humanities curriculum, and to create more meaningful and memorable lessons.

All this and more … to be continued.

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The Mixed Case

A GLOSSARY THAT HELPS

WELCOME

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