CPAR

Contemporary
- In vernacular English, modern and contemporary are synonyms, resulting in some
conflation of the terms modern art and contemporary art by non-specialists.
Modern Art
- Around the 1860s to the1960s
- Modernism (modern art) – pure simplified, streamlined form and style: “Less is more.”
Contemporary Art
- During the start of postmodernism in the West, around the late 1960s (to the present)
- A combination of mixed styles, materials techniques, and concepts that challenges
tradition

Contemporary Art
- the art that springs out of the present-day events and passions of the society
- produced by 21st century artists living in the postmodern age in a global society
Art
- skillful creative activity usually with an aesthetic sense
- CREATIVE – “oei” (original, expressive imaginative)
- AESTHETIC – sense of beauty
- Fine art such as painting drawing and sculpture
- HUMANITIES – the study includes language, literature, the arts, philosophy, and
history
- Latin word: HUMANUS – culture, human, refined

HUMANITIES VS SCIENCES
HUMANITIES
- Aspects of human experience, society and culture
- The internal world – person’s thoughts emotions and aspirations
- Subjective
SCIENCES
- Structure or nature of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment
- The external world
- Objective
*A balanced knowledge of the world – which is both functional and delightful
THE ARTS
1. Visual arts / Visual design (SPA – sculpture | painting | architecture)
2. Performing arts / Theatrical performance
3. Literary and musical compositions
4. Choreography
5. Musical Instrument

The subject of ART – everything under the sun can be considered a subject in the arts

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ART

Realistic | Representational | Objective Art
Nonrepresentational | Nonobjective Art

INTEGRATIVE ART
- Art that is interactive and multidisciplinary in nature
- Consists of ideas and practices from different branches of learning
- (unity of separate areas)

STYLES IN DEPECTING A SUBJECT

REALISM
- Represents real people, places or things (i.e. the subject)
- Shows off skill and technique
- How it actually looks
ABSTRACTION
- How the artist beaks the subject and rearranges it in a different manner
- Portrays a subject not visible in the world; consists of abstract elements
- Works for the meaning of the piece
NON OBJECTIVISM
- painting, sculpture, or graphic art in which the portrayal of things from the
visible world plays no part
- All art consists largely of elements that can be called abstract - elements of
form, line, color, tone, and texture
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
 -gives an artist the liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through
nontraditional or nonrepresentational means
CUBISM
- stresses abstract form through the use of cone, cylinder, or sphere
DADAISM
- “dada” (no meaning)
- Purpose is to ridicule the meaninglessness that happens in the world
FAUVISM
- Use of vivid expressionistic and unnaturalistic of color
SURREALISM
- Purpose is to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind
FUTURISM
- Purpose is to capture the mechanical energy of modern life
IMPRESSIONISM
- the artist’s impression on the subject
- not as detailed as realist painting

ELEMENTS OF ART
1) SPACE
- the void: positive/negative
- positive: space inside the subject; negative: space outside the subject
2) LINE
- Extension of a point
- Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, jagged, curved, series of dots/ broken lines
3) SHAPE AND FORM
- Figure: geometry (angular); organic (curvy)
- Shape is 2D; form is 3D
4) COLOR
- The sensation of light caught in a prism
- Creates mood or tone (mood/value)
5) VALUE
- The degree of lightness & darkness of a color
6) TEXTURE
- The surface of an artwork: actual/tactile or simulated/illusory
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNS – organization of elements
*Design – overall structure of an art form; a plan for order
1) HARMONY
- Wholeness of the design, the pleasing arrangement of parts, and the agreement
between parts resulting in a united whole
2) VARIETY
 - The assortment / diversity of a work of art
3) RHYTHM / BEAT
- The regular, repeated pattern in the elements of art: regular/irregular,
simple/complex
4) PROPORTION
- The relationship of elements in a work of art that is pleasing to the eye
5) BALANCE
- The even distribution of weight:
a. formal/symmetrical
b. informal/asymmetrical
6) MOVEMENT
- The fundamental principles in choreography or theater arts
7) EMPHASIS & SUBORDINATION
- Emphasis: the importance / dominance to a unit/area
- Subordination: less importance/dominance

3 KEY ELEMENTS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND A WORK OF ART

1) FORM
- The surface feature/embodiments of an artwork.
- “what you see is what you get”
2) CONTENT
- The meaning/substance of an artwork
3) CONTEXT
- The relevant circumstances/varied situations surrounding the production or
interpretation of the artwork.
- 2 KINDS OF CONTEXT
- PRIMARY
- The personal type; concerns the sentiments of the artists: his
beliefs, attitudes, values, interests and emotions
- SECONDARY
- The place & period in which the artist made his work: may be
the political, economic & social environment he is in
MEDIUM (Mediums/Media -plural)
- Latin word: “Medium”
- The material that artists use to create their art for interpretation
of thoughts/feelings.
MEDIUMS IN THE VISUAL ARTS
SCULPTURE
ICE
GLASS
WOOD
CLAY
BRICKS
METAL (e.g. Gold, Lead, Brass, Steel, Copper, Silver)
WIRE
SOAP
FOOD (e.g. Fruits)
FABRIC
PAPER
SAND
STONE (e.g) Marble
IVORY
WAX
RECYCLED MATERIALS
MIXED MEDIA
PAINTING
- The art of creating meaningful effects on a flat surface by the use of pigment
- ALL PAINTING MEDIUMS ARE COMPOSED OF PICMENTS (COLOR) ADDED
TO A VEHICLE (BASE)
INK
OIL
- Pigments that are held together with a type of oil that dries when exposed
to air, called drying oil
- Linseed oil
CHALK
PASTEL
- Pure powdered pigment + binder (gum water)
- Luminous color & very flexible
- Can be easily smudged
TEMPERA
- Mixing pigments with egg yolk/egg white
- Has rapid drying rate
- Usually done on wooden panels that are prepped with chalk or gesso
(gum)
WATERCOLOR
- Producing warm & rich tones: simple & clear essence
 - “GOUACHE” – done by mixing zinc white with the regular watercolor
paints
ACRYLIC
- Used popularly by artists because of the transparency & quick drying
characteristics
ENAMEL
ENCAUSTIC
- “hot wax paint” (bees wax)
- Heated beeswax + colored pigments
- Gives luminous effect
FRESCO
- Mixing pigments with plaster (used for walls/ceilings)
- Ex. The Creation of Adam by MICHELANGELO DI LODOVICO
BUONARROTI
LATEX
MIXED MEDIA
DRAWING
- Usually done on paper using pencil, pen & ink
- Best known drawings are done by Leonardo Da Vinci using silverpoint and pencil
PENCIL
- Cheap, easily available, can be erased
INK
CHARCOAL
- Carbonaceous materials
- Obtained by heating wood/other organic substances in the absence of
oxygen.
CRAYON
- Pigments bound in wax
SILVERPOINT
- Drawing with silver stylus or specifically prepared paper to produce a thin
grayish line
MIXED MEDIA
ARCHITECURE
CONCRETE
WOOD
STEEL
PLASTIC
STONE
TEXTILES
GLASS
BRICK
 KEVLAR – fibrous (x5 stronger than steel)
BAMBOO
CARBON FIBER
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS (solar)
EART/SOIL
WASTE
STRAW
ORAGANIC MATERIALS
TECHNIQUE
THICKENING OF INK
CONTRASTING COLORS
BLENDING OF INK
USING THE PLASTIC TECHNIQUE
ARCHITECTURE
STAINED GLASS
- Made of small pieces of colored glass which are held together by bands of
lead (heavy iron bars)
MOSAIC
- Small pieces (tesserae) glued on a surface with plaster or cement
TAPESTRY
- Fabric with color threads woven by hand
- Ex. Wall hangings, pictorials, furniture covering
- Middle Ages: hung on walls of palaces & Cathedrals (festive occasion &
warmth)
SOME FEATURES OF CONTEMPORARY ART
1) PASTICHE
- Imitation
- Fragmentation/division
- Imitation in celebration of artwork, NOT MOCKERY
- A creative work that imitates another author/ genre
- A way of paying respect, honor to great works of the past
2) APPROPRIATION
- Borrowing through recontextualization
- Wants the viewer to recognize the image they copy
3) BRICOLAGE/ASSEMBLAGE
- Art made of diverse range of materials
4) INSTALLATION
- Temporary art
- Made indoors/outdoors where space is transformed into a 3D artwork
- Includes performance
*PARODY – original artwork is devolved/defaced