Language, Concepts, Materials, and Techniques in Arts

Essay Instructions:

Please pick three of the following five questions and write three short responses. Each of your essays should be between 600 and 800 words in length (for a total of 1,800 to 2,400 words) and include a discussion of four works of art from the review list (you may also cover other works that we discussed in class). While multiple works could serve multiple categories, the same work of art should not appear in more than one essay. Be sure to include full caption information. The questions below are broad enough to allow for flexible responses; feel free to pose your own questions and discuss related issues.

AH 392/692—Spring 2020—Final Exam Please pick three of the following five questions and write three short responses. Each of your essays should be between 600 and 800 words in length (for a total of 1,800 to 2,400 words) and include a discussion of four works of art from the review list (you may also cover other works that we discussed in class). While multiple works could serve multiple categories, the same work of art should not appear in more than one essay. Be sure to include full caption information. The questions below are broad enough to allow for flexible responses; feel free to pose your own questions and discuss related issues. Your exams must be submitted in the form of a single Word document via Turnitin (accessible on the Content page on Blackboard) no later than Saturday, May 9, at 2:00 pm EST. 1. Materials and techniques Beginning in the 1950s, artists responded to the limitations of traditional materials and techniques by incorporating humble, everyday objects and images into their works. How did artists use unorthodox materials (both organic and inorganic) to challenge expectations regarding the physical and pictorial make-up of the work of art? 2. Processes and procedures Numerous works of art from the 1950s through the 1970s make visible the process behind their creation. Discuss artists’ attempts to draw attention to the act of production. Why were “action” and “process” such important terms during this period? How were artists reacting to particular modes of art-making or critical writing prevalent at the time? 3. Performance and embodiment A wide range of artists in the postwar decades put their own bodies and the bodies of others (participants, models, and even viewers) in a central position within the work of art. Discuss how artists embraced performance and performativity from WWII through the 1970s. To what divergent ends did artists engage with the theme of embodiment in their practices? 4. Photography and documentation For many artists working from the 1950s through the 1970s, photographic or filmic recording of the work of art was critical. How did viewers gain access to events, performances, and site-specific works through photographic reproduction? Discuss the relationship between art and its documentation during this period. 5. Language and concepts The visible presence of language and text within works of art increased in the 1960s and 1970s. Consider the various ways that artists have prioritized the idea or concept as the primary driver behind a work’s creation. How was language deployed by artists to question traditional notions of art production and viewer engagement?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Art Research Paper
Name
Institution
Course
Date
ART RESEARCH PAPER
1 Language and Concepts
The 1960s saw the use of language as a necessary tool among conceptual artists. Language in arts increased emphasis on visual forms. Texts had been incorporated in arts since long ago, but at the time, words were given a very central role. At the time, a language in arts was used by conceptual artists in providing instructions on how the piece was developed. Among the first originators of this strategy was Sollewitt, whose work was positively received by other artists. According to him, mere ideas are also a form of art. Therefore, he generated ideas for artworks and wrote instruction on how to make it which were executed by other artists.
One art that involved the use of language is the Mary Kelly Post-partum Document: 1974. The American artist created artworks using the liners of his son’s used nappies. According to Warriner (2020), she made print copies of them and indicated the details of his diet and then displayed them. The post-partum document involves several materials that show the development of his son since he was born to about five years. She writes on artefacts associated that belonged to the child, for instance, his clothes, the first child’s effort to write, and the items he collects among others. The artefacts contain detailed analytical texts that appear parallel to the object. The art was in response to the rise of the second wave of feminism regarding how women work at home. Her focus in this was on the invisible daily activities of women as they engage in domestic labor.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1Mary Kelly Post-partum Document: 1974.
Language, therefore, is used in art to communicate effectively and draw out emotions. Using texts as the prerequisite form of communication in the expression of art pushes words, numbers, and even letters to easily convey messages. The power of the written word forces the viewer to reflect. Therefore, artists have used the method in political activism and even advertising. Barbara Kruger, for instance, is a conceptual artist who uses phrases on images to pass across ideas of sexuality, power and identity (Stewart, 2020). Another artist like Jenny Holzer in the 1980s used texts to express the themes of religion, gender and modern life. As a result, the public gained the courage to confront societal issues.
The artworld is an increasingly evolving and dynamic aspect. The aesthetic value, significance and emotional efficacy of art objects are subject to change through time and space. The use of language in arts was, therefore, use to question the traditional craft by the intensity of the message shared and the engagement of people. The use of text resulted in high engagement hence resulting in high incorporation of the art in advocacy and empowerment (Harshav, 1994). It also created a high intensification of networks of social relations between systems and individuals. Texts in artwork challenged the traditional art by creating a more engaging visual representation.
Traditionally, art was understood to be a form of high culture that was expressed through individual expression and norms. Objects and images were merely things to be viewed and preser...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Language, Concepts, Materials, and Techniques in Arts

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