About the Book
This text is designed to excite and interest students who have minimal knowledge of art and limited confidence in responding to it. To this end, the book starts at the students' introductory level and sets out to stimulate their active participation. Responding to Art integrates art and design forms that students are already familiar with and have some interest in, including CD covers, magazine advertisements, fashion styles, websites, crafts, product design, and folk art. In addition, the book engages students and builds their confidence by incorporating into the opening chapter responses to art by other introductory-level students.
Table of Contents:
PART ONE: THE PROCESS OF APPRECIATION
Chapter 1: ART AND APPRECIATIONWHAT IS ART?EXPERIENCING ART Appreciation 1: Tim Paul, WolfTHE POWER OF ARTAppreciation 2: Hale Woodruff, Interchange and Dissipation from The Art of the Negro mural seriesCONTENT: A BRIDGE CONNECTING FORM, SUBJECT, AND CONTEXT WAYS OF SEEING: FORMALISM AND CONTEXTUALISMTOWARD A COMPREHENSIVE EXPERIENCE OF ARTVAN GOGH'S NIGHT CAFE: AN APPRECIATION
Chapter 2: THE LANGUAGE OF FORM: THE VISUAL ELEMENTS THE VISUAL ELEMENTS Line Shape Appreciation 3: Bill Reid, The Spirit of the Haida Gwaii Appreciation 4: Henri Matisse, The Flowing Hair Space Texture Light and ColorTWO WORKS OF ART: FOCUS ON VISUAL ELEMENTSInteraction Box: Learning the Visual Elements
Chapter 3: THE LANGUAGE OF FORM: COMPOSITION TO STYLETHE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD COMPOSITIONTHE PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION Unity Variety BalanceEmphasis Rhythm, Repetition, and Pattern Proportion and Scale Appreciation 5: The Art of Album Cover Design FORM AND CONTENT: AN INSEPARABLE PAIRFROM FORM AND CONTENT TO STYLE STYLE AND MEANING IN THE EVERYDAY WORLDInteraction Box: Form, Content, and Style in Popular Art Fashion: Case Studies in Style Appreciation 6: The French Revolution in Fashion
Chapter 4: THE INFLUENCE OF CONTEXT: DIFFERENT WAYS OF SEEINGWAYS OF SEEINGWAYS OF SEEING NATURE ACROSS TIME: THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE Interaction Box: Responding Contextually: Art as Social and Cultural CreationVIEWING NATURE ACROSS SOCIAL STRATA: THE PICTURESQUE AS AN UPPER-CLASS WAY OF SEEINGSEEING NATURE ACROSS CULTURES: FAR EASTERN AND WESTERN WAYS OF SEEING Appreciation 7: Hokusai's View from Kajikazawa in Kai Province Appreciation 8: Ansel Adams: Photographer of the Landscape SEEING NATURE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: SUBLIMITY AND TECHNOLOGY PART TWO: THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARTS: FORM AND CONTEXT
Chapter 5: DRAWING AND PAINTING: FOUNDATIONS OF THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARTSTHE TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARTS: A DEFINITIONDRAWING AND PAINTING: FUNDAMENTAL MEDIA Dry and Wet MediaInteraction Box: Appreciating Different MediaMedia and Artistic Intent DRAWING: FOCUS ON LINE, SHAPE, AND VALUEAPPRECIATING DRAWINGS: FORM AND CONTEXTPAINTING: FOCUS ON COLOR AND TEXTURE Appreciation 9: In the Tradition of the Chinese Masters: I-Hsiung Ju Paints a Picture TWO PAINTINGS: FORM AND CONTEXT DRAWING AND PAINTING: DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND STATUS Appreciation 10: An Interview with Peter Ratner on Computer-Generated Art
Chapter 6: GRAPHIC ART AND DESIGN: FROM PRINT MEDIA TO MASS MEDIAGRAPHIC ART AND DESIGN: DIFFERENCES AND COMMONALITIESTHE GRAPHIC ART OF PRINTMAKING: A BRIEF HISTORY Technique Boxes 6-A and 6-B: Woodblock Printing and Engraving Technique Box 6-C: Etching Technique Box 6-D: Aquatint Appreciation 11: Karyn Young's The Making of a Print THE MODERN PERIOD: THE RISE OF THE MASS MEDIA Technique Box 6-E: Lithography Appreciation 12: Käthe Kollwitz: Hamm Technique Box 6-F: Screenprinting THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN ADVERTISINGTOWARD A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF ADVERTISING DESIGNSOCIETY'S MIRRORInteraction Box: How Are Men and Women Represented in Graphic Art and Design?
Chapter 7: PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOVING PICTURES: FROM PREHISTORY TO THE PRESENTPHOTOGRAPHY'S HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Technique Box 7-A: Basic Photography: Camera, Film, and DevelopmentPHOTOGRAPHY: THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Appreciation 13: Liang Shitai, Chinese Court Photographer from Hong Kong PHOTOGRAPHY AND MOVING PICTURES: THE TWENTIETH CENTURYPHOTOGRAPHY, MOVING PICTURES, AND ART: SELECTIVE VIEWS Expressionism: Unleashing the Emotions Surrealism: Visualizing Dreams and Fantasy Social Realism: The Documentation of Society Formalism: Emphasis on Visual Form Appreciation 14: Who Made Citizen Kane? Interaction Box 7: Approaches to Taking Pictures: Selective ViewsNEW MEDIA AND MASS MEDIA: RELATIONSHIPS IN FORM AND CONTENTTechnique Box 7-B: Digital Image CreationTHE CHANGING MEANING OF ART IN AN AGE OF MASS MEDIA PART THREE: THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL ARTS: FORM AND CONTEXT
Chapter 8: SCULPTURE: A FOUNDATION OF THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL ARTSSCULPTURE: FOCUS ON SHAPE, SURFACE QUALITY, AND SPACEFUNCTIONS OF SCULPTUREADDITIVE METHODS OF SCULPTING Appreciation 15: The Enigmatic, Wondrous Art of James Hampton SUBTRACTIVE METHODS OF SCULPTING Appreciation 16: Zimbabwean Stone SculptureEXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF SCULPTURE: EARTHWORKSInteraction Box 8: Making a Sculpture
Chapter 9: CRAFTS AND PRODUCT DESIGNCRAFT AND FINE ART Appreciation 17: An Illinois Farm Quilt Top Appreciation 18: An Anasazi "Kayenta Olla" CRAFT AND PRODUCT DESIGN IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE: THE NINETEENTH CENTURYMODERN DESIGN AND MASS PRODUCTION: INTO THE TWENTIETH CENTURYINTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: NEW DESIGN DIRECTIONSCRITICAL RESPONSES TO INDUSTRIALLY BASED DESIGNAPPLIED ART IN THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT Interaction Box: Art, Craft, and Product Design: A Breakdown of Boundaries?
Chapter 10: ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY DESIGN: FORM AND CONTEXTARCHITECTURE: A SOCIAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTARCHITECTS AND BUILDERSARCHITECTURAL METHODS, FORMS, AND MEANINGS Appreciation 19: The Bank of China Tower in ContextMODERN ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY DESIGN: SELECTED VIEWS Appreciation 20: The Architecture of Oluwole Olumuyiwa POSTMODERNISM: TOWARD A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF ARCHITECTUREBUILDING COMMUNITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Interaction Box: "Adopt a Building" PART FOUR: A HISTORY OF ART
Chapter 11: FROM THE PALEOLITHIC ERA TO THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONSTHE UPPER PALEOLITHIC ERA Technique Box 11-A: Cave PaintingTHE MESOLITHIC ERATHE NEOLITHIC ERA Appreciation 21: Worldwide Megaliths MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION Appreciation 22: Teotihuacán: Birthplace of the GodsTechnique Box 11-B: Metalworking Interaction Box: Compare and Contrast
Chapter 12: THE ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT, GREECE, AND ROMEEGYPT AND ITS ART Appreciation 23: The Egyptian Artist-Craftsman GREEK CIVILIZATION AND ITS ART Appreciation 24: Exekias, Achilles Killing Penthesilea ROMAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE Interaction Box: Formalist Art History in Action
Chapter 13: EARLY CHRISTIAN, MEDIEVAL, AND ISLAMIC ART THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTIAN ART Appreciation 25: The Good Shepherd, Ceiling Fresco, Catacomb of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, Early 4th Century C.E. Interaction Box: Taking a Marxist Approach to Art HistoryISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE; FROM WEST TO EAST Appreciation 26: Persian Manuscript Painting of the School of Herat
Chapter 14: RENAISSANCE TO BAROQUE ART IN A WORLDWIDE CONTEXTFrom the Middle Ages to the Renaissance Technique Box 14-A: FrescoRENAISSANCE ART: THE FIRST HALF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURYRENAISSANCE ART: THE SECOND HALF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURYTHE BIRTH OF FINE ART AND THE ARTISTSIXTEENTH-CENTURY ARTISTIC DIRECTIONSCOUNTER-REFORMATION TO BAROQUE ART Interaction Box: Taking a Psychoanalytic Approach to Art Appreciation 27: Xochipilli: Aztec God of the Spring Appreciation 28: The Baroque Culture of the New World
Chapter 15: NORTHERN EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS: BAROQUE TO NEOCLASSICAL, FINE ART TO PRACTICAL ARTBAROQUE CLASSICISM AND CLASSICAL ART EDUCATIONSEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ART IN PROTESTANT HOLLAND Appreciation 29: Judith Leyster’s The Proposition EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ART: BAROQUE TO ROCOCO TO NEOCLASSICALNEOCLASSICISM, DEMOCRACY, AND REVOLUTION Appreciation 30: Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun, Marie Antoinette and Her Children Interaction Box: Taking a Feminist Art Historical ApproachIN THE SHADOW OF THE FINE ARTS: THE MINOR ARTS
Chapter 16: ART IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: ROMANTICISM TO POSTIMPRESSIONISMINTO THE MODERN ERAROMANTICISMCLASSICAL ART OF THE FRENCH ACADEMYROMANTIC ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND DESIGN IN AN INDUSTRIAL AGEFROM ROMANTICISM TO NATURALISM Appreciation 31: Rosa Bonheur: The Horse Fair IMPRESSIONISMPOST-IMPRESSIONISM Appreciation 32: Oceanic Art and Gauguin: Influences and Issues Interaction Box: Raising Cross-cultural Issues in the Arts
Chapter 17: EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY ARTEXPRESSIONISM: UNLEASHING THE EMOTIONSFORMALIST ABSTRACTION: TOWARD AN ART OF SIGNIFICANT FORM Appreciation 33: Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and African Art ART OF THE IRRATIONAL: DADA AND SURREALISM Appreciation 34: Frida Kahlo: The Broken Column Interaction Box: Create Expressionist, Abstract Formalist, and Surrealist Versions of the Same Subject
Chapter 18: TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICAN ART: REALISM TO ABSTRACTIONART IN AMERICA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURYTHE GROWTH OF AN ORIGINAL AMERICAN ART: HOPPER TO O’KEEFFE Appreciation 35: Romare Bearden’s Patchwork Quilt Appreciation 36: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Cow Skull with Calico Roses THE RISE OF THE AMERICAN ART WORLDABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM: THE FIRST GENERATION PIONEERS Interaction Box: Creating an Abstract Expressionist ArtworkFROM ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM TO FORMALIST ABSTRACTION
Chapter 19: THE SECOND HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A MULTIPLICITY OF DIRECTIONSNEW SUBJECTS, MEDIA, AND ART FORMSVARIETIES OF NEW REALISMInteraction Box: Role-Playing an Artist: First-Person NarrativesTHE RETURN OF FIGURATIVE ART Appreciation 37: The Abstract Painting of Sylvia Lark Appreciation 38: The “Ordinary. Extraordinary” Art of May Stevens
Chapter 20: BEYOND PAINTING AND SCULPTURE: EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF ARTA HOST OF NEW ART FORMSBEYOND THE MUSEUM’S WALLS Appreciation 39: Creating Art of Value in Public Places: The Vietnam Veterans MemorialART APPRECIATION IN A PERIOD OF PLURALISMAppreciation 40: Franklin Furnace: Re-Imaging Performance Art and the Public APPENDIX: WRITING ABOUT ART GLOSSARYNOTESINDEX
About the Author :
Born in Hawaii and raised in Brooklyn and Spring Valley, New York, Robert Bersson graduated from Brandeis University with a BA degree in studio art. His instructors included Peter Grippe, Philip Guston, and Jacob Lawrence. During his graduate years at the University of Maryland, he studied with Anne Truitt and David Driskell and joined a Maryland faculty in 1977 that included such notable artists as Sam Gilliam and Martin Puryear. To the present, Bersson continues to create artworks in a variety of media and exhibits widely. A master educator, he has received a National Art Education Association Art Educator of the Year Award and the James Madison University Distinguished Teaching Award. His areas of expertise are modern and contemporary art history and students flock to these and other courses he teaches in new media, art criticism, aesthetics, and art in society. Growing out of his innovative teaching methods, Dr. Bersson has written two major art appreciation/art history textbooks, Worlds of Art (Mayfield, 1991) and Responding to Art (McGraw-Hill, 2003) that are used in colleges and universities across North America. A resident of Harrisonburg in Virginias Shenandoah Valley for the past twenty-two years, Dr. Bersson has been active in community affairs. He is a founder of Citizens for Downtown, an arts-centered downtown revitalization organization, and is the leader of the Blacks Run Restoration Project, an ongoing stream restoration/beautification project that has evolved into a seven-mile, linear-park greenway through the city. Relating art to society has always been central to Berssons efforts as a writer, artist, educator, and community volunteer, and the artwork in the new childrens book, Stripes and Stars (Legacy, 2003), shows this. The Flag drawings and paintings featured in Stripes and Stars are creative interpretations of the American flag, the most basic symbol of our democratic, multicultural society. Executed between 1995 and 2002 and exhibited in art galleries in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., the expressive Flag Pictures, in childrens book format, reach out to stimulate the creativity and aesthetic appreciation of young children of all backgrounds.
