Art 101 Week 1 Assignment
Reading Art – Understanding Iconography
David Howard
ART/101
November 14, 2010
Lynda Sweat
Reading Art – Understanding Iconography
An artist can create art work through a creative process. An element of this process is critical thinking. Artists’ creativity process begins with seeing. It then goes from seeing to imagining and from imagining to making (Sayre, 2009). This essay will provide an explanation of artists’ roles. The essay will also include two chosen works of art, one of which embodies the role of the artist and the other holds symbolic significance requiring the application of iconography. Roles of Artists Many artists enjoy exploring new ideas and concepts and creating them. Most artists think of themselves in one or more of the roles when approaching their art work. First, artists believe they are helping people to see the world in new and innovative ways. Secondly, they believe they are making a visual record of places, people, and events of their time and place (Sayre, 2009). Third, they are making functional objects and buildings more pleasurable and giving them meaning, and finally, artists believe they are giving form to immaterial ideas and things (Sayre, 2009). First Chosen Art Work The first art work chosen was a figure by Myron of Athens, Discobolous. The Discobolous, a Discus Thrower, is a Roman marble copy after a bronze original of 450 BCE. A picture of this piece is shown below, figure 1. This piece of art work is simply amazing and exemplifies the Greek sense of harmony and balance (Petronius, 2008). The artist depicted the statutes of that time, a male nude figure, which seems to express freedom of movement and the Greeks idea of beauty. Furthermore, this artwork exemplifies the role of the artist through a representation of human strength and values.
Figure 1. Myron of Athens, Discobolous
Second Art Work
After reviewing a number of art works, the second art work chosen is by Fra Andrea
David Howard
ART/101
November 14, 2010
Lynda Sweat
Reading Art – Understanding Iconography
An artist can create art work through a creative process. An element of this process is critical thinking. Artists’ creativity process begins with seeing. It then goes from seeing to imagining and from imagining to making (Sayre, 2009). This essay will provide an explanation of artists’ roles. The essay will also include two chosen works of art, one of which embodies the role of the artist and the other holds symbolic significance requiring the application of iconography. Roles of Artists Many artists enjoy exploring new ideas and concepts and creating them. Most artists think of themselves in one or more of the roles when approaching their art work. First, artists believe they are helping people to see the world in new and innovative ways. Secondly, they believe they are making a visual record of places, people, and events of their time and place (Sayre, 2009). Third, they are making functional objects and buildings more pleasurable and giving them meaning, and finally, artists believe they are giving form to immaterial ideas and things (Sayre, 2009). First Chosen Art Work The first art work chosen was a figure by Myron of Athens, Discobolous. The Discobolous, a Discus Thrower, is a Roman marble copy after a bronze original of 450 BCE. A picture of this piece is shown below, figure 1. This piece of art work is simply amazing and exemplifies the Greek sense of harmony and balance (Petronius, 2008). The artist depicted the statutes of that time, a male nude figure, which seems to express freedom of movement and the Greeks idea of beauty. Furthermore, this artwork exemplifies the role of the artist through a representation of human strength and values.
Figure 1. Myron of Athens, Discobolous
Second Art Work
After reviewing a number of art works, the second art work chosen is by Fra Andrea
References: Sayre, H. M. (2009). A world of art (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Orazio Gintarro’s Art Images on the Web, (2009). Image: (figure 1) Myrone; Works Gallery Petronius, S. (2008). Diskobolos. Retrieved on November 13, 2010, from http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/museums/discob olus.html The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (2008) Timeline of Art History. New York. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from www.metmuseum.org Web Museum. (2002). Baroque. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/baroque/