Mary Lou L. Narowski
Before, during, and after the use of this unit, my students will need to consider the answer to the question, "What is art?" But art seems to escape a definitive definition. One definition of art is that it is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a composition using specific principles that appeal to the senses or emotions and even explain the human condition. This definition is concrete and emotional, elements accessible to my students. The Dadaists claimed that anything a person drew or painted was, in fact, art. My students will have to grapple with the definition, come to their own conclusions, and defend a piece of art based on their findings.
Today, the elements and principles of art that still have a place in its definition also form the basis of our understanding, recognition, and acceptance of a particular piece as art. The terms shape, line, direction, size, texture, color, and value are fairly easy forms to identify within a composition. Content is an area in which uncertainty arises: What was the artist's intent when he painted? How do we know? Was there any influence on his decision? Did he succeed? How do we react when we encounter the piece? The responses to these questions and many more are why the answer to the query "What is art?" is so elusive. The heart of art depends on the word feeling. An art piece becomes seductive and captivating when the feeling transmitted by the artist is clear, individual, and sincere. The more the viewer is affected by these three conditions of a painting, as expressed by the artist, the higher the quality of the piece in terms of the content.
Art, today, encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, music, weaving, literature, dance, photography--and the list goes on and on. For our purposes, we will be considering a small slice of the vast landscape we call art. So to begin the unit, my students will spend twenty minutes playing with the definition of art. Their responses will be recorded in a new section of their binder entitled, "What is art?" I am sure that these ideas will not be at all clear as students begin this unit. It is my hope, however, that as we move through it, they will come to understand just what makes one piece good art and another great.