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objects, oil paint, video, wood, steel, mixed

COVERAGE: media, and photography.
1. The Meaning of Art  The color of the work and the way color has
2. Form and Content
been used in terms of tonal variation,
3. Aesthetics
contrast, harmony, coolness, warmth, opacity,
4. Nature of Arts
5. Importance of Arts and translucence.
6. Assumptions of Arts  The use of line in the work and whether or
7. Work of Art not it is curved, angular, directional,
repetitive, flowing, and irregular.
 The texture or surface of the work and
THE MEANING OF ART whether it is rough, smooth, tactile, repellant,
viscous, and fluid.
- Art is derived from the Latin word “ars” meaning
“ability” or “skill.” It covers those areas of artistic
 The composition of the work like the way the
space is organized or how the elements are
creativity that seek to communicate beauty
put together. For example, one point
primarily through the sense. Art embraces visual
perspective, close up, viewed from above,
arts, literature, music and dance.
depth of field, chaotic, symmetrical, grid like.
- Art is a highly diverse range of human activities
engaged in creating visual, auditory, or performed
 The scale or dimensions of a work and
whether it is monumental, miniature,
artifacts — artworks — that express the author’s
intimate, and imposing.
imaginative or technical skill and are intended to
be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.
 The duration of a work and the length of time
the viewer is expected to engage with it -
- Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its
particularly significant for timed-based work
representation of reality), expression,
communication of emotion, or other qualities. such as video and performance.
Though the definition of what constitutes art is Content
disputed and has changed over time, general
descriptions center on the idea of imaginative or - is the subject matter of a work of art or design. It is
technical skill stemming from human agency and revealed though the formal properties of the work
creation. When it comes to visually identifying a and may be evident on a number of levels.
work of art, there is no single set of values or - There is the immediate or obvious content of the
aesthetic traits. work. For instance, it may be a historical scene, a
landscape, a portrait, an interior, a functional
Visual Arts object or an abstraction. Beyond this the content
- The oldest documented forms of art, which may become more complex. It is about what is
includes images or objects in fields like painting, happening in the works, what meaning you derive
sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other from them, and whether or not they create a
visual media. particular mood or reaction. Sometimes content
 Architecture can be difficult to assess because it may be
- often included as one of the visual arts; ambiguous or obscure. The formal elements of the
however, like the decorative arts, it work and its title can often help to read the
involves the creation of objects where content, as can recurring patterns, motifs or
the practical considerations of use are symbols that may have special significance.
essential, in a way that they usually are
not in another visual art, like a painting. AESTHETICS
- Traditionally, aesthetics is the branch of
FORM AND CONTENT philosophy dealing with beauty or the beautiful,
Form especially in art, and with taste and standards of
value in judging art.
- or design refers to all of its visible elements and - Lip’s Theodor defines aesthetics as the science of
the particular way these come together as a whole. the beautiful. For him, an object is beautiful if it is
These include: able to arouse in us a special feeling, which we
 The material or medium used to construct the call the 'sense of beauty'.
work. Examples are marble, bronze, found
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- Aesthetics consists of the ‘sense of beauty'. It is - As a creative activity, art involves skill or
characterized by love of beauty. It is concerned expertness in handling materials and organizing
more with pure emotion and sensation and less them into new, structurally pleasing, and
with pure intellect; it means, broadly, a devotion to significant units. These skills thus not just happen.
beauty and primarily to beauty as found in art and It is acquired through long training and constant
in whatever is attractive in the world around us. So practice. Therefore, art is a planned activity.
any study of beauty be it natural or man-made, can
Art and Experience
be called aesthetic. The quest for beauty is inherent
in every individual. - It has been said that art is experience because all
art demands experience; but probably it is a clearer
to say that all art involves experience, that there
NATURE OF ART
can be no appreciation without experience.
Art is everywhere - At least three major kinds of experiences are
involved in the artistic activity:
- Art as it is found everywhere is very much a part
a. An artist has an experience that he/ she
of our lives. We cannot deny its presence even if
wants to communicate.
we want to. We find art in the clothes we wear, the
b. The artist expresses the self -- that of
furniture and furnishings, style of houses and
creating the art object or form.
vehicles. We find art objects in the home and in the
c. When the work is done, there is the artist’s
community, in religion, in trade, and in industry.
gratifying experience of having
Examples:
accomplished something significant.
 Coins, medals, and pendants are examples
- There is a varying combination of sensory,
of relief sculptures.
emotional, and intellectual responses involved in
 Paper bills and postage stamps are examples
experiencing art. These are the experiences of the
of engravings.
onlookers and listeners.
 Statues of angels or saints are examples of
 Sensory
free-standing sculptures.
Response
 Multicolored designs on the inside the
- when we feel a kind of delight or joy
jeepney are examples of decorative arts.
in many forms of art using merely our
- All these things are part of human efforts to lessen
senses. The onlookers and listeners
the drabness and tedium of everyday living and
do not seem to need a deeper
transform the environment into more interesting
understanding of what the artist has
place to live in.
tried to express and how he manages
Art as Expression and Communication to achieve his purposes.
 Emotional
- No one can contain an intense emotion within the Response
self for long. The tension that results in would - triggered by the recognition of a
compel the person to unburden the self or share the familiar situation presented as the
feeling with others. subject of the work. This may stem
- We express our emotional state by some visible from memories evoked by the
signs and activities. This expression, however, is subject.
not only limited to the revelation of emotions but  Intellectual
also extends to the personal and social values of Response
the artist and the penetrating psychological - is manifested in the delight of the
insights into reality that are conveyed through the mind to some works of art because
arts. these works whose unique
Art as Creation arrangements of elements apart from
the subject matter stimulate the
- Humans have been led by an innate craving for intellect more than they do the
order to create objects that are delightful to emotions.
perceive. The word “creation” in this sense refers
to the act of combining and reordering already Art and Nature
existing material so that new object is formed. - Art is not nature. A work of art is made by human
beings. Artists frequently find their inspiration and
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subject matter in nature, as artist douse nature as a 1. What did the artist make? What is it about?
medium, but art in itself is not nature. (This concerns the subject)
2. What did the artist want to show in the whole
Art and Beauty
of the artwork? What is it for? (This concerns
- The desire for beauty and order around is another the function of the art)
basic human need. This provides the needed 3. What is the artwork made of? (This refers to
comfort and balance in our lives. However, what the materials or mediums and the elements that
we call beauty is relative. Our concepts of beauty are used to create it)
also change over time and beauty varies among 4. How are the materials and elements put
cultures, too. together or organized? (This refers to the
organization)
5. What is its mood, temper and personality?
IMPORTANCE OF ARTS (This refers to the style)
Art is relevant for several reasons: 6. How good is it? (This refers to the judgment)

1. Artworks are valuable sources of inspiration and

aesthetic experiences.
2. We commemorate certain occasions with
paintings, songs, dances and dramatic plays to
heighten their importance and keep records of
such events.
3. Through the artist’s work, we get a glimpse of
the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of the people
in their time and the forces of their environment
that influenced their works of art.
4. We value beautiful things as a consequence of
our encounter with the arts.
5. Out of the aesthetic experience we derive from
arts, we may be influenced to change our ways.
They may transform us into highly cultured,
dignified and respectable human beings.

ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
Our attitude towards the art may be influenced by
these assumptions:
1. Art has been created by various people, at all
places and times. Art exists because it is liked
and enjoyed.
2. Art does not grow old.
3. Art is something to be seen or heard.
4. Art is the product of human’s imaginations and
skill in doing things.
5. Nature is artful. Its beauty and artistry could be
enhanced.

WORK OF ART
- an activity that involves both imagination and skill
in accomplishing it. It creates aesthetic feelings or
experiences which delight and satisfy our desire
for beautiful things.
Guidelines in Understanding a Work of Art
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of artistic cultural heritage. Museums contain
collections that can reflect a particular culture or
that of many, giving all of us the chance to see
some of the great art humanity has to offer.
Critic Commenting
COVERAGE:
- The role of the critic commenting on art is another
1. The Artistic Process
2. The Individual Artist function in the process. Critics offer insight into
3. Artistic Training Methods and art’s meaning and make judgments determining
Cultural Considerations ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art based on the intellectual,
4. Art as Social Activity aesthetic and cultural standards they reflect. In
this way, museums, galleries and critics have
THE ARTISTIC PROCESS become gatekeepers in helping to determine what
is considered art within a culture like our own.
- How many times have you looked at a work of art
and wondered “how did they do that? Some
think of the artist as a solitary being, misunderstood THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
by society, toiling away in the studio to create a - In as much as we have seen art as a community or
masterpiece, and yes, there is something fantastic collaborative effort, many artists work alone in
about a singular creative act becoming a work of
studios, dedicated to the singular idea of creating
art. The reality is that artists rely on a support
network that includes family, friends, peers, art through their own expressive means and vision.
industries, business and, in essence, the whole In the creative process itself there are usually
society they live in. many steps between an initial idea and the finished
- For example, an artist may need only a piece of work of art.
paper and pencil to create an extraordinary - Artists will use sketches and preliminary drawings
drawing but depends on a supplier in order to to get a more accurate image of what they want the
acquire those two simple tools. Whole industries finished work to look like. Even then they’ll create
surround art making, and artists rely on many
more complex trial pieces before they ultimately
different materials in order to realize their work,
from the pencil and paper mentioned above to the decide on how it will look. Artists many times will
painter’s canvas, paints and brushes, the sculptor’s make different versions of an artwork, each time
wood, stone and tools and the photographer’s film, giving it a slightly different look.
digital camera and software or chemicals used to - Some artists employ assistants or staff to run the
manipulate an image. After the artwork is finished everyday administration of the studio; maintaining
there are other support networks in place to help supplies, helping with set up and lighting,
exhibit, market, move, store and comment on it.
managing the calendar and all the things that can
Commercial art keep an artist away from the creative time they
- Commercial art galleries are a relatively recent need in order to work.
innovation, springing up in Europe and America
during the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth ARTISTIC TRAINING METHODS AND
century. As these societies concentrated their CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
populations in cities and formed a middle class, - For centuries craftsmen have formed associations
there was a need for businesses to provide works that preserve and teach the ‘secrets’ of their trade
of art for sale to a population that began to have to apprentices in order to perpetuate the
more spare time and some discretionary income. knowledge and skill of their craft. In general, the
As art became more affordable, the gallery became training of artists has historically meant working
a place to focus solely on buying and selling, and, as an apprentice with an established artist. The
in the process, making art a commodity. Middle Ages in Europe saw the formation of
Museums guilds that included goldsmiths, glassmakers,
stonemasons, medical practitioners and artists, and
- Museums have a different role in the world of were generally supported by a king or the state,
visual art. Their primary function is in the form of with local representatives overseeing the quality of
a cultural repository – a place for viewing, their production.
researching and conserving the very best examples
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Apprenticeship of art on a large scale, as it is generally considered
- In many traditional cultures, apprenticeship is still a luxury item often linked to wealth and power.
how the artist learns their craft, skills and This is a modern reflection of the original role of
expressions specific to that culture. Some nations the art gallery.
actually choose which artists have learned their
skill to such a degree that they are allowed and
encouraged to teach others. What is required to become an artist?
- An example would be artists considered National - Skill is one of the hallmarks that we often value in
Treasures in Japan. In the developed nations, a work of art. Becoming skilled means a
where education is more available and considered continual repetition of a craft or procedure until it
more important that experience, art schools have becomes second nature. Talent is certainly another
developed. The model for these schools is the consideration, but talent alone does not necessarily
French Royal Academy founded by Louis XIV in produce good art. Like any endeavor, becoming an
the 17th century. In the 19th century, the artist takes determination, patience, skill, a strong
Victorians first introduced art to the grade schools, mental attitude and years of practice.
thinking that teaching the work of the masters Creativity
would increase morality and that teaching hand-
eye coordination would make better employees for - It is another element necessary to become an
the Industrial Revolution. These ideas still artist. It’s linked to imagination and the ability to
resonate, and are one of the reasons art is transcend traditional ways of thinking, with an
considered important to children’s education. exaggerated use of alternatives, ideas and
- A recent New York Times article by Steve Lohr techniques to invent new forms and avenues of
explains how this notion has carried into the realm expression. The music composer Leo Ornstein
of high technology and the digital arts. A woman described creativity this way:
quoted in the article says that a proficiency in
digital animation is an asset less for technical skills “Once you’ve heard what you’ve created you can’t
than for what she learned about analytic thinking. explain how it’s done. But you look at it and say
‘there’s the evidence.”
Art Schools
- Like most skilled professions and trades, artists
spend many years learning and applying their - Creativity is used in traditional art forms as well as
knowledge, techniques and creativity. Art schools more innovative ones. It’s what an artist uses to
are found in most colleges and universities, with take something ordinary and make it
degree programs at both the undergraduate and extraordinary. Creativity can be a double-edged
graduate levels. There are independent art schools sword in that it’s one thing that artists are most
offering two and four year programs in traditional criticized for, especially in the arena of buying and
studio arts, graphic arts and design. The degree selling art. In general the buying public tends to
earned by students usually ends with a want things they recognize, rather than artwork
culminating exhibition and directs them towards that challenges or requires thinking. This
becoming exhibiting artists, graphic designers or dichotomy is illustrated by a poem by English
teachers. Such degrees also consider the marketing
writer Robert Graves, “Epitaph on an Unfortunate
and sales practices of art in contemporary culture.
Artist”:
Own Practice, Study and Experimentation
- Many artists learn their craft on their own through
practice, study and experimentation. Whether they
come from art schools or not, it takes a strong
desire to practice and become an artist today.
ART AS SOCIAL ACTIVITY
There are no longer the historical opportunities to
work under church, state or cultural sponsorships. - Some of the grandest works of art are made not by
Instead the artist is driven to sell their work in some a single person but by many people.
other venue, from a craft fair to a big New York Pyramids in Egypt and Mexico
City gallery (New York City is the official center
of art and culture in the United States). There are - are massive structures, built by hundreds of
very few communities that can support the selling laborers under the direction of designers and
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engineers. Egyptian pyramids are tombs for
individual royalty, while those in Mexico function
as spiritual altars dedicated to gods or celestial
objects. They are typically placed at a prominent
site and give definition to the surrounding
landscape. Their construction is the cumulative
effort of many people, and they become
spectacular works of art without the signature of a
single artist.
AIDS Memorial Quilt Project
- A more contemporary example of art making
as a community effort is the AIDS Memorial
Quilt Project. Begun in 1987, the project
memorializes the thousands of lives lost to the
disease through the creation of quilts by families
and friends. Blocks of individual quilts are sewn
together to form larger sections, virtually joining
people together to share their grief and celebrate
the lives of those lost. The project is evidence of
the beauty and visual spectacle of a huge
community artwork. Today there are over 40,000
individual blocks. The quilt project is ongoing,
growing in size, and exhibited throughout the
world.
Public Art
- Many artists collaborate with non-artists in
arrangements designed to produce work for a
specific place. Public art is a good example of this.
The process usually begins with a select panel of
the public and private figures involved in the
project who call for submissions of creative ideas
surrounding a particular topic or theme, then a
review of the ideas submitted and the artist’s
selection. Funding sources for these projects vary
from private donations to the use of public tax
dollars or a combination of the two. Many states
have “1% for Art” laws on the books which
stipulate that one percent of the cost of any public
construction project be used for artwork to be
placed on the site.
- Public art projects can be subject to controversy.
It’s not easy for everyone to agree on what
constitutes ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art, or at least what is
appropriate for a public space. The issue takes on a
more complex perspective when public money is
involved in its funding. One example involves
Richard Serra’s sculpture Tilted Arc from 1981.
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informed you become, the more artwork will affect
you emotionally and intellectually.
- It does mean that you will learn alternative ways to
approach art, ways that allow you to find clues to
meaning and to understand how art reflects and
affects our lives.
- Up until now we’ve been looking at artworks
through the most immediate of visual effects: what
we see in front of our eyes. Now we can begin to
break down some barriers to finding specific
meaning in art, including those of different styles
COVERAGE: and cultures. To help in this journey we need to
1. Approaching Art learn the difference between looking at something
2. Artistic Roles
in an objective way versus subjectively. To look
3. Artistic Categories
4. Artistic Styles objectively is to get an unbiased overview of our
field of vision.

APPROACHING ART In essence, there is more to seeing than meets the eye.
We need to take into account a cultural component in
- The first level in approaching art is learning to how we perceive images and that we do so in
LOOK at it. Generally, we tend to look at art in subjective ways. Seeing is partly a result of cultural
terms of "liking" it FIRST, and "looking" at it later. conditioning and biases. For example, when many of
Subjective us from industrialized cultures see a parking lot, we
can pick out each car immediately, while others from
- (knowledge residing in the emotions and thoughts remote tribal cultures (who are not familiar with
of the viewer) almost completely dominates our parking lots) cannot.
way of looking at art.
- Subjective seeing speaks more to understanding. ARTISTIC ROLES
When we use the term “I see” we communicate - Visual artists and the works they produce perform
that we understand what something means. There specific roles. These roles vary between cultures.
are some areas of learning, particularly psychology We can examine some general areas to see the
and biology, that help form the basis of diversity they offer – and perhaps come up with
understanding how we see. some new ones of our own.
Example:
 For example, the fact that humans perceive Description
flat images as having a “reality” to them is - A traditional role of visual art is to describe our
very particular. In contrast, if you show a self and our surroundings. Some of the earliest
dog an image of another dog, they neither artworks are drawings and paintings of humans
growl nor wag their tail, because they are and wild animals on walls deep within prehistoric
unable to perceive flat images as containing caves. One particular image is a hand print: a
any meaning. So you and I have actually universal symbol of human communication.
developed the ability to “see” and read
specific meanings into images. Portraits

Objective - Portraits, landscapes and still life are common

examples of description. Portraits capture the
- In the arts, it’s especially important to begin to accuracy of physical characteristics but the very
develop an informed or objective opinion rather best also transfer a sense of an individual’s unique
than just an instinctual reaction. personality.
- An objective view is one that focuses on the - For thousands of years this role was reserved for
object’s physical characteristics as the main source images of those in positions of power, influence
of information. This does not mean that you will and authority. The portrait not only signifies who
remove or invalidate your subjective feelings they are, but also solidifies class structure by
about a work, in fact you will find that the more presenting only the highest-ranking members of a
society.
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Example:
 The portrait bust of
Egyptian Queen Nefertiti,
dated to around 1300 BCE,
exemplifies beauty and
royalty. painted sandstone,
c., Neues Museum, Berlin.
Licensed under Creative
Merino Ram, composite drawing, colored
Commons and GNU. pencil, acrylic on Canson paper, 2009. Linda
Berkley, Illustrator. Used by permission of
Landscapes the artist.
- Landscapes (by themselves) give
us detailed information about our natural and
human made surroundings; things like location,
architecture, time of day, year or season plus other
physical information such as geological elements
and the plants and animals within a particular Enhancing our World
region. - Enhancing the world of our everyday lives is
- In many western cultures, the more realistic the another role art plays. This role is more utilitarian
rendering of a scene, the closer to our idea of the than others.
‘truth’ it becomes. - It includes textiles and product design, decorative
Example: embellishments to the items we use every day, and
 In the 15th century German artist Albrecht all the aesthetic considerations that create a more
Durer creates vivid works that show a keen comfortable, expressive environment.
sense of observation. His Young Hare from
1495 is uncanny in its realism and sense of ARTISTIC CATEGORIES
animation.
- Visual arts are generally divided into categories
that make distinctions based on the context of the
work.
For example:
 Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ would not
fall into the same category as, say, a graphic
poster for a rock concert. Some artworks can
be placed in more than one category.

Here are the main categories:

Fine Art
Albrecht Durer, Young Hare, c. 1505,
- This category includes drawings, paintings,
gouache and watercolor on paper. Albertina
sculptures, photographs and, in the last decade,
Museum, Vienna. Image in the public
new media that are in museum collections and sold
domain.
through commercial art galleries. Fine art has a
distinction of being some of the finest examples of
Scientific Illustration
our human artistic heritage.
- Out of this striving for accuracy and
- Here is where you will find Leonardo Da Vinci’s
documentation developed the art of scientific
Mona Lisa, ancient sculpture, such as the
illustration. The traditional mediums of painting
Gandhara figure from India, and stunning ceramics
and drawing are still used to record much of the
from different cultures and time periods.
world around us. Linda Berkley’s Merino Ram
uses a layered approach to record in great detail
the physical anatomy of the head of the great
sheep.
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metalworking and leather goods are other
examples of craft.

Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vincic. 1503-19.

Oil on poplar. 30” x 21”. The Louvre, Paris
Image licensed through Creative Commons

Popular Culture
- This category contains the many products and
Ceramic bowl, Mexico. Date unknown.
images we are exposed to every day. In the Painted clay. Anahuacalli Museum, Mexico
industrialized world, this includes posters, graffiti, City. Licensed through GNU and Creative
advertising, popular music, television and digital Commons.
imagery, magazines, books and movies (as
distinguished from film, which we’ll examine in a
different context later in the course). Also included
are cars, celebrity status and all the ideas and ARTISTIC STYLES
attitudes that help define the contemporary period - The following sections present some of the
of a particular culture. common artistic styles.
- Handbills posted on telephone poles or the sides Style
of buildings are graphic, colorful and informative, - The search for truth is not exclusive to
but they also provide a street level texture to the representational art. From viewing many of the
urban environment most of us live in. Public examples so far you can see how individual artists
murals serve this same function. They put an use different styles to communicate their ideas.
aesthetic stamp on an otherwise bland and - Style refers to a particular kind of appearance in
industrialized landscape. works of art. It’s a characteristic of an individual
artist or a collective relationship based on an idea,
culture or artistic movement.
Most Common Styles in Art:
Naturalistic Style
- uses recognizable images with a high level of
accuracy in their depiction.
- Naturalism also includes the idealized object: one
that is modified to achieve a kind of perfection
Street handbills. Image by Christopher within the bounds of aesthetics and form.
Gildow Licensed through Creative - William Sydney Mount’s painting The Bone
Commons.
Player gives accuracy in its representation and a
sense of character to the figure, from his ragged-
Craft edged hat to the button missing from his vest.
Mount treats the musician’s portrait with a
- a category of art that shows a high degree of sensitive hand, more idealized by his handsome
skilled workmanship in its production. Craft works features and soft smile.
are normally associated with utilitarian purposes,
but can be aesthetic works in themselves, often
highly decorated.
Examples:
 The Mexican ceramic vessel is an example.
Handmade furniture and glassware, fine

The Bone Player By William Sidney Mount

(American, 1807–1868) 1856
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Cultural Styles
- refer to distinctive characteristics in artworks
Abstract style throughout a particular society or culture. Some
- is based on a recognizable object but which is then main elements of cultural styles are recurring
manipulated by distortion, scale issues or other motifs, created in the same way by many artists.
artistic devices. Abstraction can be created by - Cultural styles are formed over hundreds or even
exaggerating form, simplifying shapes or the use thousands of years and help define cultural
of strong colors. identity.
 Questions of abstraction - We can find evidence of this by comparing two
- can also emerge from something as masks: one from Alaska and the other from
simple as our distance from an artwork. Canada. The Yup’ik dance mask from Alaska is
At first glance it is a highly realistic quite stylized with oval and rounded forms divided
portrait of the artist’s grandmother-in by wide bands in strong relief. The painted areas
law. outline or follow shapes.
- You can zoom it in to see how the - Carved objects are attached to the mask and give
painting dissolves into a grid of an upward movement to the whole artwork while
individual fingerprints, a process that the face itself carries an animated expression.
renders the surface very abstract. With
this in mind, we can see how any work
of art is essentially made of smaller - By comparison, a ‘Groundhog Mask’ from the
abstract parts that, when seen together, Tlingit culture in coastal northwestern Canada
make up a coherent whole. exhibits similar forms and many of the same
 Non-objective imagery motifs. The mouths of each mask are particularly
- has no relation to the ‘real’ world – that similar to each other. Groundhog’s visage takes on
is – the work of art is based solely upon human – like characteristics just as the Yup’ik
itself. In this way the non-objective style mask takes the form of a bird. This cultural style
is completely different than abstract, and ranges from western Alaska to northern Canada.
it’s important to make the distinction
between the two.
- This style rose from the modern art
movement in Europe, Russia and the
United States during the first half of the
20th century.
Example:
 Pergusa Three by American artist Frank Stella
uses organic and geometric shapes and strong
color set against a heavy black background to
Ground Hog Mask, Tlingit, c. 19th century. Carved and
create a vivid image. More than with other styles, painted wood, animal hair. Collection the Burke Museum,
issues of content are associated with a University of Washington, Seattle.
nonobjective work’s formal structure.
- Celtic art from Great Britain and Ireland shows a
cultural style that’s been identified for thousands
of years. Its highly refined organic motifs include
spirals, plant forms and zoomorphism. Intricate
and decorative, the Celtic style adapted to include
early book illustration. The Book of Kells is
considered the pinnacle of this cultural style.

Landscape, New Mexico, Marsden Hartley, about 1916. Pastel

on paper. The Brooklyn Museum, New York. Image in the
public domain
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