Introduction: Different Ways of Seeing

Culture rules everything, from the way people act to the reasons behind their actions. Culture can differ from person to person, or a people as a whole. Just like most things in different cultures differ, art is no exception. Whenever we look at a work of art, we tend to connect to it at a personal level. This personal level is different for every person, for it is our experiences that change us, the way we were individually raised that makes you different from everybody else. This can be your personal bias, your won opinion-this is the reason that, no matter how unbiased, open minded and willing a person is, no two people will ever view a piece of art the same way, or the way the artist intended it to be seen.

Introduction: The Subjects and Vocabulary of Art History pt. II: THe Words Art Historians Use

Like many specialized fields, art history has its own set of vocabulary in order to exactly and accurately describe nearly all concepts of art. The list of this vocabulary is extensive, so here is an abridged version of some of the most common and important words art historians use.

• Form and Composition

Form refers to the object's shape and structure, whether it has two dimensions, such as a painting, or three dimensions such as a statue. The composition refers to how an artists organizes his forms, either by placing it on a flat surface, or by arranging forms in space.

• Material and Technique

Materials are the tools an artists uses in his work. The technique is simply the processes artists employ, whether it is the correct way to use a brush or the artist's personal way of handling a chisel.

• Line

Probably one of the most important elements for defining shape and form, is the line. The line refers to the path of a part moving in space, the invisible line of sight, or the visual axis. When you look at a painting, for example, your eyes may be drawn to a specific figure first, then gradually wander to the rest. Your eyes are following the 'line' of said painting.

• Color

Color, is here defined as a spectrum of visible wavelengths. Light, in other words, will reveal color. So observing light is just as important as observing the color in a work of art. There are different types of light as described by art historians. There is additive light, or 'natural' sunlight. There is subtractive light, referring to the light that makes paint pigments visible. The hue is the property that gives color it's name. Spectrums may change, "greenish-blue" but the hue stands apart "the color is still blue, with hints of green". The value or tonality of color refers to its lightness or darkness. Intensity or saturation of a color is the brightness or dullness of said color. The color triangle is a diagram showing the relationship between primary and secondary colors. The primary colors, yellow, blue and red form the vertices of the triangle. The 'sides' of the triangle contain the color that appears when you mix the two vertices. Starting with the topmost vertex, going clockwise, the colors read as thus: red, purple, blue (the vertex to the right), green, yellow (the vertex to the left), orange then back to red. Complementary colors are defined as the colors opposite each other on this diagram. In example, red and green are complementary, purple and yellow are complementary, and blue and orange are complementary.

• Texture

Texture refers to the quality of a surface that a light reveals. Is the sculpture smooth or rough? The actual texture is the surface's tactile quality. On an opposite level, the represented texture is the texture that is depicted. A collage, according to art historians, is the combination of different medias together, such as paint, wood and paper together in a work of art.

• Space, Mass and Volume

Space refers to the 'container' for objects in a work of art. The actual space is the space occupied by a three dimensional work of art. The illusionistic space is when a work of art has the illusion of having a different space, such as when a painting appears three dimensional. Mass and Volume both are associated with actual space, both the exterior and interior forms of art. For something to have mass, it need not be solid. A pyramid, a statue, a shell, a hollow tube and a clay pot all have mass. Volume refers to the space the mass occupies.

• Perspective and Foreshadowing

Perspective may be one of the most important pictorial devices for organizing forms in space. Perspective creates illusions of depth and space on a two dimensional surface. Foreshadowing is the illusion that something is 'farther away' even though they are rested on the same plane.

• Proportion and Scale

A proportion is the relationship of the size of parts of persons, buildings or objects. There are many ways to estimate proportion in a work of art. One of the most precise and accurate ways to estimate proportion is by finding the mathematical relationship between the sizes of something in the work, to something else in the same work. The module refers to the basic unit of measure, or the part of a work that is being compared to the whole to determine proportionality. A module can be any part of the work. Proportion may also be judged intuitively. Scale refers to how these proportions are in relating to each other. Many works of art are completely to scale, such as the Renaissance statues. Proportionality, symmetry and scale were also important to the ancient Greeks, so important, that canons were written; systems of 'correct' and 'ideal' proportions. Some works of art, however, use disproportion, or the deliberate distortion for expressive effect. The hierarchy of scale, similar to disproportion, is the intentional discrepancies in proportion, such as enlarging significant elements, or diminishing unimportant elements.

• Carving and Casting

Sculpting techniques fall into two different categories: subtractive and additive. Carving is a subtractive form of sculpting. The final form of a carved item is a reduction of its original mass; sculptors of, say stone or wood 'cut away' excess material. Additive sculpting is when an artist builds up forms, in clay around a framework, or armature; or, fashions a mold, a hollow form, for shaping, or casting a fluid substance such as bronze, then welds, or joins them together.

• Relief Sculpture

A freestanding work of art, is just as it sounds; it stands on its own without the aid of other objects. In relief sculptures, the subjects project from the background, but remain a part of it. There are also different ways for describing relief. High relief refers to works of art in which the images project boldly from the background. Low relief or bas relief is when there is a slight projection of images from a background. Repoussé refers to the technique in which artists hammer a design from the back of a material to make the relief.

• Architectural Drawings

Architectural drawings, just as they sound refer to buildings. There is a plan, or the map of the floor of the building, and the section, or the vertical plan of the building. The lateral sections are drawings showing a theoretical slice across a structure's width, and the longitudinal sections, which are cuts of a building's length. The elevation is the head on view of either an external or internal wall. The cutaway combines the external view with the interior view.

Introduction: The Subjects and Vocabulary of Art History pt. I: The Questions Art Historians Ask

What is art? When you were first asked this question, you probably thought of paintings hanging in a museum, or statues of ancient Greek and Roman gods. Perhaps you thought of new, abstract art of shapes that make no sense or even broken bits of pottery. All of these answers are correct. Art, is a form of expression, an outlet for creativity. Art can be anything created. There are many forms of art, from wood cuts to oil paintings, architecture  and figurines. As time moves on, and technology advances, we have more and more ways of producing art. Nowadays, computers are a medium used to produce art that weren't accessible a hundred years ago. It is the job of art historians to not only analyze works of art but to also link them back to history to answer questions. Who was this man depicted? Who wore this crown? What is it a symbol of? What significance did this have? Was there an impact in history?

Well, in order to get the 'big picture' of a work of art, art historians must first ask themselves some questions.

How old is it?

Before any historian can study any piece of art, they must be sure of the time a piece of art was created, its chronology. There are many means art historians use to determine the age of any piece of art.

• Physical Evidence: Some materials used in a work may or may not have been invented before or after a certain time, or artists may have ceased using such materials
• Documentary Evidence: Official records may keep track of when a work was created
• Visual Evidence: If a painter depicted an identifiable person, trend, invention that is specific to a time period
• Stylistic Evidence: not always reliable, but an artist's manner of producing a work may give hints as to when it was produced

What is its style?

  Defining style is definitely one of the key elements of art historical inquiry. Art historians speak of several different kinds of artistic styles

• Period Style: The characteristic artistic manner of a specific time within a distinct culture. An example is “Early Italian Renaissance”
• Regional Style: Describes variations in style tied to geography.Provenance (place of origin) can significantly determine the character of a work of art. In example, most people can distinguish Olmec art and Ancient Egyptian art, but it would take an expert to distinguish significant differences in Egyptian art from 2500 B.C and 500 B.C
• Personal Style: The distinctive manner of individual artists in creating their works. Example, Van Gogh’s art is easily distinguishable by its heavy brushstrokes.

What is the subject? 

The subject of a work of art is, of course, what is being portrayed; whether it be an event, a person, a story or a concept

•  Narrative: the story being portrayed, an actions time and place, persons involved, environment, details or abstract symbolism
• Attributes: if there is some constant with a common subject. In example, Apollo is almost always depicted with a bow and quiver, Buddha always dons the urna, ushnisha, and elongated earlobes.
• Personifications: abstract ideas codified in bodily form. In example, “Liberty” is portrayed as a woman holding a tablet and torch.

Who made it?

If a work of art is not signed, there are some methods art historians use to identify a creator

• School: A chronological, stylistic, geographic similarity

An art historian may also use an artist's personal style as a means of identification, but this isn't the best methods as it can prove to be inaccurate; style may be subjunctive, and the artist may have limits of expression in his work

Who paid for it?

An important factor to consider when studying a piece of art is the patron of the artist, or the person who paid for the creation of said work of art. The patron, in many cases, decides the subject of the work of art and the way in which it is portrayed. In this case, an artist has limited freedom to express his personal style. In example, the Roman Emperor Agustus looks young in a great majority of the art he was in, even though he lived to be seventy-six. The pharaohs are mostly depicted as having perfect and youthful looks, no matter how they truly looked.

Checklist for Summer Homework

The first book we checked out for this class is "Garner's Art Through the Ages" the eleventh edition.  this book was written by Fred S. Kleiner, and Christin J. Mamiya, in memory of Richard G. Tansey.

Granted, it's a long and tough read, but anything worth doing isn't easy. The course at RHS is taught by none other than DSG. She is honestly one of the most hardworking people I've ever encountered. Not only does she tackle two AP classes, AP European History and AP Art History, but she coaches our schools Mock Trial and Academic Decathlon, two very successful teams. Here's to you, DSG, thank you for all of your hard work and mentoring, thanks for helping us along last school year.

As with most AP and advanced classes, summer homework is given. Here are our assignments:

1. Read the Introduction, pages xxxiii-xlvii
2. Complete the A.P Art History Questionnaire
3. Read Chapter 1: The Birth of Art, pages 1-15
4. Read Chapter 2: Rise of Civilization, pages 16-41
5. Complete the Introduction Assignment
6. Complete the Ch 1 Worksheet
7. Complete the Ch 2 Worksheet

A Personal Introduction

Hello there, and welcome to my blog. This blog, as you may have guessed, is a blog about art history. More specifically, it is about an AP Art History student's experience in the class. Here I shall post homework, class notes, personal reflections of the class, and any and all works of art we do study in class. This blog will commence now, with summer homework and conclude in about May with the AP exam. To all my fellow AP students, good luck!