Critiquing Through the Paradigms of Art

Sarah OHeron

Final Paper

ARTED 463
 Ah, aesthetics! The philosophy of art, art theory, beautymany definitions, but never a

single answer. Then how is it applied to understanding and making judgements of art? Well,

when viewing art one should acknowledge the many paradigms in which art can be interpreted,

especially if one is to critique a piece of art seriously. To interpret a piece of art is to make sense

of what is being viewed. To make sense of an artwork with a philosophical approach, it is helpful

to know the many aesthetic theories. In the book Why is That Art?, author Terry Barrett guides

the reader through four different theories of art, which include realism, expressionism and

cognitivism, formalism, and postmodernism, used as a basis for understanding art aesthetic and

criticism. I will apply the four different theories of art mentioned by Barrett to a selected piece of

artwork and critique the work through the four different paradigms of art.

In the world of art, jewelry is often categorized as a trade of craft, but is equally apart of

the fine art world. Most jewelers, as artist, are traditionally trained. What comes first is the

learning of techniques that develop into mastery of skill and then lead to the exploration of

material and methods. Barbara Paganin is a jeweler who began her jewelry mastery at lIstituto

Statale dArte in Venice, and contemporary is a practicing jewelry artist. Paganins work often

draws inspiration from nature with combination of the smallest of found objects that reflect her

own memories. The way her jewelry pieces juxtapose imagery of nature and found objects

cannot help but be noticed as pieces that contain narrative. One of Paganins more recent pieces

completed in 2015, is a necklace that contains oxidized silver, glass, porcelain, bone, ivory,
painted bronze, and gold titled Nontiscordardime (Forget-me-not). In this paper I will critique

this art jewelry piece through the aesthetic paradigm theories of art beginning with realism.

Realism is one of the oldest theories of art in Western aesthetics. The simplest of ways to

define realism is to say that the art looks like what its meant to show, but that statement is very

subjective. For example, Plato and Aristotle both lived in a culture that aestheticized art through

a realistic paradigm, but they both had different thoughts on the theory. Plato was not accepting

of the arts as Aristotle was due to the different belief of what art offered. Both believed that art

was imitation, which reflects a realistic paradigm, but thought differently about its role in society.

Plato believed that art was deceptive and could not transcend truth because of its removal from

reality. While, Aristotle valued art in relation to reality because it engages our attention and

emotions almost as would the real thing (Barrett, 2008, p. 22). It is apparent that the theory of

realism is subjective as seen by comparing Plato and Aristotles views, therefore I argue that

Paganins necklace contains qualities that both support and oppose a realistic paradigm .

Paganins necklace contains a juxtaposition of found objects which are not replicated but

incorporated directly into her necklace. These objects are real and can be found in the real world,

however it is rare that the arrangement of the found objects could be discovered together in

reality. Therefore, the juxtaposition of these objects together are not realistic but when each

object is viewed separately it can support a realistic paradigm. For example, one of the found

objects is a picture of a young girl that is bezeled on the necklace as if it were a stone. The

photograph of the girl is realistic because it captures the real qualities of a human. However,

Plato would argue that the photo could be deceptive because it not the true essence of the little
girl, but just captures her. To the right of the picture of the young girl are tiny tea cups that

realistically embody the three dimensional forms of a tea cups, but the scale are as tiny as a

penny. The teacups could be said to be realistic as that they exist as a real object in the three

dimension, but the scale is not true to a teacup that would be used by humans. The base of the

necklace that supports the found objects is silver that has been oxidized. The oxidizing process of

silver turns the metal to an opaque black, which could be said to be deceptive of the material in

turn making the piece not realistic. In total the fact that the necklace exist as an object of

adornment and is tangible containing three dimensional found objects can be overall said to be

realistic. Moving past the realistic paradigm, Paganins necklace Nontiscordardime cant help but

make a viewer curious to the story behind the necklace thus lending itself to a expressionist and

cognitivist paradigm.

Viewing art through an expressionist and cognitivism paradigm is dependent both on the

artist and the viewer. Both artist and viewer can experience expression and cognitivism while

creating and viewing art. Barrett mentions that art is a special way of knowing the world,

which is provided through emotion and thinking (Barrett, 2008, p. 63). Barrett continues on to

say that it is not only sensations, feelings, moods, and emotions that may be expressed, but also

attitudes, evaluations, atmospheric qualities, expectations, disappointment, frustration, relief,

tensing and relaxings (Barrett, 2008, p. 640. Italian aesthetician Benedetto Croce states that art

is an activity of intuitive expression by which the artist provides a particular form for

experience and he also states that art is common to all and is not a rarified activity by or for the

elite, applying Benedettos thoughts to Paganins necklace is that the piece can not only be

viewed but also worn (Barrett, 2008, p. 66). The fact the necklace could be worn as a piece of
adornment provides even more so a form for experience. The wearer extends the expression of

the form by representing the piece on the body, which expresses the artist work to be viewed by

all in a non-elite environment and the wearer expresses themselves through the wearing of an art

piece. The wearer expresses themselves by wearing the necklace, the necklace expresses itself to

the encountered viewers in or out of a gallery setting, the viewer can interpret the necklace with

their own cognitive thought, and the necklace contains expression and cognitivism to the artist.

Louise Bourgeois a sculptor often derived her work from personal experience, often referring

to her childhood which is relatable to the work of Paganin. Paganin mentions that as a child her

Grandmother gave her a tiny dress up doll, which had miniature shoes which she would carry

around in her pocket. One day while walking she dropped the shoes and never saw them again. A

memory that is so vivid to Paganin appears in her artwork often. Paganins necklace

Nontiscordardime contain a small pair of black mary jane style doll shoes, which are reflective of

her childhood experience. The content of her work contains expression of emotion that ties to

some of her favorite childhood possessions and relates to the significant relationship of her

family member. This form of expression that Paganin includes in her work also signifies her

cognition related to reflecting on her past. The juxtaposition of the found objects and nature

imagery lends itself to be interpreted narratively by a viewer, to make sense of the necklace. One

might see the portrait of the little girl, the ivory carved flowers, miniature tea cups, and porcelain

head of a child and not help to think of the relationship between these elements to make sense of

the meaning. A viewers response, emotionally and cognitively, is also dependent on that persons

experience. A viewer might have a significant response to an element of Paganins necklace that

relates to their own childhood, or trigger a memory. The content of Paganins necklace alone can
be interpreted through a cognitivism and expressionist paradigm, but also support a formalist

theory of art.

Form defined in Why Is That Art? is the perceptual elements of an artwork and how they

are in relation to one another, and these elements of an artwork can stand alone and be judged

independently aside from all other considerations regarding the art (Barrett, 2008, p.115). This

type of belief is supported through a formalist theory of viewing art (Barrett, 2008, p. 115).

Eliminating the subject matter of the necklace, and just examining the elements and principles of

design of Paganins artwork is compositionally pleasing. The arrangement of the objects are

given considerable space and relate to each other by color. The chain of the necklace is carved

bone that depict flower and birds resembling an art nouveau style. The color palette of the

necklace contains neutral colors consisting of off white, brown, black, and ochre yellow which

compliments the colors of the gold, bronze, and oxidized silver metal. The chain is symmetrical,

leading down to the organic shaped chest piece that displays the objects arranged to create a

pleasing balance and composition. The surface of the oxidized metal contains visual texture by

the piercing of holes and decorative edges that compliment the objects that they surround. The

settings that hold the elements in place are delicate and organized. As St. Thomas Aquinas says

in Why Is That Art?, The necklace could be quoted by beauty is in the object (Barrett, 2008, p.

116). This necklace as a whole supports a formalist perspective. Especially being a necklace, and

a piece that can be worn is a heightened kind of human experience whereby one delights in

something for its own sensual sake and solely for that reason (Barrett, 2008, p.116). Moving on

to the last paradigm of art to interpret the necklace is post-modern.

 Post modern aesthetic encompasses many thoughts and is not solely one defined way of

viewing art. Philosopher Julia Kristeva notion of intertextuality that is mentioned in Why Is

That Art? explains that intertextuality is pulling from multiple text and finding relations between

them (Barrett, 2008, p. 121). Kerry Freedman author of Teaching Visual Culture references

intertextuality, but applies it to her term of intergraphicality which in sense is the same as

intertextuality applied to visual culture. The space between image and text is a different

experience and interpretation for all viewers. This type of theory is postmodern in that the

subjective lies in the hand of the viewer and artist and the way artwork is interpreted between the

spaces. This could be applied to how Paganins necklaces imagery and objects are read by

viewer and experienced through making connection that is personal to all. Also within Paganins

necklace is postmodern theory of art that contains metaphor which can attribute qualities of one

thing to another (Barrett, 2008, p.214). The elements of her work, specifically noting the doll

shoes, relate a quality of the art to a memory that is a metaphor to Paganins childhood

experience. Her necklace also contains narrative which as previously mentioned tells a history

that is told by the artist but also interpreted by a viewer. Post-modern art typically brings up

subject of the past and puts it in a new light to be rethought. Paganins necklaces overall has an

antique style to it, but it is contemporary of its time. This could be said to be a postmodern

characteristic. The necklace also does not necessarily have to be viewed in a gallery, but could be

worn in outside of a structured environment which provides a wider range in its art world.
 By viewing Paganins necklace Nontiscordardime through four paradigms of art, one can

make sense of her artwork by pulling from more than one aesthetic theory thus making

judgement that goes beyond scratching the surface of interpreting an artwork.

References

Barrett, Terry. Why Is That Art?: Aesthetics and Criticism of Contemporary Art. New

York: Oxford UP, 2017. Print.