The Value of Art

 Artifacts of human creation

 created through the exercise of exceptional
physical, conceptual, or imaginative skill
 share stylistic conventions with similar works

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• It aims to evoke a holistic, aesthetic
response from the artist and the
observer.
• It succeeds when the form is…
• Aesthetic evaluations are culturally
shaped value judgments.
• We recognize art in other cultures because
of its family resemblance to what we call
art in our own culture.

• Although people with other cultural

understandings may not have produced art
by intention, we can often successfully
appreciate what they have created as art by
appropriation.
 Visual=paintings, sculptures
 Touch=sculptures, carving
 Hearing=Music, Prayer, Poetry
 Movement=_________
 Think of the ways in which each art is
created.

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 Aesthetic conventions=primarily cultural
 Think about music
 Music that may have been enjoyable 300 years
ago may not appeal to today’s masses
 Why? What influences the creative process and
what is considered as “popular”?

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 Western art: Typical
aesthetic paradigms:
▪ Mimetic
▪ Representational
▪ Instrumental
▪ Formalist

 Art is part of our

symbolic culture that
can reflect societal
current conditions,
standards, and what is
deemed “acceptable”
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 Anderson (1990) has
studied cross-
culturally the variety
of cultural attitudes
toward art and artists.
 Studied nine
different cultural
groups

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 The Yoruba of Nigeria use
art mainly to attract and
show respect to spirit
beings
 Much of it is concerned
with the body

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 Body decoration is cross-
cultural
 The degrees in which
each culture or group
participates varies

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 Tattoos, in the 1950’s,
were considered “dirty”
by most standards: “Only
sailors”
 Why has this changed?
 What are some reasons
for a young person to get
tattoos?
 What other body
modification may be
considered inappropriate
by older generations?

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 In the U.S., we stress
“individuality”
 This can be observed
by looking at
someone’s myspace
or facebook page,
clothing, hairstyle,
etc

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Image #1

• Is this art? Why or

why not? What
elements does it
have or not have?
Image #2
• Is this art? Why or
why not? What
elements does it
have or not have?
Image #3
• Is this art? Why or
why not? What
elements does it
have or not have?
Image #4
• Is this art? Why or
why not? What
elements does it
have or not have?
Image #5
• Is this art? Why or
why not? What
elements does it
have or not have?
 In many cultures, music and singing are
means of expressing religious themese or
making contact with the spirit world
 Songs can invoke feelings about the world
around you-the 1960’s and civil rights

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 I will play 2 songs for you-some of you may
know these, some not
 I would like you to pay attention to the lyrics
and accordance it with the music
 I will hand you a sheet of lyrics for each song
 What were your thoughts about the song?
What does it represent?

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 One form of art that is universal
 “Dance has been called the oldest of the arts. It is
perhaps equally true that it is older than the arts.”
-Anya Royce
 The meaning of dance varies cross-culturally
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

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 Global processes have influenced the way in which art
is produced and interpreted
 Although some indigenous communities may prosper
from the sale of pottery, baskets, & carving, some
powerless groups could be at risk
 How?
 Rockerfellers

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 Brings musicians and
dancers from Asia, Africa,
Australia, the Mid. East, &
Latin America to Europe and
North America
 Sometimes the performance
of the music and dance is
completely misinterpreted
by American and European
audiences
 Maasai “Jumping”
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 In Hawaii, female Hula dancers often represent sensual
imagery for the tourists
 A projection of the stereotypes that Americans have of
the South Pacific
 The Hula dance was traditionally a “spiritual” dance

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 Art produced by a particular ethnic group
 Tourism appeal
 Galleries monopolize on this popularized
trend
 Traditional art creation may lose meaning,
centered more towards economic gain rather
than cultural and psychological expression

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