THE ARTSAll religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. Albert Einstein

THE ART CRITIC You are asked to spend 10–15 minutes making a picture or

design pleasing to yourself. Spend 10 minutes looking at the numbered works of ART and

rank the best 3. Discussion

Why were the three most popular the most popular? realistic representation, as distinct from abstraction content (possible emotions or ideas conveyed) choice of colour use of space, including issues such as symmetry and pattern Is there a preference difference between males and females? Was there a preference difference between those students

taking visual Arts and those not? Go to the wiki and read the article ‘What is good Art?’ – Make

notes.

THE ART CRITIC Does it all come down to opinion?

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ –does this mean each person can judge equally well and no person’s opinion is more valid than any others.

If this is so – is that we say ‘I like it’ or ‘It provokes feelings in me’ rather than saying ‘This is good art’.

Can the school chimes really be on a par with an opera? So do we really believe there are no standards in art? Are we more comfortable when things are obviously relatively far

apart on some scale of merit that we can say one is good and one is not.

Either ALL art comes down to personal opinion or there are some standards by which they are measured.

Complete the questions on the wiki – ‘Good Art?’

THE ARTS AND WAYS OF KNOWING Read the handout Think about the following:

Reference is made in the handout to trying to study or analyse the arts. What would be the relevance of the following in such study: biology, psychology, cultural anthropology and history? Give examples. Are there other subject areas that you think also contribute to understanding the arts?

ART FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CREATOR In the IB you are asked to develop your creativity through

CAS and also given the opportunity in group 6 subjects to develop your practice of an Art.

Share with the class a sample of what you do: What motivates you to do it? What do you get out of it? What knowledge do you need to do this Art form? For you, is your art a way of communicating with others? Do you think someone from a different culture or another era would

understand communication from your art? What do you come to know through doing your art – perhaps

information or perhaps also something about yourself or others?

ARTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD- THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE AUDIENCE Pick one of the featured works of art and get into a group of 3

Before you begin write down your own immediate response to the reaction to the artwork

Get with your team and discuss your reactions. Do other people’s responses affect how you respond to the artwork yourself?

As a team find out as much as you possibly can about the artwork in the time available. Give a short report to the class in which you deal with the questions given to you.

Jot down notes from the questions on the sheet ‘Arts from Around the World’

Whilst listening to your peers try to identify what the arts do in our lives, make notes.

Give a short talk to your class about the work of art.

THE SPIRIT OF HAIDA GWAII

GUERNICA

ANCIENT ARABIC ART INSIDE THE OMAYYAD MOSQUE IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA

LITTLE KADOGO

THE CRYING CROCODILE TRIES TO CATCH THE SUN

TIANANMEN

FOLLOW UP……

You have been examining works of art, learning about them and commenting on what they do.What is the role of the arts in our lives?

In teams brainstorm ideas and jot these down in your journals

Incorporate the ideas that were raised from the activity ‘Art from Around the World’

WHAT ARE ARTS ABOUT? WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO DO?

‘What sort of things should we call art?’

In order to answer this question we have to make a judgment.

In the natural sciences if we have a theory we can perform experiments to test the theory. The natural sciences are about finding out how the physical world works – so the physical world is the judge of whether it has been successful.

Contrast this with the arts. There are no universally accepted standards because there is no universal agreement as to the subject matter of the arts. What are they about? What are they trying to do?

WHAT ARE ARTS ABOUT? WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO DO?

Using your brainstorming activity from earlier – summarise what the arts try to do?

Express emotion Imitate nature or the world Teach us what is right – art which broadens our experience by

necessity does it inform our understanding of how we live – moral issues?

Offers insight into the human condition

Do they offer us a way to make sense of what could be viewed as a confusing world, a way to interpret our emotions and those of others, or a guide to the nature of morality. If so they should be valued.

CREATION AND CRITICISMDiscuss the following:To what extent do all knowledge creators and members of the knowledge community share the same criteria for evaluating a work of art.To what extent are social context, political and economic organisation, history and cultural practices something to be overcome and effaced in the creation of knowledge in the arts?In what ways to creators in the arts build on each others work? Contrast with the Natural Sciences.

Knowledge Creation Diagram within the context of the natural worldKnowledge

creators

work(s) of Knowledge(math proof, novel, research paper)

Knowledge community(peers, critics, general public)