The authors mention that “black and white may have expressive properties or symbolic associations.” (49) We are familiar with the association between white and purity, and black with death and darkness, but are these just cultural reflexes (particularly Western) or is there something in our human nature/biology which creates this link?
Each visual arts element has certain function or characteristic, but why sometime people still have different interpretations, when they face the same piece of art?
“The more basic the color, the more inward: the more pure” Piet Mondrian p 35
Can colors have mass in a two-dimensional painting with only one coating of paint? (37)
What is behind the human fascination with illusions and why do we appreciate and admire them even though we understand the concept behind it? (68)
What does it take to make something an art form? (106)
“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape- the loneliness of it- the dread feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it- the whole story doesn’t show.” -Andrew Wyeth
The passage explains that value “may be used purely to describe objects, or they can be used to evoke emotional responses in the viewer.” (page 49) Isn’t one of the main points of art to “evoke emotional responses in the viewer”?
Also, I don’t understand what Robert Ryman’s Winsor 6 is supposed to be. It makes me think of a piece of paper. The passage doesn’t tell us what it actually is. Why is it a piece of art?
“The LeWitt encourages us to think; the Pollock encourages us to dream” (p. 26). Which effect is more important in connection to visual art? I think art, from the aspect of the artist, is more creative than cerebral, but is the same true for the viewer?
How exactly do different hues and saturations affect a person’s psyche? How do different structures and designs within art contribute to the psychology that is behind it? The reading did not go in-depth in that particular area.
How is it possible to critique different styles of art using formalist criticism? Which is more important: the content (the subject matter/themes) or the form of a work (elements, design, principle, composition)? pg 106-107
Which is more important when trying to decipher a message in art: the artist’s background, the historical time period, or the form he or she uses?
Samantha Chiu
– Why is Mrs. Clandon so strong in her beliefs of the rights to privacy? In Act I, she says that while some families get involved in each other’s business, the Clandons are lucky that they were not brought up like that. She often brings up the fact that she does’t have a right to questioning her family members. Why does she feel that she needs to mention it all the time?
Also, why does Mrs. Clandon seem to have a better relationship with Gloria than with Phillip and Dolly? Is Gloria’s maturity (as opposed to the immaturity of her younger siblings) a cause or a result of her relationship with her mother?
– I found the part on criticism (pages 81-91) very interesting. While we conclude that criticism is “insanely personal,” what makes someone a good or bad critic? In current day theatre, what is more popular, formal or contextual criticism? (87-89)
You Can Never Tell:
Mr. Crampton tells Valentine about his want to stay far away from his children. When he finally meets his children, he does not seem very fond of them. He then seems to take a sudden interest in them. Why, by the end of the play, does he want custody of Dolly and Phillip?
The Art of Theatre:
Is one mode of interpretation better than the other? For example, are the play writers intentions more important than how the audience interprets the play?
