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General Information & useful links to college websites
WINTER 2012 beg. Jan.9:
ARTS 1A W'12:
HUMI 16 W'12:
STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER
AT building, 3rd Floor
drop in & workshops
Welcome to DAC Library
Avoiding Plagiarism
Citing Sources
MORE USEFUL LINKS:
Artsopolis: Guide to local arts and culture events
LOCAL ART MUSEUMS
Euphrat DAC campus
De Young Museum, SF
Legion of Honor, SF
SFMOMA: Modern Art, SF
Asian Art, SF
Cantor Center, Stanford
SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART
MACLA, San Jose
Berkeley Art Museum
Oakland Museum
Triton Museum, S. Clara
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, SJ
MORE Museums for Class:
Arts 2A Ancient Mediterranean Art
Arts 3TD:American Art History
CRITICAL READING: A Guide by Prof. John Lye
ARTS 1A Fall 09
De Anza arches"
HUMANITIES 16 FALL 2010
ARTS 1A FALL 2010 ARTS 1A, W2011
HUMANITIES 16, W2011
FALL 2011:
"Humanities 16 Fall 2011. TABLE OF CONTENTS
(See required text)
FALL 2011:
"Humanities 16 Fall 2011. TABLE OF CONTENTS
(See required text)
"Arts 1A Fall 2011, TABLE OF CONTENTS
"Arts 1A Fall 2011, TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Jackson Pollock & Non Objective ArtJackson Pollock & Non Objective Art
Excerpts and interview responses from artist Jackson Pollock:
“My painting does not come from the easel. I hardly ever stretch my canvas before painting. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting. This is akin to the method of the Indian sand painters of the West.
I continue to get further away from the usual painter’s tools such as easel, palette, brushes, etc. I prefer sticks, trowels, knives, and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass, and other foreign material added.
When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of “get acquainted” period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.” (1947)
“ I don’t work from drawings or color sketches. My painting is direct…The method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement. When I am painting I have a general notion as to what I am about. I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end.” (1951)
For discussion:
1 In your own words, describe Pollock’s working process.
2 Why do you think his work is not appreciated by the general public? What does the viewer risk in accepting his work as a serious artistic endeavor?
3 Consider the following statement by Picasso:
“The fact that for a long time, Cubism has not been understood and that even today there are people who cannot see anything in it, means nothing. I do not read English, an English book is a blank book to me. This does not mean that the English language does not exist, and why should I blame anybody else but myself if I cannot understand what I know nothing about?” (excerpt from an interview, 1923):
Art Appreciation/Handout: Non-Objective Art
Excerpts from essay by Hilla Rebay, “The Beauty of Non-Objectivity,” (1937)
“…There is no representation of objects, nor any meaning of subjects, in these paintings of free invention called non-objective art. They represent a unique world of their own, as creations with a lawful organization of colors, variation of forms, and rhythm of motif. These combinations … can bring the same joy, relaxation, elevation and animation of spiritual life as music. Knowledge of point and counterpoint never was necessary for anyone to enjoy the beauty of music. Nor is it necessary in painting to realize the constructional law to feel pleasure in music. The general response to the themes and keys of color in different non-objective paintings is of similar variety. Upon further acquaintance the appeal of a masterpiece attracts concentration which grows into animated enjoyment.
Painting, like music, has nothing to do with reproduction of nature, nor interpretation of intellectual meanings. Whoever is able to feel the beauty of colors and forms has understood non-objective painting.
Beauty of appearance takes its way to the heart through the medium of intuitive intelligence called spirit. Intellect prevents spontaneous reaction to this most elevating joy which sound or vision can give. To be able to penetrate further into the singular worlds of these paintings is to realize their lawfulness, their cosmic inner order, which, if understood, may increase the faculty to enjoy them. But this experience and knowledge is necessary only to those who want to use the fundamentals of creation to become creators of art themselves. Non-objectivity has beauty and spirit combined. Everyone who gives time to it is able to get its blessing, which is refreshment of the soul and elevation into the beyond.
Non-objective art need not be understood or judged. It must be felt…Though we all enjoy sunshine, neither this joy [art] nor the sun’s shine have a meaning unless our intellect invents one.
…Non-objective pictures, being worlds of their own, have no meaning, and represent nothing. They are lovely or unpleasant to our eyes as music is lovely or disagreeable to our ears. People react differently to the appeal of motifs and melodies. It is as difficult to get acquainted with many non-objective paintings at one time, as it would be, to hear all Beethoven’s nine symphonies in succession for the first time. But to a connoisseur, this treat would bring new enjoyment by comparing details and different variations of motif[s] in different keys…”
For discussion:
1 In your own words, describe the way this writer approaches the experience of non-objective art? What other art form is comparable, according to Rebay?
2 Has your own experience with music been similar to Rebay’s? Do you experience visual art the same way? Try it out and see what happens: Multiple experiences with a work of art may contribute to greater enjoyment.
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