ART 1010

Ilya Panov

 

Unit 1 showed me that art is in everyday life and not just limited to a beautiful renaissance paintings. Art is an expression of an idea or a belief which can be expressed as sculptures, clothing, music, current events,textiles, and so much more. Unit 1 also introduced us to formal analysis. Understanding color, the lines the artist uses, size/scale, medium/material all play a factor in the artist creation.  In the Venus or Urbino 1538, the artist Titian use darker color around the main figure in the front drawing your eyes to the model. As well, Titian use lots of horizontal lines to once again draw the viewers eyes to the main focus of the image.

Unit 1 introduced us to ancient art and how to interpret it. Previously taking intro to Renaissance art, I did not think anything was created that was worthy but unit 1 has expanded my horizon of art dating back to the paleolithic age. Discovering Venus of Willendorf, the fertility figure, allowed me to see that art goes back to the old stone age but still there traditions of the fertility figures are introduced into the Neolithic era. As well, I learned that this figures were relatively small, since humans were most nomads and constantly moved this limited to how much they can carry.

Also, The Standard of Ur is another example of tradition of hierarchy dating back to 2600 BC. The Standard of Ur is a direct reflection of their current hierarchy. Broken down into three section, one can clearly see the King and nobles at the top section, the middle class in the second section, and at the bottom consists of the lower class.  The Standard of Ur also taught me that everything the artist puts into the image has a meaning. The size of the king is increased by a substantial amount on the top class comparing him to the other nobles or any other figure. Likewise, on the bottom section you can clearly come to the conclusion that this are lower class people since they are carrying supplies with the donkeys.

Unit 1 has changed my perception of art. Giving me the ability to understand art on a deeper level. Unit 1 allowed me to understand the reason for which an artist may have developed a smaller statue or why an artist may have used a certain material even though they may not be reliably available in the area. Why an artist decided to draw some figures large then others or why the artist added animals. Unit 1 ultimately helped me better understand the art and why the artist created a certain way.