Welcome

This course is intended for a very broad audience. You may never have studied art formally, and you may not be an artist yourself. On the other hand, you may already be involved in art production. Whatever your background, if you wish to learn about art appreciation and some of the basic techniques of art production, this course is for you.

Artists’ statements

Montage of faces from different types of art

Outcomes

If you complete the course, you should be able to:

• Interpret examples of visual art, using a five-step system, a critical process for understanding all forms of visual art. This system uses the five steps of description, analysis, context, meaning, and judgment.
• Identify and describe the elements and principles of art.
• Use analytical skills to connect formal attributes of art with their meaning and expression.
• Explain the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures.
• Articulate the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic themes and issues that artists examine in their work.
• Identify the processes and materials involved in art and architectural production.
• Utilize information to locate, evaluate, and communicate information about visual art in its various forms.

As explained on the Home Page, you will learn how to develop a five-step system for understanding visual art in all forms, based on:

• Description
• Analysis.
• Context
• Meaning
• Judgment

See the Home Page/Course Description for explanations of these steps.

After completing this course, you will be able to interpret works of art based on this five-step system of analysis; explain the processes involved in artistic production, themes, and the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic issues that artists examine in their work; and explain the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures.

Notes

1. ↑ https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Baudrillard#Photography.2C_or_the_Writing_of_Light.2C_.282000.29