DISCOVERING ART - the search for meaning (updated 2021)

[Music]

hey vinnie what is it about human beings

it gives us the desire to represent our

relationship to the world through images

or material form how is it that artworks

can communicate something that cannot be

said in words and why does this

communication sometimes confuse more

than clarify

strong opinions about what constitutes

art and its value to society have

existed since ancient time

i don't know you

how are we supposed to make sense of

this painting

hey hey wait a second

my paintings are seen as a breakthrough

in modern art

there are lots of ways that art

communicates meanings but sometimes you

must have an open mind and work at

finding that meaning

okay jack how does someone understand

one of your paintings it seems a bit

hard to figure it out just by looking at

it

sometimes the message of a work of art

is straightforward other times art is

harder to decipher

but even an artwork where the purpose

seems clear there are often layers of

meaning that elude us unless we

investigate beyond our first glance

how do we gain access to those layers of

meaning

you need an approach that will help

investigate all the aspects that make

meaning in a work of art

it requires some research and some

analytical thinking but i think we can

help explain an effective way

dr renee sandel believes that

investigating how the form theme and

context interact in a work of art will

help us discover its meaning

it's a helpful approach

let's take a look at each of those

elements separately and then see how

their interaction can help us decode the

meaning in an artwork

[Music]

most artwork takes some kind of physical

form

although some art known as conceptual

art is meant to exist solely as an idea

there is usually something physical that

leads us to that idea

there are elements that make up the

physical form because things like line

color texture shape and value are

usually present in an artwork in some

way they have been called the formal

elements in art classes since the mid

20th century

there are of course other things that

make up the form of an artwork like

material media dimension and process

these physical elements then need to be

arranged in some way

this is called composition and there are

some principles for that too

this also includes things like style

technique and skill

for art to communicate to touch us in

some way it must engage with an aspect

of human experience

that experience can be dramatic or

profound addressing important issues of

history society or culture

sometimes it can be intimate or private

expressing emotions or observations that

are more personal

what the artwork is trying to

communicate can be said to be its big

idea

it's important to understand that the

big idea and the subject matter of an

artwork are two different things

in a nutshell the subject matter is the

vehicle that the artist uses to carry

the artist's theme

the objects in this still-life painting

are the subject matter but they are all

symbols that carry a larger meaning

about life

artists don't exist in a vacuum

they are a product of their times who

are influenced by ideas history politics

and cultural norms

their human experience is what they make

art about

to fully understand a work of art we

need to get some of the backstory

who made the artwork when and where was

it made

and perhaps most importantly why was it

made

now that we have defined form theme in

context let's look at how their

interaction can lead us to a better

understanding of an artwork

we'll use as examples to artworks that

could not look more different from each

other

the end of the 18th century was a

tumultuous time for france

a growing population widespread

unemployment and social inequality

presented many problems

spurred on by the ideals of the

enlightenment equality citizenship and

inalienable rights the people of france

ousted the king and transformed their

society from a monarchy to a republic

although the political atmosphere

surrounding the revolution was complex

the official revolution began in 1789

and the republic was proclaimed in 1792

jacques louis davie was a well-known

artist and a supporter of the revolution

in 1787 david exhibited his painting the

death of socrates

the subject matter of david's painting

the story of socrates death is from

plato's fado

david depicts socrates a greek

philosopher whose ideas got him on the

wrong side of the athenian government

and he was given to choice to commit

suicide or be banished from athens

the subject of the painting is the

moment when socrates chose to drink

hemlock rather than denounce his values

obviously david is technically very

skilled but let's see if there is more

to the painting than that

using our criteria let's see if we can

piece together why this is an important

and controversial painting

the story of socrates death implies that

the ideals of democracy and truth should

be the guiding principles of man

this is the big idea of the painting and

thus the painting was seen by supporters

of the revolution as a symbol for their

cause

recalling the criteria for examining an

artwork's form

it is easy to see how david manipulates

the aspects of two-dimensional

composition to create visual drama in

this painting

his use of light and color draws to the

main character socrates the rendering of

the figures clearly shows the emotion of

the moment

his skill in using oil paint to create a

window on this scene for us is

unsurpassed

clearly david is a master at

manipulating the formal elements and the

principles of design in this painting

as a young man david had studied in rome

influenced by the classical art of

ancient rome his style became known as

neoclassicism

this nod to the ideals of the classical

period gives the painting further

gravitas

understanding how the theme of the

painting relates to the events of the

time

allows us to see that the meaning of

this painting goes beyond a well-painted

scene from greek history

dutch artist pete mondrian's painting

composition with red yellow blue and

black looks nothing like david's

painting there is no narrative to follow

like the story of socrates death

how then can this painting carry meaning

let's use our form theme and context

criteria to investigate

we need to think about the time when

this painting was made to realize how

radical it was

throughout the 19th century and into the

20th century

factors such as the industrial

revolution new scientific discoveries