Sculpting words about sculpture

Taking three words from Jon's Wordle about the course: sculpture, questions, analysis...how do you talk about the formal properties of sculpture and then use this as a platform to interpret possible meanings that an artist may have intended?

Have a go at describing this cube...then look at my two attempts:


1) A Cube has six planes of equal dimensions.

Each plane has the same height and width, which meet at right angles forming orthogonals with the adjacent planes. This realises a straight edge.
Each plane has four corners, each of which is a right angle.
The planes are perceived as of a flat texture and surface.
When a strong light is cast upon a cube, the perpendicular planes to the light source are covered in a shadow, which reveals the three dimensionality and volume of the cube.
It is difficult to ever see more than three planes to a cube from one angle.
Most cubes are arranged parallel to a surface.

2) A cube conveys an impression of stability and order.

Its structure represents conformity and regularity, as well as dependency, determination and control. Whilst each surface may be undecorated, the edges are contours of possibility rather than absence as any mark made on the plane is made to seem more dynamic by its relationship to the predictability of the frame lines. It can be perceived as: a geometric paradigm of perfection: a fascist declaration of intolerance of deviation; spiritual in its quiet, meditative, rhythmic contemplation individuality and universality.

Can you deduce criteria for analysis of three dimensional objects, based on these descriptions? More to come later...next I'll look at somebody who took blocks from the building site and arranged them into art.

V

Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Abbey interior

Westminster Cathedral interior

These two buildings, within 5 minutes walk from one another in the centre of London, represent two very different responses to the idea of a large religious structure. I'd like you to visit them and use your experience of both buildings as the starting point for some research about the relationships between form and function in architecture.

I think it's important that your ideas are grounded in a physical and emotional response to specific buildings, since architecture is a kind of theatre that engages more than just the visual sense. I'm also interested to see where your research leads you and how much of the information I posted about papers 1 and 2 of the course you are able to incorporate. Ultimately, I would like you to compare and contrast these two buildings (not just these two pictures of the buildings) in terms of:

• their formal elements (shape, space, composition, mass, volume, colour, light etc.)
  
• the historical/social/cultural contexts in which they were made
• the materials used in their construction
  
• the relationship between aesthetic appearance and functions
• notions of style
  

I'm happy to receive this as a comment here or attached to an email.

Units 1 and 2 of the AQA AS History of Art Course

Before we go too much further it might be good to have a close look at the skills, content and assessment scheme necessary for success in units 1 and 2 of the AS course. The following text (my highlights) comes directly from the Schemes of Work that can be downloaded in full from the AQA website:

Unit 1: Visual Analysis and Interpretation

Ethos of the unit
This unit is about visual analysis, which is considered to be the description/examination of works of art and architecture, and interpretation, regarded as how works of art and architecture can be understood and explained.

What should be taught
• How to describe, identify, analyse, and examine the formal features, subjects, and themes of paintings and sculptures, and the formal features, building types, and functions of architecture in a clear and coherent way.
• How to discuss, interpret, explain, consider, account for, and comment on paintings, sculptures, and works of architecture in a clear and coherent way.
• A broad knowledge of historical, social, and cultural contexts of art and architecture.
• Appropriate art, architectural, and art historical terminology.

Assessment
Candidates must answer all three questions, each related to a painting, a sculpture and a work of architecture respectively.

The questions will always ask for:
• a description/analysis of the formal features of the work, and/or the subject/theme/building type (describe, analyse, identify, examine, etc)
• a discussion/interpretation of the work based on the description/analysis (discuss, interpret, explain, consider, account for, comment on, evaluate, etc).

Unit 2: Themes in History of Art

Ethos of the unit
This unit promotes knowledge and understanding of art history via a number of fundamental themes. The selected examples should allow the application of skills learnt for Unit 1. A thematic approach should provide the breadth of knowledge and understanding required at AS.

What should be taught
In general:
• knowledge and understanding of the prescribed art historical themes in relation to
appropriate teacher-selected examples of works of art and architecture, artists and
architects
• appropriate art, architectural and art historical terminology
• historical, social and cultural contexts for works of art and architecture
• clear and coherent communication of this material.

More specifically:
• Knowledge of subjects in art and the ways artists have interpreted them, and an
understanding of the concept of genres in art and how and why they have been
represented in particular ways.
• Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which art and architecture are made, the materials and techniques used and how materials, techniques and processes help to determine the appearance and subsequent interpretation.
• Knowledge of the formal features of art and architecture, and an understanding of how these contribute to interpretation and meaning, together with an understanding of the concept of style and an awareness of the evolution of different styles in art and
architecture.
• Knowledge and understanding of the relationship between the purpose and appearance of buildings and how to evaluate different forms of architecture in relation to their aesthetic and functional roles.
• Knowledge of historical and social contexts and their influence on the creation of art and architecture, and an awareness of how these contexts contribute to the interpretation and meaning of art and architecture.
• Different forms of artistic patronage and an understanding of how artistic patronage impacts on the appearance, interpretation and meaning of art and architecture.
• Knowledge of the changing social and cultural status of artists and architects and an
understanding of how artistic status contributes to the interpretation and meaning of works of art and architecture.
• The representation of gender, nationality and ethnicity in art and architecture and itscontribution to interpretation and meaning; how the gender, nationality and ethnicity of artists and architects influence the creation of art and architecture.

Note: The image at the top of this post is a Wordle produced from the entire text of the Scheme of Work. The largest words are those that appear most frequently in the document.

A Timeline

"The history of art is the history of revivals" -- Samuel Butler

To what extent is this true? The time period for this course begins in Classical Greece at about 500BC and ends with Post-Modernism at the end of the 20th century. In that period, how many revivals of the language of classical art have emerged in western culture? Why were the Romans so fascinated by Greek art and culture? What do we mean by the Dark Ages? How do you account for the resurgence of interest in classical art (Greek and Roman) in fifteenth century Italy? What does the phrase "Neo-Classical" mean? Thinking like this about revivals of interest in historical styles is one way of conceptualising the story of art. Obviously this approach has huge limitations, the main one being a tendency to marginalise anything that doesn't appear to fit into the grand narrative or canon. We can return to some of these criticisms later when we take a look at some of the ideological standpoints that have helped to shape and deconstruct art history. For now, I think it's a good idea to develop an understanding of a narrative so that we can visualise a map of possible connections between works of art, architecture and design across a fairly large expanse of time.

In order to get a grip on the basic chronology of the course, I'd like you this week to focus on creating a timeline of the major shifts in style since 500BC focusing specifically on the recurring interest in classical culture. Don't worry too much about over-populating your timeline with hundreds of "isms". I'm looking for a broad brush approach for now in order to develop a rough sense of the ebb and flow of cultural interests. The most useful timeline will allow you to continue to edit it over the following weeks, adding and subtracting useful information as you find it.

Why not begin by reviewing some of the works of art we have discussed so far on this blog and placing them on the timeline? Will your timeline be a physical or virtual object? Will it, like the enormous version on the Tate Modern landings, stretch around your bedroom walls or are you more comfortable with it existing on a computer screen?

Patronage

I suppose it's time we gave some serious thought to preparing in a structured way for the AS History of Art exams this year. For those of you who are still contemplating sitting the exams, or those of you who are still not sure, I think it's best if, over the next few weeks, we take a look at some of the big themes that you will need to be aware of. One of the trickiest to get your heads around is Patronage. Fortunately, the excellent Smart History site has a great resource which uses Voice Thread to present a discussion of the story of the relationship between the city of Florence and the subject of David (the biblical prophet who was responsible for defeating Goliath and the Philistine army). This story centres of the artists Donatello and Michelangelo and takes in the shifts in context and meaning relating to a variety of representations of David over many years, beginning with the Florentine republic and including the possibly the most famous of all patrons, the Medici family.

I'd like you to listen carefully to the discussion on this Voice Thread and make some notes on the key points. By the end you should have a pretty good grasp of some of the key issues related to the theme of patronage. I would then like you to research another famous work of art and think about how issues of patronage contribute to our art historical understanding of it. Please include your observations here in the form of a comment or post.

on the blink...

Wandering through a friend’s facebook page the other day, I came across this link:

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/architecture-of-blink.html

… which turns out (unusually) to be a fascinating architecture blog. I particularly like this piece about the ‘lost world’ of the blink. And the comments are just as interesting as the post itself.

Definitely worth a view.

Parthenon animation

I am indebted to Alberti's Window for highlighting the existence of this animation which illustrates the various indignities visited upon The Parthenon during its long history. Apparently the film has caused some controversy amongst Greek Christians (who are shown hacking away bits of nude sculptures) and has the potential to further stoke the cultural fires of the Elgin marbles debate. I enjoyed seeing the building in relation to the rest of the Acropolis, at the start of the film, and its various adaptations over the years.