Artistic Roles and Modes of Expression
ARTISTIC ROLE and MODES of EXPRESSION
ARTISTIC ROLE
The traditional role of art is to communicate to others, we create artwork that reflects and describes ourselves, our surroundings, and our culture. The way that we learn about each other and our predecessors are through the artifacts we create. Some of the earliest artworks discovered Links to an external site. are drawings and paintings of humans and wild animals on walls deep within prehistoric caves. One particular image is a hand print Links to an external site.: a universal symbol of human communication, a symbol that says, "I am here", a symbol that is both unique and also part of the collective whole. It has been said that the greatest innovation in modern humans was not tools or weapons but art and the symbolic expressions that are associated with it.
MODES OF EXPRESSION IN VISUAL ART
Portraits
Portraits, still life, landscapes are common examples of descriptive work. Portraits capture the accuracy of physical characteristics but the very best also transfer a sense of an individual’s unique personality. For thousands of years this mode of expression was reserved only for those in positions of power, influence and authority. The portrait not only signifies who they are, but also solidifies class structure by presenting only the highest-ranking members of a society. The portrait bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, dated to around 1300 BCE, exemplifies beauty and royalty.
Egyptian, Bust of Nefertiti, painted sandstone, c. 1370 BCE, Neues Museum, Berlin.
Licensed under Creative Commons and GNU.
The full-length Imperial Portrait of Chinese Emperor Xianfeng below not only shows realism in the likeness of the emperor, it exalts in the patterns and colors of his robe and the throne behind him.
Imperial Portrait of Emperor Xianfeng, China, c. 1855. Palace Museum, Bejing.
Licensed under Creative Commons.
Think about the many different forms that portraits take today. We snap selfies without a thought, but...if you had to paint a portrait what would it look like? Who would it be of? Why would you choose them? What would you include in the portrait to tell us more about the individual?
Still Life
Still life paintings are rooted in western art, becoming a profession or mode of expression around the 16th century. Still lifes are a combinations of objects that when grouped together tell a story. The story could describe a person, we can tell a lot about a person by the objects they surround themselves with! Or, as in in the case of Vanitas (from Latin vanitas, “vanity”) the still life tell the story of mortality and reminds viewers of the impermanence of worldly pleasures. Vanitas came into vogue in the 17th century, in the Netherlands -- I wonder what a contemporary Vanita still life would look like? Which objects would you choose?
Pieter Claesz, Vanitas Still Life,1630, oil on panel
Landscapes
Landscapes – by themselves – give us detailed information about our natural and human made surroundings; things like location, architecture, time of day, year or season plus other physical information such as geological elements and the plants and animals within a particular region.
In many western cultures, the more realistic the rendering of a scene the closer to our idea of the ‘truth’ it becomes. In the 15th century German artist Albrecht Durer created vivid works that show a keen sense of observation. His Young Hare from 1502 is uncanny in its realism and sense of animation. What I find interesting, in addition to the incredible detail, we get the sense of the surroundings. Perhaps it's snowy, the shadow indicates time of day, the posture is relaxed (no predators) but still aware of us and ready to bounce away!
Albrecht Durer, Young Hare, c. 1502, gouache and watercolor on paper. Albertina Museum, Vienna.
Image in the public domain.
Scientific Illustration
Out of our striving to understand and communicate about the world around us, the art of scientific illustration emerged and is still important today! From The Franklin Institute, Why We Need Scientific Illustration Links to an external site., "The ability to transform and craft compelling images, charts, and models that provide accurate information is a skill unique to the scientific illustrator." The traditional mediums of painting and drawing are still used to record much of the world around us.
Leonardo da Vinci, Anatomical Study, 1510-1511, Black chalk, pen and ink on paper. Royal Library, UK.
Image in the public domain.
Linda Berkley’s Merino Ram uses a layered approach to record in great detail the physical anatomy of the head of the great sheep.
Merino Ram, composite drawing, colored pencil, acrylic on Canson paper, 2009. Linda Berkley, Illustrator.
Used by permission of the artist
Enhancing our World
Enhancing the world of our everyday lives is another mode of artistic expression. This mode is more utilitarian than others. It includes textiles and product design, decorative Links to an external site. embellishments to the items Links to an external site. we use everyday and all the aesthetic considerations that create a more comfortable, beautiful environment.
Think about the objects you are surrounded with, everything was designed by someone, whether an Industrial Designer (shoes, cars, cell phones, appliances), Fashion Designer (clothing), Graphic Designer (websites, logos), Interior Designer (architectural spaces), Architects (buildings)! How would you change the design of something to make it better?
Narratives: How Artists Tell Their Stories
Artists can combine representation with more complex elements and compositions to bring a narrative component into art. Using subject matter, the objects and figures that inhabit a work of art, as a vehicle for communicating stories and other cultural expressions.
The narrative tradition can be found in cultures throughout the world. They become a means to perpetuate knowledge, morals and ethics, and can signify historical contexts within specific cultures. Narrative takes many forms; the spoken or written word, music, dance and visual art are the mediums most often used. Many times one is used in conjunction with another. In his Migration Series Links to an external site. Jacob Lawrence paints stark, direct images that communicate the realities of the African American experience in their struggle to escape the repression of the South and overcome the difficulties of adjusting to the big cities in the North.
In contrast, photographers used the camera lens to document examples of segregation in the United States. Here the image tells its poignant story about inequalities based on race.
Man Drinking at a Water Cooler in the Street Car Terminal, Russell Lee, Oklahoma City, 1939.
Photo from the National Archives and in the public domain
Spirit, Myth and Fantasy
Tied to the idea of narrative, another artistic mode of expression is the exploration of other worlds beyond our physical one. This world is in many ways richer than our own and includes the world of spirit, myth, fantasy and the imagination; areas particularly suited for the visual artist.
We can see how art gives a rich and varied treatment to these ideas. Artist Michael Spafford Links to an external site. has spent his career presenting classical Greek myths through painting, drawing and printmaking. His spare, abstract style uses high contrast images to strong dramatic effect. A Smiling Figure Links to an external site. from ancient Mexico portrays a god of dance, music and joy. A third example, Hieronymus Bosch’s painting the Temptation of Saint Anthony Links to an external site., gives the subject matter both spiritual and bizarre significance in the way they are presented. His creative imagination takes the subject of temptation and raises it to the realm of the fantastic.