CHAPTER 2 ART AS A SOCIAL INDICATOR
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In order to explore the potential of art to generate built-form, art must be considered globally.
This requires an elaboration defining art and examining its more recent evolution. This scrutiny provides insight into the discussion of resistance art and its local manifestations. Its purpose is not to provide a list of local art works, but rather to examine the discourse surrounding the development of local resistance art in relation to the global. The conclusion of this chapter will extend on both the social and the resistance components of art presented and will examine the way in which man relates to and comprehends art so that conclusions can be reached which can assist in answering the question of how art can generate built-form.
Art, in various guises, has been created by man for aeons: from Palaeolithic cave paintings, to Neolithic ceramics, ancient Babylon and Egypt, the classical works of Greece and later Rome, the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and the art from the Renaissance onward (Mumford, 1961). For art, the question, in the context of this document, is not why man persists in the generation of this work but rather, what does it indicate about man and how can this knowledge be used to generate built form?
Fig ure 2.1: A Neolithic ceramic shard. (source: Speck, P. at http://www.flickr.com/photos/drspeck/3830418539/,
accessed: 22-05-2012)
Figure 2 .2 Figure: An ancient Babylonian sculpture.
(source: Rogers Fund at
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1972.96, accessed: 22-05-2012)
18
Figure 2 .3 : A classical Greek ceramic a mphora. (source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art at
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm, accessed:
22-05-2012)
Figure 2.4: An illuminated manuscript detail. (source:
Martin, P. at
http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/illuminated_manuscri pts.html, accessed: 22-05-2012)
Figure 2.5: Michelangelo’s Pie ta, a classical Renaissance sculpture. (source: Traykov, S . at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo%27s_Pieta_5450 _cropncleaned_edit.jpg, accessed: 22-05-2012)
Figure 2 .6 : Salvidor Dali’s Ato mic Leda, a surrealist work. (source: Fundació Gala-Salvador Dali at
http://www.salvador-
dali.org/dali/coleccio/en_50obres.html?ID=W0000058, accessed: 22-05-2012)
A brief snippet of a rt through the ages, what does this ind icate about man?
The argument revolving around the social value of art started in the mid-19th century, with many philosophers struggling with questions of how art and society were related. Barnett (1976) and Freeland (2001) state that their answers varied but a common thread in each of their arguments was that art, society and culture are inextricably connected.
19 Art must be defined in order to discuss its relevance in relation to society. Leepa (1970: 703) states that art is a metaphorical statement “…that is defined by those meanings and human equivalents which man feels most directly, truthfully and comprehensively represent him at a particular time.” In taking this notion further, he examines what this definition implies: art communicates human experience, it is an unquantifiable expression and entirely subjective.
Similarly, the reception of the artistic work (oeuvre) by art’s public is similarly subjective. In other words, both the work of art and its reception are mutually subjective, forming “…a continuous, reciprocally dependant vicious circle in which one is defined by the other”
(Leepa, 1970: 704).
Fig ure 2.7: Patter Olsen, owner of Edward Munch’s The S crea m, looks at the picture during its public viewing at Sotheby’s in London illustrating that the expression and reception of art are dually compounded, the act of creation being as subjective
as the act of viewing. (source: Bíbby, C. at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/42414792-8968-11e1-85af- 00144feab49a.html#axzz1vavudRJw, accessed: 22-05-2012)
Gideon (1954) echoes Leepa’s sentiments in that he feels that art is the product of a subjective, emotional social upwelling. The tension felt by modern man finds form in art and is manifested as symbols, often through common objects. Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jean Gris and Le Corbusier, celebrated the everyday through their veneration of objects like bowls, pipes, bottles, glasses and guitars. Though not typically forming part of an individual’s emotional environment, Gideon (ibid.) feels that they attain their true significance through the hand of the artist. Gideon suggests that new parts of the world are opened up to emotional interpretation through art: this is the purpose of the visual arts.
20 Traditionally, the visual arts have been referred to as being either of the ‘fine art’ or ‘applied art’ variety. Fine art is work produced that serves no other purpose than that of traditional paintings or sculpture, whilst applied art is craft related and involves the decoration of functional pieces such as ceramics and tapestries. Barnett (1970) asserts that the applied arts lack the intent and the capacity to communicate complex and abstract ideas and emotions in comparison to the traditional fine arts, however, changes in technique and medium suggest that one cannot restrict the label of art to only a few activities.
This 19th century notion of the division of the visual arts was severely applied but it is now antiquated and although referred to by Clark (1970) as image and ornament, he goes on to say that the distinction is no longer applicable, as both fine- and applied arts are equally expressions of a personal and social state: all ornament expresses a visual experience and all images express some form of design. This being the case, what relevance does art bear on society at large? In order to gain greater clarity on the issue, the social significance of art needs to be evaluated.
2.2 THE RELVANCE OF ART IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY