what makes an art object “authentic” to a particular culture?

Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice
Ocvirk, Stinson, Wigg, Os, Cayton
Twelfth Edition

Chapter 1
Introduction
pp. 10-13

The Three Components of Art

Subject, class, and content have ever been the iii basic components of a piece of work of art, and they are wed in a style that is inseparable. In general, discipline may exist thought of as the "what" (the topic, focus, or image); form, as the "how" (the development of the work, limerick, or the substantiation); and content, as the "why" (the artist's intention, communication, or meaning backside the piece of work). Subject The subject of visual art tin can be a person, an object, a theme, or an thought. Though there are many and varied ways of presenting the bailiwick matter, it is only important to the caste that the artist is motivated by it.

Objective images, which represent people or objects, look as shut every bit possible to their real-world counterparts and can be conspicuously identified. These types of images are also chosen representational.

Dennis Wojtkiewicz, Kiwi Series #1, 2005.
Oil on canvas, 36 ten 66 in. Marilyn Levine, Anne'southward Jacket, 1999.
Ceramic, 36 x twenty 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.

Gus Heinze, Expresso Cafe, 2003. Acrylic on gessoed panel, 32 10 35 1/2 in.

Artists who explore the procedure of abstraction (simplification and rearrangement) create images that look less like the object on which they are based, although they may even so be recognizable. Barbara Hunt-Riboud, Bathers, 1973. Floor relief, cast aluminum and silk in 16 pieces, 400 x 400 x 12 cm.

Piet Mondrian, The Grey Tree, 1911.
Oil on canvass, 30 i/2 x 42 7/viii in. Ismael Rodriguez Rueda, El Sueno de Erasmo (The Dream of Erasmus), 1995.
Oil on canvas, 39 ane/2 10 47 1/2 in.

DeLoss McGraw's "The Story of Eutychus," mixed-media Marcel Duchamp, Nude Decending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912
Oil on canvas, 58 x 35 in. Harold E. Edgerton, Baseball hitting-wing ball, 1950s-1970s. Gelatin silver print In the most extreme type of abstraction, the subject does not refer to any physical object, and this nonrepresentational image is thus considered non-objective. Here, the subject may be hard for the observer to identify, since it is based solely on the elements of art rather than real-life people or objects. This type of subject often refers to the creative person's thought nigh energy and movement, which guides the use of raw materials, and it communicates with those who can read the language of form. Piet Mondrian, Composition, 1916. Oil on canvas and wood strip, 47 i/4 x 29 1/2 in. Music, like visual fine art, deals with subjects and provides an interesting comparison. Unless there are lyrics, it is frequently difficult to identify a specific subject field in a piece of music. Sometimes, the subject is recognizable - the thunderstorms and birdsongs in Beethoven'south Pastoral Symphony or the taxi horns in Gershwin's An American in Paris. Other times, nonetheless, the subject is more abstract, and it is an emotion or idea that comes beyond strongly in the music. Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Mutual Man is a adept instance of this: he does not try to describe the subject literally merely creates a nobel, accessible, and uplifting musical theme that honors the plight of the common man. In a like way, nonobjective fine art seeks to present a more general theme or idea as the subject.
Mark Rothko, Number 10, 1950.
Oil on canvas, 7 ft. 6 3/8 in. x 4 ft. ix ane/8 in. Regardless of the type of fine art, the most important consideration is what is done with the subject. After you recognize the subject in a work (whether it is obvious or not), ask yourself whether the artist has given it expression. Jackson Pollock, Fall Rhythm (Number 30), 1950.
Oil on canvas, 8 ft. nine in. 10 17 ft. 3 in. Charles Sheeler, Golden Gate, 1955.
Oil on canvas, 25 1/8 in. 10 34 seven/8 in.

Form

Every bit a component of art, the word form refers to the total overall arrangement or organization of an artwork. Information technology results from using the elements of fine art, giving them order and meaning through the principles of organization. When studying a work'southward form, we are analyzing how the slice was created. More specifically, we are examing why the artist made sure choices and how those choices interact to form the artwork's final appearance. In this sense, the word grade may actually be thought of every bit a verb rather than a noun.

The elements of fine art, which include line, texture, color, shape, and value, are the virtually basic, indispensable, and immediate building blocks for expression. Their characteristics, determined by the artist'south option of media and techniques, tin communicate a wide range of complex feelings. All artists must deal with the elements singularly or in combination, and their organization contributes to the artful success or failure of a work.

Based on the intended expression, each creative person can conform the elements in any manner that builds the desired character into the slice. Yet, the elements are given order and meaningful structure when arranged according to the principles of organization, which help integrate and organize the elements. These principles include harmony, variety, balance, proportion, authorisation, movement, and economy. They help create spatial relationships and finer convey the creative person's intent. The principles of organization are flexible, not dogmatic, and can exist combined and applied in numerous ways. Some artist arrange intuitively, and others are more calculating, but with feel, all of them develop an instinctive feeling for organizing their piece of work. And then important are these concepts of elements and principles that they are studied separately.

Content

The emotional or intellectual message of a work of art is its content - a statement, expression, or mood developed by the artist and interpreted by the observer. Of the 3 components of fine art, content may exist the near difficult to place, because the audience, without direct advice with the artist, must decipher the creative person'south thoughts by observing the work's subject and class. For example, in Young Girl in the Lap of Death, the hitting emphasis of the left-to-right diagonals, the sharp contrasts of light and night values, and the aggressive and powerful drawing strokes give us some insight into Kathe Kollwitz's business concern for life, though we may not understand the depth of her passion.

Kathe Kollwitz, Young Daughter in the Lap of Expiry, 1934.
Crayon lithograph, 42 ten 38 cm.

Ideally, the viewer's interpretation is synchronized with the creative person'due south intentions. However, the viewer's diverseness of experiences tin can impact the advice between artist and viewer. For many people, content is adamant by their familiarity with the subject; they are confined to feelings aroused past objects or ideas they know. A much broader and ultimately more than meaningful content is non utterly reliant on the image but is reinforced by the course. This is particularly so in more abstract works, in which the viewer may not recognize the epitome every bit a known object and must, thefore, interpret significant from shapes and other elements. Images that are hardly recognizable, if representational at all, can still deliver content if the observer knows how to interpert form.

Occasionally, artists may exist unaware of what motivates them to brand sure choices of image or form. For them, the content of the slice may be hidden instead of deliberate. For instance, an artist who has had a trigger-happy confrontation with a neighbor might subconciously need to express anger (content) and is thus compelled to work wit sharp jagged shapes, bitter acrid reds, slashing agitated marks (form), and exploding images (subject).

Sometimes the meaning of nonobjective shapes becomes articulate in the creative person'southward heed merely after they evolve and mutate on the canvas.

Although it is non a requirement for enjoying artwork, a little research about the creative person's life, time menstruum, or culture can aid expand viewpoints and lead to a fuller estimation of content. For case, a deeeper comprehension of Vincent van Gogh's specific and personal use of color may be gained by reading Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. His letters expressed an evolving belief that color conveyed specific feelings and attitudes and was more that a mere optical experience. He felt that his use of color could emit power like Wagner's music. The messages as well revealed a developing personal colour iconography, in which red and green symbolized the terrible sinful passions of humanity; black contour lines provided a sense of anguish; cobalt blue signified the vault of heaven, and yellow symbolized love. For Van Gogh, color was not strictly a tool for visual simulated but an instrument to transmit his personal emotions. Color symbolism may not accept been used in all his paintings, merely an understanding of his intent helps explicate some of his choices and the power in his work.

Vincent van Gogh, The Night Cafe, 1888. Oil on sheet, 27 1/2 x 35 in.

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Source: https://personal.utdallas.edu/~mel024000/pages/2D_Design/Components_of_Art/Components_of_Art.html