Intro to Art History

1. Imagine that you are in a debate with someone who asserts that, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, art is whatever the spectator thinks it is; there are no rules, no criteria, no universal boundaries delineating what is and what is not art, who is and who is not an artist. If something expresses or creates an aesthetic or emotional response, it is art.

Your task is to take the other side of the debate: How would you respond to and rebut this view? In the first chapter of Living with Art, Getlein lists six roles that artists fulfill; these may help you in coming up with your response. Come up with points and specific examples of art works to support of the other side of the debate, which is that not just anything can be art, not just anyone can be an artist: There are established and justifiable criteria to confer that status upon objects and individuals. (250 words)

2. In Chapter 5, Getlein covers the principles of design. For each term listed, identify an art work art included in the text, Living with Art, but NOT mentioned in either Chapter 4 or Chapter 5, that illustrates the principle in question and explain why you chose it.

Note: in some cases you will find both the contrasting principles in the same work, (i.e. a painting that has both emphasis and subordination). You will have a minimum of 5 art works selected, maximum of 9.  A required part of this question is to explain WHY you chose each work. Make sure we can “see” what you are seeing. Please include both the page number and illustration number in your response. (250 words)

1)     unity and variety (describe an example of both terms here, either in the same work or in 2 different works)

2)     symmetrical and asymmetrical balance  (describe an example of both terms here, either in the same work or in 2 different works)

3)     emphasis and subordination  (describe an example of both terms here, either in the same work or in 2 different works)

4)     scale and proportion (describe an example of both terms here, either in the same work or in 2 different works)

5)     rhythm

cite textbook

Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, 9th Ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010

I need this no later than 2/7/13 10pm eastern time