Art is nuanced with subjective language. People often struggle to define the terms of art. Is art a banana duct-taped to a wall? Or, does art represent the ultra-realism of Robert Bateman – the Salt Spring-based artist famed for rendering natural scenes decorating hotel lobbies, restaurants and T-shirts across the world?
Assiniboia Arts Council President, Alison Lewis and Visual Arts Coordinator, Crystal Thorburn gave a presentation on the language used in art at the Shurniak Gallery on October 1. The hour and half meeting began at 10:15 a.m. with the attendance limited to eight people. Mask wearing was encouraged in the gallery, along with social distancing measures.
Another Language of Art seminar was planned later in the afternoon from 1:30-3 p.m.
“What is the definition of art?” Lewis asked the audience. “It is expression,” she answered.
“What is art supposed to look like?” Thorburn asked. “What is art supposed to be?”
Through an ensuing discussion, everyone agreed about art having many functions. Yet, art is especially known for giving viewers pleasurable and interactive encounters through its various mediums, including visual, performance and literary arts.
“Art can tell a story. It could be a description of something,” Lewis inserted.
Certainly, since art is subjective, the beauty of artistic expression exists in the eye of the beholder. Art is also defined by the age when the piece was created, because of guiding trends and cultural mores. Is art décor? Is art expression? Or, does art represent both of these factors?
“Art brings the community together to enjoy that experience as a whole,” Thorburn maintained. “Art is a stable factor we can rely on,” she added then described art as having a therapeutic factor for both the creators and the patrons visiting galleries.
“Some people will buy art to decorate their home,” an audience member said.
“But art can also give social commentary,” Lewis pointed out then elaborated on Salvador Dali’s painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans – his response to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
Banksy’s street was also discussed by the group, specifically when his painting Girl With Balloon was destroyed inside a self-shredding frame moments after the art piece was auctioned for £1,042,000 at Sotheby’s Auction House in London in 2018.
“This was shock and awe in the art world,” Thorburn commented.
“We need to learn the language of art. Not all art is created to be loved,” Lewis recounted. “Go around the room,” she instructed the audience. “See if you can find different mediums to look at.”
When everyone returned after studying different paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures in the gallery, they reported on what they’d seen.
The conversation on art continued – this time the discussion centred on techniques, such as diaganol lines which create energy and movement. The use of textures to relay physical sensations was also conversed over. The names of artworks themselves was brought up in the discourse, since titles are important for establishing narratives.
The employment of distinctive colours and compositions in certain pieces might indicate when the piece of art was created – numerous schools of the art from realism to expressionism have been fashionable in different historical periods and employ dissimilar methods of creation.
“Why do people buy art?” Lewis asked.
“Because of the value,” an audience member said. “It's something you want to live with.”
“It boils down to personal taste,” Thorburn said, adding “When people are buying art, they are also buying the experience of creating the art as well.”
