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Chapter One: A World of Art
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• The Gates
• The World As Artists See It
• Roles of Artists
• The World As We Perceive It
• The Process of Seeing
• Active Seeing
Works in Progress
Pablo Picasso’s Desmoiselles d’Avignon
The Critical Process
Thinking about Making and Seeing: Andy Warhol’s Race Riot
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
This Chapter Will:
• evaluate the criteria that define art
• examine the functions of art and artists in various world civilizations
• discuss perception and the creative process
• introduce the student to the world as the artist sees it
• discuss the roles of artists
• examine the physical and active processes of seeing
KEY TERMS
Yin aesthetic functional
Yang corroboree
sublime earthwork animism
MyArtsLab RESOURCES
Closer Look: Jan and Hubert van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece
Closer Look: Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Primary Source Document: John Constable (1776–1837) – Artists on Art
Interactive Flashcards
LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
1. The Gates: The World as Christo and Jeanne-Claude See It
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates (figs. 1-3) has the potential of raising several
topics at once: the function of art, artists’ intention, perception and the creative process,
and symbolism of space and color. The Gates project is a complex piece that warrants an
explanation of how temporary, public art installations function differently than
freestanding sculptures or paintings, which are traditionally viewed in museums or
galleries. Discuss how The Gates pushes the three-dimensional space of art to a new
2. The World As Other Artists See It
Provide a historical overview of the variety of artworks illustrated in the chapter in order
to familiarize the students with cultural and historical differences and similarities.
Emphasize to students the potential dangers of viewing and interpreting artworks with
21st-century eyes. Stress the point that all art is culturally determined, and it must be
to discuss varying levels of functionality and how that relates to our experience of the
work as aesthetic, as art.
Utilitarian objects created by Native American, African, Oceanic, and Asian cultures
reflect the desire to make the mundane beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Yet, in many
cultures the word “art” does not exist. Discuss philosophies of aesthetics and creative
3. How Do We See the World?
With examples from the chapter, discuss the physical and active processes of seeing.
Using a biological diagram of the human eye, discuss the physical process of seeing by
dividing the explanation into the 3-step description found in the Sayre text: reception—
extraction—inference. Show Jasper Johns’ Three Flags (fig. 13) to illustrate the
difference between looking and “seeing = understanding” images. Articulate Johns’
intentional use of images that, according to the artist, are “looked at but never seen, never
examined.” Ask students how well they see/understand the American flag. From
memory, ask students if they can answer the following questions. What are the flag’s
dimensions? How many red stripes, white stripes? Why is the flag rectangular in shape?
Do the colors red, white, and blue have symbolic significance? What does the
compositional arrangement represent? Have students research the American flag and
1. Works in Progress: Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (figs. 15) (See the Closer Look in
MyArtsLab) is a Work in Progress feature of this chapter. The author presents the
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1. The Creative Process
Flexibility and openness are two fundamental characteristics of creativity. Under the
heading The Creative Process, the author describes the creative process using preliminary
drawings for Pablo Picasso’s Desmoiselles d’Avignon (fig.’ 13-15). Sayre also provides
us with preliminary drawings of Christo’s The Gates (fig.2). In order for students to
understand the nature of creativity, have students compare the Desmoiselles d”Avignon
drawings ((fig.’s 13 & 14) with the finished work. Point out the differences between
Christo’s and Picasso’s processes and style. Consider the historical context in terms of
how nature was perceived during the lives of these two artists. Christo uses his drawings
to help him visualize the finished piece and, importantly, to fund it. Discuss how Christo
does not accept funding for his projects. He and Jean-Claude fund them entirely through
the sales of these preliminary drawings. Contrast this with Picasso’s more “traditional”
use of preliminary sketches and how they inform his finished composition.
Earthworks like and installations like Christo and Jean-Claude’s Gates and Smithson’s
Spiral Jetty (fig.s 395 and 396) are often large temporal environmental sculptures
produced outdoors that employ rocks, earth, and other natural materials as well as
manufactured materials.. Another earth artist, Walter de Maria, creator of Lightning
2. Thinking about Andy Warhol’s Race Riot
Engage students in a critical discussion about the subject matter depicted in artworks
such as Andy Warhol’s Race Riot (fig. 22). Ask students how they respond to this type
of artwork and others that depict disturbing events. Point out that Warhol expresses one
of the traditional roles of the artist, in that he gives visible form to ideas, philosophies,
and feelings. Have students discuss how Warhol has arranged the subject matter for
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. Wrapping Up Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Have students visit the Christo and Jeanne-Claude website at
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2. The Commodification of Ancient Ideas
The magical power of African art, illustrated in the nkisi nkonde figure (fig. 12) is
unfamiliar to Westerners. Additionally, our knowledge of these figures and the cultures
3. The Power of the Visual Image
Have students research and write about the Civil Rights Movement in order to understand
the imagery portrayed in works such as Andy Warhol’s Race Riot (fig. 22) and Faith
Ringgold’s God Bless America (fig. 20). How do these works express the artist’s personal
feelings about growing up in an intensely political time in American history?
4. The Language of Art
As an in-class assignment, have students create a list of adjectives they have used to
HANDS-ON PROJECTS
For additional project ideas, remember to investigate the Hands-On Projects found on
MyArtsLab.
1. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Have students propose a temporary artwork in the manner of Christo and Jeanne-Claude,
Nancy Holt, or Robert Smithson. As part of the assignment, have them draw a schematic
2. What’s Your Story?
Have students visit the Faith Ringgold website at www.faithringgold.com/ to learn about
the artist and her artworks. In the manner of Ringgold, assign students to create their
3. Magical Objects
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Have students make, or at least conceive of, their own nkisi nkonde figure. Ask them to
develop a complex set of powers that they would wish their figure to possess. Then, have
them either construct it or draw it, with specific add-ons, objects, etc. that would imbue it
with those powers.
Other Suggested Websites:
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, America’s first art museum dedicated to the work of a
woman artist of international stature showcases the work, including themes of nature, at
Wild Wheels, Harrod Blank, 1992 (90 minutes)
Faith Ringgold, The Last Story Quilt, 1992 (28 minutes)
Aborigine: Great Cultures—Triumph of Nomads, 1997
Christo, Running Fence, 1978 (60 minutes)
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Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture, 2002 (104 minutes)