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Chapter 1
The Power of Art
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter, introduce The Power of Art. Students are beginning a journey and
learning a new language. Use the basic structure of the chapter as an outline for your
first lectures.
Sub Headers
• Looking at Art
o Learning How to See
o Methods and Materials
o Placing Art and Artists in Historical Context
o Art and Culture
• The Powers of Art: Bringing Faith to Life
o Prehistoric art and Magical Powers
o The Power of Art for Tribal Peoples
o The Power of Religious Art
• Art Represents Ideals
o Art as a Declaration of Power
o The Power to Convey Immortality
o The Power to Change Our Beliefs
o The Power to Shock
o The Power to Touch Our Emotions
o The Power to Awaken Our Senses
o The Power to Transform the Ordinary
• The Power of Art for the Artist
o Self Expression
o The Artist at Play
o The Artist’s Memory
• Defining Art
o Folk Art
o Craft and Decorative Art
o Design
o Art Is Beauty
o Art Is Originality and Creativity
o Ways to Understand Art
o The Artist and the Art
• Art and Art History
• When We Know More, We See More
o Beginning the Journey
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Terms:
applied arts
art
fine arts
flutings
folk art
found objects
graphic design
Impressionists
industrial design
National Treasures
rock art
seeing
sfumato lighting
tattoo
Lecture #1
Discussion:
In Lecture #1, give an overview of art itself. Briefly review the history of art, and
discuss first observation and looking passively at the thousands of images we are
bombarded with each day, versus actively seeing an object. Discuss art’s early
prehistoric history, focusing specifically on art’s role in everyday prehistoric cultures
and in religious and spiritual life.
Class Questions/Prompts:
The Lure of Mona For the past 500 years, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has
captivated its viewers, recently attracting millions to the Louvre to see the work.
Books, movies, songs, poetry, and visual art have been created in response to the
Mona Lisa. Why? What does the Mona Lisa have that no other portrait has? Why do
visitors of the Louvre hastily pass by numerous masterpieces just to see one rather
small painting (it’s only 30ʺ × 21ʺ)? Discuss what makes Mona special. Compare this
portrait of Leonardo’s to other portraits he created, such as Ginevra de’Benci and Lady
with an Ermine. What does the Mona Lisa have that makes her so iconic that she
stands out above the rest? Read from sources such as Vasari’s Lives of the Artists and
from the recent publication Mona Poetica to find out what others have written about
the Mona Lisa, and view different versions of Mona (go to a site such as “The Mona
Lisa on the Web”).
Who Is Mona? The identity of the Mona Lisa is known to be that of Lisa del
Giocondo, a merchant’s wife. However, there are many different theories that rebuke
this identity. Some even speculate that the Mona Lisa is really a self-portrait of
Leonardo da Vinci himself. If the true identity is Lisa del Giocondo, why did Leonardo
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retain the portrait instead of giving it to his patrons? Why did Leonardo accept the
commission from merely a merchant instead of securing commissions from wealthier
and more prominent patrons? Recent news has suggested that Lisa was pregnant at the
time of the commission due to the significance of her hair being down and not pinned
up, as most portraits of married women would have depicted at the time.
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 1-8 Paleolithic bulls and other animals crowd calcite walls,
2. Compare and Contrast
Lecture #2
Discussion:
In Lecture #2 discuss art as a representation of ideals. Examine specific images that
convey power and immortally, and that challenge our beliefs and inspire us.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Power Play The text addresses how art represents an ideal through many means: Art as
the declaration of power, the power to convey immortality, the power to change our
beliefs, the power to shock, the power to touch our emotions, the power to awaken our
senses, and the power to transform the ordinary. What do you feel is the most important
power? Why?
What Is Art? What Is a Craft? “What is art?” is a great question of aesthetics.
Discuss this concept. What is art? What makes a work of art good? Does a work of art
have to be an original, one-of-a-kind object, or can it be done as a series of multiples?
What is the distinction between art and craft? Can something that is useful or
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utilitarian be considered a work of art? Why are the fine arts considered a high form of
art, whereas the applied arts are considered low forms of art?
The Role of Creativity What is creativity? In creativity tests designed by Paul
Torrance, four aspects of creativity were evaluated—originality, flexibility,
elaboration, and fluency—a form of divergent thinking. Do only artists have these
traits? Is Andy Warhol’s 30 Are Better Than One (Mona Lisa) a creative work of art?
Why? Is using someone else’s image (in this case Leonardo’s Mona Lisa) to create a
work of art be considered original? Can creativity be developed? Under what
circumstances?
Exercise#2
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 1-20 Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972. Mixed
media, 11 3/4” x 2 3/4”. University Art Museum, University of California
at Berkeley, California.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 1-17 Hans Holbein the Younger, Henry VIII, 1540. Oil on panel,
32 ½” x 12 ½”. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome, Italy.
Figure 1-18 Renato Bertelli, Head of Mussolini (Continuous
Profile), 1933. Painted terracotta, 19” tall. Imperial War
Museum, London, Great Britain.
Lecture #3
Discussion:
In lecture #3 discuss art as a means of self-expression. Speak about the artists and the
artists’ motivations and intentions. Discuss defining art. Review the multiple types of art
that has been reviewed thus far and go over the types of art listed in the text.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Discuss the student’s experiences with art making and creativity. Seek to connect their
art making experiences with that of the artists being studied.
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Discuss what is art and what is craft. Does a work of art have to be an original, one of
a kind object, or can it be done as a series of multiples? What is the distinction
between art and craft? Can something that is useful or utilitarian be considered a work
of art? Why are the fine arts considered high form of art where the applied arts be
considered low forms of art?
Exercise #3
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 1-26 Vincent van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows, July 1890, Oil on
Canvas, 19 7/8” x 39 1/8”. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 1-41 Andy Warhol, 30 Are Better Than One (Mona Lisa), 1963.
Silkscreen ink on synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 9’ 2”x 7’ 10 ½”.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., New York.
Figure 1-34 Alex Samuelson and T. Clyde Edwards, Coca-Cola 6.5-ounce
glass bottle
