The first skill developed in the class is viewing art. This includes the formal analysis of paintings, architecture, and sculpture. The formal elements of art include compositi

on, color, lighting, texture, line, and illusionistic space. The study of sculpture also includes other topics that involve the techniques used, the form, the relationship with space, and scale. Another aspect of looking at art is the representational elements. They concern the subject matter and the expressive content of the work, including poses, actions, and emotions. Iconography is part of representational study that searches for conventional meanings. One work studied intensely on this topic is Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Marriage. Readings from two art critics reveal that there are different iconographic interpretations of this work. Erwin Panofsky in Early Netherlandish Painting focuses on how history is reflected in the painting. He comments on features such as the gestures of man, the burning candle, and the artist's signature which all reflect important marriage customs of the time. Lisa Jardine in "Worldly Goods" shows another approach to the painting. She sees it as a showcase of possessions, including the woman herself who is the property of a successful merchant. The bride portrays the stereotype of a good docile woman at the time.

Modernism continued to change and evolve into new styles. Jackson Pollock's artwork is an example of Expressionism which focuses on the emotional, a free form that cannot be analyzed in the formal ways of a structured Renaissance work. Following soon after is Abstract Expressionism, another new way for artists to express themselves. Abstract Expressionist views reflected the world at the time; WWII and depression had led to a different way of viewing the world. The Abstract Expressionists focused on the techniques and experiences involved in painting rather than the subject matter. Style grew even more abstract with Post-Painterly Abstraction that goes beyond the movement of the artist and leaves things to run, literally, the way they want to. Post-Modernism leads up to the connection between art and popular culture. Pop culture has many similarities to modern art in its goals and methods of achieving these goals. Staniszewski points out that it has a quality over fine art, because fine art is limited by the fact that it does not reach the magnitudes of people that pop culture does.

Modernism and Postmodernism were the next major movements in the art world. Modernism was commonly defined by the top art critic of the time, Greenberg; to him, it was art broken down to its most simple elements. It contained no formal subject matter. Modernist art was valued for art's sake. The artists aimed to create high quality art that would be universal. This differs from Postmodernism that focuses on a subject with social context. It involved a breakdown of boundaries between popular culture and art. There are many styles that Modernism encompasses. Modernism is noted to have started around the time of Impressionism with Manet. He was an unexpected change from past painting. His subject matter received criticism, as did his method of brush strokes. His work, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere is studied in some detail in the class, including a video analysis.

When one thinks of the greatest period in art history, most probably would agree that it is the Renaissance. It was in the Renaissance that the middle class began to be able to own art instead of just the church. The Renaissance focused on unity, massiveness, and simplicity. However, underneath all the wonderful rebirth were less optimistic themes. The portraits as already mentioned were, according to Simons, gender based myth and not a reflection of society. The nudes differed by gender. For males they focused on the characteristic that males were supposed to value: muscles that show masculinity

Some common words found in the essay are:
Visual Culture, Jardine Worldly, Post-Painterly Abstraction, Endowment Arts, Greek Roman, Italian Renaissance, Modernism Postmodernism, Renaissance Renaissance, Christians Christians, Gothic Romanesque, art history, visual culture, art visual, art visual culture, subject matter, middle ages, art world, italian renaissance, le corbusier, italian renaissance artists, painting subject, proper proportions, history reflected painting, visual culture class, painting subject matter,
Approximate Word count = 2522
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)