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More About This Textbook
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During a discussion with some humanities faculty members, I was asked why I didn't write a short, inexpensive, pocket-sized book that students could carry with them on study abroad or for culturally related courses that involve traveling to metropolitan museums, concert halls, theatres, and so on. The idea was intriguing, and suggestions on what such a project might include gave ample opportunity for development.
Further thought, however, led to the conclusion that there exists today more than one way to "travel" to the arts. There is the actual experience of physically traveling to museums and concert halls at home and in distant cities. There is also imaginary travel that can occur when reading a book about the arts. In addition, there is cyber travel in which access to distant works of art is immediate. This book attempts to assist in all three types of travel and to be equally useful as a pocket guide or instructional text.
Those who suggested that this book be written were adamant about it not being copiously illustrated. They wanted something small in size, inexpensive, and general enough in nature that would have equal usefulness in Paris or Prague, London or Lisbon. Recognizing that this book can also serve as an introduction to humanities courses, I have included a few illustrations. Additional historical information and illustrations can be found on the World Wide Web, and the URLs for doing so are indicated. Terms in bold also appear in the Glossary. The ultimate intent here is to broaden access to the world of the arts in a simple, inexpensive, and portable manner.
In this edition a number of changes have been made in the text to clarify concepts and terms, update websites, and more readily engage the reader. Included in the changes are significant changes in Chapters 1 and 2 and three pictorial features: "Style Spot," "Question," and "Key Term." "Style Spot" is a graphically highlighted, brief definition of an important artistic style with a reference to the more fully developed treatment of that style in Chapter 8. This feature is designed to draw the reader to think about style while studying basic terminology and to integrate the material in Chapter 8 into the rest of the book. "Question" is a feature that introduces an important question that a viewer or listener can ask about a work of art. Its purpose is to stimulate thinking about relating to works of art. Finally, "Key Term" visually highlights fundamental artistic concepts. It helps the reader to focus on a few of the most important ideas about the arts among the many concepts and terms defined in the text.
Dennis J. Sporre
Table of Contents
Getting Started.
Experiencing the Arts. How to Use This Book.
1. What are the Arts and How Do We Evaluate and Describe Them?
Putting the Arts in Context. The Arts and Ways of Knowing. What Concerns Art? Creativity. Aesthetic Communications. Symbols. Fine and Applied Art. To What Purposes and Functions. Enjoyment. Political and Social Commentary. Therapy. Artifact. How Do We Live with Art? How Do We Evaluate Works of Art? Types of Criticism. Making Judgments.
2. Structures—Architecture.
Function. Structure. Post-and-Lintel Structure. Arch. Cantilever. Bearing Wall. Skeleton Frame. Building Materials. Stone. Concrete. Wood. Steel. Scale and Proportion. Context. Space. Climate. Model Analysis. Further Reading.
3. In The Museum—Pictures and Sculptures.
General Museum Decorum. In The Gallery—An Orientation. Two-Dimensional Art: Drawings, Paintings, Prints, and Photographs. Medium. Composition. Other Factors. Three-Dimensional Art: Sculpture. Dimensionality. Methods of Execution. Composition. Other Factors. Decorative Arts. Model Analysis. Pictures. Sculpture. Further Reading.
4. In The Theatre.
The Theatrical Experience. Genres. Tragedy. Comedy. Tragicomedy. Melodrama. Performance Art. The Production. The Script. Plot. Character. The Protagonist. Themes. Visual Elements. Aural Elements. Dynamics. Actors. Theatre as Sense Stimulant. Model Analysis. Further Reading.
5. At The Concert Hall—Music and Opera.
The Basic Language of Music. Sound. Rhythm. Tempo. Melody. Harmony. Tonality. Texture. Musical Form. The Performance. Opera. Types of Opera. The Libretto. Elements of Operas. Model Analysis. Further Reading.
6. Dance.
Genres. Ballet. Modern Dance. World Concert Ritual Dance. Folk Dance. Jazz Dance. The Aspects of Dance. Formalized Movement. Line, Form, and Repetition. Rhythm. Mime and Pantomime. Theme, Image, and Story Line. Music. Mise-en-Scène. Model Analysis. Further Reading.
7. At The Cinema—Film.
Basic Cinema Types. Narrative. Documentary. Absolute. Basic Film Techniques. Editing. The Shot. Cutting. Dissolves. Focus. Camera Movement. Model Analysis. Further Reading.
8. Style.
What Is Style? Timeline of Major Styles. Some Selected Major Styles in Visual Art, Architecture, Theatre, Music, Dance, and Film. Paleolithic. Mesopotamian. Egyptian. Archaic Style. Greek Classicism. Hellenistic Style. Roman Classicism. Byzantine. Gregorian Chant. Romanesque. Gothic. Renaissance. High Renaissance. Mannerism. Baroque. Rococo. Neoclasscism Classicism in Music. Romanticism. Realism. Impressionism. Naturalism. Post-Impressionism. Art Nouveau. Symbolism. Verismo. Cubism. Futurism. Jazz. Prairie Style. Expressionism. Fauvism. Dada. Surrealism. Precisionism. Neo-Classicism Music. Abstraction. Twelve-Tone Music. Bauhaus. Art Deco. Modernism. Absurdism. Serialism. Neorealism. Epic Theater. Abstract Expressionism. Aleatory Chance Music. International Style. Rock and Roll. Pop Art. Hard Edge. Minimalism. Op Art. Primary Structures. Video Art. Neo-Expressionism. Postmodernism. Neo-Abstraction. Musique Actuelle. Cyber Art.
Appendix A: 101 Must-See Works of Architecture.
Appendix B: 201 Masterworks of Painting and Sculpture.
Appendix C: 258 Major Architects, Artists, Choreographers, Composers, and Playwrights.
Glossary.
Index.
Preface
During a discussion with some humanities faculty members, I was asked why I didn't write a short, inexpensive, pocket-sized book that students could carry with them on study abroad or for culturally related courses that involve traveling to metropolitan museums, concert halls, theatres, and so on. The idea was intriguing, and suggestions on what such a project might include gave ample opportunity for development.
Further thought, however, led to the conclusion that there exists today more than one way to "travel" to the arts. There is the actual experience of physically traveling to museums and concert halls at home and in distant cities. There is also imaginary travel that can occur when reading a book about the arts. In addition, there is cyber travel in which access to distant works of art is immediate. This book attempts to assist in all three types of travel and to be equally useful as a pocket guide or instructional text.
Those who suggested that this book be written were adamant about it not being copiously illustrated. They wanted something small in size, inexpensive, and general enough in nature that would have equal usefulness in Paris or Prague, London or Lisbon. Recognizing that this book can also serve as an introduction to humanities courses, I have included a few illustrations. Additional historical information and illustrations can be found on the World Wide Web, and the URLs for doing so are indicated. Terms in bold also appear in the Glossary. The ultimate intent here is to broaden access to the world of the arts in a simple, inexpensive, and portable manner.
In this edition a number of changes have been made in the text to clarify concepts and terms, update websites, and more readily engage the reader. Included in the changes are significant changes in Chapters 1 and 2 and three pictorial features: "Style Spot," "Question," and "Key Term." "Style Spot" is a graphically highlighted, brief definition of an important artistic style with a reference to the more fully developed treatment of that style in Chapter 8. This feature is designed to draw the reader to think about style while studying basic terminology and to integrate the material in Chapter 8 into the rest of the book. "Question" is a feature that introduces an important question that a viewer or listener can ask about a work of art. Its purpose is to stimulate thinking about relating to works of art. Finally, "Key Term" visually highlights fundamental artistic concepts. It helps the reader to focus on a few of the most important ideas about the arts among the many concepts and terms defined in the text.
Dennis J. Sporre