Image courtesy of Stefan Schweihofer @ pixabay.com
Art. The mere definition of art is quite generic, yet almost any person will confirm that the actual meaning of the word is anything but general. Merriam-Webster defines art as “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. This definition could be further explained in multiple ways with varying objectivity.
The use of art, in any form, provides us with visual understanding or enrichment. This art could be in the form of jewelry, graphics, fashion, pottery, paintings, structural designs, and much more. While examples of art could potentially be endless, the important aspect to remember is that art is meant to stimulate the brain and cause a response or bring about an emotion. This could be positive, such as laughter and happiness, or negative, such as despair or anger. It is something that is a daily factor in our lives, yet many of us never stop to ponder its meaning.
It is based on both form and content:
- Form: this consists of the elements of art (such as color, space, and line), the principles of the design (such as balance, contrast, and proportion), and the physical composition (such as oil, watercolor, or metal).
- Content: this is more of an idea and is based on what the artist meant to portray, what the artist actually portrayed, and our reaction to the portrayal of the art in question. Also, factors such as religion, society, history, politics, abusive substances, and multiple others could contribute to the content side of art.
A person interested in pursuing art as a professional career could choose from a wide variety of options. The Rhode Island School of Design offers degrees in Fine Arts, along with multiple other colleges and universities in the country and across the world. Students attending these programs would decide on a specific program such as:
- Ceramics
- Film/animation
- Illustration
- Painting
- Photography
- Sculpture
- Textiles
Each of the specific programs contains its own respective courses. With that in mind, a few examples of courses offered in the general category of Fine Arts are:
- Fundamentals: Painting Methods and Materials
- Ceramic Sculpture
- Topics in Ceramic History
- Computer Generated Imagery 3D
- Digital Photography
- Documentary Photography
- Artistic Anatomy
- Cinematic Storytelling