APPRECIATION OF ART AND DESIGN

Covering a vast range of skills and talents, art and design is a diverse subject that will help you turn your creative passion into a money-making career.

APPRECIATION OF ART AND DESIGN

Words you will learn:

• appreciation
• art forms
• artworks
• natural environment
• nature
• culture
• heritage

The World of Visual Arts

In this chapter, you are going to explore the world of visual arts. You will also appreciate the ways of communicating without using words but images. It is another language in the human civilization.

Can you imagine what it would be like to play a new game without first learning the rules, or to read a story in a language you don’t understand well? The same is true with art. Understanding art takes looking and knowing how to look, to find meaning. It has certain rules to follow. Throughout this book, you will develop your understanding, skill and appreciation for each of the areas as a process that make up the world of visual arts.

Understanding art

To praise a job well done, people sometimes borrow a term from art. That term is ‘work of art’. In the study of art, the term work of art has a specific meaning. It is any object created or designed by an artist.

Fine art can be made from a number of different materials. Artists make use of the environment to communicate and create objects for use. People who make objects depend on the environment to earn money and make a living. Can you mention a few objects you know or use in daily life that are made by artists?

The importance of studying art

Art as you have just known is a language and a subject of study. It has a power to challenge your mind and feelings. There are several areas of creativity which are part of art.

In this course you will explore eight areas. They are art theory, Graphic design, decorative arts, Textile and print making, Introduction to pottery, Drawing and painting, Three dimensional arts, Art in the economy, Textile decoration and print making.

In future you will discover that people who engage in these areas are helping to solve our daily needs by creating things we use. Each of these areas of creativity forms its own field of study because it requires you to learn, practice, and develop techniques and skills using different materials and media. But these areas also share many skills and together help you to develop your complete artistic ability

Artists make use of the environment to get ideas in the process of creating artwork.

In the course of study you will be asked to come up with ideas of your own. Like the way artists do, you will/ may at times find yourself with no idea. This will lead you to look at the immediate environment to boost your creative thinking.