Essay 1: Final Draft

Mary Anne Marrero 
Mr. Hayes

Eng 100 - 1:10
2/1/2013
Word Count: 805

Basic Styles of Art

    “So, what’s the big deal?” my sister asks, looking puzzled, while we both take our time gazing at an old and very rare looking painting at the art museum. “Aren’t you moved by this amazing work of art?” I say in reply, though I wasn’t really answering her question. At the same time, I was trying to ruminate what might actually be a reaction of someone who isn’t really savvy nor into the motives of art.

“...all I see are lines and shapes. I don’t get it.”  she replies. Hearing that monotonous tone in her voice made me a bit sad, knowing she was probably expecting something more than just a boring trip to a museum. I felt defensive too, feeling the need to argue about appreciating art more. I know for a fact that as unique individuals, we seem to have different feels about different things. For some people, art may be boring, and being in an art galley would only take them for about fifteen seconds before they start showing  various reactions of a bored person who isn’t interested about knowing the meaning of life. One underlying reason for this is the lack of knowledge towards the subject matter. How can one be impressed with a painting without knowing what it means or the purpose of why it was made? In regards to this, I’m about to present to you four basic styles used in art, specifically on painting, that would hopefully create a better understanding and a deeper appreciation of the beauty of art, so that the next time you step into an art museum, it wouldn’t be that boring as what you expected. 

Realistic: Based on the word “real”, it’s fairly self-explanatory. It generally portrays objects that exist in daily life and ordinary people. Typically, paintings that are known to be realistic don’t have superheroes, gods, or godesses as their subjects because they believe in representing lives which are seen in reality. Subject/s refer to what the artist wants to present to the audience; it is the main focus. Realistic artists affix what they see without altering any of the details on the canvas, almost making it look like a photograph taken by a camera. James Mcneil-Whistler is a famous realist artist who painted an image of his mother, while she was posing as his model at one point during the Victorian Era.

 
Abstract: Distorted and broken, paintings that fall under this category don’t usually depict a human, a thing, or even a place in the real world. Mostly scattered colors, lines, and shapes that look like they were simply splattered over. Because of the word “abstract”, the subject isn’t really meant to be seen. The colors and geometrical shapes present their meaning through visual perception. For instance, the beauty of Asian Calligraphy is appreciated even just by looking at it.
 

Impressionism: According to its history, “impressionism” was initially used as an insult against newly-exhibited paintings during the 1800s in Paris. The subject matter is focused more on landscapes, and sceneries from the outdoors. The shades of orange, green, and blue are typical colors used in this style. It is similar to realism, except that the way it is portrayed is not exactly how it looks in reality; the focus is more blurry and less-detailed. One example of a famous impressionist is Van Gogh for his astonishing works of art including one that I really like the most, Starry Night!

Expressionism:  In this style of art, the artist draws up feelings and emotion towards a certain subject. For instance, a work painted in shades of red can denote several things. Maybe the artist wanted to express his anger by painting the whole canvas red. The abstract style is often associated with expressionism because they seem to have similar characteristics especially the use of feelings and emotion to provide meaning and purpose to the viewers. The main difference between the two is the way it is being presented. In abstract art, there is no subject involved while in expressionist art, there is a subject but it focuses more on the portrayal of emotion rather than what was exactly painted.

      Every person has his or her own way of describing art, adding a unique impression. Art has the ability to make us appreciate our own individuality and uniqueness, while holding on to our identity with the world. It is expressed through various ways in order to portray society, culture and beliefs. Not only does it allow us to see the beauty of the world, but also to appreciate humanity. We could lose ourselves in a world created entirely by a fellow human being, leaving “us” and the work ahead of us.