Art is a broad topic that has various definitions. The earliest artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind, and each different period would come out certain art works that always correspond to human activities. The definition of art is different for different people, and each explanation usually relates to one’s education and experience. Nowadays, art is a symbol of something that concentrates a bunch of information, recalls audience old memory, and evokes people’s reaction. Thus, the Star Plaza, which six statues of sport super stars at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, is a typical public art that fulfills the criteria of a successful public art in complementation, meaning and function.
The Star Plaza is not only the representative of the Staples Center, but also a landmark of the city Los Angeles. A 17 feet high statue of the former Los Angeles Lakers star player Magic Johnson was firstly unveiled at the front gate of the stadium Staples Center in 2004. The statue is made by bronze, and the posture of Magic Johnson is dribbling with his right hand and pointing with his left index finger as if leading a fast break that was he did so often in the Lakers from 1979-91. Surrounding the statue of Magic Johnson, there are five others, which are statues of Wayne Gretzky-Los Angeles Kings Forward; Oscar De La Hoya-American Boxer; Chick Hearn-Los Angeles Lakers Broadcaster; Jerry West-Los Angeles Lakers Guard and Kareem Abdul Jabar-Los Angeles Lakers Center. Every statue is made of bronze and has a posture that they did most often in their career. And each marble at the bottom of each statue record its information and achievement.
An art piece is always created by purposes and implying something behind it. Th...
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...iece, but also a successful public art for it combines the surroundings harmonious, reflects and serves the angeleno sport passion, and reliefs the crowded situation. Art is essential for human beings as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk says, “A nation devoid of art and artists cannot have a full existence”.
Works Cited
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Ducasse, Curt John. The Psychology of Art. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1966. Print.
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Sotheby’s, Contemporary Art Evening Auction. Last modified November 9th, 2010. Accessed December 4, 2011. http://tinyurl.com/7abp44j.
Robertson, Jean, and Craig McDaniel. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980. New York:, Oxford UP, 2013.
Before analysing selected art works in more detail it will be worth introducing a few different definitions and hypothesis of aesthetics in art based on theories of well-known critical thinkers.
Varnedoe, Kirk. A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1990. 152. Print.
In the book “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger explains several essential aspects of art through the influence of the Marxism and art history that relate to social history and the sense of sight. Berger examines the dominance of ideologies in the history of traditional art and reflects on the history, class, and ideology as a field of cultural discourse, cultural consumption and cultural practice. Berger argues, “Realism is a powerful link to ownership and money through the dominance of power. ”(p.90)[1] The aesthetics of art and present historical methodology lack focus in comparison to the pictorial essay.
There are always arguments about the relationship between public sculpture and site specific art. Some people believe there is a very deep relationship between them, while others insist the link seems pointless. They have argued this issue for so many years. However, at this stage, an unshakeable conclusion has been made that the relationship between them is proved and it is very important. The reason for that will be discussed within this essay.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Ed. Sarah Touborg. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle RiVan Eyckr: Person Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
People who visit this statue have to walk three-hundred and fifty four steps to get to the crown of Liberty or one hundred and ninety-two steps to the top of the podium. Twenty-five windows lie in the crown that symbolize jewels and heavenly rays enlightening the world. The height from the ground to the tip of the torch is ninety-three meters, including the base and the pedestal. The top of the foundation to liberty’s torch is forty-six meters. The statue was built from thin sheets of copper, created in wooden forms. A steel frame was used to set up the formed sheets. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of democracy and independence, is one of the main attractions of the United States and one of the most famous monuments in the world. Every year the Statue of Liberty is visited by over four million tourists from all over the world. The Entrance to the National Park Island is free, but in order to get there you will have to pay for the ferry. A trip to New York would be incomplete without vising this monument. It is my dream to someday live in New York and see it once more. I think that it is magnificent in every way and a great symbol of art because it not only inspired artists and sculptors, but also has a great significance on the lives of American
Philosophies of Art and Beauty Edited by Hofstadter and Kuhns, (Chicago: University of Chicago press, 1976) chapters one and two for an overview of the aesthetics of Plato and Aristotle.
John Berger presents a multifaceted argument regarding art, its interpretations, and the various ways of seeing. Berger asserts that there is gap between the image that the subject sees and the one that was originally painted by the artist. Many factors influence the meaning of the image to the subject and those factors are unique to the subject themselves. Seeing is not simply a mechanical function but an interactive one. Even the vocabulary is subject to specialized scrutiny by Berger; an image is a reproduction of an original product, while only the product itself may truly be a ‘painting’. Images are seen at an arbitrary location and circumstance – they are different for everyone – while the product, which is in one place, is experienced
Wölfflin, Heinrich. Principles of art history: The problem of the development of style in later art. Courier Dover Publications, 1950.
Wood, P. (ed) (1994) Art in theory 1900 - 1990: an anthology of changing ideas, Oxford, Blackwell: 572-574.
Solso, Robert L. The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Concious Brain. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT P. 13-21.
Stone, W. F. (1897). Questions on the philosophy of art;. London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons.
Clive Bell theorizes art in terms of a theory known as Formalism. Formalism is based upon a relatively simple line of logic. All art produces in the viewer an emotion. This emotion is not different but the same for all people in that it is known as the Aesthetic Emotion. There must be a factor common to all works of art that produces in the viewer a state of Aesthetic Emotion thus defining the works as art. This common factor is form. Formalism defines artworks as that which has significant form. Significant form is a term used by Bell to describe forms that are arranged by some unknown and mysterious laws. Thus, all art must contain not merely form, but significant form. Under Formalism, art is appreciated not for its expression but instead for the forms of its components. Examples of these forms include lines, curves, shapes, and colors. Abstract art, twentieth century, or modern art such as color field painting or the works of Mondrian, are examples of art that are not representative and thus are most lik...