24 Feb Do you think artists have innate ability or acquired skill (or both)?

As discussed in Unit 1, art is a uniquely human endeavor, so I must say that “people” make art. But art takes many forms, including painting, drawing, sculpture, dance, photography, graphic design, cooking, embroidery, pottery, etc. As humans, we are born with an innate ability to create art, which is manifested early in the child who draws on the wall with crayons, colors in a coloring book, sculpts figures with Play-Doh, or makes finger paintings for art class in school. A little girl who dresses up in her mother’s clothes and plays tea party is an example of a child exercising her creative imagination to express her experiences and view of the world through acting. Art starts to become acquired when the person grows from childhood into older childhood and adolescence; if he wants to pursue an artistic outlet, he must do something more “serious” or “meaningful” to be taken seriously as an artist. At this point, art becomes “hard” in the sense that it’s not something that just anyone can do.

In African cultures, the artisans who made masks (figure 1), bowls, or pottery were valued for their practical skills in meeting society’s needs. In Western societies during the Middle Ages, artists were valued for their ability to paint murals, for example, that adorned cathedrals (decorative) and taught lessons from scripture (figure 2). In the modern world, artists are still valued for their ability to create decorative works of art. Still, the notion of art for art’s sake also seeks to exalt art and set it apart from any practical or didactic function (figure 3).

Figure 1

A close-up of a mask AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 2

A painting of a person and person AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 3

A group of images of soup cans AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Who makes art? Do you think artists have innate ability or acquired skill (or both)? How do artist’s roles change with different cultural considerations? Support your answers with examples, and provide any links or images that help in your explanations.

PART 2

Visual information is the key to social networking’s popularity. From digital cameras to Blackberries and iPhones, taking pictures has become an everyday experience for most of us. Respond to the following questions.

· How often do you take pictures?

· What device do you usually use to take them?

· How much attention do you devote to the composition, lighting, or arrangement of your pictures?

· How do you use the images?

· How can you improve your photos?