- Title: Subtitle
- Essential Art: Art as common ground
- Creators
- Terrell J. Smith
- Contributors
- Susan White (Advisor)Ronald Cohen (Committee Member)Laurel Farrin (Committee Member)Anita Jung (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Art
- Date degree season
- Spring 2020
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.005483
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- v, 19 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2020 Terrell Smith
- Language
- English
- Description illustrations
- color illustrations
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (page 19).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
At the foundation of life there are core elements that are present in all societies - emotions, needs, and desires. Art, here referring to visual arts, plays a vital role in helping people express and process these elements. It helps humans communicate about the core of life without words. Beyond language and time, art is its own method of communication. Art employs objective formal qualities such as line, form, contrast, and balance to convey ideas. It also uses subjective connections and self-referral to help attract engagement. As such, reducing art down to the essentials is the best way to relay clear ideas that can be interpreted by various audiences regardless of time or location.
To determine what is essential to art, the artist needs to understand their own personal foundation and architecture. They need to be aware of what they can change within themselves and their work. That knowledge will allow them to get the purest, most accurate expression of themselves in that moment. It is equally important to know what cannot be changed, because the alteration of some elements could cause instability or collapse. This knowledge of personal foundations is based on natural principles and is not dictated by human construct. My aim is to guide artists to discovery of their own natural structure and the nature of art.
- Academic Unit
- School of Art, Art History, and Design
- Record Identifier
- 9983968393202771
Thesis
Essential Art: Art as common ground
University of Iowa
Master of Fine Arts (MFA), University of Iowa
Spring 2020
DOI: 10.17077/etd.005483
Abstract
Details
Metrics
38 File views/ downloads
66 Record Views