We use language in expressive ways to underscore our meaning when we speak. The arts also have their own language used by artists and performers in a variety of unique and expressive ways. The language of the visual arts includes elements of composition such as line, color, form, and repetition. Visual artists use each of these elements and many other factors of composition to create unique works. Learning the language of the arts is one way of gaining a deeper understanding of the ideas that exist in a painting, a sculpture, or a work of architecture.
What is it that we communicate when we speak to one another? Often, we share stories, ideas, or just how we are feeling. The arts use their own language in a similar way to share ideas and the values that are important to the society in which the artwork was made.
For your Week 2 Assignment, choose one of the options listed below to develop your understanding of the visual arts and how they communicate.
Option A
- Research Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.
- Describe each work in terms of its elements of composition--what is its shape, color, material, and so forth.
- Describe the work in terms of its symbolic significance--what was Maya Lin's purpose in designing the memorial as she did? Additionally, what does the work say about our society in terms of what we value and how we choose to commemorate or respond to national events? Answer the same questions for Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.