40 Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?
Explain to students that this session considers the idea that Art has become, for some people, the new ‘religion of life’.
Show students this quote from The Guardian’s Art & Design blog [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/artblog/2007/may/30/howartr eplacedreligion -
Explain that, for Franscesca Gavin, ‘art has replaced religion’. For her, visiting a major gallery is like stepping into a 21st century cathedral’. Modern artists, like Damian Hirst, are like ‘gods’. Even keeping up with art is an act of devotion, with elements of ritualistic pilgrimage in finding and visiting a new exhibition or installation.
By way of contrast, show students this article by Daisy Watt, ‘Grayson Perry: Most modern art is rubbish’ in The Independent [http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/art/news/grayson-
Explain that, for British Turner prize-
Ask the students to consider these views and to respond to such questions as:
Get some feedback on students’ views, then tell them something about Mark Rothko, e.g. that he was a Russian Jew who emigrated to the USA in 1913, that he began painting landscapes, portraits and still-
[See the Wikipedia article on Rothko for references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko.]
Show students an example of Rothko’s ‘multiform’ paintings such as ‘Four Darks in Red’, found, e.g., at:
http://www.mark-
and ask them to study and reflect on it.
After some time, get some initial impressions and encourage an exchange of views and ideas, especially on the idea of communicating ‘big emotions’ and ‘religious experience’. In particular bring out some of their thinking on such ideas as:
Show the Amor Sciendi account of Four Darks in Red by Terry Lichtenstein and James Earle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvN21jj8SBw. Ask students to say whether they think their opinion of the painting has been enhanced by hearing this account.
How will students respond when they next see examples of abstract or religious art? Do they think that there is more to some art than meets the eye?
A printable (pdf) version of this session can be found here
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