"Week 2 Reflections"

I signed up for this class with uncertain expectations. It's only week 2, but I couldn't be more happy that I did.

Week 1 encouraged us to answer a question many of us have at one time or another asked ourselves, "What is art?" We learned that art is different to each individual person depending on our personal expectations, life experiences and perhaps even preferences. We were introduced to a plethora of different exhibitions each representing a different flavor and sometimes even century of art. This encouraged us to explore our personal preferences. We began to realize what our likes and dislikes may be when it comes to artwork. We also learned how important emotion is to both the artist and the appreciator of his/her work of art. Our initial reactions to art were challenged as we set off to discover what art really did mean to us as individuals.

Week 2 continued to challenge us as we leapt into a world filled with objects, wods and images. We were schooled on the world of visual literacy and took opportunities to playfully, yet critically, analyze different images around us. We learned the difference between form, which is most often not arguable and content, which is almost always at the appreciator's discretion. These two definitions together help define an image to us. We also discussed the visual continuum and how non-objective, abstract and representational forms come into play. These are all different applications or terms we can use to help us describe different pieces of art. The overall theme of week 2 was visual literacy and the ease or difficulty of being able to actively interpret images.

I look forward to seeing what week 3 has to offer!

~fawne