The Importance of Art History
The field of art history is a vast and diverse one, covering the entire range of human culture and civilization. It’s a subject that can be exciting, challenging, and fascinating for many students, but it also requires specific skills and knowledge to understand the work.One of the most important things to keep in mind when examining a piece of art is that people have wildly different reactions to the same thing. That is because the emotions you feel when experiencing a piece of art depend on your own unique history, story, and everything that makes up who you are. For example, three different people could look at the same painting and have a completely different reaction to it. One might think it’s beautiful, the other might hate it, and the third might not care about it at all.Art historians tend to approach the concept of art as a social phenomenon, one that is deeply embedded in the history and cultures of human beings. For this reason, the study of art is an integral part of a well-rounded education. In fact, it is often thought that a student can’t fully understand literature or history without an understanding of art.While it’s true that some schools do not offer a course on art history, the importance of this topic has been growing rapidly. In addition to promoting cultural awareness, art also encourages students to engage with their peers and teachers in new ways. As a result, it has the potential to make classrooms more interesting and engaging for all students.A few weeks ago, controversy erupted over a painting that was displayed in the Whitney Biennial. The painting was by Dana Schutz, and it depicted a brutal murder of an African American teenager named Emmett Till. The painting sparked a discussion about the role of art in inscribing and at times challenging racial hierarchies.An important component of art criticism is describing what you see in the artwork. Describe the specific details, including the size of different elements. You should also mention any special features that stand out from the rest of the piece, like a particular color or a figure’s pose. Lastly, try to determine what was happening in history around the time that the piece of art was made.Once you’ve done this, try to come up with a list of objective observations that you can use as a guide for your interpretation. You can even have students work in groups of four or five, and then have them share their observations with the other members of their group. Afterwards, they can photocopy a 10-year range of history from the book The Timetables of History or the Metropolitan Museum’s online Timeline of Art History, and then ask each group to identify what was going on in that time period. This exercise helps students focus on the visual aspects of a work of art and can help them avoid jumping to conclusions based on knee-jerk reactions.