Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Arts and Humanities

Impressionism: Capturing Ephemeral Reality

Impressionism seeks to capture the ephemeral reality. Artists painted en plein air (outdoors) to grasp the variations of light. Key topics included landscape scenes of nature and urban scenes. Characterized by quick, energetic brushstrokes, Impressionism explored the relationship between space, time, and light.

Characteristics of Impressionist Painting

• Composition: Diversity of frames (influenced by photography), multitude of views, and free distribution of volumes and voids.
• Color: Pure, light, and bright colors.
• Technique: Fast and loose touch, with the juxtaposition of highly saturated color patches and no distinct profiles.

Impressionism's Influence on Sculpture

The renovation of sculpture in the second... Continue reading "Mastering Light and Emotion: Impressionism, Symbolism, Manet, Monet, Renoir" »

Matisse's "The Green Stripe" (1905)

Overview

Painter: Henri Matisse
Style: Fauvism
Technique: Oil on canvas
Location: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

This portrait showcases Matisse's innovative use of color and form, characteristic of the Fauvist movement.

Formal Analysis

Visual Elements

Bold colors and distinct areas of color, particularly in the dress and face, are prominent. Complementary colors (green-red, yellow-blue) create balance. The brushstrokes are visible, strong, long, and thick, also defining the contours. Natural light, though not explicitly depicted, subtly models the face, with the green stripe emphasizing the interplay of light and shadow. The focus is not on three-dimensional representation; the flatness of the canvas is... Continue reading "Matisse's "The Green Stripe": A Fauvist Portrait" »

Understanding Creative Thinking

Concept of Creativity

Creativity is the ability to produce good and valuable ideas.

Key Aspects of Creative Thinking

Characteristics of Creative Thinking

• Is contrary to habit
• Implies change
• Is something new
• Involves taking risks
• Presents some difficulty
• Requires effort

A habit is a repetitive behavior, knowledge, and security, easy to perform, where the body acts by inertia.

Phases of the Creative Process

To create something, you must: structure reality, deconstruct and restructure reality, and express reality in new terms.

1. Questioning: Involves observing and wondering about the things around us.
2. Data Collection: Finding data that allows us to understand reality.
3. Incubation: A period for ideas to mature.
4. Illumination: The moment

Communication Text Types

Dialogue

Dialogue is the communication process in which two or more partners take turns using words.

Features

• Two-way exchange: For dialogue to occur, the sender and receiver must exchange roles.
• Bias voltage: The motivation driving partners to communicate. This includes factors such as information exchange and even silence.
• Consistency: The dialogue must involve consistent interactions.

Exposure

Exposure is the objective explanation of an issue, enabling the receiver to acquire new knowledge.

Classification by Receptor

• Expository-informative: Clearly and simply informs on a topic of general interest.
• Expository-specialized: Uses complex language and jargon for a specialized audience.

Classification by Structure

• Deductive: Starts

Core Communication Concepts

Rhetoric

The art of influencing others, often using half-truths and emotionally charged messages.

Empathy

The ability to understand and share the feelings of others, primarily used to resolve conflicts.

Assertiveness

The ability to express one's own feelings, views, and desires directly and respectfully, without seeking to dominate others. It affirms self-worth and encourages others to value one's contributions.

Personality Traits & Behavior

Personality Types

• Type A: Highly competitive, often associated with stress and a higher risk of heart disease.
• Type B: Relaxed, friendly, non-competitive, more sympathetic, and sociable.

Intelligence

The ability to adapt and learn.

Archetypes

• Negative Archetypes: Evil, vengeance.
• Positive

The Essence of Aesthetics: Subjectivity and Art

Aesthetics emerges as an alternative to a culture that often prioritizes objectivity, emphasizing subjectivity and originality. The artist seeks to re-interpret reality, offering a second way of seeing the world. It's not just any distortion; the more profound the distortion, the better. The artist never shows objective truth, but a distorted one. Aesthetics is not measured by utility; art begins where something ceases to be useful. Anything abnormal gains value because we are accustomed to despising what lacks utility.

Art vs. Science: Objective Truth vs. Subjective Expression

Science rejects subjectivity, seeking universal thought and a singular truth. In contrast, art embraces subjectivity, striving... Continue reading "Aesthetics, Art, and Reality: Subjectivity, Science, and Criticism" »

Attitudes in lyrics correspond to the mood of the poet and can be mainly three:

• Attitude Point: The lyrical speaker captures something external, internalizes it, and expresses it in a narrative or descriptive manner, trying to maintain objectivity.
• Apostrophe: The poet addresses an external entity directly, creating intensity and drama. The lyrical speaker moves between subjective and objective perspectives.
• Carmina or Lyric Song: This is the attitude of excellence, where the poet expresses their inner soul with subjectivity prevailing.

Literary Figures

Literary figures are resources used to transform language in poetry. They give language elasticity and evocative power, expressing new meanings beyond the referential.

Figures of Speech

• Hyperbaton

Entertainment

Television

Show: show (English), audiencia (Spanish), espectador (Spanish)
Viewer: presentador (Spanish)
Broadcast: emisión (Spanish)
Advert: anuncio (Spanish)
Screen: pantalla (Spanish)
Camera: cámara (Spanish)
Remote control: mando (Spanish)
Talent show: show de talento (Spanish)
Quiz show: preguntas (Spanish)
Game show: concurso de juegos (Spanish)
Soap opera: novela (Spanish)
Sitcom: comedia (Spanish)
Episode: episodio (Spanish)
Cartoon: dibujos (Spanish)

Reality TV

Reality show: reality show (English), programa de telerrealidad (Spanish)
Drama series: serie de drama (Spanish)

Environment

Recycling and Waste

Recycle: reciclar (Spanish)
Reuse: reusar (Spanish)
Save: salvar (Spanish)
Pollute: basura (Spanish)
Poison: veneno (Spanish)... Continue reading "Comprehensive Vocabulary List for Language Learners" »

Neoclassicism: Art, Reason, and Revolution (1750–1815)

Neoclassicism developed between 1750 and 1815, roughly coinciding with the Enlightenment and the first revolutionary wave that ended the Old Regime in much of Europe.

The Enlightenment's Influence on Aesthetics

The Enlightenment championed the light of reason, believing it capable of explaining all things. Therefore, the enlightened defended the power of reason against the superstitions of the Old Regime. This philosophical shift had a very strong impact on artistic creativity; a reasoned conception of beauty caused profound changes in artistic expression.

The Enlightenment, therefore, laid the foundations of contemporary art by granting autonomy to the artwork itself, making it an autonomous... Continue reading "Neoclassicism: The Intersection of Art, Reason, and Revolution" »

El Greco's Masterpiece: The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice

El Greco's painting, The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice, depicts the martyrdom of the Roman general Maurice and his entire legion for refusing to participate in the sacrifices to pagan gods.

Composition and Style

The unique, novel, and complex composition of the painting gives it a special attraction. In the foreground, Greco-Roman generals are shown discussing their predicament. They do so while enveloped in a supernatural atmosphere, where their gestures and attitudes denote a position of mystical acceptance.

In the background, using a curious perspective serpentinata, all the members of the Theban Legion are placed. Some are decapitated, while others await their fate. This synchronous vision... Continue reading "El Greco's Masterpiece: Martyrdom of Saint Maurice" »