This essay investigates the special way in which a spectator might engage imaginatively with one work of art when the work is experienced in light of other works by the same artist. In particular, it addresses the idea that we might imaginatively identify with an unrepresented spectator in the picture after we have experienced others in which the…

The author will begin his investigation of Wassily Kandinsky's painting "Composition VI" with Kandinsky's own commentary on the painting. He will then turn to the analysis of Kandinsky and the "Compositions" in John Sallis's book "Shades." Using this analysis as his point of departure, the author will consider how "Composition VI" resonates with…

The methods by which environmental issues are aestheticized in late-twentieth-century film is directly and historically related to those established for grand manner painters by Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665) and taught at the French academy from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. That these fundamentals were part of the training of…

The "all-over" abstract canvases that Jackson Pollock produced between 1943 and 1951 present a pedagogical challenge in how to account for their apparently chaotic structure. One reason that they are difficult to teach about is that they have proved notoriously difficult for art historians to come to terms with. This is undoubtedly a consequence…

Several sections in this article begin with a foundational discussion of the connection between art and the general curriculum, including how the effectiveness of that curriculum may then be measured. Continuing with a working definition of "critical thinking", the author demonstrates how Rembrandt's work relates particularly well to the social…

Because beauty has for a long time now been politically incorrect (at least among certain influential critics and academic historians) the art of Henri Matisse has recently suffered from a kind of benign neglect. His goals were luxury, calm, and voluptuousness, not social critique. Liberated from any vital connection with everyday life, they often…

However innovative Cezanne's pictorial structure may appear to those with a preconceived notion of what a representation of reality ought to be, his art is not a simple continuation of previous movements, nor is it a revolutionary reversal that leads directly to cubism and abstract art. (Author/SJL)

The following reflections focus on one of the late works by Turner, Rain, Steam, and Speed: The Great Western Railway (1844), and its possible bearing on the three-fold theme of art, technology, and the holy. (Author)

Discussed the meaning of the word, lyricism, as it applied to painting, sculpture, and architecture. (Author/RK)

In this article, the author relates how she has developed an acute sensitivity to the nuances of movement through her sojourns in the beach. The author shares that the beach became her "determining ground" for her aesthetic experiences. As an artist, her artworks explore the many patterns and textures found through her attentiveness to landscapes.…

Perhaps no twentieth-century philosopher was as favorably inclined towards the role of aesthetic experience in building a democratic culture as was John Dewey, the preeminent public intellectual in America during the first half of the twentieth century. His vision of democracy necessitated a robust commitment not only to an open-ended process of…

Author investigated the uses of the arts in personal life and professional practice and offered the viewpoints of Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Freud as part of his argument. (Author/RK)

This paper focuses on the difference between Eastern and Western ways of visual narration, taking as its frame of reference the novel "My Name is Red," by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2003 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. This book is particularly important in terms of visual narration because it highlights the…

Whether or not knowledge about the painter Picasso is helpful or indispensable in teaching appreciation of his art is discussed. Three studies by Denis Thomas, Mary M. Gedo, and Frank Elgar that argue that knowledge of Picasso the man helps students understand his paintings are examined. (RM)