About This Course

ART APPRECIATION

This course is an exploration of visual art forms and their cultural connections for the student with little experience in the visual arts. It includes a brief study of art history and in depth studies of the elements, media, and methods used in creative processes and thought. In this course, students will learn how to develop a five-step system for understanding visual art in all forms based on:

1. Description: Explaining a work of art from an objective point of view, its physical attributes, and formal construction.
2. Analysis: A detailed look at a work of art that combines physical attributes with subjective statements based on the viewer’s reaction to the work.
3. Context: Any historical, religious, or environmental information that surrounds a particular work of art and which helps to understand the work’s meaning.
4. Meaning: A statement of the work’s content. A message or narrative expressed by the subject matter.
5. Judgment: A critical point of view about a work of art concerning its aesthetic or cultural value.

After completing this course, students will be able to interpret works of art based on this five-step system of analysis; explain the processes involved in artistic production, themes, and the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic issues that artists examine in their work; and explain the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures.

COURSE LEVEL OBJECTIVES

• Interpret examples of visual art using a five step critical process:description, analysis, context, meaning and judgment.
• Identify and describe the elements and principles of art.
• Utilize analytical skills to connect formal attributes of art with their meaning and expression.
• Explain in writing the role and effect of the visual arts in societies, history, and other world cultures.
• Articulate in writing the themes and issues that artists examine in their work.
• Identify the processes and materials involved in art production.
• Utilize information to locate, evaluate, effectively use and communicate information about visual art in its various forms.
• Communicate effectively with others to understand and appreciate the variety of responses art provokes.

 COURSE DESIGNER

Faculty at Cascadia Community College

Christopher Gildow received his MFA from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Now a full time tenure track faculty member at Cascadia Community College, his previous work experience includes the University of Washington, Bothell and community colleges throughout the region, including Everett, Skagit Valley and North Seattle.

Chris is active in curriculum development, including a Gates Foundation / Washington State Grant to create an Open Course Library digital textbook for the "Introduction to Art" course. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2012 from the National Society of Leadership and Success.

His studio work includes painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture.