Aesthetic Puzzles
written by participants in ARE 476/576: Teaching Aesthetics and Art Criticism
Fall 2001

Visit puzzles written by Finnish students taking this class Fall 2000, from Dr. Garber, while she was in residence at University of Art and Design Helsinki

Navigation:

The nature of art | Beauty | Aesthetic Experience | Meaning and Interpretation | Moral and Other Values | Judgment

The nature of art

No. 1: Andy Warholís Marilyn Monroe by Marcy Saoud
Shortly after Marilyn Monroeís death in 1962, Andy Warhol bought a film still from her 1957 film Niagra.  Warhol, who was already a famous artist, cropped the image and altered it by copying it with different colors and copying it in black with screetprints over and over.  Warhol did not take the original photograph, but he did take credit for the copies.

  • Should the altered images be considered original "Warhols" more than the black-and-white copies, which I could make at Kinkoís?
  • Would the images be as important as artworks if he had used the image of someone who was not famous?
  • Are the copies of Warholís copies still art (posters, t-shirts, etc.)?
  • Are they forgery?
  • If I bought one of Warhol's Marilyns and signed my name to it, would it be my artwork, or his?
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    Film still from Niagra, 1957. 
    with Warholís crop lines 

    Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, 1962.www.bnyu.edu/classes/finearts/karmel/modern/m_51.html

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     No. 2: A Home Interior by Chelsea Case
    This photograph, taken by Lucy Capehart, is a part of the current exhibition at the Center for Creative Photography, Indivisible: Stories of an American Community.  The picture displays an interior of Sarah and Leo Natani's home. In the center of the room are many rugs, woven by Sarah, displaying the traditional designs of her Navajo culture.  The room has a fireplace and numerous photos of their family.  There is also a garbage can in the left-hand corner and a wall on the right side of the room with plaques hanging on it.  (To learn more about this exhibition and the photos in it, please visit the exhibition website: http://www.indivisible.org)

  • This image could be seen as a document of the inside of someone's home. Do you think it should be valued as a piece of art? Why or why not?
  • Would this picture be art if it depicted the interior of your family's home? Why or why not?
  • What needs to be included for such a photograph to be a piece of art?


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    No. 3: Cinnamon Buns by Cecilia Bakun
    In Nashville, TN, at a local coffe shop, a batch of cinnamon buns were baked early one morning. When the buns came out of the oven, the baker noticed on had an eerive resemblance to the Mother Theresa. Word spread quickly and soon the small shop was flooded with people who wanted to see the cinnamon bun. People came to see it because it was an image that intrigued and inspired them. Many felt as though it was a miracle. Some people were simply amused while others looked upon it in disbelief. today, the cinnamon bun is preserved in a plastic case as you enter the coffee shop.
  • Is an image like this one art?
  • Does art have to be made intentionally by an artist?
  • If an object provokes interest in masses of people and they flock to see it, is it art?
  • Does art have to be in a gallery or museum to be art?
  • If art is something that evokes emotions or feelings, then is this object art?

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    No. 4: Art and Craft by Casonti McClure

    What defines "Fine Art" and "Craft"? Are both of equal value? For many years, Sarah worked in a glass foundry as an apprentice to a master glass blower. She learned all there was to know about manipulating glass into the various forms. She perfected her craft. Her bowls, paperweights and vases were shaped to perfection. Sarah enjoyed her work producing things to be sold in the store at the foundry but felt there was more to this medium then the common construction she was producing.


    Sarah asked permission from the master blower to stay after hours to try different ways in which she could manipulate the glass, working in color and texture. She began to explore the glass as a malleable canvas of three dimensions, working as both painter and sculptor. She creates a large sculpted piece for an upcoming show but the curator does not include her piece, stating they are not including craft pieces in the show -- only "Fine Art" works.

    Questions:


    1) What defines a craft form?
    2) What defines an art form?
    3) At what point can a craft be considered an art form?
    4) Does one have more weight or importance in our culture? Why?

     

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    Beauty
    No. 1: Beautiful Swords? by Chelsea Case
    R. Ewart Oakshott, the author of The Sword in the Age of Chivalry,  wrote in his book, "swords are beautiful . . . created with the same care and skill in the making as a tennis racket or a fishing-rod.  These swords are beautiful, with an austere perfection of line, and proportion -- surely the very essence of beauty -- comparable with splendid and majestic pottery." Yet, as we all know, swords are objects of killing and destruction.
  • Can something that kills be beautiful? In other words, can you value an object like this for its form, line and shape aside from its functional purpose?
  • Could a painting of a peaceful scene on the sword change the way we view the sword? How?
  • If you knew that a sword with intricate designs on it was, as Oakshott states, "never used for crude chopping," would this make it more beautiful?
    • No. 2: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" by Casonti McClure
    It is a glorious fall morning; the air has coolness to it signaling the end to the oppressive heat of the months passed. Ms. Jones, the art teacher, feels excited by this change and hopes her students will have a similar reaction because she is about to begin one of her favorite lessons on shape and pattern. The class arrives with an eagerness to get involved. They listen to Ms. Jones inspiring discussion on shape and how to create pattern. She gives them instructions to create their own abstract shape and use the shape as repetitive border. As she walks around the room, she stops to comment on each child's progress, discussing their choice of shape and pattern, how they fit together and either compliment or contrast one another. Ms. Jones is quite happy with the progress and understanding her students are exhibiting in this assignment. She stops to look at Thomas' work and is stopped in her tracks. She leans over to him and quietly says, "That is an ugly shape. You cannot use it in your work. It is not appropriate! Stunned by his teacher's comments, he asks "why?" Ms. Jones tells him that it is a "swastika," a symbol from the Holocaust and represents Hitler and his evil theories. Thomas is confused. All he sees is his image of a geometric spider and he loves spiders.
  • Is it appropriate for Ms. Jones to squelch her student's creative endeavors and say the shape is ugly because of the political background of the image?
  • How can one separate one's emotional response from the image when it holds such a powerful connotation of evil?


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    Aesthetic experience
    No. 1: Protecting Mona by Dara da Fonte
    The celebrated Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Da Vinci is now on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.  For security and preservation purposes the painting is protected in such a fashion that makes it virtually impossible to harm or steal.  This legendary portrait is completely surrounded by reflective glass, which prevents the canvas from being damaged by any light that may be emitted from an admirerís camera lens, or by the indirect lighting from the gallery.  However, this lowers the level of visibility of the painting to the hordes of onlookers, because the glass serves to some extent as a mirror when it catches the reflection of the forbidden flashes.  In front of this glass barrier is an additional security measure: a traditional red museum velvet rope that prohibits museum-goers from touching the glass shield.
  • Despite the need to protect and preserve the painting from harmful elements, do these protective devises detract from the painting?
  • Does this piece appear to be aesthetically less inviting because of them?
  • Does the fact that this is not the original manner in which the painting was meant to be seen take away from its meaning and interpretation?  Is there another way the museumís security department could devise a display for the painting to make it more engaging to the viewer, while still protecting and preserving it from theft and harmful environmental elements?
  • Can the paintingís message be as significant if it is diminished by its surroundings?
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    Meaning and Interpretation
    No. 1: Georgia O'Keeffe's Flower Paintings by Cecilia Bakun
        In the 1930s, Georgia O'Keeffe exhibited her paintings of very large colorful flowers, which most people are very familiar with today. During that time period, her works caused a sensation. Her images were considered to have outrageous color, spectacular size, and even scandalous or sacred shapes. O'Keeffe wrote about one of her flowers saying, "Whether the flower or the color is the focus, I do not know. I do know that the flower is painted large to convey to you my experience of the  flower - and what is my experience of the flower - if it is not color."
        The public and critics viewed O'Keeffe's flowers and declared them to be unabashedly sensual, overly erotic, and some perceived them as spiritually chaste. There are stories of parents who used her paintings to teach their children about the birds and the bees; and there are tales of clergy who revered her calla lilies as portrayals in paint of the Immaculate Conception. O'Keeffe openly denied any links in her images to sexuality but people continued to draw meaning from them that perhaps she never intended.
  • Is the viewer's interpretation incorrect if it differs from the artist's intention?
  • Did O'Keeffe intend for the viewer to get a certain meaning from her flower paintings?
  • What is important for a viewer to experience from these paintings? a general appreciation for the beauty, the line, the color, or the shape of the flower? or a deeper psychological meaning/ interpretation dealing with femininity, sexuality, or spirituality?
  • Does reading O'Keeffe's quote affect your interpretation of her flowers? How should our interpretation be affected by her quote?
  • Does knowing about the various responses to her flowers affect your interpretation? How should our interpretations be affected by information given to us by others?
  • Are O'Keeffe's flowers simply an imitation of nature with no real deep meanings in them?
  • If the artist says her flowers do not have symbolic meanings, does that mean they do not?
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    Aesthetics and other values

    No. 1: Dave Matthews Band: Crash Into Me  v. Don't Drink the Water by Marcy Saoud
            Dave Matthews Band has become extremely popular, especially because of their original music styles and song lyrics, most of which are written by the lead singer Dave Matthews.  His pieces are considered highly valuable for their poetic quality, as well as for his voice.  The musicians in the band are also considered very talented.  They not only play written music to go with lyrics, but they are also accomplished jazz musicians who improvise on a moment's notice.     One of their songs, "Don't Drink the Water," is extremely popular (for lyrics, click here). Released on their 1998 album, it has a message in its lyrics.  It is about the displacement of Native Americans by early Americans who took their land.  This piece is also considered beautiful for its musical qualities, and fans often find themselves singing it to themselves.
            Another of their songs, "Crash Into Me," is from an album released in 1996.  It is the title piece for the album, and it found great popularity on the radio for years after its release.  This piece is obviously considered valuable musically according to the popular audience, but its lyrics do not hold any obvious moral or ethical message.  In fact, some fans find this particular piece offensive because of its lyrics.

  • Is the first piece more valuable than the other?
  • Does popular standing audience-wide mean value when the message is bad?
  • Can we compare the two songs when both are popular but one has a better ethical message behind it?

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    No. 2: The value of art? by Dara da Fonte
    A crazed gunman enters the Guggenheim Museum in New York.  He kills two museumgoers: a seven-year-old girl and a eighty year old man, as well as destroying many pieces of priceless art work that were in the same area.  One month after the incident, an anonymous donation of one million dollars is given to the museum in memory of this event.
  • Should the money be divided equally between the grieving families and the damaged art works?
  • If the money is given to the relatives of the victims, should the family of young girl receive more than the family of the older man?
  • Or should all of the money be used towards their restoration because the value of the paintings isworth more that the life of the two victims,?
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    No. 3: Portrait of Myra by Caroline Wolf
        In 1997, Marcus Harvey's Myra, a portrait of convicted child murderer and pedophile Myra Hindley, attracted controversy in London, where it appeared in Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection at The Royal Academy.  The portrait recreates the image of a well-known police photo of Hindley, composed of children's handprints made from plaster casts dipped in acrylic paint. Given Hindley's recent notoriety in Britain and the nature of her crimes, the manner in which her portrait was recreated and its display in The Royal Academy stirred significant public reaction. Approximately 3,000 visitors viewed the exhibit each day. At one point during the exhibit, protesters defaced the painting, however several weeks later it was re-installed behind a protective case and accompanied by guards.
        A series of public forums met in London to discuss the mixed sentiments evoked by Harvey's piece. Among those present were parents of several of Hindley's victims, colleagues of the artist, board members from the Royal Academy, and the press. Some of those offended by Myra argued that Harvey used Hindley's horrifying crimes as subject matter for its sole shock power and condemned the piece as insulting and emotionally traumatizing to the families of the murdered children. Family members urged the Royal Academy to remove the portrait from the exhibit. David Lee, editor of Art Review, insisted that Harvey was "merely exploiting a very famous image of a very infamous subject in order to advance [his] career."*  While some did not oppose the piece itself, they questioned the decision to show it in The Royal Academy, a gallery meant to showcase works of national achievement that are worthy to be viewed by the Queen. Community members and artists supporting Harvey's piece countered that to remove Myra was an act of censorship and that there is nothing morally wrong with a work of art that evokes emotional pain or other strong sentiments. Others pointed out that Harvey's piece did not celebrate Hindley's crimes; rather it exposed issues on child abuse and pedophilia that needed to be remembered and examined. Supporters called attention to the exhibit's popularity and insisted that the portrait was evidently not too painful for the public to handle. They added that those offended by the work could certainly choose not to attend the exhibit. In regard to the choice of display at the Royal Academy, supporters asserted that it was a suitable context for Myra, since Hindley's crimes had made such a large impact on the national psyche of Britain.
  • Is Harvey's portrait of Myra Hindley morally and ethically offensive since it portrays a convicted murderer? Should art be made about such controversial figures? Who decides this?
  • Should Myra be removed from the exhibit if it offends the public and evokes emotional pain, specifically for the families of Hindley's victims?
  • Can something be considered art if it causes emotional suffering?
  • Is London's Royal Gallery a suitable venue for the display of Myra? How important is the choice or context of where a work is shown? Who determines this?
  • What is the responsibility of the artist toward others' feelings that might result from his or her work? Should Harvey have considered the pain his portrait might cause the families of the murdered children?
  • Was it ethically wrong of protestors to deface the portrait? Or should a work of art be subject to the reaction that it evokes?
  • Who is to decide on Harvey's intentions regarding his choice of subject matter? Does it matter what his intentions are? Do they affect the value of Myra as a work of art?
    • * Direct quote appeared in Hillary Bowker's article, "Young artists making a Sensation" in London, CNN Interactive, October 26, 1997. Other opinions are those observed in person at forums in London.

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    No. 4: A Gift to the Museum by Cecilia Bakun
        A museum is given a gift of a large sum of money by an eccentric collector with the condition that once a year they must show a controversial nude photograph of him taken by a famous photographer. The piece must be shown in a prominent area of the museum for at least one month. The museum board desperately needs the money but is afraid they will lose many important other supporters and attendance will sharply decline. By accepting this huge sum of money, the museum could do extensive renovations and even implement programs that they have been unable to do because of lack of funds, such as an education program. In the long run, the museum will have to determine if they will lose more than they will gain from this contribution.

  • Should the museum take the money and hope that the initial controversy will diminish and be forgotten during the other eleven months the photograph is not on display? Why or why not?
  • Should the fact that the photograph is considered pornographic affect the museum's decision to accept the money? Why or why not?
  • Would it be morally right of the museum to accept this money with such a condition attached to it? Why or why not?
  • Should the museum thing about their bank account or they community they are serving when making this decision? Explain your answer.

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    Judgment

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    Page last updated: 29 November, 2001 (fourth puzzle added to "Art and Artworks")