•Art results when human intellect, skill and imagination are used to communicate an idea visually.
•Art consists of two parts - form and content. Form involves the art elements, principles of design, and materials used. Content involves the message or idea expressed.
•This expression, though limitless in possible styles, subjects, techniques and compositions, is not infinite.
•I don’t accept the notion that art can be “anything”.
•Art can be good or bad in the context of a purpose or goal that it facilitates.
•The fact that something impedes or promotes that purpose is a matter of objectivity, for the most part.
•Since the general purpose of art is to express ideas, these are some of the tools and awareness that are evidenced in good art:
1.Excellent control over medium
2.Cultural context (how the work relates to the audience)
3.Sensory accessibility (the ability of the audience to apprehend and experience the pure sensory factors of the work)
4.Comprehensibility (allows the audience to comprehend the intended purpose of the work)
5.Design unity
6.Choice of subject
7.Effective use of elements
8.Use of illusion to create a sense of reality or unreality
•To evaluate the objective quality of a work of art, one needs to determine what the expressive goal is and judge how the tools are used to pursue that goal.
•Another criterion on which art ought to be judged is the nature of the message itself which, on the highest level, should express some ultimate content relating to truth, beauty, and goodness.
•The artist’s goal should not be autonomous self-expression where the manner in which the art was made is the essence of the work.
•The goal of the artist should be self-realization and expression of content with objective frames of reference.
•In order to render works of ultimate essence, artists must maintain an eternal perspective, without which the human spirit is stifled.
•Intention, cultivation, attentiveness and purpose are ingredients for making art and for fostering students.
•Every work of art expresses an essential idea and that idea for my students concerns the exploration of connections between who they are and how they perceive their world.
•The role I play as a teacher is to facilitate through instruction, cultivation, motivation, and attention, students’ self-realization and their ability to express ideas.
