The Art of Looking at Art

By (author) Gene Wisniewski

Publication date:

04 October 2020

Length of book:

296 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781538133729

A readable guide to the art of looking at art.

There’s an art to viewing art. A sizable portion of the population regards art with varying degrees of reverence, bewilderment, suspicion, contempt, and intimidation. Most people aren’t sure what to do when standing before a work of art, besides gaze at it for what they hope is an acceptable amount of time, and even those who visit galleries and museums regularly aren’t always as well versed as they wish they could be.

This book will help remedy that situation and answer many of the most frequently asked questions pertaining to the matter of art in general:

When was the first art made?
Who decides which art is “for the ages”?
What is art’s purpose?
How do paintings get to be worth tens of millions of dollars?
Where do artists get their ideas?
And perhaps the most pressing question of all, have human cadavers ever been used as art materials? (Yup.)

The Art of Looking at Art addresses these and countless more of the issues surrounding this frequently misunderstood microcosm, in a highly informative, yet conversational tone. History, fascinating and altogether human backstories, and information pertaining to every conceivable aspect of visual art are interwoven in twelve concise chapters, providing all the information the average person needs to comfortably approach, analyze, and appreciate art. Readers with a background in art will learn a few new things as well.

This beautiful full-color book includes 45 full-page reproductions.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One—Ten Reasons to Appreciate Art

Chapter Two—the First 95% of Art History—Prehistoric Art

Chapter Three—From Artisan to Artist—How Art Became About Self-Expression (It Wasn’t Always)—The Most Recent 5% of Art History

Chapter Four—“the Place of the Muses”—a Brief History of the Museum

Chapter Five—Art vs. Life—How Art and Life Influence One Another

Chapter Six— Art Is Where You Find It—Where Artists Find Inspiration

Chapter Seven—This Is Your Brain on Art—the Human Brain and the Creative Process

Chapter Eight—The 13 or So Traits of Creative People (According to Me)

Chapter Nine—Self-Expression for Sale—Art and the Marketplace

Chapter Ten—“We the People” As Patron of the Arts—Government’s Role in the Arts

Chapter Eleven—Listening to Art, Even When It Isn’t Speaking to You—Understanding “Difficult” Art

Chapter Twelve— What to Look for When You Look at Art—Art Appreciation

Appendix A: Finding Art to Look At

Appendix B: Prehistoric Timeline

Appendix C: Timeline of Art Movements

Selected Bibliography

Index

The Art of Looking at Art provides such a guide for those wishing to learn more about art, and also sheds new light on ideas and themes for the more experienced among us. We can all learn something new by revisiting that which we thought we already knew enough about already. Take a second look and check out The Art of Looking at Art by Gene Wisniewski.