This paper intends to make a critical analysis of how art plays a key role in the emotional character of a society. I will discuss how art can illustrate an emotional makeup and how it can, thus, transfer that to invoke emotion from its viewer. In art, I mean, not only fine art pieces such as a painting or statue, but also art performances such as dance. I do not intend to incorporate all forms of art in my analysis nor will I cover all societies around the globe, but I will try to incorporate different forms of predominantly American and Western art in my attempt of giving an overall picture and theme. I will strive to make an analysis on not only the emotion of the artist in his/her making of art, but also on the emotion the art has created for the viewer/observer. I will include comments gathered from a personal interview with a former professional dancer, as this will help in gaining a critical perspective from a sample artist.
As art speaks out to its audience, in whatever form that art may take, it produces a language that, in turn, produces an emotional reaction from the observer. In dance, for instance, body movements, gestures, and facial expressions (overt expressions) help make this transference of emotion from performer to audience member. Even music played with the dance piece aids in the performer/s overall attempt of illustrating emotion on stage in order to create a likewise emotion from the audience. In the making of a painting piece, its artist produces emotion/s to frame the overall construct of that art. Correspondingly, the observer will gain a perspective of the art when viewed, whether the same emotion as the artist’s is conjured or whether a different emotion is now felt. As can be seen, I intend to illustrate that art, in its ever-vital role in society, helps to create and stabilize/reinforce our emotional makeup, on both an individual and societal level.
We will be discussing how art is a form of communication, of which we will concentrate on the nonverbal forms in this paper. We will cover the steps involved for the communication between artist and observer. Four different forms of art will be discussed-paintings, sketching, music, and dance. Examples of art pieces within these categories will be included as well as an analysis of how art is interpreted differently among individuals within the same society and how art can be interpreted differently among societies and among different time periods. Discussion on factors that can influence the emotional impact of an art piece within a society, such as the location for the art piece, mass media’s coverage on it and notoriety of the artist will be covered. We will then drive the discussion towards the subject of how art plays a role in the home. Lastly, the impact of art on society as a whole, its influence on the larger scale, will be discussed.
Art as Communication:
When an artist decides to create a piece of art, an emotion or set of emotions must have been produced beforehand. As Paul Gauguin, a French Post-Impressionist artist, once stated, “I shut my eyes in order to see.” The art is not manifested until the emotion is felt and interpreted first within the artist. Only then can the expression manifest out of the artist and into his/her creation. In the making of that art piece, the same emotion/s may play throughout the making of the piece or may, instead, be replaced by another. The piece may only be done when the artist feels his/her portrayal is complete; when he/she feels that the emotion/s meant to be portrayed has been achieved. When this is done, the artist has then given his/her view of the world, their self-expression, and their emotional makeup.
But this creation is not emotion itself but a collection of symbols that will be transferred to the observer and by which he/she will then interpret by emotion. Art does not necessarily express emotion but instead arouses emotion in its observer. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, an 18th century German author, said it beautifully by stating: "The artist alone see spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them."
Therefore, the artist projects his/her emotions on the object through symbols and the symbols are interpreted by the observer through his/her utilization of emotion. The art itself does not necessarily express emotion but instead expresses symbols that in its society tends to conjure an arousal in us in the form of emotion. The art piece acts as the source of stimuli by which communication of the emotions are transferred from artist to observer. Or as Robert Plutchik stated, "An emotion is an inferred complex sequence of reactions to a stimuli."
Paintings, Music, Sketching, and Dance as Art:
Paintings tend to be a nonverbal, static form of art. The material used may be selected on the general basis that it will more fully display the intended emotion/s of the art piece. The decision to use dark colors verses pale/light colors, to use angular lines verses concentric, to use light or heavy shadowing, to use heavy or light brush strokes, or any other forms, help to illustrate a particular emotion for the piece.
With use of colors alone, three properties are involved: hue/tint, intensity, and value. With the manipulation from the artist on this alone, the symbolic impression can be more strongly expressed for the observer. It was the period of Romanticism, an art movement and style of the 19th century, which emphasized a bolder, more dramatic manner of translating emotion through imagery. An example of a Romantic piece is ‘The Raft of the Medusa’, painted in 1819 by Theodore Gericault [Illustration 1].
But, not all paintings have a representative subject in it. Where an oil painting of a bowl of fruit would have the bowl of fruit as its represented subject, an abstract painting would not. An example of such a painting is the ‘Red on Maroon’ by Mark Rothko
[Illustration 2]. An abstract painting does not contain a representative subject that would have otherwise guided its observer to certain emotions. Instead, its observer must draw from other sources or more within him/herself in order to make a conclusion on how to react to the piece.
These same circumstances occur when listening to music without words, such as classical music. The listener must gather information from the piece’s nonverbal components, which is generally based on its rhythmical movement and style, its use of particular musical instruments, and on its use of crescendo (getting louder) and decrescendo (getting softer). The emotion felt by its listeners is based on several factors, just as in the example of a painting. These factors may include such things as his/her social status, and the present status of his/her emotional character. A music piece composed by Bach will most likely produce a different effect than a music piece composed by a modern day composer of instrumental music, but as Duke Ellington, a 20th century American jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader, once said, “The artist must [still] say it without saying it.”
If the music is joined with words, the intention of the artist is usually more easily translated/communicated and understood by the listener. The listener would no longer have to rely solely on the nonverbal components of the piece but could also gather the emotional tone from the words as well.
Sketching pieces can illustrate intentions from artist just as well as if they were paintings. For example, ‘Expression of the Passions of the Soul: Anger’ by Charles Le Brun in 1663 illustrate the effectiveness of the artist in communicating to the observer [Illustration 3]. Another piece, one done in 1944 by a Polish prisoner in the Aushwitz concentration camp, Mieczyslaw Koscielniak, titled ‘Prisoners 1’, also not only poignantly illustrate dramatics but also helps to illustrate how art can help educate and keep society knowledgeable of past historical events [Illustration 4].
Dance is like a compilation of paintings or sketching, set in motion. No words verbalized, except in some modern dance pieces, the dancer/s must illustrate the story being performed through the use of movements. Emotion is illustrated (communicated) through body movement, facial expressions, and gestures (overt expression). Music usually accompanies the dance piece and this aids in the communication from artist (dancer) to audience member. The movement originated from the dancer/s, for instance, a moving away or toward another dancer, is the signal that is expressed as the character’s behavior and this, in turn, is translated to the audience member in subjective language, for instance, as ‘fear’, or ‘anger’. This, then, comes to be represented through functional language as the need for ‘protection’, or ‘destruction’.
The choreographer creates the dance piece and decides what movements will be used to illustrate his/her view of the world to the observer, the audience member. The dancer/s then learns the behavioral movements and gestures to portray the piece. Exaggeration of facial expressions and body movement is usually employed in order for the communication from stage to audience to occur effectively.
My interview with Shahab Nahvi, a former professional classical ballet and modern dancer, revealed a perspective from that of a theater artist:
The performer is trying to get a rise out of the audience. But should he experience the same emotion personally? No, the dancer must not become emotionally involved [in the piece]. He must step aside and let the audience experience it.
He commented on an account when a dancer for Martha Graham, during a rehearsal, had become so emotionally involved with one of her pieces that he was dancing, that at the end, tears started to pour down from his eyes. Martha Graham told him, "Don’t come back. Thank you."
Shahab went on to comment that,
It is the performer’s need to get the audience to experience a particular emotion at a particular time in the dance piece. They should not be trying to make a personal statement-it’s not about the performer but about the piece. The performer is just the instrument.”
Nowadays, they play loud music in the theater in order for the audience to be able to feel the music, speakers everywhere and microphones used, and they use walkways to enter the audience’s area in order to get a rise out of the people. But that’s not what it’s suppose to be-it’s not a 3-D T.V. It’s a live performance. They should be able to get a rise out of the audience while the audience only observes.
Art Interpreted Differently Among People:
Art can easily be interpreted differently since for each emotion there is not just one word to describe it but a range of words. For example, symbols in the art may reflect for one person something that conjures emotions from them of ‘terror’, while for another person those same symbols may only conjure that of ‘timidity’. However, they would still signal ‘protection’ but the need for protection would be debated among these two persons.
A work of art may as well invoke emotion from an individual without expressing it directly. The individual, therefore, indirectly feels emotion to the contrary of that of the artist. For instance, the work may invoke ‘grief’ without expressing it. As well, one individual may become emotionally moved (get an emotional charge) from a piece while another individual may not.
Interpretation of art and the emotions involved may vary not only among individuals within a particular society but also between societies, since symbols may vary among different cultures. Interpretation can also vary from one time period to another. For instance, a painting depicting a traumatic event at the time shortly after its occurrence will probably arouse stronger emotion from its observers of that time period verses observers from a later time period. ‘The Raft of the Medusa’, mentioned earlier, would be a good example of this [Illustration 1].
Factors that Can Influence Emotional Impact of an Art Piece Within a Society:
The effectiveness of communication between artist and other through art is influenced by factors outside of the art piece itself. The notoriety of the artist could act as a strong factor in the acceptance or rejection of his/her work, thus, affecting the emotional response to it.
As well, the location of the art piece, the place where it resides for show, can be relevant. The difference between the art piece having been placed within a well-lit museum or having been placed within a ‘less respectable’ building and/or place could be enough to affect whether certain emotions are invoked from its observers.
In addition, the role of mass media is important. Whether the artist’s artwork is portrayed favorably or non-favorably will help translate to potential observers its monetary, emotional, and social value.
Art in the Home:
The fact that most households have some amount of artwork in their home is a testimony in itself the value that art plays in the everyday emotional character of individuals. We tend to have art close-by so that we can glance upon it once in awhile. It can be a source of reflection, an opportunity to take a glimpse of past times, and an emotional attachment.
In a book written by David Halle, titled ‘Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home’, he states, that from his research, most residents he interviewed had an landscape painted scene somewhere in their house. “Of the 349 landscapes prominently displayed in the houses sampled (and for which data on this were available), only two were turbulent.” He further comments that the residents in his study liked landscapes because “they were ‘calm,’ ‘restful’; they offer ‘solitude’ and ‘quiet’; they soothe.” Therefore, art in the home invoked calming feelings in its owners and its worth was invaluable for it. Examples of typical landscape paintings: [Illustration 5 and 6].
Art and Society’s Emotional Makeup:
Paul Cezanne, 19th century French Post-Impressionist painter, once stated that “The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” His comment makes clear how art can have a strong influence on its society. Society not only affects its art, but its art can turn back and affect its society. It can influence social change. Not only can it affect one individual but a great majority. It can create surprise, shock, pride, shame, disgust, joy, and any other possible emotion. Art can affect/alter one’s own categorization of what is and is not acceptable.
Art plays an important role in society, in that it is a source of communication between individuals in that society. The artist communicates through his/her work and the communication is translated as symbols within that work, which in turn provokes an emotional response from the observer. Therefore, the artist communicates non-verbally to another person through the auspices of an object, the art piece. Even if no person were to observe the artist’s work, he/she is transferring emotion/feelings outward and into an object, expressing themselves and their thoughts.
As a 19th century French writer, Marcel Proust, remarked:
Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another’s view of the universe which is not the same as ours…Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists… And many centuries after their core, whether we call it Rembrandt or Vermeer, is extinguished, they continue to send us their special rays.
Art, therefore, can help develop a sense of community and togetherness. It can help keep us aware of our grasp on emotions, our sense of history, and our society’s emotional makeup.
Delahunt, M. (1996). Artlex, [Online]. Available: http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/artquotations.html [7/31/01].
Other References Not Already Noted in Paper:
Halle, D. (1993). Inside Culture: Art and class in the American home. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Inside Culture: Art and Class...
Descriptions of Illustrations:
Illustration 1:
‘The Raft of the Medusa’ (1819)
Artist: Gericault, Theodore
Oil canvas: 4.91 x 7.16m
Illustration 2:
‘Red on Maroon’
Artist: Rothko, Mark
Illustration 3:
‘Expression of the Passions of the Soul: Anger’ (1663)
Artist: Le Brun, Charles
Sketching: 0.20 x 1.25m
Illustration 4:
‘Prisoners 1’ (1944)
Artist: Koscielniak, Mieczyslaw
Etching on cardboard: 14 x 10.5 cm
Location: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim, Poland
Illustration 5:
‘Heart of the Andes’ (1859)
Artist: Church, Frederic Edwin
Oil on canvas: 66 1/8 x 119 ¼ in.
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Illustration 6:
‘The Timber Wagon’ (1872)
Artist: Linnell, John
Oil on canvas: size unknown
Location: Guildhall Library and Guildhall Art Gallery, London
-----
Any suggestions for future newsletter topics? If so, e-mail me at shahab@balletinstructor.com
Tell a friend about us:
http://www.balletinstructor.com
(12 forums with live chat('Community'), Audition postings, Q.& A. section ('Ask Shahab'), Free newsletter,Links to recommended music, videos, books, and more).
