Written for those who are new to the study of art, Art Appreciation: An Introduction to the Formal Elements and Mediums familiarizes readers with foundational concepts of art appreciation and teaches them all they need to know in order to consider and discuss what artists create. The book concentrates on the formal elements and mediums, and introduces art-related vocabulary commonly used by artists and art historians. The accessible content is organized into four primary units. In the first section, students begin with an introduction and learn how art functions within the public sphere. The second section discusses the formal elements of art including line, space, color, motion, and pattern and texture. It also addresses balance, emphasis and focal point, and scale, repetition, and unity. The third section explores various art mediums such as drawing, printmaking, painting, photography, sculpture, and architecture. In the final section students are introduced to specific time periods of the renaissance and modern art era as well as a chapter devoted exclusively to Vincent van Gogh. Featuring an extensive glossary for easy reference and devoted to necessary fundamentals in the discipline, Art Appreciation is ideal for art survey courses, art history, and introductory art appreciation. Dave Plouffe holds a master's degree in art with a specialization in art history from California State University, Fullerton where he is now a faculty member. He has also taught at the University of La Verne and Chaffey College. His areas of interest are modern and contemporary art and art history. He has taught courses in art appreciation, the history of modern art, contemporary art, and survey classes: prehistory through the middle ages and renaissance to contemporary. In addition to teaching, he served as an exhibition technician and a collections administrator for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The art of appreciation -- "Audiences of the future" : the Robert Mayer Concerts for Children (1924-1939) -- Victorians on radio : Music and the Ordinary Listener (1926-1939) -- Music education on film : Instruments of the Orchestra (1946) -- Outside the ivory tower : extra-mural music at the University of Birmingham (1948-1964) -- The Avant-garde goes to school : O Magnum Mysterium (1960) -- Epilogue : the middlebrow in an age of cultural pluralism.

This book is a source book for the art educator for the teaching of art appreciation at all levels.

This book is more than an introduction to the psychology of art appreciation, it puts into perspective the research carried out within the area and offers a new understanding of the relationship between art and viewer. A number of studies within the psycho-physical, cognitive, psychoanalytic, and existential-phenomenological schools of thought are presented in order to demonstrate how their views on the appreciation of visual art vary. Five different types of art appreciation, ranging from a spontaneous preference for a work of art to a blissful experience of trancendence, are identified and described.

Creative Art: Methods and Materials educates readers about a variety of art methods and the ways different civilizations have used them in artistic expression. Each of the fourteen chapters is designed around a specific art method and material, and includes examples of art works and the artists who created them. Students learn about bronze casting, stone carving, clay sculpture, woodcuts and posters, glass work, and installation art. Each method is matched to artists both ancient and modern. Rather than adhering to a standard approach that focuses on white, male, European artists, the book broadens the student's perspective by including often overlooked female artists. Global in approach and comprehensive in coverage of arts forms, representations, and styles throughout history, Creative Art has been developed for sixteen-week courses in art appreciation, or introductory survey courses in art history.

Those who love art are guaranteed to further expand their knowledge of this form of expression when using this comprehensive 3-panel (6-page) guide, which examines in detail each type of art--from printmaking to photography--that currently exists. Key definitions, historical periods and lists of well-known art pieces are included for easy access.

Though his career spanned less than ten years, Vincent Van Gogh produced a body of work that remains one of the most enduring in all of modern art. This book is an intriguing look at a creative genius and his compelling art, illustrated with 142 full-color reproductions. Van Gogh pioneered a use of color and perspective that influenced succeeding generations of painters. Tracing his development from his early beginnings in Nuenen and Paris to his work in Arles and Saint-Remy in particular, this volume studies a prolific career marked by greatness and ultimate tragedy.

Written to engage and inspire students with little or no previous experience in studio art or art history, Approaches to Art: A Journey in Art Appreciation builds the case for art's meaning and value. The book presents all the essential parts of an introductory art history course --visual elements, principles of design, style, media, and art history--in a compelling format that invites critical thinking and teaches multicultural visual literacy. Students will not only learn the parts of art, they will develop, step by step, a deeper understanding of art's power to communicate on multiple levels--universal, cultural, and personal. Each chapter includes an art history exercise, a studio exercise, and discussion questions. The assignments can easily be customized to focus on art history or studio art, as appropriate for specific courses and modalities. Approaches to Art empowers students to approach any work of art with the ability to see and appreciate far more than they could before. Developed and class-tested over a period of years, it is an ideal textbook for general education courses in introductory art history and art appreciation. Ferdinanda Florence holds an M.F.A. in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and an M.A. in art history from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a professor of art appreciation and art history at Solano Community College in Fairfield, California. A professional artist, she is represented by the Andrea Schwartz Gallery in San Francisco.