Introduction - Art in Context

Art in Context
April 16, 2015
An Essay by Austin Caldwell, Benjamin Mills, Robin Heft, and Lindsay Holden

Every piece of art contains a message carefully crafted into the piece by the artist’s hand.  Two essential keys are necessary to decode an artist’s message: Context and Symbolism.  Context supplies a basis from which to interpret and understand a piece of art.  Symbols are gateways to stories not told directly by the artwork, and symbols act like adjectives used to describe characters in the piece of art.  Context and symbols infuse a piece of art with significance beyond the artwork’s mere aesthetic pleasure.  Without context and symbolism, artwork fails to transmit much of the artist’s message crafted into the piece.

Context can be defined as the surrounding factors that have influenced or shaped a piece of art.  These surrounding factors are influenced by such things as the setting, cultural restraints, or more specifically the time period, location, and the artist of that piece.  Understanding the context of art effects the viewer’s conception of a piece and impacts the depth to which a viewer understands what a piece is trying to communicate.  Knowledge of the context surrounding a piece of art reveals hidden messages within art that may have been otherwise overlooked.  For example, in Michelangelo’s fresco painting in the Sistine Chapel, Prophet Zechariah, there are two angels looking over his shoulder.  One of the angel’s hand is making an obscene gesture known as “the fig.”  This was gesture is the equivalent of American’s “flipping off,” or “middle finger.”  The symbol was included by Michelangelo to express his abhorrence toward Pope Julius.  Prior to painting the Sistine Chapel, Pope Julius commissioned Michelangelo to design and sculpt his tomb.  Michelangelo excitedly took his first Papal commissioned project with no hesitation and quit all of his other works.  Michelangelo poured an extensive amount and effort into the development of the tomb only for the Pope to cut off the funding and quit the project all together.  Michelangelo felt disrespected and enraged with the Pope.  This situation is what caused Michelangelo’s feeling of distain toward the Pope to come out in his painting.  The painting itself can be admired and appreciate for its beauty alone, however, knowing the context is key to unlocking hidden meanings within the art piece that would otherwise go unnoticed.

     In relation to context, symbolism is another important term to associate with hidden meanings in art.  A symbol can be defined as a “solid recognizable thing […] that stands for something that would be hard to show in a picture or a sculpture” (Smithsonian N.D.).  Similar to contextualization, symbolism is a key to unlocking hidden meanings within art.  The meaning of the symbol can vary depending on the context that it is in.  For example, when we see the swastika, our minds associate it with Nazism due to the effects of World War II.  However, before WWII the swastika was a religious symbol of peace in Hinduism, and still is today.  It is by understanding the context and symbolism of art that we are able to grasp and react to art in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Art has been man’s illustration to compliment the human narrative throughout history.  Creating visual art is one characteristic that sets the human species apart.  It is a medium for the display of history, ideas, common life, beauty, and other topics of human life.  Art communicates concepts in a variety of methods in order to effectively show and present an idea.  Art has transformed because the method of communication between the artist and the audience has developed.  Throughout the human narrative, this dialogue changes the source and significance of contextualization in art.

“No artistic style is static, so the passage of time and generations, with different cultural and environmental influences, changes in climate, different available materials and technological skills, not to mention specific highly-gifted individuals, must have been important factors influencing stylistic development […]” (Moriss-Kay).

          In earliest art forms, art was created to reflect a method of living.  The audience of the art piece was insignificant, and the meaning was conveyed directly through the content.  Symbols, images, and scenes depicted aspects of the life of an artist.  For example, cave paintings are one of the earliest known art forms.  Many of these depictions show animals and humans in action.  Perhaps ancient cave artists wanted to record a history of their lifestyle, or sought to aesthetically idealize their culture.
          In modern times, one cannot know what exactly the ancient artists were attempting to convey.  The content demands context because the paintings are objective, in the sense that the viewer does not define them.  A description of the circumstances of the artwork must be provided to comprehend the paintings entirely.
          In ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art, art made a shift.  Forms represented the important parts of those societies, and not all pieces of art needed a story to be appreciated.  People of royalty were displayed in glory and dignity.  Statues were created to show the aesthetical nature of the human body; frescoes glorified deeds and events.
         Art was idyllic and idealistic, but artists were still relying entirely on the subject matter of the art to provide meaning.  Statues and busts were abundant and presented humans as they were.  Art was beautiful because of the society and individuals it represented.  Contextualization was important to the viewer because it provided a basis for which to judge beauty.
          In the Common Era, art has begun to reflect human experience.  During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, art began to show the emotion that humans will experience.  Art began to serve a new role: a source of idea and showing the beauty of passion and feelings.  Artists tried to use art to elicit responses from the viewers.  One can see the change in passion through the work of Bernini, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and other great artists and sculptors.  The contextualization required to fully understand this art is split between that of the artist and that of the viewer.  The context of the viewer is important because viewers will have unique reactions to a work of art.
          In Modern and Post-Modern art, the context of the artist becomes less and less relevant.  This is because the thought of prominent artists changed during this period.  The purpose of art changed in the minds of many artists and became less about beauty and displaying history and more about conveying ideas.  Impressionists, Surrealists, and Expressionists all displayed a different part of the human experience.  These works have become timeless in a way that their predecessors were not.  They are timeless because the only context a viewer needs is that which he already has from his own life experiences.  Art pieces in Modernity and Post-Modernity only have as much meaning and context as the viewer gives it.
          History has transformed art from a window into a mirror.  It began as something that provided viewers with a view of a different "landscape.”  One could see a different lifestyle, thought process, and context.  The importance of contextualization was imminent and relied entirely on the setting one could see through the window of art.  In modern times, art is used as a mirror to see truths about oneself and the times.  The importance of contextualization lies entirely in the viewer and his interpretation.
          Art will always be changing to reflect the human narrative.  Thus, contextualization will always be changing its source to compliment the purpose of art.  Contextualization is a tool to be used in the right way, just as art is a tool.  Alexander Morritt said, “Oil may run out, liquidity may dry up, but as long as ink flows freely, the next chapter of Life will continue to be written.”  This is the purpose of art and contextualization: To write the narrative of human life.

Context and symbolism are key components to every piece of artwork.  Context defines how a viewer interprets a piece of art, and symbols add additional messages and descriptors to a piece of artwork.  Contextualization has developed through history, and the need for artists to supply context for a piece has become less important as viewers are encouraged to interpret the piece from their own vantage point.  Entering the 20^th and 21^st centuries, Psychology changes the interpretation of art - the context of a particular piece of artwork begins to depend less on the artist’s stated context and more on the context, the situation and worldview, of the one interacting with the art.  Context no longer needs to be supplied directly by the artist.  Symbolism has changed forms, from universal symbols used by all conventional artists to symbols chosen by different artists to be used in unique ways.  Neither context nor symbolism can be ignored when attempting to read the stories imprinted by artists into their art.