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We use language in expressive ways to underscore our meaning when
we speak. The arts also have their own language used by artists and
performers in a variety of unique and expressive ways. The language
of the visual arts includes elements of composition such as line, color,
form, and repetition. Visual artists use each of these elements and
many other factors of composition to create unique works. Learning
the language of the arts is one way of gaining a deeper understanding
of the ideas that exist in a painting, a sculpture, or a work of
architecture.
What is it that we communicate when we speak to one another? Often,
we share stories, ideas, or just how we are feeling. The arts use their
own language in a similar way to share ideas and the values that are
important to the society in which the artwork was made.
For your Week 2 Assignment, choose one of the options listed below to
develop your understanding of the visual arts and how they
communicate.
Option A
Research Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Théodore
Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.
Describe each work in terms of its elements of composition--what is its
shape, color, material, and so forth.
Describe the work in terms of its symbolic significance--what was
Maya Lin's purpose in designing the memorial as she did?
Additionally, what does the work say about our society in terms of
what we value and how we choose to commemorate or respond to
national events? Answer the same questions for Géricault's The Raft
of the Medusa.