19 Perspectives and Criticism
Perspectives can be though of as different viewpoints when appreciating or trying to understand art, for example people from one culture or background might think of certain artworks differently than people from a different culture or background. Here you will learn about a few different types of perspectives as well as a number of “critical” perspectives – how art critics, scholars, artists, and writers might approach and understand art.
NOTE: the term perspective is also sometimes used to describe how spatial relationships are depicted in an artwork– especially the illusion of 3-dimensional space in a 2-dimensional work of art like a drawing or painting. This is not how we are using the term perspective in this lesson.
Three General Types of Perspective
1. Cultural Perspective
Culture is a complex concept that encompasses the ways that social life effects and informs our experiences. To quote Stuart Hall:
“Culture, it is not so much a set of things- novels and paintings, or TV programs or comics- as a process, a set of practices. Primarily culture is concerned with the production and exchange of meanings- the ‘giving and taking of meaning’ between members in a society or group… Thus culture depends on its participants interpreting meaning- fully what is around them, and ‘making sense’ of the world, in broadly similar ways (Rose, p2).”
It could be said that growing up in America contributes to an ‘American worldview’. We each may have variations to this, but unless you were raised outside of the United States, you are strongly (consciously or unconsciously) influenced by an American perspective. This is an example of cultural context.
In America it is typical to feel it is inappropriate for someone to dictate what we can read, listen to, look at or think about. This would generally fall under the First Amendment, the freedom of speech and expression aspect of our county, beliefs, and government. In other countries, for example Italy– they may or may not have this as a cultural value.
Representations, in whatever form they take, contribute to ‘made meanings’ of culture, specifically as visual culture. As Gillian Rose points out- these representations, whether they are high art or advertisements, are not transparent windows on the world, rather- they interpret the world (Rose, p2). When we select and take in specific kinds of representations there is an exchange of meaning that goes two ways. We participate in constructing culture by selecting and elevating certain forms of representations, and that specific visual culture we experience has the power to influence our personal view on life.
2. Historical Perspective
As time passes, scholarship and research occur and many people become aware of a particular artwork, art form, art style, etc. Recognition may increase (and sometimes decreases). Vincent Van Gogh is an example here—totally unappreciated while he was alive, but now he’s recognized worldwide as a notable pain