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Aesthetics Lesson 3: Aesthetics and Beauty

What is Beauty in Art?

04022012_EDU_DgR_01-1998.1.2398.8-electric-chair_main

Andy Warhol, Electric Chair, Published Edition, 137/250, 1971, ©AWF

In this lesson students analyze various artworks in relation to their aesthetic preferences but also in relation to a philosophical quote. Students begin to understand basic aesthetic theory about beauty.

Suggested Time Frame:

PowerPoint Presentation: 10 minutes
Writing Activity: 10 minutes
Pair Discussion: 10 minutes
Group Dialogue: 30 minutes
Assessment: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 to 1 ½ hours

Objectives:

Students observe an artwork and answer writing prompts to document their personal aesthetic experience
In groups of two, students analyze a philosophical quote in relationship to an artwork
Students synthesize existing philosophies and develop their own theories about aesthetics and beauty through group dialogue

Procedure

Procedure:

Review the objects students have brought in and explore why they consider these objects to be “not art.”
Present the Aesthetics PowerPoint Part 2
Writing Activity: Use the Handout Aesthetics 3.1 while viewing Andy Warhol’s Electric Chair print. You may substitute Warhol’s Flowers prints or his camouflaged Self-Portrait. Students should fill in the first three writing prompts to foster their own personal aesthetic experience.
Pair Share Reflection: In groups of two discuss the following quotes. Do you agree with these opinions? How does it relate to the Electric Chair print or other works?

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) Russian writer, playwright, essayist

Art always serves beauty, and beauty is the joy of possessing form, and form is the key to organic llife since no living thing can exist without it.

Boris Pasternak (1840-1921) English poet, critic, biographer

Group Dialogue:

Use the following questions as prompts at the start of and during the dialogue:

Are Andy Warhol’s Electric Chairs (or other work) beautiful? Why or why not?
How do Warhol’s choices and treatment of the subject matter make the paintings beautiful or ugly?
What do you think is Warhol’s intention with these works? Was he trying to make the death penalty (or another concept) seem beautiful or ugly?
Do artworks always relay the meanings that the artist intended them to have?
Do artworks have to be beautiful or pretty? Can something that is ugly be considered art?
Who decides what is beautiful or ugly?
If an artwork makes someone feel sad or bad, can it still be considered good? Why?
Do these paintings have value? What kind of value, aesthetic value or monetary?

Compare and Contrast:

Use the questions above again while comparing works from The Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art below.

Armchair, 17th century, Gift of Baroness Cassel Van Doorn, The Carnegie Museum of Art. Andy Warhol, Electric Chair, 1971, The Andy Warhol Museum, ©AWF

Rembrandt, Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre, 1634, etching with touches of burin, Bequest of Charles J. Rosenbloom, by exchange, The Carnegie Museum of Art. Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, ©AWF

Bow Porcelain Factory, Bouquet of Flowers, c. 1755, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 32.1977, The Carnegie Museum of Art. Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1970, ©AWF

Secondary Extension:

Explain the Three Fields of Philosophy:

Metaphysics (n.): The philosophy of being; the branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature of being and beings, time and space, existence and causality.

Epistemology (n.): The theory of knowledge; the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, in particular, its foundations, scope and validity.

Ethics (n.): The study of morality’s effect on conduct.

Discussion Questions:

Questions to determine what is real and what exists (Metaphysics):

If this were a billboard instead of a work hung in a gallery would it be art?
Does Warhol’s use of photographic silkscreen make this work more realistic?
Is this painting objective or subjective in relation to its subject, an electric chair?

Questions to determine what we can know as truth (Epistemology):

What do we learn about capital punishment in this piece?
What do we learn about Warhol?
What would it mean if the original photograph for this painting was staged by Warhol instead of a documentary photo?

Questions to determine what we think is good in ethics and in art (Values/Ethics):

What value does this artwork have?
Is this painting beautiful?
What values would be reflected if this room was part of your school?
What would be the ethical implications if a majority of Americans agreed to hang this painting in their living rooms?

Assessment

Warhol Education Rubrics

Click the Warhol Rubric headers below to reveal associated rubrics to which this lesson applies.

Critical Thinking

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CT.1	Integrative: Able to identify, and integrate personal experience into one's thinking process	Sees little or no influence that their feelings and values have on their artmaking or critique of artwork.	Is increasingly more aware of how their own bias affects their artmaking or critique of artwork.	Possesses a concrete awareness of how their own preferences influence their art making or critique of artwork.	Adapts their personal perferences of artmaking and artwork based on an analysis of opposing viewpoints.	Integrates personal experience and formal critiques to examine the creative process or critique of artwork.
CT.2	Contextual Thinking: Conducts analysis of contextual information to determine relevant and logical reasoning that supports their decision process and opinions.	Has a hard time identifying relevant contextual data.	Understands data and make decisions in varying contexts with greater accuracy.	Utilizes contextual data skillfully to form logical arguments and relevant explanations.	Understands data and make decisions in varying contexts with greater accuracy.	Utilizes contextual data skillfully to form logical arguments and relevant explanations.

Aesthetics

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
AE.2	Historical Aesthetics: understanding of aesthetic qualities of works of art as they relate to a historic period and the impact of technological advances on various artforms	Sees little or no influence that culture has on the forms and techniques of artmaking from a specific time period.	Recognizes how some works of art are visually and stylistically related to genres and periods in which they were created.	Identifies aesthetic qualities as they relate to works of art in specific time periods.	Makes comparisons between the historic styles of artwork from different time periods.	Applies knowledge of historical genres and aesthetics to their own artmarking or critique of an artwork.
AE.3	Philosophical Aesthetics: understanding of the role of art and its value in society	Sees little or no relationship between cultural values and ideas about beauty in relation to works of art.	Understands the definition of aesthetics and modes of aesthetic inquiry.	Explains the role of art and its value in society using formal theories and modes of inquiry.	Compares and contrasts differing philosophies to determine the nature of art and its value to society.	Synthesizes an individualized theory of aesthetics and beauty based on existing philosophies and experiences.

Communication

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CO.3	Listening and Speaking: Ability to express ideas and listen to others.	Somewhat organized, but off topic. Unable to respond adequately to questions from others or summarize others' conclusions or viewpoints.	Answers reveal a partial understanding of material. Misses some aspects of the topic and inconsistently comments on others statements.	Expresses ideas well. Listens and responds to peers thoughtfully and respectfully. Grasps concepts well enough to ask questions about what is still not understood.	Responds to questions accurately and with supporting facts that are engaging. Established eye contact and demonstrated an awareness of audiences’ needs. Demonstrates additional curiosity in subject.	Explores topic thoroughly providing multiple details, examples and supporting facts. Answers convey a deep understanding of topic. Highly responsive to audience. Active participation in discussion brings group learning to a higher level.

Creative Process

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CP.6	Observation: Experiencing works of art.	Description of visual data is inaccurate and is unaware of an artist's methods and creative intent.	Recognizes an increasing number of formal elements in works of art and attempts to interpret them using a wider range of perceptual methods.	Identifies significant qualities of an artwork and employs a wide range of sensorial and aesthetic methods to explore their own intuitive and aesthetic responses.	Compares and contrasts the aesthetic qualities of an artwork or visual data to infer meaning in a sophisticated manner. Is able to express own experience of visual data or a work of art creatively.	Conveys a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of an artwork. Able to hypothesize about the artist’s intent and to ask relevant questions for further research or inquiry.

Media and Related Items

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