Art has the capacity to shape and alter our identities. It can influence who and what we are. Those who have had aesthetic experiences know this intimately, and yet the study of art’s impact on the mind struggles to be recognized as a centrally important field within the discipline of psychology. The main thesis of Art and Identity is that aesthetic experience represents a prototype for meaningful experience, warranting intense philosophical and psychological investigation. Currently psychology remains too closed-off from the rich reflection of philosophical aesthetics, while philosophy continues to be sceptical of the psychological reduction of art to its potential for Subjective experience. At the same time, philosophical aesthetics cannot escape making certain assumptions about the psyche and benefits from entering into a dialogue with psychology. Art and Identity brings together philosophical and psychological perspectives on aesthetics in order to explore how art creates minds.

Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and Meaning offers a deep insight and comprehension of the world of Art. Contents: What is Art? The Structure of Art Significance of Materials Used in Art Describing Art - Formal Analysis, Types, and Styles of Art Meaning in Art - Socio-Cultural Contexts, Symbolism, and Iconography Connecting Art to Our Lives Form in Architecture Art and Identity Art and Power Art and Ritual Life - Symbolism of Space and Ritual Objects, Mortality, and Immortality Art and Ethics

This book provides a fully contextualised overview on aspects of visual culture, and how this was the product of patronage, politics, and religion in some European countries between the 13th and 17th centuries. The research that is showcased here offers new perspectives on the conception, production and reception of artworks as a means of projecting core values, ideals, and traditions of individuals, groups, and communities. This volume features contributions from established scholars and new researchers in the field, and examines how art contributed to the construction of identities by means of new archival research and a thorough interdisciplinary approach. The authors suggest that the use of conventions in style and iconography allowed the local and wider community to take part in rituals and devotional practices where these works were widely recognized symbols. However, alongside established traditions, new, ad-hoc developments in style and iconography were devised to suit individual requirements, and these are fully discussed in relevant case-studies. This book also contributes to a new understanding of the interaction between artists, patrons, and viewers in Medieval and Renaissance times.

Looking High and Low attempts to answer these questions - and the broader question "What is art?" - by bringing together a collection of challenging essays on the meaning of art in cultural context and on the ways that our understandings of art and aesthetics have been influenced by social process and cultural values.

A student's personal identity constantly changes as part of the lifelong human process to become someone who matters. Art educators in grades K-16 have a singular opportunity to guide important phases of this development. How can educators create a supportive space for young people to work through the personal and cultural factors influencing their journey? Laura Hetrick draws on articles from the archives of Visual Arts Research to approach the question. Juxtaposing the scholarship in new ways, she illuminates methods that allow educators to help students explore identity through artmaking; to reinforce identity in positive ways; and to enhance marginalized identities. A final section offers suggestions on how educators can use each essay to engage with students who are imagining, and reimagining, their identities in the classroom and beyond. Contributors: D. Ambush, M. S. Bae, J. C. Castro, K. Cosier, C. Faucher, K. Freedman, F. Hernandez, L. Hetrick, K. Jenkins, E. Katter, M. Lalonde, L. Lampela, D. Pariser, A. Pérez Miles, M., and K. Schuler. Laura Hetrick is an assistant professor of art education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the coeditor of the journal Visual Arts Research.

One of the most exciting and eclectic celebrations of African American art ever published, Narratives of African American Art and Identity showcases one hundred paintings, etchings, sculptures, and photographs from the collection of David C. Driskell. A true Renaissance man, Driskell himself is an esteemed artist, educator, curator, and philanthropist. His fifty-year career has been committed to promoting African American art. Included are works by John Biggers, Sam Gilliam, Lois Mailou Jones, Keith Morrison, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alma Thomas, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Augusta Savage, and James VanDerZee -- to name just a few. Each artwork is accompanied by information about the artist and the particular work. This book is the catalog for the exhibition of the same title, which travelled to various American museums through February 2001.

The book asks all the right questions about society, culture, religion and art.