Essay Example on Art: Expressing Human Imagination & Experience

Art, in its various forms, manifests the extremity of human imaginations and the expression of their lived experience. The principles of art, including unity and variety, balance, emphasis and subordination, scale and proportion, and rhythm, coincide with the involuntary ways people process information. For instance, when one interacts with an object, information, or phenomena for the first time, the immediate reaction is to gauge it using schemes such as potential risk, attractiveness, cuteness, or danger. This first reaction results from the graphical elements of the experience, such as shape and mass, color, and line. The subsequent interactions with the same stimuli reinforce the first experience, which then sticks in the long term memory and influences future response. Over time, individuals draw patterns, contrasts, and distinguish the elements that stand out for them. Negative experience is likely to arouse adverse subjective feedback and vice versa.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In everyday life, it is common to find oneself in situations that require tolerance to diversity. The principle of unity and variety in art much reflects this ideal. Despite the differences in race, religion, language, and culture, every person is important and deserves to be treated with utmost dignity. Like the different elements of art collectively create an express idea, human societies need to consider their diversity as a strength. Besides, people should bring out the best of their abilities, behavior, and character. This creates an emphasis just like in art, thus making them stand out as role models and influencers for change. Nonetheless, it is inevitable to be completely flawless. The fundamental focus should always be on improving oneself. The principle of scale and proportion also reminisces how individuals always perceive their circumstances or situations in everyday life. These two principles teach on the need always to be sensitive to assign significance or value comparatively. The situations that present the most significant risk or importance must always be a priority, while those that are not, relegated without necessarily feeling the effect. Some of the lifelong burdens and anxiety reflect an individual's failure to apportion attention proportionately to the situation.

Raphael's "The Madonna of the Meadows" is very captive as it combines both the ambiance of the environment and the caring nature of a mother. While the emphasis of the picture is on the woman and the two children, the painting also portrays the calming aura on the background. The attractiveness of the surroundings perfectly blends with the care of the woman for her two toddlers, thus creating a calming effect. It is compelling to see how the woman's eyes focus on the two children who seem to enjoy her presence. From the image, it is clear how humanity and nature are closely connected. While the mother and her children are not necessarily extracting anything from their surroundings, they seem charmed by the lush surrounding overlooking a water point and undulating hills. The coloration is also correctly used to capture the grotesque details both on the background and foreground. Combining blue, red, green, gray, and brown all on the background makes it easy to distinguish some of the primary elements in the picture, including human beings, tree cover, hills, and water. Lighting is also used well to show that objects further from the foreground dim off as the hue changes. This combination of methods mimic reality and makes it look more actual than fictitious.

Reference

Getlein, Mark. Living with Art. , 2020. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education Print.