Art History: How important is it to you?

[Albino Sea Monkey]

[ backstory ]
It's been almost 4 years since I've been in an art history class, but I keep wanting to learn more. Unfortunately, I have a hard time figuring out the best ways to learn things while unable to afford to go back to college. I know I have all of the internet at my disposal, but it's so hard to figure out where to even start. I don't feel like just reading willy nilly is going to help me retain information...

So I picked up "30,000 Years of Art" from Barnes and Nobles a couple years back, but it's mostly pictures. Then I happened to find an 11th edition of "Art through the Ages" textbook in fantastic condition at Good Will for $2 just a couple months ago. Now, just today I found the study guide companion book for "Art through the Ages" (also at Good Will!) for 99 cents. Perfect condition, not a single pencil mark in any of the answer spaces (or anywhere else for that matter). Look at that, almost $200 worth of textbook and study guides for $3. I win!

I'm excited, because now I can kind of teach myself in a more school-like way (which is how I learn better). I LOVE filling out worksheets. So much so in fact that I often toy with the idea of going out and buying high school-level homeschooling booklets on various subjects just so I can "review" stuff. I often listen to lectures I find on MIT Free Open Courseware because I just freaking love learning new stuff.
[ /end backstory ]

So all of this got me thinking: How important is art history? Especially when it comes to learning how to improve upon your own art.
Do you think learning about all of these different time periods and all the different terminology and stuff is important for becoming a better artist? Or do you think it's something you can do without as long as your fundamentals are strong?

Personally, I think it's very helpful in becoming a better artist, but it's not something that every single person absolutely needs to know about in order to become a great painter or sculptor or anything. I find art history to be very inspirational, and I really love learning about it. I always felt sorry for people who didn't like art history. I went to an art high school, and for the visual arts students basic art history was mandatory, and AP was heavily encouraged. It was always disappointing to see visual arts students bored in that class (especially because our teacher was hella awesome. He looked like Stephen Colbert and was even funnier.). I would sit there and be like "Come on, guys! This stuff is so cool and interesting and OMG LOOK AT ALL THAT GOLD LEAF! BEHOLD THE CHIAROSCURO! ISN'T THIS MADONNA AND CHILD JUST AMAZING?! This stuff will inspire you if you just pay attention!"

Your thoughts?
inb4 "only snobs think art history is important because it makes them feel high and mighty"

[Nathaniel Mea]

I love art history, it is a great resource to fashion and the ideas of people in the past. I love learning the terms and see how art has influenced the spread of ideas. It's awesome.

I love it all.

But I must say that you probably don't need it to learn to do art. But if you want to become a much more rounded artist then yes, you do need it.

That way you will know what is considered cliché and why it is considered cliché. You will learn how art as we know it developed into what it is today and why the basics are important.

You will see all the work, all the knowledge, all the symbolism, and so on in art for centuries.

[ninitan]

I don't think it's required, but I honestly can't imagine what it must be like to be an artist who is completely ignorant about the history of their craft. I find it very strange that people often talk about how much they love art, yet they refuse to learn anything about it beyond the technical stuff. *shrug*

[Hiei the Epic]

well. i don't really know much of anything about art history. i've never taken any classes. i get the interest because i'm that way with math and bioengineering. i've got university books i just... collect, in order to learn and test myself.

but truth be told, art history (or most fields of history in general) put me to sleep.

i can't see how knowing about art history would aid an artist in any way as far as their abilities go.

[Hiei the Epic]

ninitan

I don't think it's required, but I honestly can't imagine what it must be like to be an artist who is completely ignorant about the history of their craft. I find it very strange that people often talk about how much they love art, yet they refuse to learn anything about it beyond the technical stuff. *shrug*

because the craft itself and the history of it are two totally different things.

it's like going to a football game versus being in the game. playing a video game versus watching someone else play.

history just bores me. i'm a hands on kind of guy.

[Arvehz]

[******** this s**t, I have problems taking people seriously when they claim to be interested in art and yet don't know s**t about it. I feel like people who are not interested in art history are deliberately limiting themselves.


TL;DR: there is a reason why history of art is taught in every single art-related department of all universities here where I live.

[OhYez]

Art History's pretty important. Part of being an artist (in my opinion) is being able to hold a dialogue with other artists. And no one's going to take you seriously if you don't know the difference between Manet and Monet. They're going to think you're an ignoramus.

That being said, I'm taking my last art history class (Italian Baroque) and I can honestly say I want to escape. I'm not sure of other schools, but we have to take alot of art history at the university I am at right now. Renaissance-High Renaissance, Art in the 17th-18th Century, modern Art 1 and 2, Contemporary Art, Ancient Art...and then a high level art history, which, for me, is Italian Baroque. It's tiring after awhile, but hey, it's only seven semesters. And I feel smarter for it. So, yeah.

[Hiei the Epic]

OhYez

Part of being an artist (in my opinion) is being able to hold a dialogue with other artists.

i don't really agree with this at all. while i respect your opinion, i feel being an artist is based on a person's skills and talent. hell, being an artist is technically just a matter of being able to create art.

it's kind of like saying in order to make jewelry, you need to know the history of it and people who've made it. but really, you just need to know how to make jewelry. what types of stuff to use and how to use it and what looks good together, etc.

i find it a bit ridiculous that people would judge an artist for anything other than their work.

[apiyo]

Before I learned art history it felt like I was drawing in a vacuum. It's important to know what context we're working in so we don't say things like, "I don't like commercial art, I want to work like Michelangelo," and make bad life choices based in wrong information.

edit to add:

When I started learning even the most basic art history, which was basically identifying a couple works from eras, it opened my eyes to what I could do with art too. Before then I only drew crummy desu anime, and maybe some western comics. Looking at past art I "got out more" in stead of doing the same thing all the time. And since there's that context to all kinds of art, you can affect how people feel about your art. Knowing the context of different looks, styles, and architecture means being able to manipulate how it comes across. No matter how much a want to talk about my touchy feely emotions, drawing a Gothic-influenced structure is going to bring certain things to my art because of it's history and there's nothing I can do about it.

[x_Silver_Starlight_x]

I'm more into historic art/artists than art history. I like to look at it and wonder how it happened, and think about the fact that a painting exists while it's creator is long gone. While there are certain things that interest me in regards to art history, for the most part, I couldn't care less about it. It's just not my thing, for the most part. Especially time periods and art movements. I like interesting facts, not boring stuff that will have no affect on my life.
I don't think it's important to improve as an artist, but I do realize it can be important in order to grow as an artist. It's more important for someone intending to work as a proffessional and needs to know terminology and history of artists, but for a hobbyist, it's not entirely necessary.

[Arvehz]

x_Silver_Starlight_x

I don't think it's important to improve as an artist, but I do realize it can be important in order to grow as an artist. It's more important for someone intending to work as a proffessional and needs to know terminology and history of artists, but for a hobbyist, it's not entirely necessary.

100% this. This is totally what I would say if I was smart enough to notice that anime-drawing hobbyists actually exist.

Because I keep forgetting about them.





All the time.




Dammit.



Offtopic, but do you foreign people have art history classes in elementary school?


Because we do.


biggrin

[Hiei the Epic]

this discussion interests me.

i have a few books full of eastern artwork. not anime, but mostly watercolor paintings and inkings, ranging from cave drawings to more modern stuff. i have them because i love the art and i find it fascinating. i know what tools were used because i enjoy learning about it, but this knowledge doesn't help me in the slightest with my own art.

when i first began drawing, it was cartoons. not anime, but good ol' fashion western stuff. i guess. i kinda just did my own thing. then i got bored with it and decided to up my game by drawing real people and objects. i went to town with it. not because anyone told me to, but because i just kinda figured it was common sense to learn to draw by drawing real stuff.

i didn't pick up this understanding from history or anything. i imagine if i had ever taken/could afford art classes my stuff would have gotten better much faster, but i had no support (family was very disinterested, and i didn't/don't have friends) so it was all by myself. a slow, but progressive state of learning. experimenting with various tools (i learned that i love mechanical pencils and micron pens) and methods.

at one point i saw a video of some guy drawing a landscape and that video showed me what perspective and vanishing points were. i still remember it clearly and it definitely helped me step up my game. but the video never mentioned art history. he was just an architect making blueprints.

color, shading, lines, techniques, it's all stuff i figured out. some were inspired by art i've come across and loved-- looking at the pieces and enjoying a certain way they define clouds or something. incorporating these things into my own stuff. i think this is how most artists learn.

(speaking of clouds, i remember vividly when i learned how to shade and highlight them by spending hours watching sunsets and sunrises and the way the light and shadows reflected off of them).

schooling of course can speed things up since it's more technical and you don't have to bumble around with experimenting so much, and i cannot say if being taught history has a real impact on their skills since i have not been. but at this point, i cannot comprehend how being taught the history of art would affect a person's ability to draw.

[Glowstick Overdose]

I think Art history is important enough to invest in books for it but not quite important enough to get around to reading them. -fail-

[[color=emo]]

I have a basic training in art history.

ie. whatever was taught to me over the course of 4 years of highschool art.


it's not that important to me. Good to know, but tbh I find it boring. It's great to see where all the ideas came from and how it intertwined with history/politics/social reforms and stuff, and it can't hurt you as an artist. But ehh. It's just not for me.


I do, however, very much enjoy and appreciate looking at historical art xD

[Gurto Bell]

I'm currently studying Fine Art myself and I've found that a majority of the other students are more interested and better skilled at the practical side to art while I prefer art theory and history. I think it's great to know where certain skills and art traits were derived as that can help build your own artistic capabilities. However, it can be said that looking back in the past is pointless as the traditional styles in those paintintgs are hardly adopted in the modern art scene. Also, somethings thats quite clear in the Picture Post part of this forum, is that a lot of people define art as being able to make a pretty picture. I think people need to understand that enjoying good artwork doesn't just have to be about appearance but about the meaning behind the work.
I've probably gone ona bit of a tangent but I just wanted to put my point across.