Meaning of Visual Arts (What are they, Concept and Definition)

What are Visual Arts:

As visual arts is called the set of artistic manifestations of a visual nature , among which are those of traditional plastic disciplines, the new forms of expression appeared during the second half of the twentieth century and the most recent artistic manifestations, product of new technologies and new media.

Among the traditional plastic disciplines are, for example, painting, drawing, engraving and sculpture.

Also, among the new forms of expression that appeared during the second half of the 20th century, we can name photography, video art, artistic action or performance , interventions and graffiti.

Framed within the new creations of contemporary visual arts we can mention those grouped into digital art.

The aspect that all have in common the expressions of the visual arts is that they are captured through the vision, so that they share a series of aesthetic characteristics, elements and principles.

Within the criteria we can find harmony, color, composition, space, balance, light, movement, perspective, rhythm and texture, defined in what are called aesthetic values.It is from these visual codes or languages ​​that the artist seeks to convey to the viewer a certain aesthetic experience.

Characteristics of the visual arts

Currently, it is argued that the visual arts respond to a series of basic characteristics.Among them we find the appropriation, where the artist takes elements or styles, typical of other currents, movements and even epochs, and incorporates them into his compositions in a novel way.

On the other hand, the visual artist is characterized by being inter-and multidisciplinary, so he tends to move between different disciplines to their props Aesthetic bears, involving a horizon of research and experimentation and incorporating different supports, materials and techniques.

Another characteristic of visual arts is that it draws significantly from the phenomenon of globalization, which facilitates circulation and access to the artistic proposals that are developed in all parts of the planet, promoting a dynamic feedback of aesthetics and cultural plurality, but also a kind of standardization in the artistic phenomenon.

Finally, the exhibition strategies they are also, within the visual arts, a motive for aesthetic exploration, to enhance the nature of the works.In this sense, cases worth mentioning are the appropriation of public spaces or the use of the Internet to present the sample, so such as the variation of the periods of the exhibition, which can range from hours to weeks.

Classification of visual arts

The name acion “visual arts” only emerges from the Second World War, with the avant-garde currents of the twentieth century that intertwine traditional disciplines of the fine arts.

Fine arts

Cutting with a kitchen knife through the beer belly of the Weimar Republic , Hannah Hoch, 1919

Within the designation of the 7 fine arts, the visual arts merge elements from: painting, sculpture, dance, architecture and cinema, incorporating new elements hitherto unrelated to the aesthetic visual experience.

Artistic currents

The source , Marcel Duchamp, 1917

In this sense, we can include within the visual arts the works of art that fall within what are called artistic currents, especially those that arise with avant-garde as They are, for example, Dadaism, Cubism, Pop Art, Abstract Art, among others.

Contemporary Art

In you In recent years, the use of new technologies and emerging media, for exploration of aesthetic potentials, have created new manifestations belonging to the visual arts where we can find, for example:

digital photography, digital photomontage, interactive art, ephemeral art, digital art, artistic action or performance , video art, installations, interventions, land art, environmental art, art postcard, urban art, public art, cinematic art.

The artistic expressions mentioned above belong to what we call contemporary art.

History of visual arts

It is agreed to mark the end of the Second World War as a starting point for visual arts as we know them today: a mode of artistic expression that appeals to expressive and formal freedom, and that is based on avant-garde proposals precedents, in which Marcel Duchamp's work had a decisive impact.

The art that will be developed from this period is characterized by the interaction and evolution between different disciplines, as well as the use of its various resources and languages.This dynamic resulted in a wide variety of aesthetic products.

See also What are the arts?

Visual arts and performing arts

Performing arts share features and elements with visual arts with visual arts such as, for example, artistic action or performance , happening, fluxus, interactive art and ephemeral art, among many more.

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