What I've Learned From Art

I think it would be very difficult to pick out one thing and call it my "most memorable thing" that I have learned all semester. Although, there were a few things that really stuck out in my mind, and I think these things will be the ones I will remember for a very long time. First and foremost, for some reason, I have always been enthralled with atmospheric perspective. I know, I know! What an odd thing to remember out of all the things we learned! But for some reason, I was just immediately fascinated by this idea, and have found it to be true in every representational painting I have paid attention with. From the beginning this was something that I remembered and always noticed about the painting. This key term ended up being the first thing I recognized when analyzing a painting.
Another part of this course that I really enjoyed was form and content. I had heard those words tossed around before in previous art classes, but because I was always taught the actual process of drawing and painting in these art classes (which, by the way, is definitely my worst subject-not because I dislike it, but because I'm no good at it!) so I never really paid attention to things like the key terms. Now I know that when we speak about a work of art's form, we are talking about everything that I like to call "physical"-from the material used to create the art, to the actual things that are painted (trees, grass, etc.), to how it is organized in the painting. When we speak about a work of art's content, we are talking about everything I like to call "mental"-from how it makes us feel or act to what we think it means.
I also really enjoyed iconography because when I am looking at a work of art, I generally see the basic, main idea. It is very difficult for me to try and delve deeper into what the painting actually means. In short, I'm great with describing the form of a painting and not so great at describing the content. I never understand what certain items mean in a painting, and am in awe when others are able to pull very meaningful things out of a painting that I just passed right over. I really enjoyed employing iconography on The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, and I especially loved listening to everyone else's take on this painting-like for instance what the dog and the oranges mean, how the bride is holding up her dress, and the meaning of the reflection in the mirror in the back.
Overall, this class was a great success. I not only learned from what the teacher had to offer, but I learned from what other classmates had to say, which is very difficult and I imagine almost impossible coming from an online class. I hope everyone else got as much out of this class as I did.