Louis Sullivan Thought Summary

Everyone wants to understand art.... In the case of a painting people have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works out of necessity, that he himself is only a trifling bit of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things, things which please us in the world, though we can't explain them (Barnes).

Artists have many ways of conveying meaning using visual language. It is through the structural elements of a painting that responders are invited to discover the layers of deeper meaning and concept that may be present within any given work. Elements of visual language such a signs and symbols, colour tone and composition are used to further explore and develop the ideas which the artist wishes to express SENTENCE ABOUT WHICH ARTWORKS YOURE TALKING ABOUT AND HOW GR8 THEY ARE.

Attention Getter: Art can be used to express our innermost feelings and to convey ideas about anything such as society, economics, education, religion, and politics.

Art is a particular form of social consciousness and of human activities, an important way for people to perceive, discover and improve life: according to the laws of beauty. It is the creation of tangible or intangible products containing great values of thought-aesthetics, cultural character, and emotions. In this sense, there are numerous types of art. Painting is one of the oldest forms of art on earth. From prehistoric times, artists not only used it to communicate, but they also used painting to entertain the viewers. Painting can be transformed, eliminating the tedium, fatigue, and stress in daily tasks to bring the joy. Fun in life or silence for the soul. In other words, painting is a language that communicates an artist 's ideas

In John Sullivan's essay, ‘Mr. Lytle’, he begins by explaining how he went to live with an old man named Mr. Lytle who died less than two years after he had started working for him. Immediately Sullivan jumps into the funeral preparations for Mr. Lytle where he explains how him and three other men built a casket for Mr. Lytle out of cedar wood. Mr. Lytle wanted his casket made out of cedar wood because “It would smell good.” After Sullivan explains the funeral he begins to tell about his life when Mr. Lytle was still alive. One night him and some of his suitemates were talking about Mr. Lytle. One of the boys named Smitty was talking about how Mr. Lytle was a fascist and about how one time Mr. Lytle said “Life is melodrama. Only art is real.” This quote made me think and compare the relationship between the different definitions of life and art.

     Art, in each and every form that it comes in, shows us who we are. Our

In his 1947 essay, “Thought,” Louis H. Sullivan offers concepts on how to improve one’s creative thinking process. He suggests that the most highly productive, creative thinking is accomplished better without the use of words, thus promoting the use of more imaginative cogitating. Sullivan calls the process of thinking an art, a science, and compares it to being like an army. He also equates thinking to being a philosophy, and it is here that a problem arises. He mentions the use of reading and states, “The best that reading and listening can do is to stimulate you to think your own thoughts, but nine times out of ten, you are thinking the other man’s thought, not your own.” Sullivan is suggesting that generally, the act of reading only permits the reader access to the author’s thought process and does not allow them to develop their own ideas from the source. Therefore, does the act of reading diminish one’s creativity and originality? Certainly not, reading inspires one to meditate on the source’s idea; therefore, stirring up the reader’s thought process to create new thinking schemes.

I believe that the artist is expressing himself when he is creating a painting, sculpture, drawing, etc. I also believe that art can be interpreted in many ways. One way that I thought an artist was able to express the way he thinks was through a drawing that was created by Otto Dix’s drawing Krigeskruppel (War Cripples). The time that Dix created this piece was the time of World War 1 (pg 40.) Dix was able to first see the effect that the war was having on soldiers. The drawing contains four men walking, to what seems to be downtown. The leader of the four men is smoking a large cigar and is needed the support of a cane because he is missing an arm and both of his legs, the next is man is also missing a leg and supporting himself by a cane.

Everything around us in life is art; we are surrounded by art everyday without even noticing it. The way you write, speak, dress, drink your coffee, decorate your home, these are all forms of art. The world is your canvas and you are the artist. Even your smile is art. Art lets you speak in ways where words cannot.

The unique language of art refers to the way art can reflect the use of non-verbal forms of communication in which can be used to draw understanding from these non-verbal actions. These can include images (still and moving), sound, gestures, drama, dance and many other forms of nonverbal interaction with emotion and expression to form communication. These verbal actions are essential used to express oneself or convey the feelings, emotions and thoughts. These arts and processing these non-verbal forms of communication take a high level if skill in information processing which can prove to be complex. This shows that art conveys its own way of knowing and a unique language for each different art forms. (Wright, 2012) Each form of art

The significance of a painting is most commonly recognized upon the initial glance of the painting. We gaze upon the aesthetics of a painting and immediately we feel something for it. Maybe we love it. Maybe we hate it. Maybe we just don't get it. Regardless of what we feel, we feel something. The painting speaks to us. Picasso said, "As far as I am concerned, a painting speaks for itself. What is the use of giving explanations, when all is said and done? A painter has only one language." and this is true. It is not the text printed on the wall next to the painting that awards art with its beauty, its the painting itself. The works of art that are immortalized are the works that need no explanation. Works like James McNeill Whistler's 'Nocturne

I believe painting to be a method of creative expression by allowing anyone to uniquely express themselves with

Look at the color red, a color known for its beauty and while it may not be in everybody’s catalogue of beauty, it cannot be denied of its intensity. If one is showed a stunning painting of a red rose, one of the descriptions that could apply to that paining is beauty: seeing such an elegant spectacle of nature being emulated on paper can be quite stimulating. Another description that could be associated with a red rose is passion, as such a color may leave one energized and spontaneous; however how would one respond if they were told that the painting of the rose was painted with blood. Now a painting that once may have suggested the aspects of beauty and passion, may stir descriptions such as fear, aggression, danger and yet passion as well; therefore, bringing one to the understanding that “Every image embodies a way of seeing” (Berger, 142). This is why paintings should be viewed as a spectacle; hence, this brings me to the painting I was presented with by John Berger in his book Ways of seeing in which he argues how through reproduction the modern context of the Old Masters’ paintings severed them from what they meant in the time of their production. The painting that demanded my attention was Wheatfield with Crows by Van Gogh, something that may seem simple at first but is rich with emotion. Through such a work of art I’ve come to understand that paintings are a medium where an artist can illustrate his words/feelings and express

Many people say that arts come from life. Whatever you face in your daily experience, all of them would become the source, the inspiration, the soul of the artwork.In this essay,I would like to focus on the paintings form of art. How do the paintings reflect the attitude of the artists? How do the paintings reflect the philosophy and value of the world? No matter you are eastern or western people,paintings are just not about the skills, but they also convey the feelings of the artists. Needless to say, there is still a great divergence of traditional Chinese painting and Western painting. Generally speaking, Chinese painters love to use realistic techniques to express unrealistic things and their feelings in addition to the fact that they want

Art is an application of the human’s creative skill and imagination. This can mean many different things, as art comes in numerous forms. Typically, art is visual. John Berger from Ways of Seeing began his first chapter stating, “Seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world”. Seeing things for ourselves gives a more in depth explanation of life and what it may truly mean. The artwork that I chose was a painting by surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí, called The Persistence of Memory. Salvador Dalí incorporates surrealism throughout this entire painting. In fact, this is one of the most famous paintings for surrealism, as he incorporates much of the unconscious mind and realms of experience (Totally History). This painting contains several objects that act as symbolistic meanings, which relates to human life. Stephen Davies and Philip Alperson from The Philosophy of Art stated, “The bases for artistic features also include relations to matters outside the work, such as the artist’s intentions or conventions of symbolization, and so on”. Throughout the painting one is able to see these symbols in Dalí’s incorporation of the melting clocks, a human figure, and an orange clock covered in ants.