Art Savvy is a systematic approach to understanding art. It gives you methods to assess a design and really see what the artist was doing. Unlike chaotic art writings, terms are clearly defined, categorized, organized and illustrated. It is designed to answer questions like: What things will allow me to understand art? What are the basic elements? What is concept art? Can you "read" a work of abstract art? Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in art work. Art Savvy gives you this. Defining Terms: Often art terms are not clearly defined, are used interchangeably or get mixed up with other types of analysis. For a thorough exploration of all aspects of art, photos of great works are referenced with color keyed notations to illustrate the 5 easy pieces: 1. Design Elements- Visual grammar, line, shape, form, mass etc. - definitions & how to see them. 2. Organization Principles- How elements are arranged and how this effects the concept.3. Style- Relation to other groups of work and formulas for design.4. Technique- How methods and materials are used to impact the concept.5. Concept- What this piece about. What major themes and elements were used.Assessment techniques in each section of Art Savvy will train your eye to always see these 5 aspects of any artwork. It is not attempting judgments of relevance, philosophy, spiritual meanings and other ethereal aspects that a work may convey. This text poses the question: "What is the basic concept here?" but sticks to pure analysis and leaves all judgment to you and the experts. This field guide is a mini textbook on design principles that will let you understand art!
About the Author: Tj. Aitken is an Installation artist and established Industrial Design Consultant. He creates public sculptures and has had commissions and exhibitions in many cities. His 3 earlier books on the new processes he developed for sculpture are easy to read and follow. Tj. grew up near Detroit, worked assembly, die models, show prototypes, and then did a sculpture BFA in '77. In the 80's his Colorado studio cast museum replicas and his work. '87 back in Michigan, he managed 3D auto design and became a Design Director, while sculpting art privately. Living in Europe in the 90's and lecturing at the University of Hertfordshire School of Art and Design he began developing the ideas for Art Savvy. He worked in Milan, Cologne, Munich, and Coventry. These years allowed him to study the art masters in Paris, Amsterdam, Florence and Rome and gave him a new perspective on Americans and their relation to art. His work on aesthetics has been validated in studies published by the University of Michigan in 2004. He taught thousands how to understand beauty and craftsmanship in industry at companies like Johnson Controls, General Motors, Avery Dennison, Newell Rubbermaid, and Tata of India. He holds design and process patents and his materials have been translated into 5 languages. He has been a conference speaker on "Quantifying Aesthetics" at the Harvard "Front End of Innovation," The Innovation Network, and the Creative Problem Solving Institute's annual conferences. Tj. speaks to all types of people to enable understanding. While exhibiting on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Museum for ArtPrize in Grand Rapids he realized the need for a field guide on art. All these experiences have culminated in this little book.