Seeing and Naming

Contemplating works of art: on the interplay between image and language. An interaction between students from Leiden University and the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague.

This class is devoted to ways of looking at artworks and articulating that experience. Looking attentively at art is something we have to learn, as is describing, analyzing and articulating convincingly what is seen. The language we use is crucial; the artwork does not exist outside of language; rather, it takes its existence from an active and conscious viewing and its subsequent verbal articulation. Visual art needs language, but it never coincides with it. The aim of this concentrated viewing is to get through to the different layers of the artwork, both in its content and its materiality and technique. In the act of looking, there is a constant oscillation between the artwork and the beholder. It will become part of the way in which the beholder views the world. For both the maker and the beholder, the combination of seeing and naming is fundamental for the understanding of a work. To translate the visual experience into verbal language, the analysis of the process of production is essential for the advancement of the creative process. Hence, questions addressed in the course include: What kind of knowledge and insights do artworks invoke? What does art mean to contemporary society? And what role does the work of art play in our postmodern image culture? Ways of looking at artworks and ways of bringing that experience to words take centre stage in the course. The aim of the Honours Class is to learn to understand how each participant expresses him/herself in language vis à vis an artwork. In the classes students develop the skills needed to look at art, discuss and write about it in relation to one another. In the process students learn to interpret not only art, but also the surrounding world. The aim is to stimulate critical thinking about ideas, events and key themes in contemporary art and culture. In addition students from the university and the academy of art receive the opportunity to stimulate and learn from each other in contemplating and reflecting on art. Lastly, the programme aims at stimulating the students, and especially the university students, to enhance their creativity and expressiveness. 
 

Programme:	February – June 2010. This study course consists of fourteen weekly meetings. To conclude the course, students will present and discuss their work and results of the course in the Gallery of the Royal Art Academy in The Hague.
Application deadline:	1 December 2009
Language of instruction:	English
Contact:	Janneke Wesseling - lectoraatkabk@gmail.com Prof.dr. Kitty Zijlmans - c.j.m.zijlmans@hum.leidenuniv.nl