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Thesis: Is technical knowledge at odds with artistic expression or is it at the base of it?

Introduction: When we think about artistic creation, we tend to assimilate it with the explosion of raw creativity of the artist that swings between the highs and lows of his deep emotional spectrum. Throughout history the concept of an artist is generally represented by characters like Michelangelo, Paul Gauguin, Edward Munch, or Vincent Van Gogh; misunderstood geniuses, victims of their own creative internal chaos. That ability the artist has to connect with his most inner emotions allows him to render his feelings and thoughts using color and shapes. What is it that makes these pieces art? Why do the creations of the masters impact us in a bigger way that the simple decorative drawing on a piece of paper, which was also created by the combination of lines, shapes and colors? One answer to this question could be found in the Oxford dictionary’s definition of art:

“Art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”.

This definition brings the concepts of skill and beauty, and it is around these two concepts that the view of what art is starts gaining more layers. How does and artist reaches the skill that will allow him to create? Talent is born but it also formed, and enhanced by the knowledge of the techniques of drawing, painting, achieved to perfection by all the great masters. When we think about a painted flower on a canvas as a combination of geometrical forms that must keep the same ratios, proportions and angles as the model, then art starts sounding more technological, more mathematical. The same goes for beauty, which is one of the goals of art. Is beauty also attained by the technological knowledge of ratios, patterns and harmony? Could the concept of technology actually be at the origin of artistic creation instead of being considered at odds with the artistic process and expression?

• What is beauty, patterns, harmony.
• Maths and beauty
• Michelangelo, the Golden ratio and the Fibonnacci numbers
• Classic art and the big masters

Counter Thesis:

• Technique vs emotions
• Creation vs imitation
• Technique is means to and end
• Modern art

Conclusion.