Introduction

Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897-1898. Oil on canvas, 139.1 × 374.6 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

If nothing else, visual art provides an avenue for self-expression. As a primary source, artists express attitudes, feelings, and sentiments about the world around us through personal experiences, social interaction, and relationship with the natural world. In short, art gives us a perception of or a reaction to our place in the world. This idea is illustrated in the French artist Paul Gauguin's painting titled: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? The work brings us on a symbolic journey that includes imagery of infancy, adulthood, nature  and spirituality.

In Module 1, we referred to description as one of many roles art affords us, but this description is often imbued with the artist's subjective interpretation. In this module we will examine how art operates as a vehicle for human expression, a kind of collective visual metaphor that helps define who we are.

Notes

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