LibGuides: OGC TOK: The Arts

Knowledge Questions about The Arts

Scope

Do the disciplines in the arts diverge from one another more fundamentally than disciplines within other areas of knowledge?
- The Arts, via Britannica
How have new technologies changed the nature and scope of the arts as an area of knowledge?
- What are NFTs anyway? via Forbes
- NFTs are Fueling a Boom in Digital Art, video
Are the arts best seen as a system of knowledge, a type of knowledge or a means of expressing knowledge?
- Art and Culture, via the India Government

Perspective

Can a work of art have meaning of which the artist themselves is unaware?
- Art and Power, via California Museum of Art
How does knowing more about the social, cultural or historical context of a work of art have an impact on our knowledge of the work itself?
- Barrett's Principals of Interpretation, via California Museum of Art
- 8 Artists who Poured their Heart and Soul into their Work, via Mental Floss
What are the justifications for, and implications of, claiming that there are absolute standards for “good art”?

Methods & Tools

Does sense perception perform a radically different role in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?
- Science Meets Art, via Stanford U
If the language of an art form is non-verbal, does this free it from being limited to propositional knowledge?
To what extent are the methods of justification different in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?
- Why Art and Science are more Closely Related than You Think, via Forbes

Ethics

How important is the study of literature in our individual ethical development?
On what criteria could it be decided if the state has the right to censor art that is deemed immoral or blasphemous?
Can we separate the moral character of the artist from the value of the artwork?

Want more questions? See HERE via the IBO

Key Concepts in The Arts

Value

Is it possible to objectively evaluate art?
How do we measure artistic value?
- What is the economic value of The Arts? Infographic via National Endowment of the Arts (USA)

Meaning

Is the artist responsible for all the meaning found within their art? Whose perspective matters when determining meaning?
- Calvin and Hobbes, comic via Bill Watterson
- Who Decides What Art Means? video via TED-Ed

Originality

Can genuinely new artistic knowledge ever be created?
- Creation History, via The Guardian
- Allergy to Originality, video via New York Times
- Everything is a Remix, video via Kirby Ferguson

Key Vocabulary & Terminology

visual arts, theatre, dance, music, flim, literature	knowledge facilitating interpretation within a perspective	intention of the artist	meaning of art
interpreting literature transferring to interpreting other art forms	emotional interaction	role of audience	critics and experts
competency of judging in the arts	arts as a vehicle for social change	acceptable art and its limits	controversial art
ethical constraints in producing arts	ethical constraints for the audience to art	arts and culture, traditional art forms	arts changing established values