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Making sense of art history
You can prepare for this free course, Making sense of art history, by looking around you. It's likely that wherever you are you'll be able to see some images. It's also likely that many of these will be intended to have some sort of effect on you. In the course itself you will be exploring the power of images via a study of contemporary art from the 1980s onwards. Taking the time to look beyond the immediate appearance of an art work to consider what the artist might be trying to say can be immensely rewarding.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- identify the effects of art works
- understand a range of artistic techniques, such as the use of colour, composition and medium
- recognise the relationship between effects and techniques in a range of art works
- understand some of the factors involved in interpreting meaning
- understand the significance of context in informing the interpretation of art works.
First Published: 09/08/2012
Updated: 15/02/2018
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Well I have learnt so much about how to look at art and feel more confident in looking at art with a new perspective and armed with questions that I can ask myself about the artwork to interpret what I see before me. I really enjoyed this course, it was not only informative but also something that I will be able to use in the future.