Relationship Between Caricature and High Art - Essay Example

Relationship Between Caricature and ‘High Art’ Introduction Analyzing from the definitions, the terms high art and caricature have intriguing relationship that espouses their functionality. Caricature is a simple work of art most probably a drawing or painting with finer details about the art. Caricatures are specialized on the exaggerating on some on the features in the artwork. In most cases, caricatures include exaggerated drawings or paintings of prominent people in the society (Hill, 1965; p.34). High art on the other hand is the study of cultural diversity that refers to cultural products that are associated mostly with the elites in the society. High art therefore includes drawings and paintings with visual aspects of arts that communicate the features of the targeted elitist members of the society. The term ‘high art’ is derived from high culture, which contrasts low culture, or popular culture both of which refer to the cultures embraced by the masses. Unlike the two high cultures, high art’ is a product that is consumped by the high society most of whom are well educated. Moreover, the term High culture may be associated to products of such a culture with a more specific reference to the works of arts including drawings and paintings (McPherson, 2007; p. 55). Rauser, (2008; p. 66) explains that the terms high art and caricature have a functionality relationship that is derived from their definitions. The term caricature is a cleverly crafted term that fits in every society and culture. In reference to the elite, the term caricature refers to a loaded portrait. Such a portrait requires to develop analytical skills same to those of experiencerd analytical developer, one who has an adequate understanding of arts; thus’ understands which parts of the portraits to exaggerate to communicate specific bits of information. However, the term also draws relevance to the low and the popular cultures in that it is a product of culture; hence, it fits in all the cultures despite the societial origin of the culture (Arthur, 2003). An artist or a producer of caricature requires effective knowledge and understanding of the different elements of the art , either drawing or painting. Some of these include color knowledge, Color communicates with every color that have a distinct meaning. An artist therefore requires an adequate knowledge to identify the appropriate color and the intensity of the colors to develop the most appropriate information to communicate. Caricatures just as stated earlier communicate details through exaggeration. The hyperbole in this context refers to the exaggeration of the different elements of arts such as color and their intensities. An artist must therefore have the knowledge to distinct the appropriateness of the intensity of these and create an image that communicates effectively through exaggeration. On the other hand, both the high art and caricatures belong to the broader class of arts. Art refers to the conscious production of sounds, colors and forms movements or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically in a graphic or plastic medium. Arts communicate and draw their messages from the society. The two thus requires adequate knowledge of the society in the development of concise information and determine the right packaging for each to gain the approval of the society within which the art work is produced. High art exists in the high society and communicates different aspects of the high culture; this included the use of sophisticated technologies of the different times and an analytical inclusion and placement of the various components of the art to have an effective communication to the intended audience. History Art is as old as the human generation. Historians trace arts to the stone drawing of the pre medieval ages thus depicting the early human civilizations of the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians. Every generation of humans had their unique civilizations and arts presented a means of preserving these civilizations thus communicating them to their offspring. From the most mundane of drawings to the modern day sophisticated computer aided arts productions, arts as a discipline has come a long way incurring the contributions of iconic personalities all of whom appreciated either one or two aspects of the practice thus leading to the advanced development of each. The earliest forms of drawings and illustrations categorized as caricatures are from the works of Da Vinci who coincidentally belonged to the high society. Da Vinci was an elitist and a highly reputable member of the society whose works are valued on this day and included drawings and paintings. In his works, Da Vinci traversed nature and religion and hid most of his messages in the specific elements of arts such as the color intensity and color balance. This made his works have diverse interpretations and understandings. Besides the serious categories of his works such as the painting of Mona Lisa, Da Vinci produced portraits of paintings and drawings possibly categorized as caricatures in which he presented satirical elements of nature and those of the leaders and authorities of the time. This therefore implies that the art of caricature originated from the high society and thus must have been a branch of high art. Art is a medium of mass communication, a fact that makes caricatures and cartoons part of the modern day newspapers. The eighteenth century London had enlightened individuals who fostered the growth of arts through the presentation of caricatures in the common means of mass communication, this included magazines and other publications. One such authoritative caricaturist was James Gillray (Gillrayand Draper, 1966; p. 17). Born in Chelsea to commoner’s family, Gillray had an average childhood and received the Basic English education a process through which he identified his talent in letter engraving and drawing which he later natured to make him one of the most revered English caricaturists. His contributions to the art is significant and included the development of print making thus a means of making caricatures an actual means of mass communication (George, 1959; p. 22). Most of his caricatures criticize the leadership of George the third. The king had no understanding of arts and could not therefore figure out the message in most of Gillray’s works, in one of his assessment of the works, the king provoked Gillray by terming his creations insignificant owing to the fact that he could not understand them. Gillray thereafter began extensive production of caricatures ridiculing the king and his inability at interpreting the works of arts. Gillray fused his talent and the technology of print making to enable him produce large quantities of caricatures. According to his understanding, he used the art to influence public understanding of the realities in the society. Among his early prints is A Connoisseur Examining a Cooper, a master piece in which he expresses his criticisms at King George the third for his pretentious knowledge on art. It is ironical that the king failed to understand the art yet caricature was an elitist mode of art. The art is part of high art and King George the third being one of the most prominent members of the high society ought to have adequate knowledge to interpreting the information in the works. This shows that Gillray had found an effective way of disguising his intended meaning in the element of the art (Mendoza, 2003; p. 145). Through his works, he criticized quite a number of prominent personalities of the time, in doing this, he allowed enough detail to enable his audience identify the specific leaders he ridiculed yet he distorted the reality enough to make it a little more complex for the comprehension of an average citizen which unfortunately included King George the third. Works of arts gain more prominence and relevance especially in crises, Gillray maintained a conservative stance during the French revolution and he played a big role in nurturing the conservative mindsets in the population (Banerji and Donald, 2008; p. 12). During this war, he produced hundreds of caricatures most of which he criticized the French and Napoleon. As a mass communicator, he maintained some element of objectivity by not taking sides of either political party of the times and produced caricatures that ridiculed both the Whig and the Troy parties. The nature of caricatures makes it a unique form of arts. It requires knowledge to comprehend the activities if the leaders and other prominent people in the society who draw public interest. The target of audience of caricatures on the other hand includes both the elitist and the commoners. This implies that the artist must employ some creativity to reveal enough information to earn the understanding of both groups (Haywood, 2010). On the contrary, high art targets purposely the high society; this implies that the art requires a more complex printability to achieve the satisfaction of the society. Furthermore, the target audience of this art is elite, they thus require some complex information and nature of presentation to achieve efficacy of the communication model. Caricatures included all this by ensuring that it appealed to both the sections of the society (Donald, 1996; p. 12). The use of satire attracted the curiosity of both the societies making the art more prominent especially among the high society. Gillray achieved high quality presentation by using canvas in producing some of the works he valued the most. He hung some most of his works in Humphrey’s shop in saint James street in the heart of London. The location was strategic enough, unlike the modern society where every segment of the market has its own media, the shop presented unparalleled publicity. Only members of the high society could own shops back then. By displaying his works in such a shop, Gillray hints to the fact that he targeted every member of the society regardless of their social classes. Through the works of these two iconic personalities, it becomes evident that high art and caricatures are related in a number of ways. Arts is passed down from one generation to another through practice and initiation through the effective identification of talent. Caricature is a mere drawing or painting that uses satire and exaggeration to communicate. Through practice, talents are natured to become reputable producers of such (William, 1960; p. 131). This applies too in the case of the two, Hogarth was apprenticed at age twelve by a highly reputable artists of the time, Ellis Gamble from whom he learned of the art. James Gillray also learned from other artists who lived before him key among whom is Hogarth. Learning is a process and arts require adequate practice and initiation to identify and develop talent. Both high art and caricature require such treatment for one to develop into a reputable creator of such. The basic knowledge learnt makes one a rudimentary developer of any form of art such as drawing and painting. An additional literacy is also paramount to make an artist effective communicators. Artists use their arts to communicate. Hogarth and Gillray both used arts to criticize the status quo of their times. Their diverging viewpoints in analysis depend on their knowledge and personal beliefs (Godfrey, 2001; p. 12). The creators who rely on their personal biases in criticizing the society influence the outcome of the artistic products such as paintings, drawings and caricatures. A key personality in the development of the modern day caricatures among other forms of arts was William Hogarth. Born in Bartolommeo Close in the heart of the early London, William represented the early English civilization. William was a multitalented English nobleman who grew to become a social critic, painter, caricaturist and cartoonist among the many other roles he played in the English social and political circles of the early times. He produced a myriad of works and in the pervasive nature of his political criticism, the modern day caricaturists use the term Hogarthian in reference to ubiquitous political criticism (Sean, 1983; p.12). The term is developed from his sir name thereby implying that he is the originator of the form of criticism. Through an analysis of his works, a relationship arises naturally between caricatures of high art. Most of his active years were in the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. From such early times, William develops an elitist personality, which implies that, his indulgence into the art quantifies the art as an elitist. He produced a number of portraits and satirical paintings some of which qualified as caricatures portraying the high society and communicating some of their activities to the common citizens. His first caricature was the criticism of the London’s stock market crash of the time in which people lost a lot of money. The portrait, Emblematical print on the south sea scheme depicts the personalities responsible for the monetary loss in the stock market by offering an effective yet more satirical criticism of their actions which resulted in the loss of money for thousands of investors. In doing this Hogarth communicates the gist of the stock markets failure to the rest of the investors most of who belonged to the high society. However, he does this so satirically that the rest of the commoners most of whom could not have felt the effects of the disastrous stock market directly thought funny. In doing this, the artist establishes a link between the different classes in the society. He uses his satirical paintings to enlighten this other population on the actions of the elite. He further explains how some of these actions affect this other class of the society economically. This therefore establishes the fact that arts have a universal consumption regardless of the societal stratifications. He uses simplicity to communicate some of the most complex dealings of the elite class in the society. This further makes the caricatures more interesting and easier to comprehend. The commoners view the simplicities in these and gain satisfaction from the hilarious nature of the presentations. However, the elite in the society on the other hand become more analytical of the presentation to establish the type of criticism that the artist seeks to elaborate. Hogarth maintained high levels of morality in his works. He sought to criticize the deteriorating level of morality in the English society. by doing this, Hogarth seeks to unify the entire society by drawing more attention to a piece of moral fabric that as it were the society was slowly but progressively losing. In one of his works which is unsurprisingly the best piece he ever did, Hogarth criticizes the then emerging trend in which more marriages were motivated by money and not love as is the universally accepted norm. The piece entitled Marriage à-la-mode critics the eighteenth century marriage concern in the English society. The serial paintings tell a story in their satirical nature beginning with the signing of marriage papers by the son of a bankrupt Earl Squander field to the daughter of an affluent but stingy city trader. This series of caricatures offer an in depth criticism of the English upper class marriage morality. It criticizes the norm in the trend in marriage in which the upper class attached more importance to the economic class of their spouses while the poor used marriage as a means of climbing the social ladder.In doing this, Hogarth underscores the main essence of arts, which is to rebuke the society. Arts provide an effective platform for self-evaluation; Hogarth therefore reflects the society making it realize how perverse its emerging trends were. Unfortunately, this awful trend affects the high society. The high society thus is the source for the information he articulates in the series. The series targets the general society and to reach the high society, he packages his caricatures effectively. High art has a number of distinctive characteristics key among which include the diversity in the use of artistic skills. Being an elitist media, high art uses a variety of features that portray the academic and economic stature of its target audience. This requires the artist to have an adequate knowledge notably be of similar academic level. Hogarth meets this, born to a school teacher, he received basic English education before he was apprenticed to an iconic engraver Ellis Gamble from who he learned the artistic skills of observing the oddities in the society and creatively presenting them in arts. Adequate education and information makes one an analytical critic of the emerging trend in the society (Domenici, 1983; p. 53). The high society consists of the noble and the learned, furthermore, English had and still has some of the best laws on defamation. Artists thus had an obligation of determining the extent of their freedoms and the most effective means of evading possible law suits from the aggrieved parties. Additionally, high art is distinct in the type of material; this is a product that is designed for consumption by the high society. It thus requires effective packaging to embody the glamor associated with the high society. Furthermore, this has to find an appropriate mechanism of ensuring its reach to the target audience. In a move that influenced the modern format of newspapers especially in the editorial column, Hogarth placed his caricatures in periodicals most of which targeted the rich and the wealthy in the society. This was the most effective elitist media in the market back then. Inclusion of the caricatures in the periodicals implied that Hogarth through the use of his knowledge in print making found a way of printing his caricatures thus binding them together in the pages of the periodicals (Dana and Margaret, 2003; p.21). Besides his skills in caricatures, Hogarth had an extensive knowledge in other arts as well. He was a renowned painter who developed a number of portraits of some of the noblemen in England at the time. This multi skilled approach to arts arises from the fact that the different types of arts required a common basic knowledge. This develops an important relation between caricature developments to the practice of other arts. Portrait creation was a purely elitist form of arts. Those worthy of earning themselves portraits must have been highly reputable and famous personalities in the society. Such people belonged to the high society. Among his most famous portraits included the portrait of the shrimp girl a fictional character famous in the civilization of London at the time and the portrait of captain Thomas Coram (Cordulack, 2003; p. 42). Hogarth employs the same knowledge in creating both his satirical caricatures and the reputable caricature thus implying that the two are not different and requires the similar conceptualization besides using the same materials in the creation process. Wright and Evans, (1851; p. 31) asserts that William Hogarth played an important role in the development of caricatures as an art among other forms of arts including high art as a part of the normal art. From his established level of creativity, other artist arose some of whom practiced alongside him in similar category of arts. It is during this period in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century before the development of photographs that the arts of drawing, painting and caricature took effect. To this day the modern development have not displaced this rudimentary form of art since it embodies the actual art giving the artist a feel of the pen thus stretching creativity. To attest this, all modern day newspapers run columns of cartoons and other caricatures developed in the same way despite the development in desktop publishing (Contogouris, 2011; p. 63). Hogarth and his likes grew in times when paintings and creations of arts such as caricatures and cartoons were highly commercialized. They created these, sold them to print shops, and displayed other in shop windows and taverns for public consumption. From the initial creations of arts, other forms of creativity evolved leading to the innovations and diversification of arts some of which trickled down to the modern day arts. Among other artist of the time who made remarkable contribution of the modern day art and achieved success in the early eighteenth century included Henry Fielding who specialist in the then new form of painting referred to as novel and a great student of Hogarth known as James Gillray (Benjamin and Underwood, 2008; p. 33). Despite the developing and trending feature of arts referred to as the novel through which artists used drawings and paintings to communicate fictional stories. James Gillray stuck to the conventional mode of painting and drawings. He followed on the footsteps of Hogarth and took the arts to a different level but under the same principles of practice. Being an elitist media, Gillray fused satire and caricature to criticize the society especially the political leadership. Every type of art has its specific features and requirements. These make every type of art unique but the basic formulation of all arts remains similar thereby making either caricatures or high art similar. March of the guards to Finland is a famous caricature created by Hogarth, comparing this masterwork to yet another master piece produced by James Gillray The loss of the faro bank reveals a number of structural similarities and differences most of which are personal. Gillrey lived in economically tumultuous London, from the loss ridden stock market to the recession of the 1797; he thus criticizes the economic policy makers in most of his works such as the one above (Frederic, 2001; p. 42). Hogarth on the other hand cared much about morality especially of the high society. He thus produced a number of caricatures criticizing the societal trends most of which he considered unethical. Despite this obvious difference in personalities, the two portray a great resemblance in their approach to arts by using satirical drawings and paintings to develop their artifacts. List of Reference ARTHUR, D. (2003). The abuse of beauty: Aesthetics and the concept of art. Niagara. Niagara University press. BANERJI C. & DONALD D. (2008). Gillray Observed: The Earliest Account of his Caricatures in London and Paris. Camnbridge University Press.  BENJAMIN, W.& UNDERWOOD, J. (2008). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin. CONTOGOURIS, E. (2011). The Efflorescence of Caricature - 1759-1838. Farnham: Ashgate.  CORDULACK, S.W. (2003). Victorian Caricature and Classicism: Picturing the London Water Crisis. Springer: Vol. 9, No. 4.  DANA, A. & MARGARET, I. ( 2003). 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(2003). Defining John Bull: political caricature and national identity in late Georgian England. Aldershot [u.a.], Ashgate. Read More