Critical Thinking Questions Do you think any object can be art? Explain your answer. Why do you think that digital artists often begin by sketching their ideas on paper? How can art be “intellectual” (smart)? ‘Fine art’ is a kind of art that uses a lot of skill or thought. Do you think digital art could be a kind of ‘fine art’? Why or why not? Can you think of any ways that math or science could be useful in digital art?

Do you think any object can be art? Explain your answer.

1) yes because you have to find the beauty of it for it to be art

Why do you think that digital artists often begin by sketching their ideas on paper?

2) so they have an outline of what they want to do

How can art be “intellectual” (smart)?

3) it can talk about universal problems or it can have multiple meanings

‘Fine art’ is a kind of art that uses a lot of skill or thought. Do you think digital art could be a kind of ‘fine art’? Why or why not?

4) yes it can because its still art just on a different platform

Can you think of any ways that math or science could be useful in digital art?

5) it could be used in math by taking measurements for lines. it could be used in science by mixing paint (physical change) or by mixing other products to make a chemical change that creates a beautiful pattern that could be art.

Explanation:

perhaps donatello’s landmark work – and one of the greatest sculptural works of the early renaissance – was his bronze statue of david.  this work signals the return of the sculpture in the round figure, and because it was the first such work like this in over a thousand years, it is one of the most important works in the history of western art.

david is shown at a triumphal moment within the biblical storyline of his battle with the philistine, goliath.  according to the account, after david struck goliath with the stone from his slingshot, he cut off his head with goliath’s sword.  here, we see the aftermath of this event as david stands in a contemplative pose with one foot atop his enemy’s severed head.  david wears nothing but boots and a shepherd’s hat with laurel leaves on top of it, which may allude to his victory or to his role as a poet and musician.

before donatello’s work, david was typically depicted as a king, given his status in the old testament.  here, however, we have a stark change in the way david is depicted.  not only is he shown in the, but he’s also a youth.  in middle ages, nudity was not used in art except in certain moral contexts, such as the depiction of adam and eve, or the sending of souls off to the underworld.  in the classical world, was often used in a different, majestic context, such as with figures who were gods, heroes, or athletes.  here, donatello seems to be calling to mind the type of heroic nudity of antiquity, since david is depicted at triumphal point in the biblical narrative of his victory over goliath.

as for david’s youthfulness, donatello has gone back to the early life of the biblical david to depict him, rather than to his later life as a king.  it seems that donatello is trying to associate david’s youth with an innocent and virtuous life.  david looks young here – so young, in fact, that his muscles have barely developed enough to hold the large sword – that his victory over his foe is all the more improbable.  could david’s victory have been gained without divine intervention?   donatello’s work seems to imply that the answer is “no” – the victory was god’s rather than man’s.

in any case, donatello’s david is a classic work of renaissance sculpture, given its judaeo-christian subject matter modeled on a classical sculptural type.  it was revolutionary for its day – so much so that it did not get copied right away.  the idea of the life-sized sculpture-in-the-round evidently took some time to sink in and become an acceptable statue type