Grade by Grade
B. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing · Responding to Art: Critical Analysis, Context and Responsible Practice

What Is Art For? The Functions of Art

B2.1About 65 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe the main functions of art: personal, ceremonial, commemorative, political, decorative, functional, narrative and commercial.
  • I can identify the functions of historical and contemporary art works, with evidence.
  • I can explain how one work can have several functions and how functions change over time.
  • I can talk respectfully about ceremonial and cultural belongings.

Words to know

function
The purpose or job an art work does.
commemorative
Made to honour and remember people or events.
utilitarian
Useful; made to be used, like a chair or a bowl.
persuasive
Meant to change what people think or do.
wampum
Beads made from shells, woven into belts or strings by Haudenosaunee and other Nations to record agreements, histories and messages.
repatriation
Returning cultural belongings to the communities they came from.
Pop Art
A 1950s and 1960s art movement that used images from advertising, comics and mass-produced products.

Hook: is your mitten art?

Think of a pair of hand-knit mittens with a snowflake pattern. They keep your hands warm (a function). The pattern makes them beautiful (decoration). If your grandmother knit them, they carry memory and family identity.

People have made art for many reasons for tens of thousands of years. Asking "What is this for?" is one of the most powerful questions in art. B2.1 asks you to describe the functions of art works, past and present.

The main functions of art

  • Personal expression: sharing the artist's feelings, experiences and identity. Example: Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, made many self-portraits about her life, pain and heritage.
  • Ceremonial and spiritual: used in ceremonies, worship or spiritual practice. Example: Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican City (1508 to 1512) with scenes from the Bible.
  • Commemorative: honouring people or events. Example: the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, designed by Canadian sculptor Walter Allward and unveiled in 1936, honours Canadians who served in the First World War.
  • Political, persuasive and social commentary: changing minds or criticizing injustice. Example: Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937) responds to the bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.
  • Decorative: adding beauty to objects and spaces.
  • Functional (utilitarian): useful objects that are also designed: chairs, teapots, clothing, buildings.
  • Narrative and documentary: telling stories or recording events and daily life. Example: Annie Pootoogook, an Inuk artist from Kinngait, drew scenes of everyday life in her community, from family meals to people watching TV; she won the Sobey Art Award in 2006.
  • Commercial: selling products, services or ideas: logos, ads, packaging.
What isart for?PersonalexpressionCeremonial /spiritualCommemor-ativePolitical /persuasiveDecorativeFunctional /utilitarianNarrative /documentaryCommerciale.g. a self-portraite.g. a ceremonial maske.g. a war memoriale.g. a protest postere.g. a patterned tilee.g. a teapot or chaire.g. a picture booke.g. a logo or ad
Eight common functions of art, with an everyday example of each. Many works fit more than one slice.

Most art has more than one function

Functions overlap. A wampum belt of the Haudenosaunee is beautiful, but its main functions are to record agreements and to carry political and spiritual meaning. The Two Row Wampum (Kaswentha), traditionally dated to 1613, records an agreement between the Haudenosaunee and Dutch traders: two parallel rows of purple beads on a white background represent two vessels travelling side by side down the same river, with neither trying to steer the other. Haudenosaunee people continue to refer to it today as a model for respectful relationships.

Métis beadwork on moccasins, jackets and bags is functional, decorative and an expression of Métis identity: Métis people have long been known for floral beadwork.

Functionalkeeps feetwarmDecorativefloral beadworkpatternIdentityexpresses Métisheritage★Métis beaded moccasins★ = all threeat once
One object can serve many functions. Métis beaded moccasins are functional, decorative and an expression of identity at the same time.

Functions can change over time

An object made for one purpose can take on new functions later. A mask carved for use in ceremonies might later sit in a museum case, where it becomes something to look at rather than something to use. This raises important questions: Who decides? Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities have worked to bring cultural belongings home from museums (repatriation) so they can be used and cared for in their communities again. Museums in Canada increasingly work with communities to decide how belongings are displayed, stored or returned.

In the other direction, a mass-produced object like a soup can became the subject of fine art in the 1960s when Pop artist Andy Warhol painted Campbell's Soup Cans (1962).

Worked example

Let's identify functions

For each work, name the main function(s) and give evidence.

  1. A war memorial in your town park with names carved in stone: commemorative. Evidence: names of people honoured, placed in a public space for remembering (for example, on Remembrance Day).
  2. A cereal box: commercial and functional. Evidence: brand logo and persuasive images to sell the cereal; the box also holds food.
  3. **Kenojuak Ashevak's The Enchanted Owl (1960): personal expression and decorative; it is also commercial**, since the Kinngait studio's prints are sold to collectors, supporting artists and the community.
  4. A school anti-bullying poster: persuasive. Evidence: a clear message meant to change behaviour.
  5. A quilt made for a newborn baby: functional (warmth), decorative, and commemorative or sentimental (marks a birth).

To identify a function, ask who it was made for, where it was used, and what it was meant to do. Most works have several functions.

Talking about ceremonial objects respectfully

Use the words communities use, such as belongings or cultural belongings, rather than only "artifacts". Use present tense for living traditions. Some objects are sacred and are not meant to be photographed, copied or displayed: respect that.

Just for fun

Funny but true: chairs are a serious topic in design history. Many art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, collect chairs, and some have their own design galleries. So yes, your seat might be art.

Hands-on activity

Function hunt at home

You need: paper, a pencil, and a phone camera or sketchbook.

  1. Find 8 designed or art objects in your home (a mug, a poster, a family photo, a quilt, a calendar, a vase, a logo on a box, a holiday decoration).
  2. Sketch or photograph each one.
  3. Make a chart: Object | Main function(s) | Evidence.
  4. Circle any object with three or more functions.
  5. Choose one object and write a paragraph: How might its function change if it were placed in a museum 200 years from now?
  6. Design (sketch) a functional object that is also decorative and expresses something about your identity, such as a mug, phone case or toque.

Your turn

1

List six functions of art.

2

What is the main function of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial?

3

Name two functions of Métis beaded moccasins.

4

What does the Two Row Wampum represent?

5

A logo on a hockey jersey: name its functions.

6

What is repatriation?

7

Describe the function of Annie Pootoogook's drawings.

More practice: warm-up

1

What function does a protest poster mainly have?

2

Who painted Guernica (1937)?

3

True or false: an object can have only one function.

4

Give an example of functional art in your kitchen.

5

What function do Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings serve?

More practice: on your own

1

How can an object's function change when it moves into a museum?

2

Why might a community want a ceremonial belonging returned?

3

Explain why Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) changed the function of everyday imagery.

4

A mural on a community centre shows the history of the neighbourhood. Name three possible functions.

5

Pick an art work you know and argue for its single most important function.

Challenge

1

Is a corporate logo "art"? Use the idea of function in your answer.

2

Design a memorial for something your community should remember. Describe its form and explain how it fulfils a commemorative function.

3

Explain why the same mask can be a "cultural belonging" to one group and a "work of art" to another. What does this show about functions?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A memorial that honours people who died in a war mainly has a...

2.

Which is an example of functional (utilitarian) art?

3.

Picasso's Guernica (1937) is best described as...

4.

The Two Row Wampum shows two rows of beads that represent...

5.

Returning cultural belongings from museums to their communities is called...

6.

Which statement is true?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: B2.1 asks students to describe the functions of a variety of art works, historical and contemporary. Most works serve several functions.

How to help: Play "What's it for?" with objects at home and in town (signs, murals, monuments, packaging).

Sensitive note: Guernica and war memorials relate to war; keep discussion on the purpose of the art. When talking about Indigenous belongings and repatriation, use respectful language and the present tense for living communities.

Common difficulties: naming only one function; forgetting evidence; thinking design objects aren't "real" art.