The Miller and The Sweep

James Monaco’s term The Spectrum of Arts refers to the different types of art, each with its own way of expressing ideas and emotions, while being interconnected. It highlights how various art forms communicate in unique ways. 

Examples include: 

• Visual Arts: Painting and sculpture. 

• Performing Arts: Theatre, dance, and music. 

• Literary Arts: Poetry and fiction. 

• Cinematic Arts: Film, blending visual and performing arts. 

All of these examples shoes expression is different ways. It refers to the wide range of art forms, each with its own unique way of expressing ideas and emotions in peoples experiences. These art forms may influence each other but still have their own unique style. The term shows how different types of art are connected, while each one of the forms offer a different way of expressing creativity. Music can also be considered as an art form as there are so many different styles and when listening to a good piece of music, is opinions based but when you find the right piece of music it can change your whole mood. Overall, what Monaco means by the Spectrum of Arts is the whole group and chain of different art forms. 

-Winter Cotillard 

Battleship of Potemkin 

• Historically significant film  

• Date – December 21^st, 1925 

• Director – Sergei Eisenstein  

• Genre – war/historical drama  

A bug’s life 

• Mainstream film  

• Date – November 14^th, 1998  

• Director – John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton  

• Genre – animation  

The shape of water 

• Art film  

• Date – December 1^st, 2017 

• Director – Guillermo del Toro  

• Genre – romance/fantasy  

The seven samurai  

• Historically significant film  

• Date – April 26^th, 1954  

• Director – Akira Kurosawa  

• Genre – action  

The breakfast club  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – February 15^th, 1985 

• Director – John Hughes  

• Genre – teen drama  

The wizard of Oz  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – august 25^th 1839  

• Director – Victor Fleming  

• Genre – musical/fantasy  

The magnificent seven 

• Mainstream film  

• Date – October 23^rd, 1960  

• Director – John Sturges  

• Genre – Western action  

Love Simon  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – March 16^th, 2018  

• Director – Greg Berlanti  

• Genre – teenage melodrama  

Fitzcarraldo  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – October 10^th, 1982  

• Director – Werner Herzog  

• Genre – music/action drama  

Alphaville  

• Historically significant film  

• Date – May 5^th, 1965 

• Director – Jean-Luc Godard  

• Genre – synth pop  

I think that some of the films from the table such as ‘The breakfast club’ and ‘A bug’s life’ (films I categorized as mainstream) have many different features to them which make them be considered ‘mainstream’ such as being easy to watch and follow along, suitable for a wide age range and also being loved by the audience as they are entertaining and sometimes even relatable.   

James Monaco’s use of the term ‘The Spectrum of Art’ refers to the fact that art comes in various forms, categorised by their different styles and ideas. The ancients recognised seven; history, poetry, comedy, tragedy, music, dance and astronomy. However, by the thirteenth century, the meaning of ‘art’ began to change and adapt a more practical connotation. The literary arts had somewhat merged into a mix of literature and philosophy. The meaning of art changed within different centuries, it being synonymous with ‘skill’ in the sixteenth century, activities that weren’t previously included such as painting and sculpture, began to be considered ‘fine arts’.

The nineteenth century saw the development of science, and now, what had been previously known as ‘natural philosophy’ was now considered ‘natural science’, and the art of alchemy became the science of chemistry.

Monaco defines his ‘spectrum of art’ in three different categories: “The performance arts, which happen in real time.”, “The representational arts, which depend on the established codes and conventions of language (both pictorial and literary) to convey information about the subject to the observer.”, “The recording arts, which provide a more direct path between subject and observer: media not without their own codes but quantitatively more direct than the media of the representational arts.”

To summarize “The spectrum of the Arts” it’s the idea that art forms each have their own characteristics, however the forms of art can work together.  

Monaco outlines the different Artistic expressions that are used, visual arts, performing arts, literary arts and finally film including all these forms. Visual arts, he explains that these capture a single moment and are unchangeable. Performing Arts, these are pieces of art that tell a story and are often presented live. Literary arts, this includes poetry, novels and essays this tells emotion through storytelling. Film acts as all of them, including aspects from all forms of art.  

He speaks about how Technolgy advancing, changes the idea of art, film can be watched in any space any time, unlike before when everything was live and more of a novelty outing to view one of these arts. Personally, i feel that the invention of technology pulls away from the power of plays and visual art.  

He also speaks about how film is used to express people’s emotional and political views. Art can express people’s perception, showing people different ideas. Flim can these so well with using all of the art forms, including sound, light and writing. Cinema is also able to manipulate elements that other art forms can’t, making it possibly the most captivating form.  

Over generations, the meaning of the word “art” has changed and its history; this tells us a lot about what life was like during the times before us. In ancient times they recognized art as activities, there were seven forms. These were history, poetry, comedy, tragedy, music, dance and astronomy. Despite them all being very different they all are vastly helpful in describing life and the universe. Later in the thirteenth century the definition of art had changed, while still involving the seven forms, history, poetry, tragedy and comedy had merged and now focused on literature and philosophy and then re-ordered into grammar rhetoric and logic. Dance was replaced by geometry and the forms became more practical. In the sixteenth century the word art included a wide range of skills as you can master both an art and skill. But by the seventeenth century the different meanings of art began to reduce again as geometry and mathematics were becoming more separate and the “fine arts” were becoming more and more recognized. Throughout the nineteenth century, with the increase in scientific knowledge, art and science continued to separate, and art was becoming a similar definition to how we see it today additionally with the dada movement in the 1920s making art more basic. 

“What does Monaco mean by the term “The Spectrum of the Arts” 

The spectrum of the arts, i feel, is defined as the ways that art can differ and can change. Art is like a liquid, it’s definition is fluid and will change from person to person. because of that over all accepted definition has changed throughout the years, according to Monaco. the spectrum of the arts can also refer to the multiple different ways you can  experience a piece of art. as discussed in class, such differences come up when looking at films. The way reading a novel will change the experience, to the way seeing something performed will change it. some examples of this i could reference are the way that reading a novel is completely personalized to you, the way you envision the characters and the way that they speak and deliver lines is completely union to how you read. Whereas when you watch a film, the casting and their line deliveries are already done for you. Similar could be said about the experience of watching a performance rather than a film. other than the obvious lack of physical depth that a performance has to a film, when you watch a film, you know that you’re getting the best version of it. Whereas, when you are watching a live performance, things can go wrong, like people forgetting lines or props, but that aspect of it being live also gives it a much more human feel and a sense of adrenaline for the people acting in it. 

What Monaco means by the term ‘The Spectrum of the Arts’ is the simplified form of observable arts in today’s society, which are, in Monaco’s words from his book ‘How to read a film’, page 27: the performance arts, which happen in real time, the representational arts, which depend on the established codes and conventions of language (both pictorial and literary) to convey information about the subject to the observer and the recording arts, which provide a more direct path between subject and observer: media not without their own codes but qualitatively more direct than the media of the representational arts. An example of a type of performance art would be a play, as it is something that you experience in real time from a fixed position. However, the way one person experiences a play may be completely different from the way another experiences a play, whereas in film, which is a type of recording art, the director will use certain techniques and shots to curate the way the viewer experiences the film. Basically, the director will try to get the consumer to consume it in a way they desire. Finally, representational arts, such as landscapes, seascapes, portraits, figures and still life’s, are this type of art as they all depict a recognized and actual thing. However, the fact that they are still means they are very open to interpretation, as the artist is not there to change the art or tell someone what their intentions were with this art and how they should consume it.

What does Monaco mean by the “Spectrum Of Arts”?

In How To Read A Film, Monaco presents a spectrum of arts, each point on the spectrum related to how distant from reality the art feels to the observer.

The first point Monaco presents on the spectrum is performance arts, art which happens in real time. This ranges from being told a story to theatre, and in all instances the observer is aware of the artists, the performers.

The next point on the spectrum is the representational arts. The representational arts is defined by Monaco as art which uses language or images to convey meaning to the observer. This is further up the spectrum from the performing arts, as while the presence of an artist is still present due to the knowledge that the art was written or drawn or sculpted by an artist, the artist themselves is not present.

The final point on the spectrum, so far, is the recording arts. The recording arts are, plainly, recordings of our world, either through picture or video and film. The recording arts are at the top of the spectrum as the presence of the artist can be hard to see. Viewing the recording arts is viewing our world as it is, just on a screen or in a frame.

Art Film:	Mainstream Film:	Historically Significant:
Alphaville-1965 Genre; Pop	A Bug’s Life-1998 Genre; Animation	The Wizard of Oz- 1939 Genre; Musical
Fitzcarraldo-1982 Genre; Music	The Shape of Water-2017 Genre; Romance	The Seven Samuri-1954 Genre; Action
	Love Simon-2018 Genre; Romance	The Breakfast Club-1985 Genre; Comedy-drama
	The Magnificent Seven-1960 Genre; Western	Battleship Potemkin-1925 Genre; War