Artistic expressions

By Aroa

What is an artistic expression?

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

Artistic expressions in the UK

The UK is a land of creativity and innovation. Locals and visitors are assured of new and exciting elements that are continuously being refreshed. This is especially true of epicentres such as London and Manchester. There are even specific projects that are designed to engender such creativity amongst the local population. Examples of this type of initiative are the Tate Liverpool and the Tate Modern in London. But museums and galleries are not the only homes of art. Sculptures and art festivals also testify to the creative genius of England. Sculptures range from ancient figures of historical import to life-size bronze carvings of human beings.


One of the largest art festivals is held in Birmingham and is called Artsfest. The artistic talents being showcased range from classical music and song to traditional dancing and stand-up comedy. This festival is usually held in September.

Theatre is another very important part of the English culture and is, in fact, one of the reasons people visit the country. Theatrical shows, such as Cats, The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera, are modern reflections of the ancient Shakespearean productions that once graced the English stages. Today, shows in London remain one of England's primary tourist attractions.


The UK has been the birthplace of a number of incredible musical artists too. Music remains a very important part of this country's culture. Styles range from the orchestral genius of Manchester, Birmingham and Bournemouth to timeless favourites like Blur, Oasis, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Coldplay and Lily Allen. The Birmingham International Jazz Festival continues to lure music enthusiasts to come and witness the world's greatest jazz artists.



Food festivals showcase the sheer wonders and varieties of foods that coexist in England, thanks to the many cultures that make up its unique population. The Manchester Food and Drink Festival, CAMRA Beer Festival and Chocolate Week in London are just some of the culinary features that are sure to provide a tasty extravaganza for young and old alike.

Owing to its rich history, England's architecture is another important element of its culture; one that tells the tales of battles, victories, defeats, love, death and religion. Churches, stately homes, abbeys and ruins remain as remnants of the fascinating past that shaped the future. These include several World Heritage Sites, as deemed by UNESCO. Some of these include: The Durham Castle and Cathedral, Stonehenge or The Roman Baths.

The United Kingdom is, indeed, a land of great artistic and cultural import, providing locals and visitors alike with a fabulous insight into the makings of a diverse destination.


Artistic expressions in Australia

Australian art is any art made in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, from prehistoric times to the present. This includes Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, early-twentieth-century painters, print makers, photographers, and sculptors influenced by European modernism, Contemporary art. The visual arts have a long history in Australia, with evidence of Aboriginal art dating back at least 30,000 years. Australia has produced many notable artists of both Western and Indigenous Australian schools, including the late-19th-century Heidelberg School plein air painters, the Antipodeans, the Central Australian Hermannsburg School watercolourists, the Western Desert Art Movement and coeval examples of well-known High modernism and Postmodern art.

Australia has major art museums and galleries subsidised by the national and state governments, as well as private art museums and small university and municipal galleries. The National Gallery of Australia, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales have major strengths in collecting the art of the Asia Pacific Region. Others include the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, which has a significant Australian collection of Western art. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and the privately owned Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania and White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney are widely regarded as autonomously discerning collections of international contemporary art.

The origins of a distinctly Australian painting tradition is often associated with the Heidelberg School of the late 19th century. Named after a camp Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton established in Heidelberg (then a rural suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne), these painters, together with Frederick McCubbin, Charles Conder and others, began an impressionistic plein air approach to the Australian landscape that remains embedded in Australia's popular consciousness, both in and outside the art world.

Many of their most famous works depict scenes of pastoral and outback Australia. Central themes of their art include manual labour, conquering the land, and an idealisation of the rural pioneer.By the 1890s most Australians were city-dwellers, as were the artists themselves, and a romantic view of pioneer life gave great power and popularity to images such as Shearing the Rams. In this work Roberts uses formal composition and strong realism to dignify the shearers whilst the relative anonymity of the men and their subdued expressions, elevate their work as the real subject, rather that the specific individuals portrayed

Artistic expressions in USA

American art generally refers to art hailing from the North American colonies and of the United States. Although the term can denote a wide variety of styles of and methods of art, perhaps the most recognizable and iconic American art from is the painting of realistic portraits and landscapes.

While not originally recognized by the European colonizers, the artistic creations of the indigenous Native American tribes were varied and long held. Abounding in various media and styles, Native American art encompassed the decorative, utilitarian, and ritualistic. Incorporating European styles and materials in the 19th century, Native American artists transformed traditional subjects and processes to tell their stories and continue to do so today.

As the United States' territory grew through the 19th century due to the annexation of land, both painting and photography propelled manifest destiny's ideas of American exceptionalism and romantic notions of national identity. Large landscape paintings depicting the American West captured the sublimity of the natural landscape, and photography in particular was instrumental in some cases in the creation of National Parks.

For many art historians, the designation "American Art" usually ended at World War II. After the international recognition of Abstract Expressionism, the art world became increasingly globalized and diffuse, with styles and trends practiced in all corners of the world, but recent scholarship has focused on the transnational dialogues that are occurring now and tracing those back to create a richer understanding of the art of the United States.