Art can speak a thousand words, but how many can you understand?
Art has the ability to speak volumes far beyond the reach of human language; it is arguably the most compelling and consistent form of communication used throughout history – whether it speaks emotionally, politically, historically, or simply about subject, movement or genre, art transcends the written word. Yet language is how we communicate most often, and this is why we can’t avoid describing and categorising art. But how can we can we categorise with a limited vocabulary that which can possess endless meaning? Well, there is a reason why language is the most widespread form of communication because for all we know, we describe. It is no surprise that when trying to understand an equally enigmatic subject, personality traits, the American psychologist Gordon Allport said that:
“…the most salient and socially relevant [traits] in people’s lives will eventually become encoded into their language; the more important such a difference, the more likely is it to become expressed as a single word*…”
Enter Carataggio.
Carataggio is an innovative and truly interactive Facebook App developed by Artfinder which presents a selection of artworks waiting to be tagged under a certain label. The cards are on the table and you are in control; how you tag each artwork is entirely up to you and whilst there are no wrong or right answers, the more artworks you tag, the more we can begin to decode and understand the language of art.
Carataggio is at once fun, educative, challenging, and addictive. What’s more, it makes a real difference; Artfinder features one of the fastest growing art databases on the web and this is your chance to tell us how we should tag artworks so they can be better found, accessed and understood. It takes seconds to get the hang of and provides hours of entertainment; whether you’re into art or not, this is an App for all.
Each time you play Carataggio a set of 21 images lie in wait, ready to be tagged. Above them are a selection of boxes, each with a category and brief description, and all you need to do is look at the artworks, decide which category best fits them and drag and drop them into that box. Sounds too easy? Well not quite, because the challenge is that there are only a limited set of categories, and they alternate each time you play; so ignite your ingenuity and summon your resolve, each artwork needs a home and you are the lord of the land. Can’t see the image properly? No problem, you can zoom in by dragging the artwork under the magnifier. Can’t decide on a category? Worry not, if the artwork really does defy all definition, you can place it in the unknown box at the bottom right.
Not only do you get to experience a range of different artworks, determine how they are defined and make a real difference to a leading online art database, you can also challenge your friends and discover who is most fluent in the language of art. The more images you tag, the further up the leader board you go and do it enough times, you might even make the Top 10 featured on our Facebook!!
So if you want to try something fun, creative, stimulating and worthwhile, have your say and tell Artfinder how it is; art may speak a thousand words, but it speaks differently to us all, and with Carataggio you can help us to paint a bigger picture in our understanding of the language of art.
