Gilgal Garden’s creator Thomas Child, a masonry contractor, became by necessity a self-made artist and in doing so he produced work in different styles that can be seen as a microcosm of the History of Art. As he became more and more involved with the Garden his family and friends gave him books about art. A willing experimenter, the influences of these resources and the times (1945 – 1963), a particularly rich and turbulent period in art history, can be seen throughout the Garden.

This activity is going to simplify and define various styles of art up to today’s Postmodern period in a somewhat arbitrary manner, heavily weighted to the last few hundred years. These are simplifications, most art contains a mixture of styles and influences. However, by working with these basic terms and categories insight can be gained and the art of seeing can be exercised.

Also note that the terms introduced here are Western Culture biased – they often do not account in a meaningful way for the variety of significant art produced by non-western civilizations or indigenous populations, art that may be the equal or superior to the accepted Western canon.

Art, the act of creating and imbuing with meaning, is basically subjective. Opinions count. Have fun.