MODULE ART APPRECIATION: CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1: Assumptions and Nature of Art

Objectives:
a.) Understand the role of humanities and arts in man’s attempt at
fully realizing his end;
b.) Clarify misconceptions the art;
c.) Characterize the assumptions of arts; and;
d.) Engage better with personal experiences of an in art.

What is Art?

 Art is something that is perennially around us.

 Some people may deny having to do with arts but it is indisputable that life
presents us with many forms of and opportunities for communion with the arts.

The word ART comes from the ancient Latin, ars which means a “craft or specialized
form of skill, like carpentry or smithying or surgery” (Collingwood, 1938).

Ars in Medieval Latin came to mean something different. It meant “any special form of
book- learning, such as grammar or logic, magic or astrology” (Collingwood, 1983).

The fine arts would come to mean “not delicate or highly skilled arts, but “beautiful arts”
(Collingwood, 1983

“The humanities constitute one of the oldest and most important means of
expression developed by man” (Dudley et al., 1960). Human history has witnessed how
man evolved not just physically but also culturally, from cave painters to men of
exquisite paintbrush users of the present.

Many other definitions emphasize that

1. Art is subjective and art is more subjective than objective.
( Art for art itself)
2. Art is form and content. ( there is always a concept).
3. There is a connection between beauty and art and beauty
is the measure of quality of art.

For further reading please refer to the link provided: What is Art?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZQyV9BB50E

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Purposes and Functions of Art

Living with Art

the role of art in human life is to transform man's widest metaphysical
ideas, by selective reproduction of reality, into a physical form—a
work of art—that he can comprehend and to which he can respond
emotionally.

Form & Meaning

Order & Structure
Exploring Aesthetic Possibilities

Functions of an artist
• Create places for human purpose
• Create extraordinary version of ordinary objects
• Record & commemorate
• Tangible form to the unknown
• Form to feeling and ideas
• See the world in new ways

Why Study Art?

Expression
Social Values
Human Intelligence

You might even say "Art is subjective, and means something different to every
single person on earth.

Assumptions of Art

ART IS UNIVERSAL
 Literature has provided key words of art.
 lliad and the Odyssey are the two Greek Epics that one’s being taught in school.
 The Sanskrit pieces Mahabharata and Ramanaya are also staples in this fields.

In every country and in every generation, there is always art. Often times, people
feel that what is considered artistic are only those which have been made long time ago.
This is a misconception. Age is not a factor in determining art. “An art
is not good because it is old, but old because it is good” (Dudley et al.,
1960)

In the Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and Francisco Balagtas are
not being read because they are old.

Florante at Laura never fails to teach high school students the beauty
of love, one that is universal and pure.
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 MODULE ART APPRECIATION: CHAPTER 1

Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, has always captured the imagination of the
young with its timeless lessons.

When we recite the Psalms, we feel in communion with King David as we feel one with
him in his conversation with God.

When we listen to a Kundiman or perform folk dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino
ancestors while away their time in the past.

ART IS NOT NATURE

In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear some consumers of local movies
remark that these movies produced locally are unrealistic. They contend that local
movies work around certain formula to the detriment of substance and faithfulness to
reality of movies.

Paul Cezanne, a French painted a scene from reality entitled Well and Grinding
Wheel in the Forest of the Chateau Noir.

ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

Getting this far without a satisfactory definition of
art can be quite weird for some. For most people,
art does not require a full definition. Art is just
experience. By experience, we mean the “actual
doing of something”(Dudley et al., 1960) and it also
affirmed that art depends on experience, and if one
is to know art, he must know it not as fact or
information but as an experience.
A work of an art then cannot be abstracted from
actual doing. In order to know what an artworks,
we have to sense it, see and hear it.

An important aspect of experiencing art is its being highly personal, individual,

and subjective. In philosophical terms, perception of art is always a value judgment. It
depends on who perceives, his tastes, his biases, and what he has inside.

For further reading please refer to the link provided: Art Appreciation, Meaning and Nature
https://prezi.com/kjne76wspfy4/art-appreciation-meaning-and-nature-of-humanities/

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 MODULE ART APPRECIATION: CHAPTER 1

Visual Art: Definition & Meaning

"Visual Arts" is a modern but imprecise umbrella term for a broad category of art
which includes a number of artistic disciplines from various sub-categories. Its wide
ambit renders meaningless any attempt at definition, so rather than define or compose
some diluted meaning for it, here is a list of its constituent disciplines.

Definitions of visual art usually encompass the following:

1. Fine Arts

Fine art belongs to the general category of visual arts. These include activities such as:

Drawing- In fine art, the term "drawing" may be defined as the

linear realization of visual objects, concepts, emotions, and
fantasies, including symbols and even abstract forms. Drawing
is a graphic art which is characterized by an emphasis on form
or shape, rather than mass and color as in painting.

Painting- painting consists of the arrangement of shapes, lines,

colours, tones and textures on a two-dimensional surface, thus
creating an aesthetic image. More than that one cannot say, the
sheer variety of possibilities precludes any more precise
definition.

Printmaking- printmaking is concerned with the production of

images by varying methods of replication onto paper,
parchment, fabric or other supports. The resulting fine prints
(impressions), while not 'original' in the sense of a fine art
painting or drawing, are considered nevertheless to be works of
art in their own right, even though they exist in multiples.
(Tristesse du Roi, Lithograph, by Henri Matisse.)

Sculpture- The most enduring and, arguably, the greatest form

of fine art known to man, sculpture has played a major role in
the evolution of Western culture. Its history and stylistic
development are those of Western art itself. It is a key indicator
of the cultural achievements of Classical Antiquity, and became
an important influence on the development of Renaissance
art in Italy.
Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by G Ninin 1990’s

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Graphic Art- The term 'graphic art' (a derivation from the

German Graphik, originating from graphikos, the Greek for
drawing) commonly denotes those forms of visual expression
that depend for their effect on line and tone (disegno), not
colour (colorito). The main classical type of graphic art
is drawing, which includes cartoons, caricature, comic strips
and animation, as well as line drawings
and sketching with pencil or charcoal, and pen and ink

Manuscript Illuminations- An illuminated manuscript is

a manuscript in which the text is supplemented with such
decoration as initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature
illustrations. In the strictest definition, the term refers only to
manuscripts decorated with either gold or silver; but in both
common usage and modern scholarship, the term refers to any
decorated or illustrated manuscript from Western traditions.

Book Illustrations- An illustration is a drawing, painting or

printed work of art which explains, clarifies, illuminates, visually
represents, or merely decorates a written text, which may be of a
literary or commercial nature. Historically, book illustration and
magazine/newspaper illustrations have been the predominant
forms of this type of visual art, although illustrators have also
used their graphic skills in the fields of poster art,
advertisements, comic books, animation art, greeting cards,
cartoon-strips.

Calligraphy- It is the design and execution of lettering with a

broad-tipped instrument, brush, or other writing instrument. A
contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of
giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful
manner. Modern calligraphy ranges from functional inscriptions
and designs to fine-art pieces where the letters may or may not
be readable.

Architecture- is both the process and the product

of planning, designing, and constructing buildings or
any other structures. Architectural works, in the material
form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural
symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are
often identified with their surviving architectural
achievements.

For further reading please refer to the link provided: What is Visual Art?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxud6JYxRYw&t=51s

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2. Contemporary Arts

Some define contemporary art as art produced within "our lifetime," recognizing
that lifetimes and life spans vary. However, there is a recognition that this generic
definition is subject to specialized limitations.

Assemblage- Popularized in the United States during the 1950s

and 1960s by artists like Robert Rauschenberg (b.1925) and Jim
Dine (b.1935), Assemblage is a form of three-dimensional visual
art whose compositions are formed from everyday items, usually
called "found objects" (objets trouvés)
Very Hungry God (2006)
By postmodernist artist Sudobh Gupta.
Assemblage made from stainless steel
kitchen utensils, pots and pans.

Collage- In modern art, the word 'collage' describes a

composition made up of a variety of assorted materials - typically,
printed matter like newspaper clippings, photographs, pieces of
graphic or digital art, oddments of textile or fabric, and perhaps
solid objects - all glued to a sheet of paper or board or canvas.

Contemporary Collage (2010)

Made with cigarette butts.
By Dan Mountford.

Conceptual Art - modern form of contemporary art which gives

priority to an idea presented by visual means that are themselves
secondary to the idea. Conceptual art, while having no intrinsic
financial value, can deliver a powerful message, and thus has
served as a vehicle for socio-political comment, as well as a
broad challenge to the tradition of a 'work of art' being a crafted
unique object.
My Bed (1999) Saatchi Collection By Tracey Emin. An example of
Conceptual as well as feminist art, from a leading Young British artist.

Installation- Installation art is a relatively new genre

of contemporary art - practiced by an increasing number
of postmodernist artists - which involves the configuration or
"installation" of objects in a space, such as a room or warehouse.
The resulting arrangement of material and space comprises the
"artwork".
Obliteration Room (2012) Installation by Yayoi Kusama
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.Starting with a room painted from top
to bottom in pure white Japanese artistYayoi Kusama then unleashed into it
thousands of kids armed with thousands of coloured stickers.

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Happenings- A Happening is a form of avant-garde art - a

type of creative expression, closely associated
with performance art, which itself has its roots in twentieth
century theories of conceptual art, derived largely from
demonstrations organized by exponents of Dada, such
as Tristan Tzara

Performance Art- Performance art is typically intensely

theatrical, often taking acting and movement to extremes of
expression and endurance not permitted in the theatre.
Words are rarely prominent, while music and noises of
various kinds often are.

Photography- Known also as "photographic art",

"artistic photography" and so on, the term "fine art
photography" has no universally agreed meaning or
definition: rather, it refers to an imprecise category of
photographs, created in accordance with the creative vision
of the cameraman. The basic idea behind the genre, is that
instead of merely capturing a realistic rendition of the
subject, the photographer is aiming to produce a more personal - typically more
evocative or atmospheric - impression.

Video Art- The genre known as video art, is a new

type of contemporary art, and a medium of
expression commonly seen in Installations, but
also as a stand-alone art form. Initiated by such
experimental artists as Andy Warhol, Wolf Vostell,
and Nam June Paik, recent advances in digital
computer and video technology, enabling artists to edit and manipulate film sequences,
have opened up a range of creative opportunities and drawn numerous artists into the
genre.

Animation Art- Animation (from the Latin word,

animare, to breathe life into) is the visual art of
making a motion picture from a series of
still drawings. Although twenty first century
animation is dominated by computerized film and
video technology, the creative figure drawing skills
and draftsmanship of cartoonists and graphic
artists remain an integral part of the process.

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Land Art- A form of contemporary art, known also

as Earthworks, or Earth Art, this artistic movement emerged
in America during the 1960s when a number of sculptors
and painters - such as Robert Smithson (1938-73) -
determined to heighten public awareness of Man's
relationship with the natural world by intervening in the
landscape in a series of thought-provoking constructions.

Graffiti- One of the most radical contemporary art

movements, "graffiti art" (also called "Street Art", "Spraycan
Art", "Subway Art" or "Aerosol Art") commonly refers to
decorative imagery applied by paint or other means to
buildings, public transport or other property.

For further reading please refer to the link provided: Philippine Contemporary Art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzxyFvo49Bg&t=23s

3. Decorative Arts & Crafts

The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of
objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes interior design, but not
usually architecture.

Decorative Art- The term "decorative arts" is a traditional

term for a rather unwieldy range of artistic disciplines
concerned with the design and ornamentation of items,
usually functional, that do not necessarily have any intrinsic
aesthetic qualities.
Nails sculpted with Fruit Sculptures.
A beautiful example of nail art.

Ceramics- Known as an important plastic art, "Ceramics"

(derived from Keramos, Greek for 'potter's clay') refers to
items made from clay bodies and fired in a kiln to obtain the
finished form. Outside of art, due to new technological
processes, the term ceramics now encompasses a wider
group of materials, including glass and cements, so clay is no
longer a key component.

Mosaic Art- Mosaic is the decorative art of creating pictures

and patterns on a surface by setting small coloured pieces of
glass, marble or other materials in a bed of cement, plaster or
adhesive. Employed as a form of interior or exterior
decoration, and originally developed in ancient Greece,
mosaics were developed extensively by Roman craftsmen,
mostly in the form of pavements.
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Tapestry Art- Tapestry is an ancient form of textile art which

has been practised all over the world for thousands of years.
Ancient Egyptians and the Incas used woven tapestries as
shrouds in which to bury their dead. The Greeks and Romans
used them as wall-coverings for civic buildings and temples
like the Parthenon.

4. Applied Art
The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and
essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing.

Fashion design- is the art of applying design, and

natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is
influenced by cultural and social attitudes, and has
varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a
number of ways in designing clothing and accessories
such as bracelets and necklaces. Because of the time
required to bring a garment onto the market, designers
must at times anticipate changes to consumer tastes.

Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the

interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more
aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using
the space. An interior designer is someone who plans,
researches, coordinates, and manages such
enhancement projects. Interior design is a multifaceted
profession that includes conceptual development,
space planning, site inspections, programming,
research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management,
and execution of the design.

Body Art- The term "Body art" describes a type

of contemporary art, in which the artist's own body
becomes the "canvas" or "artwork". Although closely
related to conceptual art and performance art. The
term "Body art" describes a type of contemporary art,
in which the artist's own body becomes the "canvas" or
"artwork". Although closely related to conceptual
art and performance art.

For further reading please refer to the link provided: Fine Art vs. Visual Art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFZGRkrbNCM

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