The Importance, Meaning, Nature and Assumption of Art

Art
- Art as a term is taken from the Italian word
- artis, which means craftsmanship, skill, mastery of form, inventiveness and the
association that exist between form and ideas between material and techniques.
- Aryan root ar, this means to join or put together;
- from the Greek words artezein, which means to prepare, and arkiskein, meaning
to put together.

Plato,”Art is that which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the
world.”

F. Zulueta, “Art is the product of man’s need to express himself.”

John Dewey, “Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind-one which

demand for each own satisfaction and fulfilling, a shaping of matter to
new and more significant from.”

Common Essentials of Art

1. Art must be man-made.

2. Art must be creative, not imitative.
3. Art must benefit and satisfy man.
4. Art is expressed through a certain medium or material by which the artist
communicates himself to his audiences.

What is Art Appreciation?

- It is the ability to interpret or understand man-made arts and enjoy them either
through actual and work-experience with art tools and materials or possession of
these works of art for one’s admiration and satisfaction.

What are the Natures of Arts?

1. Art is everywhere.
2. Art is a means of expression and communication.
3. Art as a creation—It is the act of combining or re-ordering existing materials to
form a new object.
4. Art and experience—It must be heard or seen to be appreciated and involve
intellectual understanding.
5. Art and beauty-- It gives pleasure when perceived.
6. Art and nature

What are the differences between art and nature?

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ART NATURE
1. It is man-made 1. It is nature’s creation.
2. It is artificial. 2. It is natural.
3. It is non-repeatable, or unchanging 3. Evanescent (fleeting) and recreating
itself.
4. It is not nature. 5. It needs art to improve it.
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FUNCTIONS OF ART

FUNCTIONS OF ART

PERSONAL PHYSICAL SOCIAL FUNCTION

FUNCTION FUNCTION
• Is used to • This tends to • It is used for social needs for
provide address our display, celebration and
comfort, physical communication.
happiness needs for • It seeks to influence the
and utilitarian collective behavior of people.
convenience objects and • It expresses or describes social
to human structures.
or collective aspects of
beings. • The need for existence as opposed to
• It satisfies beauty in
individual and personal kinds of
individual functional
experience.
needs for objects for
personal everyday use.
expression. • Planning of
• It educates communities
our senses according to
and sharpen environmental
our and
perception operational
of colors, efficiency.
forms,
textures,
designs, etc.

BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF ART

1.) Art as Mimesis (Plato)

“Art is an imitation of the real that was an imitation of the ideal.”
“Art is an imitation of an imitation.”

2.) Art as Representation (Aristotle)

“The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things but their inward
significance.”

3.) Art for Art’s Sake (Kant)

“Art has its own reason for being.”

4.) Art as an Escape

--The sacred level of art not only transforms something into art but also transforms the
artist at the very core of his or her being.
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5.) Art as Functional

-- Art serves a function. Art is meant to be used, to enrich lives to be spiritually
potent, to educate, to support or protest existing power structures, to entertain and so
on.

CATEGORIES/CLASSIFICATIONS OF ART

1. Visual art (2d, 3d)

Painting –It is the application of pigment on any flat two-dimensional
surfaces.

Sculpture –it is the carving, modelling, casting, constructing, and assembling

of materials and objects into primarily three-dimensional works of art.

architecture –It is the art and science of planning, designing, and constructing
buildings and nonbuilding structures for human shelter or use (3D).

2. Performing/ Combined Arts

Music –is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound organized
in time.
Dance –is the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and
within a given space to express idea or emotion.
Film –also called movie or motion picture, is a series of still images that when
shown on a screen creates an illusion of moving images.
Theater –is a collaborative form of art that uses live performers, typically
actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event.
Literary –is concentrating the writing, study or content of literature,
especially of the kind valued for quality of form.
Performance poetry –is poetry specifically composed for or during a
performance before an audience rather on print mostly opens to improvisation.

3. Digital art-it is the art that is made with the assistance of electronic devices,
or intended to be displayed on a computer, which is the most important element in
digital art.

4. Applied arts-are the application of design and decoration to everyday objects

to make them aesthetically pleasing.
Fashion Design–is the art of applying design, aesthetics, and natural beauty to
clothing and accessories.

Furniture Design–is a specialized field where function and fashion collide.

a. Interior Design–is enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and
more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space.
b. Graphic Design–It is an artistic process of effective communication. Designers
combine words, images, and symbols to create a visual representation of idea.
 SUBJECT AND CONTENT OF ART

SUBJECT—refers to any person, object, scene or event described or represented in a

work of art. In general, the subject of an artwork is anything under the sun.

1. REPRESENTATIONAL/OBJECT ARTS
- are artworks that depict something easily recognized by most people.
They attempt to copy something that is real. It also attempts to portray the subject as it
is.

1. Still Life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter.

2. Portrait is a painting, drawing, photograph or engraving of a person.
3.Landscape, Seascapes, Moonscapes and Cityscapes
4. Mythology and Religion, Dreams and Fantasies

2. NON-REPRESENTATIONAL OR NON-OBJECTIVE ARTS

- are artworks that have no resemblance to any real subject. They do not represent
anything and they are what they are. They rather appear directly to the sensesprimarily
because of the satisfying organization of their sensuous and expensive elements

Types of Art Subject

Still Life – a drawing or painting of an arrangement of non-moving or non-
living objects usually set indoors such as bowl or vase.
Self-portrait – a painting, drawing, sculpture or other work of art showing the
artist himself.
Religious Theme – art which subject is of religious matter.
Non-objective – art which the visual signs are entirely imaginative and not
from anything seen by the artist.
Landscape – a picture of natural outdoor scenery such as mountains, rivers,
fields or forest.
Genre – art that has a subject matter that concerns with everyday life, domestic
scenes, sentimental family relationship, etc.
Visionary Expression – art that involves simplification and rearrangement of
natural objects to meet the needs or artistic expression.
Portrait – an art showing a person or several people, usually show just the face
and shoulders but it can include all parts of the body.

Content in Art
Subject – refers to any person, object, scene or event describe or represented in
a work of art; the “WHAT”

Content – the meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork; the
“WHY”
Form – the development and configuration of the art work – how the elements
and the medium or material are put together; “HOW”