Determine the Scope of the Study of the Seven Arts from its-

 Origin
 Function
 Subject
 Medium, and
 Source

Seven Art’s
1) Architecture
2) Sculpture
3) Painting
4) Literature
5) Music
6) Performing
7) Cinema

Architecture
 Origin

The exact origin of architecture could be said to date to the Neolithic period, around 10 000
BC, or simply when people stopped living in caves and started handling the way they want their
houses to look and feel like. The modern day term 'Architect' dates back to the mid 16th century, from
the French architecte and Italian architetto, originating from the Greek arkhitektn, where arkhi means
'chief' and tektn 'builder'. 'Architects' first began to develop as a distinct discipline in Italy during the
renaissance period.

 Function

Function in architecture has multiple meanings. Circling back to Vitruvius, it becomes clear
that usefulness is often related to the other core values of durability and beauty. Functions of use or
program may change over time, but good buildings can be adapted to new types of uses, prolonging
their usefulness and durability. And if a work of architecture is considered beautiful or at least
pleasing, then its owners and users will be more likely to take care of it through the generations, again
extending its functional life.

 Subject

Architecture is the art and science of designing and engineering large structures and
buildings. Those who choose to study architecture will have enthusiasm for both the sciences and the
arts, and architecture admissions requirements typically consider both artistic ability and
mathematical proficiency.

Architects design structures fit for human use and therefore are largely responsible for the
safety and reliability of these structures, so students must be prepared to study for a relatively long
period before becoming a fully fledged, licensed architect. Although regulations of architecture
licensing vary from region to region, often you will have to commit to at least five years of study
(bachelor’s and master’s degree levels) and two years of practical work experience.

 Medium

Architecture is an art form that reflects how we present ourselves across the earth’s landscape,
and, like other expressive mediums, it changes with styles, technologies and cultural adaptations.
Architecture not only provides worldly needs of shelter, workspace and storage but also represents
human ideals in buildings like courthouses and government buildings and manifestations of the spirit
in churches and temples. Traditional architecture has survived over thousands of years in one form or
another, while contemporary design offers new approaches in how we use materials and technology to
shape the look of our environment.

 Source

Architecture as a source of an art form, but its primary role has to be functional. There is no
point in having a building as a piece of art if it isn't fit for a purpose. People can express a view
without understanding the subtleties of building in terms of design and function.

Sculpture
 Origin

The Western tradition of sculpture began in ancient Greece, and Greece is widely seen as
producing great masterpieces in the classical period. During the Middle Ages, Gothic sculpture
represented the agonies and passions of the Christian faith. The revival of classical models in the
Renaissance produced famous sculptures such as Michelangelo’s David. Modernist sculpture moved
away from traditional processes and the emphasis on the depiction of the human body, with the
making of constructed sculpture, and the presentation of found objects as finished art works.

 Function

Sculpture, an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-
dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs on surfaces,
or in environment ranging from tableaux to context that envelop the spectator. Materials may be
carved, modeled, molded, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise shaped and
combined. A sculpture may draw upon what already exists in the endless variety of natural and man-
made form, or it may be an art of pure invention. It has been used to express a vast range of human
emotions and feelings from the most tender and delicate to the most violent and ecstatic.

 Subject

Important personages such as heroes and saints are the most common subjects of sculpture.
Scripture, just as are symbolic scenes. Sculpture has long been closely related to architecture through
its role as architectural decoration and also at the level of design. Architecture, like sculpture, is
concerned with three-dimensional form; and, although the central problem in the design of buildings
is the organization of space rather than mass, there are styles of architecture that are effective largely
through the quality and organization of their solid forms. Ancient styles of stone architecture,
particularly Egyptian, Greek, and Mexican, tend to treat their components in a sculptural manner.
Moreover, most buildings viewed from the outside are compositions of masses. The growth of spatial
sculpture is so intimately related to the opening up and lightening of architecture, which the
development of modern building technology has made possible, that many 20th century sculptors can
be said to have treated their work in an architectural manner. Throughout history, stone has been the
principal material of monumental sculpture. There are practical reasons for this: many types of stone
are highly resistant to the weather and therefore suitable for external use; stone is available in all parts
of the world and can be obtained in large blocks; many stones have a fairly homogeneous texture and
a uniform hardness that make them suitable for carving; stone has been the chief material used for the
monumental architecture with which so much sculpture has been associated.

 Medium

An enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, wax, stone, metal,

 Source

Primary sources are first hand accounts or direct evidence created by a witness about an
event, object, or person. It includes Artwork (painting, sculpture, print, performance piece, etc.)
Journals, Diaries, and Autobiographies, Correspondence or Letters, Interviews and Speeches.
Secondary sources interpret and analyze a primary source. Secondary sources typically use quotes and
reference primary sources and original pieces of art. In may include documentaries and biography.

Painting
 Origin

Painting emerged in prehistory, when nomadic people made use of paintings on rocky walls.
They made drawings with charcoal leaving marks in the caves where they passed. Recent discovery
made in Spain found that the oldest paintings discovered to date, made by humans, were made more
than 42,000 years ago.

 Function

Art causes people to look a little closer at social issues, at other people and their emotions, at
the environment that surrounds them, and the everyday objects and life forms around them. Art helps
them see what is there but not easily perceived. The artist brings out that which cannot be seen or felt
easily. It express the ideas and emotions of a person, with the creation of certain aesthetic qualities, in
a two-dimensional visual language. The elements of this language are; its shapes, lines, colours, tones,
and textures—are used in various ways to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, and light
on a flat surface.

 Subject

It’s very important for an artist to choose just the right concept and theme for the piece they
are working on. Making a mistake in this area can cause difficulties in completing the work, and
dissatisfaction afterwards when it just doesn’t match what you had in mind. This isn’t necessarily a
disaster you can often get something new out of it, different to your original goal but in general it’s
better and less frustrating to take care and get it right from the start. It is important that the subject
should be one you are interested in, genuinely interested and engaged in. You can also give new
stories or ideas a little time and thought before deciding to make them the subject of a work of art.
Only your own sustained spark of interest will give the finished work that absorbing, enticing quality.
  Medium

Painting is the application of pigments to a support surface that establishes an image, design
or decoration. In art the term “painting” describes both the act and the result. Most painting is created
with pigment in liquid form and applied with a brush. Painting media are extremely versatile because
they can be applied to many different surfaces called supports including paper, wood, canvas, plaster,
clay, lacquer and concrete. Because paint is usually applied in a liquid or semi-liquid state it has the
ability to soak into porous support material, which can, over time, weaken and damage it. To prevent
this a support is usually first covered with a ground, a mixture of binder and chalk that, when dry,
creates a non-porous layer between the support and the painted surface. A typical ground is gesso.

 Source

The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans
all cultures. It represents a continuous, though periodically disrupted, tradition from Antiquity. ...
Developments in Eastern painting historically parallel those in Western painting, in general, a few
centuries earlier.

Literature
 Origin

As with the wheel, cities and law codes, the earliest examples of written literature appear to
have originated in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization first developed writing around
3400 B.C., when they began making markings on clay tablets in a script known as cuneiform. Their
texts usually consisted of economic and administrative documents, but by the third millennium B.C.,
Sumerian scribes were also copying down essays, hymns, poetry and myths.

 Function

Literature preserves entire cultures and creates an imprint of the people’s way of living for
others to read, hear, and learn. 10. Literature teaches us of many things about the human experience.
Literature is used to portray the facets of life that we see, and those that we would never dream of
seeing. In education literature provides a language model for those who hear and read it. By using
literary texts, students learn new words, syntax and discourse functions and they learn correct
sentence patterns, standard story structures. They develop their writing skills.

 Subject

The subject of a piece of literature (play, poem, novel) encompasses the topic that will be
covered. Studying literature opens up a world of inspiration and creativity, while also developing
skills that are essential for today’s global environment. It is a chance to discover how literature makes
sense of the world through stories, poems, novels and plays. It is also a chance to sharpen your own
ability to write, read, analyze and persuade.

 Medium

The medium of literature is language is that, the writer uses words with which to build his
composition. It can also be spoken stories have been around for a very long time, even before humans
used writing to record their words. Once writing was available, stories could be recorded and passed
on to others: poems, short stories, fables, myths, novels, and plays. Literature Language as medium of
literature most languages are translated in English. It is translated to English for wider reach and
distribution. Even if the translation captures the message of the manuscript, it can never capture or
express the original beauty of it. Not every translations are the accurate words. That is why the sound
of original is completely lost, only the sense is perceived. English is used because of its flexibility and
wide variety of writing techniques that can be experimented to it.

 Source

Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work. Etymologically, the term derives from
Latin litaritura/litteratura “writing formed with letters,” although some definitions include spoken or
sung texts. More restrictively, it is writing that possesses literary merit. Literature can be classified
according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction and whether it is poetry or prose. It can be further
distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama, and works are often
categorized according to historical periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or
expectations.

Music
 Origin

A literal reading of the prehistory of music begins about 40,000 years ago, with Europe on the
brink of a momentous change. The region was then home to the Neanderthals, who had inherited it
from earlier human species stretching back a million years. But now a new species of human – our
own – was racing across Europe. And it was invented by the Greek philosopher Pythagoras.

 Function

Music, art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or
emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and, in most
Western music, harmony. Both the simple folk song and the complex electronic composition belong
to the same activity, music. Throughout history, music has been an important adjunct to ritual and
drama and has been credited with the capacity to reflect and influence human emotion.

 Subject

Music is a protean art, it lends itself easily to alliances with words, as in song, and with physical
movement, as in dance. The implications of the uses of music in psychotherapy, geriatrics, and
advertising testify to a faith in its power to affect human behaviour. Publications and recordings have
effectively internationalized music in its most significant, as well as its most trivial, manifestations.
The ancient Greek philosopher Democritus explicitly denied any fundamental need for music: “For it
was not necessity that separated it off, but it arose from the existing superfluity.” The view that music
and the other arts are mere graces is still widespread, although the growth of psychological
understanding of play and other symbolic activities has begun to weaken this tenacious belief.

 Medium

Music is an art. Culture is reflected in art. The more music a man knows, the more cultured he
becomes. Music deals with sounds. The mediums of music are: vocal and instrumental music. Vocal
Music is the oldest and most cultural forms of music. Voice is produced by the vibrations of volume
vocal chords in the voice box. Since the sound produced by these vibrations is not loud enough to be
heard, resonators (lungs, esophagus, head, and mouth cavities) are needed to increase it’s volume.

 Source