CONTEMPORARY ARTS

1.1Definitions of Arts and Different Kinds

of Artists
According to Webster, art is "human ingenuity in adapting natural things
to man's use." Therefore, an artist uses his genius in transforming God-
made things into man made things that satisfy his needs.

Art came from the word "ars" which means skills. It is synonymous with
skill, cunning, artifice, and craft, which all mean the faculty of what is
devise. Art maybe used interchangeably with all the other terms, but, in
its most distinct sense, in contrast with them in implying a personal,
analyze creative power, skill stresses technical knowledge and
proficiency; cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising,
inventing, or executing; artifice suggests mechanical skill especially in
limitating things in nature; craft may imply expertness in workmanship
or suggest trickery and guile in attaining one's ends.

KINDS OF ARTIST
a. coiffeurs - hairstylist b. couturiers – clothes designers c. chefs - food
experts d. wine connoisseurs – wine tasters e. perfume experts - makers
of perfume f. Jewelers - one who makes jewelries g. tattooists – body
painters h. milliners – hat makers i. potters - person who creates pots j.
musicians - those engage in music k. terpsichorean – dancers l. thespians
- actors m. litterateurs – men of letters n. painters - an artist who paints
pictures o. sculptors - an artist who makes sculptures p. architect - a
person who designs buildings and in many cases also supervises their
construction

Those artists are all involved in art, while they differ in art from, they
engage in the arts, basically, to earn money. To some artists, producing
artworks for sale is a lucrative job. However, have other purposes in
engaging in art activities. Some do it to express their emotions and
thoughts, real or imaginary. Others do it to produce things of beauty and
masterpieces. A big number of artists do it to self-actualize; a small
number of artists do it to immortalize them or to immortalize other
people. Several engage in art in order to persuade but most artists
intend to entertain people.
1.2 FUNCTIONS OF ART and ART STYLE
AND FACTORS AFFECTING ART STYLE
FUNCTIONS OF ART
Art serves several functions, which are corollary to its purposes. These
functions include but are not limited to the following:
1. Personal or Individual Function - Artist have their personal reasons for
indulging in art.
2.Social Function - Man is a social being and as such he associates with
his fellow beings.
3.Economic Function - Many people believe that it does not pay to be an
artist. However, this belief is negated by these facts.
4. Political Function - to reinforce or enhance a sense of identity and
ideological connection to specific political views, parties and/or people.
5. Historical Function - paintings, sculptors, architectural work sand
other art forms serve to record historical figures and events.
6.Cultural Function - Buildings, furniture, clothes and the like form part
of the country’s material culture, while music, dance and language which
is incorporated in oral and written literature and drama, form part of its
non-material culture. Therefore paintings, sculptures, architectural
works, songs, dances, dramas and literary pieces are embodiment s of
culture.
7. Religious Function - Almost all, if not all, art forms evolved from
religion. People in the olden times worshiped their Gods in the form of
songs and dances.
8. Physical Function - House and other buildings are constructed to
protect their occupants and all the others inside them. At times, painting
serves to protect the walls and ceilings of some buildings, while
sculptures serve as columns of some building. Many people claim that
dance is one of the best forms of exercise, while music is a form of
therapy.
9. Aesthetic Function - Artworks serve to beautify.

Art Style and Factors Affecting Style

Every artist has his way of presenting his work. Such is called art style.
Such style is affected by the following factors:
1.       Geographical Factors - The place where the artist stays influences
his works
2.       Historical Factors - Historical events exert a great influence on
artist, particularly the writers.
3.      Social Factors - Social relationships affect artist, too.
4.       Ideational Factor - The ideas coming from various people also
influence artists.
5.       Psychological Factors - The works produced by the artist are
affected by their psychological make-up or frame of mind.
6.      Technical Factors - Techniques matter as far as artistic styles are
concerned.

1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF ARTS AND

PRINCIPLES OF ARTS
CLASSIFICATION OF ARTS
Artists abound since there are many genres of art. And the number of
artists keeps on increasing as new forms of arts emerge. Based on
the sensory perception involved, the genres of art are classified into:

a. Visual arts. Visual arts are those forms perceived by the eyes.

These includes

                1.      Painting
                2.      Sculpture
                3.      Architecture
               They are also called spatial because artworks produced
under this genre occupy space. They are further divided into graphic
arts and plastic arts.
               a.1 Graphic Arts. Graphic arts are those visual arts that
have length and width; thus they are also called two-dimensional
arts. They are described as flat arts because they are seen on flat
surfaces. Examples of theses arts are painting, printing, drawing,
sketching, commercial art, mechanical processes, computer
graphics, and photography.
 
               a.2 Plastic Arts. Plastic arts are those visual arts that have
length, width, and volume; thus, they are also called three-
dimensional arts. Examples of these are sculpture, architecture,
landscape, architecture, city planning, interior design, costume
design, set design, theater design, industrial design, crafts and allied
arts.
 
              b.  Audio-Visual Arts. Audio-Visual Arts are those forms
perceived by both ears (audio) and eyes (video). They are called
performing arts inasmuch as the artists render a performance in front
of an audience. Examples of these are music (vocal, instrumental,
and mixed), dance (ethnological, social and theatrical), and drama
(tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, farce, melodrama, etc.) Music unlike
dance and drama, can be purely audial as when the audience listens
to a song played on the radio and does not see the artist (the singer)
perform live on stage.
 
              c.  Literary Arts. Literary arts are those presented in the
written mode and intended to be read. These include prose (short
stories, novels, essays, and plays) and poetry (narrative poems, lyric
poems, and dramatic poems). Prose forms differ from verse or poetic
forms in that the former are in paragraph (composed of sentences)
form, while the latter are in stanza (composed of lines) form.
 
 B. Divisions of Art Study

            Humanities or the study of the arts was limited to aesthetics

or art appreciation and/or art history during the second half of the
20th century. With the onset of the new millennium and the recent
developments in various disciplines, the study of humanities has
extended to art production and art criticism. In short, humanities
deals with the four divisions of art study.

a.  Aesthetics or Art Appreciation. Aesthetics, the science of beauty,

is that divisions of art study in which the student learns to admire the
artists, value highly different works of art, and appreciate the role of
art in the society.
b.  Art History. Art history is that division of art study in which the
student acquires knowledge of the artists, their backgrounds, their
masterpieces, and their significant contributions in various field of
arts.
c. Art Production. Art production is that division of art study in which
the student learns to use his creativity and apply his artistic
knowledge and skills in producing his own works of art.
d. Art Criticism. Art criticism is that division of art study in which the
student learns to use his judgement in evaluating different artworks
based on the criteria set.
1. Harmony - The most essential factor in a composition. Also called
unity, harmony is achieved when all the elements, harmony is achieved
when all the elements of a thing are put together to come- up with a
coherent whole. Every part of a work of art is necessary to the
composition to the extent that all the parts exhibit a sense of belonging
together and a pleasing relationship with one another. If one of the
parts does not complement the others , then lack of harmony results.

2. Balance - Known as physical equilibrium, balance is stability produced

by even distribution of weight on each side of the thing. It is classified
into formal and informal:
Formal- exists if the weight at equal distance from the center are equal.
It is also symmetrical balance because the thing displays symmetry.
Bilateral symmetry is present when the left and right sides appear the
same; the right side mirrors the left, said of the human body. Radial
symmetry exits when the same measure occurs from the central point to
the end of every radius; this kind of symmetry applies to round objects
or those with radii like stars and starfishes.

Informal - resent when the left and the right sides of a thing, though not
identical in appearance, still display an even distribution of weight. It is
also known as asymmetrical or occult balance.
3. Rhythm- continuous use of a motif or repetitive pattern of a
succession of similar or identical items. It can be achieved by alternation,
repetition, progression, or parallelism. Rhythm is exemplified by
concentric circles, by an alternation of black and white stripes, by
checkered blue and orange squares. It is characterized as repetitive,
continuous, or flowing.
4. Proportion - is the comparative relationship of the different parts in
relation to the whole. It is the proper and pleasing relationship of one
object with the others in a design.
5. Emphasis - is giving proper importance on one or more parts of the
thing or the whole thing itself. It is achieved by means of size or
proportion, shape, color, line, position and variety. The artist emphasizes
the one with the bigger size or proportion, the one with different shape
or color, the one with striking lines, the one positioned at the center,
and the one that is unique.
Lesson 2.1: Definition of Contemporary Art What is Contemporary Art?
a. A reference to Contemporary Art meaning “the art of today,” more
broadly includes artwork produced during the late 20th and early 21st
centuries. It generally defines art produced after the Modern Art
movement to the present day. However, modern artwork is not just art
produced during a specific time frame. This genre of art does have its
own approach or style that distinguishes it from others. Yet, this style of
art is difficult to define because it includes such variety. Some argue that
the basic approach and goal of modern Art is to challenge the nature of
artwork itself. It can also make the viewer question what it is that
defines art. Therefore, this style of art is not particularly uniform, and it
may be more challenging to precisely describe than any other genre of
art. Additionally, there are several major reasons to why contemporary
art is important to society, for instance it is a mean to express oneself, as
it is way to provide social and cultural commentary.

b. Contemporary Art Contemporary art is the art of the present,

produced by living artists in the twenty-first century. Contemporary art
provides an opportunity to reflect on today social issues relevant to
humanity, and the world around us. Contemporary artists work in a
globally influenced, very culturally diverse, and advanced technological
world. This art is a dynamic combination of materials, concepts,
methods, and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries and defy
easy understanding or definition. Eclectic and diverse, contemporary art
entirely is distinguished by the basic lack of a uniform, ideology,
organizing principle. This art is a cultural dialogue that concerns
contextual frameworks such as personal or cultural identity, social
problems, and issues, community and nationality - that is how at present
the World define contemporary art.

History of Contemporary Art? Contemporary Art initially grew along with

Modernism; however, it is now viewed as divergent from that school. In
1910, Roger Fry and his colleagues founded the Contemporary Art
Society. At the time, this was simply a private society where artwork can
be purchased for public museums. Through the 1930’s more institutions
were founded with the same terminology. Scholars in the field
distinguished Modern Art as a specific style that did align with a specific
time-period. In contrast, the contemporary style continues to progress
as over time, which adds to the wide variety of approaches and
outcomes.