Introduction of Arts

WHAT IS HUMANITIES?

 Academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and

culture.
 Methods are primarily critical, or speculative.
 Have a significant historical element and no central discipline
 Scholars: "humanity scholars" or humanists.
 Attributed to the symmetry and balance discussed by the art piece
known as the Vitruvian Man of Leonardo da Vinci.
 Study subject matters using the comparative method and research.

THE VITRUVIAN MAN

WHY STUDY HUMANITIES?

 It came from the Latin “humanus” which means human, cultured

and refined.
 It contains the records of man’s quest for answers to the
fundamental questions.
 It studies man and the manner in which he conducts himself from
the time of his existence to the present
 It is composed of academic disciplines that make it distinctive in
both content and method from the physical and biological sciences
and from the social sciences.
 It is devoted to understanding the different phenomena within the
human cultural contexts.
  It studies how people process and document the human experience
using philosophy, religion, literature, art and history as their way of
understanding and recording the world.
 It studies how individuals’ manner of expression varies as they
record human experiences and how the way of documenting these
forms a connection between and among humans of the past,
present and future.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF HUMANITIES

 Human nature is inherently good.

 Individuals are free and are capable of making choices.
 Human potential for growth and development is virtually unlimited.
 Self-concept plays an important role in growth and development.
 Individuals have an urge for self-actualization.
 Reality is defined by each person.
 Individuals have a responsibility to both themselves and to others.

WHAT IS ART?

 It is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory

or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's
imaginative, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be
appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. Other activities
related to the production of works of art include the criticism of art,
the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination
clarification needed of art.
 Three Classical Branches of Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture.
 Music, theater, film, dance and other performing arts as well as
literature and other media such as interactive media, are included
in a broader definition of the arts.

NATURE OF ARTS

 Art or arts is of Aryan root “ar” which means to join or put together
and has its Latin term being “sars” or “artis” which means
everything that is artificially made or composed by man.
 Art constitutes one of the oldest and most important means of
expression developed by man.
 It refers to the skillful arrangement or composition of some common
but significant qualities of nature.
 Art is subjective as it employs the use of perception, insights,
feelings and intuition.
  It is the heightened expression of human dignity and weaknesses
felt and shared so powerfully in a world increasingly aware of its
successes and failures.
 It is man’s expression of himself as an individual and how he views
his existence.
 Art also provides enjoyment and stimulation specially when people
understand them.

FUNCTIONS OF ART

 Express freely oneself;

 Socially express his need for display, celebration and
communication; and
 Physically express the need for utility of functional objects.

FUNCTIONAL VS. NONFUNCTIONAL ART

FUNCTIONAL ART - art created for use, not necessarily everyday use, but
designed to serve a purpose and with an aesthetic in mind. It's art that
serves a function, but is designed artistically for the purpose of beauty.

NON-FUNCTIONAL ART - art that serves no utilitarian purpose. It is in direct

contrast with functional art, which has both an aesthetic value and a
utilitarian purpose. It also encompass paintings, sculptures and all manner of
fine art.

PHILOSOPHY AND ARTS RELATED

PHILOSOPHY

 It is a field of discipline which has attempted to explain almost all

aspects of human existence.
 It is the study of general and fundamental questions about
existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.
 The term was probably coined by Pythagoras.

ART OR AESTHETICS

 It is the study of beauty and taste, concerned with the nature of art
and used as a basis for interpreting and evaluating individual works
of art.
 It is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and
taste, as well as the philosophy of art.
 It examines subjective and sensori-emotional values, or sometimes
called judgments of sentiment and taste.
THE ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHERS

PLATO

He is a philosopher of Ancient Greece who is known for his Dialogues

together with Socrates.

With the Republic being his work, Plato was seen as a good literary stylist
and great story teller and considered the arts as threatening.

He believed that “though arts can be used to train citizens to have an ideal
society, using arts to accomplish this should be strictly controlled” .

He also explained that the physical world is a copy of a perfect, rational,

eternal and changeless original which he called FORMS.

Plato’s Ideas ofthe Arts: Artis imitation; Artis dangerous.

THE FORMS:

> EXAMPLE: Beauty, Justice, and The Circle

> Other philosophers have called them Universals.

> Forms are perfect Ideals, but they are also more real than physical objects.
He called them "the Really Real"

> Itis rational and unchanging.

> The mind or soul belongs to the Ideal world; the body and its passions are
stuck in the muck of the physical world.

> Self-control, especially control of the passions, is essential to the soul that
wants to avoid the temptations of sensuality, greed, and ambition, and move
on to the Ideal World in the next life

ARISTOTLE

He was a student of Plato who first distinguished between “whatis good and
whatis beautiful'' .

The universal elements of beauty are manifested by order, symmetry, and

definiteness. As exemplified in his Poetics, he stated that the physical
manifestation of beauty is affected by SIZE.

He considered art as imitation or a representation of nature and his

emphasis of the artist on POETRY which for him is more philosophical than
Philosophy itself.

Poets imitated the following according to Aristotle:

> Things and events which have been or still are;

> Things which are said to be seen and are probable

> Things which essentially are.

IMMANUEL KANT

He was a German, Enlightenment philosopher who wrote a treatise on

Aesthetics: Observations on the Feelings of the Beautiful and the Sublime.

His main interest was not on art but on BEAUTY thatit is a matter of TASTE.
Kant explained that TASTE can be both SUBJECTIVE and UNIVERSAL.

For KANT, beauty is a question of form and color is NOT IMPORTANT.

The Kinds of Aesthetic Responses according to Kant are:

> Beauty results in pleasure if there is order, harmony and symmetry; and

> Beauty leads to a response of awe that overwhelms the viewers ofthe art.

ARTISTS VS. ARTISANS

THE ARTIST

A person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or

demonstrating an art.

The term is often used in the entertainment business, especially in a

business context, for musicians and other performers (less often for actors).

THE ARTISAN

A skilled craft worker who makes or creates things by hand that may be
functional or strictly decorative.

The adjective "artisanal" is sometimes used in describing hand processing in

what is usually viewed as an industrial process, such as in the phrase
artisanal mining.

THE ART FORMS

It refers to the theory, human application and physical expression of
creativity found in human cultures and societies through skills and
imagination in order to produce objects, environments and experiences.

Major constituents of the arts include visual arts, literature, and performing
arts, culinary arts

Some art forms combine a visual element with performance or artwork with
the written word.

From prehistoric cave paintings to modern-day films, art serves as a vessel

for storytelling and conveying humankind's relationship with the environment

One’s self expression especially when inclined with arts may take various
forms depending on the expertise and artistic inclinations of an artist

Whatever form of art one may use in expressing oneself, what is important is
that his self expression and creativity are explicit.

DIFFERENT ART FORMS

ARCHITECTURE

it 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 is considered as the most functional of all the art forms.

EXAMPLES:

> The Malacanang Palace

> The Philippines’ seat of government

> The Cultural Center of the Philippines

> The center of cultural activities of the country and Burj Khalifa

> The highest skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates

SCULPTURE

It is an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into

threedimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding
objects, in reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to
contexts that envelop the spectator.

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

metal, fabric, glass, wood, plaster, rubber, and random “found” objects.

EXAMPLES:

> The Jose Rizal Monument in Rizal Park

> The University of the Philippines Oblation in all UP campuses around the
Philippines

> The Black Nazarene in the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo
district, Manila, Philippines

PAINTING

It 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.

As a medium, it has survived for thousands of years and is, along with
drawing and sculpture, one of the oldest creative media.

Examples:

> Juan Luna’s Spolarium

> Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

> The Fishermen by Ang Kiukok

DANCE

It is the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within
a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing
energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself

The two concepts of the art of dance— dance as a powerful impulse and
dance as a skillfully choreographed art practiced largely by a professional
few —are the two most important connecting ideas running through any
consideration of the subject.

EXAMPLES;

> Folk dances

> Modern dances

MUSIC

It is an art form, and cultural activity, whose medium is sound. General

definitions of music include common elements such as pitch, rhythm,
dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.

Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and vocal techniques

Examples:

> Philippine Folk Songs

> Popular music

THEATER

It is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, typically

actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event
before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage.

The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as
derived from the Ancient Greek théatron, "a place for viewing" , itself from
theáomai, "to see" , "to watch" , "to observe".

EXAMPLES:

> Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet

> Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables

> The local theatrical presentations of Noli Me Tangere

> Chosen zarzuelas and moro-moro performances

LITERATURE

It is any body or collection of written work. More restrictively, literature refers

to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have
artistic or intellectual value, and sometimes deploys language in ways that
differ from ordinary usage.

Literature may be oral or written and are also sometimes meant to be

performed before an audience.

EXAMPLES:
> The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin

>Po-on by F. Sionil Jose

> Myths, Legends and Folktales by Maximo D. Ramos

> Stupid is Forever by the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

THE ART FORMS

It may be classified as visual arts and performing arts..

Visual arts are those which are felt by the senses which includes Sculpture,
Painting and Architecture.

Music, Dance and Theater are under the performance arts category

Literature may be visual or performance depending upon the manner as to

how it shall be presented.

APPRECIATING THE ARTS (HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED?)

1. Give a good physical description of the artwork based on their knowledge

of art elements and materials

2. Analyze the artwork in terms of what the artist wants his work to represent
and the learner’s subjective reaction to the works which includes their
thoughts and feelings

3. Perceive the art work in the context of its history. This would enlighten the
learners of the artist’s intention in doing the work and add to the
understanding of the meaning the work is supposed to convey

4. Give meaning to the artwork based on its description, analysis and

context

5. Judge the artwork as to whether it is good or bad based on the learner’s

perception of it and its aesthetic and cultural value.

Art is meant to stimulate thought because it allows viewers to draw their own
emotions and pull from their personal experiences when viewed.

It is very powerful in this way and it naturally develops critical and innovative
thinking skills.

Art also teaches many important qualities such as listening, observing, and
responding to multiple perspectives.
It is meant to express something that we ourselves feel unable to express or
convey.

Art appreciation stimulates thought and analysis, provokes an individual to

look past what meets the eye and open our mind to the views of others.

Art Appreciation Subject and Context

The Subject of an Artwork

 The term subject in arts refers to the main idea that is represented
in the artwork. The subject in art is basically the essence of the
piece.
 The subject matter or topic is entirely up to the artist. Art is really
liberating in that sense.
 Some artists don 't like to assign a strict explanation of their art so
that they are not imposing on the viewers own narrative and
concept of the work.
 There are some symbols that are archetypal and commonly
understood/interpreted by humanity in the same way. Therefore
symbols can be very powerful when trying to convey a specific
idea.
 There are some symbols that are archetypal and commonly
understood/interpreted by humanity in the same way. Therefore
symbols can be very powerful when trying to convey a specific
idea.

Representational Artwork

 There are some symbols that are archetypal and commonly

understood/interpreted by humanity in the same way. Therefore
symbols can be very powerful when trying to convey a specific
idea.
 It does not need to be a completely realistic depiction of the
subject; there will often be varying levels of abstraction.
 It is a term that generally refers to a painting or sculpture that is
clearly recognizable for what it claims to be.
 It depicts any identifiable object or series of objects and their
physical appearance in reality.
  It is also referred to as Figurative Art, being that it is derived from
real object sources.

NON-Representational Art

 It refers to compositions which do not rely on representation or

mimesis to any extent.
 It focus on the elements of the artwork in terms of the aesthetic
value of the work, but the meaning will always be personal to the
viewer unless the artist has made a statement about his or her
intentions.
 Generally, we can look at nonrepresentational art as the personal
expression of an artist' s subjective experience. Certain movements
have described their intentions as an aim to evoke moods or
emotions in the viewer.

THESOURCES OF Subject

NATURE

 It is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material

world or material universe.
 “Nature” refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to
life in general.”
 It is considered the most commonly used source of art.

PEOPLE

 They are considered the most interesting subject of an artwork

which may be real or imagined.
 An artist’s thoughts, moods and even the genre of a certain art
work may be depicted by people by means of clues as takeaways.
 People as subjects may be presented as individuals or groups and
may perform tasks as how they do in their everyday life.

HISTORY

 It is the depiction of factual events that occured in the past whose

purpose is either to remember important events of long ago or to
teach the learners about the lessons of the past.

LEGENDS

 Artworks based on legends present to viewers of the art something

tangible even when unverified. Art brings life to these stories

RELIGION
  Artists used as inspiration the religious texts as the Bible, Quran
and Torah in conveying their ideas and beliefs through their art
works. It was also established that art is considered the handmaid
of religion.

MYTHOLOGY

 These are sources of subjects that come from the stories of gods
and goddesses of Ancient Greece, Rome, Norse and Egyptians.
 These so called deities of the mythological world depict present
humanlike behaviours

DREAMS AND FANTASY

 The wonder of the unconscious is what is being expressed by art

works under this subject source.
 These works of art somehow explain to the viewers the content of
the art piece including the hidden meaning behind each work

TECHNOLOGY

 The modernity of the present is also an inspiration being used by

artists as a source of subject.
 The wondrous use of machines, the towering skyscrapers, state of
the art robotics technology, top of the line transportation
machineries as cars, ships and motorcycles to name a few are
sources of subjects of interest under technology.

WAYSOF PRESENTINGTHE Subject

Naturalism

 It refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting.

 The Realist movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in
reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in
Romanticism, but many painters have used a similar approach over
the centuries.
 Naturalism began in the early Renaissance, and developed itself
further throughout the Renaissance, such as with the Florentine
School.
 Naturalism is a type of art that pays attention to very accurate and
precise details, and portrays things as they are.
 It always depict pieces showing the idealized human form. One
would immediately recognize that these images were imitated from
the human form.

Realism
  It is generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully,
without artificiality and avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural
elements.
 Realism has been prevalent in the arts at many periods, and can be
in large part a matter of technique and training, and the avoidance
of stylization. In the visual arts, illusionistic realism is the accurate
depiction of lifeforms, perspective, and the details of light and
colour.
 Realist or naturalist works of art may, as well or instead of illusionist
realism, be " realist" in their subject matter, and emphasize the
mundane, ugly or sordid.
 Realism is the most popular way of presenting art subjects.

Abstraction

 Abstraction finds its roots in ‘intuition’ (of the artist) and ‘freedom’
(for the artist as well as for the viewer). \
 Historically, the abstract art movement emerged in the nineteenth
century as a reaction to academic painting or realism. In fact, a very
simple way to understand the essence of abstract art is to think of it
as a visual opposite of realistic art.
 This is a method of presenting the subject where the artist moves
away from reality. The artist usually alters the shapes and colors in
rendering a particular art piece.

Symbolism

 This is the use of a visible sign of an idea to convey to the viewers,

readers or audiences the message of his work.
 In this way, mystery is advocated by an art work making it more
interesting to the viewers.

Fauvism

 It is the name applied to the work produced by a group of artists

(which included Henri Matisse and André Derain) from around 1905
to 1910, which is characterised by strong colours and fierce
brushwork.
 The name les fauves (‘the wild beasts’) was coined by the critic
Louis Vauxcelles when he saw the work of Henri Matisse and
André Derain in an exhibition, the salon d’automne in Paris, in
1905.
 The forms of the subjects were also simplified making their work
appear quite abstract

Dadaism

 It is a protest movement in the art that is playful and experimental.

“Dada” means a “hobby horse”.
  Dadaism is most often nonsensical. Marcel Duchamp is the famous
painter using this method.
 The aim of this method is to shock and provoke its viewers.

Futurism

 This was developed in Italy about the same time as cubism

appeared in France.
 Futurist painters wanted their works to capture the mechanical
energy of modern life

Surrealism

 This method mirrors the evils of the present society.

 Surrealism means super realism, influenced by Freudian
psychology which emphasizes the activities of the subconscious
state of the mind.
 The art movement began in Paris in 1924 by the French poet Andre
Breton. It emphasized the activities of the subconscious mind
mostly exemplifying violence and cruelty.
 The surrealist’s aim is to reveal the deep and ugly part of human
nature.

Expressionism

 This features art works describing pathos, morbidity, chaos or even

defeat and was introduced in Germany from 1900 – 1910.
 Expressionists believe that man needs spiritual rebirth for him to
correct defects that ruin the society.

Art Appreciation : THE ARTIST AND HIS MEDIUM

THE ARTIST AND HIS MEDIUM

 Production is at the heart of making art.

 While some contemporary artists foreground production as a tool,
others use their work to explore ideas around production we might
otherwise overlook.
 Production might bring out images of factory production lines, or
even the theories of scientists and philosophers after the mind has
conceived it through a certain process.

A. MEDIUM - When an artist is ready to express himself in art and to give

shape to his vision, his first thought would be on what medium to use.
B. THE TECHNIQUE - The technique of the artwork shows the level of
familiarity with the medium being manipulated.

C. CURATION - Derived from the word “curare” which means to take care. It
is a process that involves managing, overseeing and assembling or putting
together a presentation or exhibit for some type of artistic collection

The Different Media of Visual Arts : GRAPHIC OR TWO-DIMENSIONAL

ARTS

A. DRAWING

1. Pencils - Made of graphite which comes in different hardness from soft to

hard or thickness from thick to needle-like.

2. Ink - It is one of the oldest materials for drawing that is still in use. It
allows for a great variety of qualities, depending on the tools and technique
used in the application.

3. Pastel - This is composed of dry pigment held together by a gum binder

and compressed into sticks.

4. Charcoal - An organic medium that comes from burnt wood.

5. Paper - The most common surface used in two-dimensional art.

B. PAINTING

1. Watercolor - Pigments are mixed with water and applied to paper.

PIGMENT - Part of the paint that gives color

2. Gouache - The pigment has been mixed with water and added with a
chalk-like material to give it an opaque effect.

3. Oil Paints - Pigments are mixed with oil as its binder. It is a dense
painting medium and gives rich, beautiful colors.

4. Tempera - Pigment is mixed with egg yolk (sometimes with the white) as
binder

5. Fresco - Pigment is mixed with water and applied on a portion of the wall
with wet plaster. It is used for mural paintings.

6. Acrylic - Modern medium with synthetic paint using acrylic emulsion as

binder.

C. MOSAIC

It is a wall or floor decorations made of small tiles or irregularly cut

pieces of colored stones or glass called tesserae.

D. COLLAGE

This is a technique of making art by gluing or pasting on firm

support materials or found objects.

E. PRINTMAKING

PRINTMAKING TECHNIQUES:
1. Relief Painting (Raised) - The oldest method of printmaking. The
technique involves cutting away certain parts of the surface and leaving the
‘raised’ part to produce the image.

2. Intaglio Printing (Depressed) - Instead of the surface of the plate for the
image, the lines of the image are cut or incised to a metal plate.

3. Surface Printing (Flat) - Includes all processes in which printing is done

from a flat surface.

The Different Media of Visual Arts : PLASTIC OR THREE-DIMENSIONAL

ARTS

SCULPTURE

KINDS OF SCULPTURE:

1. Freestanding - Sculptures which can be viewed from all sides.

2. Relief - Sculptures in which the figures project from a background.

VARIATIONS

 Low Relief (Bas Relief)

 High Relief

3. Kinetic (Mobile) - A sculpture that is capable of movement by wind, water

or other forms of energy.

The Process of Sculpting

PROCESS

A. Subtractive Process - Involves removing or cutting away pieces of the

material to form the figure.

B. Additive Process - The process involves the construction of a figure by

putting together bits of the material or by welding together metal parts to
create figures.

C. Process of Substitution - This process is also known as casting. This

method involves using a mold to produce a 3D figure in another material

D. DIFFERENT MEDIA OF SCULPTURE

  STONE - A natural medium. Hard and relatively permanent
 WOOD - Also a natural medium. It varies in hardness and durability
depending on the kind of tree it came from.
 METAL - It has three unique qualities: tensile strength, ductility and
malleability.
 PLASTER - It is finely ground gypsum mixed with water and poured
into mold
 TERRA COTTA (COOKED EARTH) - Baked clay or clay fired in a
kiln at a relatively high temperature.
 GLASS - Made by heating and cooling a combination of sand and
soda lime.
 PLASTIC - Synthetic medium made from organic polymers.

Architecture

CONSTRUCTION PRINCIPLES

A. Post and Lintel - Makes use of two vertical supports (post) and spanned
by a horizontal beam (lintel). It was invented by the Greeks.

B. Arch - A Roman invention that consists of separate pieces of wedge-

shaped blocks called voussoirs arranged in a semi-circle.

STRUCTURES THAT CAN BE BUILT FROM THE PRINCIPLE OF ARCH:

 Barrel Vault - A succession of arches.

 Groin Vault - A structure that is formed by intersecting arches
resulting in four openings.
 Dome - Structure with the shape of an inverted cup

C. Truss - System of triangular forms assembled to form a rigid framework.

D. Cantilever - A structure that makes use of a beam or slab that extends

horizontally into space beyond its supporting post.

E. Buttress - A structure that is built as a support for the wall.

Media Of Architecture

A. Compressive Strength - Refers to those materials that can support

heavy weights without crumbling or breaking down.

B. Materials that are used for Creating Building and Infrastructures:

 Stones and Bricks - Stones are favored over other materials for its
durability, adaptability to sculptural treatment and its use for
building simple structures in its natural state.
 Lumber (Wood) - All parts of a building can be constructed using
wood except the foundations.
 Iron and Steel - Provide stronger and taller structures with less use
of material when compared to stone or wood.
 Concrete - Mixture of cement and water, with aggregates of sand
and gravel.