Module 2

Functions and Philosophical Perspectives

of Art

Overview

In this module, we will focus on helping you recognize the functions

and philosophical perspectives of art.
This will guide you grasp the relevance of art in one’s society and
culture, and identity, and that art is not just an art! Further, this lesson will
let you understand its philosophical viewpoints.

I. Objectives

1. Identify the different functions of art;

2. Explain and discuss the basic philosophical perspectives of art; and
3. Recognize the functions of some art forms in daily life.

II. Discussion
Introduction

Everything exists for a purpose. Even before life started or something is

created, the nature of its existence is already predicted and it is expected to find
 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

its end at a certain point of its lifetime. As Aristotle stated, every substance has
an end or purpose, which is called telos in Greek, and its nature pushes it
towards reaching this end (Aristotle as cited in Caslib et. al, 2018). A baby who
develops into a grown individual and a seed that becomes a tree exemplifies this
notion.
Moreover, Aristotle added that there is a significant relationship between a
thing’s purpose, function, and identity. In the case of human beings, their end
which is to be happy and fulfilled, can only be reached once they practice
rationality (Caslib et. al, 2018). Whenever individuals do not use their faculty of
reason, they lose their identity as humans. This can also be seen in the case of a
table that is said to cease to be one if it fails to serve its purpose as a table. The
same goes for a pencil that cannot be used in writing. This reflects the idea that
when something fails to reach or perform its end or function, it loses its identity
(Caslib et. al, 2018).
However, in terms of art, one has to be aware of the fact that art may
serve different functions or purposes but the function is not a necessity for its
existence. Following the phrase “art for art’s sake” by the French philosopher
Victor Cousin, art does not need to serve any purpose nor justification for its
existence (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2021). Therefore, just because an artwork
does not serve a particular purpose does not mean that it shall not be regarded
as a work of art.

Functions of Art
(With excerpts from Art Appreciation by Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J.
R., 2018, p. 25-30)

 “An inquiry on the function of art is an inquiry on what art is for” (Caslib
et. al, 2018).
 Therefore, discussing the function of art means finding its purpose.
 Caslib et.al (2018) classified the functions of art into the following:

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 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

 Personal (public display or expression)

 Social (celebration or to affect collective behavior)
 Physical (utilitarian)

1. Personal Functions of Art

 Since this is a personal function, the function is highly subjective.
 The function depends on the artist who created the artwork so it may vary
from an artist to another.
 Artworks under the personal function could serve the following purposes:
a. Self-expression
 The artist wants to express herself/himself or she/he wants to
communicate an idea to the audience.
 Dancing, music, poetry, painting are some great examples of
this function.
b. Entertainment
 The artist wants to entertain her/his audience.
 Visual arts are some of the examples.
c. Therapeutic value
 Art becomes therapeutic when it is being used to lessen stress,
improve happiness, or overcome a traumatic experience.
 Painting is the best example here.

2. Social Functions of Art

 Art serves a social function when it goes beyond the personal interest of
the artist. With this function, art serves as a tool to address collective
interests or issues.
 In Art as Image and Idea, Feldman (1967, p. 36) stated that “all works of
art perform a social function since they are created for an audience.” He
also wrote that art has a social function when it does the following:
1. It seeks or tends to influence the collective behavior of people;

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 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

2. It is created to be seen or used primarily in public situations; and

3. It expresses or describes collective aspects of existence as opposed to
individual and personal kinds of experience.

 Through the artworks, the artist may depict social conditions, carry a
message of protest or contestation, or question an existing ideology. It
may also contain social issues such as poverty, corruption, gender
inequality, and racial discrimination.
 Examples of arts with social functions are political art, photography,
satirical plays, films, and songs.

Figure 1. Crumbs for the People

Source: https://www.megapixl.com/crumbs-for-the-people-illustration-69046962

3. Physical Functions of Art

 Art has a physical function when it is created to serve a physical or
utilitarian purpose.
 For art’s physical function, objects are created to become containers and
tools (Feldman, 1967). Therefore, the artwork does not only hold beauty that
captures the eyes; it is also useful.

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 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

 Art forms under the applied arts, such as architecture, industrial design,
ceramic art, interior design, and fashion design, have a physical function.

Figure 2. Manunngul Jar

Source:https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Manungg
ul.html

Philosophical Perspectives of Art

(With excerpts from Art Appreciation by Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J.
R., 2018, p. 31-34)

1. Art as an Imitation
 Plato, The Republic
 According to Plato, artists are imitators and art is a mere imitation of
reality. He believes everything in this world is just a mere copy of the
“perfect” things which can only be found in the World of Forms.
 To be able to get into the World of Forms, one has to be rational. This
rationality can be gained through formal education. However, with the
presence of art in the school curriculum, one will never achieve this
rationality for her/his mind will be corrupted by the “illusion” brought by
the artworks (Plato in Caslib et al, 2018).

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 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

 Thus, he was against the inclusion of art as a subject in the curriculum

since he believes that arts corrupt the minds of the people.
 For Plato, arts appeal to emotion rather than to rationality.
 Poetry rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds the rationality of
people.

2. Art as a Representation
 Aristotle, Poetics
 Like Plato, Aristotle also believes in the notion that art is a form of
imitation. However, for Aristotle, art is an aid to philosophy in
revealing the truth.
 For Aristotle, art is a literary representation of what things might be.
 More than imitating reality, art represents possible versions of reality or
the “what ifs” in life.
 It provides its audience with different possibilities through its
representation.
 For Aristotle, there are two purposes of art:
a. For the experience of pleasure (entertainment)
 Horrible experience can be an object in comedy
b. For instructing its audience (cognitive)
 It can be instructive and teach its audience things about life (i.e.
Greek plays)

3. Art as a Disinterested Judgement

 Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment
 Immanuel Kant considered the judgment of beauty, the cornerstone of
art, as something that can be universal despite its subjectivity.
 For Kant, even subjective judgments are based on some universal
criterion for the said judgment and aesthetic judgment is a cognitive
activity.

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 By disinterested judgment, Kant means “we take pleasure in something

because we judge it beautiful, rather than judging it beautiful because we
find it pleasurable” (Burnham, n.d).
 A work of art possesses beauty as its property and it elicits a feeling of
satisfaction from its audience because of its own beauty. Thus, despite
the people’s differences, they will be able to recognize the beauty that is
inherent in the artwork and the feeling of satisfaction felt by one audience
can also be felt by other audiences primarily because of the artwork’s
beauty (Kant in Caslib et. al, 2018; Burham, n.d).

4. Art as a Communication of Emotion

 Leo Tolstoy, What is Art?
 For Tolstoy, art plays a huge role in communicating to its audience
emotions that the artist previously experienced.
 Through the distinct language of music or song, for example, the
audience is given the chance to experience the happiness, sadness, pain,
or bitterness embedded in the artwork.
 As a comprehensible and intellectual language, Tolstoy argues that “Good
art can communicate its meaning to most people, because it expresses its
meaning in a way which can be understood by everyone” (Scott, 2002).
 Moreover, Tolstoy believes that art has a social dimension. As a purveyor
of man’s innermost feelings and thoughts, art may serve as a mechanism
for social unity and cohesion.
 Through the artworks, an audience from the present generation may still
understand or relate to the pains or struggles of people from the past or a
different country as art can communicate these feelings regardless of the
time and place of its creation.

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 ARTS 1100 (Art Appreciation)

Suggested Readings/Video Links:

1. What is Art for?

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0bDD4gXrE

2. “The Functions of Art” in Art as Image and Idea by Edmund Burke

Feldman
Link: https://archive.org/details/artasimageidea00feld/page/n13/mode/1up

3. A Philosophical Perspective on Art

Link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301339734_Pietersen_H_J_2006_A_p
hilosophical_perspective_on_art

References:

Burnham, D. (n.d.). Immanuel Kant: Aesthetics. In The Internet Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. Retrieved from
https://iep.utm.edu/kantaest/#:~:text=First%2C%20they%20are%20disi
nterested%2C%20meaning,because%20we%20find%20it%20pleasurable.
&text=Fourth%2C%20through%20aesthetic%20judgments%2C%20beau
tiful,'final%20without%20end').

Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J. R. (2018). Art Appreciation. Manila: Rex
Bookstore, Inc.

Encyclopædia Britannica (2021). Art for Art’s Sake. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/art-for-arts-sake

Feldman, E. B. (1967). Art as Image and Idea. Prentice-Hall Inc. Retrieved from
https://archive.org/details/artasimageidea00feld/page/67/mode/1up

Scott, A. (2002). Tolstoy’s What is Art? Retrieved from

https://www.angelfire.com/md2/timewarp/tolstoy.html#:~:text=Tolstoy%
20defines%20art%20as%20an,share%20that%20feeling%20or%20exper
ience.&text=To%20the%20contrary%2C%20good%20art,can%20be%20
understood%20by%20everyone.

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