GEC8: ART APPRECIATION

LESSON 2: CREAVITY IMAGINATION, AND EXPRESSION

MS. MARGIELYN BAYLE RAGASA, LPT

2nd SEMESTER | S.Y. 2023-2024

CREATIVITY IMAGINATION, AND not yet seen anything like it or when it is out of the
EXPRESSION ordinary. A creative artist does not simply copy or
Art Appreciation as a Way of Life imitate another artist's work. He does not imitate the
Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous French philosopher of the lines, flaws, colors, and patterns in recreating nature.
twentieth century, described the role of art as a He embraces originality, puts his own flavor into his
creative work that depicts the world in a completely work, and calls it his own creative piece.
different light and perspective, and the source is due It's more fun in the Philippines
to human freedom (Greene, 1995). Each artwork
beholds beauty of its own kind, the kind that the artist
sees and wants the viewers to perceive. More often
than not, people are blind to this beauty and only
those who have developed a fine sense of
appreciation can experience and see the art the same
Yet, being creative nowadays can be quite
way the artist did. Because of this, numerous artworks
challenging. What you thought was your own unique
go unnoticed, artists are not given enough credit, and
and creative idea may not what it seems to be after
they miss opportunities. It sometimes takes a lifetime
extensive research and that someone else has
before their contribution to the development of art is
coincidentally devised before the idea in another part
recognized. Hence, refining one's ability to appreciate
of the world. For instance, the campaign ad "It's More
art allows him to deeply understand the purpose of an
Fun in the Philippines" used by the Department of
artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses (Collins
Tourism (DOT) boomed popularity in 2011, but later
& Riley, 1931).
on it was found out that it was allegedly plagiarized
from Switzerland's tourism slogan "It's More Fun in
In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also
Switzerland," back in 1951. In DOT's defense, former
exercise and develop his taste for things that are fine
DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. claimed that it was
and beautiful. This allows individuals to make
"purely coincidental." Thus, creativity should be
intelligent choices and decisions in acquiring
backed with careful research on related art to avoid
necessities and luxuries, knowing what gives better
such conflicts.
value for time or money while taking into
consideration the aesthetic and practical value
Art as a Product of Imagination, Imagination as a
(Collins & Riley, 1931). This continuous demand for
Product of Art German physicist Albert Einstein who
aesthetically valuable things influences the
had made significant and major contributions in
development and evolution of art and its forms.
science and humanity demonstrated that knowledge is
actually derived from imagination. He emphasized
Frequenting museums, art galleries, performing arts
this idea through his words:
theaters, concert halls, or even malls that display art
exhibitions that are free in admission during leisure
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For
time will not only develop an understanding of the
knowledge is limited to all we now know and
art, but will also serve as a rewarding experience.
understand, while imagination embraces the entire
Learning to appreciate art, no matter what vocation or
world, and all there ever will be to know and
profession you have, will lead to a fuller and more
understand."
meaningful life (Collins & Riley, 1931).
Imagination is not constrained by the walls of the
The Role of Creativity in Art Making
norm, but goes beyond that. That is why people rely
Creativity requires thinking outside the box. It is often
on curiosity and imagination for advancement.
used to solve problems that have never occurred
Through imagination, one is able to craft something
before, conflate function and style, and simply make
bold, something new, and something better in the
life a more unique and enjoyable experience. In art,
hopes of creating something that will stimulate
creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another.
change. Imagination allows endless possibilities.
We say something is done creatively when we have

CABAY, J.B. | BMLS2 | PLT COLLEGE, INC.

In an artist's mind sits a vast gallery of artworks. An Robin George Collingwood, an English philosopher
artwork does not need to be a real thing, but can be who is best known for his work in aesthetics,
something that is imaginary (Collingwood, 1938). explicated in his publication The Principles of Art
Take for example a musician who thinks of a tune in (1938) that what an artist does to an emotion is not to
his head. The making of this tune in his head makes it induce it, but express it. Through expression, he is
an imaginary tune, an imaginative creation, an able to explore his own emotions and at the same
imaginary art (Collingwood, 1938). It remains time, create something beautiful out of them.
imaginary until he hums, sings, or writes down the Collingwood further illustrated that expressing
notes of the tune on paper. However, something emotions is something different from describing
imaginary does not necessarily mean it cannot be emotions. In his example, explicitly saying "I am
called art. Artists use their imagination that gives angry" is not an expression of an emotion, but a mere
birth to reality through creation. description. There is no need in relating or referring
to a specific emotion, such as anger, in expressing
In the same way that one's emotion. Description actually destroys the idea
imagination produces of expression, as it classifies the emotion, making it
art, art also inspires ordinary and predictable. Expression, on the other
imagination. Imagine hand, individualizes. An artist has the freedom to
being in an empty room express himself the way he wants to. Hence, there is
surrounded by blank, no specific technique in expression. This makes
white walls, and floor. Would you be inspired to work people's art not a reflection of what is outside or
in such a place? Often, you will find coffee shops, external to them, but a reflection of their inner selves.
restaurants, and libraries with paintings hung or
sculptures and other pieces of art placed around the There are countless ways of expressing oneself
room to add beauty to the surroundings. This craving through art. The following list includes, but is not
and desire to be surrounded by beautiful things dates limited to, popular art expressions.
back to our early ancestors (Collins & Riley, 1931).
Visual Arts
Cave walls are surrounded by drawings and paintings Creations that fall
of animals they hunted: wild boars, reindeers, and under this category
bison (Figure 8. Clays were molded and stones were are those that appeal
carved into forms that resemble men and women; to the sense of sight
burial jars were created with intricate designs on and are mainly
them. These creative pieces were made not only visual in nature.
because they were functional to men, but also because Artists produce
beauty gave them joy (Collins & Riley, 1931). visual arts driven by
their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in
Art as Expression the way that they perceived them (Collins & Riley,
There may have been times when you felt something 1931). We will not be too strict on the definition since
is going on within you, you try to explain it but you there are other artistic disciplines that also involve a
do not know how. You may only be conscious about visual aspect, such as performance arts. theater, and
feeling this sort of excitement, fear, or agitation, but applied arts, that will be discussed in detail later on.
you know that just one word is not enough to describe Visual arts is the kind of art form that the population
the nature of what you truly feel. is most likely more exposed to, but its variations are
Finally, you try to release yourself from this so diverse-they range from sculptures that you see in
tormenting and disabling state by doing something, art galleries to the last movie you saw.
which is called expressing oneself (Collingwood,
1938). Suppose this feeling is excitement. It is Some mediums of visual arts include paintings,
frustrating to contain such feeling, so you relieve it by drawings, letterings, printing sculptures, digital
expressing through shouting or leaping in excitement. imaging, and more.
An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he
expresses it.

Film
Film refers to the art of putting together successions
of still images in order to create an illusion of Architecture
movement. Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, As discussed, art is the
cultural, and social value and is considered as both an pursuit and creation of
art and an industry. Films can be created by using one beautiful things while
or a combination of some or all of these techniques: architecture is the
motion-picture camera (also known as movie making of beautiful
camera), animation techniques, Computer-Generated buildings.
Imagery (CGI), and more. Filmmaking simulates However, not all
experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope of buildings are beautiful.
our imagination as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or Some buildings only
beauty to its viewers. embody the functionality they need, but the structure,
lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully expressed.
The art of filmmaking is so complex it has to take into Thus, not all buildings can be considered architecture.
account many important elements such as lighting, Take, for example, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux
musical score, visual effects, direction, and more. (Figure 11) where the functionality of the theater
That is why in famous film festivals and awards such remains, but the striking balance of the lines, colors,
as the Metro Manila Film Festival and Oscars, a long and shapes completes the masterpiece. Buildings
list of categories is considered to recognize excellence should embody these three important elements-plan,
in the art of filmmaking. construction, and design-if they wish to merit the title
architecture (Collins & Riley, 1931).
Performance Art
Performance art is a live art and the artist's medium is Dance
mainly the human body which he or she uses to Dance is a series of
perform, but also employs other kind of art such as movements that follows
visual art, props, or sound. It usually consists of four the rhythm of the music
important elements: time, where the performance took accompaniment. It has
place, the performer's or performer's body, and a been an age-old debate
relationship between the audience and the performers) whether dance can really
(Moma Learning, n.d.). The fact that performance art be considered an art form,
is live makes it intangible, which means it cannot be but here we primarily
bought or traded as a commodity, unlike the describe dance as a form of expression. Dancing is a
previously discussed art expressions. creative form that allows people to freely express
Poetry Performance themselves. It has no rules. You may say that
Poetry is an art choreography does not allow this, but in art
form where the expression, dancers are not confined to set steps and
artist expresses his rules but are free to create and invent their own
emotions not by movements as long as they deem them graceful and
using paint, beautiful.
charcoal, or
camera, but Literary Art
expresses them through words. These words are Artists who practice literary
carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to arts use words-not paint,
stimulate strong emotions of joy, anger, love, sorrow, musical instruments, or
and the list goes on. It uses a word's emotional, chisels-to express themselves
musical, and spatial values that go beyond its literal and communicate emotions to
meaning to narrate, emphasize, argue, or convince. the readers. However, simply
These words, combined with movements, tone, becoming a writer does not
volume, and intensity of the delivery, add to the make one a literary artist. Simply constructing a
artistic value of the poem. Some poets even make succession of sentences in a meaningful manner is not
poems out of their emotions picked up from other literary art. Literary art goes beyond the usual
works of art. which in turn produce another work of professional, academic, journalistic, and other
art through poetry. technical forms of writing. It focuses on writing using
a unique style, not following a specific format or lines, flaws, colors, and patterns in recreating nature.
norm. It may include both fiction and non-fiction such Through imagination, an artist is able to craft
as novels, biographies, and poems. Examples of something bold, something new, and something better
famous literary artists and their works include The in the hopes of creating something that will stimulate
Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Romeo change. In the same way that imagination produces
and Juliet by William Shakespeare. art, art also inspires imagination. Lastly, through
expression, an artist is able to explore his own
Theater emotions while at the same time, create something
Theater uses live performers to present accounts or beautiful out of it. Expressing emotions is something
imaginary events before a live audience. Theater art different from describing emotions. Description
performances usually follow a script, though they actually destroys the idea of expression, as it
should not be confused with literary arts. Much like in classifies the emotion, making it ordinary and
filmmaking, theater also considers several elements predictable. Expression, on the other hand,
such as acting, gesture, lighting, sound effects, individualizes the artist.
musical score, scenery, and props. The combination
of these elements is what gives the strongest
impression on the audience and the script thus
becomes a minor element. Similar to performance art,
since theater is also a live performance, the
participation of the viewer is an important element in
theater arts. Some genres of theater include drama,
musical, tragedy, comedy, and improvisation.

Applied Arts
Applied arts is incorporating elements of style and
design to everyday items with the aim of increasing
their aesthetical value. Artists in this field bring
beauty, charm, and comfort into many things that are
useful in everyday life (Collins & Riley, 1931).
Industrial design, Interior design, fashion design, and
graphic design are considered applied arts. Applied is
often compared to fine arts, where the latter is chiefly
concerned on aesthetic value. Through exploration
and expression of ideas, consideration of the needs,
and careful choice of materials and techniques, artists
are able to combine functionality and style.

Let's Wrap It Up
Art is a product of a man's creativity, imagination,
and expression. An artwork may be inspired by nature
or other works of art, but an artist invents his own
forms and patterns due to what he perceives as
beautiful and incorporates them in creating his
masterpiece. Perhaps not everyone can be considered
an artist, but surely, all are spectators of art, which
gives us all a role in the field of art appreciation.
Refining one's ability to appreciate art allows him to
deeply understand the purpose of an artwork and
recognize the beauty it possesses.

Creativity is what sets apart one artwork from

another. A creative artist does not simply copy or
imitate another artist's work. He does not imitate the