ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important

of Arts

CHAPTER Course Description

1
A course covering the nature, function and appreciation of the arts
in contemporary society.

Total Learning Time: 6 hrs.

Pre-requisites: None

Overview:

Art is very important in our lives as it is concerned with the communication of certain ideas
and feelings by means of medium, color, sound, bronze, marble, words and film. All arts have
sensuous functions for people since they satisfy particular needs of people. This module covers the
meaning, nature and importance of art in our lives. The subject of art, its functions and its scope.
This module include worksheets to work on to process your understanding and learning.
Rubrics for outputs is also included to guide you on the desired performances and learning outcomes.

Most Essential Learning Competencies

At the end of the chapter, the students must have:

 Explained the meaning, nature and importance of arts in our lives;

 Determined the subject of art and its functions; and
 Discussed the functions of art with regard to their personal contributions
to the development of art.

Indicative Content

The Nature of Art

Art Appreciation as a Way of Life
The Role of Creativity
Art as a product of Imagination, Imagination as a Product
Art as Expression
Art Expression
Functions of Art
Determining the Function of Art

LET’S DISCUSS THIS!

The Nature of Art
The term art appreciation is referred to the knowledge of the general and everlasting qualities
that classify all great art. It is seen used to refer to the exploration of visual art forms or the
introduction of basic principles of visual literacy. It refers to analyzing the form of an artwork to
general audiences to enhance their enjoyment of such works of art. It may be analyzed without
reference to subject matter, symbolism or historical context. Art appreciation can be subjective

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ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
depending on personal preference to aesthetics and form, or it can be based on several elements and
principle of design and also depends on social and cultural acceptance. Most of the modern art critics
and art historians draw back from this term, underrating art appreciation as demanding too little
serious thought.
Art is products of 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.
Art is basically creation by human beings though there are natural creations that are no less
than best pieces of visual art. Art has been defined as “the use of skill and imagination in the creation
of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others” – (Britannica
Online). If one goes by this definition, art has existed since time immemorial. It has been there in the
form of wall paintings, frescos, body piercing, tattoos, statues, paintings etc. Art is the imagination in
the mind of the artist that he transforms into a tangible form through his skills. An artist gets inspired
mostly by nature though there are times when the genius of the artist draws on his own.
Nature has always been kind enough to inspire hordes of artists, and the impact of nature
and natural objects has been more than evident on art works of artists down the civilization. It is well
known that nature is original and art is only a creation by human beings. Art tries to replicate things
natural but nature will always remain supreme. There is another difference between art and nature and
it is the manner in which much deeper meaning is conveyed by an artist on his canvas though he
appears to mimic nature. Howsoever beautiful the creation by humans may be, art can never be better
or more beautiful than nature itself.
Art Appreciation as a Way of Life

Described the role of art as a creative work that depicts the world in a completely different
light and perspective, and the source is due 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.

The Role of Creativity

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 line, flaws, and patterns in recreating nature.
While through imagination, an artist is able to craft something bold, something new, and something
better in the hopes of creating something that will stimulate change.

Art as a product of Imagination, Imagination as a Product of Art

German physicist Albert Einstein who had made

significant and major contributions in science and humanity
demonstrated that knowledge is actually derived from
imagination. He emphasized this idea through his words:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For
knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand,
while imagination embraces the entire world, and all
there ever will be to know and understand.” https://www.google.com/search?
q=einstein+sayings&sca_esv=573990738&tbm=isch&sxsrf=

Imagination is not constrained by the walls of

the norm, but goes beyond that. That is why people rely on curiosity and imagination for
advancement.

Art as Expression
There may have been times when you felt something is going on with you, you try to explain
it but you do not know how. You may only be conscious about feeling this sort of excitement, fear, or
agitation, but you know that just one word is not enough to describe the nature of what you truly feel.
Expression, on the other hand, individualizes. An artist has the freedom to express himself the way he
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
wants to. Hence, there is no specific technique in expression. This make people’s art not a reflection
of
Ways of expressing oneself through arts
Visual Arts
Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in the
way that they perceived them. (Collins & Riley, 1931).Some visual Arts include paintings, drawing,
letterings, printing, sculpture, digital imaging and more.

Film
Refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an illusion of
movement. Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, cultural and social value and is considered as both an
art and an industry. Filmmaking stimulates experiences or create one that is beyond the scope of our
imagination as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewers.

Performance Art
Is a live art and the artist’s medium is
mainly the human body which he or she uses to
perform, but also employs other kind of art such as
visual art, props, or sound. . It usually consists of
four important elements: time, where the https://blog.pearlacademy.com/the-evolution-of-performing-arts
performance took place, the performer’s or
performer’s body, and a relationship between the
audience and the performer(s).

Poetry Performance
Poetry is an art form where the artist expresses
his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera, but
expresses them through words. These words are
carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to
stimulate strong emotions of joy, anger, love, sorrow
and the list goes on. HTTPS://DREAMAUDIO.COM.PH/PRODUCTS/U87-AI-MT-LARGE-DIAPHRAGM-CONDENSER-MICROPHONE-SET-1

Architecture

Art is the pursuit and creation of beautiful

things while architecture is the making of beautiful buildings. Some buildings only embody the
functionality they need but structure, lines, forms, and color are not beatifically expressed. Buildings
should embody these three important elements– plan, construction, and design (Collin&Rileys)

Dance
It is a series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music
accompaniment. It has been an age-old debate whether dance can really be
considered an art form, but here we primarily describe dance as a form of
HTTPS://THECONVERSATION.COM/ARE-SOME-BRAINS-WIRED-FOR-DANCE-170913
expression. Dancing is a creative form that allows people to freely express
themselves. It has no rules.

Literary Art
Artist who practice literary arts use words –not paint, musical instrument, or chisels—to
express themselves and communicate emotions to the readers. Literary arts goes beyond the usual
professional, academic, journalistic and other technical forms of writing.

Theatre
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
Theatre uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience.
Theatre art performances usually follow a script, though they should not be confused with literary
arts.

Applied Art
Is incorporating elements of style and design to everyday items with the aims of increasing
their aesthetic value. Artist in this field bring beauty, charm, and comport 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, artist are able to combine functionally and
style.
Art has the capability to influence basic aspects of affect or the body. This can come from:
(1) Affect, specific emotions/moods evoked by content or derived from the act of viewing;
(2) Physiology, such as heart rate, skin conductivity, or other processes of the autonomic nervous
system (e.g., Tschacher et al., 2012); and (3) Actions, for example gesture, eye movement, or physical
movement during art reception.
Art also has been connected to numerous aspects of perception and understanding (e.g., see
Ledger et al., 2004), including: (4) Appraisals or particular judgments (beauty, liking); (5) Meaning-
making as well as ability to strengthen conceptions, help us to learn, challenge our ideas, or even lead
to insight. (6) Novelty: Art can impact what we see, induce changes in visual or perceptual experience
involving new attention to physical aspects.
There are also elements which are more art-specific, or which are particularly salient in
reports of art experience: (7) Transcendence: feelings of more sudden change, epiphany, or catharsis
(Pelowski and Akiba, 2011); (8) Aesthetic mode: “aesthetic” emotions and responses, which might
involve a state of being, whereby one detaches or uncouples from concerns or everyday life
perceptions, often related to periods of contemplation or harmonious enjoyment, as well as potential
positive reaction to negatively-valenced or troubling art (Cupchik et al., 2009). (9) Negative affect:
Art can also evoke negative reactions such as disgust, queasiness or anger—outcomes that particularly
require an explanation in models of experience (Silvia, 2009).
Art is also argued to create longitudinal impacts. These include: (10) Self-adjustment, changes
in one's personality, worldview, cognitive ability (Lasher et al., 1983), or in the relation between art
and viewer. This might also include a deepened ability to appreciate art or a more general
improvement in visual-spatial ability (Funch et al., 2012). (11) Social: Art also may guide social
behavior—e.g., in rituals or institutions—or lead to social ends such as indoctrination or social
cohesion (Dissayanake, 2008). (12) Health: art may even have general impact on health and
wellbeing, for example through reduced stress (Cuypers et al., 2012)
Functions of Art
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess with some accuracy where it came from and
when. This best-case scenario also includes identifying the artist because they are in no small way part
of the contextual equation. You might wonder, "What was the artist thinking when they created this?"
when you see a piece of art. You, the viewer, are the other half of this equation; you might ask
yourself how that same piece of art makes you feel as you look at it.

These—in addition to the time period, location of creation, cultural influences, etc.—are all
factors that should be considered before trying to assign functions to art. Taking anything out of
context can lead to misunderstanding art and misinterpreting an artist's intentions, which is never
something you want to do.

The functions of art normally fall into three categories: physical, social, and personal. These
categories can and often do overlap in any given piece of art. When you're ready to start thinking
about these functions, here's how.

Physical
The physical functions of art are often the easiest to understand. Works of art that are created
to perform some service have physical functions. If you see a Fijian war club, you may assume that,
however wonderful the craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform the physical function of
smashing skulls.

A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art that performs a physical function in a tea ceremony.
Conversely, a fur-covered teacup from the Dada movement has no physical function. Architecture,
crafts such as welding and woodworking, interior design, and industrial design are all types of art that
serve physical functions.

Social
Art has a social function when it addresses aspects of (collective) life as opposed to one
person's point of view or experience. Viewers can often relate in some way to social art and are
sometimes even influenced by it.

For example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this art
exert influence on the German population? Decidedly so, as did political and patriotic posters in
Allied countries during the same time. Political art, often designed to deliver a certain message,
always carries a social function. The fur-covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, carried a social
function in that it protested World War I (and nearly everything else in life).

Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions and often this art comes in the
form of photography. The Realists figured this out early in the 19th century. American photographer
Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) along with many others often took pictures of people in conditions that
are difficult to see and think about.

Additionally, satire performs social functions. Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746–1828)
and English portrait artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) both went this route with varying degrees of
success at motivating social change with their art. Sometimes the possession of specific pieces of art
in a community can elevate that community's status. A stabile by American kinetic artist Alexander
Calder (1898–1976), for example, can be a community treasure and point of pride.

Personal
The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are many types of
personal functions and these are highly subjective. Personal functions of art are not likely to be the
same from person to person.

An artist may create a piece out of a need for self-expression or gratification. They might also
or instead want to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only trying to
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A piece might be meant to entertain,
provoke thought, or even have no particular effect at all.

Personal function is vague for a reason. From artist to artist and viewer to viewer, one's
experience with art is different. Knowing the background and behaviors of an artist helps when
interpreting the personal function of their pieces.Art may also serve the personal function of
controlling its viewers, much like social art. It can also perform religious service or acknowledgment.
Art has been used to attempt to exert magical control, change the seasons, and even acquire food.
Some art brings order and peace, some creates chaos. There is virtually no limit to how art can be
used.

Finally, sometimes art is used to maintain a species. This can be seen in rituals of the animal
kingdom and in humans themselves. Biological functions obviously include fertility symbols (in any
culture), but there are many ways humans adorn their bodies with art in order to be attractive to others
and eventually mate.
Determining the Function of Art

The functions of art apply not only to the artist that created a piece but to you as the viewer.
Your whole experience and understanding of a piece should contribute to the function you assign it, as
well as everything you know about its context. Next time you are trying to understand a piece of art,
try to remember these four points: (1) context and (2) personal, (3) social, and (4) physical functions.
Remember that some art serves only one function and some all three (perhaps even more).
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts

ASSESSMENT
Name:_____________________________________Course and Year:_____________
1. The term art appreciation refers to analyzing the form of artwork to general audiences to
enhance their enjoyment of such works of art. Which of the following best illustrates this
statement?
a. Art appreciation is an objective positivist that has rules to be determined.
b. Art appreciation can be subjective depending on personal preference to aesthetics.
c. Art appreciation depends on the general audience artistry and creativity in the work of
art.
d. Art appreciation is deemed one of the enjoying entertainment because of variety of
preferences.
2. An artwork may be inspired by nature or other works of art, but an artist invents his own
forms and patterns. This means that,
a. Art is product of man’s creativity, imagination and expression.
b. Art is nurtured by ingenuity and limited expression.
c. Art is a result of continuous development of man.
d. Art is an inspiration derived from nature.
3. Which of the following describes Art appreciation as a way of life?
a. One should go for the search of the best art.
b. One should exercise and develop his taste for art based form other.
c. Refining one’s ability to appreciate art allows him to deeply understand the purpose
of art.
d. Continuous exposure to various artworks could make someone copy the ingenuity of
the artist.
4. This is what sets apart one artwork from another by do not simply copying or imitating
another artist’s work?

a. Artistry
b. Ingenuity
c. Aesthetically
d. Creativity

5. This refers to the way an artist expresses his reflection of inner self and something different
from describing one’s emotion.

a. Art as a product of imagination

b. Art as a way of life
c. Art as expression
d. Art as reflection

6. Refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an illusion of
movement.
ART APPRECIATION (GE 103)+) The Meaning & Important
of Arts
a. Film
b. Poetry
c. Architecture
d. Performance

7. Is a live art and the artist’s medium is mainly the human body which he or she uses to
perform, but also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound.

a. Film
b. Poetry
c. Architecture
d. Performance

8. Is an art form where the artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera,
but expresses them through word.

a. Film
b. Poetry
c. Architecture
d. Performance

9. It uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience and
usually follow a script. Should not be confused with literary arts.

a. Literary Arts
b. Theater Arts
c. Poetry Arts
d. Film Arts

10. This function of art is most difficult to explain because it is highly subjective and likely not
the same from person to person.

a. Social function
b. Physical function
c. Personal function
d. Other functions of art

REFERENCES

Panisa, W.P. et al.(2015). Art Appreciation. Mutya Publishing House Inc., Malabon City.

REFERENCES
Ariola,M.M., 2014 Introduction to Art Appreciation, C & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City.
pg 12-41
Barerra, L. (2020). Module in Art Appreciation. Capiz State University, Dumarao Campus