The subject of art is the matter to be

described or to be portrayed by the

artist. This may refer to any person,
object, scene or event.



Realism
Abstraction
Symbolism
Fauvism
Dadaism
Futurism
Surrealism
Expressionism



Realism in the visual arts and literature refers
to the general attempt to depict subjects as
they are considered to exist in third person
objective reality, without embellishment or
interpretation and "in accordance with secular,
empirical rules.



Abstract art uses a visual language of form,
color and line to create a composition which
may exist with a degree of independence from
visual references in the world.


A symbol is a visible sign of something invisible such as
an idea or quality. Symbolism systematically uses
symbols to concentrate or intensify meaning, making the
work of art more subjective (rather than objective) and
conventional. For example, a flag is a symbol of a
country and it depicts the value of nationalism; a lion to
represent courage and a lamb to represent meekness.
The logos and emblems of business firms and the coat of
arms of bishops are also examples of symbolism.




The name "symbolist" itself was first applied by the critic
Jean Moras, who invented the term to distinguish the
symbolists from the related decadents of literature and of
art.


Fauvism is the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild
beasts"), a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-
century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly
qualities and strong color over the representational or
realistic values retained by Impressionism. While Fauvism as a
style began around 1900 and continued beyond 1910, the
movement as such lasted only a few years, 1904-1908, and
had three exhibitions. The leaders of the movement were
Henri Matisse and Andr Derain.


A symbol is a visible sign of something invisible such as
an idea or quality. Symbolism systematically uses
symbols to concentrate or intensify meaning, making the
work of art more subjective (rather than objective) and
conventional. For example, a flag is a symbol of a
country and it depicts the value of nationalism; a lion to
represent courage and a lamb to represent meekness.
The logos and emblems of business firms and the coat of
arms of bishops are also examples of symbolism.



Futurism came into being with the appearance of a manifesto
published by the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti on the front page
of the February 20, 1909, issue of Le Figaro. It was the very first
manifesto of this kind. Marinetti summed up the major principles
of the Futurists. He and others espoused a love of speed,
technology and violence. Futurism was presented as a modernist
movement celebrating the technological, future era. The car, the
plane, the industrial town were representing the motion in modern
life and the technological triumph of man over nature.




It is an offshoot or a child of dada. It is also known
as super realism, which revolves on the method
of making ordinary things look extraordinary. It
focuses on real things found in the imagination or
fantasy or it has realistic subjects that are found in
the unconscious mind; depicting dreamlike images
of the inner mind.





Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in
poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the
beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to
present the world solely from a subjective perspective,
distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to
evoke moods or ideas.




This is the first of a series of six paintings of women
de Kooning created. He was influenced by images including
Paleolithic fertility sculptures, American billboards, and pinup girls.
He reversed traditional representations of women, which he called,
"the idol, the Venus, the nude." [Willem de Kooning,quoted
in MoMA Highlights, p. 206.] De Kooning said that the Womans
form reminded him of "a landscapewith arms like lanes and a
body of hills and fields, all brought up close to the surface, like a
panorama squeezed together."


Willem de Kooning: Woman I, oil
on canvas

Drowning Girl is one of many canvases
Lichtenstein created that is based on
characters from comic books. This
composition is taken from one frame in
a comic book that shows a girl in the
foreground with her boyfriend looking at
her from a capsized boat.


Roy Lichtenstein: Drowning Girl, oil
and synthetic polymer paint on
canvas,


STILL LIFE. A drawing or painting of an
arrangement of nonmoving, nonliving objects ,
such as fruit, flowers, or bottles. Usually, a still
life is set indoors and contains at least one man-
made object, such as a bowl or vase.



SELF-PORTRAIT.
A painting, drawing, or
sculpture or other work
of art showing the artist
himself.



RELIGIOUS THEME. Art which
the subject is of religious
matter.


NON-OBJECTIVE SUBJECT. Art which
the visual signs are entirely
imaginative and not from anything
seen by the artist. No recognizable
subject.



LANDSCAPE. A picture of natural
outdoor scenery, such as mountains,
rivers, fields, or forests.

GENRE (zhan-ra). Art that has a
subject matter that concerns with
everyday life, domestic scenes,
sentimental family Relationships, etc.



VISIONARY EXPRESSION. Art that
involves simplification and/or
rearrangement of natural objects to
meet the needs of Artistic expression.



PORTRAIT. A painting, drawing, or
sculpture or other medium showing a
person or several people. Portraits usually
Show just the face and shoulders, but it
can include part or all of the body, as
well.

Personal Functions of Art
Social Functions (art and
society)
Physical Functions of Art
Personal Functions of Art are the
most difficult to explain in any great
detail. There are many of them, and
they vary from person to person. We
will limit to the following:


1. Order it gives order to a messy and disorderly personal world.
2. Chaotic it gives chaos or disorder when the artist feels life is too boring,
staid
and ordinary.
3. Therapeutic for both the artist and the viewer. For example, the choice
of
music for hospitals, mentally disturbed patients, massage parlors.
4. Religious and Spiritual
5. Biological ways to adorn and decorate ourselves in order to be attractive
enough to others.

Social Functions (art and society).
when it addresses aspects of
(collective) life, as opposed to one
person's point of view or experience.
Art performs social function when:


1. Influencing Social Behavior (Collective Behavior). Many works of art influence the way we
think, feel or act. It may cause us to laugh, arouse indignation, or as a source in changing,
correcting, improving the human condition or shaping the society (social change).
2. Display and Celebration
- Sculpture and painting are commemoration of personages in society. The statues of national
heroes that grace our parks and plazas.
- Rituals have played an important role in peoples lives and have influenced the growth of certain
arts as well.
-Festivals involve rituals of some kind, and these in turn, employ arts.
3. Social Description - Artwork reveal how people thought, felt, and lived in certain
historical period. For example, the painting that portrays the many people one in
planting or harvesting rice, describes the value of unity, camaraderie and
bayanihan spirit among Filipinos.


Physical Functions of Art. are most easily dealt with.
Works of art that are
created to perform some service have physical functions.
Form and Function The function of an object generally
determines the basic form that it takes. A chair is so
designed as to allow the seated body to rest
comfortable on it. Its different parts (back, arms, legs
and seat) are harmoniously related to one another and
integrated into an object that fulfills its particular
purpose.