Art

Appreciati
on
 Guide
Questions:
• What is art?
• How do you know when something is art?
• Does it really matter what “art” is? Does
everyone have to agree?
• What are the major types of art?
What is
art?
The ancient Greeks claim that Art is an imitation of reality.
It is imitative or representational: it copies something in the
real world, but in the 19th century, photography took over
that role and in the 20th century, the notion that Art was
representation was overturned by modern Art. While Art
meant skill in its initial stage, conceptual artists raised Art as
a technique. So, what's Art, then? Does it have to be
beautiful? Original? Expressive? Uplifting? Intellectual?
So, what is art for you?
This is how the question "what is Art" was answered by 25 artists, critics,
and others.
∙ “Art is the creative doing or making of things that display
beauty, truth, form, or unusual expression." ― Merriam-
Webster Dictionary
∙ “The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is
free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry,
music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who
we are as a people and provide an account of our history for
the next generation.” ― Michelle Obama
∙ “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” ― Pablo Picasso
∙ “Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an
artist’s metaphysical value judgments.” ― Ayn Rand
∙ “Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle
This is how the question "what is Art" was answered by 25 artists, critics,
and others.
∙ “Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.”
― Rene Magritte
∙ “Art is a way of recognizing oneself.” ― Louise Bourgeois
∙ “Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of
nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use.” ― Frank
Lloyd Wright
∙ “Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man
consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others
feelings he has lived through, and that others are infected by these
feelings and also experience them.” ― Leo Tolstoy 
∙ “Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.” ― Stephen
Sondheim
This is how the question "what is Art" was answered by 25 artists, critics,
and others.
∙ “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” ― Twyla Tharp
∙ “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” ―
Thomas Merton
∙ “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ― Edgar Degas
∙ “Art is not in the ... eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist.” ― Seth
Godin
∙ “All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda;
sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda.” ― Upton
Sinclair
∙ “It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection.” ―
Oscar Wilde
This is how the question "what is Art" was answered by 25 artists, critics,
and others.
∙ “...art must carry man's craving for the ideal, must be an expression of his
reaching out towards it; that art must give man hope and faith. And the more
hopeless the world in the artist's version, the more clearly perhaps must we
see the ideal that stands in opposition - otherwise life becomes impossible!
Art symbolizes the meaning of our existence.” ― Andrei Tarkovsky
∙ “Art begins . . . when someone interprets, when someone sees the world
through his own eyes. Art happens when what is seen becomes mixed with
the inside of the person who is seeing it.” ― Chaim Potok
∙ “Art helps us identify with one another and expands our notion of we – from
the local to the global.” – Olafur Eliasson
∙ “Art is science made clear.” ― Jean Cocteau
∙ “Art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel
something.” ― Rainbow Rowell
This is how the question "what is Art" was answered by 25 artists, critics,
and others.
∙ “Art is the proper task of life.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
∙ “Art is to console those who are broken by life.” ― Vincent
van Gogh
∙ “If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to
paint.” ― Edward Hopper
∙ “Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is
water! And east is east and west is west and if you take
cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste
much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... now
you tell me what you know.” ― Groucho Marx
Let’s have an activity!
My Definition of Art

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait (1434)

There’s no universally accepted definition of Art. Anything can be Art. So,

what is “Art” to you? How do you know if something is an “Art”?
Explaining Art Themes

The theme is the message or the main idea

the author is making about a subject or a
topic.
► 1. Art has to be man-made.
►2. Art must be creative, not imitative.
►3. Art must benefit and satisfy man.
Four Common
►4. Art is expressed through a certain medium or Essentials of
material by which the artist communicates himself to
his audiences. Art:
► 1. Art is Universal.
►2. Art is Not Nature. Assumptions
►3. Art Involves Experience.
of Art
 ► Art is everywhere; wherever men have lived
together, art has sprung up among them as a
language charged with feelings and significance.
The desire to create this language appears to be
1. Art is general, and art as a cultural force can be
pervasive and potent.
Universal ►Art has no limit, and it rises above cultures,
races and civilization. It is timeless because it
goes beyond the time of our own existence.
 ► Art is man-made; it is creation of man utilizing his
thoughtful skill and artistry, which undergoes process and
planning.
►Art is artificial because it is just an imitation or even
appropriation of reality and nature.
►It is a representation of ideas, thoughts, and feelings
that are communicated in creative and artistic ways.
►Art that is created by God is divine, and art that is
created by man is superficial or temporary.

2. Art is Not
►Works of art are made by artists to adore the wonders of
life and the beauty of God’s creation.
►Art can never be natural because it is momentary in the
Nature. constant transformation of change.
►It does not change by itself unless manipulated by its
creator, which is man.
►Artists could make any work of art, but definitely could
not form nature. From man’s experiences, we cannot even
compare Art with Nature because it is something
mysterious, and it is made by the Divine Providence whose
depth and mystery is beyond human understanding.
 ►Art is a depiction of our experiences.
►It demands taking part.
►Art involves laying of pigments, moulding of clay,
chipping of marble, casting bronze, constructing
buildings, singing of songs, playing roles on stage,
acting, and going through rhythmic movements in a
dance.
3. Art ►Every art does something with some physical
Involves material, the body or something outside the body;
thus, the only way to find conviction and assertion
Experience. is through immersion in the Arts.
►We can only appreciate art if we spend time to
look at it, listen to it, touch it ,and feel its
presence.
► 1. Personal
► 2. Social
► 3. Cultural Function
► 4. Aesthetic Function
Functions of
► 5. Spiritual Function Art
 • It is being used to provide
comfort, happiness, and
convenience to human beings.
• The artist tries to express his
1. Personal personal feelings through the
artwork.
 • Art is used for public display and
celebration;
• It is used to affect collective
behavior.
2. Social • Art conveys sense of family,
community, or civilization.
 • Art helps preserve, share, and
3. Cultural transmit culture of people from
Function one generation to another.
 • Art becomes influential for man to be
aware of the beauty of nature.
• Aesthetic is when there is the real
feelings of appreciation to nature’s
beauty and are manifested through
appreciation and enjoyment when in
4. Aesthetic contact with the artwork.
Function
 • An artist may create a work of
5. Spiritual art to reinforce the religious or
Function spiritual support of a culture.
Basic
Philosophical
Perspective
► According to him, art is an imitation of the real that
was an imitation of the ideal.
Art as
►Art is an imitation of an imitation. mimesis.
(Plato)
► According to him, the aim of art is not to represent
Art as
the outward appearance of things but their inward
significance.
representation
. (Aristotle)
► That art has its own reason for being.
►It implies that an art object is best understood as an
autonomous creation to be valued only for its success
Art for art’s
as it organizes color and line into a formally satisfying
and beautiful whole.
sake. (Kant)
► The ceremony of doing or creating art touches the
deepest realms of the mind and the sacred dimension of
the artistic creative process. Art as an
►The sacred level of art not only transforms
something into art but also transforms the artist at the escape.
very core of his or her being.
► Art serves a function.
►Art is meant to be used, to enrich lives to be Art as
spiritually potent, to educate, to support or protest
existing power structures, to entertain, and so on. functional.
Categories/
Classifications of
Art
1. Visual Arts (2D, 3D)
2. Performing / Combined Arts
3. Digital Art
4. Applied Arts
► a. Painting – it is the application of pigment (color) on
any flat two-dimensional surfaces.
►b. Sculpture – it is the carving, modelling, casting,
constructing, and assembling of materials and objects 1. Visual Arts
into primarily three-dimensional works of art.
►c. Architecture – it is the art and science of planning, (2D, 3D)
designing and constructing buildings and non building
structures for human shelter or use (3D).
► a. Music – is an art form and cultural activity whose
medium is sound organized in time.
►b. Dance – 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.
►c. Film – also called movie or motion picture, is a
series of still images that when shown on a screen
creates an illusion of moving images.
►d. Theater – is a collaborative form of art that uses 2. Performing/
live performers. Typically actors or actresses, to
present the experience of an imagined event before a Combined Arts
live audience in a specific place, often a stage.
►e. Literary – is concentrating the writing, study or
content of literature, especially of the kind valued for
quality of form.
►f. Performance poetry- is poetry specifically
composed for or during a performance before an
audience rather than on print mostly open to
improvisation.
► It is the art that is made with the assistance of
electronic devices, or intended to be displayed on a
computer, which is the most important element in digital
3. Digital Art
art.
► are the application of design and decoration to
everyday objects to make them aesthetically pleasing.
a. Fashion Design – is the art of applying design,
aesthetics, and natural beauty to clothing and its
accessories.
b. Furniture Design – is a specialized field when function
and fashion collide.
c. Interior Design – is enhancing the interior of a building 4. Applied
to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing
environment for the people using the space. Arts
d. Graphic Design- the art or skill of combining text and
pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books
 • The word “art” is rooted on the
13th century French word art,
which means skill as a result of
Meaning of Art learning or practice, and the
Latin word ars, meaning ability
or practical skills.
 • The word “art” covers many
meanings, including ability,
process, and product.
Meaning of Art • As ability, art is the human
capacity to make things of
beauty and things that stir us; it
is creativity.
 • As process, art encompasses
acts, such as drawing, painting,
sculpting, designing buildings,
singing, dancing, and using the
Meaning of Art camera to create images or
memorable works.
• As product, art id the completed
work- an etching, a sculpture, a
structure, a musical composition,
choreography, or a tapestry.
 • Art concerns itself with the
communication of certain ideas
and feelings by means of a
sensuous medium – color, sound,
bronze, body, words, and film.
Meaning of Art • This medium is fashioned into a
symbolic language marked by
beauty of design and coherence
of form.
• It appeals to our mind, arouses
our emotions, kindles our
imagination, and enchants our
senses (Machlis, 1963).
 • Many known personalities define
art in various ways.
• According to Plato, “Art is that
which brings life in harmony with
the beauty of the world.”
Meaning of Art • For John Dewey, “Art is an
attitude of spirit, a state of
mind- one that demands for its
own satisfaction and fulfilling, a
shaping of matter to new and
more significant form.
 • For Oscar Wilde, “Art is the most
intense mode of individualism
that the world has known.”
Meaning of Art
• For Elbert Hubbard, “Art is not a
thing – it is a way.”
Thank you!