MODULE IN ART APPRECIATION FOR CIVIL EMGINEERING

Prepared by: VICTORIA G. MADAYAG

Course: ART APPRECIATION
Credits: 3 units
Subject Area: Visual, Graphic & Plastic Arts

Course Description: Art Appreciation is an art survey course designed to increase knowledge and
appreciation of the visual, graphic and plastic arts. Students focus on interpreting and evaluating
works of art within formal, cultural and historical contexts, as well as exploring a survey view of
art history from prehistoric to contemporary, including a deeper look at global artworks. Students
will also participate in a variety of art applications to experience and better understand the process
of creating art.

This course includes a broad series of lessons and activities that offer a variety of modalities for
ultimate student engagement and content retention. Each unit contains a series of lessons that
include introduction of content, virtual demonstration of that content, and repeated opportunity to
practice that content, along with a quiz per lesson, exam per unit, and final exam at the end of the
course.

MODULE 1: Introduction to Art Appreciation

Objectives:

1. Explore the concept of art.

2. Learn about the major theories of art aesthetics and how to apply them to an artwork.
3. Learn the steps in formal art criticism and apply these steps to various artworks.

ART is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual
form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty
or emotional power.

ART, in its broadest sense, is a form of communication. It means whatever the artist intends it to
mean, and this meaning is shaped by the materials, techniques, and forms it makes use of, as well
as the ideas and feelings it creates in its viewers. Art is an act of expressing feelings, thoughts, and
observations.

ART also teaches many important qualities such as listening, observing and responding to multiple
perspectives. Having an appreciation for art also helps us to develop an appreciation for each other
and how we are all unique in our own way.

ART APPRECIATION centers on the ability to view art throughout history, focusing on the
cultures and the people, and how art developed in the specific periods. Art appreciation analyzes
art using the methods and materials, allowing people to make connections to the context of art and
the interactions of societies.

CATEGORIES OF ARTS

Traditional categories within the arts include LITERATURE (including poetry, drama, story, and
so on), the VISUAL ARTS (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.), the GRAPHIC ARTS (painting,
drawing, design, and other forms expressed on flat surfaces), the PLASTIC ARTS (sculpture,
modeling), the DECORATIVE ARTS (enamelwork, ceramics, glassware, basketry, jewelry,
metalware, furniture, textiles, clothing, etc.)

AESTHETICS may be defined narrowly as the theory of beauty, or more broadly as that together
with the philosophy of art.
The philosophy of art specifically studies how artists imagine, create, and perform works of art, as
well as how people use, enjoy, and criticize art.

There are many different aesthetic theories, but no single theory takes into account all the aesthetic
qualities found in artworks. Three of these theories are imitationalism, formalism, and
emotionalism.

IMITATIONALISM refers to art that focuses on things being realistically represented.

Imitationalism is a theory of art that judges artwork based on how real it looks.

EMOTIONALISM is an aesthetic and critical theory of art which places emphasis on the
expressive qualities. According to this theory, the most important thing about a work of art is the
vivid communication of moods, feelings, and ideas.

FORMALISM describes an emphasis on form over content or meaning in the arts, literature, or
philosophy. A formalist, with respect to some discipline, holds that there is no transcendent
meaning to that discipline other than the literal content created by a practitioner.

Imitationalism - You like that the artist has painted everything very realistically.
Formalism – You like the way the flowers are arranged, and how light is used to sweep from the
top flower to the grapes at the bottom.
Emotionalism – You like flowers.

A simple four step approach that will help you find the hidden meaning in art:

1. Description - What do I see?

2. Analysis - How is the work organized?
3. Interpretation - What message does this artwork communicate?
4. Judgment - Is this a successful work of art?

Description. Make a list of all the things you see in the work: size of the work, the medium used,
the process used, the subject, the object, details and elements of art used. You must be objective.

Analysis. Discover how the principles of art are used to organize the art elements of line, color,
value, shape, form, space and texture.

Interpretation. Explain or tell the meaning or mood of the work. You make guesses about the
artwork, as long as they appear to be supported by what you see in the work. Use your intelligence,
imagination, and courage. Don't be afraid to make an interpretation that is different from someone
else's. After all you are different from other people.

Judgment. Determine the degree of artistic merit. You may use aesthetics to help you decide
whether the work is successful. A work can be very successfully aesthetically, but you might not
want to live with it.
MODULE 2: Elements of Art

Objectives:

1. Learn about the Elements of Art including: line, shape, form, value, color, space, and texture.
2. Evaluate the elements in a variety of artworks to increase fluency in artistic perception.
3. Create basic representations of the elements to develop confidence in creative expression.

Elements of Art

Elements of art are stylistic features that are included within an art piece to help the artist
communicate. The seven most common elements include line, shape, texture, form, space, colour
and value, with the additions of mark making, and materiality.

They are the building blocks used by artists to create a work of art.

~ Line is a mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal;
straight or curved; thick or thin.

~ Shape is a closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like free-
form or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width.

~ Forms are three-dimensional shapes expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes,
and pyramids are forms.

~ Space is the area between and around objects. The space around objects is of- ten called negative
space; negative space has shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of depth. Real space is three-
dimensional; in visual art, when we create the feeling or illusion of depth, we call it space.

~ Color is light reflected off of objects. Color has three main characteristics: hue (the name of the
color, such as red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright or
dull it is).

• White is pure light; black is the absence of light.

• Primary colors are the only true colors (red, blue, and yellow). All other colors are mixes of
primary colors.
• Secondary colors are two primary colors mixed together (green, orange, violet).
• Intermediate colors, sometimes called tertiary colors, are made by mixing a primary and
secondary color together. Some examples of intermediate colors are yellow green, blue green, and
blue violet.
• Complementary colors are located directly across from each other on the color wheel (an
arrangement of colors along a circular diagram to show how they are related to one another).
Complementary pairs contrast because they share no common colors. For example, red and green
are complements, because green is made of blue and yellow. When comple- mentary colors are
mixed together, they neutralize each other to make brown.

~ Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or
hard. Textures do not always feel the way they look; for exam- ple, a drawing of a porcupine may
look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.

We can categorize ourselves according to how we evaluate art.

Are you an Emotionalist? If you find the expressive qualities of an artwork to be most important,
you may be an emotionalist. An emotionalist looks for the message the artwork conveys, evaluates
how the artist has communicated this message, and proceeds to evaluate the artwork’s success on
this notion.
Are you a Realist? Do you find the realistic qualities of a work of art to be the most interesting?
Are you the type that looks at a work of art and says, “That doesn’t look like a person”? Or may e
you look at a drawing and become amazed at how much the artist has made it look like a photo. If
this describes you, then you probably are a realist and evaluate the success of artwork based on its
realistic qualities.

Are you a Formalist? Do you look for the color scheme, the use of the elements and principles of
art, the composition and other formal qualities to evaluate the artwork? If you do, then probably
you are a formalist.

Evaluating artwork is different for everyone. We will all look and see artwork differently. We will
find merit in different places because we are different people. Should there be a standard for
evaluating art? What do you think? Are you a formalist, emotionalist, realist, or a mixture?
MODULE 3: Principles of Design

Objectives:

1. Learn about the Principles of Design, including: balance, rhythm, movement, contrast,
emphasis, and unity.
2. Evaluate the principles in a variety of artworks to increase fluency in artistic perception.
3. Create basic representations of the principles to develop confidence in creative expression.

Principles of Design

The principles of design describe the ways the artists use the elements of art in a work of art. They
are how those building are arranged: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, proportion, rhythm,
variety, unity,

1. Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design
was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical
balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side; in
asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. In radial balance, the elements
are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

2. Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will
make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size,
color, texture, shape, etc.

3. Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such
movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art.

4. Pattern is the repeating of an object or symbol all over the work of art. Repetition works with
pattern to make the work of art seem active. The repetition of elements of design creates unity
within the work of art.

5. Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well
with each other. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head
compared to the rest of the body.

6. Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling
of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting
and active, variety is essential.

7. Variety is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the
viewer’s eye through and around the work of art.

8. Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a sense of
completeness.
Leonardo da Vinci’s mural painting The Last Supper is an example of a work of art where
approximate symmetrical balance has reached the level of perfection and where perspective plays
an integral part in it as well. The center of the mural and the converging point on the horizon is
occupied by the figure of Christ, while his disciples are symmetrically arranged on both his sides
in the composition.

Ancient buildings such as the Parthenon in Athens are early examples of the use of
bilateral symmetry.

The visual weight is perfectly balanced. The actual weight of the structure is also balanced
and the building is physically very stable.
Buildings with bilateral symmetry can seem very solid and permanent. They can also
appear grand and formal.

Claude Monet’s “Still Life with Apples and Grapes” from 1880 uses asymmetry in its design to
enliven an otherwise mundane arrangement. First, he sets the whole composition on the diagonal,
cutting off the lower left corner with a dark triangle. The arrangement of fruit appears haphazard,
but Monet purposely sets most of it on the top half of the canvas to achieve a lighter visual weight.
He balances the darker basket of fruit with the white of the tablecloth, even placing a few smaller
apples at the lower right to complete the composition.
Raphael’s painting of Galatea, a sea nymph in Greek mythology, incorporates a double
set of radial designs into one composition. The first is the swirl of figures at the bottom
of the painting, the second being the four cherubs circulating at the top. The entire work
is a current of figures, limbs and implied motion. Notice too the stabilizing classic triangle
formed with Galatea’s head at the apex and the other figures’ positions inclined towards
her. The cherub outstretched horizontally along the bottom of the composition completes
the second circle.