ART APPRECIATION REVIEWER

I. FOUR APPROACHES IN ARTS

Every work of art, such as a poem, a novel, an essay, a play, a musical piece, a painting, etc., has four
basic relationships: 1. the subject matter 2. the artist 3. the audience and 4. its own form. These four
relationships of a work of art are the bases for the four principal approaches to art criticism and
appreciation. These four approaches are:

1. Mimetic (based on the subject matter)

SUBJECT MATTER: With respect to subject matter, art is an imitation, depiction or

representation of some aspect of nature or life. That which is imitated, depicted or represented in
art is its subject matter. Anything in the universe may serve as the subject of art: aspects of
nature such as the sea, the sky, fields, forests, mountains, animals, etc., (often depicted in
paintings), human concerns in the realm of the experience, action and deed (as recounted in
fiction, narrative poetry and the drama), and emotions and moods (lyric poetry) and ideas (the
essay), spatial forms (sculpture and architecture), tonal forms (music) and plastic forms in
motion in space and time (dance). According to subject matter, art may be classified into two
types:

1) Representational or Objective Art portrays or depicts something other than its own form.
Examples are Venus de Milo, Da Vinci’s Monalisa, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf,
Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake. Literature is principally representational.

2) Non-representational or Non-objective Art represents nothing except its own form. Examples:
The Pyramids of Egypt, Mondrian’s non-figurative paintings, the symphonies of Mozart. Among
the major arts, architecture is most nearly always non-objective. In non-objective art, subject
matter and form are one: the form is the subject.

The concept of art as imitation may be traced back to two Greek philosophers, Plato and
Aristotle. Plato, the idealist, believes that art is far removed from reality which exists in the
realm of Ideals or Universals, of which our world is but an imperfect imitation, and art is, in turn,
only an imitation of our world. He places art on the same level as shadows and reflections of
things on water – all these being mere illusions of illusions of reality. Aristotle, an empiricist,
rejected the belief in the realm of Ideals. He taught that reality exists right in our own world,
around us and within us as perceived by our senses. Art is “a mirror of reality” and therefore
brings us in contact with it.

The approach to art criticism through the subject matter is called mimetic (derived from the
Greek word mimesis, meaning imitation.) The mimetic approach stresses the importance of
subject matter or content in art. According to this approach, the merit of a work of art lies in its
subject; the beauty of the subject and its significance are the basis for aesthetic judgment. This
approach has been discredited by modern critics who assert that the aesthetic quality of a work of
art depends not so much on what is depicted (the subject) as on how it is depicted (the form).

To modern critics, therefore, a poem in praise of the splendor of God is not necessarily
beautiful than another poem expressing a lover’s complaint about the horrible smell coming from
his lady’s armpits, and a painting depicting a lovely woman by the sea does not necessarily have
greater aesthetic merit than another painting depicting a drunken old man sprawled beside a huge
pile of garbage. What we should appreciate is not the subject but the manner of presentation of
the subject.

2. Expressive (based on the artist)

THE ARTIST, WRITER, OR CREATOR: From the point of view of the artist (poet, essayist,
fiction writer, dramatist, composer, painter, sculptor or architect), art is a means of expression, a
medium for communicating an idea, an emotion or some other human experience, an impression
of life, a vision of beauty. And because the artist puts something of himself into his art, it
becomes an extension of himself, an objectification of some aspect of his personality. Our
experience of a work of art, therefore, brings us in contact with the personality of the artist. The
individuality of the creator is revealed to us through his creation. However, the degree to which
the artist has revealed himself varies from one form of art to another, from one particular work of
art to another.

The expressive approach to art criticism stresses the relationship of the artwork to its creator.
In this approach, the artist himself becomes the major element generating both the artistic
product and the norms by which the work is to be judged. Interpreting art in the light of the
knowledge that we have about the artist has some degree of validity: it is an admitted fact that
something about the artist, his life-history, his philosophy and beliefs, his character, certain
circumstances in his life which may have influenced the creation of the artwork in question, his
background, the era during which he lived, and other pertinent information places us in a better
position to interpret and evaluate his work. While the possession of such knowledge certainly
enhances our appreciation, modern critics assert that it is unnecessary. They question the validity
of the expressive approach and insist that an artwork be judged according to its intrinsic qualities
and merits and in judging its aesthetic value, we must not take into account its relationship to its
creator.

Moreover, in passing judgment on the aesthetic merit of an artwork, we must not be

influenced by our personal regard for its creator or his reputation. Hence, we should appreciate a
symphony by Mozart, not because this composer is one of the most delightful and admirable
personalities in the world of music, but because that symphony has certain aesthetic qualities
which make it worthy of appreciation for its own sake, regardless of who composed it or what
sort of man he was. Richard Wagner, another composer, was an extremely disagreeable person –
selfish, conceited, arrogant – but the fact remains that his music is glorious!

3. Pragmatic (based on the audience)

AUDIENCE OR READERS: From the viewpoint of the audience (readers in the case of
literature, viewers in the case of the visual arts, and listeners in the case of music), art is
experience; for what is a poem unless one can read it; what is a painting unless one can see it,
and what is a sonata unless one can hear it? Art always has an audience, even if this audience is
none other than the artist himself. One aspect of art, which is of importance to the audience, is its
value, function or significance. Aside from its essential value (aesthetic), art may have secondary
values: religious, philosophical, moral, historical, political, social, scientific, commercial,
sentimental, practical, etc.

The approach to art criticism, which emphasizes the value and importance of art to its audience,
is known as the pragmatic approach.
 Pragmatic critics attach little importance to the aesthetic value and instead judge art
according to how useful it is to the audience. For instance, they are partial to artworks that have
moral value – that aim to teach, to instruct, to ennoble, or to mold the moral character of the
audience (this view may be traced back to the Romans, Horace, and Cicero),e they have
preference for those for those objects of art that are useful or have practical value. Marxist-
Leninist-Maoist critics are classified as pragmatic because they assert that the role of art in the
socialist order is to contribute to the fulfillment of the objectives of the state, to serve as a vehicle
for propaganda in the people’s struggle against imperialism, etc. Again, modern critics reject the
pragmatic approach because they consider all the values of art, aside from the aesthetic value, as
merely secondary, therefore incidental, non-essential.

It is the prevailing view in the field of art criticism that the merits of art are found in its
own form and that these merits are there regardless of whether they are grasped and appreciated
as such by the audience or not; only an enlightened audience can appreciate great art. Pragmatists
attack this view on the ground that it is “elitist”—that it confines art to the enjoyment of the
favored few and shuts out the great masses of people who are not “enlightened”. The Russian
novelist Leo Tolstoy, a pragmatist maintains that a work of art attains more greatness the more it
gives moral upliftment and pleasure to the greatest number of people.

Modern critics assert that the aesthetic judgment of the masses is far from reliable, the
masses being for the most part uneducated, ignorant; that the greatness of a work of art does not
depend on, and cannot be measured by, its popularity with the people; that a gaudy painting of
Mayon Volcano from a shop on Mabini Street is not necessarily greater than an abstraction by
Picasso simply because it is understood and appreciated by a greater number of people, or that
My Way by Frank Sinatra is superior to Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 for the same reason.

4. Aesthetic or formal (based on the form) succeed in conveying the meaning of the work.

FORM: With respect to form (the manner of imitation, how the subject matter is handled and
presented), art is a composition, a whole consisting of various parts or elements; the selection,
organization, and integration of these elements according to certain formal principles and
employing certain techniques constitute that which we call the form of art. Hence, in poetry, the
organization of such expressive elements as imagery, figures of speech, tone, movement,
symbols, sound values of words, meter, rhyme, etc., using language as medium, creates poetic
form. In music, the integration of such expressive elements as rhythm, melody harmony, tempo,
dynamics, and timbre, using tone as medium and following the basic principles of organization –
repetition, variation and contrast – results in the creation of musical form. A film in achieving its
objective to tell a story (the subject matter), employs and combines many elements: screenplay,
acting, direction, cinematography, pacing, editing, set design, background music, costuming,
make-up, casting, etc. How the story is presented in terms of these elements constitutes
cinematic form.

Modern critics, advocating the formal and aesthetic approach to art criticism, stress the
importance of form in a work or art. They uphold the motto, “Art for art’s sake,” which is
attributed to the English playwright, Oscar Wilde. This view seeks to liberate art from the chains
of morality, religion, political propaganda, social, reform, etc., and sets up art as something
worthy of appreciation for its own sake. The formal approach considers the form as the basis of
aesthetic judgment and other considerations are secondary. This approach requires that the
audience be knowledgeable, which is the reason why pragmatists charge that it encourages
snobbery and elitism. Analyzing the form of a painting (or any work of art for that matter) is an
intellectual undertaking that employs a systematic method to arrive at aesthetic judgment. The
following may serve as a guide in the analysis of a painting:

Every work of art involves an element of choice; certain possibilities have been
employed; others have been rejected. It is absolutely essential to consider alternatives to see what
these choices are and why they occur. One may begin by considering the physical properties –
size, shape and medium – of the work of art. How do these affect

Economics of statement: direct, plain, austere, or lavish, extravagant, elaborate? Variety

and consistency of expression? Spontaneity? Organizing principles employed: repetition,
variation, contrast? Sense of unity achieved. Appropriateness or coherence of choices for their
meanings conveyed by the picture? Degree of success of the painting (judgment). The
considerations listed above may be hard to differentiate at times. This is because in a work of art,
all factors and elements exists simultaneously and interact with one another. One does not have
to follow the sequence given above and may proceed according to convenience and necessity.
This brief discussion of the four relationships of a work of art and the four principal schools of
art criticism may be concluded thus: We can appreciate a work of art only when we grasp or
comprehend what it is the artist is trying to say (theme, subject) and realize how well, how
effectively, how beautifully he says it (the form).

II. FUNCTIONS OF ART

In general, the arts can truly bring beauty to life. However, there are still other functions which
can be taken into:

1. Appreciative Function - It is with no doubt that the arts give amusement and joy to most
people. Musical and dance concerts as well as theatrical performances truly give
entertainment and joy to its audience.

2. Imaginative and Creative Function - The arts challenges the creative mind and spirit of
man. It is truly an avenue to showcase potentials in creating things which exhibit core
attributes such as universality, timelessness, and peculiarity.

3. Communicative and Expressive Function - The artist can express his inner thoughts and
feelings as reflected in the masterpiece. As it was said, any work of art illumines the human
mind and heart. The elements of arts can be compared to language which can be a tool to
convey messages that contain genuine ideas.

4. Therapeutic Function - The arts can truly relieve and release tension and stress. Such can be
a tool for emotional healing and also to gain deliverance from emotional pangs. As an
example, people listen to music to relax and to have peace of mind.

5. Personal and Social Function - People benefit from the arts. The personal function refers to
the utilization of arts by individuals. Each individual has a unique sense and taste in fashion.
People differ in terms of their preferences. Social function is more general as seen in various
structures like houses, schools, churches, government halls, and all other social
establishments and structures. Music and dances may not only be for entertainment, but they
 also have cultural and religious significance. All these utilized all the elements of arts.
Everything that people see can be considered as a product of art.

III. PURPOSE OF ARTS

Art has had a great number of different functions throughout its history, making its purpose
difficult to quantify to any single concept. This does not imply that the purpose of art is “vague”
but that it has had many unique, different reasons for being created. The set of purpose of art that
we will focus on is written below as it is holistic and simplified at the same time.

 Beauty, Ugliness, and Truth

 Immortality, Glory and Religion
 Ideology and Fantasy
 Intellect and Emotion
 Order, Harmony, and Chaos
 Experience and Memory
 Social and Cultural Context
 Popular Culture and Decoration

Qualities of Art

Artistic crafts, as one of the fields of humanities, can be judged based on one’s personal
and subjective way of thinking. The arts require personal, reflective, and interpretative level of
thinking as opposed to the sciences which heavily require objectivity, facts, and evidence. In this
regard, there are various aspects to consider in critiquing and judging any work of art.

What Makes Art Beautiful?

Beauty in terms of art refers to an interaction between line, color, texture, sound, shape,
motion, and size that is pleasing to the senses. What makes art beautiful is a complicated
concept, since beauty is subjective and can change based on context. However, there is a basic
human instinct, or internal appreciation, for harmony, balance, and rhythm which can be defined
as beauty. Beauty in terms of art usually refers to an interaction between line, color, texture ,
sound, shape, motion, and size that is pleasing to the senses.

IV. ELEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Light - Light is the fundamental element all photographs need because it illuminates the
scene or subject. Whether it be natural or artificial light the quality and direction of light is
what’s important. Light helps to create a particular mood within the photograph and can
bring emphasis to key elements within a frame. Likewise, light can help create depth and
textures in an image by creating a mix of highlights and shadows. Everyone knows there
have been countless books and tutorials on this subject and this article isn’t the place to go
into depth with this. However, we should recognize that light is probably the most important
tool we have to use as photographers to create better quality and beautiful images.
2. Color - Colors provide more variation on your photo. It directs the eyes of the viewer to
every corner of the image. Like light, color helps to set the mood of an image and can play a
significant role in touching the viewer on an emotional level. Color is one of the main factors
responsible for taking a photo feel mysterious, exciting, sad, or gloomy. Evoking emotions is
important in creating strong images and color is one of our primary tools to do this. Again,
this is an in-depth topic which this article will not go into but be thoughtful that by using
appropriate colors in our images we can better convey different emotions and make a
stronger impact on the viewer.

3. Moment - Moment is when you capture extraordinary photos that require timing are taken on
a specific time. A strong moment is more than highlighting a particular subject or action in
time. Creating a moment in a photograph should be about having all the elements in a frame
come together as to tell a captivating story. When every part of the picture interacts with the
other parts in a way that the viewer might think – wow this is special and probably doesn’t
happen that often. Not every photo will be able to have special moments where all the parts
 come together perfectly, but again we should be thinking about this when shooting so we can
try to include more elements that create a stronger moment.

4. Composition - composition provides order to your photo by assigning a definite location for
your subject, your foreground and the background. Composition, in essence, is about putting
together objects in your frame in such a way as to emphasize the parts you want to and make
them stand out in a particular way. Composition can often be very subjective, but good
composition can turn an ordinary scene into an image that grabs the viewers’ attention. There
are numerous rules, principals and guidelines for creating better composed images, but in the
end it’s up to the photographer to find something that works for the given situation. There is
still a huge amount of learning to do, but by studying other photos and getting out to shoot
we will inevitably improve our composition skills. Creating relevant and good compositions
is a key element of great photographs.
5. Distance - Distance provides a sense of nearness or farness on your subject against the
background. The distance the photographer chooses to be from their subject will affect the
feeling and overall impact a photo has. It will also determine what focal length you need to
shoot at in order to get all of the important parts of the photo into the frame. Like with all of
these five tools/elements there is no right or wrong way, per se. It will vary depending on the
situation and what the photographer wants to accomplish. That being said, certain images are
more powerful if shot closer to the subject, making the viewer feel like they are there. Other
images look much better at a further distance from the subject. There should be a thought
process though about why we choose to be certain distances from our subjects and how that
will make the final image look.

ELEMENTS OF ART

1. Line is a mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal;
straight or curved; thick or thin.
2. 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.
3. Forms are three-dimensional shapes expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders,
boxes, and pyramids are forms.
4. Space is the area between and around objects. The space around objects is often 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.
5. 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).
6. 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 example, a drawing of a
porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.

V. ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Pattern - There is nothing more eye-catching than patterns. These are languages spread all
over a given matrix (e.g., surroundings, sceneries, etc). Capturing and creating patterns takes
a lot of discipline and patience. For capturing – a lot of luck, for creating – a lot of
imagination. Capturing patterns may include, lighting patterns, symmetric patterns or
rhythmic (repetition) patterns.

2. Symmetry - There will be instances when it is a good thing to focus on symmetry, and there
will be times that you should totally avoid it. Depending upon the scene – symmetry can be
something to go for – or to avoid completely. A symmetrical shot with distinct focus and a
good subject can lead to a great image – but without the distinction it can be a little
predictable. I prefer to experiment with both in the one shoot to see which works best.

3. Texture - You may have encountered Texture as one of the fundamental elements of art. It is
no truer here in photography. Impressionistic “photographers” either have it on special photo
paper or are by-product of madskillz in photoshop. But a clean, glossy picture is mundane
 and uninteresting. Images should pop out of our magazines and laptop/tablet screens. The
pictures we take should come out alive, not like images from an advertisement, neat and
clean. Texture comes handy in making our shots alive and immersive.
4. Depth of Field - Tilt-shift and manual focus are some of the features, newer digital cameras
and smartphone cameras provide. It allows for a more human look. Subtle and flawed. Avoid
having your images flat and dull. Having depth (of field) isolates your subject/focus from the
background and foreground. It indicates emphasis and dimension.

5. Lines - A line directs our eyes to those key focal points in our image. This can be done either
by a zooming effect, blurred lines or physical lines already present in our frame.

VI. EFFECTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Bokeh - Bokeh refers to the eye-candy blur found on great photos. It’s how the light is
present in lighted areas that are out of focus. Lens aberrations + Aperture shape. Many
shooters deliberately do the shallow-focus technique to create images with prominent bokeh
areas. The term comes from Japanese ‘boke’, which literally means haze or blur.
2. Panning - is the upward/downward, sideward or rotational movement of an image or video.
To do panning, you must have a moving subject that you must ‘stick with’ while framing the
shot before and after you press the shutter. Movement Direction + Slow Shutter speed. This
will create a very dynamic effect, with your subject being sharp in front of blurred
background. Great for shooting moving subjects or racing and sports events.
3. Rule of Thirds - The rule of thirds is one of the simplest photography effects/compositions.
It has been used for many centuries by artists of different platforms. Grid + Subject should
hit intersecting points. The main subject is NOT placed in the middle of the frame; thus, it
looks dynamic, moving and interesting.
4. Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Mean, Golden Ratio, Golden Rectangle, or Spiral
Sequence - is another guideline for composition and a variation of the Rule of Thirds, but
more intricate.
5. Magic Hour - The Magic Hour/Golden Hour simply refers to the best hour for the sun ray to
illuminate our frame. Initially the first hour of sunrise or the last hour of sunset (depends on
your location).Golden Light + Glare effect on foreground. It’s always a feat (and bragging
rights) to get a shot where everyone knows that such scenery/effect doesn’t come by often.
6. Contre-Jour - Contre-jour means “against the light” in French. It is basically shadow
photography on steroids. The light source is located directly behind the subject. Subject +
Light source behind the subject. The effect is often used to add more drama and intensity to
the shot.
7. Fill Flash - The kind of photography effect where it is the only time that you’ll use flash is to
avoid Contre-jour. Fill Flash is a technique in photography where the photographer uses flash
to ‘fill in’ dark areas of the image. It’s perfect for backlit environments. Against the light +
Key Light/Diffuser/Bouncer.  Fill Flash brightens shadowed areas, improving the image
without overexposing the other areas of the image.
8. Long Exposure - Long Exposure are those dreamy sceneries of landscapes, capturing the
stationary elements while blurring the moving elements of the image. Narrow Aperture +
Long shutter speed. It is often referred to as ‘night photography’. Interesting subjects to shoot
are stars, moving cars and lights.