MODULE 2: Functions of Art and Philosophical importance of Art,

Subject and Content

Lesson 3: Functions and Philosophical importance of Art

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to
• Distinguish directly functional and indirectly functional art;
• Realize the functions of some art forms in daily life; and
• Apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetic in real life scenarios.

READINGS
 Aristotle claimed that every particular substance in the world has an
end, or telos in Greek, which means translates into “purpose.”
 Every substance, defined as formed matter, moves according to a
fixed path towards its aim.
 This telos, according to Aristotle, is intricately linked with function.
 For a thing to reach its purpose, it also has to fulfill its function.

FUNCTIONS OF ART

When one speaks of function, one is practically talking about the use of the object whose function is in
question. An inquiry on the functions of art is an inquiry on what art is for. Alternatively, the answer to the
question “what is it for” is the function of whatever “it” in the question refers to.

Example: What is the Rizal monument for?

  When it comes to function, different art forms come with distinctive functions.
 Some art forms are more functional than others.

Architecture and Applied Arts

 The value of the art in question lies in the practical benefits
one gains from it.
 Obviously made for a specific purpose.

Lotus temple, North India

Painting and Literature

 One can look at the value of the product of art in and for itself

John William Waterhouse,

The Lady of Shalott

Does it mean that paintings and literary works can never have any function?
 Dr. Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Felibusterismo
 The novels accrued vale and as a consequence, function.
 They are functional in so far as they are designed to accomplish some definite end.

Personal Functions of Art

 The personal functions of art are varied and highly subjective.
 Functions depends on the artist who created the art.
 An artist may create an art out of self-expression, entertainment, or therapeutic purpose.

L Valdez on Mother and

child painting

Social Functions of Art

  Art is considered to have a social function if and when it addresses a particular collective interest as
opposed to a personal interest.
 Art may convey message of protest, contestation, or whatever message the artist intends his work to
carry.

Liberty Leading the People, 28

July 1830

Social Functions of Art

 Political art is a very common example of an art with a social function.
 Art can also depict social conditions such as photography (pictures of poverty)
 Performance art like plays or satires can also rouse emotions and rally people toward a particular end.

Physical Function of Art

 The physical functions of art can be found in artworks that are in order to serve some physical purpose.
 Architecture, jewelry-making, interior design all serves physical functions.

Other Functions of Art

 Music was principally used for dance and religion.
 The ancient world saw music as an instrument to
facilitate worship and invocation to gods.
 Music was essential for synchronicity of dancers.
 Music guarantees that warriors were simultaneous.
 Today, music has expanded its functions and
coverage.
 There is a lot of music that has no connection to dance or
religion
 Example: Serenade - people compose hymns to express feelings and emotions.
 Music is also used as accompaniment to stage plays and motion pictures.

 Sculptures have been made by man most particularly for religion.

 In the Roman Catholic world, the employment of sculptures for religious purposes has remained vital,
relevant, and symbolic.
 Rizal and Bonifacio’s monument and commemorative coins (Pope Francis)

 Architecture may be the most prominent functional art.

 Unlike other forms of art, buildings take so much time to erect and destroy.
 One cannot dismiss taking into consideration the function of a building before construction.
 It is also in architecture where one can find the intimate connection of function and form.

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ART

ART AS AN IMITATION
 In Plato’s The Republic, paints a picture of artists as imitators and art as mere
imitation.
 In his description of the ideal republic, Plato advises against the inclusion of
art as a subject in the curriculum and the banning of artists in the Republic.
 In Plato’s metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this world are only
copies of the original, the eternal, and the true entities that can only be found
in the World of Forms.
  For example, the chair that one sits on is not a real chair. It is an imperfect copy of the perfect “chair” in
the World of Forms.

Plato and the theory of Forms

 Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the belief in copies and discourage men to reach for the
real entities in the World of Forms.
 Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two reasons:
1. They appeal to the emotion rather to the rational faculty of men.
2. They imitate rather than lead one to reality
 Poetry rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds rationality of people.
 Art is just an imitation of imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also just an
imitation of reality in the World of Forms.
 Art then I to banished, alongside the practitioners, so that the attitudes and actions of the members of the
Republic will not be corrupted by the influence of the arts.
 For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty replacement for the real entities that can only be
attained through reason.
ART AS A REPRESENTATION
 Aristotle, agreed with Plato that art is a form of imitation.
 However, Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy in
revealing the truth.
 The kind of imitation that art does is not antithetical to the reaching
of fundamental truths in the world.
 Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another
imitation, Aristotle conceived of arts as representing possible
versions of reality.
 For Aristotle, all kinds of art do not aim to represent reality as it is,
it endeavors to provide a version of what might be or the myriad possibilities of reality.
In Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes:
 Art allows for the experience of pleasure (horrible experience can be made an object of humor)
 Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach its audience things about life (cognitive)

ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT

 Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Judgement, considered the judgement of
beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something that can be universal despite its
subjectivity.
 Kant recognized that judgment of beauty is subjective.
 However, even subjective judgments are based on some universal criterion for
the judgment.
How and in what sense can a judgment of beauty, which ordinarily is considered
to be a subjective feeling, be considered objective or universal?

How are these two statements different?

1. “I like this painting.”
2. “This painting is beautiful.”
  The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective), while the second is an aesthetic judgment
(objective).
 Making an aesthetic judgment requires us to be disinterested. In other words, we should try to go beyond
our individual tastes and preferences so that we can appreciate art from a universal standpoint.

ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION

 According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays huge role in
communications that the artist previously experienced.
 In the same that language communicates information to other
people, art communicates emotions.
 As a purveyor of man’s innermost feelings and thoughts, art is
given a unique opportunity to serve as a mechanism for social
unity.
 Art is central to man’s existence because it makes accessible
feelings and emotions of people from the past and present.

LEARNING ASSESSMENT

Set 1.
Using the table below, list down as many different artworks that you have witnessed. On the
second column, identify what it is for. You can either research or surmise intelligently. Write
them down on the corresponding column.

Artwork What is it for?

 Set 2.
Answer the following questions as precisely yet as thoroughly as possible.

1. Does art always have a function? Why? Provide your own

example.

_______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

2. If an artwork ceased to have a function, will it remain an art?

Why?

________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Essay Rubric for set 2

Scale Description
10 points Facts are consistently detailed/precise and very relevant. Uses correct spelling and
grammar effectively almost all of the time. Addresses the question completely.
8 points Most facts are detailed/precise and relevant. Uses spelling and grammar with
considerable accuracy and effectiveness. Addresses the question, but left out few
details.
6 points Lacks few substantial details and examples to support ideas. Spelling and grammar
require moderate editing. Addresses the question, but provided few details.
4 points Moe specific details and examples are needed to support opinions, spelling and
grammar require considerate editing. Addresses the question, but in every few details.

Set 3.
Look around your house and identify a product of art. In a short bond paper, paste a picture of that product of
art in your household. Trace the beginning of this item and identify what functions it has in history. (e.g., a
painting of the last Supper in your dining room or a spoon).
Name: _________________________________ Date: ___________
Course & Section: ________________________

REFERENCES:
Bernardo Nicolas Caslib, Jr., Dorothea C. Garing and Jezreel Anne R. casual. “Art Appreciation: Art
Appreciation: Creativity, Functions and Philosophical perspective” Rex Book store, Inc. Philippine Copyright
2018 p.25-36.

Butcher, S.h. (Ed.) (1902). The Poetics of Aristotle. New York: The Macmillan Company.
Dudley, L., Faricy, A., and McGraw-Hill Book Company. (1960) The Humanities. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Plato. (2000). The Republic. Accessed November 2, 2017. Retrieved from
http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/00024471.pdf.
Tolstoy, Leo. (2016). What is Art? Accessed November 2, 2017. Retrieved from
http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%/printer-friendlyTolstoy_on_Art_TWO_COLUMNS.pdf.
Other resources: https://www.slideshare.net/janril/functions-and-philosophical-perspectives-on-art