UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO ART APPRECIATION 5.

It is the heightened expression of human dignity and

HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS weaknesses felt and shared so powerfully in a world
What is Humanities? increasingly aware of its successes and failures.
○ Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of 6. It is man’s expression of himself as an individual and how
human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the he views his existence, and
○ term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now 7. Art also provides enjoyment and stimulation specially
called classics, the main area of secular study in when people understand them
○ universities at the time.
○ The humanities include the study of ancient and modern FUNCTIONS OF ART
languages, literature, philosophy, history, archeology, Arts is a much needed avenue for people to:
○ anthropology, human geography, law, politics, religion 1. Express freely oneself;
and art. 2. Socially express his need for display, celebration and
Why study Humanities? communication; and
○ As the word humanities came from the Latin “humanus” 3. Physically express the need for utility of functional
which means human, cultured and refined. objects.
○ To be human is to show characteristics of rationality, Functional art forms – The need for life to be better.
benevolence and care. Examples: architecture, weaving, and furniture-making
○ To be cultured and refined is to show good tastes and Non-functional arts forms – The need to express aesthetics
manner indicative of good and proper education. and beauty.
Fundamental Principles of Humanities which are used as Examples: Painting, sculpture, literature, music, dance and
guides for a better understanding of life and man’s existence: theatre
1. Human nature is inherently good.
2. Individuals are free and are capable of making choices. ARTS AND PHILOSOPHY
3. Human potential for growth and development is virtually Philosophy and Arts Related
unlimited. ○ Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental
4. Self-concept plays an important role in growth and questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason,
development. mind, and language.
5. Individuals have an urge for self actualization. ○ Aesthetics, the study of beauty and taste, concerned with
6. Reality is defined by each person. the nature of art and used as a basis for interpreting and
7. Individuals have a responsibility to both themselves and evaluating individual works of art. It is a branch of
to others. philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste,
ART EXPLAINED as well as the philosophy of art.
○ Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating ○ Philosophy of art is the study of the nature of art,
visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), including concepts such as interpretation, representation
expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual ideas, or and expression, and form. It is closely related to
technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty and taste.
or emotional power.
○ Other activities related to the production of works of art THE ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHERS
include the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, The following are just a few of the philosophers whose
and the aesthetic dissemination and clarification needed advocacies not only focused on the philosophic ideas but
of art. also shared a few of their conceptions about the Arts.
○ Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery 1.) Plato ( 428 – 347 BC) is a philosopher of Ancient Greece
and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. who is known for his Dialogues together with
○ In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic Socrates. He explained that the physical world is a copy of a
considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated perfect, rational, eternal and changeless original.
and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as ○ The originals are called the Forms. Beauty, justice and
the decorative or applied arts. even a circle are examples of these Forms of Ideas.
NATURE OF THE ARTS ○ Plato’s Ideas of the Arts may be summed up by the truths
The following are identified natures of the Arts from the point according to him that:
of view of different artists and philosophers: 1. Art is imitation – Plato explained that art is an imitation of
1. Art or arts is of Aryan root “ar” which means to join or put physical things which in turn are imitations of the
together and has its Latin term being “sars” or “artis” Forms.
which means everything that is artificially made or 2. Art is dangerous – Art has power to stir emotions. The
composed by man (wikipedia) arts should not go uncensored.
2. Art constitutes one of the oldest and most important 2.) Aristotle ( 384 – 322 BC) was a student of Plato who first
means of expression developed by man. distinguished between “what is good and what is
3. It refers to the skillful arrangement or composition of beautiful”. For him, the universal elements of beauty are
some common but significant qualities of nature such as manifested by order, symmetry and definiteness.
sounds, colors, lines, movements, words, stone and wood ○ As exemplified in his Poetics, he stated that physical
to express feelings, thoughts, imaginations and dreams in manifestation of beauty is affected by SIZE.
an amazing, meaningful and enjoyable way. (Adams, ○ His emphasis was on poetry. He stated that poetry was
2002) more philosophic and serious than philosophy itself.
4. Art is subjective as it employs the use of perception, ○ Poets according to Aristotle, imitated three things:
insights, feelings and intuition 1. Things and events which have been or still are;
 2. Things which are said to be seen and are probable and Malacanang Palace, the Philippines' seat of government,
3. Things which essentially are. The Cultural Center of the Philippines, the center of
3.) Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) was a German, cultural activities of the country and Burj Khalifa, the
Enlightenment philosopher who wrote a treatise on Aesthetics: highest skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates to name a
○ Observations on the Feelings of the Beautiful and the few.
Sublime. His main interest was not on art but on BEAUTY 2. Sculpture.
that it is a matter of TASTE. ○ Sculpture, an artistic form in which hard or plastic
○ Kant explained that TASTE can be both SUBJECTIVE and materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects.
UNIVERSAL. ○ The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in
○ For KANT, beauty is a question of form and color is NOT reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from
IMPORTANT. tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator. An
○ Subjective taste does not focus on the properties of the enormous variety of media may be used, including clay,
object itself but rather on the pleasure one experiences wax, stone, metal, fabric, glass, wood, plaster, rubber, and
○ as he responds to it. random "found" objects.
○ Universal taste is non-aesthetic and does not consider the ○ Materials may be carved, modeled, molded, cast,
beauty of the work or the mastery of the artist, but wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise shaped
○ rather, the artwork is appreciated for what it is. and combined.
The Kinds of Aesthetic Responses according to Kant are: ○ Some example of sculptures are the following: The Jose
1. Beauty results in pleasure if there is order, harmony and Rizal Monument in Rizal Park, the University of the
symmetry; and Philippines Oblation in all UP campuses around the
2. Beauty leads to a response of awe that overwhelms the Philippines and the Black Nazarene in the Minor Basilica
viewers of the art. of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district, Manila,
Philippines.p
ARTISTS VS. ARTISANS 3. Painting.
○ An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to ○ Painting is the application of pigments to a support
creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. surface that establishes an image, design or decoration. In
○ An artist is a person who exhibits exceptional skills in the art the term "painting" describes both the act and the
visual and/or the performing arts. result.
○ An artisan (from French: artisan, Italian: artigiano) is a ○ Painting media are extremely versatile because they can
skilled craft worker who makes or creates things by hand be applied to many different surfaces (called supports)
that may be functional or strictly decorative. including paper, wood, canvas, plaster, clay, lacquer and
○ It is a person who is in a skilled trade that involves making concrete.
things by hand. He is a craftworker who makes or creates ○ Some of the examples of this two-dimentional art form
objects of great beauty by just using his hands. are Juan Luna's Spolarium, Mona Lisa by Leonardo da
Vinci and The Fishermen by Ang Kiukok among others.
THE ART FORMS 4. Dance.
○ Major constituents of the arts include visual arts ○ Dance is the movement of the body in a rhythmic way,
(including architecture, ceramics, drawing, filmmaking. usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose
painting, photography and sculpting), literature (including of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or
fiction, drama, poetry, and prose), and performing arts simply taking delight in the movement itself.
(including dance, music and theater), culinary arts ○ Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that
(including cooking, chocolate making and winemaking). impulse channeled by skillful performers into something
○ One's self expression especially when inclined with arts that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight
may take various forms depending on the expertise and spectators who feel no wish to dance themselves.
artistic inclinations of an artist. ○ In dance, the connection between the two concepts is
○ One may want to express his artistic abilities by way of stronger than in some other arts, and neither can exist
specific art forms such as painting or dance or a without the other, dance is an art form or activity that
combination of both. utilizes the body and the range of movement of which the
○ One may express oneself through other forms as music, body is capable.
sculpture, literature or all of three combined. ○ Some of the examples of this art form are the folk dances
of the Philippines like Tinikling and Subli, ballet, and
The following items below are the art forms which one may use modern dances to name a few.
in order to express his artistic inclinations:
1. Architecture.
○ Architecture is an art form that reflects how we present 5. Music.
ourselves across the earth's landscape, and, like other ○ Music is an art form, and cultural activity, whose medium
expressive mediums, it changes with styles, technologies is sound. General definitions of music include common
and cultural adaptations. elements such as pitch (which governs melody and
○ Architecture not only provides worldly needs of shelter, harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo,
workspace and storage but also represents human ideals meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and
in buildings like courthouses and government buildings softness), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture
and manifestations of the spirit in churches and temples. (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical
○ Architecture is considered as the most functional of all the sound).
art forms. Some examples of architectural works are The
○ Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and from the view of the artist, the period, the culture, and
vocal techniques ranging from singing to rapping; there the society in which it was created.
are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces (such as
songs without instrumental accompaniment) and pieces UNIT 2: SUBJECT AND CONTENT
that combine singing and instruments. LESSON 1 - THE SUBJECT OF AN ARTWORK
○ Some of the examples which may be associated with SUBJECT
music are the Philippine folk songs and the produced ○ refers to the main idea that is represented in the artwork.
popular music of Filipino singers like Sarah Geronimo and ○ is basically the essence of the piece
Gary Valenciano to name a few ○ Some artworks have subjects and some do not.
6. Theater. Representational art
○ Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing ○ also called objective art, figurative art is derived from real
art that uses live performers, typically actors or actresses, object sources.
to present the experience of a real or imagined event ○ is art which is clearly identifiable as something which
before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. already exists in life.
○ The performers may communicate this experience to the ○ Representational art does not need to be a completely
audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, realistic depiction of the subject; there will often be
music, and dance. varying levels of abstraction.
○ The specific place of the performance is also named by ○ representational artists act as observers, and interpret
the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek what they see in their own way through their work.
théatron, "a place for viewing", itself from theaomai, "to ○ Planting Rice by Fernando Amorsolo
see", "to watch", "to observe". Modern theatre includes ○ Apple Blossoms by Kristina Joy
performances of plays and musical theatre. Non-representational art
○ The art forms of ballet and opera are also theatre and use ○ non-objective art
many conventions such as acting, costumes and staging. ○ refers to compositions which do not rely on
They were influential to the development of musical representation or mimesis to any extent
theatre; see those articles for more information. ○ highly subjective and difficult to define
○ Some examples of theatrical presentations are the ○ we can look at non-representational art as the personal
following: Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and expression of an artist's subjective experience. Certain
Romeo and Juliet, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and the movements have described their intentions as an aim to
local theatrical presentations of Noli Me Tangere and evoke moods or emotions in the viewer.
chosen zarzuelas and moro-moro performances ○ Composition VIII by Wassily Kandinsky
7. Literature. ○ Composition VII by Wassily Kandinski
○ Literature, most generically, is any body or collection of
written work. LESSON 2: THE SOURCES OF SUBJECT
○ More restrictively, literature refers to writing considered A learner, most of the time, may imagine as to where an artist
to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have gets his inspiration from with regard to how he produces a
artistic or intellectual value, and sometimes deploys certain masterpiece.
language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. Sources of artists' inspiration in doing their work:
○ Fiction can be further distinguished according to major 1. Nature. Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the
forms such as the novel, short story, or drama; and such natural world, physical universe, material world or
works are often categorized according to historical material universe. Nature refers to the phenomena of the
periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic or genre. physical world, and also to life In general
○ Literature may be in any form such as poetry, novel, short 2. People. They are considered the most interesting subject
story, essay, epic and legends among others. of an artwork which may be real or imagined.People as
○ Some examples of this literary pieces are The Woman subjects may be presented as individuals or groups and
Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin, Po-on by F. Sionil may perform tasks as how they do in their everyday life.
Jose, Myths. Legends and Folktales by Maximo D. Ramos 3. History. It is the depiction of factual events that occurred
and Stupid is Forever by the late Senator Miriam Defensor in the past whose purpose is either to remember
Santiago important events of long ago or to teach the learners
about the lessons of the past.
The art forms may be classified as visual arts and performing ○ Bonifacio Monument by Guillermo Tolentino
arts. Visual arts are those which are felt by the ○ The Making of the Philippine Flag by Fernando Amorsolo
senses which includes sculpture, painting and architecture. 4. Legends. Artworks based on legends present to viewers of
Music, Dance and Theater are under the performance arts the art something tangible when unverified. Art brings life
category. Literature may be visual or performance depending to these stories. Excalibur
upon the manner as to how it shall be presented. 5. Religion. Religion has played an enormous role in
inspiring works of visual arts, music, architecture and
At present, there are other emerging art forms that have literature through ages Artists used as inspiration the
evolved. These art includes photography and installation arts. religious texts as the Bible, Quran and Torah in conveying.
forms are digital arts which their ideas and beliefs through their artworks. It was also
Appreciating the Arts established that art is considered the handmaid of
○ This study of the arts is aimed at engaging the religion. The Last Supper
audience/learners to have a relationship with the work 6. Mythology. These are sources of subjects that come from
that would make them understand art not only itself but the stories of gods and goddesses of ancient Greece,
 Rome, Norse and Egyptians. These are so called deities of horse”. Dadaism is most often nonsensical. Marcel
the mythological world depict present humanlike Duchamp is the famous painter using this method. It is
behaviors. Medusa considered a revolt against tradition because it does not
7. Dreams and Fantasy. The wonder of the unconscious is follow the principles in art and shows the wickedness of
what is being expressed by artworks under this subject society in its presentation. The aim of this method is to
source. These works of art somehow explain to the shock and provoke its viewers. Fountain by Duchamp
viewers the content of the art piece including the hidden 7. Futurism- This was developed in Italy about the same
meaning behind each work. The unconscious is being time as cubism appeared in France. Futurist painters
made to be understood by this source of subject. The wanted their works to capture the mechanical energy of
Persistence of Memory modern life.The Futuristic Art of NASA
8. Technology. The modernity of the present is also an 8. Surrealism. This method mirrors the evils of the present
inspiration being used by artists as a source of subject. society. Surrealism means super realism, influenced by
The wondrous use of machines, the towering skyscrapers, Freudian psychology which emphasizes the activities of
state of the art robotics technology, top of the line the subconscious state of mind.
transportation machineries as cars, ships and motorcycles 9. Expressionism. This features art works describing pathos,
to name a few sources of subjects of interest under morbidity, chaos or even defeat and was introduced in
technology. Humanity Drowning in Technology by Germany from 1900-1910 Expressionists believe that man
Elizabeth Elkin needs spiritual rebirth for him to correct defects that ruin
the society. The Night (Die Nacht) by Max Beckmann
WAYS OF PRESENTING THE SUBJECT
The following are some of the methods or ways on how an
artist presents his subject to his audience.
1. Naturalism- refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a
natural setting. Naturalism is a type of art that pays
attention to very accurate and precise details, and
portrays things as they are.
2. Realism-the attempt to represent subject matter
truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding speculative
fiction and supernatural elements. It is the most popular
way of presenting art subjects.
3. Abstraction finds its roots in "Intuition" (of the artist) and
"freedom" (for the artist as well as for the viewer). It is
the capability of the artist to use their imagination to look
beyond what we can physically see and translate
intangible emotions onto the canvas. This is a method of
presenting the subject where the artist moves away from
reality. The artist usually alters the shapes and colors in
rendering a particular art piece. Abstraction may be in
these forms:
A. Distortion -is the altercation of the original shape of
something. Art pieces of Henrietta Harris
B. Elongation - is when the art subject is lengthened,
protracted or extended. High Aspirations by Ernie Barnes
C. Mangling - artist show cut, lacerated ,mutilated or
hacked with blows. The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso
D. Cubism- is the presentation of abstract figures using
the cone. 'Factory, Horta de Ebbo' by Pablo Picasso
4. Symbolism- use the visible sign of an idea to convey to
the viewers, readers or audiences the message of his
work. In this way, mystery is advocated by an art work
making it more interesting to the viewers. The key to
eliciting symbolic art involves studying the background
and personality of the artist and his inspiration in
producing the said piece of work.
5. Fauvism - Fauvism is the name applied to the work
produced by a group of artists (which included Henri
Matisse and André Derain) from around 1905 to 1910,
which is characterised by strong colours and fierce
brushwork. The name les fauves (‘the wild beasts’) was
coined by the critic Louis Vauxcelles when he saw the
work of Henri Matisse and André Derain in an exhibition,
the salon d’automne in Paris, in 1905.
6. Dadaism- Dadaism is a protest movement in the art that
is playful and experimental. “Dada” means a “hobby