Art appreciation

Module 2 – Language of Visual Arts

I. Overview
In presenting the art subject, certain methods are engaged in order to be
effectual and reliable. In the modern art movements, the artist uses different methods to
express the idea he wants to make clear.
Authorities on artare one in their that the different methods used by the artists in
presenting the art subjects are realism, abstraction, symbolism, fauvism, dadaism,
futurism, surrealism.

II. Objectives
After successful completion of this module, you should be able to:
1. Distinguish the language of visual arts as subject;
2. Label the major art movements used by artist; and
3. Reorganize the methods of ideas of art movements.

III. Course Materials

Different Methods used by the artists in presenting the art subjects:

REALISM
This is the attempt to portray the subject. The artist chooses a subject from
nature, he select, changes, and arranges details to express the idea he wants to make
clear. The realists try to be as objective as possible. Artists main function is to describe
as accurately and honestly as possible what is observed through the senses. However,
in the process of selecting and presenting his material, he cannot help being influenced
by what he feels or thinks. Realism - is a common way of presenting the art subjects.
In literature, realism has for its goal the faithful rendering of the objective reality
of human. Since reality is the necessary raw materials of all art, realism has certainly
existed since literature began. But realism as acoherent program of literary aesthetics
emerged in Western literature about 1850 in reaction against the idealism of the narrow
social range of earlier literary attitudes. Thus, realism tended to stress the daily life of the
common man, often concentrating on the sordid and disagreeable. Hence, a sober and
impersonal type was used to attain it. Poetry and Drama were influenced by realism.
Since the latter part of the ninetieth century, other tendency have come to the fore, and
realism has been found by some to be enslaved by the factual, and by the others naively
inadequate for truly rendering the complexity of life. Yet, realism no longer dominates
literature, it is because its principles have now been assimilated into all literary creations
of the twentieth century.
ABSTRACTION
This is used when the artist becomes so interested in one phase of a scene or a
situation that he does not show the subject at all as an objective reality, but only his idea
,or his feeling about it. In the field of sculpture, artist began doing abstract sculpture.
They ignored the exact form of a real-life object. They feel that the texture and shape of
a sculptured were more important to them than the exact form. CONSTANTIN
Brancusi’s “bird in space” is an example. ABSTRACT means “to move or separate”
Abstract subjects can also be presented in many ways like;

(1)DISTORTION - this is clearly manifested when the subject is in misshapen

condition, or regular shape is twisted out. Examples; HENRY MOORE’S sculptural
works and the ancient Egyptian paintings and sculptural works.

(2)ELONGATION it refers to that which is being lengthened, a protraction or an

extension. Example EL GRECO’S ELONGATED BODY OF JESUS CHRIST IN HIS
“RESSURECTION”

(3)MANGLING this may not be a commonly used way of presenting an abstract

subject, but there are few artists who show subject or objects which are cut, lacerated,
mutilated or hacked with repeated blows.

(4)CUBISM it stresses abstract form through

the use of a cone, cylinder, or a sphere at the expense of the other pictorial elements.
CUBIST want to show forms in their basic geometrical shapes. PAUL CEZANNE’S
works played an important part of development of cubism. It was further developed by
George Braque of France and Pablo Picasso of Spain.

(5)ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM a style of abstract painting that originated in

New York City after world war II and gained an international vogue. Although it has
close in European art, the term was first applied to the NEW YORK SCHOOL, whose
work is characterized by great verve, the use of large canvases, and a deliberate of
refinement in the application of the paint. Strong color, heavy impasto, uneven brush
strokes, and rough textures are other typical characteristics. In other word, Abstract
expressionism departs completely from subject matter, from studied precision, and from
any kind of preconcieved design. Jackson Pollock was one of the abstract expressionist
painters of the New York School.

SYMBOLISM
A symbol, in general, is a visible sign of something invisible such as an Idea or a
quality. these well-known symbols arise from conventional usage, association, and
general relationship. The conventional type of symbol is not absent from works of art. In
poetry and painting, the symbol has a free development. It transcends the everyday run-
of-the-mill sign and assumes a new and fresh meaning, originating from a highly
personal and even unique association born in the mind of the poet or painter.
FAUVISM
This was the first important art movement of the 1900’s. the Fauves flourished as
a group only from about 1903 t o 1907,but their style greatly influenced many later artist.
Henry Matisse led the movement, and other important Fauves included Andre Derain,
Raoul Drify, George Rouault, all from France. The Fauves did not attempt to express
ethical, philosophical, or psychological themes. Most of these artist tried to paint pictures
of a comfort, joy, and pleasure. They used extremely bright colors. To a Fauve, for
example, atree trunk need not to be brown,. It could be bright red, purple, or any other
color.

DADAISM
A protest movement in the arts was formed in 1916 by a group of artists and
poets in Zurich, Switzerland. The Dadaist reacted to what they believed were outworn
traditions in arts, and the in evils they saw in society. They tried to shock and provoke
the public with outrageous pieces of writing, poetry, recitals, and art exhibitions. Much
Dadaic art was playful and highly experimental. The name “Dada” a French word
meaning “hobby hors,” was deliberately chosen because it was nonsensical. Perhaps
the best known Dadaist was the French artist Marcel Duchamp.

FUTURISM
It developed in Italy about the same time cubism appeared in France. Futurist
painters wanted their works to capture the speed and force of modern industrial society.
Their paintings glorified the mechanical energy of modern life. Subjects included
Automobiles, motorcycle, and railroad trains subject that express the explosive vitality of
a modern city.

SURREALISM
This movement in art and literature was founded in Paris in 1924 by the French
poet Andre Breton. Like dadaism, from which it arose, surrealism uses art as a weapon
against the evils and restrictions that surrealist see in society. Unlike dadaism, it tries to
reveal a new and higher reality than that of daily life. Surrealism is an invented word
meaning super realism.This movement was influenced by the Freudian psychology
which emphasizes the activities of the subconcious state of the mind. The surrealist
claim to create forms and images not primarily by reason, but by unthinking impulse and
blind feeling or even by accident

EXPRESSIONISM
This method was introduced in Germany during the first decade of the 20th
century. Its influences were felt by the European artist from 1910 up to present. It also
seemed to have influenced the playwrights in English and Filipino like the work of Amelia
Lapena-Bonifacio in “Sepang Loca” (1958) The exponents of expressionism believed in
the necessity of a spiritual rebirth for man in an age that was fast becoming influenced
by materialism. Paul Dumol’s “paglilitis ni mang serapio” (1969), and Revel Aguila’s
“mapait sa bato” are plays which depicted the idea of Rebirth of the individual as possible
 only within the context of the transformation of the entire society

IV. Activity/Assessment
1. What are the methods of presenting the art subject? Describe each briefly.
2. Why is realism more observable in novels than in visual arts specifically in painting?
3. What is the design relationship of painting in other visual arts?