Unit 1: Embracing the Humanities

Topic 4: Knowing the Functions of Arts

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
a. Discuss the different functions of art;
b. Demonstrate understanding how artists use images to represent
ad idea; and
c. Realize the function of some art forms in daily life.

Activating Prior Knowledge

Have a closer look at the given images or pictures. What function does an
artwork perform? Does it have any purpose? Do all artworks have a function?
You may freely express your ideas or opinions based on your own schema
or experience.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Rizal%27Park+Image

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https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/11/26/18/erasing-filipino-in-college-education

https://www.ironwulf.net/2017/04/10/lakbay-norte-
vi-3-pasalubong-cagayan/

Presentation of Content

From the activity given above, you have observed that each artwork has its
own function or purpose. Artists may convey their messages in different ways.

To recognize and appreciate the function of arts not only within ourselves
but in the community as well, read the article written by Frederick A. Horowitz.

MORE THAN YOU SEE: THE MANY FUNCTIONS OF ART

By Frederick A. Horowitz

Art has many different functions in human history. Each society

defined its own purposes for art, and produced an art suited to those
purposes. For ancient Romans, art served as a vehicle of propaganda: their
sculptures proclaimed victories, and their buildings highly praised the
power of the State. In modern societies like our own, art serves different
and sometimes contradictory purposes. One artist paints in order to
communicate a message to his audience, while across the street another
paints in order to please himself. A third artist explores shapes and colors;
a fourth illustrates books.

Art functions as:

1. An agent of magic (to ensure a successful hunt, perpetuate the soul

after death, triumph over an enemy, cure diseases, etc.)

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2. An aid to meditation
3. An agent to ritual
4. A record of events, objects, situations
5. A substitute for real thing, or a symbol
6. A souvenir
7. Propaganda to impress, persuade or change thinking or behavior
8. Communication of stories, ideas, events
9. An agent of social control
10. Amusement or entertainment
11. A mean of moral improvement
12. education
13. A means of self-expression
14. Self-revelation
15. Release of emotions
16. Exploration of vision
17. A reflection and interpretation of life
18. An expression of beauty
19. Decoration or embellishment
20. Monetary investment
21. A status symbol

The functions of arts are wide ranging. Art is as broad as human experience. All of
art comes out of life and is bound up with life. Art is meaningful, but meaningful in
ways that differ from society to society, from time to time, and from person to
person.
Adapted from More Than You See: A Guide to Art
New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Inc. 1992

With the numerous listed functions of arts, they may normally fall into three
categories as mentioned by Esaak (2019). These are personal, social, and physical
functions.

1. Personal Function

There are many types of personal function, and they are subjective and
will, therefore, vary from person to person.

An artist may create out of a need for self-expression, or gratification. S/he

might have wanted to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Perhaps the
artist was trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A
piece might have been meant to "merely" entertain others. Sometimes a piece isn't
meant to have any meaning at all.

Further, art may serve the personal functions of control. Art has been used
to attempt to exert magical control over time, or the seasons or even the acquisition
of food. Art is used to bring order to a messy and disorderly world. Conversely, art

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can be used to create chaos when an artist feels life is too staid and ordinary. Art
can also be therapeutic - for both the artist and the viewer.

2. Social Function

According to Ortiz et al. (1976), art performs a social function when:

a. It seeks or tends to influence the collective behavior of a people.

b. It is created to be seen or used primarily in public situations.
c. It expresses or describes social or collective aspects of existence as
opposed to individual and personal kinds of experiences.

Influencing Social Behavior

 Pictorial form is very powerful means of putting across a message.

 Paintings, photographs, posters, cartoons have been used to express
humanitarian concern as well as ideological or political comment.
 Satire- which puts up people and institutions to ridicule so that they will
change- is effectively communicated in various cartoons and
caricatures.
 Editorial cartoons convey the message more directly and clearly than
the printed word does. Cartoonists comment on the foibles(weaknesses)
of society and of its leaders, with the hope that something is done to
correct these faults and improve the human condition.
 Literature has served just as well for political and ideological
expression. It is a powerful tool in shaping society and its manners.
Urbana at Felisa by Modesto de Castro- an epistolary novel of the 19th
century, became the Filipino code of ethics of the time, guiding the
youth on how to conduct themselves in church, in social gatherings, in
school, and at home.
 Propaganda Literature has swayed people’s minds and feelings toward
certain ends.
 Religion has especially capitalized on the arts to spread beliefs and
reinforce and sustain faith. It plays noble functions as enlightening us in
our spiritual beliefs and elevating our moral character.
 Advertising art aims to affect the buying behavior of people. These
include posters, billboards, magazine and newspapers adds, catalogs,
handbills, package design, radio, television.

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Display and Celebration

 Commemoration of important personages in society serves to record

important historical events, or reveals the ideals of heroism and
leadership that the community would want the young to emulate.
 Rituals have played an important role in people’s lives and have
influenced the growth of certain arts as well.
 Public celebrations, such as festivals and other activities, unite people
in a shared experience, just as the celebration of important phase of
life do.

Social Description

 Art works are vital historical documents.

 Tools, weapons furniture, paintings, statues, stories and songs and
buildings reflect the feelings, struggles and achievements of people.
They reveal how people thought, felt, and lived in a certain historical
period.
 Temples, sculptures, epics, plays and even the pottery of ancient
Greece tell us so much about the age when man first regarded himself
as the measure of all things.
 Portraits are informative.

3. Physical Function

The physical functions of art are often the easiest to understand. Works of
art that are created to perform some service have physical functions.

Tools and containers are objects which function to make our lives physically
comfortable. Functional works of art may be classified as either tools or containers.

Take a look at the given terms below. Reflect why these are categorized
this way.
1. A spoon- tool
2. A car- tool
3. A building- container
4. A Community- container
5. A ceramic vase- container
6. A chair-container

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Note that architecture, any of the crafts, and industrial design are all types of art
that have physical functions.

An example of the physical function of art

Art that has a physical function usually

relates to items that can be used for a
practical purpose because of their physical
structure, despite their artistic appeal.

Examples include architecture, which can be

breathtaking, but still primarily serves a
physical function. This chair is a good
example of physical art. Its design means that
it is immediately aesthetically interesting to https://arts-literature.blurtit.com/1097823/what-
the eye, but its main function is to be a are-the-functions-of-art

comfortable chair to sit on.

Application

Activity 1. Go to an art gallery/museum, or to any place where there are nature

paintings or pieces of sculpture. Choose one that appeals most to you. Be able to
describe it and the feeling or mood it evokes in you as you look at it.
Make a report of this to your class. Consider the following questions: What did the
artist attempt to communicate? How effective is the method used in conveying the
message? Would the same effect have been achieved if another means of
representation was used? How does this work reveal the artist as a recorder or
commentator of his period?

Your output will be graded based on the given competencies below.

Competency Points
Demonstrate efficient time management 10
skills in meetings the deadlines
Describe and discuss the cultural or 15
personal influences in evaluating the
artwork.
Total 25 Points

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Activity 2. Clip an editorial cartoon from any newspaper or magazine. Explain

the comment it makes about society or certain people. How effective is its
presentation?
Editorial Cartoon

Explanation:______________________________________________________________
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References
Barrios, Romeo A. (2012). An Experimental Approach in the Study of the
Humanities. Ermita, Manila: Educational Publishing House.
Dela Cruz et al. (2003). The New Dimensions in Learning English III. Sampaloc,
Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Esaak, Shelley (2019).The Important Functions of Art. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-are-the-functions-of-art- 182414
on June 18,
Estolas, Josefina V., Clarita G. Javier, & Nieves Pada-Payno. Introduction to
Humanities(Arts for Fine Living). Mandaluyong City: National Book
Store, Inc.
Horowitz, Frederick (1992). More Than You See: A Guide to Art. New York:
Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
Merriam Webster. Illustrated Contemporary Dictionary, Encyclopedia
Edition,(Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Feguson, Publishing Co., 1987, pp. 718, 757.
Ortiz, Ma. Aurora R. et al. (1976). Art: Perception and Appreciation. Manila:
University of the East.
Sanchez, Custodiosa A., Paz F. Abad, & Loreta V. Jao. (2001). Introduction to
Humanities. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Retrieved from https://courses.lumenting.com/boundeless arthistory/chapter/what-
is-art/ on September 5, 2018.
Retrieved from
https://news.abscbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/11/26/18/erasing-filipino-in-
college-education on June 19, 2019.
Retrieved from https://arts-literature.blurtit.com/1097823/what-are-the-functions-
of-art on June 19, 2019.
Retrieved from https://www.ironwulf.net/2017/04/10/lakbay-norte-vi-3-
pasalubong-cagayan/ on June 19, 2019.

Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-

d&q=Rizal%27Park+Image on June 19, 2019.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-clothing-1991476 on

August 15, 2020.
Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/CassilyLakeResort/photos/a.211317662790691/21131
7636124027 on August 15, 2020.
Retrieved from https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/claire-danes-is-surprised-
as-leonardo-dicaprio-takes-her-hand-to-kiss-picture-id168603201?s=2048x2048
on August 15, 2020.

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Summary of the Unit

In this Unit, you have found that the Humanities were distinguished from
sciences wherein the Humanities deal with man’s internal world with his
personality and experiences, matters that cannot be measured, classified, or
controlled. On the other hand, sciences deal with the external world of man, as well
as with the facets of man’s being that can be subjected to observation, measurement,
and experimentation. Despite their uniqueness, both the humanities and the
sciences are necessary for the holistic development of an individual ready to
embrace the complexity of the changing world.
Basic concepts and assumptions about art were made clear. Art is the
lifeblood of humanities because it conveys one’s feelings and expressions. Arts
are grouped into two: major arts and minor arts. Major arts include painting,
architecture, sculpture, literature, music, and dance; while minor arts include the
decorative arts, the popular arts, the graphic arts, the plastics arts, and industrial
arts. Further, art has three functions which include personal, social, and physical
functions.

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