What is Art?
Art is an extremely diverse extent of human activities engaged in creating visual, auditory, or performed
artifacts artworks that express the author's imaginative or technical skill, and are intended to be appreciated for
their beauty or emotional power.
The oldest documented forms of art are visual arts which include images or objects in fields like painting,
sculpture, printmaking, photography and other visual media. Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts
however: like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the practical considerations of use are
essential in a way that they usually are not in another visual art like a painting.
Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (in representation of reality), expression, communication
of emotion or other qualities. Though the definition of what constitutes art is disputed and has changed over time.
General descriptions center on the idea of imaginative or technical skill stemming from human agency and
creation. When it comes to visually identifying a work of art, there is no single set of values or aesthetic traits. A
Baroque painting will not necessarily share much with a contemporary performance piece, but they are both
considered art.
Purposes of Art
Throughout history, art has a great number of different functions making its purpose difficult to grasp in a
single concept, but this does not imply that the concept of art is vague. Thus, it has many unique reasons for being
created. Claude Levi-Strauss developed a partial list of purposes which is provided below
1. Expression of the imagination
Art provides a means to express the imagination in non-grammatic ways that are not tied to the
formality of spoken or written language. Unlike words, which come in sequences and each of which has a
definite meaning. Art provides a range of forms, symbols, and ideas with meanings that are malleable.
2. Ritualistic and symbolic functions
In many culture, art is used in rituals, performances, and dances as a decoration or symbol. While these
often have no specific utilitarian (motivated) purpose, anthropologists know that they often serve a purpose at
the level of meaning within a particular culture. This meaning is not furnished by any one individual but is
often the result of many generations of change, and of a cosmological relationship within the culture.
3. Communication
Art, at its Simplest, is a form of communication, as most forms of communication have an intent or goal-
directed toward another individual. This is a motivated purpose. Illustrative arts, such as scientific illustration,
are a form of art as communication. Maps are another example. However, the content need not be scientific.
Emotions, moods, and feelings are also communicated through art.
4. Art as Entertainment
Art may seek to bring about a particular emotion or mood, for the purpose of relaxing or entertaining the
viewer this is often the function of the art industries such as Motion Pictures and Video Games. Some art is simply
meant to be enjoyable.
5. Political Change
One of the defining functions of early twentieth-century art has been to use visual images to bring about
political change. Art movements that had this goal—Dadaism, Surrealism, Russian constructivism, and Abstract
Expressionism, among others—are collectively referred to as the Avante-Garde arts.
6. Art for Social Causes
Art can be used to raise awareness for a large variety of causes. A number of art activities were aimed at
raising awareness of AIDS, autism, cancer, human trafficking, and a variety of other topics, such as ocean
conservation, human rights in Darfur, murdered and missing Aborigina women, elder abuse, marriage equality and
pollution. Trashion, using trash to make fashion, is one example of using art to raise awareness about pollution.
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7. Art for Psychological and Healing Purposes
Art is also used by art therapists, psychotherapists, and clinical psychologists as art therapy The Diagnostic
drawing series, for example, is used to determine the personality and emotional functioning of a patient. The end
product is not the principal goal in this case, but rather a process of healing, through creative acts, is sought. The
resultant piece of artwork may also offer insight into the troubles experienced by the subject and may suggest
suitable approaches to be used in more conventional forms of psychiatric therapy.
8. Art for Propaganda or Commercialism
Art is often utilized as a form of propaganda and thus can be used to subtly influence popular conceptions
or moods. In a similar way, art that tries to sell a product also influences mood and emotion. In both cases, the
purpose of art here is to subtly manipulate the viewer into a particular emotional or psychological response
toward a particular idea or object.
These are just one writer's categorization of purpose for art: there are many other ways to try to organize the
diverse and complex ideas of art into artificial categories. In addition, the functions of art described above are not
mutually exclusive, as many of them may overlap. For example, art for the purpose of entertainment may also seek
to sell a product (i.e. a movie or video game).
Art and the Aesthetic Experience
We perceive and respond to beauty and respond to beauty. Our response may be awe amazement, wonder
and joy or something else. It might reach an epiphany or peak experience. It might be watching a sunset or taking
in the view from mountaintop and the list goes on. We are pertaining to an aesthetic response that is a response to
the thing's representational qualities whether it is manmade or natural. In philosophy, there is a subfield called
aesthetics that is devoted to the study and theory of the experience of the beautiful. Meanwhile, in psychology,
aesthetics is studied in relation to the physiology and psychology of perception.
Based on Silverman's definition, aesthetic analysis is a careful investigation of the qualities which belong
to objects and events that evoke an aesthetic response. The aesthetic response is the thoughts and feelings initiated
because of the character of these qualities and the particular ways they are organized and experienced
perceptually.
The aesthetic experience that we get from the art is largely different from the aesthetic experience we get
from the world we are not saying that the natural wonder of experience is lesser than of the art world experience.
The art experience is a type of aesthetic experience that also includes aspects, content, and context of our
humanness. When something is made by a human- we know that there is some level of communal experience.
Engaging Aesthetic Analysis
The feelings and thoughts often instilled as a result of contemplating and artwork are primarily based on
what is actually seen in the work. We respond to the aspects of sensory properties, formal and technical properties
of an artwork. Color is an example of a sensory property. Color is considered a kind of form and how the form is
arranged is a formal property. What medium the artwork is made of is an example of a technical property. The
series of questions in aesthetic analysis could be: What do we actually see? How what is seen organized? And what
emotions and ideas are evoked as a result of what has been observed?
Assigning value to art
Art is used to applying judgments of value, as in expressions like "that meal was a work of art" which
implies that the cook is an artist or the art of deception which means the advanced skill of deceiving. It is the use of
the word as a measure of high value that gives the term its flavor of subjectivity
Art should be virtually pleasing or not?
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Making judgments of value requires a basis criticism. In the simplest level, deciding whether an object or
experience is considered art is a matter of finding it to be either attractive or repulsive, though perception is
always colored by experience and is necessarily subjective. It is commonly understood that what is not somehow
visually pleasing cannot be art. However, "good" art is not always or regularly virtually pleasing to the majority of
its viewers. In other words, the prime motivation of artists is not the pursuit of a pleasing arrangement of form and
art often depicts terrible images made for social, moral, or thought-provoking reasons.
For example, the painting above by Francisco Goya shows the Spanish shootings on the third of May 1808.
It is a visual depiction of a firing squad executing several pleading civilians. At the same time, the horrific imagery
demonstrates Goya's keep artistic ability in composition and execution and it produces fitting and political outrage.
More so, the debate continues as to what mode of aesthetic satisfaction, if there is, is required to define "art" The
revision of what is popularly conceived of as being visually pleasing allows for a re-invigoration of and a new
appreciation for the standards of art itself.
Art is often intended to appeal to and connect with human emotion. It can arouse aesthetic and moral
feelings and can be understood as a way of communicating these feelings. Art is considered an exploration of the
human condition or what it is to be hum-am
Factors Involved in the Judgement of Art
Looking at a rainbow inspires emotional reactions such as delight or joy. Visceral responses like disgust
show that sensory detection is connected to facial expressions and behavior like the gag reflex. However, disgust
can be a learned or cultural response as Darwin pointed out. For example, seeing a smear of soup in a man's beard
is disgusting even though either the soup or the beard itself is already disgusting.
Artistic judgments may be linked to emotions and partially embodied in our physical reactions. Seeing a
sublime view of a landscape can give us an awe reaction which may manifest physically as increased heart rate or
widened eyes. These unconscious reactions may partly control or reinforce our judgment that the landscape is
exalted.
Likewise, artistic judgments may be cultural conditioned. Victorians in Britain often saw African sculptures
as ugly but a few decades later, the same audiences saw those sculptures as beautiful. Evaluations of beauty may be
linked to desirability even to sexual desirability. Thus, the judgment of art is linked to judgments of economic,
political or moral value. In a contemporary context, one might judge a Lamborghini to be beautiful because it is
desirable of its status symbol, or we might judge it to be repulsive because it signifies overconsumption and
offends political and moral values.
Judging the value of an artwork is intellectual and interpretative. We are often judging what a thing means
and what it symbolizes, Giving value to an artwork is a complex negotiation of our senses, emotions, intellectual
opinions, will, desires, culture, preferences, values, subconscious behavior, conscious decision, training, instinct,
sociological institutions, and other factors.
Representational Abstract and Non-representational Art
Painting, sculpture and other art forms are divided into categories of representational also known as
figurative art although it doesn't always contain figures, abstract and non-representational art.
Representational art represents objects or events in the real world looking easily recognizable. Abstract art
is based on imagery from the real world. Any work that does not depict anything from the real world is the non-
representational art. It may simply depict shapes, colors, lines etc. but may also express thing that are not visible
such as emotions or feelings.
Summary
Humanities and art have always been part of man's growth and civilization. Since the dawn of time, man
has always tried to express his innermost thoughts and feelings about reality by creating art
During the earlier eras, the definition of art is often aligned with craftsmanship and guilds, but as societies
change, so does the meaning and purpose of art. Art evolved over time beyond practical and religious functions and
became an autonomous expression of the artist's creative process and its surrounding culture.
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Exploring the definition of art is an act of critical thinking. Critical thinking is creative thinking. The critical
thinking process often requires a belief in the question rather than an expectation of hard truths and answers,
through active questioning? Exploration, trial, and error, we uncover multiple perspectives.
ART IS UNIVERSAL
Literature has provided key works of art. Among the most popular ones being taught in school are the two
Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Sanskrit pieces Mahabharata and Ramayana are also staples in this
field. These works, purportedly written before the beginning Of recorded history, are believed to be man's attempt
at recording stories and tales that have been passed on, known, and sung throughout the years, Art has always
been timeless and universal, spanning generations and continents through and through.
In every country and in every generation, there is always art. Oftentimes, people feel that what considered
artistic are only those which have been made a long time ago. This is a misconception, age is not a factor in
determining art, An "...art is not good because it is old, but old because it is good" (Dudley et al. 1960). In the
Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and Francisco Balagtas are IBONG ADARNA not being read because they are
old. Otherwise, works of other Filipinos who have long died would have been required in junior high school too.
The pieces mentioned are read in school and have remained to be with us because they are good. They are liked
and adored because they meet our needs and desires. Florante at Laura never fails to teach high school students
the beauty of love, one that is universal and pure. Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, has always captured
the imagination of the young with its timeless lessons. When we recite the Psalms, we feel in communion with King
David as we feel one with him with his conversation with God. When we listen to a kundiman or perform folk
dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino ancestors whiled away their time in the past. We do not necessarily like
a kundiman for its original meaning. We just like it. We enjoy it. Or just as one of the characters in the movie Bar
Boys thought, kundiman makes one concentrate better.
The first assumption then about the humanities is that art has been crafted by all people regardless of
origin, time, place and that it stayed on because it is liked and enjoyed by people continuously. A great piece at
work will never be obsolete. Some people say that art is art for its intrinsic worth. In John Stuart Mill's
Utilitarianism (1879), enjoyment in the arts belongs to a higher good, one that lies at the opposite end of base
pleasures. Art will always be present because human beings will always express themselves and delight in these
expressions. Men will continue to use art while art persists and never gets depleted
ART IS NOT NATURE
In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear some consumers of local movies remark that these movies
produced locally are unrealistic. They contend that local movies wait around a certain formula to the detriment of
substance and faithfulness to the reality of the movies. These critical minds argue that a good movie must reflect
reality as closely as possible. Is that so?
Paul Cézanne, a French painter, painted a scene from reality entitled well and Grinding Wheel in the Forest
of the Chateau Noir. The said scene is inspired by a real scene in a forest around the Chateau Noir area near Aix in
Cézanne's native Province. Comparing the two, one can see that Cézanne's landscape is quite different from the
original scene. Cézanne has changed some patterns and details from the way they were actually in the photograph.
What he did is not nature. It is art
One important characteristic of art is that it is nature. Art is man's expression of his emotion of nature. Art is man's
way of interpreting nature. Art is not nature. Art is made by man. Whereas nature is a given around us. It is at this
juncture that they can be considered opposites. What we find in nature should not be expected to be present in art
too. Movies are not meant to be a direct representation of reality. They may, according to the movie maker's
perception of reality, be a reinterpretation or even distortion of nature.
This distinction assumes that all of us see nature, perceive its elements in myriad, different, yet ultimately
valid ways. One can only imagine the story of the five blind men who one day argues against each other on what an
elephant looks like. Each of the five blind men was holding a different part of the elephant. The first was touching
the body and thus thought the elephant was like a wall, another touching the beast's ear and was convinced that
the elephant was like a fan. The rest were touching other different parts of the elephant and concluded differently
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based on their perceptions. Art is like each of these men's views of the elephant. It is based on an individual
subjective experience of nature, it is not meant, after all, to accurately define what the elephant is like in nature.
Artists are not expected to duplicate nature just as even scientists with their elaborate laboratories cannot make
nature.
Once this point has been made, a student of humanities can then ask further questions such as: What
reasons might the artist have in creating something? Why did Andres Bonifacio write "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang
Lupa"? What motivation did Juan Luna have in creating his masterpiece, the Spoliarium? I whatever work of art;
one should always ask why t artist made it. What is it that he wants to show?
ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE
Getting this far without a satisfactory definition of art can be quite weird for some for most people, art does
not require a full definition. Art is just experience. By experience, We mean the "actual doing of something" (Dudley
et al., 1960) When one says that he has an experience of something, he often means that he knows what that
something is about. When one claims that he has experienced falling in love, getting hurt, and bouncing back, he in
effect claims that he knows the (sometimes) endless cycle of loving. When one asserts having experienced
preparing a particular recipe, he, in fact, asserts knowing how the recipe is made. Knowing a thing is different from
hearing from others what the said thing is. A radio DJ dispensing advice on love when he himself has not
experienced it does not really know what he is talking about / choreographer who cannot execute a dance steel
himself is bogus. Art is always an experience. Unlike fields of knowledge that involve data, art is known by
experience. A painter cannot claim to know how to paint if he has not tried holding a brush. A sculptor cannot
produce a work of art if a chisel is foreign to him, Dudley et al, (1960) affirmed that art depends on experience, and
if one is to know art, he must know it not as fact or information but as experience."
A work of art then cannot be abstracted from actually doing. In order to know what an artwork is, we have
to sense it, see or hear it, and see AND hear it. To fully appreciate our national hero's monument, one must go to
Rizal Park and see the actual sculpture. In order to know Beyoncé's music, one must listen to it to actually
experience them. A famous story about someone who adores Picasso goes something like this: "Years ago. Gertrude
Stein was asked why she bought the pictures of the then-unknown artist Picasso. 'l like to look at them.' said Miss
Stein (Dudley et al. 1960). At the end of the day, one fully gets acquainted with art if one immerses himself in it in
the case of Picasso, one only learns about Picasso's work by looking at it. That is precisely what Miss Stein did.
In matters of art, the subject perception is primacy. One can read hundreds of reviews about particular
movie, but at the end of the day, until he sees the movie himself, he will be in no position to actually talk about the
movie. He does not know the movie until he experiences it. An important aspect of experiencing art is its being'
highly personal, individual and subjective. In philosophical terms, the perception of art is always a value of
judgment. It depends on who the perceiver is, his tastes, his biases and what he has inside him. Degustibus
nondisputandum est (Matters of taste are not matters of dispute) One cannot argue with another person's
evaluation of art because one's experience can never be known by another.
Finally, one should also underscore that every experience with art is accompanied by some emotion. One
either likes or dislikes, agrees disagrees that a work of art is beautiful. A stage play or motion picture is particularly
one of those art forms that evoke strong emotions from its audience, with experience comes emotions and feelings.
After all, feelings and emotions are concrete proofs that the artwork has been experiencing.
SUMMARY
Throughout history, our kind has always tried to express our innermost thoughts and feelings about reality
through creating art. The three assumptions on art are its universality; it is not being natured, and its need for
experience. Art is present in every part of the globe and in every period. This is what universality means. Art not
being nature is not even attempting to simply mirror nature, is the second assumption about art. Art is always a
creation of the artist and not nature. Finally, without experience, there is no art. Foremost, the artist should be
directly in touch with the art.
Function of Art
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Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess with some accuracy where it came from and when. This
best-case scenario also includes identifying the artist because they are in no small way part of the contextual
equation. You might wonder, "What was the artist thinking when they created this?" when you see a piece of art.
You, the viewer, are the other half of this equation you might ask yourself how that same piece of art makes you
feel as you look at it.
These in addition, to the time period, location of creation, cultural influences, etc. are all factors that should
be considered before trying to assign functions to art. Taking anything out of context can lead to misunderstanding
art and misinterpreting an artist's intentions, which is never something you want to do.
The functions of art normally fall into three categories: physical, social, and personal.
These categories can and often do overlap in any given piece of art. When you're ready to start thinking
about these functions, here's how:
Physical
The physical functions of art are often the easiest to understand. Works of art that are created to perform
some service have physical functions. If you see a Fijian war club, you may assume that, however wonderful the
craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform the physical function of smashing skulls.
A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art that performs a physical function in a tea ceremony. Conversely, a
fur-covered teacup from the Dada movement has no physical function. Architecture, crafts such as welding and
woodworking, interior design, and industrial design are all types of art that serve physical functions.
Social
Art has a social function when it addresses aspects (collective) life as opposed to one person's point of view
or experience. Viewers can often relate in some way to social art and are sometimes even influenced by it.
For example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this art exert
influence on the German population? Decidedly, so as did political and patriotic posters in Allied countries during
the same time. Political art, often designed to deliver a certain message, always carries a social function the fur-
covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, carried a social function in that it protested World War I (and nearly
everything else in life).
Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions and often this art comes in the form of
photography The Realists figured this out early in the 19th century. American photographer Dorothea Lange
(1895-1965) along with many others often took pictures of people in conditions that are difficult to see and think
about.
Additionally, satire performs social functions. Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746-1828) and English
portrait artist William Hogarth (1697-1764) both went this route with varying degrees of success at motivating
social change with their art. Sometimes the possession of specific pieces of art in a community can elevate that
community's status. A stabile by American kinetic artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976), for example, can be a
community treasure and point of pride.
Personal
The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are many types of personal
functions and these are highly subjective. Personal functions of art are not likely to be the same from person to
person,
An artist may create a piece out of a need for self— expression or gratification. They might also or instead
want to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only trying to provide an aesthetic
experience, both for self and viewers A piece might be meant to entertain. Provoke thought, or even have no
particular effect at all.
Personal function is vague for a reason. From artist to artist and viewer to viewer, one's experience with is
different, knowing the background and behaviors of an artist helps when interpreting the personal function of
their pieces
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Art may also serve the personal function of controlling its viewers, much like social art. It can also perform
religious service or acknowledgment. Art has been used to attempt to exert magical control, change the seasons,
and even acquire food. Some art brings order and peace. Some create chaos. There is virtually no limit to how art
can be used.
Finally sometimes, art is used to maintain a species. This can be seen in rituals of the animal kingdom and
in humans themselves. Biological functions obviously include fertility symbols (in any culture), but there are many
ways humans adorn their bodies with art in order to be attractive to others and eventually mate.
Philosophical Perspectives of the Art
Art as an Imitation
Plato's The Republic paints a picture of artists as imitators and art as mere imitations. 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 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 emotions rather than the rational faculty Of men (2) They imitate rather than lead one to reality.
Poetry rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds the rationality of people. Art is just an imitation of an
imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also just an imitation of reality in the World of Forms.
Art is to be 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 art 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 the
Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes (1)Art allows for the experience of pleasure (horrible
experience can be made an object of humor) (2)Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach its audience
things about life (cognitive).
Art as a Representation
Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Judgment 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 said 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. "l like this painting"
2. "This painting is beautiful"
-1-The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective),
-2-while the second is an aesthetic judgment (objective).
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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 a huge role in communication to its audience's emotions 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 the feelings and emotions
of people from the past and present.
Summary
Art has remained relevant in our daily lives because most of it has played some form of function for man.
Since the dawn of civilization, art has been at the forefront of giving color to man's existence. The different
functions of art may be classified as personal, social, or physical. An art's function is personal if it depends on the
artist herself or sometimes still, the audience of the art. There is a social function in art if and when it has a
particular social function when it addresses a collective need of a group of people. Physical function, finally, has
something to do with direct, tangible uses of art not all products of art had a function. This should not disqualify
thorn as art though as mentioned and elucidated by some of the most important thinkers iv history, art may serve
either imitation, representation, a disinterested judgment or simply a communication of emotion.
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