ART APPRECIATION

Prepared by: Prof. Susan T. Depiedra

MODULE I: UNDERSTANDING ART

OBJECTIVES:

 Define art using personal perspective

INTRODUCTION:

Art is forever present in every generation and every community, in every dwelling there bound to exist art.
As Dudley (1960) said, "Art constitutes one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by man

What indeed is Art?

Various definitions came about but seems like there is no single definition that can encompass all. However, here
are some most commonly cited definitions of art:

1. Art is an attempt to create pleasing forms. (Herbert Read)

2. Art is the enjoyment of forms. (Ernst Cassirer)

3. Art is a man-made object demanding to be experienced aesthetically. (Erwin Panofsky)

4. Art is expression, it is not intention or talent. (Benedetto Croce)

5. Art is the skilled performance or distinctive ability in any activity whatsoever. (James Jarrett)

6. Art is the power to produce a preconceived result by means of consciously controlled and directed action (the
classic definition derived from ancient Roman and Greek concepts)

7. Art molds our actual life of feeling; by giving form to the world, it articulates human nature: sensibility, energy,
passion and mortality. (Suzanne Langer)

8. Art is any embellishment of ordinary living that is achieved with competence and has describable form. (Melville
Herskovits)

Task #1: for 1 paragraph, explain which among the definition speaks for you and why

Criteria

Content 10

Organization & structure 5

LESSON 1: ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

Objectives

➤ Characterize the assumptions of Art

➤ Differentiate Art from Nature

ART IS UNIVERSAL

Whenever and wherever people exist, there is an art-it transcends cultures, races and civilizations. Art is alive and
dynamic and it is present even in the most isolated place in the universe.

Art serve as a Means of Communication: it comes in different ways like music, dances Literary pieces, and
decorative arts, paintings, drawings, sculptures and the like. Hence, art in any form communicate ideas,feelings,and
emotions whether happy or lonely.

Thoughts to Ponder:

 How is art a form of communication?

Communication is the conveying or sharing of ideas or feelings. Communication can be achieved through
various ways: verbally, visually, musically, artistically among others. Works of art throughout history have
communicated different messages, Ideas and feelings. Art can communicate different ideas to the viewer and artists
can make art to communicate their ideas.

Throughout history, people have used art to communicate without relying in words. Art can express political
ideas, reinforce religion, or convey deeply personal thoughts. Art communicates in different ways including through
symbols or allegory, in which a figure stands for an abstract idea

Art is considered as Timeless: it can withstand the test of time-it is still good or great from the time it was
created till its present-day time and into the future. It goes beyond our present time

Art Addresses Human Needs: art exists because it serves the fundamental need of people. Art reflects the lives
of the people how they live in that particular era when arts were created they are a silent witness to a civilization in
the past, in the present and continue on to the future.

ART IS NOT NATURE

Art is man-made construct. Moreover, "art is not nature", it means that it is a creation of man that may
reflect a profound skillfulness and craftsmanship. It is not a natural occurrence, however, man has taught himself to
find art in nature where he learned and perceived logic and pattern in everyday lives

Art is artificial and it is the product of imitation from nature consciously created into a piece of art Whenever people
look around, he finds beauty that he wants to capture and Immortalized through art like the majestic Mount Fuji, the
beautiful sunset of Manila bay, the powerful waterfalls of Batad, Ifugao, the beautiful flower gardens of Baguio
City, the Tower of Paris, the romantic Venice Grand Canal and we even see beauty when a father feeds his child
with so much love in his eyes while looking into his child's eyes.

ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

Art represents human's experiences. John Dewey explains that "art is a dynamic human experience that involves
both the artist and the audience. When the audience encounters art, they are connecting with the artist's experiences
and transforming the meaning of the art with their own
LESSON 2: FUNCTIONS OF ART

 Realize the function of arts in their everyday lives

1. Directly functional-physical/practical

2. Indirectly functional fine arts

AESTHETIC FUNCTION

An artwork functions aesthetically when it becomes instrumental for man to be cognizant of the beauty of nature and
where the real feelings of joy and appreciation to nature's beauty are manifested through appreciation and enjoyment
when in contact with the artwork-how nature is depicted through art and how an event is immortalized through art.

UTILITARIAN FUNCTION

It is considered as utilitarian in function when these things serve the basic needs of people such as food, shelter,
clothing, comfortable environment and other things that make man live with happiness and comfort,

SOCIAL FUNCTION

An art with a social function affects the collective consciousness of a group of people. A common example of this is
the "Bonifacio Monument" in Caloocan City that conveys a battle cry likewise the "Cry of Pugad Lawin" in
Balintawak as well as the "Shrine of EDSA" that commemorates the EDSA Revolution in 1986. These kinds of art
can connect and unite people-foster cooperation and good relation just like the "Noli Me Tangere" of Jose Rizal
where it evoke the feeling of nationalism.

CULTURAL FUNCTION

When an art is used for the transmission of culture from one generation to the next, it has a cultural function. It
serves as an avenue of skills, knowledge, attitudes, customs and traditions of a group of people that can be handed
down from one generation to the next. One example of this is the playing of Gangsa by The Cordillerans, and the
playing of Kulintang in Mindanao; the dancing of the tinikling, the culture of bayanisan

LESSON 3: FORMS OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION

Objectives

 Describe artistic expressions in relation to personal experiences

relevant to the art form

What is an Artistic Expression?

As it relates to arranging forms or sounds, or to words, art involves conscious use of the imagination to create
objects meant to be contemplated or appreciated for their beauty
Sounds,words,movements,forms when arranged through the use of imagination consciously and is intended to be
appreciated as beautiful are considered as “artistic expression”-an activity of the artist in the process of creation

VISUAL ARTS: Space Art

Visual arts occupy spaces either Visual arts occupy spaces either physical or illusionary and visual in nuture like
drawing, painting, print making,sculpture,design,photography, installation among others. For the purpose of the
discussion in this lesson, visual art is delimited to pairing sculpture and architecture

PAINTING: Painting is the expression of ideas and emotions into a two-dimensional visual image through the use of
different media and combined elements on a flat and other surfaces.

SCULPTURE: A sculpture is an artistic expression in three-dimension with the use of hard or plastic materials. It
could be free-standing or sculpture on the round.it could be relief on surfaces or in environments in different forms
using various media like stone, metal, wood, glass among others Relief sculpture could be: Low Relief (Bas-relief)
High for alto-relief) and Sunken relief.

ARCHITECTURE: Architecture is the un of designing and constructing buildings and related artwork such as
communities and open areas It adopts to changes across time, style and space. Architectural designs are living
evidences to the patterns or movements throughout history. An architecture does not only provide shelter, work
areas and the like but it embodies human ideals.

AUDITORY ARTS: Time-driven art

Music is the art of combining vocal, instrumental and environmental sounds to create a piece 'masterpiece according
to cultural standards. it is a reflection of the ideals, emotions and aspirations of the people throughout the history of
mankind.

Poetry is an interplay of words and rhythm that often employs rhyme and meter. It seeks to beautifully project
meaning through words that are strung together to form sounds, images and ideas that sometimes are too abstract to
describe directly.

COMBINED PERFORMING ARTS: Time and Space Art

It is performing at executed in front of an almost exclusively live audience which the actions are precisely planned
to produce a comprehensive sense of drama derived from either a real event (actual life story) or imagined
(fictional). Materials such as backdrop, lighting, music, props among other lend credits to whole performance.