Definition of arts by popular thinkers
Plato
art is which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the world.
Harmony/ beauty
John Dewey
Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind-one that demands its own satisfaction and fulfilling.
Sense of satisfaction
Oscar Wilde
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.
An individualism
Elbert Hubbard
Art is not a thing it is a way.
A way of expressing feelings and emotions.
Nietzsche
Art is essentially the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence.
Sense of purpose
4 common essentials of art
Art must be man-made.
Art must be creative, not imitative.
Art must benefit and satisfy a man.
Art is expressed through a certain medium.
Humanities
Literature
Music
Art
Art appreciation
An attitude towards art
Creativity
Refers to the art of combining or reordering existing materials so that a new object is obtained.
Creating something new.
Assumptions of art
1. Art is universal- art is for everyone. Art is everywhere. It has no boundaries and rises above
traditions, races, and civilization.
2. Art is not nature- art is man made.
3. Art involves experience- art reflects our experiences so in order to create an art we need to
experience it first.
Function, scope, and origin of art
it must satisfy a particular need:
FINANCIAL
PERSONAL
SOCIAL
PHYSICAL
FOUR MAIN FUNCTIONS
AESTHETIC FUNCTION- for the beauty and enjoyment.
UTILITARIAN FUNCTION- art must have a purpose and should be used.
CULTURAL FUNCTION- art transmit and preserves skills and knowledge.
SOCIAL FUNCTION- learns to love and help each other. (Social media)
Scope of art
Fine arts/ independent/ aesthetics
Made primarily for beauty and aesthetics.
Involves sense of sight and hearing.
Practical art/ utilitarian/ useful
Intended for practical use.
Graphic art
Paintings, drawings, photography, graphic process
2 dimensional
Plastic art
Visual art/ 3D
Example: architecture, city physical planning
Minor arts
Include decorative arts, popular arts, graphic arts, and industrial art.
Simple
Major arts
Include paintings, architecture, sculpture, literature, music, and dance.
Complex
According to the purpose
Include practical arts, useful art, liberal arts, fine arts, major arts, and minor arts.
It has a purpose or reason why it’s made.
According to media and forms
Include plastic arts, phonetic art, kinetic art, pure art, and mixed art.
ORIGIN OF ART
The history of art began with that of humanity. Art dates to the time when superstitions and
beliefs in the spirits are still very common in every culture.
Indigenous art
In the form of dancing, painting, music, and poetry accompanied ancient rituals and
ceremonies.
Rituals and ceremonies.
Tribalist culture
Often wore body painting during ceremonies. Cave painting and drawing are believed to
reflect ancient religious belief and vision.
Cave paintings
Stone carving
Creativity
Is the art of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality.
New ideas and product.
Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing
Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find
hidden patterns.
Imaginations
Types of arts
Painting Music
Architecture Cinema
Sculpture
Literature
MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE
Medium- the material used by an artist.
1. Visual arts- are those mediums that can be seen and occupy space.
a. Dimensional or two-dimensional art- paintings, drawings, printmaking, photography
b. Three- dimensional art- sculpture, architecture, landscape, community planning,
industrial design, and crafts
2. Auditory- are those mediums whose can be heard, and which are expressed.
Ex. Music, and literature
3. Combined art- mediums can be both seen and heard, and which exist in both space and
time.
Ex. Dance, opera, drama
Technique- the way the artist controls his medium to achieve the desired effect.
Medium of visual art
Painting- is the art of creating meaningful effects on a flat surface using pigment.
a. Watercolor- difficult to handle because producing warm and rich tones using this
medium proves to be a challenge.
b. Fresco- is a painting method done on a moist plaster surface with colors ground in water
or lime water mixture.
c. Tempera paints- are mineral pigments with egg yolk or egg white and ore.
d. Pastel- is a stick of dried pastel made of pigment ground with chalk and compound with
gum water.
e. Encaustic- is one of the early mediums used by the Egyptians for painting portraits on
mummy cases.
f. Oil- is one of the most expensive arts activities today because of the prohibitive cost of
materials. The heaviest painting medium.
g. Acrylic- used popularly by contemporary painters because of the transparency and quick
drying characteristics of watercolor and flexibility of oil combined.
Mosaic- is the art of putting together small pieces of colored stone or glass called “tesserae” to
create an image.
Stained glass- an artwork which is common in gothic cathedrals and churches. Combining small
pieces of colored glass, held together by hand or lead.
Tapestry- is a fabric produced by hand weaving colored threads upon a wrap.
Drawing- is usually done on paper using pencil, pen and ink, or charcoal.
Bistre- is a brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood, and often used for drawing, and
often used in pen and wash drawings.
Crayons- are pigments bound by wax and compressed into painted sticks used for drawing.
Printmaking- is a fabric produces by hand making.
Lithography- is a surface printing done from an almost smooth surface which has been treated
chemically or mechanically so that some surface areas will print, and others will not.
Sculpture- is a work of art which uses stone, jade, ivory, mental, plaster, clay, glass, and wood.
Architecture- an art of designing a building and supervising its construction.
