An artist is generally defined as an art practitioner such as a painter, sculptor, choreographer, dancer,

writer, poet, musicians etc. who produces or creates indirectly-functional arts with aesthetic value using
imagination. Thus, they provide us paintings, sculptures, dances, music, literary pieces, etc. as the means
of provoking our thoughts, ideas, and emotions that are necessary to discover ourselves and our being.

On the other hand, an artisan is a craftsman such as carpenter, plumber, blacksmith, weaver,
embroiderer, etc. who produces directly functional and/or decorative arts. They help us in meeting our
basic needs such as food, clothing, dwelling, furniture, kitchen utensils, and everything that makes our
life easy are crafted by artisans.

Artist

A formal art study would be an advantage but it is not a requirement to practice art. Acquiring or
learning skills in art is not just taught and learned in a formal art school but also acquired informally. You
may learn to play the guitar not from a formal workshop but from the neighborhood. Yet, an artist may
learn not entirely from a schooled perspective but can be developed later in life through curiosity,
hobby, or experiences.

Most artists feel free in making their art. They have the real drive to develop a particular artwork, most
often, regardless of potential market and of how people would respond to its message-they may love,
like, embrace or the other way around. Burton supported this claim when he said that “an artist” will do
whatever it takes to make the work ‘right’. the result may not be pretty; it may even be painful, but it
will be honest” (2011). He added that indeed, real Art moves people. Hence, Stillmunks said that “the
real artist touches the heart and soul of the viewer…. an artist takes something out of his or her heart
and soul and places it on that page, canvas, song, or whatever” (Burton:2011)

Artisan

People have different perceptions on the importance of artists and artisans in our society. They are the
same in the sense that they bot develop works of Art; hence, they are also different since they address
different needs of human beings.

Like the artists, artisans’ works are also noticed and valued-only in different ways and levels. The
relevance and usefulness of the artisans works make them essential in our everyday living. A great part
of our survival greatly depends on the works that the artisans produce. The utilitarian function of
artisans’ works give us comfort, convenience, ease and happiness in living everyday lives. From our basic
needs to our wants, artisans are there to facilitate easy living.

Conclusion

Artists and artisans are the pillars of society. We need artists as much as we need artisans. They both
serve people for a long time by providing us directly functional and indirectly functional arts.

Being an artist and an artisan both require skills and technical competence. It is not important to
distinguish which of them we need the most because they serve society in different ways. The sharing
and preservation of our culture’s dynamism greatly depend on them.
What is the difference between artist and artisan?

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In what ways artists and artisans serve society? How about artisans?

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Check whether the work is from an artist or artisan

Work or Form Artist Artisan

Poem

Furniture

Building

Dance

Painting

Clothes

Shoes

Sculpture

Farming tools

Wall decors

Impressionism (1860s-1880)

The movement away from art as imitation, or representation, probably started in France with the work
of the impressionists in the 19th century. The word impressionist itself is suggestive. The artist is not just
painting a representation, because the artwork is giving a personal impression of what is seen. The artist
is not trying to be a photographic realist.

Fauvism and Expressionism(1890-1939)

Fauvism was the first 20th century movement in the modern art led by Matisse and Rouault. The group
called ‘Les Fauves’ or the “The Wild Beast” used wild colors and depictions of primitive objects and
people. This movement became known as Expressionism and spread notably to Germany. Comparing
the art movements of Fauvism and Expressionism is like looking at two sides of a coin. Both rest on the
value of color to express joy, the artists of the Expressionist Movement manipulated it to convey the
darker side of human emotions, ending up with a much different result.
Cubism (1907-1914)

Cubism was the first abstract art developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubism has been
considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century. In cubist artwork, organic forms were
broken down into a series of geometric shapes and reassembled in an abstracted form. Instead of
depicting objects from one viewpoint, cubist artists view it from many angles selected from sight,
memory, and movement.

Cubism had two distinct stages: the analytic cubism and synthetic cubism. In Analytic Cubism, the artist
reduced natural forms to their basic geometric parts and reconstructed it within a geometric framework
in a two-dimensional picture plane. Synthetic Cubism explores the use of foreign objects as abstract
signs. The use of collage on a painting is one good example of a Synthetic Cubism.

Abstract Expressionism (1940s-1960s)

Abstract Expressionism was an American post-world war II art movement that emerged in the 1940s and
flourished in the 50s. abstract expressionism is regarded by many as the golden age of American art and
the first American movement to achieve international influence. Although artists in this movement vary
greatly in style, yet they all share the same outlook in the freedom of individual expression.

Dada(1916-1923)

Dada was an artistic and literary movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland in the early 20th century. It
emerged out of negative reaction to the horrors of world war I and rationalism, which many thought
had brought war about. Dada was a sort of revolution against the very concept that art rejected reason
and logic, irrationality and intuition. Marcel Duchamp, one of the leading dada artist, used ready-mades
or mass-produced objects. One of his well-known works is the “Fountain”, a urinal, turned upside down,
which he submitted to an exhibition in 1917.

Optical Art(1960s) Also known as Op Art, a style of visual art popularized in the 1960s. the term is used
to describe artworks which seem to swell and vibrate through their use of optical illusion. This method
of painting concerns with the interaction between illusion and picture plane that produces dramatic
visual effects that are difficult for the eye to resolve. Most of the known Optical Art were created only in
black and white. Op art is a dynamic visual art stemming from a discordant figure-ground relationship
that causes the two planes to be in contradictory and the creation of effects through the use of pattern
and line.

Photorealism 1960s-1970s

A figurative movement that is primarily applied to paintings from the United States art movement that
began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. the subject matter, usually everyday scenes, is portrayed in an
extremely detailed exacting style. It is also called super realism, especially when referring to sculpture. It
is the genre of painting using cameras and photographs to gather visual information and to create a
painting that appears to be photographic.

Minimalism 1960s-1970s

Also called ABC art, minimal art, reductivism, and rejective art. It is a school of abstract painting and
sculpture that emphasizes extreme simplification of form and a literal objective approach. Minimal
sculpture is composted of extreme simple, monumental geometric forms made of fiberglass, plastic,
sheet metal, or aluminum, either left raw or solidly painted.