GE1701

Aesthetics: The Study of Art and Beauty

The Field of Aesthetics

The word “aesthetics” is from the Greek word “aesthesis” which means “________________________”.

Alexander Baumgarten (1714-1762) – The word “aesthetics” was first employed by

Baumgarten to mean

“___________________________________________________.” Particularly, he

used it to denote ___________________________________________, as distinct

from the abstract where content is communicated in sensory forms.

Pinterest

Aesthetics and its definition of art

Philosophy _______________________________________________________________

of beauty _______________________________________________________________

and art _______________________________________________________________

Anthropology of art – studies and analyses the wide range of materials and objects produced by people
around the world. These materials include sculpture, masks, paintings, textiles, baskets, pots, weapons, and
the human body itself.

Art

is the creation - by the artists in their creativity

and appreciation - ______________________________________________________

of beautiful - ______________________________________________________

human-made objects. - ______________________________________________________

Two Ways of Considering Beauty

RELATIVE ABSOLUTE
“
“ “
“

Clipart Library Pinterest

SUBJECT OBJECT

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Division of Aesthetics

Theory of Beauty – Nature of ______________________

Theory of Art - _________________

Theory of Art Criticism - _________________________

Botticelli paid much attention to her hair and hairstyle,

which reflected his interest in the way women wore
their long hair in the late fifteenth century. He gave
Venus an idealized face which is remarkably free of
blemishes, and beautifully shaded her face to
distinguish a lighter side and a more shaded side.

Retrieved from http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/

last Decemeber 14, 2017.

Aesthetic Terms

Categories of Value

Logical – ______________________

Ethical – ______________________

Aesthetic – ____________________

Aesthetics Values

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Aesthetics Values According to the Senses

SENSES SENSING: SENSE-DATA FORMS OF ART

EYE Seeing: ______________________ Visual Art: ______________________

EARS Hearing: _____________________ Auditory Art: ______________________

NOSE Smelling: _____________________ Olfactory Art: ______________________

TONGUE Tasting: ______________________ Culinary Art: ______________________

SKIN Touching: ____________________ Tactile Art: ______________________

IMAGINATION Imagining: ____________________ Imaginative Art: ______________________

SENSE-DATA BEAUTIFUL UGLY

COLOR Picturesque Blur

SHAPE Pretty

SIZE Piquant

MOTION

SOUND Droll

ODOR Fragrant

TASTE Delicious

TOUCH Harsh

IMAGE Fantastic

Filipino sense of beauty: _______________________________________________

Horror Vacui is a Latin derived term which means “fear of emptiness”.

It was Mario Praz (1896 – 1982), an Italian-born critic of art and literature, who used “horror vacui” to assail the
Victorian fetish for cluttering up designs.
Horror Vacui. Retrieved from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/horror-vacui-the-fear-of-emptiness last December 14,
2017.

Horror Vacui is obviously seen in colorful designs in Philippine arts: street, indigenous, festivals, costumes,
vehicle and cart designs, and fine arts.

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Hierarchy of Beauty

Beauty – Ugly

14 Degrees of Aesthetic Value

SUBLIME
B
GRAND
E
ELEGANT
A
CHARMING
U
COMIC
T
TRAGIC
Y
TERRIBLE

SCARY

HORRIBLE
U
BIZARRE
G
POIGNANT
L
PERVERSE
Y
RUSTIC

PATHETIC

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Venus of Willendorf, also called Woman of Willendorf or Nude Woman,

Upper Paleolithic female figurine found in 1908 at Willendorf, Austria, that is perhaps
the most familiar of some 40 small portable human figures (mostly female) that had
been found intact or nearly so by the early 21st century. (Roughly 80 more exist as
fragments or partial figures.) The statuette—made of oolitic limestone tinted with red
ochre pigment—is dated to circa 28,000–25,000 BCE. At 4 3/ 8 inches (11.1 cm) high,
it was easily transportable by hand. Both its size (portability) and the material from
which it was made (not found in Willendorf) are indicators that the artifact was made
elsewhere and carried to Willendorf. Its arms, though visible, are negligible and
crudely depicted. Though a head is present, the only detail to be seen is a pattern
representing a braid or cap; there are no facial features. Feet too are missing and
were probably never part of the overall design.

It has been suggested that she is a fertility figure, a good-luck totem, a mother goddess symbol, or
an aphrodisiac made by men for the appreciation of men. Further, one researcher hypothesized that it was
made by a woman and that “[w]hat has been seen as evidence of obesity or adiposity is actually
the foreshortening effect of self-inspection.” Although much has been written about the Willendorf figurine, little
other than the details given in the paragraph above can be stated as fact. – Kathleen Kuiper

Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-of-Willendorf last December 18, 2017.

In this work, rightly considered now one of the

highest achievements of the Baroque, Bernini put
not only his theological competence but also that
theatrical style that was so peculiar of him, an
artistic approach directed to give the viewers the
impression that a special and incredible event, in
fact a miraculous event, is happening right here
and right now, before our very eyes, so that we
can believe and nurture our faith. In fact, Bernini’s
statue is what we would nowadays call
an installation. It is made of white marble, but
placed within an edicola decorated with ceiling
frescoes, from which a rain of golden steel rays
comes down on the Saint. The marble group is
like floating in air, and a child-like angel is about
to penetrate Teresa’s heart with an arrow.
Bernini’s rendering of Teresa’s description of her
angelic visions resorts to explicit sexual symbolism. Bernini visualized the spiritual pain that Teresa
describes in her writing with a physical experience that has clear sexual overtones; however, Bernini’s work
is in fact very faithful to Teresa’s own description. In her autobiography, which was widely read in
Rome, Teresa of Avila recalls a vision in which an angel appeared before her and pierced her heart with a
golden spear. Teresa describes being repeatedly penetrated by the angel, setting her on fire with a love for
God, and causing her to moan in ecstatic bursts of pain.

I saw in his hands a long golden spear […] This, he plunged into my heart several
times into my heart, that it penetrated to my entrails. […] The pain was so severe
that it made me utter several moans, and yet such pain was so exceedingly sweet
that one cannot possibly desire it to cease. (St Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582)

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It is this scene on which Bernini’s statue is based. His angel grips his arrow, preparing to strike again,
looking down at the swooning Teresa with a sly smile. Teresa lies overwhelmed beneath, her eyes and
mouth in ovals of euphoria, her rippled habit mimicking the spasms charging through her body.

Retrieved from https://www.romaexperience.com/rome-blog/2013/5/24/the-spiritual-orgasm-of-saint-teresa last December 14, 2017.

Japanese Sense of Beauty

“Small is beautiful.”

Examples:
Bonsai, Poems (haikus), Zen Painting (minimalism)

The Filipino Aesthetic Worldview

Analysis of Aesthetic Terms According to Filipino Anthropology

Covar – ______________________________________________________ of Labas and Loob

Jocano – __________________________________________

Worldview – A way people look at the universe. People’s picture of the universe
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Culture – A system of symbols and meanings

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Language – contains words that carries culture.

Analysis of the meaning of words in a language is analysis of the form of culture on which lies people’s worldview

Dimensions of Filipino Worldview

1. ______________________ Dimension
2. ______________________ Dimension
3. ______________________ Dimension
4. ______________________ Dimension
5. ______________________ Dimension
6. ______________________ Dimension
7. ______________________ Dimension
8. ______________________ Dimension
9. ______________________ Dimension
10. ______________________Dimension

Ganda (Beauty)

The primary Filipino aesthetic term

“Sum total of katangian (traits) of anything that _________________________________________________

Relative term since its use defends on the judgement of the beholder

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When applied to person, ganda involves both the ______________________ (ayos) and
______________________ (ugali).

Ganda is about the “totality of the person,” both his pagkataong panlabas (physical appearance) and his
pagkataong panloob (social behavior).

Ganda and buti (good) are interchangeable terms so that whatever is maganda is also mabuti. Aesthetic taste
involves moral judgement.

Aesthetics of Filipino Personhood (Estetika ng Pagkataong Filipino)

Categories of Ganda

The Phenomenon of Ganda

As an affective Phenomenon – Ganda is judged in terms of _______________________________________ it

evokes from the perceiver.

Nakakabighani: Ganda evokes _____________________________

Nakakaakit: It _______________________
Nakakatawag ng Pansin: It calls ____________________________

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As an olfactory sense phenomenon – Ganda is judged through ___________________________________

Nananatili o namamalagi: Ganda makes _____________________________________ (amoy bagong paligo)

Malinis: It feels or smells clean (malinis haplusin/amoy malinis)
Sariwa: It __________________________________________ (amoy-sariwa/amoy pinipig)

As behavioral, ethical phenomenon – Ganda is judged in terms of

________________________________________________________________________________ (ugali)

Mahinhin: It is ________________________________________________________
Mabait: It is good-natured, ___________________________
Magalang: It is respectful or polite

As physical phenomenon – ganda is judged as __________________________________________________

Makinis ang balat: smooth skin

Maamo ang mukha: gentle, ________________________
Matipuno ang katawan: Healthy body
Matikas ang tindig: _________________________

As a capability phenomenon – Ganda is judged as ________________________________________________

Masipag magtrabaho: __________________________

Magaling magluto: A good cook
Mahusay kumanta: a good singer

References:

Miller, E. (2004). Introduction to aesthetics. Retrieved from http://users.rowan.edu/~millere/Introduction

%20 to%20Aesthetics.htm
JocanLanda F (2001). “Aesthetic Dimension,” in Filipino Worldview, Quezon City: PUNLAD Research
House, 2001. pp.135-144.
Lloren, Gregg S (2011). “Horror Vacui and the Pinoy Inclination for Filling Up Every Inch of Space” in
https://www.academia.edu.
Birth of Venus. Retrieved from http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/ last December 14,
2017.
Ecstasy of St. Therese. Retrieved from https://www.romaexperience.com/rome-blog/2013/5/24/the-spiritual-
orgasm-of-saint-teresa last December 14, 2017.

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