LESSON A Art Appreciation: Creativity, Imagination, and Expression Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: eC aC aa cel aac UIC Colima ool te St ola eo TeteaT a] Pte ie ate CiNetecnue vite ea une aera cenne ntl eel eouren Me eraa mech seen Ret scatctecs It takes an artist to make art. One may perceive beauty on a daily basis. However, not every beautiful thing that can be seen or experienced may truly be called a work of art. Art is a product of man’s creativity, imagination, and expression. No matter how perfectly blended the colors of a sunset are and no matter how extraordinarily formed mountains are, nature is not considered art simply because it is not made by man. Not even photographs or sketches of nature, though captured or drawn by man, are works of art, but mere recordings of the beauty in nature (Collins & Riley, 1931). An artwork may be inspired by nature or other works of art, but an artist invents his own forms and patterns due to what he perceives as beautiful and incorporates them in creating his masterpiece. Perhaps not everyone can be considered an artist, but surely, all are spectators of art. In deciding what pair of shoes to buy, we carefully examine all possible choices within our budget and purchase the one that satisfies our beauty and practical Standards. We are able to distinguish what is fine and beautiful from what is not and what is good quality from poor. This gives us a role in the field of art appreciation. Let's Get Started In one of your encounters with art through museum visits, musicals, and plays, among others, have you ever felt disconnected from an artwork? Was there a point in time when you did not understand what message the art was trying to convey? If yes, write the name of the artwork in the box and attach an image of the artwork, if possible, Explain why you think you did or did not understand the art using the space provided on the next page. 13Let’s Get Down to Business Art Appreciation as a Way of Life Jean-Paul Sartre, the role of art as a cre: and perspective, and a famous French philosopher of the twentieth century, n described ative work that depicts the world in a completely different light is recognized. Hence, Tefining one's 1 ply understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses (Collins & Riley, 1931 z 14In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also exercise and develop his taste for things that are fine and beautiful. This allows individuals to make intelligent choices and decisions in acquiring necessities and luxuries, knowing what gives better value for time or money while taking into consideration the aesthetic and practical value (Collins & Riley, 1931). This continuous demand for aesthetically valuable things influences the development and evolution of art and its forms. Frequenting museums, art galleries, performing arts theaters, concert halls, or even malls that display art exhibitions that are free in admission during leisure time will not only develop an understanding of the art, but will also serve as a rewarding experience. Learning to appreciate art, no matter what vocation or profession you have, will lead to a fuller and more meaningful life (Collins & Riley, 1931). The Role of Creativity in Art Making Creativity requires thinking outside the box. It is often used to solve problems that have never occurred before, conflate function and style, and simply make life a more unique and enjoyable experience. In art, creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another. We say something is done creatively when we have not yet seen anything like it or when it is out of the ordinary. A creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another artist's work. He does not imitate the lines, flaws, colors, and patterns in recreating nature. He embraces originality, puts his own flavor into his work, and calls it his own creative piece. Yet, being creative nowadays can be quite challenging. What you thought was your own unique and creative idea may not what it seems to be after extensive research and that someone else has coincidentally devised before the idea in another part of the world. For instance, the campaign ad “It's More Fun in the Philippines” used by the Department of Tourism (DOT) boomed popularity in 2011, but later on it was found out that it was allegedly plagiarized from Switzerland's tourism slogan “It's More Fun in Switzerland,” back in 1951. In DOT's defense, former DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. claimed that it was “purely coincidental.” Thus, creativity should be backed with careful research on related art to avoid such conflicts. Figure 6. "I's More Fun in the Philippines" by ‘The Misadventures of Majaf Art ' Art as a Product of 'magination, Imagination as a Product of Where do you think famous writers, painters, and musicians get IMAGINATION! their ideas? Where do ideas in making Creative solutions begin? It all starts in the human mind, it all begins with imagination German Physicist Albert Einstein who had made Significant and major Contributions in science and humanity demonstrated that knowledge is actually derived from imagination. He emphasized this idea through his words: wae come OAV | Caw IVENT A MACHINE Tomar wie tare us instanton 10 fur pace tm THe UNveRce YoU want t0"00 at tme sr€e0 of Twovont “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination ey embraces the entire world, and =aiisswese SS all there ever will be to know and Wier understand,” Figure 7. Bob Wierdsma, “Imagination” Imagination is not constrained b That is why people rely on curiosi endless possibilities. In an artist's mind sits a vast gallery of artworks. An al be a real thing, but can be Something that is imaginar for example a musician who thinks of a tune in his head makes it an imaginary tune, rtwork does not need to ry (Collingwood, 1938). Take in his head. The making of this tune an-imaginative creation, an imaginary art Or writes down the In the same way that imagination produces art, art als Imagine being in an empty room Surrounded by blank, whit you be inspired to work in such a place? Often, you will find and libraries with paintings hung or Sculptures and other pi $0 inspires imagination. te wallls, and floor. Would Coffee shops, restaurants, leC8s of art placed around 16UNIT the room to add beauty to the surroundings. This craving and desire to be surrounded by beautiful things dates back to our early ancestors (Collins & Riley, 1931). Cave walls are surrounded by drawings and paintings of animals they hunted: wild boars, reindeers, and bison (Figure 8). Clays were molded and stones were carved into forms that resemble men and women; burial jars were created with intricate designs on them. These creative pieces were made not only because they were functional to men, but also because beauty gave them joy (Collins & Riley, 1931). igure 8. Thomas Quine, "Cave Paintings” Art as Expression There may have been times when you felt something is going on within you, you try to explain it but you do not know how. You may only be conscious about feeling this sort of excitement, fear, or agitation, but you know that just one word is not enough to describe the nature of what you truly feel. Finally, you try to release yourself from this, tormenting and disabling state by doing somethirig, which is called expressing oneself (Collingwood, 1938). Suppose this feeling’is excitement. It is frustrating to contain such feeling, so you relieve it by expressing through shouting or leaping in excitement. An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he expresses it. Robin George Collingwood, an English philosopher who is best known for his work in aesthetics, explicated in his publication The Principles of Art (1938) that what an artist does to an emotion is not to induce it, but express it. Through expression, he is able to explore his own emotions and at the same time, create something beautiful out of them. Collingwood further illustrated that expressing emotions is something 7different from describing emotions. In his example, explicitly saying “lam angry” is not an expression of an emotion, but a mere description. There is no need in relating or referring to a specific emotion, such as anger, in expressing one’s emotion. Description actually destroys the idea of expression, as it classifies the emotion, making it ordinary and predictable. Expression, on the other hand, individualizes. An artist has the freedom to express himself the way he wants to. Hence, there is no specific technique in expression. This makes people's art not a reflection of what is outside or external to them, but a reflection of their inner selves. There are countless ways of expressing oneself through art. The following list includes, but is not limited to, popular art expressions. Visual Arts Creations that fall under this category are those that appeal to the sense of sight and are mainly visual in nature. Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in the way that they perceived them (Collins & Riley, 1931). We will not be too strict on the definition since there are other artistic disciplines that also involve a visual aspect, such as performance arts, theater, and applied arts, that will be discussed in detail later on. Visual arts is the kind of art form that the population is most likely more exposed to, but its variations are so diverse—they range from sculptures that you see in art galleries to the last movie you saw. Some mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings, letterings, printing, Figure 9. John La Farge, “Camelia in Old Chinese sculptures, digital imaging, and more. yveoe of Bias Cacouer Cable Film Film refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an illusion of movement. Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value and is considered as both an art and an industry. Films can be created by using one or a combination of some or all of these techniques: motion-picture camera (also known as movie camera), animation techniques, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), and more. Filmmaking simulates experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope of our imagination as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewers. 18The art of filmmaking is so complex it has to take into account many important elements such as lighting, musical score, visual effects, direction, and more. That is why in famous film festivals and awards such as the Metro Manila Film Festival and Osears, a long list of categories is considered to recognize excellence in the art of filmmaking. Performance Art Performance art is a live art and the artist's medium is mainly the human body which he or she uses to perform, but also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound. It usually consists of four important elements: time, where the performance took place, the performer's or performer's body, and a relationship between the audience and the performer(s) (Moma Learning, n.d.). The fact that performance art is live makes it intangible, which means it cannot be bought or traded as a commodity, unlike the previously discussed art expressions. Figure 10. Performance Art Poetry Performance Poetry is an art form where the-artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera, but expresses them through words. These words are carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to stimulate strong emotions of joy, anger, love, sorrow, and the list goes on. It uses a word's emotional, musical, and spatial values that go beyond its literal meaning to narrate, emphasize, argue, or convince. These words, combined with movements, tone, volume, and intensity of the delivery, add to the artistic value of the poem. Some poets even make poems out of their ‘emotions picked up from other works of art, which in turn produce another work of art through poetry. 19Architecture As discussed, art is the pursuit and creation of beautiful things while architecture is the making of beautiful buildings. However, not all buildings are beautiful. Some buildings only embody the functionality they need, but the structure, lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully expressed. Thus, not all buildings can be considereg architecture. Take, for example, the Grand Théatre de Bordeaux (Figure 11) where the functionality of the theater remains, but the striking balance of the lines, colors, and shapes completes the masterpiece. Buildings should embody these three important elements—plan, construction, and design—if they wish to merit the title architecture (Collins & Riley, 1931). } Figure 11. The Grand Théatre de Bordeaux Dance Dance is a series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music accompaniment. It has been an age-old debate whether dance can really be considered an art form, but here we primarily describe dance as a form of expression. Dancing is a creative form that allows people to fresly express themselves. It has no rules. You may say that choreography does not allow this, but in art expression, dancers are not confined to set steps and rules but are free to create and invert their own movements as long as they deemthem graceful and beautiful. Figure 12. Olga Spessiva in Swan Lake Costu™ 20Literary Art igure 13. William Shakespeare Theater Figure 14. Macbeth Artists who practice literary arts use words—not paint, musical instruments, or chisels—to express themselves and communicate emotions to the readers. However, simply becoming a writer does not make one a literary artist. Simply constructing a succession of sentences in a meaningful manner is not literary art. Literary art goes beyond the usual professional, academic, journalistic, and other technical forms of writing. It focuses on writing using a unique style, not following a specific format or norm. It may include both fiction and non-fiction such as novels, biographies, and poems. Examples of famous literary artists and their works include The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Theater uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience. Theater art performances usually follow a_ script, though they should not be confused with literary arts. Much like in filmmaking, theater also considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting, sound effects, musical score, scenery, and props. The combination of these elements is what gives the strongest impression on the audience and the script thus becomes a ‘Tminor element. Similar to performance art, since theater is also a live performance, the Participation of the viewer is an important element in theater arts. Some genres of theater include-drama, musical, tragedy, comedy, and improvisation. 2122 Applied Arts Applied arts is ‘Incorporating elements of style and design to everyday items With the aim of increasing their aesthetical value. Artists in this field bring beauty, charm, and comfort into many things that are useful in everyday life (Collins & Riley, 1931), Industrial design, interior design, fashion design, and graphic design are Considereq applied arts. Applied is often compared to fine arts, where the latter is chiefly concerneq on aesthetic value Through exploration and expression of ideas, consideration Of the Reeds, and careful choice of materials and techniques, artists are able to combine functionality and style. Let's Wrap It Up Art is a product of a man’s creativity, imagination, and expression. An artwork may be inspired by nature or other works of art, but an artist invents his own forms and patterns due to what he perceives as beautiful and incorporates them in creating his masterpiece. Perhaps not everyone can be considered an artist, but surely, all are ‘Spectators of art, which gives us all a role in the field of art appreciation. Refining one's ability to appreciate art allows him to deeply understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses. Creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another. A creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another artist's work. He does not imitate the lines, flaws, colors, and patterns in recreating nature. While through imagination, an artist is able to craft something bold, something new, and something better in the hopes of creating something that will stimulate change. In the same way that imagination produces art, art also inspires imagination. Lastly, through expression, an artist is able to explore his own emotions while at the same time, create something beautiful out of it. Expressing emotions is something different from describing emotions. Description actually destroys the idea of expression, as it classifies the emotion, making it ordinary and Predictable. Expression, on the other hand, individualizes the artist. Some forms of art expression include visual arts, film, performance art, poetry performance, architecture, dance, literary arts, theater arts, and applied arts.