Module 1

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES
 The Meaning, Importance, and Scope of Humanities

The word humanities comes from the Latin humanus, which means human, cultured, and refined. To be human is to
have or show qualities like rationality, kindness, and tenderness. It has different connotations in different historical eras.
Today, however, we know of humanities as a loosely defined group of cultural subject areas. Unlike other subjects, it is
not a group of scientific or technical subjects. Thus, the term humanities refers to the arts-the visual arts such as
architecture, painting, and sculpture; music, dance, the theater or drama, and literature. They are the branches of
learning concerned with human thought, feelings and relations. The importance of the human being and his feelings and
how he expresses those feelings have always been the concern of the humanities.

Art is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by
man. Wherever men “have lived “together, art has sprung up among them as a language charged with feeling and
significance. The desire to create this language appears to be universal. As a cultural force, it is pervasive and potent. It
shows itself even in primitive societies.

Art, like love, is not easy to define. It concerns itself with the communication of certain ideas and feelings by means of a
sensuous medium color, sound, bronze, marble, words, and film. This medium is fashioned into a symbolic language
marked beauty of design and coherence of form. It appeals to our minds, arouses our emotions, kindles our imagination,
and enchants our senses. (Machlis, 1963)

In every age or country, there is always art. Wherever we go, whether it be a city or a province, here or abroad, we
surely have to pass buildings of various sorts - houses, schools, churches, stores, and others. Some of them appear
attractive and inviting; some do not. We look at some of them with awe or admiration. In viewing all these buildings,
however, we are being concerned with architecture which is one of the oldest and most important of the many areas of
art.

The art that we perceive through our eyes is called the visual art, and architecture is one part of it. Visual arts involve not
only painting and sculpture but include such things as clothes, household appliances, and the furnishings of our homes,
schools, churches and other buildings. Through the ideas selected by painters and sculptors and the forms they create,
they express the ideals, the hopes, and the fears of the times in which they live.

Visual arts include much more than painting, sculpture and architecture. Out of the many common things we use in our
daily lives, we derive real pleasure. A chair, for example, can be beautiful as well as comfortable. A great range of objects
can be included in the visual arts, from the purely useful products at one extreme to those that were designed only for
their aesthetic appeal on the other. A similar range exists in all other fields of art. Because of this range, we are
surrounded by art in all the things we see, hear, do, or use. The aesthetic aspects of any work a painting, song, story,
dance, or play are what make it art. Aesthetics refers to the forms and psychological forms of art.

Another form of the more important arts is music. This is the art of combining and regulating sounds of varying pitch to
produce compositions expressing various ideas and emotions. Its primary function is to entertain. Thus, when sounds
are not regulated or when a piece of music is played improperly or in full blast, as in the case of unregulated stereo, it
ceases to give pleasure or it fails in its purpose. Music is one of the great arts of our civilization, along with literature,
painting, sculpture, architecture, and dance. As an art, it bases its appeal on the sensuous beauty of musical sounds.

Like the other arts, music deals with emotions. Its being a “a pure art” enables it to convey emotions with great intensity
and can affect people directly. It is a broad and varied field, serving various moods and occasions. Great music especially,
radiates infectious joy. Many who are receptive to great music find it exhilarating.

If we tune into a musical program on the radio, or sing a song with others, we are having contact with music. The radio
or television program may consist of a soloist or a singing group of musicians in a small band or a large orchestra. The
song we sing may be a tune which is popular now but may possibly be forgotten later. It may be a selection which has
been sung or played for several decades.

Dance is another form of art that is common to man even during the earliest times. It is the most direct of the arts for it
makes use of the human body as its medium. It springs from man’s love for expressive gestures, his release of tension
through rhythmic movement. Dance heightens the pleasure of being, and at the same time mirrors the life of society.

The dance of the olden times is different from that of the present time; the dance of the barrio folks is different from the
dances in the city. Primitives and non-primitives dance. The Ifugaos dance to celebrate the victory of the warriors after a
fight with their enemies. Likewise, the Bagobos dance to show gratitude to the spirits “for success in war or domestic
affair.” The Indians dance to give thanks for a harvest; the Mexicans dance to celebrate a religious festival; teenagers
dance at parties; both young and old go to disco bars; and children everywhere dance because it is pleasurable to
express happiness through bodily movements. In its expressive aspects, dance is uniquely able to intensify moods and
emotions and to deepen and dignify the feelings of us all (Compton's Encyclopedia, 1974).

The area of the theater or drama is another of the important arts. Dramatic activities are usually part of every school
and community program. Classes dramatize the events they are studying; clubs, organizations and institutions stage
plays. Going to the theater to see a play is a wonderful experience. The play may be a comedy, tragedy, mystery, musical
or melodrama. In any of them, a group of people act out the plot to get across to the audience the idea the author is
trying to express.

Essentially, the stage is a place for re-enacting the joys and problems of life, a place where the playwright strips life of
nonessentials and deals with basic and important issues. The spectators get involved in these situations and thus gain
greater insight into human motives and passions.

The motion picture is a popular addition to the various forms of the theater. Through it, a great number of people are
able to see dramatic performances every day. The radio makes drama available for the auditory sense and the
imagination. The television, too, brings the art of the drama to many people. Theatrical productions, including motion
pictures and television, combine art forms,

The play itself is a form of literature. Scenery and costume provide the visual arts, and music may serve as a background
to set the mood or to serve as part of the plot. The opera is a drama set to music. Thus, it is a form of the theater. In
many musical shows, dancers are also important performers. The theater, therefore, combines several of the arts. .

It is also necessary that we distinguish between art and nature for they are fundamentally different. We may be
impressed by the majesty of the perfect cone of Mayon Volcano, the awesome beauty of Pagsanjan Falls or the sunset at
Manila Bay and thus, react to the wonders of nature. No matter how close art is to nature, however, art always shows
that it is man-made. It is an interpretation of nature and of life.

What the Arts Have in Common

We have identified five areas of art: the visual arts, music, dance, literature, and drama. But there is one thing that is
common to them all. What relates a painting to a song, a play to a dance?

The most basic relationship is that the arts are concerned with emotions, with our feelings about things. When a person
sees a picture, he thinks it is beautiful, or when he watches a play or dance performance, he thinks it is exciting, he feels
that it is lovely or stirring. His reaction is primarily emotional. People experience excitement, pleasure, anger, and all the
other emotional states in a way which is very different from their intellectual responses. Emotions are part of our basic
nature.
An Artist

An artist is a person who exhibits exceptional skills in design, drawing, painting, and the like who works in one of the
performing arts, like an actor or musician. Unlike other people, he is more sensitive and more creative. He possesses, to
an unusual degree, the knack for interpreting ideas into artistic form through the use of words, pigments, stone, notes,
or any of the other materials used by artists. When he sees or learns something that impresses him, he expresses
himself in one medium or another so that others may understand it too. He, thus, learns to project his creative impulse
through the symbols of his art a picture, a poem, or a piece of music according to his present inspiration and his training.
His process of creation, however, differs from that of an amateur or beginner only in degree.

There are two kinds of artists - creators and performers. A composer writes a song to be sung by talented singers. A
dramatist or playwright writes a play to be staged by a company of actors. A choreographer composes a ballet or dance
sequence which will be performed by a troupe of dancers. Music, theater, and dance are performing arts. Besides the
creators, they require other artists who recreate what has been composed. Thus, performers are important.

A song cannot be considered complete until it has been sung; or a ballet until it has been danced.

Although the artistry of the performers is based on the creation of others, they bring individual interpretations to their
performances. Two great actors may play the same role in Florante at Laura yet give it vastly different interpretations;
two dancers may dance the same ballet but render it quite differently. Thus, in the performing arts, the ideas and the
interpretations of the performer are added to the original ideas of the creator. This dual contribution gives added
richness and meaning to these fields of arts. It makes them different from painting, for example, in which the creative
artists communicate directly with the observer.

The Work of the Creative Artist

Creativity is an artist’s trait developed in the course of his life to solve problems or express his feelings. His continuing
reaction to emerging conditions of nature and social life gives birth to new ideas and new methods. These in turn, he
uses to overcome difficulties which in the process of confrontation with reality, give the solution to a vision, create art,
or activate social transformation.

The process of creativity is threefold, with the artist as the prime mover, communicating his ideas through the performer
as his interpreter to the audience. Each participates actively in the creative process, although in the case of the reader,
observer or listener, the intensity of the activity may be less than that of the artist who produces the work.

The Process of Creation.

Experts on the subject are one in their view that there are three major phases in the process of creation. First, the artist
must have an idea; second, he must have a material in which to work on; and third, he must give form to his idea.

The Idea.
Artists are highly sensitive persons especially aware of the things that surround them. They notice the sounds, colors,
and movements of people and things. Art expression is based on the so-called higher senses of sight and sound, with the
other senses playing more or less indirect roles. A particular experience may impress an artist so much that he decides
to use it as the basis or a picture, a poem, a play or a dance.

Depending on his cultural background, a painter may be attracted by anything. He paints a picture from a scene where
most people do not think beauty existed.

A novelist may write of the life and misfortunes of a woman, whose husband, after failing to find a job, decides to go
abroad and becomes unfaithful after a few years. The novelist would show us that the great social and economic
problems of our times are essentially human problems and he would make us aware of the effects of advances in
science and technology on human beings.

A composer may write a musical fantasy in which the world of mystery and imagination is explored. A dancer may do a
dance on the pleasures and discomforts of growing up. As a basis for his dance movements, he might use the idealism of
adolescence, the developing charm of boys and girls, their sensitivity, their awkwardness, and occasional loneliness. In
all these expressions, the artists clarify, identify, and give new meanings to the experiences which are common to nearly
everyone.

Through the centuries, artists have worked on new ideas which illuminate and enrich the lives of all humankind. A study
of the arts is the study of humankind, for through the arts we can discover man’s major interests, feelings and problems
through the ages. The art of ancient Egypt shows clearly how the people of that time were preoccupied with life after
death, for many of their most impressive monuments were erected as tombs for the pharaohs (Compton’s Encyclopedia,
Vol. 3, 1974).

Playwrights and novelists have always been concerned with the frailties of man, with his hopes and fears, his courage
and cowardice, his charity and greed. Poets, with their artistry of statement, have given nobility and intensity to man’s
experiences. Through dance, the events of life are given symbolic and ceremonial form.

The Material and Process.

The second phase of creation in art concerns the material which the artist uses to give form to his idea. A painter uses
pigments; a sculptor uses stone, metal or wood; an architect, various building materials. An author uses words; a
composer, musical sounds which he sets down as notes. A choreographer uses people and their movements as the
materials for his creations.

The artist’s various materials have a profound effect on his products. Perhaps a sculptor and a musician both want to do
works of art which will show their deep religious feeling. The sculptor decides to carve a religious figure in stone to be
placed in church; the musician writes hymns to be sung in the same church. The sculpture is something we can see or
take in at a glance in its entirety, and so sculpture is an art of space. The hymn we hear takes a number of minutes to be
sung or the entire composition to be played and so music is an art of time. All the arts fall into either one or the other
classification. The theater and opera, in which several of the arts are involved, are arts of both space and time.

Organization and Form.

The third phase in creating is organizing the idea and giving it form in the selected material. Artists have developed a
host of different forms to express the ideas they work on. In some of the arts, particularly the time arts, certain forms of
organization are standard and widely accepted. Popular songwriters use the conventional 32-measure length.
Symphonic composers use the accepted structure of four movements. Poetry has a number of well-defined forms which
are often used: the sonnet, the quatrain, the Spenserian stanza. Operas and plays are always divided into a number of
acts.

In several of the time arts, the works generally have a three-part structure: an introductory section which “sets the
stage” for what follows; a middle section which develops the plot, the melody, or the story; and a concluding section
which is the final working out of the forces and ideas which the artist has set in motion.

Style is a term which refers to the development of forms in art that is related to particular historical periods. Forms in
the space arts are often symmetrically balanced in. their design, that is, the two sides of the object are identical. This is
true of most chairs, of most doorways, of many of the things that we use. Many buildings are symmetrical in design. The
symmetrical balance tends to emphasize the center, creating a logical focal point for something one wishes to
emphasize.

Asymmetric balance is the kind of organization found in most paintings and other two-dimensional graphic works. Here,
the forms and colors on one side are balanced by different forms and colors on the other.
In any field of art, it is the idea which is the important factor. The parts and their organization into a final art product
grow out of that idea. The artist painting a restful picture of a calm sea uses smooth, gentle forms and dulled colors; he
avoids restless shapes and sharp colors. The poet writing a humorous verse chooses a rollicking, rhythmic meter and
two-syllable rhyme schemes. The musician composing a march keeps the rhythm constant and creates a lively melody. A
dance about a bewildered immigrant calls for very different movements from those in a dance about a Muslim princess.

Thus, the third phase of the analysis of any work of art has to do with its form or organization. We must decide whether
the form grows out of the idea or problem which prompted it; whether the form it has been given is individualized and
unique; whether the work has unity; and whether the organization in itself calls forth an aesthetic response from us.

The arts are remarkable in their diversity, not only in subject matter but also in materials and forms. No rules can govern
either creation or appreciation. The artist is influenced by the world around him, so that his work reflects the time and
place in which he lives. If artists or critics do set up rules to follow, other artists and critics will prove the rules false. Arts
change as life changes. Authorities in arts state that the work of an artist must be judged against the background of the
time in which he lived.

Often like a book written by an author, when the work of an artist first appears, it is ridiculed by the critics. Many works
of art that we call great today the operas of Wagner, the poetry of Walt Whitman, and the paintings of the
Impressionists, for example were greeted with hostility. Time has since shown that the severe criticisms were
unjustified; and we often wonder how people of the past could have disliked some of the works of art we now admire. It
is the responsibility of each one of us to be open-minded. The understanding of the great art of all periods is a key to the
understanding of the human being. There is a need to associate with great men through their work in order to enrich
and ennoble our own lives.
 Methods of Presenting Art Subjects

Realism
In art, this is the attempt to portray the subject as it is. Even when the artist chooses a subject from nature, he selects,
changes, and arranges details to express the idea he wants to make clear. Realists try to be as objective as possible.
Here, the artist’s main function is to describe as accurately and honestly as possible what is observed through the
senses. However, in the process of selecting and presenting his material, he cannot help being influenced by what he
feels or thinks.
We can say that an art or a work is realistic when the presentation and organization of details in the work seem so
natural. Realism is a common way of presenting the art subject. An example of this is Amorsolo’s painting.

“Barong-Barong” Vicente Manansala, 1958

(https://c8.alamy.com/comp/E1GKFB/vicente-manansala-barong-barong-1958-watercolour-E1GKFB.jpg)

In literature, realism has for its goal, the faithful rendering of the objective reality of human life. Since reality is the
necessary raw material of all art, realism has certainly existed since literature began. But realism as a coherent program
of literary aesthetics emerged in Western literature about 1850 in reaction against the idealism of the narrow social
range of earlier literary attitudes. Thus, realism tended to stress the daily life of the common person, often
concentrating on the sordid and disagreeable. Hence, a sober, and impersonal style was used to attain it. It was an art
that suited an age marked by the rapid growth of science and by drastic changes in social organization.

Poetry and drama were influenced by realism, but it was in the novel that realism achieved greatness. Since the latter
part of the 19th century, other tendencies have come to the fore, and realism has been found by some enslaved by the
factual, and by others naively inadequate for truly rendering the complexity of life. Yet, if realism no longer dominates
literature, it is because its principles have now been assimilated into all literary creations of the 20th century.
Abstraction

This is used when the artist becomes so interested in one phase of a scene or a situation that he does not show the
subject at all as an objective reality, but only his idea, or his feeling about it.

Abstract means “to move away or separate.” Abstract art moves away from showing things as they really are. The
painter or artist paints the picture not as it really looks like. The picture is not just like life. It is not “realistic.”

In the field of sculpture, artists began doing abstract sculpture. They ignored the exact form of a real-life object. They
feel that the texture and shape of a sculpture were more important to them than the exact form. Constantin Brancusi’s
“Bird in Space” is an example. Brancusi was impressed by the grace of a bird in flight, by the sweep of its body as it flies
through the air, so he represented those qualities in his sculptural work. His work does not look like a bird for it is
supposed to convey an impression of a bird’s grace and speed.

Abstract subjects can also be presented in many ways like:

A. Distortion. This is clearly manifested when the subject is in misshapen condition, or the regular shape is twisted
out. Henry Moore’s sculptural works and the ancient Egyptian paintings and sculptural works are good examples
of this kind.

“Mother and Child” Jose P. Alcantara

(https://media.mutualart.com/Images/2015_09/12/12/121020774/bfd203f4-996e-4023-9b72-1c67b3d72f86.Jpeg)

B. Elongation. It refers to that which is being lengthened, a protraction or an extension. El Greco’s elongated body
of Jesus Christ in his “Resurrection” is an example of this.
 “Resurrection” – El Greco
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/El_Greco_-_The_Resurrection_-
_WGA10530.jpg/1200px-El_Greco_-_The_Resurrection_-_WGA10530.jpg)

C. Mangling. This may not be a commonly used way of presenting an abstract subject, but there are few artists
who show subject or objects which are cut, lacerated, mutilated or hacked with repeated blows.

D. Cubism. It stresses abstract form through the use of a cone, cylinder, or sphere at the expense of other pictorial
elements. The cubists want to show forms in their basic geometrical shapes. Paul Cezanne’s works played an
important part in the development of cubism. It was further developed by George Braque of France and Pablo
Picasso of Spain.

E. Abstract Expressionism is a style of abstract painting that originated in New York City after World War II and
gained an international vogue. Although it has close antecedents in European Art, the term was first applied to
the New York School, whose work is characterized by great nerve, the use of large canvases, and a deliberate
lack of refinement in the application of the paint.

Symbolism

A symbol, in general, is a visible sign of something invisible such as an idea or a quality. It can be simply an emblem or
sign like: % to represent percent, a lion to represent courage, a lamb to represent meekness. These well-known symbols
arise from conventional usage, association and general relationship. The conventional type of symbol is not absent from
works of art. But in poetry and painting, the symbol has a freer development. It transcends the everyday run-of-the-mill
sign and assumes a new and fresh meaning, originating from a highly personal and even unique association born in the
mind of the poet or painter. Like in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”:

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

The last two lines are symbolical for it clearly shows the strong desire of the author to see God when he dies.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains to go out in
search of the stray one? And if he manages to find it, | assure you that he is happier over that one than over the ninety-
nine that did not stray. So, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones should be lost.

Matthew 18:12-14

The above parable is the first parable of the lost sheep. The sheep signifies the children of God, but one of them sinned
and God went out of his way to look for the lost child and he is happy to bring him back to his fold since He really comes
to save the lost.
A number of indispensable paintings of noted Filipino painters are found in the National Museum. An example is the
giant-sized painting of Juan Luna, entitled “Spoliarium.” This artwork was an original painting of Juan Luna, painted in
Rome, from July 1883 to March 1884. This painting is now a National Cultural Treasure. The original painting which won
the most coveted First Gold Medal in the Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts in 1844, was donated by the Spanish
Government to the Filipino people on the centenary of Juan Luna’s birthday in 1956. “Spoliarium,” as a Roman term,
referred to the spoils of war, spoils of tyrants, and the king.

The Spoliarium is an old painting on 4.25 m x 7.75 m canvas. Here, the method of presentation used by the artist is
symbolism. With the use of heavy and strong brush strokes, Juan Luna expressed his anger over the abuses and cruelties
being suffered during that time by his countrymen, the Filipinos, from the Spanish authorities. With the kind of lines and
color used, he captured the pathos and barbarism of a decadent empire. These elements are discussed in Chapter 4. The
vertical lines evidenced by the straight body of an oppressor which suggests strength and stability; the horizontal lines
are seen on the dead persons which give serenity and repose. The diagonal lines are clearly shown in the arms of men
pulling the wounded gladiator toward the other room.

“Spoliarium” Juan Luna

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Spoliarium_of_Juan_Luna_displayed_at_Philippine_National_
Museum_of_Fine_Arts.jpg)

The “Lion of Lucerne,” famous masterpiece of the early 19th century, is dedicated to the memory of the heroic fight and
final defeat of the Swiss Guards in 1792 in Paris. August 10th of that year marks the beginning of the bloody days of the
French revolution with the storming of the royal palace, the Tuileries. The Swiss regiment of the Guards had to lay down
its arms by order of the king, Louis XVI, and as a result, was literally torn to pieces by the sepia murderous mob. The lion,
always considered a symbol of courage and strength, served the artist to demonstrate a tragic event, a fight to the
death. The heart pierced by a lance, the lion still holds its protecting paw over the shield with the lily coat of arms,
emblem of the shield.

The erection of the monument was made possible by donations of comrades from other regiments and friends,
especially by the initiative of Ch. Pfyffer of Altishofen. Also, it was his idea to use as a symbol the dying lion. The model is
the work of the famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen (1770-1844) and was hewn into the rock 1820/21 by L.
Ahorn (1789-1856). The original model (in stucco) is an exhibition in the Glacier Garden. The niche in the rock wall
measures about 43 inches, the animal alone 30 inches. The Latin inscription carved into the rock above the monument
reads: “To the fidelity and bravery of the Swiss.” Below follow the names of the 26 officers who fell defending the
Tuileries.

“The Lion Monument”

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/L%C3%B6wendenkmal_-_The_Lion_Monument_%28Lucerne
%29_02.jpg)

Fauvism

This was the first important art movement of the 1900s. The fauves flourished as a group only from about 1903 to 1907,
but their style greatly influenced many later artists. Henri Matisse led the movement, and other important fauves
included Andre Derain, Raoul Dufy, and George Rouault, all from France.

The fauves did not attempt to express ethical, philosophical, or psychological themes. Most of these artists tried to paint
pictures of comfort, joy and pleasure. They used extremely bright colors. To a fauve, for example, a tree trunk need not
be brown. It could be bright red, purple, or any other color.

Dadaism

A protest movement in the arts was formed in 1916 by a group of artists and poets in Zurich, Switzerland. The dadaists
reacted to what they believed were outgrown traditions in art, and the evils they saw in society. They tried to shock and
provoke the public with outrageous pieces of writing, poetry recitals, and art exhibitions. Much dada art was playful and
highly experimental. The name “dada,” a French word meaning “hobby horse,” was deliberately chosen because it was
nonsensical. Perhaps the best known dadaist was the French artist Marcel Duchamp.

Futurism

It developed in Italy about the same time cubism appeared in France. Futurist painters wanted their works to capture
the speed and force of modern industrial society. Their paintings glorified the mechanical energy of modern life.
Subjects included automobiles, motorcycles, and railroad trains subject that express the explosive vitality of a modern
city. :

Surrealism

This movement in art and literature was founded in Paris in 1924 by the French poet Andre Breton. Like dadaism, from
which it arose, surrealism uses art as a weapon against the evils and restrictions that surrealists see in society. Unlike
dadaism, it tries to reveal a new and higher reality than that of daily life. Surrealism is an invented word meaning super
realism. This movement was influenced by the Freudian psychology which emphasizes the activities of the subconscious
state of the mind.

Subjects of this kind attempt to show what is inside a person’s mind as well as the appearance of his outside world. The
surrealists claim to create forms and images not primarily by reason, but by unthinking impulse and blind feeling or even
by accident. Using these methods, the surrealists declare that a magical world ~ more beautiful than the real one can be
created in art and literature. Much of the beauty sought by surrealism is violent and cruel. In this way, the surrealists try
to shock the viewer or reader and show what they consider the deeper and truer part of human nature. Benjamin
Mendoza, a Bolivian painter, is well-known in presenting violent and cruel surrealist paintings.

Work of Benjamin Mendoza

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/37/9f/62/379f628362127eb1f466edbec7b8e48a.jpg)
An artistic movement of early 20th century that stressed fantasy and the subconscious mind, surrealism in its broadest
philosophical sense, is one of the poles toward which art and thought in all periods may be drawn the world of dreams
and fantasy.

However, there are also surrealist artistic works which are a far cry from cruelty and violence. They are informative and
symbolical like Marc Chagall’s painting entitled “I and My Village.” This can be interpreted from the socioeconomic and
political standpoint that prevails in Russia up to the present.

“I and My Village” – Marc Chagall

(https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsIjQ2NzUzMSJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB
4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg?sha=dd831d036087fc1f)

Expressionism

This method was introduced in Germany during the first decade of the 20th cen. tury. Its influences were felt by the
European artists from 1910 up to the present. It also seemed to have influenced the playwrights in English and Filipino
like the work of Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio in Sepang Loca (1958). The exponents of expressionism believed in the
necessity of a spiritual rebirth for man in an age that was first becoming influenced by materialism. Paul Dumol’s
Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio (1969), and Revel Aguila’s “Mapait sa Bao” are plays which depicted the idea of rebirth of the
individual is possible only within the context of the transformation of the entire society.

Hindi ninyo nauunawaan ang kirot ng paghihiwalay. Hindi ninyo nauunawaan ang sindak ng pag-iisa. Sol! ITO'Y
KAMATAYAN! Araw-araw umuupo sa bangketa, binabantayan ang nagdaraang mga tao, nagmamakaawa,
nagpapalimos, Diyos ko! PABAYAAN NAMAN NINYONG ILIGTAS KO ANG AKING SARILI MULA SA PAGKABULOK!
Nabubulok na balat, nabubulok na kamay, nabubulok na laman, nabubulok na ugat, nabubulok na buto.

This is one of the dialogues of Mang Serapio from Dumol’s Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio which expresses the truth, life, or
reality.

The emotional expressions in expressionistic paintings could be described as involving pathos, morbidity, violence or
chaos, and tragedy. It sometimes portrays defeat.
Design Relationships Between Painting and Other Visual Arts
The philosophy and spirit of a particular period in painting usually have been reflected in many of its other visual arts.
The ideas and aspirations of the ancient cultures, of the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods of
Western art and, more recently, of the 19th-century Art Nouveu and Secessionist movements were expressed in much
of the architecture, interior design, furniture, textiles, ceramics, dress design, and handicrafts, as well as in the fine arts,
of their times. Following the Industrial Revolution, with the redundancy of handcraftmanship and the loss of direct
communication between the fine artist and society, idealist efforts to unite the arts and crafts in service to the
community were made by William Morris in Victorian England and by the Bauhaus in 20th-century Germany. Although
their aims were not fully realized, their influences, like those of the short-lived De Stijl and constructivist movements,
have been far-reaching, particularly in architectural, furniture, and typographic design.

Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were painters, sculptors, and architects. Although no artists since have excelled in
so wide a range of creative design, leading 20th-century painters have expressed their ideas in many other media. In
graphic design, for example, Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, and Raoul Dufy produced posters and illustrated books;
Andre Derain, Fernand Leger, Marc Chagall, Mikhail Larionov, Robert Rauschenberg, and David Hockney designed for the
theater; Joan Miro, Georges Braque, and Chagall worked with ceramics; Braque and Salvador Dali designed jewelry; and
Dali, Hans Richter, and Andy Warhol made films. Many of these, with other modern painters, have also been sculptors
and printmakers and have designed for textiles, tapestries, mosaics, and stained glass, while there are few media of the
visual arts that Pablo Picasso did not work on and revitalize.

In turn, painters have been stimulated by the imagery, techniques, and designs of other visual arts. One of the earliest of
these influences was possibly from the theater, where the ancient Greeks are thought to have been the first to employ
the illusions of optical perspective. The discovery or reappraisal of design techniques and imagery in the art forms and
processes of other cultures have been the important stimuli to the development of more recent styles of Western
painting, whether or not their traditional significance has been fully understood. The influence of Japanese woodcut
prints on Synthetism and the Nabis, for example, and of African sculpture on cubism and the German expressionists
helped to create visual vocabularies and syntax with which to express new visions and ideas. The invention of
photography introduced painters to new aspects of nature, while eventually prompting others to abandon
representational painting, altogether. Painters of everyday life, such as Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edouard
Vuillard, and Bonnard, exploited the design innovations of camera cutoffs, close-ups, and unconventional viewpoints in
order to give the spectators the sensation of sharing an intimate picture space with the figures and objects in the
painting.

*The instructor claims no ownership or whatsoever to the contents of this module.