Lesson 1: WHAT IS ART? INTRODUCTION AND ITS ASSUMPTIONS?

ART

Art is a highly diverse range of human activities engaged in creating visual,

auditory, or performed artifacts— artworks—that express the author’s
imaginative or technical skill, and are intended to be appreciated for their
beauty or emotional power.

The oldest documented forms of art are visual arts, which include images
or objects in fields like painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and
other visual media. Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts;
however, like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the
practical considerations of use are essential, in a way that they usually are not
in another visual art, like a painting.

Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its representation of reality),

expression, communication of emotion, or other qualities. Though the
definition of what constitutes art is disputed and has changed over time,
general descriptions center on the idea of imaginative or technical skill
stemming from human agency and creation. When it comes to visually
identifying a work of art, there is no single set of values or aesthetic traits. A
Baroque painting will not necessarily share much with a contemporary
performance piece, but they are both considered art.

Despite the seemingly indefinable nature of art, there have always existed
certain formal guidelines for its aesthetic judgment and analysis. Formalism is
a concept in art theory in which an artwork’s artistic value is determined solely
by its form, or how it is made. Formalism evaluates works on a purely visual
level, considering medium and compositional elements as opposed to any
reference to realism, context, or content.

Art is often examined through the interaction of the principles and elements
of art. The principles of art include movement, unity, harmony, variety,
balance, contrast, proportion and pattern. The elements include texture,
form, space, shape, color, value and line. The various interactions between the
elements and principles of art help artists to organize sensorial pleasing works
of art while also giving viewers a framework within which to analyze and
discuss aesthetic ideas.
ART HISTORY

          Art history doesn’t consist in simply listing all the art movements and
placing them on a timeline. It is the study of objects of art considered
within their time period. Art historians analyze visual arts’ meaning (painting,
sculpture, architecture) at the time they were created. Also, another of art
history’s mission is to establishes authorial origins of artworks, i.e. discovering
who created a particular artwork, when, when and for what reason.

Iconography is a major part of art history. It consists in analyzing the

symbolism of works of arts. For instance, art historians identify the visual
elements of a painting and interpret its meaning. Art historians are interested
in what the works of art represented at the time they were created. It is a way
to learn about the civilizations of the past.

ART APPRECIATION

The term art appreciation is referred to the knowledge of the general and
everlasting qualities that classify all great art. It is seen used to refer to the
exploration of visual art forms or the introduction of basic principles of visual
literacy.  It refers to analyzing the form of an artwork to general
audiences to enhance their enjoyment of such works of art. It may be
analyzed without reference to subject matter, symbolism or historical
context. Art appreciation can be subjective depending on personal preference
to aesthetics and form, or it can be based on several elements and principle of
design and also depends on social and cultural acceptance. Most of the
modern art critics and art historians draw back from this term, underrating art
appreciation as demanding too little serious thought.

Art Creativity, Imagination, and Expression 

It takes an artist to make an art.  One may perceive beauty on a daily basis. 
However, not every beautiful thing that can be seen or experienced may be
truly called a work of art.  Art  is a product of man’s creativity, imagination
and expression. No matter how perfectly the colors of sunset are and no
matter how extraordinarily formed mountains are, nature is not considered
art simply because it is not made by made.  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
maybe inspired by nature or other works of an art, but an artist invents his
own forms and patterns due to what he perceives as beautiful and
incorporates them in creating his masterpiece.
Art Appreciation as a Way of Life:

In old town Quito, we came across a most amazing art exhibit. The art, split
into 4 sections, portrayed the indigenous people over the last century. It was
beautiful and moving. "Hard working" is the theme throughout it all. I loved,
loved this exhibit. In fact, when we first discovered it, we were only able to
view the first section before it closed for the night. Naturally we had to return
at a later day. (Source: http://bekatelyn.com/notes/entry/art-depicting-
indigenous-life) 

The role of art as a creative work is to depict the world in a completely

different and light perspective. (Jean-Paul Sarte)

 Each artwork beholds beauty in its own kind, the kind that the artist
sees and wants the viewers to perceive;

 More often than not, people are blind to this this beauty and only
those who have developed a fine sense of appreciation can experience
and see the art the same way the artist did.  Hence, refining one’s
ability to appreciate arts allows him to deeply understand the purpose
of an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses;

 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; and

 Learning to appreciate art no matter what vocation or profession you

have, will lead to a fuller and more meaningful life

The Role of Creativity in Art Making

 Creativity requires thinking outside the box

 In art, creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another

Art as a Product of Imagination, Imagination as a Product of Art

          Where do you think famous writers, painters and musicians get their
ideas?  Where do ideas in making creative solutions begin?  It all starts in the
human mind, it all begins with imagination.  Imagination is more important
than knowledge.  For knowledge is limited to all we know and
understand while imagination embraces the entire world and all there
ever will be to know and understand. In an artist’s mind sits a vast gallery of
artwork.  An artwork does not need to be a real thing, but can be something
that is imaginary (Collingwood, 1938).  The making of this tune in his head
makes it an imaginary tune, an imaginative creation, an imaginary art.  It
remains imaginary until he hums, sings, or writes down the notes of the tune
on paper.  However, something imaginary does not necessarily mean, it can
be called art. In the same way that imagination produces art, art also inspires
imagination.  Imagine being in an empty room surrounded by blank, white
walls, and floor.  Would you be inspired to work in such place?

ASSUMPTIONS AND NATURE OF ARTS

What are the different assumptions of art?

 1. Art is universal Timeless, spanning generations and continents

through and through.

-Art is a universal phenomenon and is as old as human being. Every society

has its own art, which is encouraged and molded by the patronage it gets
from its members. Artists as members of society create such works of art in
accordance with the existing relations in the society. Every work of art is an
amalgamation of various side as circulating in the society. Political, economic
and social changes are directly reflected in these cultural aspects which are
not often deliberate but become a part of the activity. The veracity of the
argument could be seen in the emergence of various art trends historically
synchronizing with new developments and changes in the society. The relation
between art and society has been closely intertwined and every work of art
can be seen as an outcome of several sociological factors.

Misconception: Artistic made long time ago. Age is not a factor in determining

art. “Art is not good because it is old, but old because it is beautiful.” (Dudley,
et al. 1960).

·       Works of Rizal and Francisco Balagtas- Not read because they are old but
they are beautifully written. Arts regardless of origin, time, and place are liked
and enjoyed by people continuously.

 2. Art is not nature. Man’s expression of his reception of nature Man’s

way of interpreting nature. Art is made by man, whereas nature is a given
around us.
Art, not directed by representation of reality, is a perception of reality. Five
blind men touching an elephant Art has its reason why the artist made
it. What is it that he wants to show?

3. Art involves experience. It does not full detail but just an

experience. “Actual doing of something.” Radio DJ, Choreographer,
Painter, Sculptor “All art depends on experience, and if one is to know
art, he must know it not as fact or information but as experience.”

4. Art is Cultural - Art influences society by changing opinions, instilling

values and translating experiences across space and time. Research has
shown art affects the fundamental sense of self. Painting, sculpture,
music, literature and the other arts are often considered to be the
repository of a society's collective memory.
Lesson 2- ART AS EXPRESSION, AS A FORM OF CREATION

Art as Expression

Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy’s what is Art? (1896) is a treatise concerning the nature and

purpose of art, describing how art can express moral values. Tolstoy does not
define art in terms of its ability to express form and beauty, but instead
defines art in terms of its ability to communicate concepts of morality. For
Tolstoy, aesthetic values are defined by moral values.

According to Tolstoy, art cannot be defined as an activity which produces

beauty. Beauty cannot be defined objectively, and therefore cannot be used as
a criterion to define what is, or is not, art. The aim of art is not merely to
produce beauty, or to provide pleasure, enjoyment, or entertainment. Art is a
means of communication, and is an important means of expression of
any experience, or of any aspect of the human condition.

Tolstoy defines art as an expression of a feeling or experience in such a way

that the audience to whom the art is directed can share that feeling or
experience. Art does not belong to any particular class of society. To limit the
subject matter of art to the experiences of a particular class of society is to
deny that art can be important for all of society. Tolstoy criticizes the belief
that art is only relevant to a particular class of society, saying that this is a
misconception which can lead to obscurity and decadence in art.

According to Tolstoy, good art is intelligible and comprehensible. Bad art is

unintelligible and incomprehensible. The more that art restricts itself to a
particular audience, the more obscure and incomprehensible it becomes to
people outside that particular audience. Good art is not confusing and
incomprehensible to most people. To the contrary, good art can communicate
its meaning to most people, because it expresses its meaning in a way which
can be understood by everyone.

Tolstoy believes that art is good if it is judged to be good by the majority of

people. Indeed, he claims that a great work of art is only great if it can be
understood by everyone.1 He also argues that if it is not admitted that art
must be intelligible and comprehensible, then any unintelligible or
incomprehensible expression of thoughts or feelings may be called "art." If
any incomprehensible form of personal expression may be called "art," then
the definition of art gradually loses its meaning, until it has no meaning at
all.2
"Good art" has a form and content which are in unity with the ideas and
feelings which it evokes or represents. In contrast, "bad art" lacks unity of form
and content with the ideas and feelings which it tries to evoke or
represent. "Bad art" is shallow, repetitious, crude, clumsy, contrived,
melodramatic, pretentious, or banal.

According to Tolstoy, the most important quality of any work of art is its
sincerity.3 Any true work of art expresses original thoughts and feelings. The
"highest" feelings which art may express are related to religious perception.

Tolstoy claims that professionalism causes a lack of sincerity in the artist, and
argues that if an artist must earn a living by producing art, then the art which
is produced is more likely to be false and insincere. Tolstoy also claims that
interpretation or criticism of art is irrelevant and unnecessary, because any
good work of art is able to express thoughts and feelings which can be clearly
understood by most people. Tolstoy argues that any explanation of such
thoughts and feelings is superfluous, because art ultimately communicates
feelings and experiences in a way which cannot be expressed by any words.

Tolstoy does not believe that art can be taught, or that instruction in the
practice of art can help people to communicate their thoughts and feelings
more sincerely. He argues that to teach art is to destroy its spontaneity. To
teach art is to destroy the individuality of the artist. Any attempt to teach art
leads to an attempt to imitate other works of art.

Tolstoy’s concept of "universal" art affirms that art is relevant to everyone. Art

is relevant to every aspect of the human condition. Therefore, art must aim to
be "universal." Art is "universal" if it expresses thoughts and feelings which can
be experienced by every human being.

According to Tolstoy, everyone may experience religious thoughts or

feelings. Thus, art is "universal" if it expresses religious feelings. The religious
perception, or insight, which may be expressed by art is that the well-being of
humanity depends on social harmony and understanding. Art which is truly
"universal" expresses the perception that human beings must respect each
other, must try to understand each other, and must share a feeling of
brotherhood and sisterhood with each other.

Tolstoy’s view of art reflects the very idiosyncratic and independent nature of
his personal interpretation of Christianity. While he attempts to define a
"universal" art as an art of inclusion, his aesthetic theory is narrowly focused
on his own theory of morality, and thus defines an art of exclusion. He
excludes many forms of art from what he considers to be "universal" art,
because he believes that "universal" art must conform to standards that are
not strictly aesthetic, but moral and social.

This aesthetic theory makes it necessary to consider the question of whether

aesthetic values are the same as moral and social values. Tolstoy excludes
many forms of art from what he considers to be "good" art, because he
believes that "good" art must communicate some form of religious
experience. For example, he refers to the music of Bach and Mozart, the
comedies of Molière, the poetry of Goethe and Hugo, and the novels of
Dickens and Dostoyevsky as examples of "good" art. However, he refers to the
poetry of Baudelaire and Mallarmé, the plays of Ibsen, and the music of
Wagner and Liszt as examples of "bad" art.

Tolstoy argues that good art must be religious art. He assumes that religious
art must conform to his own religious standpoint, and that his personal form
of Christianity is the only true form of Christianity. His deeply personal but
very narrow viewpoint may be disputed, however, by the argument that good
art may not necessarily be religious art. His argument that aesthetic values
must be moral and religious values leads him to the false conclusion that the
ultimate aim of art must be defined by his own moral viewpoint.

Croce: art as ‘intuition’

Clearest statement found in essay “What is Art?” title is self-conscious

reference to Tolstoy’s book of the same name supposedly he was trying to
distance his theory from Tolstoy’s not clear just where this difference lies for
Croce art is essentially intuition and “what lends coherence and unity to
intuition is intense feeling. Intuition is truly such because it expresses an
intense feeling and can arise only when the latter is its source and base. Not
idea but intense feeling is what confers upon art the ethereal lightness of the
symbol” the most striking difference with Tolstoy’s theory is the absence of
any reference to art’s effect upon the audience what does he mean and why
does he say it when he says ‘art is intuition’? best not to start with first
question the term ‘intuition’ did not catch on widely, and its everyday
meaning is unhelpful it is sufficient to take it simply as a marker for what is
special and distinctive about art his method is like via negativa, the method of
determining the nature of something by making clear what it is not

I. Art is not the physical thing—paint on canvas, bronze, etc Croce’s first
distinction is between art and physical fact this reflects the plausible claim that
art cannot be identified with its physical embodiment there is more to
painting than pigments on canvas and it is in this ‘more’ that the real painting
lies
II. Art is not anything utilitarian secondly, Croce denies that art has
anything ‘utilitarian’ about it this also captures a common thought most
people accept this distinction but Croce adds a further contention that being
productive of pleasure is also a utilitarian end and thus to be discounted most
people would not readily agree with since art seems intrinsically connected
with pleasure for Croce the fact that a thing gives pleasure is insufficient to
make it art this seems obvious and thus requires the further distinction of
‘aesthetic pleasure’ thus one still needs an explanation of what makes the
pleasure ‘aesthetic’.

III. Art is not a ‘moral act’ for Croce art does not originate from an act of will
while it makes sense to say that an artistic image can be of something morally
praiseworthy or blameworthy, it makes no sense to say that the image is itself
either of these things

IV. Art is not conceptual knowledge it is here that the term ‘intuition’

becomes clearer Conceptual knowledge (philosophy, history, science) is
founded upon a distinction between reality and unreality—basically
representational theory of knowledge for Croce, intuition refers precisely to
lack of distinction between reality and unreality unlike a scientific theory a
work of art is sufficient to itself its value is not measured by its verisimilitude
to understand its meaning we need only look at the work itself and can ignore
the world beyond the work—whether it represents the world accurately is
irrelevant to its aesthetic worth if art is not physical, utilitarian, moral, or
productive of knowledge then what is it? Croce’s answer: “Art is symbol, all
symbol, that is all significant. But symbol of what? Signifying what? Intuition is
truly artistic, is truly intuition and not a chaotic accumulation of images, only
when it has a vital principle which animates it and makes for its complete
unit.” In short, the images of art proper are symbolic expressions of feeling.

Collingwood’s Theory

Can these objections be overcome? More sophisticated version is found in

Collingwood’s Principles of Art (1938) Collingwood’s theory based on
admiration and awareness of defects of Croce’s theory thus repudiates several
features of expressivism on which some of these objections are based

Art is thus not concerned with the arousal of emotion at all either of
amusement or what he calls magic both of these conceptions confuse ‘art’
with ‘craft’ also rejects the notion that art is the expression of an emotion that
pre-exists the work thus imagination plays a central role in Collingwood’s
theory art has two equally crucial elements: expression and imagination a
work of art expresses emotion but its creation and appreciation are both acts
of imagination and the work thus exists only in the imagination works of art
thus must be recreated in the minds of their audience the process of artistic
creation is thus not a matter of making external what already exists internally
it is instead a process of imaginative discovery thus the peculiar value of art is
self-knowledge.

The end of art is self-knowledge, knowledge of our own emotional states this
has the unhappy consequence that artistic creation can only be of real interest
to its creator art becomes a form of introspection

Collingwood attempts to meet this objection by claiming that it is not ‘what I

feel’ that the artist articulates but rather ‘what we feel’ “The artist’s business is
to express emotions; and the only emotions he can express are those which he
feels, namely his own. . . If he attaches any importance to the judgment of his
audience, it can only be because he thinks that the emotions he has tried to
express are . . . shared by his audience . . . . In other words he undertakes his
artistic labor not as a personal effort on his own private behalf, but as a public
labor on behalf of the community to which he belongs” (126).

Thus it is not merely artists, but the whole community that comes to self-
knowledge in the work of art is thus “the community’s medicine for the worst
disease of mind, the corruption of consciousness” art is thus not passive
contemplation, but is action the function of the audience is not merely
receptive, but collaborative

Collingwood’s theory advances Tolstoy’s theory but the chief merit of this
version is that it centers on the work of art and not the artist

Tolstoy’s version lead to inquiring about the artist’s history and psychology
Collingwood is scathing about criticism that focuses on historical tidbits about
artists

Still, if the emotion cannot be apprehended independently of the work of art

why infer back from the work to the artist’s emotion at all? Seems that the
artist’s peculiar gift is not to feel but to imagine this is tantamount to
abandoning an important element of expressivism—that it is the artist’s
business to express emotions similarly, the audience’s emotional experience
also drops out of the picture on a closer examination of Collingwood’s theory
everyday expressivism holds that emotion is transmitted from artist to
audience by being aroused in the audience Collingwood argues that using art
to arouse emotion is a confusion of art with craft if this is true it is as much a
mistake to try to determine the merits of a work by audience ‘reaction’ as it is
to judge it on the artist’s ‘sincerity’
 Here the distinction between ‘being an expression of’ and ‘being expressive
of’ is important ‘being expressive of’ does not imply an possessor of the
emotion, artist or audience to speak of ‘being expressive of’ instead of ‘being
an expression of’ avoids any false psychologism about artist and audience

But can this distinction save expressivism? Why is a work’s being expressive of
emotion something to be valued? Collingwood’s explanation is that in acting
imaginatively upon emotion we bring it to consciousness, discover thus what
our consciousness contains, and come to self-knowledge but if the emotions
expressed are not our emotions then this hardly leads to self-knowledge

Sometimes Collingwood’s language tends to lead away from expression of

emotion to more of a cognitive theory implies that the value of art lies not in
helping us to come to a proper apprehension of personal or even communal
feeling, but a greater awareness of the world around us

If we focus on the work as ‘being expressive of’ emotion, then appreciation

would seem to consist in being brought to a heightened awareness of that
emotion this does not involve undergoing any element of that emotion this
seems to signal an abandonment of expressivism if the function of art is to
heighten awareness then the special connection between art and emotion
which all forms of expressivism try to articulate and maintain is broken for art
can heighten our awareness of much that is not emotion

Considers Collingwood’s analysis of Eliot’s “The Waste Land” Eliot is not trying
to entertain, amuse, nor is the work magical

“The artist must prophesy not in the sense that he foretells things to come,
but in the sense that he tells his audience, at risk of their displeasure, the
secrets of their own hearts”

Collingwood uses a language of cognition not emotion to describe Eliot’s

work Collingwood attempts to respond to this by making distinction between
two kinds of truth of intellect which is the business of science truth of
consciousness which is the concern of art may thus be said to describe, to tell,
to prophesy but since its concern is with the truth of consciousness, none of
this removes it from the world of emotional experience

To speak of truth in art some such distinction as Collingwood draws seems

necessary for what we learn from art is not what we learn from science

The advantage of Collingwood’s theory is that it avoids psychologism but

upon closer examination its advantages are won through abandoning the
essentials of expressivism in the end what emerges is an account of art as a
distinctive way of understanding human experience.

Art Forms

What is visual arts?

          The visual arts are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in
nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design,
crafts, photography, video, film making and architecture. These definitions
should not be taken too strictly as many artistic disciplines (performing arts,
conceptual art, textile arts) involve aspects of the visual arts as well as arts of
other types. Also included within the visual arts are the applied arts such as
industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and
decorative art.

The current usage of the term "visual arts" includes fine art as well as the
applied, decorative arts and crafts, but this was not always the case. Before the
Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and elsewhere at the turn of the 20th
century, the term 'artist' was often restricted to a person working in the fine
arts (such as painting, sculpture, or printmaking) and not the handicraft, craft,
or applied art media. The distinction was emphasized by artists of the Arts and
Crafts Movement who valued vernacular art forms as much as high forms. Art
schools made a distinction between the fine arts and the crafts maintaining
that a craftsperson could not be considered a practitioner of art. (From
Wikipedia 2012).

What are the types of visual arts?     

1. Two-dimensional art consists of paintings, drawings, prints, and

photographs, which differ from each other primarily in the technique of their
execution. Probably, our initial response to all four is a response to subject
matter--that is, we first notice what the painting, drawing, print, or
photograph is about.

2. Three-dimensional media occupies space defined through the dimensions

of height, width and depth. It includes sculpture, installation and
performance art, craft and product design.

Processes

Two processes are responsible for all three-dimensional art: additive, in which
material is built up to create form, or subtractive, where material is removed
from an existing mass, such as a chunk of stone, wood or clay. The different
categories we’ll examine here are not necessarily exclusive from each other,
and we will look at some examples of three-dimensional art that arguably
cross over between categories. First, let’s look at the different types of
sculpture and the methods used to creating them to understand the
important characteristics of each one.

Venus of Willendorf

This earliest images are indicative of most of the cultural record in sculpture
for thousands of years; singular figurative objects made within an
iconographic context of myth, ritual or ceremony. It’s not until the Old
Kingdom period of Egyptian sculpture, between 3100 and 2180 BCE that we
start to see sculpture that reflects a resemblance of specific figures

Sculpture

Sculpture is any artwork made by the manipulation of materials resulting in a

three-dimensional object. The sculpted figure of the Venus of Berekhat Ram
(Links to an external site.), discovered in the Middle East in 1981, dates to
230,000 years BCE. It is the oldest example of artwork known. The crudely
carved stone figure will fit in the palm of your hand. Its name derives from the
similarity in form with so-called female fertility figures found throughout
Europe, some of which date to 25,000 years ago. For example, The form of the
Venus of Willendorf below shows remarkable skill in its carving, including
arms draped over exaggerated breasts, an extended abdomen and elaborate
patterning on the head, indicating either a braided hairstyle or type of woven
cap. Just as remarkable, the figure has no facial detail to indicate identity. The
meaning behind these figures is difficult to put into context because of the
lack of any written record about them or other supporting materials.
Types of Sculpture and Three-dimensional Media

Sculpture can be freestanding, or self-supported, where the viewer can walk

completely around the work to see it from all sides, or created in relief, where
the primary form’s surface is raised above the surrounding material, such as
the image on a coin. Bas-relief refers to a shallow extension of the image from
its surroundings, high relief is where the most prominent elements of the
composition are undercut and rendered at more than half in the round
against the background. Rich, animated bas-relief sculpture exists at the
Banteay Srei temple near Angor Wat, Cambodia. Here humans and mythic
figures combine in depictions from ancient Hindu stories.

Methods

 Carving

Carving uses the subtractive process to cut away areas from a larger mass, and
is the oldest method used for three-dimensional work. Traditionally stone and
wood were the most common materials because they were readily available
and extremely durable. Contemporary materials include foam, plastics and
glass. Using chisels and other sharp tools, artists carve away material until the
ultimate form of the work is achieved.

A beautiful example of the carving process is seen in the Water and Moon
Bodhisattva (Links to an external site.) from 11th century China. The
Bodhisattva (Links to an external site.), a Buddhist figure who has attained
Enlightenment but decides to stay on earth to teach others, is exquisitely
carved and painted. The figure is almost eight feet high, seated in an elegant
pose on a lotus bloom, relaxed, staring straight ahead with a calm, benevolent
look. The extended right arm and raised knee create a stable triangular
composition. The sculptor carves the left arm to simulate muscle tension
inherent when it supports the weight of the body.

In another example, you can see the high degree of relief carved from an
original wood block in this mask from the Pacific Northwest Coast Kwakwaka’
wakw culture. The mask was used in winter ceremonies where animals were
said to take human form.

It’s extraordinary for masks to personify a natural event. This and other mythic
figure masks are used in ritual and ceremony dances. The broad areas of paint
give a heightened sense of character to this mask.
Casting

The additive method of casting has been in use for over five thousand
years. It’s a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is usually poured
into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then
allowed to solidify. One traditional method of bronze casting frequently used
today is the lost wax process.

Casting materials are usually metals but can be various cold setting materials
that cure after mixing two or more components together; examples are epoxy
(Links to an external site.), concrete (Links to an external site.), plaster (Links to
an external site.), and clay (Links to an external site.). Casting is most often
used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or
uneconomical to make by other methods. It’s a labor-intensive process that
allows for the creation of multiples from an original object (similar to the
medium of printmaking), each of which is extremely durable and exactly like
its predecessor. A mold is usually destroyed after the desired number of
castings has been made. Traditionally, bronze statues were placed atop
pedestals to signify the importance of the figure depicted. A statue of William
Seward (below), the U. S. Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and who
negotiated the purchase of the Alaska territories, is set nearly eight feet high
so viewers must look up at him. Standing next to the globe, he holds a roll of
plans in his left hand.

Modeling

Modeling is a method that can be both additive and subtractive. The artist

uses modeling to build up form with clay, plaster or other soft material that
can be pushed, pulled, pinched or poured into place. The material then
hardens into the finished work. Larger sculptures created with this method
make use of an armature, an underlying structure of wire that sets the physical
shape of the work. Although modeling is primarily an additive process, artists
do remove material in the process. Modeling a form is often a preliminary
step in the casting method. In 2010, Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti’s Walking
Man (Links to an external site.) (c. 1955), a bronze sculpture first modeled in
clay, set a record for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction

Construction

Construction, or assemblage, uses found, manufactured or altered objects to

build form. Artists weld, glue, bolt and wire individual pieces
together. Sculptor Debra Butterfield transforms throw away objects into
abstract sculptures of horses (Links to an external site.) with scrap metal, wood
and other found objects. She often casts these constructions in bronze.

Louise Nevelson used cut and shaped pieces of wood, gluing and nailing them
together to form fantastic, complex compositions. Painted a single tone,
(usually black or white), her sculptures are graphic, textural facades of shapes,
patterns and shadow.

Traditional African masks often combine different materials. The elaborate

Kanaga Mask from Mali uses wood, fibers, animal hide and pigment to
construct another worldly visage that changes from human to animal and
back again.

Some modern and contemporary sculptures incorporate movement, light and

sound. Kinetic sculptures use ambient air currents or motors allowing them to
move, changing in form as the viewer stands in place. The artist Alexander
Calder is famous for his mobiles, whimsical, abstract works that are intricately
balanced to move at the slightest wisp of air, while the sculptures of Jean
Tinguely are contraption-like and, similar to Nevelson’s and Butterfield’s
works, constructed of scraps often found in garbage dumps. His motorized
works exhibit a mechanical aesthetic as they whir, rock and generate
noises. Tinguely’s most famous work, Homage to New York, ran in the
sculpture garden at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1960 as part of a
performance by the artist. After several minutes, the work exploded and
caught fire.

The idea of generating sound as part of three-dimensional works has been

utilized for hundreds of years, traditionally in musical instruments that carry a
spiritual reference. Contemporary artists use sound to heighten the effect of
sculpture or to direct recorded narratives. The cast bronze fountain by George
Tsutakawa (below) uses water flow to produce a soft rushing sound. In this
instance the sculpture also attracts the viewer by the motion of the water: a
clear, fluid addition to an otherwise hard abstract surface.
Modern Variations of Three-Dimensional Media

Dan Flavin is one of the first artists to explore the possibilities of light (Links to
an external site.) as a sculptural medium. Since the 1960s his work has
incorporated fluorescent bulbs of different colors and in various
arrangements. Moreover, he takes advantage of the wall space the light is
projected onto, literally blurring the line between traditional sculpture and the
more complex medium of installation.

Installation Art

Installation art utilizes multiple objects, often from various mediums, and
takes up entire spaces. It can be generic or site specific. Because of their
relative complexity, installations can address aesthetic and narrative ideas on a
larger scale than traditional sculpture. Its genesis can be traced to the Dada
movement, ascendant after World War I and which predicated a new aesthetic
by its unconventional nature and ridicule of established tastes and
styles. Sculpture came off the pedestal and began to transform entire rooms
into works or art. Kurt Schwitters’ Merzba, begun in 1923, transforms his
apartment into an abstract, claustrophobic space that is at once part sculpture
and architecture. With installation art the viewer is surrounded by and can
become part of the work itself.

British artist Rachel White read’s installation Embankment from 2005 fills an
entire exhibition hall with casts made from various sized boxes. At first
appearance a snowy mountain landscape navigated by the viewer is actually a
gigantic nod to the idea of boxes as receptacles of memory towering above
and stacked around them, squeezing them towards the center of the room.

What is film?

          The film arts relates to all aspects of the production of film (television or
movies).  The course in the film arts would require students to study
everything that goes into the making of a film.  The following are a few
specific aspects of film art: story, setting, camera work, lighting, sound, sound
effects, costume, hair/make-up, special effects, animation, editing,
music/score, crew etc.  Each of these areas is a specialty that requires specific
training.  If you think about the multiple names that appear in the credits of a
movie or television program you come to realize what a multi-faceted
production it is to create a film.  There are literally hundreds of people
involved in all of the various elements of what becomes the finished product.

A study of film arts would also be likely to include a study of various types of
film and what specific requirements those types of films require.  Animation is
very different from fictional drama.  Documentary is very different from
fiction.  Each type of film requires a different approach, but there is also a
common ground in film, and many of the aspects listed above would be
necessary to a production of any kind of visual media.

The creation of a finished film is the combined work of many "artists" who
contribute their talent to an aspect of the finished product, and that finished
product can be as much a piece of art as a painting or piece of music.

What is performance art?

Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions

executed by the artist or other participants. It may be live, through
documentation, spontaneously or written, presented to a public in a Fine Arts
context, traditionally interdisciplinary.

What is poetry performance?

Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a

performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into
popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather
than print distribution, mostly open to improvisation.

What is architecture?

Architecture is an art form that reflects how we present ourselves across the
earth’s landscape, and, like other expressive mediums, it changes with styles,
technologies and cultural adaptations. Architecture not only provides worldly
needs of shelter, workspace and storage but also represents human ideals in
buildings like courthouses and government buildings and manifestations of
the spirit in churches and temples. Traditional architecture has survived over
thousands of years in one form or another, while contemporary design offers
new approaches in how we use materials and technology to shape the look of
our environment.

What is Dance?

Dance, the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and
within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion,
releasing energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself.
Lesson 3- Function of Arts

Functions of Art

          When it comes to function, different art forms come with distinctive
functions.  There is no one-to-one correspondence between art and its
functions, some art forms are more functional that others.   Architecture for
example, as an art is highly functional just like most applied arts. The name of
the art in applied arts is basically denoted by its specified function.  Function
is so important that is has usurped the name of the art on the identification of
individual work.  On the other end of the spectrum, one can only think of
painting and literature as form of art that have the least to do with purely
practical values Functions of Art

Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess with some accuracy where it
came from and when. This best-case scenario also includes identifying the
artist because they are in no small way part of the contextual equation. You
might wonder, "What was the artist thinking when they created this?" when
you see a piece of art. You, the viewer, are the other half of this equation; you
might ask yourself how that same piece of art makes you feel as you look at it.

These—in addition to the time period, location of creation, cultural influences,

etc.—are all factors that should be considered before trying to assign
functions to art. Taking anything out of context can lead to misunderstanding
art and misinterpreting an artist's intentions, which is never something you
want to do.

The functions of art normally fall into three categories: physical, social, and
personal. These categories can and often do overlap in any given piece of
art. When you're ready to start thinking about these functions, here's how.
 Physical Function

The physical functions of art are often the easiest to understand. Works of art
that are created to perform some service have physical functions. If you see a
Fijian war club, you may assume that, however wonderful the craftsmanship
may be, it was created to perform the physical function of smashing skulls.

A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art that performs a physical function in a

tea ceremony. Conversely, a fur-covered teacup from the Dada movement has
no physical function. Architecture, crafts such as welding and woodworking,
interior design, and industrial design are all types of art that serve physical
functions.

 Social Function
Art has a social function when it addresses aspects of (collective) life as
opposed to one person's point of view or experience. Viewers can often relate
in some way to social art and are sometimes even influenced by it.

For example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic

theme. Did this art exert influence on the German population? Decidedly so,
as did political and patriotic posters in Allied countries during the same
time. Political art, often designed to deliver a certain message, always carries a
social function. The fur-covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, carried a
social function in that it protested World War I (and nearly everything else in
life).

Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions and often this art
comes in the form of photography. The Realists figured this out early in the
19th century. American photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) along
with many others often took pictures of people in conditions that are difficult
to see and think about.

Additionally, satire performs social functions. Spanish painter Francisco Goya

(1746–1828) and English portrait artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) both
went this route with varying degrees of success at motivating social change
with their art. Sometimes the possession of specific pieces of art in a
community can elevate that community's status. A stabile by American kinetic
artist Alexander Calder (1898–1976), for example, can be a community
treasure and point of pride.

 Personal Function
The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are
many types of personal functions and these are highly subjective. Personal
functions of art are not likely to be the same from person to person.

An artist may create a piece out of a need for self-expression or

gratification. They might also or instead want to communicate a thought or
point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only trying to provide an aesthetic
experience, both for self and viewers. A piece might be meant to entertain,
provoke thought, or even have no particular effect at all.

Personal function is vague for a reason. From artist to artist and viewer to

viewer, one's experience with art is different. Knowing the background and
behaviors of an artist helps when interpreting the personal function of their
pieces.

Art may also serve the personal function of controlling its viewers, much like
social art. It can also perform religious service or acknowledgment. Art has
been used to attempt to exert magical control, change the seasons, and even
acquire food. Some art brings order and peace, some creates chaos. There is
virtually no limit to how art can be used.

Finally, sometimes art is used to maintain a species. This can be seen in rituals

of the animal kingdom and in humans themselves. Biological functions
obviously include fertility symbols (in any culture), but there are many ways
humans adorn their bodies with art in order to be attractive to others and
eventually mate.
Lesson 4- BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES AND PHILOSOPHICAL
IMPORTANCE OF ARTS

Art as mimesis (Plato)

In his theory of Mimesis, Plato says that all art is mimetic by nature; art is an
imitation of life. He believed that ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality. Art imitates idea
and so it is imitation of reality. He gives an example of a carpenter and a
chair. The idea of ‘chair’ first came in the mind of carpenter. He gave physical
shape to his idea out of wood and created a chair. The painter imitated the
chair of the carpenter in his picture of chair. Thus, painter’s chair is twice
removed from reality. Hence, he believed that art is twice removed from
reality. He gives first importance to philosophy as philosophy deals with the
ideas whereas poetry deals with illusion – things which are twice removed
from reality. So to Plato, philosophy is superior to poetry. Plato rejected
poetry as it is mimetic in nature on the moral and philosophical grounds. On
the contrary, Aristotle advocated poetry as it is mimetic in nature. According
to him, poetry is an imitation of an action and his tool of enquiry is neither
philosophical nor moral. He examines poetry as a piece of art and not as a
book of preaching or teaching.

ART AS AN IMITATION

In Plato’s The Republic, paints a picture of artists as imitators and art as mere
imitation.

In his description of the ideal republic, Plato advises against the inclusion of
art as a subject in the curriculum and the banning of artists in the Republic
Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the belief in copies and
discourage men to reach for the real entities in the World of Forms. Poetry
rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds rationality of people. is just an
imitation of imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also
just an imitation of reality in the World of Forms.Art then is to be banished,
alongside the practitioners, so that the attitudes and actions of the members
of the Republic will not be corrupted by the influence of the arts. For Plato, art
is dangerous because it provides a petty replacement for the real entities than
can only be attained through reason.

Art as representation (Aristotle)

Aristotle attributes much of art to the intellect's amazing ability to recognize

patterns and the human tendency to imitate. Humans clearly take pleasure in
discovering likenesses, and according to Aristotle, much of our compulsive
need to create art comes from this pleasure. However, imitation is not the
only purpose of art. To take it a step further, Aristotle believed that part of the
artistic exercise was not only to capture what we see, but to make it more
extraordinary by removing its imperfections.

According to Aristotle, art is an attempt to grasp at universal truths in

individual happenstances. Aristotle took a particular interest in tragedy
through art, which he described as an imitation of action. It creates a
treatment for the more unbearable passions we hold in our minds. Aristotle
referred to this phenomenon as catharsis.

(Catharsis refers to an emotional release for the characters in a literary work, or

an emotional release for the audience of the work.  In Greek, the word catharsis
literally means "cleansing".  Playing the piano is a catharsis for a tired, busy
mother after a long day of work).
ART AS A REPRESENTATION

Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another imitation, Aristotle
conceived of art as representing possible versions of reality.

For Aristotle, all kinds of art do not aim to represent reality as it is, it
endeavors to provide a version of what might be or the myriad possibilities of
reality.

In Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes:

1. Art allows for the experience of pleasure (horrible experience can be made
an object of humor)    2. Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach its
audience things about life (cognitive)

Art for Art’s sake (Kant)

Art enthusiast or not, this is a phrase many of us in the 21st Century will be
familiar with. On questions of why we create and value art, “art for art’s sake”
argues judgement should not be made based on how well work serves
external purposes, such as moral or political commentary. Instead, value is
intrinsically defined by the aesthetic impression.

This, of course, is just one way of looking at art. Rooted in romanticism, the

slogan rose to prominence in 19th Century Europe, especially in France
among artists seeking to defy conventions of art’s rationalised utility and
create for themselves. As a reflection on the meaning of art,“art for art’s sake”
is closely linked to British Aestheticism, a movement that claimed art’s
defining feature was its unparalleled beauty rather than its ‘deeper’, socio-
political meanings; Oscar Wilde famously distinguished the artist as “creator of
beautiful things”. However, this is not an absolute equivalent. Today the
phrase is often deployed as a motto to defend freedom of expression as the
chief aim of art.

Before gaining such popularity, German philosopher Immanuel Kant qualified

“art for art’s sake” as a mode of approaching art in The Critique of Judgement
(1790). Declaring content, subject matter, and any other external demands
obsolete, Kant argued the purpose of art is to be “purposeless”. It should not
have to justify any reason of existing and being valued other than the fact that
it is art. Our experience of art – the ways we appreciate and criticise work – is
therefore wholly commanded by aesthetic pleasure and delight, separate to
the rest of the world. To Kant, this was the only window through which it
could be viewed. Responsible for a host of core ideas in Western philosophy,
Kant’s thoughts on autonomy and transcendental value have resonated
throughout modern thinking to present day.

Key theorists of the modern era stressed Kant’s theory was crucial to
philosophical debates around avant-gardism and, especially,
formalism. Inspired by the value of art’s material elements, Clive Bell assessed
the configuration of images, presupposing that forms “follow their own
developmental logic” as dictated by an extrinsic force: The Significant
Form. He believed this to be an essential quality in art that generates an
aesthetic emotion. In his theory, art was neither necessarily mimetic nor tied
to any cultural background, yet could still be understood for unidentifiable
reasons. With a similar approach, Clement Greenberg furthered formalism by
stating the kind of experience it provided was “valuable in its own right and
not to be obtained from any other kind of activity”.

The idea that art exists in a sphere of its own enlivened many conceptual art
movements of the 20th Century, bringing Kant’s theories into practical
fruition. Piet Mondrian famously banished representation in favour of focusing
on form. By positioning primary colours about an irregular grid differently in
every piece, his work addresses compositional balance and precision, hence
their very literal titles. Objective, disciplined and ordered, such experiments
are bound to concepts of “art for art’s sake”. Jackson Pollock, often quoted as
a key artist, used gestural techniques in his drip paintings to reach similar
ends as Mondrian. It is not imagery suggestive of the real world that causes
our appreciation of these artists’ pleasing aesthetics, but rather something of
their work’s composition and form. Whilst the matter of Pollock’s paintings
relates to form, his technique is inflected with emotional input, spurring
questions on whether the work is or is not exclusively concerned with what
makes it an art form.
Conceptual art is not entirely centred around debates on form. It can equally
exhibit deeply provocative thoughts on the external world. Ai Weiwei, for
instance, draws upon minimalist constructions in A Ton of Tea (2007);
however, its explanatory title provides a new dimension to the piece. On
recognising the ambiguous block as the widely drunk beverage, the tone
becomes one of social investigation, commenting on nationalism, global
markets, and trade exploitation. Despite its abstraction, Weiwei’s work can still
serve as activist interrogation.

When expression and individuality permeate art a certain complexity arises

once more, as with Pollock. Wassily Kandinsky’s compositions exploit the
evocative affinity between shape and colour to represent fresh fusions of sight
and sound. However, his vocabulary is fundamentally based on personal
experiences of music and visual culture, formal experiments that serve as
worldly interpretations at the same time.

In realising this, we acknowledge “art for art’s sake” is not a rule by which work
is created. It is also not a finalised answer to why art is considered good or
bad. It is an interpretative mechanism, just one angle for looking at non-
figurative, abstract art. Even so, art does not necessarily have to be non-
narrative to be valued for what it is as art above all else. Paintings with clear
iconographical content can still be appreciated for the way they appear, the
artist’s handling of paint often being significantly more arresting than the
subject matter.

When looking at art, it is important to bear in mind the implication that not all
art has to mean anything other than the fact that it is art. Once we start there,
conceptualism can become both more accessible and more confusing,
depending on what you’re looking at (this is for later discussion). Whilst not
used at length in art history, the legacy of “art for art’s sake” lies in accepting it
as an autonomous pursuit and, thanks to its neat summary, it has remained
central to Western modes of looking at art.

ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT

“Beauty is an object’s form of purposiveness as it is perceived in the object

without the presentation of a purpose [1]”. Thus Immanuel Kant, in The
Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790), attempts to delimit the scope of the
beautiful and runs straight away into vexing counter-examples – works of art
not least among them.

1.     Immanuel Kant, The Critique of the Power of Judgment, trans. Werner

S. Pluhar, Hackett, Indianapolis, 1987, p. 84
Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Judgment, considered the judgment of
beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something that can be universal despite its
subjectivity. Kant recognized that judgment of beauty is subjective. However,
even subjective judgments are based on some universal criterion for the said
judgment.

Art as a disinterested judgment how and in what sense can a judgment of

beauty, which ordinarily is considered to be a subjective feeling, be considered
objective or universal?

HOW ARE THESE TWO STATEMENTS DIFFERENT?

1. “I like this painting.”

2. “This painting is beautiful.”

The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective), while the second is an

aesthetic judgment (objective). • Making an aesthetic judgment requires us to
be disinterested. In other words, we should try to go beyond our individual
tastes and preferences so that we can appreciate art from a universal
standpoint.

ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION

According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays a huge role in communication to its

audience’s emotions that the artist previously experienced. In the same that
language communicates information to other people, art communicates
emotions.

As a purveyor of man’s innermost feelings and thoughts, art is given a unique

opportunity to serve as a mechanism for social unity. Art is central to man’s
existence because it makes accessible feelings and emotions of people from
the past and present.

Lesson 5- SUBJECT AND CONTENT REPRESENTATION WITH THE LEVELS

OF MEANING IN ARTS.

Two basic considerations we need to be acquainted with are form: the

physical and visible characteristics inherent in works of art, and content: the
meaning we derive from them. Formal distinctions include a work’s size,
medium (painting, drawing, sculpture or other kind of work) and descriptions
of compositional elements such as the lines, shapes and colors
involved. Issues of content include any visual clues that provide an
understanding of what the art tells us. Sometimes an artwork’s content is
vague or hidden and needs more information than is present in the work
itself. Ultimately these two terms are roped together in the climb to
understand what art has to offer us. As we examine art from different time
periods, styles and cultures, the issues of form and content will apply to all of
them.

The first level in approaching art is learning to LOOK at it.  In future

discussions we will spend more time in pure observation than you probably
have done before.  Generally, we tend to look at art in terms of "liking" it
FIRST, and "looking" at it later. From this perspective, the subjective
(knowledge residing in the emotions and thoughts of the viewer) almost
completely dominates our way of looking at art. In the arts, it’s especially
important to begin to develop an informed or objective opinion rather than
just an instinctual reaction.  An objective view is one that focuses on the object’s
physical characteristics as the main source of information. This does not mean
that you will remove or invalidate your subjective feelings about a work, in fact
you will find that the more informed you become, the more artwork will affect
you emotionally and intellectually. It does mean that you will learn alternative
ways to approach art, ways that allow you to find clues to meaning and to
understand how art reflects and affects our lives.

In viewing art, there are clues that mediate between the artwork and the
viewer, allowing to more easily comprehend what he is seeing.

These clues are:

Subject- the visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining
the artwork: the “what”

Content- the meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork:

“Why”
Form- the development and configuration of the art work, this is how the
element and the medium or the materials are put together: “how”

REPRESENTATIONAL ART

These types of art have subjects that refer to objects that refer to objects or
events occurring in the real world.  Also termed figurative art because the
figures depicted are easy to make out and decipher.

Despite not knowing who Mona Lisa is, it is clear that the painting is of a
woman that is realistically-proportioned; only the upper torso is shown; a
beguiling and mysterious smile is flashed; the background is a landscape

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART.

Art forms that do not make a reference to the real world, whether it is a
person, place, thing, or even a particular event. It is stripped down to visual
elements, such as shapes, lines, and colors that are employed to translate a
particular feeling, emotion, and even concept.
THE LEVELS OF MEANING (CONTENT)

            Factual- The most rudimentary level of meaning for it may be

extracted from the identifiable or recognizable forms in the artwork and
understanding how these elements relate to one another.

Conventional meaning- Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the

artwork using motifs, signs, and symbols and other cyphers as bases of its
meaning. These conventions are established through time, strengthened by
recurrent use and wide acceptance by its viewers or audience and scholars
who study them.

Subjective meaning- When subjectivities are consulted, a variety of meanings

may arise when a particular work of art is read. These meanings stem from the
viewer’s or audience’s circumstances that come into play when engaging with
art (what we know, what we learned, what we experienced; what values we
stand for) Meaning may not be singular, rather, multiple and varied.

For Example:

Analysis:

Subject: biblical art

Factual meaning: Creation Story (creation of man)

Conventional meaning: man was created in the image and likeness of God

Subjective meaning: endowment of intellect to man from God

SOURCES AND KINDS OF SUBJECT

For non-representational art, a higher, level of perceptiveness and insight

might be required to fully grasped the feeling, emotion, or concept behind the
work.

 For representational art, it is easier to infer the subject matter because from
the figures depicted in the artwork, there is already a suggestion as to its
implication.

Lesson 6: ART AND ARTISANS: PRODUCTION PROCESS, MEDIUM,

TECHNIQUE AND CURATION.

Before I move on to the specifics though, I feel it's necessary to break it down
to the basics. A little etymology and history never hurts. The word artisan
derives from the Italian "artesian" which stems from the Latin artitus, meaning
"instructed in the arts". An artisan is thus a skilled worker that has mastered a
trade or a craft which can be purely decorative, functional or both. Artisans
can be traced all the way back to Ancient Egypt, as carpenters, stone carvers,
potters, sculptors, jewelers, among other trades. Though these craftsmen were
highly skilled and their work was valued, they themselves made part of the
lower-middle class on the social pyramid (no pun intended), only above slaves
and farmers. They catered to the pharaohs and the elite who treated them
merely as common laborers, rarely praising the artisan for their mastery and
skill.

It wasn't until the medieval period that the role of the artisan in society was
specialized and appreciated. This was due to the formation of artisan guilds,
which protected the rights and benefits of the producers and the consumer
while also maintaining a standard of quality and workmanship. The guilds
were made up of a master artisan or craftsman who owned their business and
oversaw and educated apprentices in their craft. The master artisan was
considered a noble man in society, but artistry was still only seen for its
collective capacity to produce and distribute essential goods. During the
Renaissance period, however, the artisan first began to receive recognition for
their genius and individual vision as creative workers, rather than mere manual
laborers/slaves as they had been throughout history. These circumstances
gave rise to the great artists that we celebrate to day such as Michelangelo
and Leonardo Da Vinci.
Today, the medieval artisan will be remembered for their great contribution to
the progress and liberation of the artisan. Their collective effort stands as a
milestone in pre-capitalist production. In their time, their livelihood was
dependent on their abilities, as was the consumer on their products. After the
industrial revolution the demand for the artisan has dwindled, however, a
recent revival of interest in original and quality products has spurred a new
wave of artisans. I am interested in how these artisans work and what role
they serve in today's society. The purpose of this project will thus be to
research these questions. I also intend to include a historical background for
the specific artisans I will feature in each post.

Definition of Medium- The word medium, which comes from the Latin word
medium, denotes the means by which an artist communicates his idea. It is
the stuff out of which he creates a work of art.  These are the materials which
the artist uses to translate his feelings or thought into a beautiful reality. This
may be  pigment  in  painting,  stone,  wood  brick,  concrete  and  various 
building materials  in  architecture,  steel,  marble,  bronze,  and  wood  in 
sculpture, sound in music and words in literature.

 On  the  basis  of  medium,  the  arts  are  primarily  classified  as:  Visual  and
Auditory.

Visual-The  visual  or  spaces  are  those  whose  mediums  can  be  seen  and
which  occupy  space.  These are grouped into two classes.  The  first  is  the
dimensional  or  two  dimensional  arts  which  include  painting,  drawing
printmaking,   and   photography.   The community   planning, industrial
design and the crafts like ceramics and furniture making

Auditory-or  time  arts  are  those  mediums  that  can  be  heard  and  which 
are expressed  in  time.  These are music and literature.  The  combined  arts
are those  whose  mediums  can  be  both  seen  and  heard,  and  these  exist 
in  both space and time.

The Artist and His Mediums-The artist thinks feels and gives shape to his
vision in terms of his mediums. When an artist chooses his medium, he
believes that this can best express the idea he wants to convey. Most often an
artist employs more than one medium to give meaning to his creative
production. Oftentimes, the matter of selecting the medium depends entirely
on the artist himself since this is a part of the artistic inspiration. The
distinctive character of the medium determines the  way  it  can  be  worked 
on  and  turned  into  a  work  of  art.  The nature of each medium determines
how a work of art may be realized.
Definition of Technique- is the  manner  in  which  the  artist  controls  his 
medium  to  achieve  the  desired effect.  It  is  the  ability  with  which  he 
fulfills  the  technical  requirement  s  of  his  particular work of art. It has to do
with the way he manipulates the work of art. It has to do with the way he
manipulates his medium to express his ideas. Apparently, artists differ from
one another in technique even if they use the same medium...

The Mediums of Visual Arts

Watercolor-as a mediums difficult to handle because it is difficult to produce

warm and rich tones.  While  changes may be  made  once  the  paint  has 
been  applied  such  changes normally  tend  to  make  the  color  less 
luminous. This defect however are rendered by watercolor artists through
some techniques.

An  example  is  the  method  of  gouache,  an  opaque  watercolor  painting 
the  major  effects  of which are caused by the whitepaper itself. The gouache,
is done by mixing zinc white with the regular watercolor paints to tone them
down giving the appearance of sobriety suitable for dramatic purposes

Fresco-This  is  the  painting  on  a  moist plaster  surface  with colors  ground 
in  water  or  a limewater mixture. The colors dry into plaster, and the picture
becomes a part of the wall. Fresco must be done quickly because it is an
exacting medium

Tempera-paints are mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white and
ore. They are often used as a binder due to its film forming properties and
rapid drying rate.

Pastel-This is a stick of dried paste mage of pigments ground with chalk and
compounded with gum water. Its colors are luminous, and it is a very flexible
medium. Some artists use a fixing  medium  or  a  protecting  surface  such  a 
glass,  but  when  the  chalk  rubs,  the  picture loses some of its brilliance.

Encaustic-This is one of the early mediums used by the Egyptians for the
painted portrait on mummy cases.  This  is  done  by  painting  with  wax 
colors  fixed  with  heat.  Painting  with wax  produces  luster  and  radiance 
in  the  subject  making  them  appear  at  their  best  in portraits.

Oil-painting  is  one  of  the  most  expensive  art  activities  today  because 
of  the  prohibitive cost  of  materials.  In  oil  painting,  pigments  are  mixed 
with  linseed  oil  and  applied  to  the canvas. One good quality of oil paint as
a medium is its flexibility. The artist may use brush, palette knife or even his
bare hands when applying paint in his canvass. In some cases we do not even
notice the artist’s strokes because the paint is applied very smoothly. One
distinctive  characteristic  of  oil  paints,  compared  with  other  mediums,  is 
that  they  dry slowly  and  the  painting  may  be  changed  and  worked 
over  a  long  period  of  time.  Painting done in oil is glossy and lasts long.

Acrylic-This   medium   is   used   popularly   by   contemporary   painters  

because   of   the transparency  and  quick  drying  characteristics  of  water 
color  and  the  flexibility  of  oil combined.  This  synthetic  paint  is  mixed 
with  acrylic  emulsion  as  binder  for  coating  the surface  of  the  artwork. 
Acrylic  paints  do  not  tend  to  break  easily,  unlike  oil  paints  which turn
yellowish or darker over a long of period of time.

Mosaic-art is a picture or decoration made of small pieces of inlaid colored

stones or glass called “tesserae” which most often are cut in into squares
glued on a surface with plaster or cement.  Mosaic is usually classified as
painting.  Although the medium used is not strictly pigment.  Mosaic art is an
important feature of Byzantine churches.  A  prominent  religious artwork  in 
Manila  done  in  mosaic  is  found  in  the  altar  of  Sta.  Cruz    Church 
showing  a wounded  white  lamb,  symbolizing  Christ,  with  a  stream  that
flows  down  directly  to  the tabernacle

Stained Glass-as an artwork is common in Gothic Cathedrals and churches. 

This is made by combining many small pieces of colored glass which are held
together by bands of lead.

Tapestry –This is a fabric consisting of a warp  upon which colored threads are
woven by hand  to  produce  a  design,  often  pictorial  and  for  wall 
hangings  and  furniture covering. During the middle Ages, they were hung on
the walls of palaces and in Cathedrals on festive occasions to provide warmth.

Drawing-is  usually  done  on  paper,  using  pencil  pen  and  ink,  or 
charcoal.  It is the most fundamental of all skills necessary in the arts.

Drawing  can  be  done  with  different  kinds  of  mediums  and  the  most 
common  is  pencil which  comes  in  different  degrees  of  hardness  or 
softness,  with  the  pencil  lead  (graphite) depending on the kind of drawing
the artists will undertake. For line work, hard pencil lead is applied.  Ink,  one 
of  the  oldest  mediums  still  in  use,  offers  a  great  variety  of  qualities,
depending on the tools and techniques used in applying the ink on the
surface.

Bistre-is  a  brown  pigment  extracted  from  the  soot  of  wood,  and  often 
used  in  pen  and wash drawings
Crayons-are pigments bound by wax and compressed into painted sticks used
for drawing especially among children in the elementary grade. They adhere
better on paper surface.

Charcoal-These  are  carbonaceous  materials  obtained  by  heating  wood 

or  other  organic substances in the absence of air. Charcoal is used in
representing broad masses of light and shadow.  Like  drawing  pencil,  soft 
charcoal  produces  the  darkest  value,  while  the  darkest produces the
lightness tone.

Silverpoint-In  this  medium,  the  artist  has  technique  of  drawing  with  a 
silver  stylus  on specially prepared  paper  to  produce  a  thin  grayish  line 
that  was  popular  during  the Renaissance period.

Print  making-a  print  is  anything  printed  on  a  surface  that  is  a  direct 
result  from  a duplicating process. Ordinarily, the painting or graphic image,
is done in black ink on white paper and becomes the artist’s plate.

Five Major Types of Prints

1) Woodcut

As  the  name  implies,  this  is  made  from  a  piece  of  wood.  The design
stands as a relief, the remaining surface of the block being cut away. A
woodblock prints just as do the letters of a typewriter.  The lines of the design
are wood, so they are very fine. Woodcuts can be identified because of their
firm, clear and black lines.

2) Engraving this is the art of forming designs by cutting, corrosion by

acids. In engraving, the lines of the designs are cut into a metal plate with ink
and transferred from the plate to the paper. The lines of an engraving are cut
by hand with an instrument called  burin,  a  steel  tool  with  an  oblique 
point  and  rounded  handle  for  carving stone and engraving metal.

3)Intaglios a printing process in which the design or the text is engraved into
the surface of  the  place  and  the  ink  is  transferred  to  paper  from  the 
groover.  The design is engraved or etched into a metal plate.

4) Stencil Printings a very common art activity done by high school students
these days as a part of their practical arts courses.  It  is  a  process  which 
involves  the  cutting  of  the design on special paper cardboard or metal
sheet in such a way that when ink is rubbed over it, the design is reproduced
on the surface.
5)Relief Involves  the  cutting  away  from  a  block  of  wood  or  linoleum
the  parts  of  the design  that  the  artist  wants  to  be  seen.  Leaving the
portion of a design to stand out wants to be seen, leaving the portion of a
design to stand out on a block or on the   linoleum. The   apparent  
projection   of   parts   of   the   design   gives   the appearance of the   third
dimension.   Color   prints are   made   by   preparing   a separate block for
each color to be used. It is important that only the parts to be printed with
precision are on the proper area

The Mediums of Sculpture

There are  a  number  of  materials  available  for  a  sculpture  to  work with 
according  to  the artists interest in the subject-stone, marble, jade, and
granite, to name a few. Each of them presents an interesting motivation to
challenge the sculptor’s creativity.

Stone-is the hard substance formed from mineral and earth material. The
finish is granular and dull in appearance. These are normally used for
gravestones in cemeteries.

Granite-is  a  granular  igneous  rock  composed  of feldopars  and  quartz, 

usually  combined with other minerals and is quite difficult to chisel. This is
good for large works with only a few designs.

Marble-is  limestone  in  a  more  or  less  crystalline  state  and  is  capable 
of  taking  a  high polish, occurring in many varieties. It is easier to carve than
granite

 Jade-is  a  fine,  colorful  stone  usually  green,  and  used  widely  in  Ancient 
China.  It is highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carving and
fashioning jewelry.

Ivory-which  comes  from  the  main  parts  of  the  tasks  of  elephants  is  the 
hard  white substance use to make carvings and billiards balls. In the home of
some well to do families in  the  Philippines,  faces  and  hands  of  images  of 
saints  are  made  of  ivory.  The bodies are made of wood, carved and
painted.

Metals-include  any  of  a  class  of  elementary  substances  as  gold,  silver 
or  copper  all  of which  are  characterized  by  capacity,  ductility, 
conductivity  and  peculiar  luster  when freshly  fractured.    Traditionally,  the 
metals  that  have  been  the  medium  for  sculpture  are copper, brass,
bronze, gold, silver, and lead. Aluminum is a recent addition to the list Bronze
is another by product of metal consisting of copper and tin with color and is
one of the most universally popular metals for sculpture. 

Bronze as a material is strong, durable and resistant to any atmospheric

corrosion.

Brass-an alloy of copper and zinc is not popularly used by artists because of
its limitations as a medium. Although it has many practical uses, brass does
not rust and it takes a brilliant polish.

Copper–which  has  a  peculiar  brilliance,  is  used  as  a  costing  medium. 

This is basically shaped by hammering. It can into relief forms

Gold  and  Silver-are  used  as  casting  materials  for  small  objects  like 
medals,  coins  and pieces  of  jewelry.  Because  they  are  quite  expensive, 
they  are  used  for  either  personal accessories or religious adornments.

Lead-a bluish gray metal is used for casting and forging. With the help of a
welding torch iron, it can be worked into a variety of unique and exciting
forms.

Plaster–is a composition of lime, sand and water.  Plaster  is  worked  on  an 
armature  of metal  wires  and  rods  in  addition  to  various  materials  and 
fibers.  This  is  applied  on  walls and  ceilings  and  allowed  to  harden  and 
dry.  The medium is used extensively for making manikins, models, molds,
architectural decorations and other indoor sculpture.

Clay-is a natural  earthy  material  that  has  the  nature  of  plasticity  when 
wet,  consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum used for making
bricks and ceramics.

Glass-is a medium that is hard, brittle, non-crystalline, more or less

transparent substances produced by   fusion,   usually   consisting   of
mutually dissolved   silica   and silicates and contains soda and lime.

Wood-as a medium is perhaps easier to carve than any other mediums

available because it can be intricately carved and subjected into a variety of
treatment not possible with stone

The Mediums of Music

Basically, music deals with sound. The medium of music is the sound. The

medium of music is the sound produced by man and the human voice and by
most musical instruments. The musical  instruments  which  have  a  vibrator, 
a  resonator  and  a  system  for  producing  and regulating  fixed  pitches 
are  grouped  into  four  main  types-stringed,  woodwind,  brass  and
percussion instruments

Stringed Instruments

The violin is the smallest of the stringed instruments and has the highest
pitch. 

The cello is much larger than the violin and has longer, thicker and heavier
strings

The viola and  violin  are  played  by  tucking  the  instrument  under  the 
chin  of  the musicians when they are playing.

The cello is  bigger  than  the  violin  and  the  viola it  resets  on  the  floor 
when  it  is played. The large protruding pin at its base holds it firmly on the
floor.

The double  bass is  the  longest  of  the  string  instruments  and  has  the 
lowest  pitch. The distinguishing feature of the string instruments is that the
smaller the size, the higher is its pitch and the larger it is lower is its pitch.

The Harps one  of  the oldest  string  instruments  consisting  of  a triangular 
frame formed  by  a  sound  box,  a  pillar  and  curved  neck,  and  having 
strings  that  are stretched between the sound box and the neck are plucked
with fingers.

The guitar is a stringed musical instrument with a long fretted neck a flat
somewhat violin-like body and has six strings which are plucked

Woodwinds

The wind instruments consist of tubes usually made of wood which have holes
on the sides. When one or another of these holes is opened or closed, air
inside the tube is changed, thus producing tones of varied pitches.  The keys
are set and arranged to suit the natural position of the fingers of the musician
while he plays the instrument.

The Flute is  a  musical  wind  instrument  consisting  of  a  tube  with  a 
series  of  finger holes or keys in which the wind is directed against a sharp
edge. The flute produces a  melodious  sound,  and  so  it  often  plays  solo 
parts  in  orchestral  compositions  in  a concert.
The Clarinet is  a  woodwind  instrument in  the  form  of  a  cylindrical  tube 
with  a single reed attached to its mouthpiece. It has a wide range and usually
plays the alto part when the flute plays the melody.

The Piccolo is a small flute, sounding an octave higher than the ordinary flute.

The oboe is  a  wood  wind  instrument  having  a  slender  conical  body  and 
a  double reed mouthpiece.  The tone of the oboe is nasal.

The Bassoon is a larger woodwind instrument of low range with a doubled

tube and a curved metal crook to which a double reed is attached.

The  Saxophone  is  a  musical  wind  instrument  consisting  of  a  conical, 

usually  brass tube with keys or valves and mouthpiece with one reed. This
musical instrument is not a regular member of the orchestra.

Brass Instruments

The brass instruments consist of cylindrical brass tubes of varying length.

The trumpet is a brass instrument with a powerful, penetrating tone,

consisting of a tube commonly curved once or twice around on it and having
a cup shaped mouthpiece at one end and bell at the other.  Because of its
piercing tone when played, it is associated with martial pomp.

The horn is  a  wind  instrument  originally  formed  from  the  hollow  horn 
of  an animal but now usually made of brass or other metals

The trombone is  a  musical  wind  instrument  consisting  of  a  cylindrical 

metal tube  expanding  into  a  bell  and  bent  twice  in  U  shape,  usually 
equipped  with  a slide.

The tuba is the bass of the brass choir. It is also a valued brass wind
instrument having a low range.

Percussion Instruments

The  word  percussion  simply  means the  striking  of  one  body  against 
another  with some  sharpness.  The  striking  or  tapping  or  scratching  of 
the  instrument  with  the hand generates some excitement ad enlivens the
orchestral sound.

 The chimes is  a  musical  instrument  consisting  of  a  set  of  slabs of  metals
which produce musical tones when struck.
The glockenspiel is  a  musical  instrument  composed  of  a  set  of 
graduated steel bars mounted in a frame and struck with hammers and used
especially in bands.

The cymbal is  a  concave  plate  of  brass  or  bronze that  produces  a  sharp,
ringing sound when struck played either in pairs, by being struck together or
simply by being struck by a drumstick.

The xylophone is  a  musical  instrument  consisting  of  a  graduated  series 

of wooden  bars,  usually  sounded  by  striking  with  small  wooden  bars
usually sounded by striking with small wooden hammers

The Kettledrum is  a  drum  consisting  of  a  hallow  hemisphere  of  brass  or
copper over which is stretched a skin.

The percussion instruments can produce tones of different and definite

pitches

Lesson 7: GAMABA National Artists.

In April 1992, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the National Living
Treasures Award was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7355. Tasked
with the administration and implementation of the Award is the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the highest policy-making and
coordinating body for culture and the arts of the State. The NCCA, through
the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and an Ad Hoc Panel of Experts,
conducts the search for the finest traditional artists of the land, adopts a
program that will ensure the transfer of their skills to others and undertakes
measures to promote a genuine appreciation of and instill pride among our
people about the genius of the Manlilikha ng Bayan.

First awarded in 1993 to three outstanding artists in music and poetry, the
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan has its roots in the 1988 National Folk Artists
Award organized by the Rotary Club of Makati-Ayala. As a group, these folk
and traditional artists reflect the diverse heritage and cultural traditions that
transcend their beginnings to become part of our national character. As
Filipinos, they bring age-old customs, crafts and ways of living to the attention
and appreciation of Filipino life. They provide us with a vision of ourselves and
of our nation, a vision we might be able to realize someday, once we are given
the opportunity to be true to ourselves as these artists have remained truthful
to their art.
As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen
engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have
reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have been
passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her
community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.

Befitting their national status, the presence of Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan

Awardess are required in the events under the institutional programs and
projects of the NCCA such as the Philippine National Arts Month, the National
Heritage Month, and other important national and regional cultural
celebrations and similar future events. (Download copy of NCCA Board
Resolution 2008-486: Requiring the Participation of the Gawad sa Manlilikha
ng Bayan Awardees in National Celebrations).

How Does One Become a Manlilikha ng Bayan?

To become a “Manlilikha ng Bayan”, the candidate must possess the following

qualifications:

a. He/she is an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community

anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs, beliefs,
rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external elements that
have influenced it.

b. He/she must have engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence
and documented for at least fifty (50) years.

c. He/she must have consistently performed or produced over a significant

period, works of superior and distinctive quality.

d. He/she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the art,
and must have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of
works of extraordinary technical quality.

e. He/she must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the
community their skills in the folk art for which the community is traditionally
known.

A traditional artist who possesses all the qualities of a Manlilikha ng Bayan

candidate, but due to age or infirmity has left him/her incapable of teaching
further his/her craft, may still be recognized if:
a. He/she had created a significant body of works and/or has consistently
displayed excellence in the practice of his/her art, thus achieving important
contributions for its development.

b. He/she has been instrumental in the revitalization of his/her community’s

artistic tradition.

c. a. He/she has passed on to the other members of the community skills in

the folk art for which the community is traditionally known.

d. His/her community has recognized him/her as master and teacher of

his/her craft.

Categories

The Award shall be given in each, but not limited to the following categories
of traditional folk arts, viz.: folk architecture, maritime transport, weaving,
carving, performing arts, literature, graphic and plastic arts, ornament, textile
or fiber art, pottery and other artistic expressions of traditional
culture. Consideration shall be given to geographical distribution and balance
of artistic categories.

What are the incentives received by the awardee?

A Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee receives a specially designed gold medallion,

an initial grant of P100,000 and P10,000 monthly stipend for life. In
consonance with the provision of Republic Act No. 7355, which states that
“the monetary grant may be increased whenever circumstances so warrant,”
the NCCA board approved an additional monthly personal allowance of
P14,000 for the awardees as well as a maximum cumulative amount of
P750,000 medical and hospitalization benefits annually similar to that received
by the National Artists and funeral assistance/tribute fit for a National Living
Treasure.

Ad Hoc Panel of Experts

To ensure a fair selection of the potential awardees, the Gawad sa Manlilikha

ng Bayan Committee shall be assisted by an Ad Hoc Panel of Experts
consisting of experts in the traditional folk arts categories listed above. The
names of those selected to become members of the Ad Hoc Panel of Experts
shall be submitted to the NCCA Board of Commissioners for proper
designation. The Ad Hoc Panel of Experts may be composed of the members
of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee, one representative from
each of the committees of the Subcommission on Cultural Communities and
Traditional Arts, representatives from the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA),
National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), and representatives from
other government and non-government instrumentalities or other appropriate
institutions whose representation shall be instituted by the NCCA Board from
time to time. The term of the members shall expire upon completion of the
search and selection process.

The Ad Hoc Panel of Experts shall constitute from among themselves Ad Hoc
Search Committees that shall be deployed to the various parts of the country,
after determining the priority areas, to conduct a thorough search and
documentation of candidates for the awards in the traditional folk arts
category respectively assigned to them.

Nominations may come from the members of the Ad Hoc Panel of Experts
based on their knowledge and expertise. Additional nominations may come
from the Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts,
cultural, government and private institutions, local cultural offices, universities
and other persons knowledgeable in any of the identified categories.

In the process of their search, the Ad Hoc Search Committees may identify
additional nominees.

In conducting the search, the Ad Hoc Search Committees shall be guided by

and shall faithfully adhere to the criteria and qualifications for becoming a
Manlilikha ng Bayan as set forth in the law and these Rules and Regulations.

The duration of the nomination process ends upon submission of the final list
of nominees of the Ad Hoc Search Committees to the Ad Hoc Panel of
Experts.

Ad Hoc Panel of Reviewers

The Ad Hoc Panel of Experts shall then constitute an Ad Hoc Screening

Committee who shall recommend nominees for the award to an Ad Hoc Panel
of Reviewers.

The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and Ad Hoc Panel of Experts

shall constitute from among scholars, practitioners and experts in the field of
traditional arts an Ad Hoc Panel of Reviewers that shall review the
recommendations of the Ad Hoc Screening Committee and evaluate the
qualifications of the nominees. The documentation previously undertaken by
the Ad Hoc Search Committees shall be a key factor in the evaluation process.
The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee shall submit to the NCCA the
recommendations of the Ad Hoc Panel of Reviewers for appropriate action.

The names of the awardees approved by the NCCA Board shall be submitted
to the President of the Philippines for proclamation.

GAMABA AWARDEES