HUMATIES: Introduction to the Arts

FUNCTIONS of the Arts

HUMANITIES 1. Physical Functions
• Humanities came from the word HUMANUS which means to be truly  Utility
human.  Instructional
• To be truly human is to be culturally enhanced and refined.  Historical
• Culture comes from Latin Cultus-Colere, which means to cultivate.  Representational
• Culture is the general way of life of a human society. 2. Social Functions
 Influential Media
Historical Development of Humanities  Interaction(communication)
• MEDIEVAL Period – anything that pertains to man’s cultivation of his 3. Psychological Functions
spirituality.  Inspirational
• RENAISSANCE – set of disciplines being taught at the universities.
 Relaxation
• MODERN – is equal to ARTS.
 Gratification
Art Derivation…
PURPOSES of the Arts
- Aryan root “AR” meaning “join” or “put together”.
1. Arts have moral, educational, social, cultural, and religious purposes
- From this ancient etymon, two Greek verbs are derived:
2. Art for art’s sake
 Artizein – to prepare
3. Moments of relaxation
 Arkiskein – to put together
4. Imagination is satisfied
- Latin derivation- “ars, artis”- everything artificially made or composed
5. Arts as outlet of our slumbering passions
by man.
6. Powerful means to reform man.
Two Kinds of Man’s Actions
Division of Arts
• There are actions to be done- in relation to man’s ultimate destiny and
1. With respect to purpose:
moral obligations.
 Practical arts- directed to produce artifacts and utensils
• There are actions to be made- in relation to man’s practical needs.
which cope with human needs like basket
What an Art is….  Liberal arts-intellectual efforts are considered; take for the case
• Art is the subjective expressions of man’s thought and feelings of AB Course
• Agent: man  Fine arts- produce to the human creativity in so far as they
• Importance: expression is an integral part of human being express beauty in different ways and different media like
drawing
Arts vs. Craft  Major arts- characterized by their actual and potential
• Art is for appreciation expressiveness like music
• Craft is for utilization  Minor arts- connected with the practical uses and purposes like
• Combination: Functional Art interior design
 3. PERFORMING ARTS
2. With respect to media and form  The performing arts include all forms of art that use the human
 Plastic arts- perceived by sense of sight like painting body, face and presence as media
 Phonetic arts- based on sounds and words like music 4. DECORATIVE ARTS
 Kinetic arts- rhythmic movement like the different kinds of  This group of arts deals with the creation of ornamental and
dances functional works using diverse materials like ceramic, wood,
 Pure arts- which take only one medium of expression, like color glass, metal, textile etc
in painting. 5. POPULAR ARTS
 Mixed Arts – two or more media like opera is a combination of  This group of art comprises all forms of popular culture. Pop
music, poetry, and drama culture is the totality of ideas, perspective, attitudes, images and
other phenomena that showcases what is trendy, well-liked, and
Classification of Arts prevalent
1. Space arts- visual arts
 2 dimensional(see only in one angle) Hierarchy of Arts
 Painting • Immanuel Kant: Music is the lowest of all arts because it gives only
 Printing sensible pleasure
 Photography • Arthur Schopenhauer: Music is the greatest because is capable of
 Drawing/sketching freeing man from his fears and desire
• George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Poetry has the best qualities like
 3 dimensional (see in several angles)
immediate perception, creative imagination, development of thoughts
 Sculpture
and events.
 Architecture
• Gottfried Leibnitz: The Fusion of poetry and music is the highest art
2. Time arts – auditory arts
 Music
Origin of the Arts
 Dance
• The dance was probably the first art cultivated by man.
 combination: Musical Theater/ opera • Music and poetry accompanied dance performances.
• Some scholars also traced the origin of painting and sculpture to dance
GROUPING THE ARTS as seen in many caves of the Neolithic Period where in numerous
1. SPATIAL (VISUAL) ARTS charcoals and color designs of women dancing around idols or men.
 These are types of arts that can be perceived by the sense of
• Other authors believe that the origin of these arts is connected with
sight and can be projected into 3-dimensional graphical forms.
sorcery and magic or their superstitious beliefs.
They are primarily visual in nature.
• Religion and superstition , therefore, are the two factors which greatly
which greatly influenced the origin and evolution of arts.
2. LITERARY ARTS (LITERATURE)
What an Art is according to…
 Etymologically, it came from the Latin word “ litterae “, which
1. Plato Art imitates nature. Art imitates life.
means letters.
2. Aristotle Art imitates men and nature in action
 3. Oscar Wilde, Irish Author(The Importance of Being Earnest)
It is life that imitates art.
4. Henri-Louis Bergson (Noble Prize in Literature, 1927) It is not reason
that enables us to imitate; art is not imitation; art is made from intuition.
5. G.E Moore Art is both imitation and intuition
6. Sigmund Freud, Austrian Psychiatrist Art is a wish-fulfillment; an
excellent work of art results from frustration
7. Jose Ortega Y Gasset, Spanish Philosopher
Art is a form of escape; escape from human negative elements
8. Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist
Art is communication; it infects our feelings
9. Benedetto Croce, Italian writer
Art is merely an expression regardless if it is understood or not
10. Albert Camus; French Philosopher and writer
Art is rebellion
11. John Dewey, American Philosopher
Art is not limited in the gallery and museum
12. Dante Leoncini
When man beautifies himself, he becomes a human art
13. Margarette Macdonald’s Art is esoteric. It is mysterious. It is indefinable.
It is only describable.  referred to as ugly but once painted in a novel, they become meaningful and
Is art an Imitation or a Creation?
• Art tends not simply to imitate, but to express nature with clarity and
meaning. Arts therefore, is not mere copying of things and nature, but
a creative activity.
• Are there any criteria to determine the excellence of the works of art?
• Art depends on individual feelings and opinions; tastes are relative
and personal. It may vary according to different periods and culture.
• How do we form good standards for art appreciation and judgment?
• Successive EXPERIENCES reveal to us the insight of beauty and the
meaning of art.
When do we say an art is BEAUTIFUL?
• Beautiful is that which a source of pleasure. Thus, if an art is the reason
of our pleasure, it is then really beautiful.
Where does beauty lie?
• Beauty is out there; it is objective. It is a primary quality that resides
in the object.
• Beauty is not there. It is a secondary quality that resides in the
perceiver. (John Locke)
• Beauty is neither primary nor secondary; it is tertiary in nature. It
depends on the appropriate situational perspective
Is everything in nature and art beautiful? Why certain things are called
“ugly” ?
 Everything in nature and art is beautiful for everything is created
perfect according to its nature and form. All things are beautiful and
perfect in themselves, but not in relation to us. The reasons ?
- Objects which we see every day lose their significance to us. People
who have in the Banawe
Rice Terraces for a long time will not see beauty of their mountains as in the
eyes of a tourist.
- Certain things are dangerous to our lives like snakes, and other wild
animals.
- Certain conditions in human life such as poverty and disease are
beautiful.
Categories of Beautiful
1. The Sublime
 enjoyment is aroused by astonishment and awe, like looking at
the starry heavens, the majesty of mountain ranges, the heroic
acts of heroes and saints.
2. The Nice
 enjoyment is aroused by sympathy, love, benevolence,
tenderness and modesty like children, flowers , flower
arrangement, artifacts.
3. The Comic
  enjoyment because it makes us laugh like satire and irony, the 2. Non-representational- has no definite subjects, only ideas attached.
exaggerated, the repetitious, the ridiculous, and the playful. Product of imagination

The Role of Art Criticism Sources of Art Subjects

• Criticism is a method of verifying or testing artistic works. It is a 1. Mythology- one of the richest source of arts subjects
technique to stimulate the understanding of art and to develop artistic 2. Heroes and Patriots
sensibility. 3. Religion
4. Nature
OBJECTIVITY OF ART a. persons
If the appreciation of arts is subjective, can it be somehow objective? b. animals
YES, it can be objective as well. C. inanimate objects
5. Rural and Urban ecology
1. Through critical study of the properties of beauty
 Order
 Proportion
 Clarity
 Unity
 Balance
 Dominance

2. Through the general consensus of the experts .

3. The final arbiter in the judgment of the works of arts is TIME. Good art
last long, if not immortal. Bad art is ephemeral and transitory.
4. Get rid of our prejudices and personal sentiments.

Art: Subjects, Medium and Technique

• Subject- the object matter
• Medium- materials and equipments that the artist utilizes in his
expression
• Technique- the manner in which the artist utilizes his medium

Art Subjects (person, scene or event)

1. Representational- has definite subjects.
- Natural (from nature)
- Conventional (man-made)