Topic 2: Understanding the Arts

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
a. Evaluate the perspectives behind the meaning of art;
b. Demonstrate understanding on the basic concepts and
assumptions about art; and
c. Point out works of art in the past that are still very much admired
and treasured today.

Presentation of Content

We can say that art is the lifeblood of humanities because it conveys one’s feelings
and expressions. Art is the essential factor which motivates an individual to create and
appreciate “a thing of beauty.”

But before we formally discuss art, let’s look at the etymological meaning as well
as the different meanings of art given by the experts.

Etymologically, art is derived from the Latin word “ars”, meaning ability or skill.
Art is from an Italian “artis” defined as a human or skill.

Webster’s New Collegiate dictionary defines art as “The conscious use of akill and creative
imagination especially in the production of aesthetics objects.”

Art according to writers and philosophers:

“Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of
beauty of God: it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man
lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man’s emotions by
external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects, above all, it is not
pleasure; but it is a means of unions among men, joining them together in the same
feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals
and humanity.” Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy
 “Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life.” American writer Henry Miller

“Art is higher type of knowledge than experience.” Greek philosopher Aristotle

“The object of art is to give life a shape.” French dramatist Jean Anouilh

“Art is science in the flesh.” French poet and playwright Jean Couteau

“All art is social,” because it is the result of a relationship between an artist and his
time.” Historian James Adams

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” Irish poet
and playwright Oscar Wilde
“Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful
forms suitable for human use.” American architect, interior designer, writer, and
educator Frank Lloyd Wright

Assumptions about Art

1. Art is everywhere.

"Your surroundings, home, personal care, pets, clothing and body are all reflections of
how you see and express yourself." - Dr. Christiane Northrup

2. Art is not nature.

Art is not nature because art is man-made. It is the creature of man that may reflect a
profound skillfulness and craftsmanship. Art can never be natural because nature is
evanescent, in constant transformation of change, and yet art is permanent.
3. Art is imitating and creating.
Creation in art is the act of combining or re-ordering already existing materials so that new
objects will be formed. An artist only copies the things in nature he believes would express
his thought and feelings. Art is a process of imitating involving personal assimilation
through mind, feeling and style (Barrios, ____).

4. Art perfects nature.

Artists only enhance things they like and eliminate the undesirable elements in
nature to convey their message of beauty and love.

5. Art is universal.
 It transcends cultures, races, and civilization. As long as human beings exist, art is
feasible, alive, and dynamic.

6. Art is timeless
Art is timeless because it goes beyond the time of our existence. It is present in every
corner of the world to serve basic needs of mankind, from ancient time to modern world.
Further, art is timeless because it continually evolves. Aside from artists birthing new
artworks, they also never stop innovating, recreating, reinventing, and reviving works of art.
Art defines time. In watching film, for example, even when you do not have the idea
when it was created, the style of directing and filming, the clothing and bearing of the
characters, musical scoring and the setting and the plot of the story would make the viewer’s
guess the period when it was produces.
While art defines time, time also defines art. It identifies the artwork that would
“click” in a particular time for the particular audience.
Having a clearer understanding about art, contemplate on the following universally
accepted ideas about art.
Art as Expression and Communication
Art has grown out of man’s need to express himself. Expression is not limited to the
revelation of emotions alone. The personal and social values of the artist and his penetrating
psychological insight into human reality are also conveyed through arts.
The artist uses symbols which he organizes into some comprehensible equivalent of
the experience that he is trying to convey. If the symbols are understood by his audience,
then communication has been established.

Art and Experience

Three major kinds of experience are involved in the artistic activity.
1. It starts as an experience which the artist wants to communicate.
2. The act of expressing this experience –that of creating that art object
or form.
3. When the work is done, there is the artist’s gratifying experience of
having accomplished something significant.
On the part of the onlooker or listener, he may kindle an experience which is similar
or related to that which the artist tried to express. These include sensory, emotional, and
intellectual responses.
Art and Beauty
A thing of beauty is one which gives us pleasure when we perceive it. The delight
that we experience is called aesthetic pleasure.
Beauty in terms of art refers to an interaction between line, color, texture, sound,
shape, motion, and size that is pleasing to the senses.

Sometimes beauty is not the artist’s ultimate goal. Art is often intended to appeal to
and connect with human emotion. Artists may express something so their audience is
stimulated in some way-creating feelings, religious faith, curiosity, interest, identification
with a group, thoughts, or creativity. For example, performance art often does not aim to
please the audience but instead evokes feelings, reactions, conversations, or questions for
the viewer. In these cases, aesthetics may be an irrelevant measure
of “beautiful” art.
(https://courses.lumenting.com/boundeless-arthistory/chapter/what-is-art/)

Read the short persuasive essay about Nature being a source of inspiration.

Reading the Book of Nature

The Book of Nature, one writer declared, has pages “ written over with large print or fine print,
and in a variety of language,” Most of us read the large type more or less appreciatively, but fail
to decipher the fine lines and footnotes.”

However, artists who, most always, are lovers of nature, decode the obscure signs and read
between the lines. And from that, they draw inspiration for their creations.

Before he sits down with paint and brush, Arnel Azurin, a nature painter for example, immerses
himself in Nature, to explore its very heart, to probe its secrets of life- and to realize how all these
fall into a large, universal pattern.

Other artists also find inspiration in every little aspect of Nature, reading in each a sense of life,
a threshold opening into a realm of mystic meanings. In one instance, a poet, writing a poem,
saw in the driftwood a metaphor of the human spirit: that though battered in form, it prevails
through time and weather.

The artist develops an acute sensitivity to Nature’s shapes; leaves in varied forms, gnarled
branches and twigs, rounded hills and mountain peaks; to Nature’s texture: flower petals, ripened
fruit, rocks and stones; to Nature’s colors the carpet of emerald green moss, the yellow of
ripening grain in ricefields, the deep blue see sea and sky.

Most artists interpret and imitate Nature in its utmost beauty. How best to sump up Nature’s
splendor except through colorful flowers, scenic landscapes, lush forests, vigorous animals, and
graceful human forms!

Painters, poets, sculptors, and musicians too, find inspiration in Nature. Anyone, for that matter,
if he takes time out to pause and read closely enough the Book of Nature, will discover in it an
exhilarating , bewitching something that inspires the sublime in the human spirit.
-The New Dimensions in Learning English (Manual)
After reading the selection, try answering the given questions below.

Guide Questions:

1. What is the image of Nature described in the passage?

2. In what way does the image confirm Nature’s artistry?
What feeling or emotion is evoked by the image?