1. What are the Humanities?

The word Humanities comes from the Latin humanuse which means human,
cultured, refined. They are the branches of learning based on philosophy and ethical
perspective of humanism which emphasizes the value and agency of human beings
individuality and collectively, and generally refers individual thought and evidence over
established doctrine or faith.

They are non-scientific, have nothing to do, at least directly, with business or
economics, and they are not part of physical education or sports, either. They are the
parts of education, of knowledge, that make for a more refined sense of knowing,
thinking, and finer feeling. As a singularity, it is an ocean of all off humanity's deeper,
inward awareness, knowledge, and sensitivity. It is the collective pooling together of the
legacy of given cultures' values, ambitions, and beliefs.

Poetry, painting, philosophy, and music are not, generally speaking, products of
unstructured leisure or indulgent individuality, rather, they are tangible expressions of
the human quest for the good life. Throughout history, these forms of expressions have
served the domains of the sacred, the ceremonial, and the communal. And even in early
days of the 21st century, as many time-honored traditions come under assault, the arts
retain their power to awaken our imagination in the quest for survival, commonality, and
self knowledge.

At present, here is the list of subjects often covered in humanities courses:

1. Painting
2. Sculpture
3. Architecture
4. Photography
5. Literature
6. Music
7. Theatre
8. Dance
9. Film
 Painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography are collectively called as
the visual arts. Visual arts or spatial arts are those art forms that we perceive with our
eyes and which occupy space.

Music and literature on the other hand, are referred to as auditory arts.
Auditory or temporal arts are those art forms that can be heard and are expressed in
time. Music is the one art form that is entirely defined by time. Once a piece of music is
finished being performed, technically, when the last of its echoes fades, it's gone.

Finally, theater, dance, and film are classified as the combined arts. Combined
arts, also known as the performing arts since it involves performance, are those that can
be both seen and heard, and these art forms unfold in both space and time.

Here are a few examples of how one can actually engaged in a pursuit of the
humanities.

1. Visit a park. Visit a museum. Visit a library. Visit a craftsman workbench. Visit an
artist studio.
2. Watch a film. Watch a concert. Watch a parade. Watch a dance performance.
3. Sing a song. Dance to a beat. Play a musical instrument. Recite a poem from
memory. Create a work of art. Say what you think.
4. Attend a lecture. Attend a symphony concert. Attend an art gallery civic. Attend a
festival.
5. Look at the piece of art. Study it. Step back. Look at the piece beside it. Ask
yourself: Why are these pieces next to each other? Why is it art? Step back
again. Ask yourself: How does seeing more change the way you see the art?
6. Stop outside a building you pass everyday. Look at its design. Do you know the
name of its architectural style? Do you like it? What appeals to you? What would
you do differently? Get a book about architecture and learn about architectural
style. Find other examples of style and compare them. Take a walk with a
colleague and debate the architecture you see.
 7. Listen to a band. Listen to a debate. Listen to a well-tuned machine. Listen to a
diner ordering dinner. Listen to a poet explaining a poem. Listen to a
photographer describing a photo. Listen to an architect explaining a building's
design.
8. Read a novel. Read a poem. Read the directions on a shampoo bottle. Read a
blog. Read an essay. Read a review of a book you have not read yet. Read
sacred text. Read your diary. Read to a kid. Read the lyrics to a song you love.
Read a libretto.
9. See a play with a friend. Go early. Wander through the theater. View this page
from different angles. Read the program. Learn about the actors. Watch the play.
Study the set. Notice the lighting. Listen to reactions. Find a place to have coffee.
Discuss the play. Go to another play. Repeat the process.

Now, think about what you've done. You've examined, studied, and reviewed
something made by humans or something that makes us human. You've thought about
it, pondered it, and processed it. And you've talked about it, debated it, and discussed it.

That's what the Humanities are.

2. Why Study the Humanities?

The answer is that the Humanities make us more human-in the very best sense
of that word "human." We can, by studying what other men and women have believed,
created, and understood, also become better human beings. We can learn more about
ourselves, about other people and about the world around us. We can realize our own
potentials, and the potentials of others, much more thoroughly.

As a consequence of our encounter with the arts, we value and appreciate

beautiful things. Out of the aesthetic experiences we derive from the arts, we may be
influenced to change our ways and behavior. By allowing us to tap into the torrent of
other experiences, levels of otherness and array of alterities, we end up expanding
ourselves. The arts endeavor to stretch the limits of what we consider our Being. This
explains why "the arts" is collectively called the humanities. It brings out the decent and
the noble in us because the arts has enriched our definition of "self" by rescuing us from
morbid self-attention and by immersing us in the rich plurality of selves. Through the
arts, we come to know the changing image of mankind as s/he journeys across time,
sifts through layers of reality, and strives to achieve the ideals that make for the
meaningfulness of life.

3. How to Study the Humanities: Text, Context, and Subtext

To study the Humanities is to engage in a dialogue with the past, one that brings
us face to face with the values of our ancestors, and, ultimately, with our own. This
dialogue is (or should be) a source of personal revelation and delight; our new
encounters will be enriched according to the degree of curiosity and patience we bring
to them. Just as lasting friendships with special people are cultivated by extended
familiarity, so our appreciation of a painting, a play, or a symphony depends on close
attention and repeated contact. There are no shortcuts to the study of the humanistic
disciplines, but there are some techniques that may be helpful. It is useful, for instance,
to approach each primary source from the triple perspective of its text, its context, and
its subtext.

Text

The text of any primary source refers to its medium (that is, what it is made of),
its form (its outward shape), and its content (the subject it describes).

Whether intended to be spoken or lead, literature depends on the medium of

words. The literary form varies according to the manner in which words are arranged.
So poetry, which shares with music and dance rhythmic organization, may be
distinguished from prose, which normally lacks regular rhythmic pattern. The main
purpose of prose is to convey information, to narrate, and to describe; poetry, by its
freedom from conventional patterns of grammar, provides unique opportunities for the
expression of intense emotions. In literature, as in most kinds of expression, content
and form of a literary work determines its genre.

The visual arts-paintings, sculpture, architecture, and photography-employ a

wide variety of media, such as wood, clay, colored pigments, marble, granite, steel and
(more recently) plastic, neon, film, and computers. The form or outward shape of a work
of art depends on the manner in which the artist manipulates the formal elements of
color,line, texture, and space. Unlike words, these formal elements lack denotative
meaning. The artist manipulates form to describe and interpret the visible world (as in
such genres as portraiture and landscape paintings); to generate fantastic and
imaginative kinds of imagery; or to create imagery that is non-representational-without
identifiable subject matter. In general, however, the visual arts are spatial; that is, they
operate and are apprehended in space.

The medium of music is sound. Like literature, music is durational: it unfolds over
the period of time in which it occurs. The formal elements of music are melody,
harmony, and tone color-elements that also characterize the oral life of literature. As
with the visual arts, the formal elements of music are without symbolic content:
literature, painting and sculpture may imitate or describe nature, but music is almost
always non-representational- it rarely has meaning beyond the sound itself. For that
reason, music is the most difficult of the arts to describe in words. It is also the most
affective of the arts. Dance, the art form that makes the human body itself a medium of
expression, resembles music in that it is temporal and performance-oriented. Like
music, dance exploits rhythm as a formal tool, but like paintings and sculpture, it untolds
in space as well as time.

In analyzing the text of a work of literature, art, or music, We ask how its formal
elements contribute to its meaning and affective power. We examine the ways in which
the artist manipulates medium and form to achieve a characteristic manner of execution
and expression that we call style. And we try to determine the extent to which a style
reflects the personal vision of the artist and the spirit of his or her time and place.
Comparing the styles of various artworks from a single era, we may discover that they
share certain defining features and characteristics. Similarities (both formal and stylistic)
between, for instances, golden age Greek temples and Greek tragedies, between
Chinese lyric poems and landscape paintings, and between postmodern fiction and pop
sculpture, prompt us to seek the unifying moral and aesthetic values of the cultures in
which they were produced.

Context

We use the word context to describe the historical and cultural background or
environment of the artwork. To determine the context, we ask:

1. In what time and place did the artefact originate?

2. How did it function within the society in which it was created?
3. Was the purpose of the piece decorative, didactic, magical,
propagandistic?
4. Did it serve the religious or political needs of the community or both?

Sometimes our answers to these questions are mere guesses. Nevertheless,

understanding the function of an artefact often serves to clarify the nature of its form
(and vice versa). Determining the original function of an artwork also permits us to
assess its significance in its own time and place. The paintings on the walls of
Paleolithic caves, which are among the most compelling animal illustrations in the
history of world art, are not "artwork" in the modern sense of the term but rather magical
signs that accompanied hunting rituals, the performance of which was essential to the
survival of the community. Understanding the relationship between text and context is
one of the principal concerns of any inquiry into the humanistic disciplines.

Subtext

The subtext of the literary or artistic object refers to its secondary and implied
meanings. The subtext embraces the emotional or intellectual messages embedded in,
or implied by, a work of art. The epic poems of the ancient Greeks, for instance, which
glorify prowess and physical courage in battle, suggest that such virtues are exclusively
male. The state portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte carry the subtext of unassailable and
absolute.

6. The Values of Art

How can we tell if an artwork is great? Works of art have certain standards by
which all artworks can be measured for evaluation. Great works of art are distinguished
by the following qualities. They are:

1. Aesthetic Value

The concept of "aesthetic value" refers to that value which causes an object to be
a "work of art. This is a quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.

2. Intellectual Value

An artwork stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize

fundamental truths about ourselves, about other human beings, and about the world
around us.

3. Suggestiveness

This is the quality associated with the emotional power of art. Great works of art
move us deeply and stir our feeling and imagination, giving and evoking visions above
and beyond the plain of ordinary life and experience.

4. Spiritual Value
 Art elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which make us a better
person. The capacity to inspire is part of the spiritual value of art.

5. Permanence
A great work of art endures. It can be viewed again and again as each encounter
gives fresh delight and new insights and opens new worlds of meaning and experience
its appeal is lasting.

6. Universality

Great art is timeless and timely. It is forever relevant and appeals to one and all,
anytime, anywhere because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths, and
universal conditions.

7. Style

This is the peculiar way in which an artist sees his subject, forms his ideas, and
expresses them. Great artworks are marked as much by their memorable substance as
well as by their distinctive style. Style should suit content.

8. Form

Artistic forms are skeletal structures or conceptual frameworks designed to

support or enclose parts of the works of art. It is the organization, arrangement, or
framework of an artwork; the manner or style of constructing, arranging, and
coordinating the parts of a composition for a pleasing or effective result. Every artistic
form is the orderly method of arrangement and presentation of an artwork's parts or
ideas; it is the course of its reasoning, its development, and the manner in which its
elements are coordinated. Art forms contain, fit together, and integrate the parts of an
artwork into a complete, cohesive whole. A work's form is the guiding principle that
determines the manner in which it unfolds and the elements that propel its evolution
from beginning to end. In every artwork, nothing is by accident. Even the smallest detail
is an artistic decision made by the artist. Every element in an artwork ought to contribute
to the effectiveness and beauty of the whole.
7. The Four Coordinates of Art Criticism

“Art needs something outside of itself as a place of reflection, discernment, and

connection with the larger world. Art for art's sake is fine, if you can get it. But then the
connection to the real becomes tenuous, and the connection to the social disappears. If
you want to engage, if you want discourse you need criticism.”- David Levi Strauss

Every work of art, such as a poem, a novel, an essay, a play, a musical piece, a
painting etc., has four basic coordinates:
1. the subject matter
2. the artist;
3. the audience; and
4. its own form.

In analyzing a work of art, one may ask questions regarding these coordinates,
such as: (relating to the subject matter) What is it about? What does it depict or
represent? What is it trying to say?; (relating to the artist) Who created it? What sort of a
man is he? What does his work reveal about him?; (relating to the audience) What is its
relevance or importance? Of what value is it to me? How do I react to it?; (and to its
own form) What is the nature and structure of this composition? What expressive
elements have been employed to carry and convey the meaning of the work? How are
these elements combined and integrated to convey this meaning? What principles have
been observed in the integration of these expressive elements? Does the application of
these principles (and the choice and integration of the expressive elements)

These four coordinates of art are the bases tor the four principal approaches to
art criticism and appreciation. These four approaches are

1. mimetic (based on the subject matter);

 2. expressive (based on the artist;
3. pragmatic (based on the audience); and
4. aesthetic or formal (based on the form).
1. Subject Matter

"Art is an imitation of an imitation of reality..." (Plato, Greek philosopher)

"Art is a reflection or a mirror of reality." (Aristotle, Greek philosopher)

With respect to subject matter, art is an imitation, depiction, or representation of

some aspect of nature or life. That which is imitated, depicted, or represented in art is its
subject matter.

Anything in the universe may serve as the subject of art: aspects of nature such
as the sea. the sky. fields, forests, mountains, animals, etc., (often depicted in
paintings), human concern in the realm of the experience, action and deed (as
recounted in fiction, narrative poetry and the drama), and emotions and moods (lyric
poetry) and ideas (the
essay), spatial forms (sculpture and architecture), tonal forms (music) and plastic forms
in motion in space and time (dance).

According to subject matter, art may be classified into two types:

1) Representational or Figurative Art portrays or depicts something other than

its own form. Examples are Venus de Milo, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Prokofiev's Peter and
the Wolf, Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake. Literature is principally representational.

2) Non-representational or Non-objective Art represents nothing except its

own form. Examples: the Pyramids of Egypt, Mondrian's non-figurative paintings, the
symphonies of Mozart. Among the major arts, architecture is most nearly always non-
objective. ln non-objective art, subject matter and form are one: the form is the subject.

The concept of art as imitation may be traced back to two Greek philosophers,
Plato, and Aristotle. Plato, the idealist, believes that art is far removed from reality which
exists in the realm of Ideals or Universals, of which our world is but an imperfect
imitation,
and art is, in turn, only an imitation of our world. He places art on the same level as
shadows and reflections of things on water-all these being mere illusions of illusions of
reality. Aristotle, an empiricist, rejected the belief in the realm of Ideals. He taught that
reality exists right in our own world, around us and within us as perceived by our
senses. Art is "a mirror of reality" and therefore brings us in contact with it.

The approach to art criticism through the subject matter is called mimetic
(derived from the Greek word mimesis, meaning imitation.) The mimetic approach
stresses the importance of subject matter or content in art. According to this approach,
the merit of a work of art lies in its subject; the beauty of the subject and its significance
are the bases for aesthetic judgment. This approach has been discredited by modern
critics who assert that the aesthetic quality of a work of art depends not so much on
what is depicted (the subject) as on how it is depicted (the form).

To modem critics, therefore, a poem in praise of the splendor of God is not

necessarily beautiful than another poem expressing a lover's complaint about the
horrible smell coming from his lady's armpits, and a painting depicting a lovely woman
by the sea does not necessarily have greater aesthetic merit than another painting
depicting a drunken old man sprawled beside a huge pile of garbage. What we should
appreciate is not the subject but the manner of presentation of the subject.

2. The Artist, Writer, or Creator

“He who touches this book, touches the man.” (Walt Whitman, an
American poet, "Leaves of Grass”)

From the point of view of the artist (poet, essayist, fiction writer, dramatist
composer, painter, sculptor or architect), art is a means or expression, a medium for
communicating idea, an emotion or some other human experience, an impression of
life, a vision of beauty. And because the artist puts something of himself into his art, it
becomes an extension of himself, an objectification of some aspect of his personality.
Our experience of a work of art, therefore, brings us in contact with the personality of
the artist. The individuality of the creator is revealed himself varies from one form of art
to another, from one particular work of art to another.
The expressive approach to art criticism stresses the relationship of the artwork
to its creator. In this approach, the artist himself becomes the major element generating
both the artistic product and the norms by which the work is to be judged. Interpreting
art in the light of the knowledge that we have about the artist has some degree of
validity: it is an admitted fact that something about the artist, his life-history, his
philosophy and beliefs, his character, certain circumstances in his life which may have
influenced the creation of the artwork in question, his background, the era during which
he lived, and other pertinent information places us in a better position to interpret and
evaluate his work. While the possession of such knowledge certainly enhances our
appreciation, modem critics assert that it is unnecessary. They question the validity of
the expressive approach and insist that an artwork be judged according to its intrinsic
qualities and merits and in judging its aesthetic value, we must not take into account its
relationship to its creator.

Moreover, in passing judgment on the aesthetic merit of an artwork, we must not

be influenced by our personal regard for its creator or his reputation. Hence, we should
appreciate a symphony by Mozart, not because this composer is one of the most
delightful and admirable personalities in the world of music, but because that symphony
has certain aesthetic qualities which make it worthy of appreciation for its own sake,
regardless of who composed it or what sort of man he was. Richard Wagner, another
composer, was an extremely disagreeable person-selfish, conceited, and arrogant-but
the fact remains that his music is glorious!

3. Audience or Readers

"Literature, to be of importance, must be simple and direct and must haue

a clear moral purpose.." (Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist and short story writer)
 "The purpose of literature is to teach, to moralize, to instruct…” (George
Bermard Shaw, Anglo-Irish wit and playwright)

From the viewpoint of the audience (readers in the case of literature, viewers the
case of the visual arts, and listeners in the case of music), art is experience; for what is
a poem unless one can read it; what is a painting unless one can see it, and what is a
sonata unless one can hear it? Art always has an audience, even if this audience is
none other than the artist himself.

One aspect of art, which is of importance to the audience, is its value, function, or
significance. Aside from its essential value (aesthetic), art may have secondary values:
religious, philosophical, moral, historical, political, social, scientific, commercial,
sentimental, practical, etc.

The approach to art criticism, which emphasizes the value and importance of art
to its audience, is known as the pragmatic approach.

Pragmatic critics attach little importance to the aesthetic value and instead judge
art according to how useful it is to the audience. For instance, they are partial to
artworks that have moral value-that aim to teach, to instruct, to ennoble, or to mold the
moral character of the audience (this view may be traced back to the Romans, Horace,
and Cicero), or else they have preference for those objects of art that are useful or have
practical value. Marxist-Leninist-Maoist critics are classified as pragmatic because they
assert that the role of art in the socialist order is to contribute to the fulfillment of the
objectives of the state, to serve as a vehicle for propaganda in the people's struggle
against imperialism, etc. Again, modern critics reject the pragmatic approach because
they consider all the values of art, aside from the aesthetic value, as merely secondary,
theretore incidental, non-essential.

It is the prevailing view in the field of art criticism that the merits of art are found
in its own form and that these merits are there regardless of whether they are grasped
and appreciated as such by the audience or not; only an enlightened audience can
appreciate great art. Pragmatists attack this view on the ground that it is "elitist"- that it
confines art to the enjoyment of the favored few and shuts out the great masses of
people who are not "enlightened." The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, a pragmatist
maintains that a work of art attains more greatness the more it gives moral upliftment
and pleasure to the greatest number of people.

Modern critics assert that the aesthetic judgment of the masses is far from
reliable, the masses being for the most part uneducated, ignorant; that the greatness of
a work of art does not depend on, and cannot be measured by, its popularity with the
people; that a gaudy painting of Mayon Volcano from a shop on Mabini Street is not
necessarily greater than an abstraction by Picasso simply because it is understood and
appreciated by a greater number of people, or that My Way by Frank Sinatra is superior
to Mozart's Symphony No. 40 for the same reason.

4. Form

“There are no moral or immoral books; they are either well-written or badly
written. " (Oscar Wilde, Anglo-Irish wit and playwright. Preface to his book, The
Picture of Dorian Gray)

With respect to form (the manner of imitation, how the subject matter is handled
and presented), art is a composition, a whole consisting of various parts or elements;
the selection, organization, and integration of these elements according to certain
formal principles and employing certain techniques constitute that which we call the
form of art.

Hence, in poetry, the organization of such expressive elements as imagery,

figures of speech, tone, movement, symbols, sound values of words, meter, rhyme, etc.,
using language as a medium, creates poetic form.

In music, the integration of such expressive elements as rhythm, melody

harmony, tempo, dynamics, and timbre, using tone as medium and following the basic
principles of organization-repetition, variation, and contrast-results in the creation of
musical form.
 A film in achieving its objective to tell a story (the subject matter), employs and
combines many elements: screenplay, acting, direction, cinematography, pacing,
editing,
set design, background music, costuming, make-up. casting, etc. How the story is
presented in terms of these elements constitutes cinematic form.
Modem critics, advocating the formal and aesthetic approach to art criticism,
stress the importance of form in a work or art. They uphold the motto, "Art for art's
sake,"
which is attributed to the English playwright, Oscar Wilde. This view seeks to liberate art
from the chains of morality, religion, political propaganda, social, reform, etc, and sets
up
art as something worthy of appreciation for its own sake. The formal approach
considers
the form as the basis of aesthetic judgment and other considerations are secondary.
This
approach requires that the audience is knowledgeable, which is the reason why
pragmatists charge that it encourages snobbery and elitism. Analyzing the form of a
painting (or any work of art for that matter) is an intellectual undertaking that employs a
systematic method to arrive at an aesthetic judgment. The following may serve as a
guide in the analysis of a painting:

Every work of art involves an element of choice; certain possibilities have been
employed, others have been rejected. It is absolutely essential to consider alternatives
to
see what these choices are and why they occur.

One may begin by considering the physical properties-size, shape, and

medium-of the work of art. How do these affect its immediate personality as an object?
One can then explore the more complex qualities of the work. For the sake of
convenience, try to isolate factors, but keep in mind that they have an organic or
functional relation to other aspects and to the whole.
 Consider what is depicted (the subject matter). What is it? Why is it there? What
can be said of the groupings of objects or figures that the artist makes? What
personality traits are given to these objects or figures? How are these accomplished?
How are thee objects of figures depicted? What modes of presentation were employed:
realism
idealization, distortion, abstraction, or surrealism?

What are the choices of posture, position, gestures, expression, in other words,
the physiognomic qualities of the figures? Balance: formal or informal? How
achieved-by
masses, tones or colors? What preference as to shapes in objects, areas, colors? What
lines are employed? Straight, curved, vertical, diagonal, horizontal? How do they
behave? Static, full of movement, restless? Rhythm: regular or irregular? The quality of
light and dark areas? Their distribution and concentration? What is the source of light in
the painting? The sun, fire, candlelight? What is the quality of this light? Intense, glaring,
mellow, dim? Is the transition from light to dark gradual or sudden? To what effect?
What
qualities characterize the colors of the painting? How are they brought into contact with
one another? How are transitions managed?

Functions of color: natural, harmonic, symbolic, decorative, affective? Is there a

pervasive feeling to the use of color? Gray exuberant, solemn, somber? How are spatial
conceptions handled? How is the sense of depth achieved? Linear or aerial perspective
or both? Single perspective or multiple? Tempo and mood? The affective character of
the
work? Any textual interest? How handled?

What about the actual painting materials? How treated? Qualities of the surface.
Brush technique? To what effect? Shape and nature of frame and relations of objects to
it? The scale of figures? Values attached to the different elements?

The economy of the statement direct, plain, austere, or lavish, extravagant,

elaborate? Variety and consistency of expression? Spontaneity? Organizing principles
employed: repetition, variation, contrast? The sense of unity achieved? Appropriateness
or coherence of choices for their meanings conveyed by the picture? The degree of the
success of the painting (judgment).

The considerations listed above may be hard to differentiate at times. This is

because, in a work of art, all factors and elements exist simultaneously and interact with
one another. One does not have to follow the sequence given above and may proceed
according to convenience and necessity.

This brief discussion of the four relationships of a work of art and the four
principal schools of art criticism may be concluded thus: We can appreciate a work of
art only when we grasp or comprehend what it is the artist is trying to say (theme,
subject) and realize how well, how effectively, how beautifully he says it (the form).