UNIT 1
Humanities
- is one of the most interesting and intricate
fields of study out there. It aims to
understand humans and their nature.
- Latin word “Humanus” which means
“refined”, “cultured”, and “human”
- Studies the construct of man—its frailty and
its improvement
- Investigates human quest for answers about
the questions and concerns in life
- Understands expressions of man’s feelings
and thoughts and recognizes creative
expressions
- Emphasizes dignity and worthiness of man
- Aims to shape human values and subjective
energies (behavior, attitude, and
aspirations)
IMPORTANCE OF HUMANITIES
1. Man gains an understanding of himself
2. Man understands his natures
3. Man is provided with a measure of his own
passion and desire
4. Man develops to be a complete and social
man
5. Man’s behavior is regulated
ART
- Came from the Aryan word “Ar” which
means “to put together” and Latin “Ars”
which means “skill”
- Encompasses visual, literary, musical, and
performance arts
- Expresses aesthetic value by use of skill
and imagination
TWO KINDS OF ART
Fine Arts or Aesthetic Arts (Major Arts) –
Focused on aesthetic values and enjoyment of the
arts through the five senses (sight, hearing, touch,
smell, taste)
Utilitarian Arts or Practical Arts (Minor Arts)
-They are intended to be used in practical settings
but they must also possess artistic qualities
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
1. Art has been created by all people at all
times, in all countries, and it lives because it
is well-liked and enjoyed.
2. Art involves experience; there can never be
appreciation of art without experience.
3. Art is not nature; nature is not art. Art is
made by man.
4. Art is everywhere.
5. Art is man’s oldest means of expression.
6. Art is an expression and communication.
Art Appreciation: Creativity, Imagination, and
Expression
- It takes an artist to make art. One may
perceive beauty on a daily basis.
- However, not every beautiful thing that can
be seen or experienced may truly be called a work
of art.
 - Art is a product of man's creativity, Art as Expression
imagination, and expression
-There may have been times when you felt
something is going on within you, you try to explain
it but you do not know how.

-Finally, you try to release yourself from this

The Role of Creativity in Art Making
tormenting and disabling state by doing something,
-Creativity requires thinking outside the box which is called expressing oneself.

-We say something is done creatively when -An emotion will remain unknown to a man
we have not yet seen anything like it or when it is until he expresses it.
out of the ordinary.

-A creative artist does not simply copy or

ART FORMS / WAYS OF EXPRESSING
imitate another artist's work.
ONESELF THROUGH ART
-He embraces originality, puts his own flavor
VISUAL ARTS - Those that appeal to the sense of
into his work, and calls it his own creative piece.
sight.

FILM - refers to the art of putting together

Art as a Product of Imagination, Imagination as successions of frames or images in order to create
a Product of Art an illusion of movement. (camera, scripts, music,

Where do you think famous writers, painters, and acting)

musicians get their ideas? PERFORMING ARTS - live art and the artist’s

-It all starts in the human mind. It all beings medium is mainly the human body which they use

with the imagination. to perform, but also employs other kind of art such
as visual art, props or sound.
-Imagination is more important than
knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know LITERARY ARTS - use words to express

and understand, while imagination embraces the themselves and communicate emotions to the

entire world. readers.

-Through imagination, one is able to craft ARCHITECTURE - art of making beautiful

something new and something better. buildings.

-Artists use their imagination that gives birth DANCE - kind of performance art wherein series of

to reality through creation. movements that follows the rhythm of the music
accompaniment.
-Hence, imagination produces art, art also
inspires imagination. POETRY PERFORMANCE - form of art wherein
both literary art and performing art combine through
poems being performed in front of an audience.
THEATER - uses live performers to present
accounts or imaginary events before a live
audience and on a stage or drama space.
APPLIED ARTS - artists in this field bring beauty,
charm and comfort into many things that are useful
in everyday life (industrial design, interior design,
fashion design).
TWO TYPES OF ART
Functional Art –refers to art that we use in our
daily lives such as tools, architectural structures,
roads, bridges, buildings, furniture.
Indirectly Functional Art – refers to the arts that
are “perceived through the senses” such as fine
arts, painting, music, sculpture, dance, literary
piece, theatrical performances and the like.
FUNCTIONS OF ART
Personal Function – serves the personal interests,
motivations, and expressions of the artist.
Physical Function – aims to satisfy man’s physical
needs. Artworks that can be used in everyday life
Social Function – addresses a particular collective
interest or makes people aware of the social issues
around them
Aesthetic Function - when art becomes
instrumental for a man to be cognizant of the
beauty of nature and where the real feelings of joy
and appreciation to nature's beauty are manifested
through appreciation and enjoyment when in
contact with the artwork
Cultural Function – serves as an aperture towards
skills, knowledge, attitudes, customs, and traditions
of different groups of people.
Political Function –art serves as an aid to a
campaign about politics or a political agenda
Religious Function - created and used for/in
religious activities
Economic Function – art is consumable for the
masses and it helps the economic gains of artists
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ART
1. Art as an Imitation
- according to Plato, artist are imitators
and art is just a mere imitation
- the things in this world are only copies of
the original, the eternal and the true entities that
can only be found in the world of forms
- Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and
artist for 2 reasons:
a. They appeal to the emotions rather than to the
rational faculty of men;
b. They imitate rather than lead one to reality
- Socrates just like Plato claimed that art
is just an imitation of imitation.
- According to Plato, art is dangerous
because it provides a petty replacement for the real
entities that can be only attained through reason.
- all arts are imitative in nature. Plato wrote
in The Republic that ‘’ideas are the ultimate
reality’’.
The theory of Forms or theory of Ideas is Plato's
argument that non-physical forms (or ideas)
represent the most accurate reality
Form - an objective "blueprint" of perfection. The
Forms are perfect themselves because they are
unchanging.
2. Art as a Representation
Aristotle - Plato's most important student in
philosophy
- art is a form of imitation; art as
representing possible versions of reality
- All kinds of art do not aim to represent
reality as it is but to provide a vision of what might
be or the many possibilities in reality.
3. Art as a Disinterested Judgement
Immanuel Kant considered the judgment of
beauty the cornerstone of art, as something that
can be universal despite its subjectivity: and
therefore, art is innately autonomous from
specific interest
Every human being after perception and the
free play of his faculties, should recognize the
beauty that is inherent in a work of art
Kant claims that in order to judge art
based on its inherent beauty, rather than letting
one’s judgment to be tainted with his/her own
interests.
4. Art as a Communication of Emotion
Leo Tolstoy, art place a huge role in
communication to its audience's emotions that the
artist previously experienced
Tolstoy is fighting for the social dimension of art.
This means that art serves as a mechanism of
cohesion for everyone
 UNIT 2
representational or objective arts – arts that have
subject because they depict something and easily
recognized by most people. Examples: paintings,
sculpture, graphic arts, theatre arts and literature.
non-representational or non-objective arts – arts
that do not have subject for they have no
resemblance to any real or identifiable objects and
they do not represent anything.
THREE BASIC COMPONENTS OF AN
ARTWORK
subject which is the visual image; what
form which pertains to how the elements and the
medium are put together; how
content which is referred to as the meaning
communicated by the artist; why
KINDS AND SOURCES OF SUBJECT
1. Nature (landscapes, seascapes and
cityscapes) – deals with the environment;
the natural and the physical world.
2. Animals – represents the figures
and likeness of animal species.
3. Portraits of Human Figures – realistic
likeness of a person in a painting, sculpture
or drawing. It can be a whole human figure
or just a part of it.
4. Still life – any inanimate objects either in a
form of a drawing, painting or photograph.
5. Everyday life – portrays the real and actual
happenings in the daily lives of people
about their usual ways, performing their
usual activities.
6. History and Legend – subject is inspired
by history or legend. Historical events are
real stories transpired from the past while
legends are just imaginary.
7. Religion and Mythology – Used the arts to
aid in worship, to instruct, to inspire feelings
of devotion and as representations of
divinity.
8. Dreams and Fantasies – subjects that are
inspired by the subconscious mind that
make them usually vague, illogical and
irrational. These may be a product of the
workings of an artist’s imagination.
CONTENT IN ART
three levels of meaning
1. Factual meaning – the literal statement
and the most basic level for it is easier to
grasp the content here by just extracting the
identifiable or recognizable forms in the
artwork and understanding how these
elements relate to each other
2. Conventional meaning – the
acknowledged meaning or interpretation of
the artwork using signs, symbols and motifs
(flag is a symbol for a country; the cross is a
Christian symbol of faith)
3. Subjective meaning – any personal
meanings consciously or maybe
unconsciously perceived by the viewer that
could result to a variety of meaning when a
particular work of art is read; could rely on
 what the audience know, learned, A. Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining
experienced and the values they stand for. or Order of National Artists or National
Artists Award

- the highest national recognition given to

Artists- people who produces indirectly
Filipino individuals who have made significant
functional arts with aesthetic value using
recognition to the development of Philippine
imagination
arts.
Example: painter, sculptor, choreographer,
- administered by the National Commision for
dancer, musician
Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Cultural
Artisans- a craftsman; produces directly Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred
functional and/or decorative arts by the President of the Philippines

Example: carpenter, carver, plumber, - the first recipient was Fernando Amorsolo in
blacksmith, weaver, embroider 1972 (National Artist for Visual Arts)

Incentives and Privileges

People in the Art World 1. Rank and title

1. Curator - affiliated with museums and 2. Medallion or insignia and a citation

galleries; has the ability to research and write;
3. Cash awards and a host of benefits (monthly
an arbiter of design and layout; decides for the
life pension, medical and hospitalization and life
display and hanging of materials for exhibition
insurance coverage)
2. Buyers and collectors - buyers assess and
4. State funeral and burial at the Libingan ng
survey the artwork and oversee the sale on
mga Bayani
behalf of the collector
5. Place of honor or designated area during
3. Art dealers - in charge in distribution and
national state functions, along with recognition
circulation of those artworks through direct
or acknowledgement at cultural events
sales, galleries, or auction.

B. Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National

Awards and Citations
Living Treasures Award)
-artists are given incentives and honor for
-finest traditional artists of the land who
their work through given awards and citations.
distinctive skills have reached a high level of
technical and artistic excellence and have been

2 Major Awards Given to Philippine Artists passed on to and widely practice by the present
generation in his community
- weaving, carving, graphic and plastic arts,
textile, pottery, and other artistic expressions of
traditional culture
- created in 1992 under RA No. 7355 by the
NCCA
Incentives and Privileges
1. A specially designed gold medallion
2. An initial grant of 100,000 php and a
10,000php monthly stipend for life (later
increase to 14,000php)
3. Maximum cumulative amount of 750,000php
medical and hospitalization benefits.
4. Funeral assistance and tribute fit for a
national living treasure
MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUES
Medium
-is the mode of expression in which
concept, idea, or message is conveyed
- materials which are used by an artist to
interpret feelings or thoughts
Technique
-manner in which artist controls his medium
to achieve the desired effect
-has something to do with the way he
manipulates his medium to express idea
VISUAL ARTS
-can be seen and occupy space
Example: painting, sculpture, architecture
a. Painting- art of creating meaningful effects
on flat surface (canvas, wall, panels, board) by
the use of pigments
-use pigments on wood or canvas
Materials used in painting:
1. Watercolor- difficult to handle because it
is difficult to produce warm and rich tones but it
invites brilliant and a variety of hues
2. Gouache- an opaque watercolor painting
the major effects of which are cause by the
paper itself
3. Fresco- pigments mixed with water and
applied on a wet plaster; popular material in
renaissance period (Michelangelo, Leonardo,
Rafael, Donatello)
4. Tempera- pigments mixed with egg yolk
or egg white
5. Pastel- stick of dried paste made of
pigment round with chalk and compounded with
gum water
6. Encaustic- used by Egyptians for painted
portrait on mummy cases. It is done by painting
with wax colors fixed with heat
7. Oil- Linseed oil; oil painting is the one of
the most expensive art activities of today
because of the materials; pigments are mixed
with linseed oil and applied to canvas; used by
Fernando Amorsolo
8. Acrylic- medium used today by the
modern painters and the only thinner used is
water.
b. Drawing
Materials used in drawing:
1. Pencil- most common medium in
drawing; pencil leads are graded in different
degrees of hardness of softness.
2. Pen and Ink- one of the oldest mediums
still in use; offers a great variety of qualities
depending on the tools and techniques used in
application
India ink- comes in liquid form;
favorite medium of comic strip and illustrators
and cartoonists
3. Bistre- brown pigment extracted from the
soot of wood
4. Crayons- pigments bound by wax and
compressed into painted sticks
5. Charcoal- carbonaceous materials
obtained by heating wood or organic
substances in the absence of oxygen
6. Silverpoint- silver stylus that produce a
thin grayish line
c. Sculpture- the art of making two- or three-
dimensional representation by means of
carving, casting, modeling and fabrication
Materials used in sculpture:
1. Stone- hard and brittle substance formed
from mineral and earth material.
Soft stone- brittle, soft and porous
Example: Limestone, Sandstone
Hard stone- difficult to chisel
Example: Granite, Basalt
2. Ivory- comes from the tusk of elephants,
the hard white substance used to make carving
and billiard balls
3. Metal- can be case, cut, drilled, filled,
bent, forged, and stamped
4. Plaster- composed of lime, sand, and
water; used extensively in making mannequins,
models, molds, architectural decoration and
other indoor sculptures
5. Clay- possesses little strength intention
or compression and requires an armature for
support
6. Glass- medium that is hard, brittle, more
or less transparent substances produced by
fusion
7. Wood- easier to carve than any mediums
available. They are lighter and softer to carve
despite of having great tensile strength
8. Terracotta- a brownish red clay that has
been baked and used for making pots and small
statues
Basic Sculpture Techniques:
1. Carving- involves cutting or chipping
away a shape from a mass of stone, wood, or
other hard materials; subtractive process
2. Modeling- built using an armature and
then shaped to create a form; additive process
3. Casting- reproducing the form from an
original clay or wax model; most complex
method
 4. Assembling/Fabrication- putting In viewing a picture, our eye movement is
together of different materials to create an controlled significantly by a large measure of line
assembled sculpture; additive process directions.

Horizontal Directions – represents serenity,

calmness and stability
d. Architecture- the art of designing a building
and supervising its construction; a shelter to Diagonal Directions – identifies movement,
serve as protection of all activities motion and instability

Materials used in Architecture: Vertical Directions – represents strength, power

and poise
1. Rock materials- cement, hollow blocks,
gravel, sand, pebbles, stone

2. Metal materials

3. Organic materials- wood SHAPE AND FORM

4. Hybrid materials- tiles, marbles, bricks These two are related to each other in the sense
that they define the space occupied by the object of
5. Synthetic materials- glass, plastic
art.

Shape refers to two dimensions: height and width.

ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ART
Form refers to three dimensions: height, width and
Elements of Visual Arts depth.

LINE - prolongation of a point or the path of a CATEGORIES OF SHAPE

moving point. It defines edges of shapes and forms.
1. Natural/Organic Shapes - are an obvious
It is said to be the most universal, primitive and the
popular source since it objectively represents the
easiest means of creating an art.
physical or material and the natural world.
Line has various types:
- are shapes directly identified with the
 Straight Line – a line that progresses in environment.
one direction.
2. Abstract Shape - are fundamental shapes that
 Curved Line – a line that gradually changes
are objectified coming from an idea, emotion or
in direction that creates soft edges
experience.
 Angular Line – a line that changes
abruptly, creating sharp edges -a thought processed shaped where it
solicits further understanding likewise appreciation
of the articulated or emphasized idea.
3. Geometric Shape - are identified by the use of
any geometrical figures such as cubes, spheres,
cones, etc.
- it is classified in two-dimensional and
three-dimensional forms
4. Positive Shape – is the solid form in a design
5. Negative Shape – is the space which are not
occupied by any form
KINDS OF FORM
Closed Form – the figure inside the frame is
complete which means that the figure that you see
is the only figure presented in the artwork
Open Form –the form or image inside the frame is
incomplete which means that the artwork creates
an illusion that the dimensions inside as if extends
and may be infinite
TEXTURE
This refers to the feel or tactile quality of the
surface of an object.
TYPES OF TEXTURE
1. Actual Texture - are intended to be
touched. These are artworks that make use
of the Impasto Technique (layered painting).
2. Simulated Texture - most common texture
employed in visual arts.
3. Invented Texture - may be sourced from
nature and from the artist’s hand through a
proactive metamorphosis. As such, texture
will be treated more as a decorative rather
than a surface representation.
VALUE
It is the relative degree of lightness and darkness in
a graphic work of art or painting. In the application
of value, one must determine the source of the
light.
CHIAROSCURO - If there is lightness and
darkness in color, there is also light and shadow
VOLUME/SOLIDITY - the characteristic of an
object that has mass and weight
SPACE - the area, size, location or distance. It
exists as an “illusion” in the graphic or two-
dimensional visual arts but in sculpture it is actually
present.
Linear perspective is the means by which we see
the illusion of distance through the use of
converging lines.
Aerial perspective is the representation of relative
distances of objects by gradations of tone and color
and providing a wide perspective of the figures and
view
COLOR It is the most important element in the
visual arts and has the most aesthetic appeal.
Many colors may be formed by mixing 2 or more
colors but there are some which we cannot
combine because they are pure colors.
Primary colors – red, yellow, blue
Secondary Colors – green, orange, violet
Intermediate color - combination of 1 primary and
1 secondary; blue green, yellow orange
Color Harmony
The proper combination of colors must always be
looked upon, for this will best determine the beauty
of an art. A good color combination that is
pleasing to the eyes
Related color harmony – colors that are nearer to
each other in the color wheel
a. Monochromatic color – uses one color
only with the application of values (dark
and light).
b. Analogous color – there are two or
more different colors that possess one
common color in all their mixture.
Contrasting color harmony – colors that are
farther to each other in the color chart.
a. Complementary color – they are the
opposite colors in the color chart.
ELEMENTS OF AUDITORY ART
RHYTHM - the most important element in music for
it is considered as the pulse and heartbeat in
music. Rhythm is the repeated pattern of strong
and weak beats in music. It is often associated to
beat, meter and tempo.
DYNAMICS - to the loudness or softness of sound.
 Pianissimo (pp) – very soft
 Piano (p) – soft
 Mezzo-piano (mp) – medium soft
 Mezzo-forte (mf) – medium loud
 Forte (f) – loud
 Fortissimo (ff) – very loud
TONE COLOR - quality that distinguishes a voice
or an instrument from another. Also known as
timbre.
STYLE - to the singer’s or composer’s way of doing
his part.
TEXTURE - to the number of sounds being heard
one at a time. It could also refer to the thickness or
thinness of a musical composition.
 Monophonic – single melodic line
 Homophonic – main melody plus
accompaniment or two different melodies
sounded together
 Polyphonic – three or more different
melodic lines.
FORM - the structure of a musical composition and
it has four types:
 Unitary – one section only
 Binary – two sections
 Ternary – three sections
 Rondo – multiple sections
MELODY - combination of tones arrange in
succession is termed melody. It is presented in a
horizontal manner and read from left to right.
HARMONY - combination of tones arrange in a
simultaneous manner. harmony is in vertical
manner. It arises when tones are combined to form
chords.
PRINCIPLES OF ART DESIGN
Design is the overall visual structure of a work of
art. It is also the proper arrangement of the different
elements of art in order to produce something
beautiful.
1. Balance is a feeling of equality in weight,
attention or attraction of the various
elements. In art, balance is more felt than
seen for the parts of a visual composition
are judged not by how heavy they are, but
how they look. In other words, it is the
power of attraction of some factors like size,
position, form, color, etc.
a. Formal or Symmetrical
Balance - There are two equal
parts of the pictorial plane of an
artwork that stand like mirror
images of each other.
b. Informal or Asymmetrical
Balance - It is obtained when the
visual units on either side of the
axis are not identical but are so
equated as to produce a “felt”
equilibrium.
c. Radial Balance - The parts or
patterns of the design seem to
move outward from the center.
2. Rhythm is a flow or a feeling of movement
achieved by the repetition of regular visual
units.
a. Simple Rhythm – there is only one
motif being repeated.
b. Composite Rhythm – there are two
or more motifs being repeated.
3. Proportion is the art principle which shows
the ratio of one part to another and of the
parts to the whole. It is the proper and
pleasing relationship of one object with the
others in a design.
4. Emphasis is the manner of creating one
element in an artwork as the most important
part. It is achieved through size, shape,
color, brushstrokes or combinations of
these.
5. Harmony refers to the adaptation of the
visual elements to each other, the
agreement between the parts of a
composition which result in unity.
6. Contrast is the disparity between the
elements that figure into the composition.
As in one object appears darker and the
other appears lighter.
7. Variation is very essential to prevent
monotony because of the repetition or
sameness. This principle aims to retain the
interest by allowing areas that excite and
allow the eye to rest.
RULE OF THIRDS
The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline
which applies to the process of composing visual
images such as designs, films, paintings, and
photographs.
The visual image should be imagined as divided
into 9 equal parts having 2 equally spaced
horizontal lines and 2 equally spaced vertical lines.
The important elements in the design must be
placed along these lines or intersections.