ASSUMPTIONS OF ART: FUNCTIONALISM, ACTION THEORY

AND INSTITUTIONAL THEORY

OVERVIEW

This topic focuses on the assumptions of art in the vantage point of the theories of
Functionalism, Action Theory, and Institutional theory.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this discussion, the students are expected to:
✓ To determine the relation between the study of art and study of philosophy
✓ To explain functionalism, action theory and institutional theory of Art
✓ To evaluate artworks based on functionalism, action theory and institutional theory of art
✓ To apply the theories to the analysis of art
✓ To write an analysis on the given topics

COURSE MATERIAL

FUNCTIONALISM THEORY OF ART

Functionalism asserts that the value of artworks is determined by and therefore reducible to
their practical function or purpose.
In "pure art," artworks such as paintings, poems, plays and partitas are produced with the sole
purpose of providing aesthetic experiences. In architecture and industrial design, objects are
created with the intention to satisfy not only aesthetic criteria but also, primarily, criteria of
utility and practical function. This combination gives rise to the crucial issue of how the two
types of value relate to each other. Is practical function independent of aesthetics or are they in
some way connected?
This was a central issue in the functionalist movement in architecture and design, one of the
most influential artistic and cultural movements of the early twentieth century. The term
'functionalism' is ambiguous, not least since the functionalist movement contained diverse and
partly contradictory artistic and social tendencies
Functionalism is as old as the functionalist perspective of
the Ancient Greeks. In the Symposium (Xenophon).
Critoboulus asserts that one can distinguish a beautiful
project based on its specific function.
CRITOBOULUS: I know, at any rate, that a shield is
beautiful, as well as a sword and a spear.
SOCRATES: And how is it that, although none of
these is similar to the other, they are all beautiful?
CRITOBOULUS: If, by Zeus, they've all been
wrought with a view to the tasks for which we
acquire them, or if they've been well adapted by
nature with a view to the things we need, then
these are beautiful.

Functionalist’s movements famous assertion is that was art’s form follows function, whose
one of the advocates was the American Architect Louis Sullivan.
He made an analogy with the forms and function, which all of us can find in nature. The form
of the eagle’s wing has been determined by its function, and the same apples to other
objects in nature. Form ever follows function.
In an artwork, functionalism believes that the function itself is more important than the
appearance, what makes the art beautiful is its use or function.

THE REDUCTION THESIS

The most far-reaching variant of functionalism can
be called the "reduction thesis." It consists in the
claim that there is nothing to aesthetics (beauty) in
addition to what follows from function. This has also
been called "austere functionalism;" it implies that
aesthetic considerations are altogether
unnecessary, since aesthetics will be automatically
taken care of if function is dealt with adequately

FUNCTIONS OF ART

PERSONAL FUNCTION
Created artworks that serve’s its purpose based on
the artist’s perspective or the one who perceive the
artwork itself.
The personal functions of art vary from one person
to another, artist to artist etc. some create artworks
that gives them pleasure, as a therapy while others
want to express their thought through their arts.

For example:
Music is a means of an artist to express his feelings and ideas. We cannot deny that some
artforms serve as means of expression for us.
SOCIAL FUNCTION
We can consider that the art has a social function if it addresses aspects of collective life as
opposed to one person’s viewpoint or experience. Viewers can often relate in some ways to
social art and are sometimes even influenced by it.
Art also depicts the socio-political conditions and issues of times. Art is always related to every
aspect of social life.
 Credits : https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-14/group-exposes-social-woes-and-promotes-philippine-culture-
through-street-art#:~:text=Ang%20Gerilya%20dedicated%20this%20artwork%20in%20support%20of%20the
%20campaign

MONETARY VALUE OF ART

One of the important issues concerning art and the artists themselves is the monetary /
material value of artworks. We cannot deny the fact that our artists need to sell their artworks
to support their needs. They must also be compensated because being an artist requires
mastery, it is also a noble profession, like any other professions. But the question now are,
what or who dictates the price of an artwork and what makes an art more or less expensive?

Watch this!
 Why Makes Art so Expensive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIuBJLd37I

INSTITUTIONAL THEORY OF ART

The property that all works of art have in common is
their existence within the institutional context of the
“artworld”

The art world is defined as an informal institution

which embodies and encompasses the various
formal and informal institutions within particular
“artworld systems,” each of which fosters and
supports the production and appreciation of a
particular kind of art.
Throughout several centuries stretching back to the era of philosophers such as Plato,
stakeholders in the art world have struggled to find a true definition of art. In the eighteenth
century, a cluster of disciplines, including sculpture, painting, architecture, music and poetry,
were classified as belonging to the umbrella category of fine ‘arts’
Understanding Institutional Theory https://www.herald.co.zw/understanding-institutional-theory/

ACTION PAINTING
Action painting, sometimes called Abstract Expressionism, evolved
in the 1940s and 1950s, during a time of unrest following World
War II. There was much anxiety about the potential impact of the
Cold War, and the possible spread of Communism worldwide. The
action painting movement reflected this turmoil of the time. It was
also known as 'gestural painting', because it involved the
vigorous, sweeping application of paint to the canvas. This style
was more about the physical act of painting, and showing the
emotion of the artist, rather than accurately depicting realistic
scenes and recognizable forms. When looking at an action
painting, your eyes tend to constantly move back and forth across
its surface, as you take in the expressive and unconventional
effects the artist has created.
Source:
Action Painting Defined. https://study.com/academy/lesson/action-painting-definition-
characteristics.html
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM / PAINTING
Abstract painting conveys its subject without the use of such identifiable objects and is more
open to your own interpretations.
Watch this!
Action Painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVtt-klbpCk
HAROLD ROSENBERG
✓ American writer, educator, and art critic.
✓ Rosenberg coined the term Action Painting in 1952, known as abstract expressionism.

The canvas began to appear as an arena in which to act…. What was to go on the
canvas is not a picture but an event.”

ART OF PAINTING
The process of putting, dripping,
pouring and splashing paints on the canvas.
INSTITUTIONAL THEORY OF ART

This “artworld” determines whether a thing is a

work of art. The institutions that support and
analyze the works of art are museums,
universities / academies, galleries and critics.
There are certain conventions that defines what
art is.

Source: GMA Network

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandcu
lture/571952/ admission-to-national-museum-now-
permanently-free-to-all/story/
CRITICISM ON INSTITUTIONAL THEORY
Catherine Lord, a professor and art critic, argues that:
✓ If a work of art is defined as institutional, then the practice of making works of art is essentially
conservative.
✓ If the institution is conservative, then the institutional definition precludes creativity. .
✓ If a work of art is defined as institutional, then the institutional definition precludes creativity.
✓ The making of a work of art involves freedom, creativity, originality and spontaneity.
✓ A work of art is not to be defined as institutions, universities / academies, galleries and critics.
There are certain conventions that defines what art is.

Peggy Zeglin Brand. Lord, Lewis and the institutional Theory of Art. The Journal of Aesthetics
and Art Criticism Vol. 40, no. 3 (1993).

George Dickie defines “institution” as an established, continuing, traditional practice perhaps

complete with a unique history. The particular institution of art encompasses bundle of
systems, comprised of persons with learned roles and patterns of behaviour.
Although the definition he proposes is comprised of necessary and sufficient conditions, he
holds that his definition does not preclude the actual creative activity of artists. Rather it
allows for the constant expansion of the boundaries of art by its very looseness, its informal
character does not preclude experimentation in which subsystems become new artforms, and
subsequently, almost anything is allowed to become an art
Catherine Lord’s contention that institution is essentially conservative, self-perpetuating, and
at times punitive, leads her conclude that the practice of creating works of art, as an
institution, is similarly constituted.

Watch this!
The Institutional theory (Art World) - Extract from "What is Art“
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOOvIHVOIcU