CHAPTER

03

Work of Arts: Its

Subject, Form, and
Content
 Work of Arts: Its Subject, Form, and Content

Subject Form Content

= = =
“What” “How” “Why”
 I. SUBJECT
Source & Kinds of Subjects
 A. Nature
• Art involving nature can be done simply to
display the beauty of the natural world
around us, to make scientific observations
in an environment, or to open our minds
to philosophical ideas about our own
connection to nature and beyond.
• The philosopher Aristotle once wrote that
“Art not only imitates nature, but it
also completes its deficiencies.”
 Art in Nature
• Nature in art can take many visual forms, from
photorealism to abstraction.
• Art can open our eyes to the intricacy and beauty
of the natural world.
• Art can serve a purpose beyond being an object of
beauty: it can also address pressing
environmental issues and topics about
conservation, sustainability, preservation,
biodiversity, and threatened habitats.
• Art can help renew, or spark anew, our
connection with nature.
Wheat Field with
Cypresses, 1889

-Vincent van Gogh

The Hay Wain, 1821

-John Constable
Excogitatoris, 2018

-Émeric Chantier
 B.
People
and
World Events
• Capturing what is happening in the
world around us.

• The earliest cave paintings that we

are aware of were created roughly
40,000 years ago. We have found
paintings and drawings of human
activity from the Paleolithic Era
under rocks and in caves.
• The official history of art periods only begins with the Romanesque Era.
• Official art era timelines do not include cave paintings, sculptures, and
other works of art from the stone age or the beautiful frescos produced in
Egypt and Crete in around 2000 BC.
Late 17th century
Fresco
Glory of St. Nicholas

-Giulio Quaglio
 C. Myths and Legends

Myth- is a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown

origin and at least partly traditional, that
ostensibly relates actual events and that is
especially associated with religious belief. It is
distinguished from symbolic behavior (cult, ritual)
and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons).

Legend- is a traditional story or group of stories

told about a particular person or place.
Giotto
Adoration of the Magi,
c.1304 – c.1306
- created the beautiful frescoes of
Scrovegni Chapel
Vincent van Gogh
- Van Gogh is arguably
most famous for the
incident in which he cut
off his left ear.
 Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys’s career was based on one story, in

which a remote tribe saved his life.
D. Spiritual and
Religious Beliefs
• Art has always been integral to spiritual and
religious beliefs. It is in the form of art that
is creative self definitive and imagery using
religious inspiration and motifs to uplift the
mind to the spiritual.
• Through various art form art impacts the
meaning and value of life, death afterlife,
sacred figures. It conjoins humans with
divinity through spiritual ceremony,
experience, presentation ,images, stories of
sacred narrative. Art can recognize and
project the essence of a spiritual experience
through form.
The Last Supper, 1498
-Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Judgement,
between 1533 and 1541.
-Michaelangelo
 E. Ideas
Commissioned by
Employers
• Big companies need big costumers
for them to do that they need to be
noticeable and well known to reach
the consumers.
• They implement art work that is
desirable and attractive and shows
what they are about. Artwork has
the ability to tell a story, spread
values and sum up ones personality
Michel Mirabal X Havana Air

Avengers: Endgame
Official Poster
II. FORM &
COMPOSITION
 Two Dimensional Art
• Art that the composition
posses the dimensions of
length and width but does not
posses depth, they differ on
execution and technique but
are all commonly in restricted
in the two dimensional form.
 Examples

PRINT
DRAWINGS PAINTINGS PHOTOGRAPHS
MEDIA
Characteristics of Two-
Dimensional Media
What are the characteristics of Two-
dimensional media?

When a work of art is classified as being 2-

dimensional, it means that the composition
possesses the dimensions of length and width but
does not possess depth. All 2-dimensional pieces of
art, such as drawings, paintings, and prints, are
made up of shapes.
SHAPES
• A shape is a 2-dimensional area that is defined in some way. It
could be by a line, space, color, texture or a variety of other ways.
There are two types of shapes: geometric and free-form. Free
form shapes are also referred to as organic.

• Shapes that are 2-dimensional are those that have only length
and width, with no sense of depth. Look at examples of both
positive and negative 2-dimensional shapes, and understand the
use of 2-dimensional shapes in art.
Two-Dimensional Art
• Two-dimensional art consists of paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs,
which differ from each other primarily in the technique of their execution.
Probably, our initial response to all four is a response to subject matter--that
is, we first notice what the painting, drawing, print, or photograph is about.
Such recognition leads us into the work's meaning and begins to shape our
response to it.

• Though 2D work can create the illusion of 3 Dimensions, any artwork that is
created within the boundaries of 2 dimensions (height and width) falls under
the category of 2 Dimensional Media. These media can use materials, such as
paper, canvas, or a computer, to make artifacts that are essentially flat.
Examples of 2D Paintings
Three-Dimensional Art

Three-dimensional art pieces, presented in the

dimensions of height, width, and depth, occupy
physical space and can be perceived from all
sides and angles. On the other hand, two-
dimensional works of art, which are created on
flat surfaces, can only be observed in terms of
height and width.
Examples of 3D Arts
Technological Media

- media arts and technology is a unique major. It

reflects the convergence of technologies that allow
content to be created, formatted, stored, and then
shared as digital assets, printed material, and various
forms of interactive media.
 Example

Interactive Art Internet Art

Flowers and People- Dark by TeamLab, The File Room by Antoni Muntados,
2015 1994
 Example:

Robotics Art
Computer Arts
- also known as "digital art"
- computer art is any art in which computers plays a
role in production or display of the artwork. It can
be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM,
DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm,
performance or gallery installation.

Example:
Someone using a paint program could create a picture using
their mouse, touch screen, or a graphics tablet.
Some Types of Computer Arts
1. Fractal/Algorithmic Art
- it is a form of digital art
including the use of mathematics. It
is also term as "algorithmic art".
3. 2D Computer Graphics
-are derived from 2D dimensional
models like texts and digital images.
- are generally derived on
traditional graphics like typography,
cartography, technical drawing and
advertising.
2. Dynamic Painting
- is considered as the most
modern and advanced form of
digital art.
4. 3D Computer Graphics
- is a modern concept which has
come in with technological
advancement and the development
of the computer sciences and is a
modified version of the 2D computer
graphics.
The Criticisms of Arts and
Judgement of Aesthetics
- art criticism is responding to
interpreting meaning and making
critical judgements about specific
works of art. Art critics help viewers
perceive, interpret, and judge
artworks.
4 Step Critique of a Work of Art

1 2 3 4
DESCRIPTION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION EVALUATION
What makes an
artwork good?
Aesthetics is a discipline concerned with
the perception, appreciation, and
production of art.
Aesthetic Theory

- a set of criteria that is

used to evaluate an
artwork.
Four aesthetic
theories apply to
most visual artworks:
• Imitationalism
• Formalism
• Emotionalism
• Instrumentalism
Imitationalism

- The aesthetic theory known as imitationalism applies to

artworks that look realistic. These artworks contain
recognizable, realistic looking objects, scenes and
scenarios that closely imitate what we see in the real world.
An imitationalist sees the natural world as perfect examples of
artistic creation. An imitationalist artwork is judged as good if it
imitates reality to a high degree.

Imitate = copy
Mona Lisa, 1503-06 by Bob 1970 by
Leonardo da Vinci Chuck Close
Formalism
- The aesthetic theory known as formalism stresses the
visual qualities and composition of an artwork. The
focus is on the effective arrangements of the elements of
art and principles of design. Formalist artworks may not
even have recognizable objects as long as they are
composed in an interesting way.

A formalist artwork is considered to be successful if the artist

has created a visually interesting design.

Formal = Elements and Principles

Nocturne in Black and Gold: Composition with Yellow,
The Falling Rocket (1875) by Blue and Red, 1937-42 by
James McNeill Whistler. Piet Mondrian
Emotionalism
- The aesthetic theory known as emotionalism stresses the
expressive qualities in an artwork. The primary purpose of an
emotionalist artwork is to vividly communicate moods,
feelings and ideas to the viewer. Whatever the method, the
main point of the artwork is to get the viewer's attention in a
dramatic way and to impact the viewer's emotions.

A good emotionalist artwork will succeed in getting the artist's

message across.

Emotions = feelings
The Scream 1893 by Alone, 2009 by
Edvard Munch Aaron Guthrie
Instrumentalism
- The aesthetic theory of instrumentalism believe that art should
influence society. Art that is thought to be instrumental is generally
didactic in nature, in that it instructs, persuades, inform or be used.
Instrumentalist art has a message or purpose, but could still have
formal, imitational, or emotional qualities and therefore produce an
aesthetic response. Instrumentalist art can also be considered
functional; it has a use in our daily lives.

Instrumental = important part of accomplishing a goal

 Wake up America by
Jon McNaughton
Have no fear-He’s a
Vegetarian, 1936 by
John Heartfield
It’s important to remember there is
no right or wrong theory. Art is
subjective, and the judgment of
whether an artwork good or bad is
a matter of personal opinion.
Barrett’s Principles of Interpretation
Artworks are always about something.
Subject matter + Medium + Form + Context = Meaning
To interpret a work of art is to understand it in language.
Feelings are guides to interpretation.
The critical activities of describing, analyzing, interpreting, judging, and theorizing
about works of art are interrelated and interdependent.
Artworks attract multiple interpretations and it is not the goal of interpretation to arrive
at single, grand, unified, composite interpretations.
There is a range of interpretations any artwork will allow.
Meanings of artworks are not limited to what their artists intended them to mean.
Interpretations are not so much right, but are more or less reasonable, convincing,
informative, and enlightening.
Barrett’s Principles of Interpretation
Interpretations imply a worldview.
Good interpretations tell more about the artwork than they tell about the
interpreter.
The objects of interpretation are artworks, not artists.
All art is in part about the world in which it emerged.
All art is in part about other art.
Good Interpretations have coherence, correspondence, and inclusiveness.
Interpreting art is an endeavor that is both individual and communal.
Some interpretations are better than others.
The admissibility of an Interpretation is ultimately determined by a community
of interpreters and the community is self-correcting.
Good interpretations invite us to see for ourselves and continue on our own.
 THANK YOU!
“Every child is an artist. The
problem is how to remain an
artist once we grow up.” – Pablo
Picasso
 REPORTERS
Abenoja, Ma. Daisy Ann, R.
Viacrusis, Exequiel, A.
Gaquit, Marvin, N.
Navares, Pamela, A.
Magdalaga, Lily May, D.