Module 1

What is Art?
Introduction and Assumptions

Overview

In this module, we will focus on helping you discover the various

definitions of art and explore its origins and characteristics. This module will
familiarize you with the assumptions of art and clear out some
misconceptions about it.

As you complete this module, you will be able to differentiate art

from nature and recognize the agelessness that art possesses.

I. Objectives

1. Define art;
2. Determine misconceptions about art; and,
3. Differentiate art from nature.
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II. Discussion

ART: An Introduction
Someone once said that art is a lot like love – incomprehensible,
profound, and complex. It is not always easy to figure out, that is, an individual
will not easily understand art at first encounter.
Art oftentimes says something. It contains a message -- something that
speaks to us but in a different language. It tells about our thoughts, our notions
and feelings through a powerful medium – may it be through colors, sounds,
limestone, wood, letters, and motion pictures. Each medium is shaped with
beauty, design, and form. Art has the ability to capture our minds and open our
senses. It sets our imagination free.
Art is something in which its definition is up to the artist and art
institutions across the globe. As Pooke and Newall (2008) put it, “art can be a
term designated by the artist and by the institutions of the art world, rather than
by any external process of validation.”
Pooke and Newall (2008) furthermore state that irrespective of
classification, “all definitions of art are reconciled through culture, history and
language.” History, culture and language are, therefore, all connected to art.
Here are various definitions or notions of art, from various writers and
artists:

1. “Art is not a thing — it is a way.”

- Elbert Hubbard in a 1908 volume of Little Journeys to the Homes of
Great Teachers

2. “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has
known.” - Oscar Wilde in The Soul of Man Under Socialism

3. “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
- Thomas Merton in No Man Is An Island

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4. “Above all, artists must not be only in art galleries or museums — they
must be present in all possible activities. The artist must be the sponsor of
thought in whatever endeavor people take on, at every level.”
- Michelangelo Pistoletto in Art’s Responsibility

5. “Let each man exercise the art he knows.”

- The Greek philosopher Aristophanes, writing in the 4th century B.C.

Source: BrainPickings (https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/06/22/what-is-art/)

What is Art?
(With excerpts from Art Appreciation by Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J. R.,
2018, p.2-8)
Art is all around us. Some people may think or say that they are not
engaged into the field of arts but it is certain that encounters in art are
inevitable. A student who puts his earphones on and listens to the Kpop playlist
stored in her phone while walking through the nooks of CLSU is already
immersing herself in the arts. A business executive who flicks through the
channels of her television and looks for the perfect TV show to cap off the night
or a mother who chooses from her closet the best clothes to wear to go to the
market is already engaging in the arts. Some may not be aware of it but they are
already experiencing or have already experienced the beauty of art. Then again,
art is everywhere and it comes in many different forms.
In spite seeing art in almost every corner of the world, it seems as though
it is still not enough. People want to see, hear, feel and experience art. This is
probably the reason why people keep producing art.
There is always that yearning to see things that are of great beauty and
quality. After all, it is a human nature to be attracted towards objects that are
noble and lovely.
For man to stay alive, he has used his tools and materials to change his
surroundings. He built houses and other structures using his bare hands. He

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assembled wooden chairs and tables to support his needs. He utilized fire to
soften metals to create other objects. He found ways to make knives sharper.
These actions were for man’s necessities. The earliest definitions of art have
something to do with these types of craft.

I. “ARS” – a craft or specialized form of skill, like carpentry or

smithying or surgery.”

• The word “art” comes from the ancient Latin ars which means a “craft or
specialized form of skill, like carpentry or smithying or surgery”
(Collingwood, 1938 as cited in Caslib et. al., 2018).

• Art then suggested the capacity to produce an intended result from

carefully planned steps or method.
• The concept of art that we know now was different from the concept of
art that people had in the ancient times. During the ancient times, the
meaning of art had something to do with building objects solely for
necessity or daily use.
• A man is said to be engaged in art when he performs the step-by-step
procedure, he created for himself to be able to produce the house or any
infrastructure that he has perfectly planned.

II. ART is “any special form of book-learning, such as grammar or

logic, magic or astrology.”

Arts in Medieval Latin

• Arts in Medieval Latin came to mean something different. It meant “any
special form of book-learning, such as grammar or logic, magic or
astrology” (Collingwood, 1938 as cited in Caslib et. al., 2018).

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Renaissance Period
• It was only during the Renaissance Period that the word reacquired a
meaning that was inherent in its ancient form of craft. Early renaissance
artists saw their activities merely as craftsmanship, devoid of a whole
lot of intonations that are attached to the word now.

Seventeenth Century
• It was during the seventeenth century when the problem and idea of
aesthetics, the study of beauty, began to unfold distinctly from the notion
of technical workmanship, which was the original conception of the word
“art”.

Eighteenth Century
• It was finally in the eighteenth century when the word has evolved to
distinguish between the fine arts and the useful arts.
• The fine arts would come to mean “not delicate or highly skilled arts, but
‘beautiful’ arts” (Collingwood, 1938 as cited in Caslib et. al., 2018). This is
something more akin to what is now considered art.

“The Galloping Wild Boar” found in the cave of Altamira, Spain

• It was discovered that there were attempts where man did not just create
tools for survival but also for expression of his thoughts and emotions. It
is shown in history that man did not only evolve in the physical sense but
also in the cultural sense. Then, they were cave painters. Now, they have
come to be so excellent in painting and in all other forms of art.
• As a Spaniard and his daughter were going into a cave in 1879, they saw
paintings of a wild boar, hind and bison. These pictures were said to
belong to the Upper Paleolithic Age, according to research.
• These paintings in the cave show that pre-historic men have used their
gears not just to survive but to document humankind’s deepest thoughts,

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concerns and emotions. These were proofs that man has been expressing
himself long before they were aware of how it is to be human.
• The concept of the “humanities” or man humanizing himself has long
existed even before man became conscious of it.

Assumptions of Art

1. Art is universal
• Art has always been timeless and universal, spanning generations and
continents through and through.
• In every country and generation, there is always art.
• Age is not a factor in determining art.
• “An art is not good because it is old but old because it is good” (Dudley
et. al., 1960 as cited in Caslib et. al., 2018).
• A great piece of work will never be obsolete.
• Art will always be present because human beings will always express
themselves.
• “In every age or country, there is always art. Wherever we go, whether it
be a city or a province, here or abroad, we surely have to pass buildings
of various sorts – houses, schools, churches, stores and others. Some of
them appear attractive and inviting; some do not. We look at some of
them with awe and admiration” (Sanchez et. al., 2012, p. 3).
• As mentioned in the book Introduction to the Humanities by Sanchez et.
al. (2012), art is vital in life. Art is comprised of one of the earliest and
most vital ways created by man to express himself. In every place man
has set his foot on; art was also there as the language imbedded with
emotions and undertones. There is a strong force among humans to
produce this language which has also been seen in the ancient times.
This is what makes art UNIVERSAL. (Sanchez et. al., 2012, p. 3)

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2. Art is not nature

• Art is man’s expression of his reception of nature. Art is man’s way of
interpreting nature.
• What we find in nature should not be expected to be present in art too.
• Movies may be a reinterpretation based on an individual’s subjective
experience of nature.
• Artists are not meant to duplicate nature.

2. Art involves experience

• Unlike fields of knowledge that involve data, art is known by experiencing.

In order to know what an artwork is, we have to sense it, see or hear it,
and see AND hear it.
• “All art depends on experience and if one is to know ART, he must know it
not as a fact or information but as EXPERIENCE” (Dudley et. al., 1960 as
cited in Caslib et. al., 2018).
• Every experience with art is accompanied by some emotion.
• Feelings and emotions are concrete proofs that the artwork has been
experienced.

The Role of Creativity in Art Making

(based on Art Appreciation by Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J. R., 2018, p.13-
15)
It takes an artist to make art. 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, imagination, and expression.
Creativity requires thinking outside of the box.
• Creativity is often used to solve problems that have never occurred
before, conflate function and style and simply make life a more unique
and enjoyable experience.

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• In art, CREATIVITY is what sets apart one artwork from another.

A creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another artist’s work. He
embraces ORIGINALITY, puts his own flavor into his work and calls it his own
creative piece.

ENRICHMENT/ Suggested Video Links:

1. “What is Art?”
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZQyV9BB50E

2. “What is Art for?”

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0bDD4gXrE

MUST READ: https://artincontext.org/art-periods/

References:

Caslib Jr., B., Garing, D. C., & Casaul, J. R. (2018). Art Appreciation. Manila: Rex
Bookstore, Inc.

Pooke , G., & Newall, D. (2008). Art History The Basics. New York: Routledge.

Sanchez, C. A., Abad, P. F., Jao, L. V., & Sanchez, R. A. (2012). Introduction to
the Humanities. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc. .

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