Module 1- Humanities and Art Appreciation

Introduction:
Art is an expression made visible by any form. The presentation contained an attempt to translate
the unnamed and the unknown. Intrinsic to our existence as humans is our quest to create meaning, and Art
allows that process to take place.
This module is focused on humanities and art appreciation. Appreciating any form of art helps us
value even more the uniqueness of God’s greatest masterpiece-humans.
In this module, you will explore topics on humanities and art appreciation, basic assumption, nature,
functions, and philosophy of arts, and the difference of subject and content form artworks.
Intended learning outcomes:
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
 recognize the meaning of Humanities, Art, and art appreciation;
 explain the assumptions and nature of arts;
 describe the functions of art; and
 compare and contrast the subject and content of art.
1. Humanities and Art Appreciation (Ariola, 2018)
Humanities- originated from the Renaissance
Latin expression studia humanitatis, which
means “culture, refinement, education.” Humanities today include literature,
philosophy, geography, history, religion, music, and Art. These are academic
disciplines that deal with the various aspects of society and the noble in man. In
short, Humanities bring out the best and worthiness of man as a person.
Art is a subject under humanities. There is no one universal definition of Art since
Art is subjective. It is personal in the sense that people differ in their perception
of an object or thing.
Hereunder are some of the definitions of Art given by various authors and writers:
 Art is derived from the Latin word “ars,” meaning ability or skill-(J.V.
Estolas)

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  Art is taken from the Italian word “artis” which means craftsmanship, skill, mastery of form, and
ideas between material and technique-(A.Tan)
 Art is a product of man’s need to express himself.-
(F.Zulueta)
 Art is that which brings life in harmony with the world-
(Plato)
 Art is the life that helps us to realize the truth-(Pablo
Picasso)
 Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind that demands for
its satisfaction and fulfilling, a shaping matter to new and
more significant form.-(John Dewey)
 Art is not what you see but what you make others see-
(Georgia ‘Keeffe)
 Art is the desire of man to express himself, to record the
action of his personality in the world he lives in.-(Amy
Lowell)
 Art is never finished, only abandoned.-(Leonardo Da Vinci)
 Art is not a handicraft. It is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.-(Leo Nikolaevich
Tolstoy)
 Art realizes the external form of a real idea and is traced back to that natural love of imitation, which
characterizes humans.-(Aristotle)
 Art is the conscious creation of something beautiful or meaningful using skill and imagination-(Lisa
Morder)
 Art is concerned itself with the communication of specific ideas and feelings utilizing sensuous
medium, color, sound, bronze, marble, words, and film (C. Sanchez)
Nevertheless, a glimpse of the above definitions brings us four (4) standard essentials of arts:
1. Art is human-made, not God made
2. Art is creative, not imitative
3. Art benefits and benefits man- when he uses Art in practical life through artistic principles, taste,
and skill
4. Art is expressed through a particular medium or material by which the artist communicated himself
to his fellows
Art appreciation can be defined as follows:
 The ability to interpret and understand human-made arts and enjoy them through actual work
experience with art tools and materials
 Possession of the works of art for one’s admiration and satisfaction.
 The knowledge and understanding of the general and everlasting qualities that classify all great arts
 The introduction and exploration of visual and performing art forms.

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  Analysis of the form of artwork to the general audience to enhance their enjoyment and satisfaction
of the works of art.
Importance of Art:
 Art highlights and heightens the importance of certain events
to keep them memorable and pleasurable
 Art enables us to get a glimpse of the thoughts, feelings, ad
beliefs of the people in their time and faces in the environment that
influenced them.
 a consequence of our encounter with arts
 Art may influence us to change our ways and behavior as a
result of the aesthetic experience we derived from the arts
 Arts are valuable sources of inspiration and delightful
aesthetic experience through the artist's works of Art.
According to Swara Swami (May 31, 2016), here is the list why Art is essential:
 Arts improve your creativity skills
 Arts give you joy and satisfaction.
 Arts relieve stress.
 Arts allow you to showcase your talent.
 Arts give you the confidence in performance
 Arts help you do well academically
 Arts help you learn visually
 Arts help you to express your emotions

2. Basic Assumptions and Nature of Arts

Basic Assumption of Arts (Leano, 2018)
The assumption is a thing that is accepted as accurate as sure to
happen, without proof. It is something that you receive as precise
without question or evidence. Many assumptions have been written
about arts, and some of these are:
 Art involves experience.
 To experience something, you have to make use of your five
senses. Hence, there can never be an appreciation of Art without
having experienced it.
 Fulfillment and consummation of an act conclude the
experience.

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  Art is not in nature.
 Man and nature make the art of God. However, the character can be enhanced by man. They
improve the beauty and artistry of nature; they can be classified as art.
 Art is cultural.
 Art is the work of humans, and anything that has been created by a human is part of the
culture. Art becomes cultural when it depicts people's way of life, religious practices, mores,
and traditions, etc.
 Art is a form of creation.
 Art is created with imagination and skill, beautiful, or that expresses important ideas or
feelings. As it is said, the human is the creator of Art. No art can be created without humans,
which uses imagination and creativity to produce Art.
Nature of arts
 Art is a diverse range of human activities.
 In creating visual, auditory, or
performing artworks, expressing the
authors imaginative or technical skill,
intended to be appreciated for their
beauty or emotional power.
 Art represents reality.
 The use of signs that stand in for and
take the place of something else.
Symbols are arranged to form semantic
constructions and express relations. So, there is a sense in which Art represents the mind’s
eye or what the imagination perceives.

 Art is an expression.
 The expression is contained in the form is an attempt to translate then unnamed and the
unknown. Intrinsic to our existence as humans are our quest to create meaning, and Art
allows that process to take place.
 Art serves as a means of communication of emotions.
 The purpose of works of art may be to communicate political, spiritual, or spiritual or
philosophical ideas, to create a sense of beauty, to explore the nature of perception, for
pleasure, or to generate strong emotions. Art is an act of expressing feelings, thoughts, and
observations of human conditions.
 Art matters.
 The arts matter because they allow us to express ourselves and illustrate the world around
us in a different light, helping us understand people and society and give hope while living
in this world. Art matters because it represents human experiences.
 Art is universal.

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  Art can be found in every corner of the world. Art is everywhere, and it is embedded into
the way of life of people.
 Art is creation.
 It combines existing material elements into new forms, which become the realization of a
preconceived idea.

3. FUNCTIONS AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART (Leano, 2018)

Functions of Art
 Aesthetic function
 Through Art, man becomes conscious of the beauty of
nature. They benefit from their work and from those
who have done for their fellowmen.
 Utilitarian function
 Through Art, man is provided with shelter, clothing,
food, light, medicine, beautiful surroundings, personal
ornamentals, entertainment, language, transportation,
and other necessities and conveniences in life.
 Cultural function
 Through the printed matter, Art transmits and preserve skills and knowledge from one
generation to another. It makes man aware of their cultural background, making him more
knowledgeable, making their life more enduring and satisfying.
 Social function
 Through civic and graphic arts, man learns to love and help each other. International
understanding and cooperation are fostered, and nations become more unified, friendly,
cooperative, helpful, and sympathetic.
 Political function
 Art reinforces and enhances a sense of identity and ideological connection to specific
political views, political parties, and politicians.
 Educational function
 There are art symbols and signs to illustrate the knowledge and attitudes that are not
expressed in words.
 Spiritual function
 Some artworks express spiritual beliefs, customs, ceremonies, and rituals about the meaning
and destiny of life. These artworks may have religious significance.
Philosophy of Art
1) Art as “mimesis.”

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  The word mimesis is a Greek word which means “imitation” or “copying” the philosophers
Plato and Aristotle spoke of mimesis as the representation of nature.
 Plato believed that all artistic creation is mimesis. It exists in the “world of ideas” and is
created by God. The tangible things that human-made are just shadows created by man’s
mind. All artists are imitations of nature.
 Aristotle speaks of tragedy as an “imitation of an action” that falls from a higher to a lower
estate. Thus, when an artist is a skillfully select and present material, that artist is purposely
seeking to imitate or copy the action of life.
2) Art as Representation (Aristotle)
 Are represents something. When an artist uses signs and symbols to take something else, it
uses Art to represent such signs and symbols.
 It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of
naming its elements. Signs and symbols are arranged to form semantic constructions and
express relations with the other things.
3) Art for Art’s sake (Kant)
 Immanuel Kant's main interest was not in Art per se, but beauty is
sublime. Kant being an enlightenment writer though that beauty
or sublimity were not properties of objects but how we respond to
items.
 Kant pointed out that beauty is not the form of the beautiful but
about the taste.
 Kant’s concern is not on the subjective aesthetic response but the
function of an individual or personal taste.
4) Art as an Escape
 According to Allen Weinstein, without mental escape, we build
up a lot of anxiety within ourselves. Artists has to get rid of this
anxiety and pressure because if we keep these worries and
concerns within our mind, they will come out in the form of anger
and even hatred.
5) Art as Functional
 The artist's intent in creating a functional piece of Art is to bring creativity, beauty, and
usefulness into people’s everyday lives.

4. SUBJECT AND CONTENT OF ART

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 Subject of Art
 In any art from-painting, music, sculpture, architecture, or dance-there is
always a subject that serves as the foundation of creating the work of Art.
 The subject of Art is usually anything that is represented in the artwork.
It is varied-it maybe a person, object, scene, or event.
Sources of subjects
 Subjects of Art may be found in primary sources such as:
Artwork, autobiographies, the film of the artist, interviews, diaries,
speeches, documents, nature, history, mythology, Christian tradition,
sacred oriental text.
 Where to find primary sources:
Archives, catalogs, exhibits, notebooks, sketchbooks, art galleries, art
museums, art, and cultural centers.
Types of subjects
 Representational or objective arts
 Some artworks depict something easily recognized by most people. Painting, sculpture,
graphic arts, literature, and theatre arts are generally classified as representational arts,
although some paintings and sculptures are without objects. Music and dance may or may
not have subjects.
 Non-Representational or non-objective arts
 Some artworks have no resemblance to any real subject. They do not represent anything, and
they are what they are. They instead appeal directly to the senses primarily because of the
satisfying organization of their elements.
Content in Art
 Refers to the meaning or significance and or feeling imparted by a work of Art. This is not the same
thing as the subject matter the work depicts.
 The content of Art is inextricably linked with form; form refers to the visual aspects of Art such as
word, design, and choice, abut shapes, sizes, colors, contrast, medium, soft or hard edges, and many
other decisions.

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