medium, color, sound, bronze, marble, words and
The Origin and Meaning of Humanities
The term "humanities" originated from the
Renaissance Latin expression studia humanitatis or
study of humanitas which refers to "culture,
refinement, education" . During the Renaissance period
of the early 15th century, the studia humanitatis
became a secular study in the universities at the time.
The humanities course primarily consisted of grammar,
rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy, Latin
and Greek classics.
The humanities today include literature,
language, philosophy, geography, history, religion,
music, and art. These subjects used methods that are
primarily critical, speculative, and historical in
elements whereas natural sciences are critical
discipline and use of empirical approaches.
Humanities are academic disciplines that deal
on the various aspects of society and the noble in man.
Thus, humanities make man more humane, cultured,
dignified, and refined human being. In short,
humanities bring out the best and worthiness of man as
a person.
Meaning and Importance of Art
Art is a subject under humanities. There is no
one universal definition of art since art is subjective. It
is subjective in the sense that people differ in their
perception of an object or thing. Some people may
consider an object as something beautiful and
meaningful while others may consider it as ugly or
meaningless. In other words, different authors and
writers define art in various ways as they perceive it.
Moreover, the meaning of art has changed throughout
history due to multicultural settings. Thus, every time a
new movement in art emerged, the meaning of what is
art, or what is acceptable as art, is being challenged.
Hereunder are some of the definitions of art given
by various authors and writers.
1. Art is derived from the Latin word "ars," meaning
ability or skill - J.V. Estolas
2. Art is taken from the Italian word "artis," which
means craftmanship, skill, mastery of form,
inventiveness, and the associations that exists
between form and ideas, between material and
technique. -A. Tan
3. Art is a product of man's need to express himself -
F. Zulueta
4. Art is concerned itself with the communication of
certain ideas and feelings by means of sensuous
film -C. Sanchez
5. Art is that which brings life in harmony with the
world. - Plato
6. Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind-one
which demands for its own satisfaction and
fulfilling, a shaping matter to new and more
significant form. -John Dewey
7. Art is the skillful arrangement or composition of
some common but significant qualities of nature
such as colors, sounds, lines, movements, words,
stones, wood, etc., to express human feelings,
emotions, or thoughts in a perfect, meaningful, and
enjoyable way. - Panizo and Rustia
8. Art is not what you see but what you make others
see -Georgia O'Keeffe
9. Art is a life that helps us to realize the truth -Pablo
Picasso
10. Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to
record the action of his personality in the world he
lives in. -Amy Lowell.
11. Art is never finished, only abandoned - Leornardo
da Vinci
12. Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of
feeling, the artist has experienced. - Leo
Nikolaevich Tolstoy
13. Art is the realization in external form of a true idea
and is traced back to that natural love of imitation
which characterizes human. - Aristotle
14. Art is the conscious creation of something
beautiful or meaningful using skill and
imagination - Lisa Morder
15. Art is the discovery and development of
elementary principles of nature. into beautiful
forms suitable for human use - Frank Lloyd
Wright
16. Art is not what you see but what you make others
see - Edgar Degas
From the above definitions of art, it can be
concluded that there are several ways of defining art as
there are many people, authors, and writers in the
universe. Each definition is influenced by the unique
perspective of the above authors and writers as well as
their own personality and character.
Art has a particular importance in our lives.
All the arts that we see and hear have a purpose as well
as expressions; they occupy some place in our
judgment and makes a huge impact in our lives. Here
are the reasons why art is important

1. Art highlights and heightens the importance of
certain events in order to keep them memorable and
pleasurable
2. Art enables us to get a glimpse of the thoughts,
feelings, and beliefs of the people in their time and the
faces in their environment that influenced them.
3. Art enables us to value and appreciate
beautiful things as a consequence of our encounter
with arts.
4. Art may influence us to change our ways and
behavior as a result of the aesthetic experience we
derived from the arts.
5. Arts are valuable sources of inspirations and
aesthetic delightful experience through the artist works
of art.
Art Assumptions
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
 clarify misconception about art
 differentiate art from nature
 categorize works of art by citing personal
experience
 characterize the assumptions of the arts
Art is universal
In every country of the world, art exist because it is
important to people's lives. It is the oldest and most
important means of expression developed by man in
any culture. In fact, man learned to draw before he
could even start to talk as evidenced by some early
paintings in caves and trunks of trees - shown in
prehistoric times. Art has been created by all people of
the world at all times; it has lived because it is liked
and enjoyed. The elements and forms of art apply to all
arts everywhere.
Art is cultural
Art contributes to the understanding of past and
present cultures. Through art, people learn about their
culture's values and strengthen their culture's identity.
Through art, the people feel proud of their customs,
traditions, and beliefs because they give a sense of
belonging.
The artists' work such as painting, sculpture, music,
dances, ceramics, prints and others are records of their
society's culture. They create within the person's
sensitivities toward their community, their country and
the world around them.
Art is not nature
Art is not nature because it is man-made. Art is man's
interpretation of what he perceives as art. Nature, such
as the mountains, the volcano, lakes, rivers, land
terrain are made by God and not by man. Thus, art, and
not nature, is made by man by all times.
Art is an expression of the mind
According to Jeff Lee (2016), art is a form of
expression of the deepest emotion of the mind.
According to him, the egoic mind (conscious mind)
and the echoic mind (unconscious mind) together
making up the totality of thinking.
Artistic expression may be expressed 100% in
conscious mind but those who are extremely artistic or
right-brained individuals, they may be more creative
and are able to recognize the value of linking
seemingly unrelated thoughts or ideas, methods, and
concepts because of their frequent practice.
Art is a form of creativity
Art is a product of the imagination that entertains,
pleases and inspire people. The various artworks of
artists reflect the artist's power of creativity.
Artists create artwork about anything they want,
imagine or see around them. The artists use their
imagination to create any artwork using strange shape
and different kinds of links and colors.
Color expresses the artist's personal feelings and
moods. Colors symbolize ideas. It brings art a
particular meaning, mood, and feeling in an artwork.
The artist's choice of color expresses the beauty and
elegance of the artist's work and also feeling the artist
has at that moment. He does all this as a consequence
of his creative mind and imagination. Therefore, we
can say that art is creative, not imitative; artworks are
produced by human creative skill and imagination.
Art involves experience
When a work is finished in a satisfactory manner, an
experience occurs. Likewise, when a problem is solved
or a game is played, or a conversation is rounded out
satisfactorily; experience do occur. Fulfillment and
consummation of an act conclude the experience.
In all experiences, every successively part flows freely.
Artists use their experiences to ventilate their feelings
through the works that they make. Some artists focus
on societal problems, issues, and concerns. Some of
them use expressionism to communicate strong and
intense feelings. They reflect in their works on the
brink of socio-cultural problems because of their
experiences. For example, Ang Kiukok, a famous
FilipinoChinese painter likes to dwell on subject
matters showing the "harsh, disturbing, morbid"
realities happening in the Philippines. Due to his
experiences, he likes to express anger as well as
frustration in his paintings. Emotion is the moving and
cementing force of his artwork.
In like manner, the painting of Vincent Van Gogh, the
"Starry Night" is an expression of feelings based from
his experiences. In his artwork, he displayed stars
swirling in the sky. He used bold jagged strokes,
gloomy colors to convey strong and strange feelings.
The lines, colors and shapes express his feelings about
the scene in his paintings. The expression of the artists
are shown in the way they express their feelings
towards their artwork.