MODULE 1

ART AS A HUMANISTIC
DISCIPLINE
 Erwin
Panofsky
The new definition and conception of “humanitas”
lead to what we now call "humanism" which
Panofsky describes as maintaining our rationality
and freedom while still keeping in mind our own
fallibility and frailty. Thus, responsibility for
ourselves and tolerance to others.

With the rise of humanism in the Middle Ages, it is

no wonder that new artistic styles emerged
everywhere and played off one another versus the
soon to come Renaissance which radically shifts to
looking at the past as something to be
reconstructed.

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 PANOFSKY &
HUMANISM
The humanists learned and grew from what they could study of the past but didn't
emulate it.

As Panofsky says so beautifully, "For, if human existence could be thought of as a

means rather than an end, how much less could the records of human activity be
considered as value in themselves."

To the humanist there are two distinctions to be made: the one of nature and the
one of culture. Everything falls into one category or the other, being that all things
are either found in nature or are man-made, and whatever camp that might be, the
situation always has to make sense at the end of the day.
PANOFSKY & ART
Panofsky breaks down the term “painting” little
by little until it hardly resembles itself.

He calls a painting a work of art, but picks this

apart to make the distinction that although
something is not necessarily created with the
intention of being experienced aesthetically, it
still has aesthetic significance if not aesthetic
value.

But in order to appreciate it fully we must

remove our own desires, conceptions and
knowledge about the subject we view.

But this is subject to the object itself, because

man-made objects always have the creators
intention embedded within.

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 The Difference between a …
SCIENTIST
The scientist is able to analyze almost
immediately while the humanist must
re-enact and re-create mentally. As
such, the scientist can simply read
and interpret a book on art history
but the humanist must understand
what the book says in so far as it's
meaning and impact on the reader.
HUMANIST
The humanist possesses a naivety which
leads toward "appreciationism" (p. 19);
the idea of learning about art without
reference to anything historical, versus
"connoisseurship" where one collects art
and enjoys it in respect to it's quality and
condition. The "connoisseur" knows
everything to say about the art but limits
himself from the details that the art
historian pours himself over.
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 PANOFSKY & THE HUMANITIES

All this talk of art history could seem like a tangent away from the idea of "humanity", and so
Panofsky pumps the breaks on his essay by asking why we should consider art history as part of "the
humanities".

The question begs the practical answer that we are interested in the past, but further still, because we
are interested in reality.

Everything that has happened historically and scientifically was and is real life to a certain degree and
thus our interest in it.

Though here is another difference between the humanities and the sciences: when looking at science
we capture and preserve what we observe in order to learn from it, and what we observe is constantly
naturally occurring. For the humanities, we look at what once was and when we put it into practice we
bring it back to life.

6

MORE INSIGHTS
FROM PANOFSKY
Despite their differences, the humanities actually
complement the sciences and vice versa. It's only
that the exactness of science is a mastery and the
depth of the humanities is wisdom.
Our frail and fallible human bodies leave behind
frail and fallible records of our frail and fallible
lives oddly turning our inescapable mortality into a
kind of immortality for subsequent mortals to
humanistically or scientifically observe.
And so, the duality we face regarding the definition
of "humanity" still remains.
According to the traditional theory of art, there is a basic
difference between an 'art' and a 'craft'.
Put simply, although both activities involve creative skills, the
former involves a higher degree of intellectual involvement.
Under this analysis, a basket-weaver (say) would be
considered a craftsperson, while a bag-designer would be
considered an artist.
In this rather artificial distinction between arts and crafts,
functionality is a key factor.
The idea is that artists are somehow superior because they
'create' things of beauty, while craftsmen perform repetitive
or purely functional actions.
There may be some truth behind this theory, but many types
of craftsmanship seem no different to genuine art. An example
perhaps, is a cartoonist-animator, exployed to draw thousands
of similar pictures of a cartoon character like 'Charlie
Brown'. True, his 'art' is purely functional and highly
commercial, but no one could deny he was an artist.
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THE HUMANITIES
IN WESTERN
CIVILIZATION

In the Cosmocentric view human

person is studied or understood in
relation to the Cosmos.

Here, the Cosmos is at the centre.

Hence, the Cosmos is given great

importance.
 HUMANITIES IN
THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Theocentric view where human person is being studied or understood in reference to God.
Here, human person is considered to be the image of God. He is being created by God, in His
own image and likeness.

In the Anthropocentric view here, the human person himself is the point of the departure. He
himself becomes the basis and object of the study matter.

Scientific-Technocentric believes in classical science, technology, conventional economic

thinking, and in the human control over nature. Such view is almost arrogant in its
assumption that man is supremely able to understand and control events to suit his purposes
and more anthropocentric in the sense that it views humankind as separate from and superior
to nature and that the earth is regarded as a life support system for the benefit of human
beings.

Eclectic view refers to a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm
or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain
complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.
However, this is often without conventions or rules dictating how or which theories were
combined.
 HUMANISTIC
DISCIPLINE

History refers to a branch of knowledge

that records and explains past events.

Language refers to the subjects (such as

reading, spelling, literature, and
composition) that aim at developing the
student's comprehension and capacity for
use of written and oral language.

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 HUMANISTIC
DISCIPLINE

Philosophy refers to a search for a general

understanding of values and reality by
chiefly speculative rather than
observational means.

Art refers to the conscious use of skill and

creative imagination especially in the
production of aesthetic objects.

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VISUAL ARTS
The visual arts are art forms such as
painting, drawing, printmaking,
sculpture, ceramics, photography,
video, filmmaking, design, crafts, and
architecture.
Many artistic disciplines (performing arts, conceptual art,
textile arts) involve aspects of the visual arts as well as arts of
other types. Also included within the visual arts are the
applied arts such as industrial design, graphic design, fashion
design, interior design and decorative art.

Current usage of the term "visual arts" includes fine art as

well as the applied or decorative arts and crafts, but this was
not always the case.
Before the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and
elsewhere at the turn of the 20th century, the term 'artist'
had for some centuries often been restricted to a person
working in the fine arts (such as painting, sculpture, or
printmaking) and not the decorative arts, craft, or applied
art media.

The distinction was emphasized by artists of the Arts and

Crafts Movement, who valued vernacular art forms as
much as high forms. Art schools made a distinction
between the fine arts and the crafts, maintaining that a
craftsperson could not be considered a practitioner of the
arts.
The increasing tendency to privilege painting, and to a lesser degree
sculpture, above other arts has been a feature of Western art as well
as East Asian art. In both regions painting has been seen as relying to
the highest degree on the imagination of the artist, and the furthest
removed from manual labor – in Chinese painting the most highly
valued styles were those of "scholar-painting", at least in theory
practiced by gentleman amateurs. The Western hierarchy of genres
reflected similar attitudes.
PERFORMING ARTS
Performing arts are a form of art in which artists use their
voices, bodies or inanimate objects to convey artistic
expression. It is different from visual arts, which is when
artists use paint, canvas or various materials to create
physical or static art objects. Performing arts include a
range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live
audience.

Theatre, music, dance and object manipulation, and other

kinds of performances are present in all human cultures.
The history of music and dance date to pre-historic times
whereas circus skills date to at least Ancient Egypt. Many
performing arts are performed professionally.
Performance can be in purpose built buildings, such as
theatres and opera houses, on open air stages at festivals,
on stages in tents such as circuses and on the street.
Many performing arts are performed
professionally. Performance can be in purpose
built buildings, such as theatres and opera houses,
on open air stages at festivals, on stages in tents
such as circuses and on the street.

Live performances before an audience are a form

of entertainment.

The development of audio and video recording

has allowed for private consumption of the
performing arts.

The performing arts often aim to express one's

emotions and feelings.
LINGUISTIC

Linguistic arts is the study and improvement of the arts of

language.

Traditionally, the primary divisions in language arts are

literature and language, where language in this case refers
to both linguistics, and specific languages.

Language arts instruction typically consists of a

combination of reading, writing (composition), speaking,
and listening. In schools, language arts is taught alongside
science, mathematics, and social studies.

It is the scientific study of language. It involves analyzing

language form, language meaning, and language in context.
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 REFERENCES

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