General

Overview of
Humanities
 With the advent of the computer
age, advanced science and
technology have overwhelmed
many aspects of our lives, and even
our possibilities of survival are
affected.
But turning to the humanities where the
world of man’s spirit is evident in
humans, rather than technical values,
we experience a certain degree of
relief. The humanities can provide
enjoyment and stimulation, especially
when we try to understand what is
covers.
 Meaning,
Importance,
Scope of
humanities
humanities
(latin) Humanus
human, cultured , refined
To be human is to have or show
qualities like rationality,
kindness and tenderness.

It has different connotations

in different historical eras.
 Today, however, we know of
humanities as a loosely defined
group of cultural subject areas.
humanities arts
architecture,
painting,
sculpture
visual arts
music
dance
theater / drama
literature
 “Not anyone can
become a great artist,
but a great artist can
come from anyone.”
 Art constitutes one of the
oldest and most important
means of expression
developed by man.
Wherever men have lived together,
art has sprung up among them as a
language charged with feeling and
significance. As a cultural force, it
shows itself even in primitive
societies.
 Art, like love, is not easy to define.
It concerns itself with the
communication of certain ideas and
feelings by means of medium –
color, sound, bronze, marble, words,
and film.
 Such medium is fashioned into a
symbolic language marked by
beauty of design and coherence of
form. It appeals to our mind,
arouses our emotions, kindles our
imagination, and enchants our
senses.
architecture, arts
painting,
sculpture
visual arts

music
dance
theater / drama
literature
 Visual art is
the art that we perceive
through our eyes.
 Visual arts involve not only
painting and sculpture, but
include such thing as clothes,
household appliances, and the
furnishings of homes, schools,
churches and other buildings.
 Music is the art of
combining and regulating
sounds of varying pitch to
produce compositions,
expressing various ideas and
emotions.
 Its primary function is to
entertain. Thus, when sounds
are not regulated or when a
piece of music is played
improperly or in full blast, it
ceases to give pleasure and fails
its purpose.
 Dance is the most
direct of the arts for it
makes use of the human
body as its medium.
 It springs from man’s love for
expressive gestures, his release of
tension through rhythmic movement
. Dance heightens the pleasure of
being, and at the same time mirrors
the life of society.
Drama / area
of theater
Play maybe a drama
What do arts have
in common?
 The most basic
relationship is that arts
are concerned with
emotions, with our
feelings about things.
 When a person sees a picture,
he thinks it’s beautiful, or when
he watches a play or dance
performance, he thinks it is
exciting, he feels that it is lovely
or stirring.
 His reaction is primarily emotional.
People experience excitement,
pleasure, anger and all other emotional
states in a way which is very different
from their intellectual responses.
Emotions are part of our basic nature.
an artist
 An artist is a person who
exhibits exceptional skills in
design, drawing, painting,
etc. or one who works in one
of the performing arts.
 artist
creator performer
Composer

singer
 Dramatist/
playwright

actors
choreographer

dancers
Music, theater, and
dance are
performing arts.
 Beside the creator,
they require other
artists who recreate
what has been
composed.
 Although the artistry of
the performers is based on
the creation of others, they
bring individual
interpretations to their
performances.
 Such contribution
added richness and
meaning to the field of
arts.
 It makes them different
from painting in the way
by which the creative
artists communicate
directly with the observer.
The Work of the
Creative Artist
Creativity is an artist’s trait
developed in the course of
his life to solve problems
or express his feelings.
The process of
creativity is
threefold.
 The artist as the prime
mover, communicating his
ideas through the
performer, as his
interpreter to the audience
 The intensity of the
activity may be less than
that of the artist who
produces the work.
3 Phases in
the Creative
Process
1. The artist must
have an idea.
2. He must have a
material to work
on.
 3. He must give
form to his ideas.
idea
 Artist are highly
sensitive persons
specially aware of
the things that
surround them.
 They notice sounds,
colors, and
movements of people
and things.
Art expression is based on the
so – called higher senses of
sight and sound, with the
other senses playing more or
less indirect roles.
 A particular experience may
impress an artist so much that
he decides to use it as the
basis for a picture, a poem, a
play or a dance.
 Through the centuries,
artists have worked on new
ideas which illuminate and
enrich the lives of all
mankind.
 A study of art is a study of
mankind for through the arts
we can discover man’s major
interests, feelings, and
problems through the ages.
material /
process
 The artist uses
materials to give
form to his ideas.
Painter uses
pigments.
 Sculptor uses
stones, metal or
wood.
An architect
uses various
building
materials.
Author uses
words.
 Composers
uses musical
sounds.
Choreographer uses
people and their
movements as the
materials for his
creation.
Sculpture is
an art of
space.
Music is an
art of time.
 Theater and
opera are arts of
both space and
time.
Organization/

form
Artists have developed a
host of different forms
to express the ideas they
work on.
 1. Popular song
writers use the
conventional 32 –
measure length.
 2. Symphonic
composers use the
accepted structure of
four movements.
an opening sonata or allegro

A slow movement,…adagio

A minuet/ scherzo with trio

an allegro, rondo, or sonata

 3. Poetry has
number of well –
defined forms.
4. Sonnets have
the quatrains.
 5. Operas and plays
are always divided
into number of acts.
In several of time arts,
the works generally
have a three – part
structure.
An introductory
section “sets the
stage” for what
follows.
 Middle section
develops the plot,
melody or the
story.
Concluding part is the final
working out of the forces
and ideas which the artists
has set in motion.
 Style is a term which
refers to the development
of forms in art that are
related to particular
historical periods.
Space arts are
often
symmetrically
balanced.
Symmetrical balance
shows that two sides
of the object are
identical.
 Asymmetrical balance is the
kind of organization found in
most paintings and other two
– dimensional graphic works.
The forms and colors on
one side are balanced by
different forms and
colors on the other.
The Scope of
Humanities
 1. The visual arts are
those that we perceive
with our eyes.
 Visual arts may be classified into
two groups:

Graphic ( flat or two dimensional

surface)

Plastic arts (three – dimensional)

Graphic
arts
 a. Painting
b. Drawing
c. Graphic processes
d. Commercial art
e. Mechanical processes
f. Photography
 A. Painting
Painting is the process of applying
pigment to a surface to a surface to secure
effects involving forms and colors.
Painting media include oils, watercolors,
tempera, and others. canvas, wood, paper
and plaster are some of the surfaces on
which paintings are executed.
 B. Drawing
Drawing is the art of representing
something by lines made on a surface or
the process of portraying an object, scene,
or forms of decorative or symbolic
meaning through lines, shading, and
textures in one or more colors. Media used
include pencil, pen and ink, crayon, brush,
and charcoal.
 C. Graphic Processes
These are processes for making multi –
reproduction of graphic works. All the
processes involve the preparation of a
master image of the drawing or design on
some durable material such as wood,
metal, or stone, from which printing is
done.
 Processes may be classified by the
nature of the surface from which the
printing is done.

 Raised (relief)
 Depressed ( intaglio)
 Flat (surface/ plane)
 C. (1) Relief Printing
- is the process whereby unwanted
portions of design are cut away on the
master image. The printed image is formed
by the remaining surfaces. Examples are
linoleum cuts, woodcuts, and wood
engravings. Japanese prints are made from
woodcuts.
C. (2) Intaglio Printing

- is a method of printing
from a plate on which
incised lines, which carry
the ink, leave a raised
impression.
 C. (2.a.) Dry Point
Here, the artist draws directly on a metal
plate with a sharp needle and scratches
lines, or grooves, into the metal. For each
print, ink is rubbed into the grooves and
the unscratched surface is wiped clean. In
printing, the ink in the grooves is
transferred to paper.
 C. (2.b.) Etching
This is the art or process of producing
drawings or designs on metal plates
covered with wax. The needle penetrates
wax to the surface of the plate. The plate is
then dipped in acid, which eats the lines
into metal. For printing, etched (bitten)
lines are filled with ink which is
transferred to the paper.
 C. (2.c.) Engraving

This is done on a metal plate with a

cutting tool called a barin, which
leaves a V – shaped though. Drawings
or designs on the plate are entirely
composed of lines and/or dots.
 C. (3.) Surface Printing

Surface printing includes all the

processes in which printing is
done from a flat (plane
surface).
 C. (3.a.) Lithography
- is the art or process of printing from a flat
stone or metal plate by a method based on the
repulsion between grease and water. The design
is put on the surface. The surface is then treated
so that ink adheres only to areas where drawing
has been done; ink is then transferred to the
paper in printing.
 C. (3.b.) silkscreen
Silk is stretched over a rectangular frame
and unwanted portions in the design are
blocked out. Pigment is forced through the
clear areas. For multi-color prints, a
separate screen is used for each color.
 D. Commercial Art
This includes designing of books,
advertisements, signs, posters, and
other displays to promote sale or
acceptance of product, service, or
idea.
 E. Mechanical Processes

These are developed by

commercial printers for rapid,
large – quantity reproduction of
words and pictures in one or
more colors.
 F. Photography
This is a chemical – mechanical
process by which images are
produced on sensitized surfaces by
action of light. Reproductions may
be in black or white or in full colors
of the original.
plastic
arts
 A. architecture
is the art of designing and
constructing buildings and other
types of structures. It is regarded
as the “mother of arts”.
 b. Landscape Architecture

is planning outdoor areas for human

use and enjoyment, especially
gardens, parks, playgrounds, golf
courses. Chief materials are plants,
trees, shrubs, flowers, vines, and
ground cover.
 c. City planning
This refers to planning and arranging
the physical aspects of a large or small
community. Structures and areas
concerned with all phases of living and
working are attractively and efficiently
organized and related.
 d. Interior design
The term is used to designate design
and arrangement of architectural
interiors for convenience and
beauty.
 e. sculpture
Refers to the design and
construction of three – dimensional
forms representing natural objects or
imaginary shapes. Sculptures of
figures are called statues.
 f. Crafts
The term refers to the designing and
making of objects by hand for use or
for pleasure. It includes such fields
as ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork,
and weaving.
g. Industrial design
Refers to design of objects for
machine production. Examples
are designs for automobiles and
household appliances.
 h. Dress and costume design

This covers the design of wearing

apparel of all types.
 i. Theater design
Is the design of settings for
dramatic productions.
literature
The art of combining spoken
or written words and their
meanings into forms which
have artistic appeal is called
literature.
a. drama
 b. essay
Non – fiction, expository
writing ranging from
informal, personal topics to
closely reasoned critical
treatments of important
subjects.
 c. Prose fiction

includes narratives created by

the author, as distinguished
from true accounts.
 “Fiction” comes from a latin
word which means “to form”, “to
invent” or “to feign”. Fiction is
generally divided into novel,
novelette, and short stories.
 A novel or a short
story describes
characters and events
which the author has
invented.
 d. Poetry

includes narratives created by

the author, as distinguished
from true accounts.
 d. miscellaneous
History, biography, letters,
journals, diaries, and other works
not formally classified as
literature often have definite
literary appeal and status due to
the high quality of the writing.
music
 Music is the art of
arranging sounds in
rhythmic succession and
generally in
combination.
 a. Vocal music
- is composed primarily to
be sung. The voice or
voices are generally
accompanied by one or
more instruments.
 b. Instrumental music
Music of this kind is
written for
instruments of four
general types
Keyboard: piano, organ
String: violin, cello, guitar, etc
Wind: flute, clarinet, etc.
Brass winds: trumpet, saxo –
phone, etc.
Percussion: drums, xylophone
3. Music combined with
other arts
 Opera
 Operetta and Musical
Comedy
 Oratorio and Cantata
 4. Other forms of arts
are the ballet music and
background music for
motion pictures.
Drama and
theater
 A drama or play is a
story re-created by
actors on a stage in front
of an audience.
 1. Tragedy
It is a drama of serious nature
in which the central character
comes to some sad or
disastrous end. All tragedies
portray suffering.
 2. Melodrama
The emphasis is on action
rather than on character. The
action is sensational or
romantic and usually has a
happy ending.
 3. Comedy
It is a drama of serious nature
in which the central character
comes to some sad or
disastrous end. All tragedies
portray suffering.
 3.a. Romantic comedy

is a light, amusing tale of

lovers in some dilemma
which is finally solved
happily.
 3.b. Farce
- is a light humorous play that
emphasizes jokes, humorous
physical action, ludicrous
situations and improbable
characters.
 3.c. Comedy of manners

- sometimes called “drawing

room comedy” is
sophisticated, sometimes
satirical.
 4. Miscellaneous
a. Tragicomedy
b. Miracle & mystery plays
c. Morality plays
d. Closet drama
e. Piano drama
 dance
Dance involves the
movement of the body
and the feet in rhythm.
 1. Ethnologic

- includes folk dancing

associated with national
and cultural groups.
 2. Social / ballroom dances

- are popular types of dancing

generally performed by pairs.
Such include waltz, fox trot,
rhumba, and tango.
 3. The Ballet
- is a formalized type
of dance which
originated in the royal
courts of Middle Ages.
 Ballet dances may either be
solo or concerted dances with
mimetic actions accompanied
by music. These are generally
built around a theme or story.
 4. Modern Dances
- are sometimes called
contemporary or interpretative
dances.
 These dances represent
rebellion against the classical
formalism of ballet: they
emphasize personal
communication of moods and
themes.
 In the past, movements
were natural and untrained.
Today, there are varied
styles of movements
usually based on the current
trend.
 5. Musical Comedy
- refers to those dances performed
by soloist, groups, and choruses in
theaters, night clubs, motion
pictures, and television. It combines
various forms of ballet, modern, tap,
and acrobatics.