THE IMPORTANCE,

MEANING AND
ASSUMPTIONS OF
CHAPTER ONE
ART
 THE
IMPORTANCE
OF ART
 The arts are indescribable to define and
difficult to gather into a conceptual net, but
we would probably agree that the arts enhance
daily experiences.
These days, art plays a vital part in
developing the intellect of the younger
generation to build up a positive character and
appreciate natural aesthetic.

 The Importance Of Art

 In this period of advanced
technology know-how and modernization,
art is of vital magnitude. We fight back
to stabilize our lives while trying to
maintain the swiftness of the frenzied
pace of living.
In general, there is no debating the
belief that the arts have never been
more important to our society and should
be fully integrated into our lives, our
community and education as a whole.
 The word “art” is rooted in the 13th
century French word art, which means skill as
a result of learning or practice, and the Latin
word ars, meaning ability or practical skills.
The word art covers many meanings,
including ability, process, and product. As
ability, art is the human capacity to make
things of beauty and things that stir us; It is
creativity.

 MEANING OF ART
 Art concerns itself with the
communication of certain ideas
and feelings by means of a
sensuous medium – color, sound,
bronze, body, words, and film.
Many known personalities
define art in various ways.
According to Plato, “Art is that
which brings life in harmony with
the beauty of the world.”
1. Art has to be man-made.
2. Art must be creative, not imitative.
3. Art must benefit and satisfy man.
4. Art is expressed through a certain
medium or material by which the artist
communicates himself to his audiences.

 FOUR COMMON
ESSENTIALS OF ART
 It is the study of objects or works of art
in their historical development and stylistic
contexts, i.e., genre, design, format, and
style.
The humanities course is anchored on a
strong foundation in the arts and sciences,
which aims to promote an awareness of the
interrelationships of all fields of knowledge
(Encyclopedia Americana,1986).

 ART HISTORY
 Just like the artists, we also
communicate through our paintings,
songs, body movements, films, and drama
to highlight and enhance certain events
and keep them memorable and
pleasurable.
Artworks are valuable sources of
inspiration, and aesthetic, and delightful
experiences. We can be mesmerized by a
dance we watch, delighted by the books
we read, and moved by the music we
hear.
 Creativity is an artist trait
developed in the course of one’s life to
solve problems or express his feelings.
His continuing reactions to emerging
conditions of nature and social life gives
birth to new idea and new methods.
The method of creativeness is
composed of the artist, being the prime
mover, his thoughts, communicated
through the performer, and the audience
as his judge.
 Through exposures to the artists’ works,
we get a glimpse of the thoughts, feelings,
beliefs, and relations of the people in their
environment that may have influenced their
artworks.
This explains the modern definition of the
humanities, which refers to the Arts that bring
out the good and noble in us
Art appreciation in the humanities is being
able to look at a work of art and form a wise
opinion of the work.
 There are principles and
bases of appreciating a work of
art since it is in art that man
can communicate one’s
individuality and way of life.

 ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
 Art is everywhere; wherever
men have lived together, has sprung up
among them as a language charged with
feelings and significance.
The desire to create this language
appears to be general, and art as a
cultural force can be pervasive and
potent.

 ART IS UNIVERSAL
 Art is man-made; it is a creation of man
utilizing his thoughtful skill and artistry, which
undergoes process and planning.
Art is artificial because it is just an
imitation or even an appropriation of reality
and nature.
It is a representation of ideas, thoughts,
and feelings that are communicated in creative
and artistic ways.

 ART IS NOT NATURE

 Art can never be natural
because it is momentary in the
constant transformation of
change; it does not change by
itself unless manipulated by its
creator, which is man.
Artists could make any work
of art, but they definitely could
not form nature.
 Art is a depiction of our
experiences. It demands taking part. Art
involves laying of pigments, moulding of
clay, chipping of marble, casting of
bronze, constructing of buildings, singing
of songs, playing roles on stage, acting,
and going through rhythmic movements in
a dance.
 ART INVOLVES
EXPERIENCE
 Every art does something with
some physical material, the body or
something outside of the body; thus,
the only way to find conviction and
assertion is through immersion in the
Arts.
We can only appreciate art if we
spend time to look at it, listen to it,
touch it, and feel its presence.
1. PERSONAL
2. SOCIAL
3. CULTURAL FUNCTION
4. AESTHETIC FUNCTION
5. SPIRITUAL FUNCTION

 FUNCTIONS OF ART
 It is used to provide
comfort, happiness, and
convenience to human beings.
The artist tries to express
his personal feelings through the
artwork.

1. PERSONAL
 Art is used for public display and
celebration; it is used to affect
collective behavior.
It bridges connection among people.
Art conveys sense of family, community,
or civilization.

2. SOCIAL
 Art helps preserve, share, and
transmit culture of people from one
generation to another.

3. CULTURAL FUNCTION
 Art becomes influential for man to
be aware of the beauty of nature.
Aesthetic is when there is the real
feelings of appreciation to nature’s
beauty and are manifested through
appreciation and enjoyment when in
contact with the artwork.

4. AESTHETIC FUNCTION
 An artist may create a work of art
to reinforce the religious or spiritual
support of a culture.

5. SPIRITUAL FUNCTION
 BASIC
PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES OF
ART
 According to him, art is an
imitation of the real that was an
imitation of the ideal. Art is an
imitation of an imitation.

1. ART AS MIMESIS (PLATO)

 According to him, the aim of art
is not to represent to outward
appearance of things but their
inward significance.

2. ART AS REPRESENTATION
(ARISTOTLE)
 That art has its own reason for
being. It implies that an art objet is
best understood as an autonomous
creation to be valued only for its success
as it organizes color and line into a
formally satisfying and beautiful whole.

3. ART FOR ART’S SAKE

 The ceremony of doing or creating art
touches the deepest realms of the mind and
the sacred dimension of the artistic creative
process.
The sacred level of art not only
transforms something into art but also
transforms the artist at the very core of
his/her being.

4. ART AS AN ESCAPE
 Art serves a function. Art is
meant to be used, to enrich lives to
be spiritually potent, to educate, to
support or protest existing power
structures, to entertain, and so on.

5. ART AS FUNCTIONAL
1. Visual Arts (2D, 3D)
2. Performing/Combined Arts
3. Digital Art
4. Applied Arts

 CATEGORIES/
CLASSIFICATIONS OF ART
a. Painting
– it is the application of pigment (color) on any flat
two-dimensional surfaces.
b. Sculpture
– it is carving, modelling, casting, constructing, and
assembling of materials and objects into primarily 3-
dimensional works of art.
c. Architecture
– it is the art and science of planning, designing, and
constructing buildings and non-building structures for
human shelter or use (3D).

1. VISUAL ARTS (2D, 3D)

a. Music
- It is an art form and cultural activity whose
medium is sound organized in time.
b. Dance
- It is the movement of the body in a rhythmic
way, usually to musical and within a given space
for the purpose of expressing an idea or
emotion.
c. Film
- Also called movie or motion picture, is a series
of still images that when shown on a screen
creates an illusion of moving images.
2. PERFORMING/COMBINED
ARTS
d. Theater
- It is a collaborative form of art that uses live
performers, typically actors or actresses, to present
the experience of a real or imagined event before a
live audience in a specific place, often a stage.
e. Literary
- It is concentrating the writing, study or content of
literature, especially of the kind valued for quality of
form.
f. Performance poetry
- It is poetry specifically composed for or during a
performance before an audience rather than on print
mostly open to improvisation.
2. PERFORMING/COMBINED
ARTS
 It is the art that made with the
assistance of electronic devices, or
intended to be displayed on a computer,
which is the most important element in
digital art.

3. DIGITAL ART
 Are the application of design and
decoration to everyday objects to make
them aesthetically pleasing.

4. APPLIED ARTS
a. Fashion design
- It is the art of applying design, aesthetics, and natural beauty to
clothing and its accessories.
b. Furniture design
- It is a specialized field where function and fashion collide.
c. Interior design
- It is enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier
and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using
the space.
d. Graphic design
- It is an artistic process of effective communication. Designers
combine words, images, and symbols to create a visual
representation of ideas.

4. APPLIED ARTS
 SUBJECT
AND CONTENT
OF ART
CHAPTER
TWO
 The subject of art is the matter to be described
or to be portrayed by the artist.
The subject of art is varied. This may refer to any
person, object, scene, or event.
In general, the subject of an artwork is anything
under the sun. The subject could be make-believe,
imaginary, and invented, like Cerberus (a 3-headed dog)
or Dyesebel (a popular mermaid character made for film
and television).
Subjects can also be real events, like the
devastations brought about by super typhoons entering
the Philippines or catastrophic tsunamis hitting many
Asian countries.

 THE SUBJECT OF ART

1.Representational or
Objective Art
2.Non-representational or
Non-objective Art
 TWO KINDS OF ART AS
TO SUBJECT
 They are those arts that depict
(represent) objects that are
commonly recognized by most people.
They attempt to portray the
subject as it is. The artists would
try to be as objective as possible.

1. REPRESENTATIONAL OR
OBJECTIVE ART
 They are those arts without any
reference to anything outside itself (without
representation).
Some contemporary painters have shifted
their interest to the work of art as an object
itself, an exciting combination of shapes and
colors that fulfills the aesthetic needs without
having to represent images or tell a story.
2. NON-
REPRESENTATIONAL OR
NON-OBJECTIVE ART
 Traditional sculptures and
paintings have subjects. When
looking at a painting or a
sculpture, one expects to
recognize the subject to know
what it is about – a man, an
animal, or a tree.
1. Nature
2. History
3. Greek and Roman Mythology
4. Religion
5. Sacred oriental texts

 SOURCES OF THE
SUBJECT OF ART
 Next to animals and people
and their activities, nature as
landscapes has been the common
subject of the arts.

1. NATURE
 All art is conditioned by the
historical period in which it is created.
Rulers like to have themselves and the
great deeds of their time perpetuated,
consequently, statues and paintings of
the great are found in each civilization.

2. HISTORY
 This has been a very important
source of subjects in the arts.
These arts are so famous that they
count as a definite part of our
inheritance.

3. GREEK AND ROMAN

MYTHOLOGY
 It has played an enormous
role in inspiring works of visual
arts, music, architecture, and
literature through the ages.

4. RELIGION
 Sacred texts of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism,
Zoroastrianism, and Islam.

5. SACRED ORIENTAL
TEXTS
 The content of art is the meaning,
message, and/or feeling imparted by a
work of art.
This is not the same thing as the
subject matter the work depicts. Content
is inextricably linked with form, which
refers to the pictorial aspects of art.

 THE CONTENT OF ART

1. The Art’s imagery
2. The symbolic meaning
3. Its surroundings where it is used or
displayed
4. The customs, beliefs, and values of the
culture that uses it
5. Writings that help explain the work
 IT IS THE MASS OF IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH
EACH ARTWORK AND COMMUNICATED
THROUGH THE FOLLOWING:
 In artworks, the subject matter
of an artwork is what the image
literally depicts.
The content of the work is what
the image means. This may be far
more complicated than the subject
matter.
For someone to better
understand the content of art, there
are three levels of meaning.
 The most common is the factual meaning, the
literal statement or narrative content in the work
that can be directly apprehended because the
objects presented are easily recognized.
The second is the conventional meaning, which
refers to the special meaning that the certain object
or color has for a particular culture or group of
people when it is shown in an artwork.
The third is the subjective meaning, which
refers to the individual meaning deliberately and
instinctively expressed by the artist using a personal
symbolism that stems from his own alliance with
certain objects, actions, or colors with past
experiences.
 A country, society, and individual
may hold on to an artwork often beyond
its usefulness, which may involve various
considerations, including its meaning and
its economic value.

 KEEPING ART
END OF LESSON…

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