UNIT 1

LESSON 1: The Importance of Art

Learning Outcomes
After the lesson, you will be able to:
1. understand the role of the arts and humanities in people’s lives;
2. clarify the misconceptions that people have about the arts; and
3. Interact and engage better with your personal experiences with art

What Is Art?
Art is always around us. People encounter and engage with art in many ways
because of the many opportunities life has for this. A student choosing what to wear to
class, a housewife cheering for a contestant on a singing contest on television, a tourist
admiring the architecture of buildings in a place, are just examples of people interacting
and engaging with art. Sometimes we end up wanting to experience more. All this comes
naturally to all human beings because we are naturally attracted to what is good and
beautiful.your your

Warm Up
Think of your past and most recent experiences with the arts. In the first column,
write down your encounters with the arts; in the second column, explain why that
encounter is an experience in art?
Encounter with Art Why Was it An Experience with Art?
Why Do We Study the Humanities?
Humans, in their thousands of years of existence on Earth, have cultivated the
land, fashioned tools for their use, constructed structures for shelter and other purposes,
and have altered the flora and fauna around them in order to survive. The first meaning
of “art” was related to these crafts (Caslib at al., 2018).
According to Collingwood (1938) the word art comes from the Latin ars, which
means “a specialized craft or skill.” It suggests that art then suggested the ability to come
up with a deliberate result after a careful use of materials and methods (Caslib at al.,
2018).
Later, during Medieval times, the word took on a different meaning. This time it
meant any kind of learning obtained from books like grammar, logic or astronomy
(Collingwood, 1938). The European Renaissance, which lasted from the 14 th to the 17th
century, was a time where the issues of aesthetics, the study of beauty, began to emerge
from the idea of technical workmanship (Caslib at al., 2018). Finally, in the 18 th century
the present meaning of the word came to mean “beautiful arts” (Collingwood, 1938).
Dudley et al. (1960) mentioned that “the humanities constitute one of the oldest
and most important means of expression developed by man.” Through history it can be
seen how people have evolved artistically and culturally, from cave painters of the Stone
Age to the highly skilled digital artists of today. One can also see how man has managed
to express his feelings and sentiments through the things he creates. An early example
of this are the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, which date back to 17,000 years ago.

Cave painting, Lascaux, France(cntraveller.com)

 As can be seen on the painting above, which probably recorded a successful hunt
that the cave dwellers had, not only show how skillful they were in creating this in spite of
using the simplest tools; it also provides a window to what they did, what they felt, and
what mattered to them. The humanities, then, were already showing what it means to be
human long before people thought of even defining it. People have always been
expressing their “humanness” through the arts long before they even realized it. It is only
right, therefore, that we continue this long-standing tradition and process of humanizing
ourselves.

Activities
A. Survey. Put a check mark on items that apply to you. This will help your GEC
106 teacher determine future activities for the class.
1. Do you/Have you ever tried some or a particular kind of art? ___ Yes ___ No
2. If yes, check as many as you find appropriate:
___ Painting (Acrylic) ___Drawing (Graphite, Charcoal Pencil)
___ Painting (Watercolor) ___Drawing (Colored Pencil)
___ Painting (Ink) ___Drawing (Ink)
___ Sculpture ___ Calligraphy
___ Digital Art

3. If your answer to #2 is “yes” have you received any form of training for it/those? ___ Yes ___ No
4. If your answer to #3 is “yes”, what form of training?
___ workshops ___ formal lessons ___ YouTube videos/the Internet
5. If your answer to #2 is “no” what art genres would you like to try? List up to
three.________________________________________________________________________

B. Art Therapy. Art therapy is increasingly being used to help people maintain their
mental health. On the next page are some patterns art therapists use to help
people going through mental issues. With your crayons, and a whole sheet of Oslo
paper, choose a pattern from the images that best identifies what you are mentally
going through at the moment. Create an artwork using that pattern.
Image Credits: Pinterest.com

References
Caslib, B.N. Jr.,Garing, D. C., Casaul, J.A. R. (2018). Art Appreciation. 1st Ed. Manila:
Rex Book Store.
Collingwood, R.G. The Principles of Art. Worcestershire: Read Books Ltd.
Dudley L, Faricy, A. and McGraw-Hill Book Company (1960). The Humanities. New
York: McGraw Hill.