Republic of the Philippines

AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

MODULE 3:
Functions and Philosophical Perspective on Art

Educational objectives of the chapter:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. Distinguish between directly functional and indirectly functional art;
2. Explain and discuss the basic philosophical perspective on the art;
3. Realize the function of some art forms in daily life; and
4. Apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetics in real life scenarios

Reference: Art Appreciation by Berbardo Nicolas Caslib, Jr, Dorothea C. Garing and Jezreel Anne
R. Casaul

DISCUSSION:

Greek Philosopher Aristotle claimed that every particular substance in the world has an
end, or telos in Greek, which translates into “purpose”. Every substance, defined as a formed
matter, moves according to a fixed path toward its aim. A seed is bound to become a full-grown
plant. A cocoon can look forward to fly high when it morphs into a butterfly. A baby will
eventually turn into a grown-up man or woman.
This telos, according to Aristotle, is intricately linked with function. For a thing to reach
its purpose, it also has to fulfill its function. Man, in Aristotle’s view of reality, is bound to
achieve a life of fulfillment and happiness, or in Greek, eudaimonia. All men move toward this
final end. However, happiness, the supposed end of man, is linked with his function, which is
being rational. One can only be happy when he is rational. This means tat to Aristotle, plants can
never be happy because they are not rational, as well as tables and chairs. Man’s natural end,
telos, is connected with his function, which is his rationality.
Moreover, the telos and function of a thing are both related to a thing’s identity. What
makes a table a table is the fact that it does perform its function and thereby, reaching telos. If a
table does not have a surface on which we can put on our books or our plates and glasses, then it
ceases to be a table. The same goes to human being. What makes a human being a human being,
according to some schools of thoughts, is his capacity of thinking, his supposed function.
Without this function, the human being ceases to be a human being. The Telos, the function, and
the “whatness” of a thing are all interconnected.
In contemporary life, the connection between the end, the function and the “whatness” of
a thing has become closer and more interlaced, suggesting sometimes that the end is the function

1 I Module in Art Appreciation

By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

and vise versa, and that they determine what kind if thing a thing is. When one sees a kitchen
appliance in the department store, one tries to know first what function the appliances have.
After knowing these functions, then one can claim to know the purpose of the appliance and then
begin to realize what appliance one is holding in his arm.
Does art necessarily have an end? When an artist creates an artwork does he have an end
in mind? What function does an artwork perform? Does it have any purpose? Do all artworks
have a function? Does the function make an object a work of art? This lesson is an attempt to
clarify these questions.

Functions of Art
When one speaks of function, one is practically talking about the use of the object whose
function is in question. An inquiry on the function of art is an inquiry on what art is for.
Alternatively, the answer to the question “what is it for” is the function of whatever “it” in the
question refers to. Supposed one asks, what is the Rizal monument for? Why was it erected in
Rizal Park or what then was called Luneta or Bagumbayan? Is it for pure sentimental value? Is it
for its aesthetic value? Or does it send a message to those who witness it? In this string of
questions, the inquirer is hoping to get the function of the piece of art in Rizal Park.

When it comes to function, different art forms come with distinctive functions. There is
no one-to-one corresponding between an art and its function. Some art fomes are more functional
tan other. Architecture for example, as an art is highly functional just like most applied arts. A
building as a work of art is obviously made for a specific purpose, the Taj Mahal, a massive
mausoleum of white marble built in Agra was constructed in memory of the favorite wife of the
then emperor, Shah Jahan. On the other hand, jewelry-making as an art is known by its product.
The name of the art in these applied arts, “…function is so important that it has usurped the name
of the art of the identification of individual works” (Dudley et al., 1960). Other examples are
paintings, poems, and statues. The name of the art basically points toward the direction of the
product or its function.

On the other end of the spectrum, one can think of painting and literature as forms of art
that have the least to do with purely practical values. When one examines and thinks of a
painting or a work of literature such as poem or a novel, one looks at the value of the art in itself
and not because of what it can do and benefit us. Unlike practical arts where the value of the art
(in pottery, jewelry-making, architecture, among others) in question lies in the practical benefits
one gains from it (a pot, a jewelry, or a house or a building), with painting and literature, one can
only look at the value of the product of art in and for itself. A poem is beautiful regardless of its
possible ramification in the society. The two masterpieces of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo served as a catechist of Filipino revolutionaries to gather strength
in rejecting the oppressive forces of the Spaniards in the Philippines in the 19th Century. The
novels accrued value and as consequence, function. This function as it turns out, may be over
2 I Module in Art Appreciation
By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

and beyond its literary worth. They are functional “in so far as they are designed to accomplished
some definite end” (Dudley et. Al., 1960). In the case of Jose Rizal’s novels, they spelled out a
country’s independence. They continue to be treasured even a hundred years after their supposed
functions.

3 Classification of Arts

1. Personal Functions of Art

Public display or expression.
The personal functions of art are varied and roughly and high subjective. This means that
its functions depend on the person-the artist who created the art. An artist may create an art out
of the need for self-expression. This is the case for an artist who need to communicate an idea to
his audience. It can also be a mere entertainment for his intended audience. Often, the artist may
not even intend to mean anything with his work.
An art may also be therapeutic. In some orphanages and home for abandoned elders, art
is used to help residents process their emotions or while away their time. Recently, the use of
adult coloring books to de-stress has been apparent too, now with a lot of designs being sold in
bookstores nationwide. These all fall under personal functions of art.

2. Social Functions of Art

Art is considered to have a social function if and when it addresses a particular collective
interest as opposed to a personal interest. Political art is a very common example of an art with a
social function. Art may convey message of protest, contestation or whatever message the artist
intends his work to carry. Often, art can also depict social conditions. Photography, as an art
form, delivers this kind of function by taking photos of subjects in conditions that people do not
normally take a look at or give attention to. Pictures of poverty may carry emotional overtones
that may solicit action or awareness from their audience. Moreover, performance art like plays or
satires can also rouse emotions and rally people toward a particular end. In these and more, the
social function of art is apparent.

3. Physical Function of Art

The physical function of art are the easiest to spot and understand. The physical function
of art can be found in artworks that are crafted in order to serve some physical purpose. A
Japanese raku bowl that serves a physical function in a tea ceremony is an example.
Architecture, jewelry-making, and even interior design are all forms of arts that have physical
function.

Other Functions of Art

Music as an art is also interesting to talk about in relation to function. Music in its
original form was principally functional. Music was used for dance and religion. Unlike today,
when one can just listen to music for the sake of music’s sake, the ancient world saw music only
3 I Module in Art Appreciation
By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

as an instrument to facilitate worship and invocation to gods. Music also was essential to assure
synchronicity among dancers and guarantees that marches, in the case of the warriors, were
simultaneous. Today music has expanded its function and coverage. Music is listened to and
made by people for reasons that is foreign to early civilizations. There is now a lot of music that
has no connection whatsoever to dance or religion. Serenade is one example. People compose
hymns of love to express feeling and emotions. A piece of music can mean a multitude of
meanings to different people. A proof that as an art, a music has gone a long way.
Sculpture on the other hand, is another function of art form that has long existed for
various purposes. Just like music, from the early days of humanity, sculptures have been made
by man particularly for religion. People erect status for the divine. In the Roman Catholic world,
the employment of sculptures for religious purposes has remained vital, relevant, and symbolic.
Sculptures were made in order to commemorate important figures in history. Jose Rizal’s
monument in Rizal Park and Andres Bonifacio’s monument in Caloocan are common example.
Coins are also a manifestation of sculpting’s function.
Another form that readily lends itself to multiple functions is architecture. In fact,
architecture might be the most prominent functional art form. Buildings are huge, expensive, and
are not easily constructed and replaced. Unlike other forms of art like pots, furniture, poetry, or
even painting, building takes so mush time to erect and destroy. A lot of investments is put into
making megastructures like pyramid of Giza, the acropolis, or the cathedral of the Middle Ages.
One cannot simply dismiss taking into consideration the function of a building before
construction. Moreover, social conditions, such as purpose, play a huge role in architecture. To
Christians, church is primarily a place of worship and assembly. A huge, spacious church
therefore is necessitated by this social condition. Indeed, whenever arts serves a particular
function, he form has to be determined by the function.

Does art always have to be Functional?

While it has been shown that most arts are functional, still there are some which is not. The value
of a work of art does not depend on function but on the work itself. In those whose ascertained,
however, it is a different story, a functional object cannot be claimed to be beautiful unless it can
perform its function sufficiently. Consider a house that cannot even protect its resident from the
nasty weather outside or a spoon that spills the food on it. Adequate performance of function
partly determines the beauty of a design in these functional art form.

Philosophical Perspective on Art

Art as an Imitation
Plato (2000) in his masterpiece, the Republic, particularly a picture of artist as
imitators and art as mere imitation. In Plato’s metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this
world are only copies of the original, the eternal, and the true entities that can only be found in
the World of Forms. For example, the chair that one sits on is not real chair. It is an imperfect
copy of the perfect “chair” in the World of Forms. Much is true for “beauty” in this world. When
4 I Module in Art Appreciation
By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

one ascribes beauty to another person, he refers to an imperfect beauty that participates only in
the form of beauty in the World of Forms. Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the
belief in copies and discourage men to reach for the real entities in the World of Forms. Plato
was deeply suspicious of art and artists for two reason: they appeal to the emotion rather than to
the rational faculty of men and they imitate rather than lead one to reality. For Plato art is
dangerous because it provides a petty replacement for the real entities that can only be attained
through reason.
Likewise, Socrates is worried that art objects represent only the thing in this world,
copies themselves or reality. Socrates claimed that art is just an imitation of imitation. A painting
is just as imitation of nature, which is also just an imitation of reality in the World of Forms.

Art as a Representation
Aristotle, Plato’s most important student in Philosophy, agreed with his teacher that art is
a form of imitation. However, in contrast to the disgust that his master holds for art, Aristotle
considered art as an aid to philosophy in revealing truth. For Aristotle, all kinds of art including
poetry, music, dance, painting, and sculpture do not aim to represent reality as it is. What art
endeavors to do is to provide a vision of what might be or the myriad possibilities in reality.
Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another imitation, Aristotle conceived of art
as representing possible version of reality.
In Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes. First, art allows for the
experience of pleasure. Experiences that are otherwise repugnant can become entertaining in art.
For example, a horrible experience can be made an object of humor in a comedy. Secondly, art
also has an ability to be instructive and teach its audience things about life; thus, it is cognitive as
well. Greek plays are usually of this nature.

Art as a Disinterested Judgment

In the third critique that Emmanuel Kant wrote, the “Critique of Judgement, “Kant
considered the judgement of beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something that can ne universal
despite its subjectivity. Kant recognized that judgement of beauty is subjective. However, Kant
advanced the proposition that even subjective judgments are based on some universal criterion
for the said judgment. For Kant, when one judge a particular painting as beautiful, one in effect
is saying that the said painting has induced a particular feeling of satisfaction from him and that
he expects the painting to rouse the same feeling from anyone. There is something in the work of
art that makes it capable of inciting the same feeling of pleasure and satisfaction from any
perceiver, regardless of his condition. For Kant every human being, after perception and the free
play of his faculties, should recognize the beauty that is inherent in a work of art. This is the kind
of Universality that a judgment of beauty is assumed by Kant to have. So when the same person
says that something is beautiful, he does not just believe that the thing is beautiful for him, but in
a sense, expects that the same thing should put everyone in awe.

Art as a Communication of Emotion

5 I Module in Art Appreciation
By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

In his book, What is Art (2016), Tolstoy defended the production of the sometimes truly
extravagant art, like operas, despite extreme poverty in the world. For him, art plays a huge role
in communication to its audience’s emotions that the artist previously experienced. Art then
serves as a language, a communication device that articulates feelings and emotions that are
otherwise unavailable to the audience. In the same way that language communicates information
to other people, art communicates emotions. In listening to music, in watching an opera, and in
reading poems, the audience is at the receiving end of the artist communicating his feelings and
emotions. Art is central to man’s existence because it makes accessible feelings and
emotions of people from the past and present, from one continent to another. In making this
possibly latent feelings and emotions accessible to anyone in varied time and location, art serves
as a mechanism of cohesion for everyone. Thus even at present, one can commune with early
Cambodians and their struggles by visiting the Angkor Wat or can definitely feel for the early
royalties of different Korean dynasties by watching Korean Dramas. Art is what allows of these
possibilities.

6 I Module in Art Appreciation

By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

ACTIVITY 1
Answer the following questions as precisely yet as thoroughly as possible.

1. What art form/ artwork has changed something in your life? Why? Account for the
experience.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

2. What art form/ artwork has changed something in your life? Why? Account for the
experience.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

3. If an artwork ceased to have a function, will it remain an art? Why?

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

7 I Module in Art Appreciation

By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021
 Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
BALER, AURORA

Look around your house and identify a product of art. In the box below, paste a
picture of that product of art in your household, what kind of art is it and what functions
it played (e.g., a painting of the Last Supper in your dining room or a spoon).

8 I Module in Art Appreciation

By: MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL, 2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021