Introduction to

ART
APPRECIATION
ART
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 WHAT IS ART?
- “ars/”artis” 🡪 to do or man made

Definition:
Medium of expression
Creative activity

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THE IMPORTANCE OF ART
It has the power to educate people
It promotes cultural appreciation
It breaks cultural, social and economic barriers
It accesses higher orders of thinking

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ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

1. Art is universal
🡪 it is everywhere
🡪 it has no limit
🡪 it is timeless

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2. Art is not nature
🡪 it is man-made
🡪 it is artificial (imitation)
** art that is created by God is divine and art that is
created by man is superficial or temporary

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3. Art involves experience
🡪 art is a depiction of our experiences

** We can only appreciate art if we spend time to look

at it, listen to it, and feel its presence.

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 FUNCTIONS OF ART
1. Personal
- it is used to provide comfort, happiness, and
convenience to human beings
2. Social
- it is used for public display and celebration

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 FUNCTIONS OF ART
3. Cultural Function
- it helps preserve, share, and transmit culture of people
from one generation to another
4. Aesthetic Function
- for man to become aware of the beauty of nature
5. Spiritual Function
- to reinforce the religious or spiritual support of a
culture

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 WHAT IS THE PHILISOPHICAL
DEFINITION OF ART?
Philosophy of art, the study of the nature of art,
including concepts such as interpretation,
representation and expression, and form. It is closely
related to aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty
and taste.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy-of-art

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 PHILOSOPHY OF ART
1. Art as Mimesis
“mimesis” – imitation or copying
All artistic creation is a mimesis (Plato)
Art is an “imitation of an action” (Aristotle)

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 PHILOSOPHY OF ART
2. Art as a Representation (Aristotle)
Art represents something
Signs and symbols are arranged in order to form semantic
constructions and express relations with the other things
e.g. “ ; ” , “Leaves will soon grow from the bareness of
trees…”

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 PHILOSOPHY OF ART
3. Art for Art’s Sake (Kant)
Art needs no justification
Kant is not interested in art per se but in Beauty of the
Sublime
Beauty of sublimity 🡪 ways in which we respond to objects

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 PHILOSOPHY OF ART
4. Art as an Escape
The artists work of art reveal the emotional outburst that
has been kept for many years in their mind (Señeres et al.,
2008).
Cathartic solutions to one’s anxiety and life’s difficulties

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 PHILOSOPHY OF ART
4. Art as Functional
Art serves a function; it is meant to be used to enrich lives

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