LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO ART APPRECIATION

WHAT IS ART?
 Ancient Latin “ars” which means a “craft or
specialized form of skill.”
 Any special form of book-learning, such as
grammar or logic, magic or astrology.
(Collingwood, 1983)
 The fine arts would come to mean “not delicate
or highly skilled arts, but beautiful”

PURPOSE OF ART (Motivated and Non-motivated Functions of Art)

 NON-MOTIVATED FUNCTIONS OF ART

 Do not fulfill a specific external purpose.

 Art is creativity
 Something that humans must do by
their nature

 MOTIVATED FUNCTIONS OF ART

 Intentional, conscious actions of the part of the artists

 May be to bring about political change, to convey a specific emotion, or simply as a form of
communication.

I. COMMUNICATION
Most forms of communication have an intent of goal directed toward another
individual. Emotions and modos are also communicated through arts.

II. ART AS ENTERTAINMENT

Art may seek to bring about a particular emotion or mood, for the purpose of
relaxing or entertaining the viewer.

III. THE AVANTE-GARDE

One of the defining functions of early twentieth-century art has been to use visual
images to bring about political change.

IV. ART AS A “FREE ZONE”

Contemporary art has enhanced its tolerance towards cultural differences as well as its
critical and liberating functions.
V. ART FOR SOCIAL INQUIRY, SUBVERSION, AND/OR ANARCHY
To question aspects of society without any specific political goal. The function of art
may be simply to criticize some aspect of society.

VI. ART FOR SOCIAL CAUSES

Art can be used to raise awareness for a large variety of causes.

VII. ART FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALING PURPOSES

The Diagnostic Drawing Series, for example, is used to determine the personality and
emotional functioning of a patient.

VIII. ART FOR PROPAGANDA AND COMMERCIALISM

The purpose of art here is subtly manipulate the viewer into a particular emotional or
psychological response toward a particular idea or object.

IX. ART AS A FITNESS INDICATOR

It has been argued that the ability of the human brain by far exceeds what was needed
for survival in the ancestral environment.

ASSUMPTIONS OF ART (Art is universal, Art is not nature, Art involves experience)
LESSON 2 : FUNCTIONS AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
ON ART

A. FUNCTIONAL ART
- refers to an art used in daily lives such as bridges, tools, roads, architectural
structures, buildings, furniture, coins, etc

B. INDIRECTLY FUNCTIONAL
- refers to the arts that are “perceive through the senses” such as fine arts,
painting, music, sculpture, dance, literary piece, theatrical performances and the like.
Art is used to inform, educate and entertain people and transforms us into better
human beings.

FUNCTIONS OF ART

PERSONAL FUNCTION
 varied and highly subjective
 depends on the viewer or the artist
who created the art
 An artist create an art out of
self-expression, entertainment or
therapeutic purpose

SOCIAL FUNCTION
 addresses a particular collective
interest/behavior
 Convey message of protest,
contestation, social conditions, and
arouses emotions like political rally
of people and poverty
 PHYSICAL FUNCTION
 when it’s utilized to give comfort,
convenience, and happiness to human
beings (utilitarian)
 fulfills and satisfies man’s needs
 crafted in order to serve some physical
purposes.

OTHER FUNCTIONS OF ART

AESTHETIC FUNCTION
 when an artwork becomes instrumental for a man to be cognizant of the beauty of
nature and where the real feeling of joy and appreciation to nature’s beauty are
manifested through appreciation and enjoyment when in contact with the artwork.

CULTURAL FUNCTION
 serves as an aperture towards, skills, knowledge, attitudes, customs, and traditions of
different groups of people.
 helps, preserves, shares, and transmits culture of people from one generation to
another

RELIGIOUS FUNCTION
 almost all forms of art evolved from religion
 music as an instrument to facilitate worship and invocation
 employment of sculptures for religious purposes

ECONOMIC FUNCTION
 people believe it does not pay to be an artist but it may become a source of livelihood
 shows economic benefits and economic impacts

POLITICAL FUNCTION
 helps us see reality/or not
 suggest contemplation and reminders of selflessness for the country

DOES ART ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FUNCTIONAL?

 It has been shown that most arts are functional, still there are some which are not.
 The value of a work of art does not depend on function but on the work itself and how
it is perceived by the viewer and what the artist is trying to convey.
 Not all products of art have function, thus, this should not disqualify them to be called
art.
 A functional object cannot be claimed beautiful unless it can perform its function
sufficiently.
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ART

I. PLATO (ART AS AN IMITATION)

ART AS AN IMITATION
 Artists are imitators and art is just a mere
imitations
 The things in world are only copies of the
original, the eternal and the true entities that
can only be found in the world of forms.
 I am deeply suspicious of arts and artist
because of these two reasons: 1. Arts appeal
to the emotions rather than to the rational
faculty of men, and 2. they imitate rather than
lead one to reality.
 Art is dangerous because it provides a petty
replacement for the real entities that ca be
only attained through reason

II. ARISTOTLE (ART AS A REPRESENTATION)

ART AS A REPRESENTATION
 Plato’s most important student in philosophy,
Aristotle agreed with his teacher that art is a
form of imitation. But he added that, the kind
of imitation that art does is not antithetical to
the reaching of fundamental truths in the
world.
 In contrast, he conceived art as representing
possible versions of reality. All kinds of art do
not aim to represent reality as it is but to
provide a vision of what might be or the
myriad possibilities of reality.
 He considered art as an aid to philosophy in
revealing the truth.
 In Aristotelean worldview, art serves two
particular purposes: 1. art allows for the
experience of pleasure and 2. has an ability to
be instructive and cognitive by teaching its
audience about life.
III. IMMANUEL KANT (ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGEMENT)

ART IS A DISINTERESTED JUDGEMENT

 In his “Critique of Judgment,” Kant considered
the judgment of beauty, the cornerstone of art,
as something that can be universal despite its
subjectivity.
 Judgment of beauty is subjective.
 Subjective judgments are based on some
universal criterion for the said judgment.
 Art is innately autonomous from specific
interest.

AESTHETIC JUDGEMENT IN ART MUST HAVE 4 KEY DISTINGUISHING

FEATURES NAMELY:

1. They are disinterested- meaning that we take pleasure in something because we judge it
beautiful, rather than judging it beautiful because we find it pleasurable.
2-3. Such judgments are both universal and necessary – meaning that it is an intrinsic part of
the activity of such a judgment to expect others to agree with us. Although we may say
‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, that is not how we act. Instead, we debate and argue
about our aesthetic judgments – and especially about works of art -and we tend to believe
that such debates and arguments can actually achieve something.
4. Through aesthetic judgments, beautiful objects appear to be ‘purposive without purpose’.
An object’s purpose is the concept according to which it was made. An object is purposive if
it appears to have such a purpose; if, in other words, it appears to have been made or
designed.

HOW ARE THESE TWO STATEMENTS DIFFERENT?

“I like this painting.” “This painting is beautiful.”

 The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective), while the second is an

aesthetic judgment (objective).
 Making an aesthetic judgment requires us to be disinterested. In other words,
we should try to go beyond our individual tastes and preferences so that we can
appreciate art from a universal standpoint.
IV. LEO TOLSTOY (ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION)

ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF
EMOTION
 Art plays a huge role in communication to its
audience’s emotions that the artist previously
experienced.
 Art serves as a language, a communication
device that articulates feelings and emotions
that are otherwise unavailable to the audience.
 Art serves as a mechanism of cohesion for
everyone.
 As a purveyor of man’s innermost feelings and
thoughts, art serves as a mechanism for social
unity.
 Art is central to man’s existence because it
makes accessible feelings and emotions of
people from the past and present
LESSON 3 : FOUR PLANES OF ANALYSIS

SEMIOTIC PLANE
VISUAL ANALYSIS
 has the purpose to recognize and understand the visual choices the artist made in
creating the artwork through observing and writing.
 A visual analysis addresses an artwork’s formal elements-visual attributes such as color,
line, texture and size.
 A visual analysis may also include historical context or interpretations of meaning.
SEMIOTICS- is the study of works of art signs and symbols, source and meaning.
 Is the combination of colors, forms, shapes, texture and etc.
 it can translate a picture from an image into words. Visual communication terms and
theories come from linguistics, the study of language, and from semiotics, the science
of signs. Signs take the form of words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects,
but such things have no natural meaning and become signs only when we provide them
with meaning.

TYPES OF SEMIOTICS
A. SIGNS
 Is anything that communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the
interpreter of the sign. The meaning can be intentional such as a word uttered with
a specific meaning, or unintentional, such as a symptom being a sign of a particular
medical condition.
B. SIGNIFIED
 is the concept that a signifiers refers to.
C. SIGNIFIER
 are the physical forms of a sign, such as a sound, word or image that create a
communication.
D. ICON
 An Icon has a physical resemblance to the signified.
E. SYMBOL
 Is an opposite of an icon, resemble the signifier that is being presented.
F. INDEX
 Describes the physical connection between a signifier and the signified. This means
that the signifier cannot exist without the physical presence of the signified.
G. DENOTATION
 the literal meaning of a word, dictionary description.
H. CONNOTATION
 represents the various social overtones, cultural implications, or emotional
meaning associated with the sign.

ICONIC PLANE
 This has to do with the particular features, aspects, and qualities of the image which are
the signifiers. The image is regarded as an "iconic sign" which means, beyond its narrow
associations with religious images in the Byzantine style, that it is a unique sign with a
unique, particular and highly nuanced meaning, as different from a conventional sign
such as a traffic or street sign which has a single literal meaning.
 The iconic plane includes the choice of the subject which may bear social and political
implications.
 We can ask the question: Is the subject meaningful in terms of the socio-cultural
context, does it reflect or have a bearing on the values and ideologies arising in a
particular place and time?
 One proceeds to consider the presentation of the image and its relationship to the
viewer.
 Part of the iconic plane is the positioning of the figure or figures, whether frontal, in
profile, three-fourths, etc. and the significations that arise from these different
presentations.
 Some kinds of cropping are intended to create a random, arbitrary effect as against the
deliberate and controlled.
 A painting may expand or multiply its space by having not just one integral image but
several sets of images in montage form, from the same or different times and places.
These may occur in temporal sequence to constitute a narrative or may take the form
of simultaneous facets or aspects of reality.
 The style of figuration is an important part of the iconic plane.
 The figurative style implies a particular re-presentation or interpretation of the world, a
world view.
 Classical figuration basically follows the proportion of 7 1/2 to 8 heads to the entire
figure in its pursuit of ideal form, all imperfections concealed.
 Realist figuration is based on the keen observation of people, nature, and society in the
concern for truth of representation.
 Impressionist figuration is fluid and informal, often catching the subject unawares like a
candid camera.
 Expressionist figuration follows emotional impulses and drives, thus often involving
distortion that comes from strong emotion.

CONTEXTUAL PLANE

 It resituates the work in its context and brings out the full meaning of the work
in terms of its human and social implications.
 Time is the most basic and first context we consider. Art always has a historical
and cultural influence. This plane requires the knowledge of the time and space
aspect of the work being evaluated
 A broad knowledge of history and the economic, political and cultural conditions,
past and present, of a society is called upon in the contextual plane.
 The work of art may contain references and allusions, direct or indirect, to
historical figures and events, as well as to religious, literary, and philosophical
ideas and values which are part of the meaning of the work
 These systems may have to do with color, shape, design, as well as cultural
symbols associated with the belief systems of the different ethnic groups.

CONTEXT - consists of all the things about the artwork that might have influenced
the artwork or the artist.
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS

 there are times that people get attracted to artworks not just because it is
beautiful, but because of its connection towards the viewer.

SYMBOLIC SYSTEM

 In analyzing an artwork, it is undeniable that the objects in the artwork

represent or symbolize something.

MILIEU

 Refers to the characteristic atmosphere which surrounds a notable event or

series of events.

AXIOLOGICAL / EVALUATIVE PLANE

 This is the plane of analysis that examines the value of work having a dialogic
relationship with public.
 it has so m e t h i n g to do wi t h an al y z i n g the values of a work. The plane of
analysis that examines the value ofw o r k h a v i n g a d i a l o g i c r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h
p u b l i c . Th e e v a l u a t i o n o f a w o r k n e c e s s a r i l y includes the analysis and
examination of its axiological content since values are expressed in the work which
holds a dialogic relationship with reality.The style of figuration where subject is
taken from visible world; object may be stylized but still recognizable.
 The artist is not or should not be a mere technician but expresses a view of life
in his or her work.
 The viewer/critic is also not a mere technical expert confined to the analysis of
the elements, techniques, and processes alone. As also the artist should, places
a value on the capacity of art to influence and transform society.
 The mature viewer or critic is one who must have, after long expression and
experience, arrived at the formulation of his own value system, his or her view
of the world and humanity which he or she has come to feel deeply and strongly
about.
 When the critic makes evaluations of the work relative to his or her own
philosophy and vision of life and the world, he or she is only fully realizing the
dialogue between the work and the viewer, after completing the process of
semiotic reading, understanding, and contextualizing the meaning of the work.
 In contemporary art produced in the context of our time and place, the
expression of the critic's dissenting view is not to be construed as a manipulative
strategy or an imposition on the artist but as only bringing out the oppositional
stance in the dialogic relationship or art and viewer, art and reality.
 The responsible viewer/critic must draw from a rich fund of knowledge and
humanism. The democratization of art may be promoted in themes that
 enhance the sense of human dignity especially of those engaged in basic
production and that espouse their liberation from exploitation.

EVALUATIVE PLANE

 Form and content

Evaluation of Material

 Full meaning of the work

Real life and Real world

 Analysis and examination

LESSON 4 : ART MOVEMENTS

ART MOVEMENT
 Inclinations in art during different time periods always vary, and the amount
specific styles over time is extremely vast, with each being a building block in the
history of art, as it went through phases affected by not only artists but by the
world around them. Movements would evolve and some styles followed like
fads, whereas in today’s world of art, movements are not followed like they
were, in favour of creating one’s own style. This essay will summarize 17 popular
art movements comprising of; Abstract Art, Abstract Expression, Conceptual Art,
Cubism, Dada, Expressionism, Fauvism, Formalism, Impressionism, Modernism,
Pop Art, Post , Primitivism, Surrealism, Tachisme, Realism, and Romanticism.
 The collective titles that are given to artworks which share the same artistic
ideals, style, technical approach or timeframe.

ABSTRACT ART
 is a style of art where by there is no direct representation of real actual world
entities but rather colour and shape are used to produce a personal meaning, or
merely something of pleasing aesthetic value. The time art which could be
classified as abstract goes back centuries, however from 1911 arts emerged
which would be seen as full abstract pieces which started its modern incarnation
which can still be seen to this day. These early pioneers of the art form included
Wassily Kandinsky, Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. Abstract is a broad
category which encapsulates other, more specific art movements such as cubism
and abstract expressionism.
 The main concept is not to make an accurate, realistic representation of
something but to take an object and exaggerate or simplify it using its
form/shape, and colours.
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
 was a movement of abstract style
art which originated in New York
City, and was prominent during the
time period of 1940-1955. The
concept was to display, through
abstract art, emotion and
expression rather than objects.
These arts often attempted to
display a reality of the artists mind,
or simply other than the real world.
These arts would commonly be
made through spontaneous
inclusion of lines, shapes, forms,
and colour. A few abstract
expressionists of the movement
included Helen Frankenthaler, Joan
Mitchell, and Barnett Newman.

CONCEPTUAL ART
 This was an art movement of the
1960’s and 1970’s which would
involve the art representing ideas
or concepts behind the art itself.
For example Piero Manzoni’s Socle
Du Monde (“Base of the world”) is
an art based on the concept that it
holds up the world. Although
physically it is merely a block with
the words “Socle Du Monde”
placed upside down, it is about the
concept encapsulating it.
Interestingly this man also
exhibited and sold tins of his own
faeces, and balloons of his breath.
The aesthetic value therefore
appeared to be of little importance
in art of this movement. Other
artists of this movement included
Yves Klein and Eleanor Antin.
CUBISM
 The Cubist art movement was a
phase between 1907 and 1920.
The look of this art involves
segmenting objects and arranging
the pieces in abstracted form,
and from multiple viewpoints or
perspectives. The segments
would often be small cube-like
geometric shapes with various
angles of view, size, orientation,
etc. The movement involved
highly analytical work, especially
during the first sub-phase, with
the second being coined the
“Synthetic Phase”. Pablo Picasso
was an early pioneer of this art
movement, and other artists
included Georges Braque and
Maria Blanchard.

DADAISM
 This was an art movement from
1915-1923 which rejected
popularized aesthetic values, and
attempted to create bizarre,
nonsensical “anti-art”. Dadaism
was also a cultural movement of a
post World War I era, and the
artworks tended to have no implied
meaning. The works often mocked
the artwork or styles of other
artists, and the most popular
example of dada seems to be
Marcel Duchamp’s mockery of the
Mona Lisa (see below). This highly
anti-standard type of art was to be
an influence to later art
movements such as Surrealism and
Pop Art, and artists of the
movement included Hannah Höch
and Max Ernst.
EXPRESSIONISM
 Expressionists were artists prominent from
1905-1925, who’s artwork would use
exaggerated expression and distortion to
display some emotional effect. The
movement was popularised in Northern
Europe. A very famous and recently
controversial example which influenced up
and coming artists of this movement was
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, with later
artists such as Oskar Kokoschka, Marc
Chagall and Gabriele Münter. The aesthetic
look of these artworks was often abstract.
Distorting lines and shapes was common
practice in expressionism, with use of
exaggerated colours and brush strokes.

FAUVISM
 This movement is based on the French
term “fauve” which means “wild beast”.
This term relates to the art through the
wild, bold use of colours, and often
spontaneous distorted look to the
paintings. The signature look of paintings
was bright with vivid colours and simple
lines. Few artists followed this movement
besides its early pioneers Henri Matisse
and André Derain. The movement was
between the period 1905-1908, and
other participants included painters such
as Marguerite Thompson Zorach

IMPRESSIONISM
 This art movement started in the late 19th
century through the works of French painters
whose work would focus on the effects of light
and colour. It was mainly a representational art
form, with nature and life subjects featuring
prominently. With the focus on light and colour,
impressionist painters attempted to give more
accurate representations of real life equivalents.
The period whilst not concisely restricted to the
time of the particular movement was
between1860-1900, and like other movements
gave birth to or influenced some other art
movements. Impressionist artists included
pioneer Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
and Mary Stevenson Cassatt.
MODERNISM
 Modernism was again more of an overall
movement which simply signified the
change from traditional art forms and
the strive to create more complex
artworks which were abstract and
expressionist in form. It was a
movement containing many other
movements; which made the move
away from conventional artwork, and
happened during the period of
1890-1940. It was an overall tendency
pioneered by artists such as Paul
Cézanne, Edouard Manet, and Sigrid
Hjertén.

POP ART
 The Pop Art movement was one which
was influenced by popular culture, and
was a move against art of its time
(1950-1969) similarly to Dadaism. It
commonly used techniques similar in
aestheticism to advertising and mass
media. It was a response against the
seriousness of abstract expressionism.
It would involve commonplace people
and items of the time such as soda
bottle and soup cans, particularly the
work of Andy Warhol who was an
establisher of pop art. Other pop artists
of the movement included Roy
Lichtenstein, and British artist Pauline
Boty.

SURREALISM
 This was a movement which started in
1920’s France and lasted through the
1930’s. It was an art movement
displaying works which played on the
idea of reality and dreams. Artists
would also create works which attempt
to transform the real world. An
example is the work of René Magritte
shown below, of which the text
translates into “this is not a pipe”.
Some other Surrealists were Dorothea
Tanning and Salvador Dalí.
ROMANTICISM
 The romanticism art movement was
evident during the key dates of
1800-1880. It is a deeply emotional
style of art with intellectual value.
Expression was spontaneous, giving
precedence to feeling rather than
reason. The style of painting was
commonly energetic and dramatic,
and often featured nature as a source
of the emotional content. Some
artists of the movement were Caspar
David Friedrich,
Marie-Louise-Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun,
and Eugene Delacroix.

REALISM
 Realism [1840-1880] was a very
general movement which rejected
dramatic romanticism and produced
artwork of real to life scenes.
Subjects in the artworks had closely
representational colour, shadows
and features, without abstract focus.
Realist art included that of James
Abbott McNeill Whistler, Honore
Daumier and Rosa Bonheur.