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Read and Ponder

LESSON II: FUNCTION AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART: Physical, Social and

Personal. Philosophical Import of Art: Integrity, Proportion/
Consonance, Radiance/Clarity.

“ Art
offers insights into a culture worldview - Art gives clues to
gender, kinship, religious beliefs, political ideas, and historical memory -
Art display social status, spiritual identity and political power ” - Alana Jolley

384-322 BC
Greek
Great Greek Philosopher
He was taught by Plato
Founder of Lyceum, the peripatetic school of Philosophy

His writing covers many subjects such as: physics, biology,

zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater,
music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and
government.
 Aristotle
384-322 BC

He claimed that “Every particular substance in the world

has an end” or “Telos” in Greek, which translates into
“Purpose”
Telos according to Aristotle is linked with function
He believes that - For a thing to reach its purpose, it also
has to fulfill it’s function.

FUNCTION AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART

Dr. Jose Rizal Monument Abraham Lincoln Memorial

Zamboanga City Washington D. C.

Photos by Jeremiah Calisang

 Vintage Raku Ochawan Tea
s
https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images

Within art, there exist purposes referred to as functions for which a piece of art may be
designed, but no art can be "assigned" a function—either in scholarly studies or casual
conversation—outside of the proper context. Art forms exist within very specific contexts that
must be considered when classifying them. Whether a particular piece of art has existed for
centuries or has yet to be created, it is functional in some way—all art exists for a reason and
these reasons make up the functions of art.

Functions of Art
Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess with some accuracy where it came from
and when. This best-case scenario also includes identifying the artist because they are in no
small way part of the contextual equation. You might wonder, "What was the artist thinking when
they created this?" when you see a piece of art. You, the viewer, are the other half of this equation;
you might ask yourself how that same piece of art makes you feel as you look at it.

These—in addition to the time period, location of creation, cultural influences, etc.—
are all factors that should be considered before trying to assign functions to art. Taking anything
out of context can lead to misunderstanding art and misinterpreting an artist's intentions, which is
never something you want to do.

The functions of art normally fall into three categories: physical, social, and personal.
These categories can and often do overlap in any given piece of art. When you're ready to start
thinking about these functions, here's how.

1. Physical (utilitarian)
The physical functions of art are often the easiest to understand. Works of art that are
created to perform some service have physical functions. If you see a Fijian war club, you may
assume that, however wonderful the craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform the physical
function of smashing skulls.
 A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art that performs a physical function in a tea
ceremony. Conversely, a fur-covered teacup from the Dada movement has no physical function.
Architecture, crafts such as welding and woodworking, interior design, and industrial design are
all types of art that serve physical functions.

2. Social (used for public display and celebration, used to affect the
collective behavior)

Art has a social function when it addresses aspects of (collective) life as opposed to one
person's point of view or experience. Viewers can often relate in some way to social art and are
sometimes even influenced by it.

For example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this
art exert influence on the German population? Decidedly so, as did political and patriotic posters
in Allied countries during the same time. Political art, often designed to deliver a certain message,
always carries a social function. The fur-covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, carried a
social function in that it protested World War I (and nearly everything else in life).

Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions and often this art comes in
the form of photography. The Realists figured this out early in the 19th century. American
photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) along with many others often took pictures of people
in conditions that are difficult to see and think about.

Additionally, satire performs social functions. Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746–
1828) and English portrait artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) both went this route with varying
degrees of success at motivating social change with their art. Sometimes the possession of
specific pieces of art in a community can elevate that community's status. A stabile by American
kinetic artist Alexander Calder (1898–1976), for example, can be a community treasure and point
of pride.

3. Personal (utilitarian, public, display, expression)

The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are many types
of personal functions and these are highly subjective. Personal functions of art are not likely to be
the same from person to person.

An artist may create a piece out of a need for self-expression or gratification. They might
also or instead want to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only
trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A piece might be meant to
entertain, provoke thought, or even have no particular effect at all.

Personal function is vague for a reason. From artist to artist and viewer to viewer, one's
experience with art is different. Knowing the background and behaviors of an artist helps when
interpreting the personal function of their pieces.

Art may also serve the personal function of controlling its viewers, much like social art. It
can also perform religious service or acknowledgment. Art has been used to attempt to exert
magical control, change the seasons, and even acquire food. Some art brings order and peace,
some creates chaos. There is virtually no limit to how art can be used.
 Finally, sometimes art is used to maintain a species. This can be seen in rituals of the
animal kingdom and in humans themselves. Biological functions obviously include fertility
symbols (in any culture), but there are many ways humans adorn their bodies with art in order to
be attractive to others and eventually mate.

Determining the Function of Art

The functions of art apply not only to the artist that created a piece but to you as the
viewer. Your whole experience and understanding of a piece should contribute to the function you
assign it, as well as everything you know about its context. Next time you are trying to understand
a piece of art, try to remember these four points: (1) context and (2) personal, (3) social, and (4)
physical functions. Remember that some art serves only one function and some all three (perhaps
even more).

Source: Shelley Essak

Philosophical Import of Art

1. Integrity

What does integrity mean to you? Does integrity mean something different in your art
than with yourself?

Integrity as a concept has to do with perceived consistency of our actions, values, methods,
principles, expectations and outcome .

Integrity means the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to
change.

Integrity means to complete what you say.

Integrity means you stick to your personal code of conduct….what you have decided is right or
wrong.

Integrity means honoring yourself. It doesn’t mean you have to “feel” like doing the job or even
like the job…..it means you do the job because you gave your word.

Saying and doing are two totally different things…..integrity is doing what you promised.

Integrity is a skill….it is developed over time. It is developed with experience and observation.

Integrity must be maintained.

Integrity gives us a foundation from which to draw on for future projects. We automatically know
our strength because we have proven it to ourselves (this one is really important)

Integrity is our secret back up system.

What is artistic integrity:

Always painting with passion

Never copying but taking ideas and tweaking them to make them our own
Being original….not normal
Having the courage to take a chance
Always remembering your artistic vision comes from your life, your thoughts…..your
courage
Creating a painting because it comes from your soul and not for recognition or prizes
Being willing to be scared….to create on the edge
To continue creating when doubt in yourself appears
Doing your very best each and every day
These are but a few…..What are yours?

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.”

Source: (https://gwenfox.com/2010/03/08/integrity-and-art/)

2. Proportion/Consonance

https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images

Proportion is the principle of art that refers to relative size. The principles of art differ
from the elements of art. Most, if not all of the principles of art deal with how the elements art are
arranged in a work of art.
Proportion is largely about the relationship of the size of one element when compared to another.
When drawing or painting realistically, proportion is important. If the proportions are incorrect,
then the resulting image will look less realistic or abstracted.
Alternatively, artists can use proportion for effect. By manipulating proportion, the artist can make
his/her subject seem strong, weak, funny, mysterious, etc. We can exaggerate proportions to
emphasize a meaning or an element within the scene. For example, a caricature artist distorts
proportion in order to create a stylized image of the subject.

Before going forward, let’s define proportion as it deals with visual art. Proportion does
not refer to overall size, but rather the relationship of the sizes of two or more subjects or
elements. In art, the size of an element is referred to as scale. For example, a basketball and a
baseball are different in scale but share the same in proportion.

https://thevirtualinstructor.com/blog/proportion-a-principle-of-art

3. Radiance/Clarity

The Role of Clarity and Relative Clarity in Composition - The idea of clarity is based upon
the principle that the individual form rendering of each object does not leave the viewer puzzling
about its identity.

Leonardo DaVinci mentioned in his writings that the most beautiful green occurred when
the sun shone through a leaf but the artist should never attempt to render this effect as the
beautiful colours would create strange patterns and destroy the form. The overall shape of the
cast shadows from leaf clusters on a wall were not easily identifiable as the leaf clusters shadows
could be many different shapes and thus did not have a distinct name other than shadows. In
other words leaf cluster shadows were categories of shapes and this effect in nature (like many
others) was declared outside the realm of art. Art and nature was seen as separate entities only
intersecting at certain points of form clarity.

Leonardo's 16th century rules of what constitutes art in effect declares future generations
of artists like Rembrandt, the impressionists and others whom we accept as creating art to be
non-artists.
 The idea of relative clarity which was to become a new artistic vision was outside the
understanding boundary of classical artists.

Although it appears as though we studied clarity under our first category, linear to
painterly, there is a subtle difference. Linear dealt with the use of contour to clearly delineate a
shape and also render the contents of that shape. But tone may also be used to describe the
perimeter and contents of a shape. Clarity has to do with the viewer correctly interpreting the
plastic form and it my be achieved by using lines or by using tonal planes.

There is no room within the clarity concept for multiple or individual viewer interpretations
as every viewer should be receiving exactly the same message.

An object sits partially in light with its shadow side blending imperceptibly into its
surroundings such that its boundary is no longer defined. There is no doubt that artists who
followed the principle of absolute clarity in painting could see this effect in the shadowy corners
of their rooms. If they were to paint such an object from real life then they were according to the
rule of object clarity reveal the hidden shadow edge of the form by lightening it.

The sixteenth century had introduced perspective which set the stage for pictorial depth
through scaling of objects along converging diagonals to be accepted as a normal method of
picture making. The seventeenth century brought a new more naturalistic vision. Those partially
lit objects in shadowy corners could be painted as they appeared to the eye.

Leaf cluster shadows cast on walls were allowed but they were not allowed to disturb the
flatness of a wall. Two ideas were presented simultaneously the flatness or curvature of an object
and leaf cluster shadows provided the leaf cluster shadows did not destroy the form clarity.

Corners of rooms were allowed to be bathed in shadow and did not have to show the
corner rendering. The main object could be made with greater clarity than subordinate objects.

Relative clarity allowed for a more naturalistic rendering and would eventually evolve into
experiments in pure materials texture with no concern for object clarity.

Source: http://www.tinmangallery.com/DwK/2004/05LectureNotesClarity.html

Subject
Subject type:

Representation (with subject) and non-

Representational (without subject)

 https://ph.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;

The word ‘representational’ originates from the word represent, which

means to denote. Likewise, representational art, by definition, represents the art
that finds resemblance with the real world. The onlookers of this art form can
associate the elements with actuality. And it is this feature of this art form that
has garnered appreciation of people from all walks of life. This is the most
superior of meanings that could be associated with representational art.

Nonrepresentational art, on the contrary, is that art form bears no

elements that has similarity with the real world. It allows room to its viewers to
interpret a piece of art in his own way. It is the artist’s way to emote his own
experiences, or experiences that he has known in his life. Such works are laden
with the artist’s perspective of the object. As far as the nonrepresentational
history is concerned, we can infer that in the last part of the 19th century,
emerged a pressing need to have an art form that would stand in total contrast to
the stark depiction of reality. Thus, came into the fore, non-representational art,
which in itself is a broad terminology, and has within its ambit, a plethora of
elements that is beyond the scope of this article.

Having understood these, we can say that most paintings and

sculptures can be divided into either representational art or non-representational
art. Well, the answer is certainly an affirmation of the question.

Representational art is also known as figurative, and

nonrepresentational art is known as abstract. Figurative art is directly influenced
by real-life sources, while the abstract art is an embodiment of the artist’s
creative waves and the interpretation by the viewers. This phenomenon resulted
from artistic independence. Representational art showcases humans, elements in
nature such as trees, birds, flowers, etc.
Source: https://arthearty.com/understanding-representational-art-with-examples
! See if you can do this

ACTIVITIES:

1. Make a reaction paper in all topics included in Lesson II. You may relate it on
your own personal experiences in life. To be submitted
on October 15, 2020.

2. Second Art Work : Pecha Cucha Photography - 1 photo / 10 words.

To be submitted on October 10, 2020