GEED 10073 – ART APPRECIATION
representational/objective which uses form
Art
- from the Latin word “ars”, meaning ability or
skill
- expression of self and love for beauty
- skill/ability/craft
- internal happiness
- human activity
- acquired by study and experience
Work of art
- creative expression using sound, image,
action and movement
- means to satisfy the human need to
communicate thoughts, feelings and beliefs
- expression of self and love for beauty
- human activity
- acquired by study and experience
Basic Assumptions about the Arts
1. Art is universal; it has been created by various
people at all places and time.
2. Art is something to be seen or heard or sensed.
3. Art is the product of man’s imagination, good
taste and skill in doing things.
4. Nature is artful; its beauty and artistry could be
enhanced.
5. Art involves experiences.
Importance of Art/Arts
1. To communicate feelings/emotions expressively
and forcefully
2. To connect people around the world
3. To stimulate thoughts when recounting the
message of the artist
4. To serve as a tool for learning
5. To remind us of people’s actions
6. To serve as a source of inspiration and pleasure
7. To make a better surrounding
8. To commemorate certain occasions
9. To transform us into highly cultured and
respectable human beings
Scope of Humanities
1. Visual Arts
a. Graphic Arts
- painting, drawing, photography, printing,
commercial arts
b.Plastic Arts
- architecture, landscape architecture, city
planning, interior design, sculpture, crafts, industrial
design, dress and costume design, theater design
2. Performing Arts
- theater, play, dance , music
3. Literary Arts
- prose, poetry, drama
4. Popular Arts
- film, newspaper, magazine, radio, television,
cartoons,
5. Gustatory Art of the Cuisine
- food presentation and decoration
6. Decorative Arts or Applied Arts
Medium- refers to the material or means which the
artist uses to objectify his feelings or thought. For
example: painting- pigment, sculpture-wood, music-
sound, literature-words, dance-body movements
Subject - refers to any person, object, scene or
event described on represented in a work of art;
can be classified as:
a.
that can be easily recognized by most people
such as still life, portrait,
landscape/seascape/cityscape, etc.
b. non-representational/non-objective which
uses content that is unrecognizable and do not
represent real objects in the world
c. abstract art with subjects that depart from
reality through distortion, elongation, cubism
and mangling
Philosophical Views about the Art
 Formalism: Its concern is the importance of the
formal features of works of art in determining the
value of those works.
 Aristotle: The plot in tragedy is important
as an arrangement of incidents which
suggests a structure - a formal entity. The
plot is the formal cause of tragedy.
 Immanuel Kant: The judgment of
something’s beauty is based on the
judge’s feeling of pleasure in the thing; the
attention is restricted to the form of the
object (for example, in visual arts, on lines
and shapes)
 Aesthetic Hedonism: It is concerned with the
functional account of aesthetic pleasure of the art.
Art is valuable because of the pleasure derived
from it.
 Expressionism: Art is an expression of
subjective emotions and responses.
 It depicts artworks that are spontaneous,
instinctive and highly emotional.
 Representationism: Art is something that is
intended to stand for something else and that is
recognized by audience as such.
 Aristotle: Art aids philosophy in revealing
the truth. Art does not aim to represent
reality as it is but possible versions of
reality.
 Two purposes of art (according to
Aristotle):
1. Art allows for the experience of
pleasure (e.g. experiences can
become entertaining in art)
2. Art instructs and teaches the audience
things about life.
 Imitationism/Imitationalism: Plato: Art is a mere
imitation of the original, the eternal and the true
entities that can only be found in the “World of
Forms”, and artists are imitators and reinforce the
belief in copies and discourage people to reach
for the real entities in the “World of Forms.
 Two reasons why Plato is suspicious of
arts and artists:
1. They appeal to the emotion rather
than to the rational faculty.
2. They imitate rather than lead to reality.
 Art is dangerous for it provides
unimportant replacement of the real
entities that can only be attained through
reason.
 Functionalism: Art serves distinctive functions,
which should be determined rather than its
aesthetic considerations.
 An art is functional in so far as it is
designed to accomplish a definite end.
  Functions of Art
1. Personal function – highly subjective
as it depends on the artist; functions
could be the need of the artist for self-
expression, for entertainment, or for
therapeutic purposes
2. Physical function- found in artworks
that are crafted for their physical
purposes, e.g. architecture, interior
design, handicrafts
3. Social function – addressing a
particular collective interest, depicting
social conditions, arousing emotions
that eventually turned into actions

Methods of Presenting Art Subjects

1. Realism - things are depicted in the way they
would normally appear in nature and how they are
actually perceived by the human senses
2. Abstraction – subjects are not shown as
objective reality but a representation of the artist’s
ideas, feelings or moods; forms of abstraction
include:
a. Distortion – misshaping the subject or
twisting out the shape
b. Elongation – the subject is lengthened,
protracted or extended
c. Cubism – using combination of basic
geometric shapes to form a subject
d. Mangling – the process by which the
subject is cut, disfigured, lacerated, or torn
e. Abstract Expressionism – painting
rapidly, non-geometrically, and forcefully to show
feelings and emotions; can be done by using large
brushes, dripping or throwing the paint into the
canvas
3. Symbolism – using visible signs depicting
something invisible such as idea or quality to
intensify the meaning and to make the artwork
more subjective
4. Expressionism – initially aims to bring back
“spiritual rebirth” but eventually focuses on different
human emotions
5. Fauvism – using extremely bright colors to
achieve comfort, joy and pleasure
6. Dadaism – presenting an artwork has no
meaning at all or somewhat non-sensical; a
reaction against the worn-out traditions in art and
evils in the society
7. Surrealism – also known as ‘super reality’;
making ordinary things look extraordinary; its
common subjects are things found in imagination,
fantasy, dreams or even in the unconscious mind
8. Futurism – representing the relationship between
man and motion through technological triumph of
man over nature in modern life