ORIENTATION

ART APPRECIATION (April 4, 2022)

The Meaning and Importance of Art

An Introduction to the Humanities

HUMANITIES
- Came from the Latin word humanns, meaning human, cultured and refined.
- Deal with the study of ancient and modern languages, philosophy, literature, law,
history, medicine, religion and the visual performing arts. Being a social science,
it includes anthropology, psychology, linguistics, communication and cultural
studies.

What is Art?
- As an ability, art is the human capacity to make things of beauty and things that
stir us; it is creativity. As a process, art encompasses acts such as drawing,
painting, sculpting, designing buildings, singing, dancing and using the camera to
create images or memorable works. As a product, art is completed work an
etching, a sculpture, a structure, a musical composition, choreography or a
tapestry.
- The word “art” is rooted in the 13th century French word art which means skill as
a result of learning or practice, and in the Latin word “ars” meaning ability or
practical skills.

Many known personalities defined art in various ways.

According to Plato, “Art is that which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the
world.”
For John Dewey, “Art is an attitude of spirit (creativity), a state of mind-one which
demands for its own satisfaction and fulfilling, a shaping of matter to new and more
significant form.”
To Oscar Wilde, “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has
known and for Elbert Hubbard, “Art is not a thing – it is a way”

From the various definitions there are four (4) common essentials of art:
1. Art has to be human-made
2. Art must be creative, not initiative
3. Art must be benefit and satisfy human being, and
4. Art is expressed through a certain medium or material by which artists
communicate themselves to their audiences.
The Subjects of Art

A. What is subject art?

The subject of art is the matter to be described or to be portrayed by the artist. The
subject of art is varied. This may refer to any person, object, scene or event.

B. Two Kinds of Art as to Subject:

1. Representational Art or Objective Art – recognizable depiction of

something in the real world, but not limited to being completely realistic.
2. Non-representational Art or Non-objective Art – art that is devoid of any
reference to the natural world. It has no subject, and meaning is only derived
from the artist’s intent and viewer’s representation.

Structure of an Artwork

1. Artwork – is considered as one when the following measures are met.

2. Subject
a. In general, the subject matter of an artwork is anything under the sun.
b. A subject could be make-believe, imaginary and invented.
c. There are three (3) ways of representing the subject: abstract, distorted or
realist.
3. Artist
a. An artist is an individual who exhibits exceptional skills in any of the various
art forms.
b. An artist may be one who is acclaimed by experts or patrons, like Vincent Van
Gogh or Leonardo Da Vinci.
c. An artist unlike other people, is more sensitive and creative.

There are two kinds of Artist:

 Creators
 Performances

A composer (creator) writes a song to be sung by talented singers (performer).

 A dramatist or playwright writes play to be staged by company of actors.
 A choreographer composes a ballet or a dance sequence which will be
performed by a troupe of dancers.

Some Famous Artists:

1. Leonardo Da Vinci
2. Vincent Willem Van Gogh
3. Michael Angelo Buonarroti
Medium and Technique

1. Three major categories of an artwork

a. Visual Artworks (2 dimensional) – include painting, mosaic, prints,
photography, and digital arts.
b. Practical Artworks (3 dimensional) – include sculpture and architecture
c. Performing Arts – artworks include dance, music, fil/theater and literature

2. Purpose
 Recording appearance
 Making the invisible visible
 Communication
 Delighting

3. The Viewer, Patron or Critique

a. Elite or the Patron
b. Ordinary Person
c. Connoisseur
d. Fellow Artist

4. Impression of the Viewer, Patron or Critique – there are only two (2) impressions
of an artwork. It is either to appreciate or critique it.

The Language of Art (Visual of Arts)

ELEMENTS:

Line as an element of Art

We see lines everywhere: along the streets, inside our homes, in all of nature and in the
many infrastructures that make our cities. Lines add to the quality of all visual stimuli.
Lines make objects stand out against a background, they challenge our perception,
arouse emotions, and enhance or lessen the aesthetic effects of our surroundings.
According to Paul Klee, “A line is a dot that went for a walk.” A line usually described
as an extension of the dot. Line serves as an important building block of art and can be
manipulated to stimulate an intellectual or emotional response from the viewer (Fichner,
2008) Artists make of lines in many ways and how it is used may mean the difference
between a good art composition and a great art composition.
 a. Zigzag Lines – result when two straight lines meet to form an angle. Zigzags
indicate chaos, conflict and confusion as can be perceived in pictures of war and
pictures of most anime characters.

b. Curve Lines – are more technically curvilinear. They are organic and natural. A
kind of line that is seen in the natural world of living organisms. Curve Lines that
go around itself forms a spiral oftentimes seen in seashells. When curve lines
continuously move in opposite directions, they form wavy lines that show graceful
movement.

c. Implied Lines – used by the artis to make the viewer feel their-involvement in
interpreting the composition by seeing and connecting lines where none actually
exists. These lines seem to fade, stop and or disappear and then reappear as a
continuation or extension of an edge (Ocvirk, 2002) Lines that are not there may
suggest movement and will add fluidity to the work.

d. Actual Lines – the artist intentionally shows the lines in an artwork, a painting for
instance, to give the viewer an interesting aspect of the composition. The lines
drawn add to the quality of the whole work.

Line Quality and Character

Line Qualities

- can be described in terms of emotional states that they seem to arouse. In a

work of art, however, such states of feelings lack clarity. The artist may
communicate these feelings in varying degrees but it is still up to the viewer to
recognize these emotions. The viewer of the art must be receptive and
perceptive to those feelings that the artist through the different lines is trying to
convey (Ocvirk, 2002).

- may also be used to create shadows giving the work a third dimension. Lines
drawn in a series may be used to form shadows and the closer the lines are to
each other, the darker are the shadows created. This technique is known as
hatching.

Cross hatching – is another way of creating deeper shadows in which parallel

lines intersect with each other.
 - May also be used as outlines defining the borders of a shape, showing the
contours of the figure or an object. Contour lines can be used as a guide for
where paint may be applied in 2D works.
The Element of Color

Every day from the moment our eyes open, we see all around a world filled with colors.
We cannot even imagine an existence without it. Colors enhance the beauty in all
things.

This discovery was made by an intelligent man of science named Sir Isaac Newton. He
found that by passing a beam of light through a triangular piece of glass called prism,
white light breaks into the visible color spectrum. The colors separate into the various
wavelengths from the longest which is red to shortest which is violet. Sir Newton
realized that the colors of the rainbow come from white light.

Physical Properties of Color

1. Hue. Pertains to the name for which the color is known. It is determined by the
wavelength of light physically given by the color.

2. Value. This characteristic refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. The value
of colors pertains to the absence of white or black.

3. Intensity or Saturation. This characteristic refers to how pure the color is. Pure
hues pertain to the absence of white, black or gray.

The Color Wheel

Sir Isaac Newton was the first to conceptualize the color wheel to discover
relationships between and among the colors.

Types of Colors:

1. Primary Colors. In the color wheel can be seen the three primary colors which
are red, yellow and blue.

2. Secondary Colors. These colors result from the combination of two primary
colors in equal amounts.

3. Intermediate Colors. These colors can result from a combination of a primary

and a secondary color.
 4. Tertiary Colors. In most books, intermediate colors and tertiary are considered
to be one and the same.

5. Neutrals. When we look at pigments, we realize that not all of them show color.
Black, white or gray do not share the same characteristics of any color in the
spectrum. Because they show no color quality, they are called neutrals.

Color Relationships

A color though important for itself, is always seen in interaction with other colors.
Combination and arrangements of color in a composition heighten the artist’s
expression of the work’s content and meaning.

1. Complements and Split-Complements

2. Split-Complements
3. Triads and Tetrads
4. Analogous and Monochromatic Colors
5. Warm and Cool Colors
6. Simultaneous Contrast

The Element of Shape

Other than lines and color, the mind through the visual system makes sense of its
surroundings by determining what shapes represents.

Shapes result from the coming together of lines enclosing an area and separating it
from its surroundings (Fichner, 2013)

Two Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Shapes

Two dimensional shapes are flat. A circle, square or triangle has two dimensions.
Three-dimensional shapes on a flat surface, however, give the illusion of mass
and solidity. A sphere, cube and pyramid give the viewer three-dimensional shapes
on a picture plane.

The Element of Space

Space is a tricky element of the visual arts. It involves both the physiological capability
of the visual system and physical manipulation of the two-dimensional surface (picture
plane) to give the viewer an illusion of depth and distance.

1. Overlapping
2. Relative Size
 3. Atmospheric Perspective

The Element of Value

The visual arts are known particularly because of the element of light. Light makes
viewing any artwork possible and sad to say without light this cannot be done.

The technique of using light and shadow in painting is known as chiaroscuro.

Leonardo Da Vinci exploited the effects of chiaroscuro.

Another renowned artist of the 16th century named Caravaggio went a step further with
chiaroscuro \and exaggerated the use of shadows in his paintings known as the “dark
manner”. “Dark Manner” or the exaggeration of chiaroscuro is known as tenebrism.

The Element of Texture

This element texture, taps into two sensory images. The sense of touch which gives rise
to tactile sensations and the sense of sight which gives the viewer sensual sensations.

Types of Texture

There are four basic types of texture: actual, simulated, abstract and invented
(Ocvirk, 2002).

1. Actual Texture. It refers to the real feel and look of the surface of the object.

2. Simulated Texture. It refers to a surface character that looks real but is not
(Ocvirk, 2002)

3. Abstract Texture. The artist would focus on one aspect of the real texture and
emphasize it thus modifying the texture of the whole composition.

4. Invented Texture. This texture is a product of the artist’s imagination. This

presentation is usually seen in abstract artwork.

The Element of Time and Motion

Motion occurs through time (Fichner, 2008). Over the centuries, artists have
collaborated to bring the viewer the concept of movement and time in their artworks.
Motions cans how direct actions in which movement is perceived immediately or show
an intended path for the viewer to follow to achieve the effect of motion across the
visual field. So far, they have experimented with their medium and have come up with
two techniques in achieving motion and time in both two-dimensional and three-
dimensional art. These techniques are actual motion and implied motion.

1. Actual Movement. The artist incorporates actual movement in art known as

kinetic art. These are particularly observed in modern sculptures.

2. Implied Movement. A variety of lines may be used together with some degree of
repetition, changes in the position, scale or size of the objects and varying
proportions can create the perception of movement or passing time in a two-
dimensional piece of static art.