Lecture 1: Functions of Art & Philosophy

OVERVIEW

There are various ways to define the nature and characteristics of arts.
It is a concept which basically provides color and substance to our everyday
existence as humans. Life without art is dull and without meaning. Art
stimulates our senses and cognitive abilities as it allows the expression of
emotions and the subjective self.

Tolstoy and the Definition of Art - Russian Writer

“Without Art Mankind Could Not Exist”: Leo Tolstoy’s

Leo Tolstoy's What is Art? (1896) is a treatise concerning the nature and purpose
of art, describing how art can express moral values. Tolstoy does not define art in
terms of its ability to express form and beauty, but instead defines art in terms
of its ability to communicate concepts of morality.

his most comprehensive essay on the theory of art. Tolstoy’s theory has a lot of
charming aspects. He believes that art is a means of communicating emotion, with
the aim of promoting mutual understanding. By gaining awareness of each other’s
feelings we can successfully practice empathy and ultimately unite to further
mankind’s collective well-being.

Alaine De Botton - 5 reasons Why Art is Important?

1. Art keeps us hopeful. The most popular art in the world is full of pretty
things. Monet’s water lillies, beautiful sunrises, scenic vistas. This penchant for
“pretty” worries a lot of the professional art crowd, because it’s not “serious”
enough. But we need the pretty stuff, not because we’re in danger of forgetting the
terrible stuff, but because the terrible stuff weighs so heavily on us. Painting a
pretty thing is an act of hope, waiting for when we need it.

2. Art makes us less lonely. In a world that expects us to put on a smiling face at
all times, it’s easy to forget that we all carry around a lot of private suffering
and anguish. By making private suffering public via say, a dark painting or a
somber piece of music, we are comforted by being reminded that pain and suffering
is a normal part of human existence.

3. Art rebalances us. Art is very good at capturing what’s lacking in our life. You
can tell what’s missing from a person or a society from looking at the art they
like.

4. Art helps us appreciate stuff. In a world gone mad with celebrity and hype, art
reminds us to take notice at the things that really do matter, i.e. the ordinary
things around us. Durur could get us to look at a few blades of grass in a new
light, Cezanne could do the same with a bowl of oranges.

5. Art is propaganda for what really matters. The best art reminds is of our best
selves. The worst art does the opposite. Alain concludes that fine art has become
such a big deal culturally, that we forget what it’s actually for. Its job is to
nourish and inform us spiritually, it’s not our job to fawn in front of it like
giggling fanboys. It should work for us, not the other way around.

WILDE VS ART
In the preface to his only novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Oscar Wilde
famously proclaimed that “all art is quite useless.”
Bernulf Clegg, 1891 he wrote Wilde asking him where in his other work he “may find
developed that idea of the total uselessness of all art.”
Wilde, not directly answering Clegg’s question, responded: “Art is useless because
its aim is simply to create a mood. It is not meant to instruct or influence action
in any way. It is superbly sterile, and the note of its pleasure is sterility.”

PURPOSES AND FUCTIONS OF ART

Art as commentary.
Example: The Disasters of War - Francisco Goya
Before the advent of the photography in the nineteenth century, artists and
illustrators were our only source of information about the visual appearance of
anything. by providing a visual account of an event or a person, or by expressing
an opinion, artists ha shaped not only the way people understand their own world
but also how their culture is viewed by others.
Artists who fulfill our need for commentary often speak in language easy to
understand, they view art`s primary goal as communication between artists and
viewer by means of subject matter.

Art in worship or ritual.

Example: The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling - Michaelangelo
Another function of art has been to enhance religious contemplation, and most of
the world`s religions have found ways to incorporate artists` creativity into their
sacred rituals, place, and ceremonies. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most important
roman catholic theologian, wrote in the thirteenth century of the function of art
as an aid to religious teaching: “It is benefit-ting holy scripture to put forward
divine and spiritual truths by means of comparisons with material things. For God
provides for everything according to the capacity of its nature.” He also wrote,
“It is natural for man to be pleased with representation”, meaning that we human
enjoy looking at pictures of things. Thus an artwork, if attractively presented, ”
raise (viewers) to the knowledge of intelligible truths”.

Art for commemoration.

Diego in My Thoughts - Frida Kahlo
We all have a profound need to remember and show respect for those who have gone
before us. Some commemoration is personal, as we each hold memories of people
important in our lives. But commemoration is more often a more public act, perhaps
celebrating a significant person or event, or honoring patriotic actions.
Commemoration of any kind connects us with the chain of humanity that stretches
back for millennia, making human life more significant and valuable. Visual
imagery played a decisive role in lost types of commemoration.

Art for persuasion.

Many art-forms have a persuasive function. Splendid government buildings, public
monuments, television commercials, and music videos all harness the power of art to
influence action and opinion.
Art for self-experession.
For most of human history, self-expression has not been a primary reason for
creating art. Other social and cultural needs, such as the five we have already
considered, more fully engaged the talents of artists.
Art fulfills an expressive function when an artist conveys information about his or
her personality or feelings or worldview, and aside from a social cause, market
demand, commissioning ruler, or aesthetic urge.

Lecture 2: SUBJECT, CONTENT, ARTIST, AND ARTISAN

Subject:
The subject of art refers to what the artwork represents or imitates.
Refers to the main idea that is represented.
It can be the essence or the focal point.
The matter to be described or portrayed
Subject can be a person, people, object/s, or nature.

SOURCES OF SUBJECT
Nature
People
History
Legends
Religion
Mythology
Dreams & Fantasy
Technology

FORMS OF ART
Naturalism
Realism

Realism depicts characters and settings as they would actually have existed, while
naturalism concentrates on the biological, social, and economic aspects.

Abstraction
TYPES OF ABSTRACTION
Distortion - warp or twisted
Elongation - pahaba
Mangling - severely mutilate, disfigure, or damage by cutting, tearing, or
crushing.
Cubism - cube like features, boxy

Symbolism

Symbolism uses a symbol to represent an existing object, while abstract thinking

can be thought of as considering things that don't actually exist.

Fauvism comes from the word “Les Fauves” which means “Wild Beast”. a style of
painting with vivid expressionistic and nonnaturalistic use of colour`.

Dadaism
Futurism

Futurism and Dadaism are two art movements of modern art. Both art movements were
the first to seek change in art history. Both movements show the way of thinking
with new ideas on philosophy, morality, and art.
Surrealism - Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the
aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and
developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. (Panaginip
like arts)

Expressionism - Expressionism refers to art in which the image of reality is

distorted in order to make it expressive of the artist's inner feelings or ideas.
(Van Gogh, Edvard Munch’s Scream)

Three Levels of Meaning

Factual Meaning - Literal statement or what the content really looks like
Conventional Meaning - There’s specific meanings for certain things, example, color
represents a group of people
Subjective Meaning - personal opinion or meaning of what the art looks like

Artist VS Artisan

Artist - focus on aesthetics and displays, cannot be used for every day life
Artisan - like an inventor, makes things that can be used in everyday life, they
create functional and imbue some element of artistry or aesthetics in his craft,
example: furnitures or appliances

ART, IMITATION, AND REPRESENTATION

Plato and Aristotle argue that artist (Demiurge) and poet imitate nature, thus, a
work of art is a relection of nature. However, they have different views on the
functions of imitation in art and literature. Plato believes in the existence of
the ideal world, where exists a real form of every object found in nature.

Lecture 3: ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLE OF ART

TYPES OF ART
Literary Arts are those presented in the written mode and intended to be
read.These include prose and poetry.
Visual Arts are those forms perceived by the eyes.These include
painting, sculpture,and architecture
Graphic Arts are those visual arts that have length and width; they are also called
two-dimensional arts. They are described as flat arts because they are seen on flat
surfaces.
Plastic Arts are those visual arts that have length, width, and volume: thus, they
are also called three-dimensional arts.
Audiovisual Arts are those forms perceived by both ears (audio) and eyes (visual).
They are called performing arts in as much as the artists render a
performance in front of an audience.

ELEMENTS OF ART
Color gives meaning, value, intensity and saturation to an object. It has
series of wave lengths which strikes our retina.
Hue refers to the names we assign a color
Saturation refers to it's brilliant, powerful, or sharpness.
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color.
Primary: Red, Blue, Yellow
Secondary: Violet, Green, Orange
Tertiary: Blue-Violet, Red-Violet, Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green,
Blue-Green
Line one or two dimensional art that indicates direction, orientation,
movement, and energy. It is considered as the oldest, simplest, universal element.
Types of Lines
Solid Line - used to define forms.
Broken Line - used to suggest hidden forms.
Direction of Line
Vertical - basic framework of all forms, power, strength, stability, simplicity,
and efficiency
Horizontal - creates an impression of serenity and perfect stability. Rest,
calmness, peace, and reposed.
Diagonal - it shows movement and instability. Portrays movement action.
Jagged - it shows violence, zigzag, confusion, and conflict.
Curved - it shows a gradual change of direction and fluidity. It signifies
subtle form.
Form
includes shape and perceived volume
In 3D figures, the form is exemplified in its height, width, and depth
Shape which the expression of content takes
The personal ways of handling tools to form shapes is allows an artist to create
his own unique technique
Material, on the other hand, is the substance used in art and what is manipulated
in a distinct technique
Example: Sculpture

Space
Provided by the artist for specific purposes
Includes the foreground, background, middle ground
It also includes the area between objects, which can either be positive space or
negative space; positive space refers to the focal objects in the work of art,
while negative space refers to empty space surrounding the objects.
Two types of perspective:
Atmospheric: utilizes the properties of light and air in depicting the illusion of
distance
Linear: involves the use of vanishing points and receding hidden lines

Texture - denotes the smoothness, ruggedness of the image or the object.”

Real – can be felt
Implied – artificial

Shape and Mass - Refers to an area with boundaries identified or drawn using lines
Two types of shapes
Organic shape – based on natural or living forms and can be irregular
Geometric shape – based on measured forms.

PRINCIPLES OF ART
Emphasis – the composition refers to developing points of interest to pull
the viewer’s eye to important parts of the body of the work.
Balance – it is a sense of stability in the body of work. It can be created by
repeating same shapes and by creating a feeling of equal weight.
Harmony – achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the work,
harmony gives an uncomplicated look to your work.
Variety – refers to the differences in the work, you can achieve variety by using
different shapes, textures, colors and values in your work.
Movement – adds excitement to your work by showing action and directing
the viewer’s eye throughout the picture plane.
Rhythm – a type of movement in drawing and painting. It is seen in repeating of
shapes and colors. Alternating lights and darks also give a sense of rhythm.
Proportion or Scale – refers to the relationships of the size of objects in a body
of work. Proportions give a sense of size seen as a relationship of objects. Such
as smallness or largeness.
Unity – is seen in a painting or drawing when all the parts equal a whole. Your
work should not appear disjointed or confusing

***
1. How is Philosophy and Art connected?
Philosophy, science, and art differ principally according to their subject-matter
and also the means by which they reflect, transform and express it. In a certain
sense, art, like philosophy, reflects reality in its relation to man, and depicts
man, his spiritual world, and the relations between individuals in their
interaction with the world. We are able to consider our environment rationally
through the gigantic historical prism of science, philosophy and art, which are
capable of expressing life as a tempestuous flood of contradictions that come into
being, develop, are resolved and negated in order to generate new contradictions.
The biographies of many scientists and philosophers indicate that the great minds,
despite their total dedication to research, were deeply interested in art and
themselves wrote poetry and novels, painted pictures, played musical instruments
and molded sculpture. Norbert Wiener, the founder of cybernetics, wrote novels,
Darwin was deeply interested in Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley. Niels Bohr
venerated Goethe and Shakespeare; Hegel made an exhaustive study of world art and
the science of his day. The formation of Marx's philosophical and scientific views
was deeply influenced by literature.

2. Discuss the various purposes and functions of art in our society.

Art is all around us. You experience art while walking through the city, listening
to the radio, or driving your car. Every tangible man-made object you see or touch
results from an artist’s vision. Artists provide creative, intellectual and
emotional insights into society at large, impacting the masses and challenging the
status quo. Art helps cultures unite and boosts economic growth—helping the world
become a prettier, better and happier place to live in. This is why art is known as
the highlighter on the text of life.

3. Explain the meaning of “And no wonder, for art is a powerful catalyst for such
abilities as power of imagination, keen intuition and the knack of association,
abilities needed by both scientists and philosophers.”
The biographies of many scientists and philosophers indicate that the great minds,
despite their total dedication to research, were deeply interested in art and
themselves wrote poetry and novels, painted pictures, played musical instruments
and molded sculpture.In short, the great men of theory were by no means dry
rationalists. They were gifted with an aesthetic appreciation of the world like how
they use art as an inspiration to their work.

4. What is Contemporary Art?

An indispensable feature of art is its ability to convey information in an
evaluative aspect. Art is a combination of man's cognitive and evaluative attitudes
to reality recorded in words, colours, plastic forms or melodically arranged
sounds. Like philosophy, art also has a profoundly communicative function. Through
it, people communicate to one another their emotions. A common feature of art and
philosophy is the wealth they both contain of cognitive, moral and social
substance.