CHAPTER

Overview on Humanities and the Art

KEY TERMS

 Humanities

 Arts

 Artist

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On completing this chapter, you should be able to define

these key terms. You should also know about:

 Nature of Humanities

 Importance of Humanities

 Division of Art

 Language of Art

6
 INTRODUCTION

With the advent of the computer age, advanced science and technology have

overwhelmed many aspects of our lives, and even our possibilities of survival are

affected. But turning to the humanities where the “world of man’s spirit is evident in

humans”, rather than technical values, we experience a certain degree of relief. The

humanities can provide enjoyment and stimulation, especially when we try to

understand what it covers.

Lesson 1.1

DEFINITION OF HUMANITIES

The word humanities come from the Latin “humanus”, which means human,

cultured and refined. To be human is to have or show qualities like rationality, kindness

and tenderness. It has different connotations in different historical eras. Today,

however, we know of humanities as a loosely defined group of cultural subject areas.

Unlike other subjects, it is not a group of scientific or technical subjects. Thus, the term

humanities refer to the study of the arts - the visual arts such as architecture, painting

and sculpture; music, dance, the theater or drama and literature. They are the branches

of learning concerned with human thought, feelings and relations. The importance of the

human being and his feelings and how he expresses those feelings have always been

the concern of the humanities.

7
 As a study, its material object is “artwork” and its formal object is “creativity and

appreciation.” Every creation around you which is made by human beings represents

someone's humanity. The chair you're sitting in, the clothes you're wearing, the building

you're in, or your home, even the time of day which people created, all are

representative of someone's humanity or their human-ness. In other words, everything

that human beings have created can be classified as part of the humanities.

Lesson 1.2

NATURE OF HUMANITIES

1. Art and Science

Art: Skills (Greek techne or technical)

Science: Involves a process.

Social Science: Man, as the focus. Art is the subject matter, but art is created by

man for man.

2. Humanities vs. Philosophy

Comparison:

Humanities: Man is the source and fountain of all creativity. (Creating Subject)

Philosophy: Man is the starting point of knowledge. (Inquiring Subject)

Contrast:

Humanities: Explicit understanding of artworks – extensions of his being (man).

Philosophy: Implicit understanding of him as composed of body and soul.

8
Lesson 1.3

IMPORTANCE OF HUMANITIES

Art is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest and most

important means of expression developed by man. Wherever men have lived together,

art has sprung up among them as a language charged with feeling and significance.

The desire to create this language appears to be universal. As a cultural force, it is

pervasive and potent. It shows itself even in primitive societies.

Why Study Humanities?

Through Humanities, we can be connected to places we have not visited,

understand the past or history which has significance to the present. It makes us

encounter great minds and hearts of human history.

Through Humanities, we will be studying what humans have found valuable or

good throughout the time.

Through Humanities, we experience connection between culture and community

through different art exposures – museum visits, concerts, theater performance,

and support of local artists.

Through Humanities, we increase our respect for cultural and individual

differences through knowledge of achievements and of world civilization.

Through Humanities, we gain a global perspective through the knowledge of

world cultures.

9
 Through Humanities, we will be able to build up your career, focus our life,

minimize frustration, and most importantly, be able to work as part of an effective

team.

Lesson 1.4

HUMANITIES IN DIGITAL AGE

While new technologies have been largely absent in arts education curriculum,

they offer opportunities to address arts integration, equity, and the technological

prerequisites of an increasingly digital age. The digital age draws upon the emerging

professional field of “media arts” and the ways that youth use new technologies for

communication as a way to design a 21st century K-12 arts education curriculum.

It almost goes without saying that youth spend an extraordinary amount of time

reading and writing new media, as evidenced by the proliferation of media texts found

on Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook. Assuming that this is true, arts education, and

more specifically, media arts, has many insights to offer about engaging with this new

medium in a critical, communicative, and expressive manner. The emergent field of

“media arts” (also called digital arts or new media) can especially provide insights into

how this could operate in the K-12 schooling curriculum. The professional field of media

arts encompasses all forms of creative practice involving or referring to art that makes

use of electronic equipment, computation, and new communication technologies.

Beyond surface forays with technology (such as typing, word processing, and web

surfing), media art encourages designing, creating, and critiquing genres that connect to

10
 youth culture and more actively engage youth in the process of learning than what is

traditionally offered in schools, particularly those in marginalized communities.

In many ways, a media arts curriculum can be conceptualized as being

fundamentally connected to the development of new literacies – “new technologies -

notably computers, digital sound and visual image recording, and the Internet - are

changing the nature of arts education”.

Figure 1.1 Digital Painting Using Adobe Photoshop

Lesson 1.5

ART APPRECIATION

Appreciation of the visual arts goes beyond staring at a painting hanging on the

11
wall of a museum; art is in everything and everywhere you look. Opening your eyes to

12
the world of art is essential in understanding the world around you. Art is more than

pretentious museums; only a few enter and comprehend. Instead, art appreciation is:

Gaining the knowledge to understand the art.

Acquire the art methods and materials to discuss art verbally or by the written

word.

Ability to identify the movements from ancient cultures to today's contemporary

art.

Learning how to appreciate art is a necessary cultural foundation enabling people

to critically analyze art, art forms, and how cultures used art. All it takes to understand

the art is just to look.

Art appreciation centers on the ability to view art throughout history, focusing on

the cultures and the people, and how art developed in the specific periods. It is difficult

to understand art without understanding the culture, their use of materials, and a sense

of beauty. Art is conveyed by the simple act of creating art for art's sake. Every person

is born with the innate desire to create art, and similar to other professions, training is

essential in honing skills to produce art. Art education broadens a person's

comprehension, development, and visions of art. Art brings an understanding of

diversity, how people lived in the past, and connect the issues concerning contemporary

life and art today.

The history of the world is similarly the history of art, continually intertwined. For

millions of years, as humans roamed the earth, evolution, and environment shaped

13
 many different cultures depending on location, weather, natural resources, and food.

These cultures formed the foundation of all art today. Art appreciation analyzes art

using the methods and materials, allowing people to make connections to the context of

art and the interactions of societies. It is difficult to understand the art without

understanding the culture.

Lesson 1.6

DEFINITION OF ART

There are many definitions of art and every one of them is influenced by a

particular historical, cultural, or aesthetic vision. Like pieces from a gigantic puzzle, each

of these views provides a part of the whole true. Through history, art has been

considered an expression of human necessity, a mere imitation of nature, a skill, a pure

aesthetic expression, a means to produce beautiful objects, among many other

definitions. Art lacks a satisfactory definition. It is easier to describe it as the way

something is done “the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects,

environments, or experiences that can be shared with others” rather than what it is.

Arts are defined by history and historical process. Art was derived from the

Aryan root word "ar" means to put together, while still another origin of the word art

came from Latin "ars" means ability or skills (corresponding to the Greek “techne” from

which we derive the words like technical and technique).

14
 Art is either a concept or a fact. As a concept, it is subject to be understood and

be grasped by any perceiver. Furthermore, it cannot be defined because it springs from

the ideas and emotions of man concretized by means of any sensuous material. But, art

as a fact is observable; is that which is known through the senses. It refers then to any

creative work of an artist that can easily be described upon noticing the different

mediums being used and the context in which it is produced.

In the ancient world, a "work of art" was simply any object that required skill or

craft in its production. Only gradually, beginning about the middle of the 17th century,

did work of art mean a work of fine or high art. The artisan or the craftsman is not

expected to be original and he is good at his job to the extent that he can successfully

follow the relevant rules.

A work of a craft is good if it matches the appropriate template and performs the

desired function. The artist must be creative and original. Good art cannot be produced

by slavish-rule following and imitation. Great artists are genius whose works transcend

the rules and conventions of their time.

Lesson 1.7

IMPORTANCE OF ART

Art is such a large part of our everyday lives; we hardly even stop to think about

it. Several importance of art is as follows:

Art plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich.

15
 Art stimulates different parts of our brains to make us laugh.

Art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves.

Art is something that makes us more thoughtful and well-rounded humans.

Art is something that is both functional and (hopefully) aesthetically pleasing to

our eyes.

Lesson 1.8

DIVISIONS OF ART

Traditional and contemporary art encompasses activities as diverse as:

Architecture, music, opera, theatre, dance, painting, sculpture, illustration, drawing,

cartoons, printmaking, ceramics, stained glass, photography, installation, video, film and

cinematography, to name but a few. All these activities are commonly classified into

several overlapping categories such as: fine, visual, plastic, decorative, applied, and

performing.

Disagreement persists as to the precise composition of these categories, but

here is a generally accepted classification:

1. Fine Arts: This category includes those artworks that are created primarily for

aesthetic reasons ('art for art's sake') rather than for commercial or functional

use. Designed for its uplifting, life-enhancing qualities, fine art typically denotes

the traditional, Western European 'high arts', such as:

16
 Drawing

Using charcoal, chalk, crayon, pastel or with pencil or pen and ink. Two major

applications include: illuminated manuscripts and book illustration.

Painting

Using oils, watercolor, gouache, acrylics, ink and wash, or the more old-

fashioned tempera or encaustic paints.

Sculpture

In bronze, stone, marble, wood, or clay.

Printmaking

Using simple methods like woodcuts or stencils, the more demanding techniques

of engraving, etching and lithography, or the more modern forms like screen-

printing, foil imaging or “giclee” prints.

Giclee is the first and only fine art print to be made with an ink jet printer.

2. Visual Arts: Visual art includes all the fine arts as well as new media and

contemporary forms of expression such as assemblage, collage, conceptual,

installation and performance art, as well as photography, and film-based forms

like video art and animation, or any combination thereof. Another type, often

created on a monumental scale is the new environmental land art.

17
3. Plastic Arts: The term plastic art typically denotes three-dimensional works

employing materials that can be molded, shaped or manipulated (plasticized) in

some way: such as, clay, plaster, stone, metals, wood (sculpture), paper

(origami) and so on. Three-dimensional artworks are made from everyday

materials and "found objects"

4. Decorative Arts: This category traditionally denotes functional but ornamental

art forms, such as works in glass, clay, wood, metal, or textile fabric. This

includes all forms of jewelry and mosaic art, as well as ceramics, (exemplified by

beautifully decorated styles of ancient pottery), furniture, furnishings, stained

glass and tapestry art.

5. Performance Arts: This type refers to public performance events. Traditional

varieties include: theatre, opera, music, and ballet. Contemporary performance

art also includes any activity in which the artist's physical presence acts as the

medium. Thus it encompasses, mime, face or body painting, and the like. A

hyper-modern type of performance art is known as happening.

Happening is an event that combined elements of painting, poetry,

music, dance, and theatre and staged them as a live action.

6. Applied Arts: This category encompasses all activities involving the application

of aesthetic designs to everyday functional objects. While fine art provides

intellectual stimulation to the viewer, applied art creates utilitarian items (a cup, a

18
 couch or sofa, a clock, a chair or table) using aesthetic principles in their design.

Folk art is predominantly involved with this type of creative activity. Applied art

includes architecture, computer art, photography, industrial design, graphic

design, fashion design, interior design, as well as all decorative arts.

Lesson 1.9

LANGUAGE OF ART

The language of art has no words. Yet, it has the power to communicate feelings

and moods. An artist’s success in communicating depends on his or her skill at this

language.

Primary Language: It is built into us as a part of our human heritage. This is the

language of arts to which we are all heirs and can respond, given the chance and

some reassurance of its validity. According to Herbert Read, the primary

language of the art consists of the "cultivation of the arts in an education of the

sensibilities" he added, "when there is no will to creation, the death instinct takes

over and wills endless, gratuitous destruction."

Secondary Language: It is made up of the conventions, the traditions and

styles, which have accumulated over the ages. The greater the number of works

of art we come to know intimately, the larger our vocabulary of these

conventions.

19
 Third Language: It is the language in which this and other books on the arts are

written. It deals with the ability to talk about the arts meaningfully and

expressively.

You may have heard the expression that a picture is worth a thousand words.

When it comes to art, this saying certainly holds true. To see the relationship between

words and pictures, look at the painting and read the passage below:

Figure 1.2 “The Piper” by Hughie

Lee-Smit

“Tommy was waiting for his big brother to meet him. The street was deserted.

Everyone else had gone home, and Tommy was getting nervous. The wind blew the

trash along the sidewalk, and Tommy was getting cold. The tall, new skyscraper

towered over this old building in his neighborhood. He noticed how the stucco had

20
peeled off the building’s surface to reveal the bare bricks. The shadow of the skyscraper

21
 fell on the condemned building. Tommy took out his flute. Music always made him feel

better. He made up a tune to push away the fear. He continued playing and the

environment became his rhythm section. The wire around the column rattled like

castanets and the broken doors slammed a steady beat. The trash brushing along the

sidewalk became the rustling of snare drums. He didn’t care how long it took his brother

to finish practice. Tommy wasn’t nervous anymore as he waited for his brother. He had

his music to keep him company.”

Notice how the boy in this painting stands alone playing his flute. What mood has

the artist created? Compare the image it depicts with the description you just read. You

will probably agree that what took the writer many words to describe, the artist depicted

in a single painting.

Lesson 1.10

ART AND EXPERIENCE

All art demands experience. There can be no appreciation of art without

experience. An experience is something that affects your life.

Persons Affected by Art Experience:

The person of the artist.

The person of the percipient.

Characteristics of Experience:

22
 It must be personal and individual. It must not exactly be the same as that of any

other person.

Experience is accompanied by emotion or emotional reaction. You like it or you

do not like it.

Lesson 1.11

ART AND NATURE

There are some artists who would use the natural objects as they are without

changing them in levying or carrying their art work. Take for example, a landscape.

Artists charged with the task of landscaping would have to use the stones and other

natural materials without even deforming their shape, form and organization. This is the

principle of non-transformation.

Under the “Principle of Transformation”, the artists have the necessarily alter

the natural objects in carrying their art work because by so doing the idea of the artist,

the purpose of the art, and the circumstances surrounding the art can properly be

served.

NATURAL OBJECTS VS. ARTWORKS

The following are the arguments that would separate each other from a single

category:

Works of art can express ideas or feelings, but nature cannot.

23
 Works of art is like sentences, but unlike natural objects that can mean

something. This point can perhaps be better put another way: works of art, like

sentences, but unlike natural objects, can embody communicative intentions.

Take for example, reading a poem. Through it, we are presumably entitled to

ask, "What is trying to say?" We are certainly not entitled to ask such a question

after looking at a waterfall or a cloud.

Works of art can imitate nature (and can be applauded for doing so), but nature

cannot imitate nature.

Lesson 1.12

FACTORS AFFECTING AN ARTWORK

There is a wide range of factors affecting the work of an artist, as you can find

artistic expression in areas as diverse as mathematical and scientific theory and

interpersonal interaction, and almost anything can prompt artistic creation.

However, if we look at the major creative arts of music, painting, sculpture,

dance, drama, and literature, influencing factors might be grouped as:

THE ARTIST/CREATOR’s natural ability and sensibility, plus her/his dedication

to practice will definitely influence their creative output. Creative artists often,

there is a childlike, totally immersed obsession with their art which is a key driver,

too. Some artistic expression is influenced by the prospect of monetary reward.

Very individualistic artists will have a vision which some feel comes entirely from

those people’s own way of looking at the world. Even the quirkiest artist is

24
influenced to a degree by their environment, people around

them, and other creations and artifacts.

SOCIETY/THE TARGET AUDIENCE can influence artistic

expression via the influence of what we “vote” for using our

disposable income. For example, these days we even have

something of a return to the old “patronage” model of music-

making, so that some artists create specially-commissioned

work.

EVENTS AND OBJECTS such as war, disaster, or everyday

activity, other artistic output, can all influence artistic expression.

Dissatisfaction with, or a lack of stimulus from the outside world,

(leading to ennui/boredom) can influence artistic creativity, e.g.,

as with protest music and punk music.

THE PREVAILING TECHNOLOGY/TECHNIQUES available to

artists can influence their output, as with film, music, and so on.

Then again, an artist might turn against the accepted

orthodoxies of technique and come up with something fresh.

25