UNIVERSITY OF CALOOCAN CITY

Biglang Awa St., Corner Catleya St., EDSA, Caloocan City

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ART APPRECIATION
SUBJECT CODE: GEC 006

TOPIC OR LESSON: Subject and Content

WEEK: 4
SUB-TOPIC/S: Types, Source, Kinds of Subject
Levels of Meaning

 OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

Typically, an artist begins a work—a poem, a song, or a painting—with an

insistent, but nevertheless vague feeling. She tries to bring this feeling into sharp
relief. She works on it, bringing it into clearer focus. Partly, she does this by
externalizing it—by experimenting with different ways of expressing it. A dancer will
combine several phrases, a painter several brushstrokes, a composer several chords,
and then stand back from them, inquiring whether they are right—where “right”
means “do they feel right?” or “do they get the emotion exactly right?” This process
clarifies the emotion for the artist at the same time that the emotion inspires and
informs the artist’s choices. In this lesson, you will learn about the classifications of
the art products brought upon by the emotions of the artists.

LEARNING
OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, the students are expected to:

1. Differentiate content from subject;

2. Classify artworks according to subject;
3. Analyze how artists present their subjects in relation to the real subject;
4. Characterize sources and kinds of art

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
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At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Differentiate between representational art and non-representational art
2. Determine the subject matter of a particular art work
3. Identify the sources of subjects of different art works

ENGAGE

Unscramble the following letters to reveal some concepts related to our lesson. Try
first not to read the EXPLORE, ELABORATE, and EXPLAIN parts.

1. AEEEILNNOPRRST
2. BCEJSTU
3. CENNOTT
4. ROHSYTI
5. VECJUSTEIB
6. AFIMSUV
7. AEGIMNN
8. UTRNEA
9. BLOMSSY
10.TTSRAI

EXPLORE

To appreciate art, we need to study it. We need to understand the basic concepts
about art so as to know its essence.

Subject Matter. Anything could ignite an artist’s imagination, prompting him to

create. The artist’s subject matter is an object, a person, a scene, or an event that the
work or art depicts. An art that has subject matter is called representational, figurative
or objective art. An art which has no subject matter is called non-representational or
non-objective art.

In representational art, we see recognizable figures or objects. Appearances of objects

are represented as faithfully as possible. Abstract art, likewise, depicts recognizable
objects. However, in abstract art, the appearance of objects is not realistically
presented. Certain aspects of the object are either simplified or exaggerated.

Subjects of art could be:

1. Interesting Person(s)
Mona Lisa by Da Vinci
Song to Celia by Ben Jonson
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 2. The Human Form
Venus de Milo
David by Michelangelo
3. Activities of Man
Planting of Rice by Amorsolo
4. Commemorative Events
Jahangir Receives a Cup of Khusrau by Manohar
Blood Compact by Juan Luna
5. Interesting Animal
The Raven by Edgard Allan Poe
Bird in Space by Brancusi
6. Common Objects
Cabbage Leaf by Edward Weston
7. Nature
A Field of Poppies by Claude Monet
8. Deity
Armida Nyorai (Japanese Buddhism)

On the other hand, non-representational or non-objective art does not depict

recognizable objects. It does not give descriptions or stories about a subject. An
example of this is music. Through the creative arrangements of sounds, tones, and
pitches, a musical composition is created, not representing anything, yet able to move
us deeply. For the non-representational artists, art’s power to communicate rests on
the language of art itself, in the elements of colors, line, shape, and figures.

Form. The specific quality or shape of an artistic expression is its form. It includes all
the visual aspects of the work that can be isolated and described. It is also the shape
by which the artist projects his subject matter.

Content. What the artist is trying to express or communicate is the concept of his
work. It tells what the work of art is all about, the artist’s subject matter. It is the
meaning or the theme expressed by the artist. Through the content, the artist’s
attitude toward his subject is revealed. The artistic value of the substance or the
content of an art work can be measured by its originality, its imaginative quality, its
sincerity, and its truth.

Sources of Subject. The following are the source of subject: nature, history,
mythology, religious tradition or event, sacred texts, other works of art.

Kinds of Sources. The following are the kinds of sources of subject: history, still life,
animals, figures, nature, landscape, seascape, cityscape, mythology, myth, dreams,
fantasies

EXPLAIN

Levels and Meaning of Subject

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Since the early period art has been a part of almost everything around man and the
world he is part of, its civilization, religion, culture, and no doubt that even in the 20th
till the 21st centuries, we see the rapid changes around us and how art became part of
it. In the field of science and technologies it can be viewed in the shapes, designs and
colors of modern time inventions, like the gadgets, machines and even in
architectures. It even elevated into higher levels the presentations and meaning of art
forms by signs and symbolisms.

A subject that is presented and referred to its literal statement or narrative content is
called factual meaning. So much so that a flower is a flower when it is viewed as a
flower and not in any other form However, an artist who provided its personal meaning
to its work is called subjective meaning.

Subjective meaning is also used to mean and symbolised religion, like when one sees a
Holy Cross refers to the catholic fate, and a quarter moon In the Islamic religion,
Buddhism is symbolised or represented by the wheel of figure of buddha
Subjective meaning is also used to represent or symbolised an animal, like the dove
represents peace, unity and the trinity for the catholic religion In marriage, it also
represents the couple and their unification, while the color red is used to mean war,
love, passion and anger

Conventional meaning refers to the special meaning that a certain object has for a
particular culture, society or group of people The country is symbolised by its flag and
its national costumes. In the case of the Philippines, we have our barong tagalog for
men and the Filipina dress for women. Vakul, the headress, is made of straws used by
the people of Batanes to protect them from the sun and the rain The vakul symbolises
and represents Batanes and paper picado for Bulacan. Paper Picado is an intricately
well crafted papel de japon It is a special way of wrapping pastillas, a delicacy and a
candy made from cows’ milk It is a special way of preparing and presenting desserts
during the Spanish period, while Pampanga is known for its parol or lantern making.

The levels of providing conventional meanings were even used to associate with the
month and the significant occasions or activities occurring to the month March is
associated with graduation, April with holy week, May with the flower month, June
with weddings and school opening, November with all saints and all souls day,
December with Christmas, January with New Year and February with Valentine’s Day
Symbols are also preprepared and designed to remember, commemorate and represent
the occasion.

ELABORAT
E
Manner of Presenting Art as a Subject

Artists have various ways of presenting its subject. It is not only creative, colorful, but
it is also symbolic, magical and mystical. That oftentimes lives us in a state of wonder,
amazement and at times bewildered how one has created such a magnificent work or
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what is the meaning behind the work. Some of the work is clear; others are not; that
we need to ponder on its symbols and meaning behind it; some artist use symbols to
present and send across a message or to represent a religion, people and even is used
to symbolize a country. What therefore are the ways on how an artist represents its
subject?

Presenting an art subject requires some tools and authority An artist may convey a
particular method or approach, and in order for his work to be understood there are
different ways in which this can be understood properly.

Art critics may vary in their thoughts, ideas and evaluation However, their conventions
are clear in presenting an art as a subject These are the common ways of presenting
art as a subject, (a) Realism, (b) Abstraction, (c) Surrealism, (d) Fauvism, (e) Dadaism,
(f) Expressionism (g) Futurism, and (h) Symbolism.

Realism

The common expression that says, what you see is what you get would best fit this art
Presentation. Artists portray subjects coming from nature, with the exact replica on
what the objects are. Trees, birds, and mountains with no modifications or any
changes; they are presented as they are.

Take the works of our National Artist for Visual Art, Fernando Cueto Amorsolo. What
common things do you see in his work? Largely his work has been dominated by
palayan, bukirin, bahay kubo, kalabaw and the like. As a realist, he tried to picture
out objectively his art. What artists commonly draw are images that are accurate and
real that does not need any interpretation. It is a way that an artist presents its work
as it normally appears in nature or for any of his subject, both in shapes, forms and
colors.

For other forms of art like in drama, the scenes will depict the realities of life The
splice of reality is seen through the actual conditions of man in the society For
example, during the Martial Law era, the struggles experienced by Filipinos were
written and put into action by the actors and actresses on stage More so, the emotions
portrayed are not mixed with any pretension thus, qualifying to be a good reflection of
what realism art is

Meanwhile, poetry pieces mirror lamentations of one’s emotions It records how man
displays his emotions toward his surroundings, fellowmen, societies and to his Creator
Figurative language still employed for poetry cannot be called such without it, as
flowery words are used to convey meaning Common themes reflected here include
sorrow, pain, sadness and even happiness. The fact remains that these emotions
manifest the truest emotions of the poet and that is the genuineness of his feelings
Realism becomes a “platform” for presenting actions and social conditions as what
they actually are; these are without any idealization or presentation in abstract form.

Abstraction/Abstract

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Have you had hard time understanding abstract art? What are the difficulties you
encountered? Is the meaning directly conveyed?

A student once submitted an artwork to his art instructor and the latter became
perplex on what was given to him. The visual art submitted is full of boxes, piled on
top of one another and the student entitled his work as, “Fishes.” And the student
explained to his instructor that it is the means of expressing himself.

Such scenario exhibits a good example of what Abstract art is.

Abstraction or abstract art finds its meaning with the artist The predisposition of
meanings is deposited within the maker of the work In the above example, one may
find difficulty in understanding the work but the artist here is given the task of
creating the essence of his work. He accounts for the imbued significance of his work.
As with the Fishes artwork, one cannot question why it was entitled that way for he
has the sole authority to name and give importance to his work

It is the manner or the process of simplifying and or re-organizing objects and

elements either with shapes or colors Hence, instead of sketching or presenting one’s
work in its normal or natural form, an artist used shapes instead of cubes, and
geometric shapes or just a splash of colors to present its subjects and meaning

Similarly, abstract art refers to the visual works that move beyond reality as
contrasted to realism that gives us the notion of what you see is what you get In
abstraction, artists provide an avenue wherein not only meanings are residing with
them but the totality of the work is moving away from what they really are What is
commonly manifested by abstraction artists is that the works are moving away from
the real-life object presentation. Some of the common abstraction art of presentation
are: cubism, distortion, mangling, and abstract expressionism.

Cubism

Cubism takes precedence as a highly influential visual art in the 20th Century Pablo
Picasso’s work became a landmark in this visual art presentation The common
characteristics of this art comprise the two dimensional surface of the picture plane,
that emphasizes the flat, and also rejects the traditional forms of foreshortening,
modeling, chiaroscuro and perspective.

The artists’ projection of cubism illustrated fragmented objects and these do not focus
on color, space, texture and space Not only that They used cone, sphere and cylinder
as pictorial elements of their desired outputs Other notable artist is Georges Braque.
His works became popular from 1907-1914.

Distortion

When there is an alteration of the shape, forms its original form like twisted or bent
out of shape from the regular condition, then that work of art is distortion This is
carried out in an object and even on a person This qualifies to be an artist’s technique,
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though not the desired outcome. More so, this is commonly used as an expressive
technique; rendering the significance of the point of emphasis on one aspect in
relation to other characteristics of the design.

Distorted paintings for example include a person’s body parts like nose, eyes, mouth
and face; while some artists portray superimposed buildings and landscapes and some
also exhibit altered to be miniscule.

In the process of distortion, the figures or subjects have been arranged in such a way
the proportions differ from that of the natural measurements either by twisting and
stretching. It is achieved for spirituality, power and authority.

Mangling

Imagine yourself seeing an artwork which is hacked with repeated blows, lacerated,
cut, and also mutilated Do you consider this a good image? This is not so depicted by
artists as these might not be totally appealing to the audience This work of art was
first introduced by the Dadaists artists around 1918 The common characteristics of
this presentation are the objects and persons who are severely injured, mutilated by
cutting, crushed, slashed, or disfigured.

Abstract Expressionism

Painters like Jackson Pollock (1912-1936) led the revolutionized art behind abstract
expressionism His works presented the so-called radical abstract styles, which
showcases the separation of line from color and reintroduces drawing and painting
These works have reinvented to define pictorial space.

This manner of art presentation is also known as color field or action painting because
work of art becomes an “event ” Gestural abstraction is also coined as another term for
this art for the reason that the artist’s brush strokes revealed his process The said
process serves as the subject of the art itself These are characteristics of messiness
and exceptionally energetic applications of paint which have been introduced into the
art scene after World War II Part of the distinguishing features of this art includes
spontaneity, free and personal emotional expression.

In order to attain this, artists show considerable freedom of execution and technique
with focus to the exploitation of the variable physical characteristics of paint to evoke
qualities of dynamism, violence, mystery, sensuousness and lyricism These
expressions have similarities in expressing the effect of the creative unconsciousness
in art.

Surrealism

It is a way of representing the subject by combining realism and distortion Here, one
proportion maybe real; another maybe distorted Historically, the Egyptians
represented their Gods in a surealistic form, were in one part represents an animal,
while another part is real like in their God Horus, the Sun God The head represents
that of a bird while the body is that of normal being, a man The Hindus is another in
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their God Ganesh The head is an elephant while the body is normal representing a
man.

Have you heard and seen one of the lines of a movie that says, “Oh my God, it is so
surreal?” This may be familiar to you, but how is this related to surrealism in art? The
presentation of artworks in surrealism involves a lot of contradictions of situations of
reality and that of absolute reality In a simpler understanding, surrealism is a coinage
of two terms as super realism Absolute reality or surreality worlds are the ideas of
artworks circulated here.

As an art movement, this has started in 1900s (between World Wars I and II), which
expresses the workings of the subconscious dimension of the mind fueled by fantastic
imagery and the subject matter with incongruous juxtaposition Representations on
the reaction against what was seen as destruction brought about by rationalism that
activated the horrors of World War I Considerably, surrealism has been used to
reunite the conscious and unconscious realms of experiences as the worlds of fantasy
and dreams are merged to the rational living This is largely influenced by Sigmund
Freud’s psychology His ideas espouse that mind is a very powerful tool
and whatever you imagine might exist in reality that could be attained by painters and
poets. Scholars believed that Freud has legitimized the significance of dreams and the
consciousness as manifestations of human desires and emotions As a result, some of
the surrealist works depict desire, repressed sexuality, and violence Hence, his ideas
provided inspiration to other artists.

Realms of surprise and mostly on the unconscious mind and dreams recur in these
works. Most of the imagery is perplexing, uncanny, and outlandish biomorphic visuals
Ultimately, art critics pointed out that not only visual arts dominated the scene but
also in the fields of film, literature, and even music and political ideologies, social
theory and philosophy.

Fauvism

In relation to the employment of colors as mentioned in symbolism art Fauvists also

employ colors in art presentation They use these colors as bright as they expressed
joy, happiness and freedom Conversely, they would likely not to use colors which are
dark since those emotions are dominating in their work Imagine a simple tree painted,
the leaves are colored reddish, the trunk with green, and the grass are orange; while
the sky is painted with shade of pink Fauve artists employ brilliancy in colors that are
pure, and these are aggressively applied straight to the canvass from the paint tubes
to create a sense of explosion These are becoming typical of a fauvism art

This art has largely been influenced by Henri Matisse and inspired by great artists
Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat and Paul Cezanne The artists
identified themselves as The Fauves or the “wild beasts”, were a group of loose French
painters that admired the first group of abstraction artists which works focused on
personal expression.

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Matisse led this group of Fauves and they shared the utilization of intense bright
colors for describing space and light as ways of communicating the emotional state of
the artists Through this, the presentation has become an antecedent to Expressionism
and Cubism as well as basis for future modes of abstraction

Dadaism

Have you seen a Mona Lisa portrait with her ears like that of an elf, with goatee and a
mustache like that of a Mexican style? This might not be a typical art presentation but
this is what Dadaism is all about.

Dadaism started as a protest against the arts in Zurich Switzerland Dada means
hobby horse which technically means non-sensical way of presenting art One theory
postulates that it came from a meeting of the group when a paper knife was stuck into
a French-German dictionary that pointed to the word ‘dada’, a French word for
hobbyhorse Further, this European artistic and literary movement promoted the
conventional cultural and aesthetic works identified by incongruity and travesty.

Dada works often show rejection of logic, zeroing on nonsense, intuition, and
irrationality Its origin is appearing to be unclear Its influence can be traced into
cubism, expression and futurism This has led the artists to express more due to their
anger as they perceived society’s senseless war and unjust condition Dada art
influenced literature, painting, sculpture, music photography, puppetry, and
performance art They have intended their art to express offensive and provoke artistry
and the political elites.

Expressionism

Works depicting the darker side of life are presented in this art presentation The
collective human emotions take precedence; art pieces depict tragedy, chaos, violence,
pathos, defeat and morbidity.

These works were first known in Germany during the first part of twentieth century
Historically, the term has been linked with the modern German art, also associated
with as German expressionism specifically the Brűcke and the Blaue Reiter groups
This has reached the American lands after the World War II

What characterizes expressionism is that the brushwork is typically free and the
applied paint has the tendency to be generous and textured highly The color is with
certainty intense and nonnaturalistic Further, artists let the viewers see the depiction
of subjects with swirling, swaying brushstrokes.

More so, the artists seek to picture subjective emotions and in effect viewers often see
this work as emotional and also mystical Common manifestations of this style are
identified through exaggeration, primitivism, jarring, violent, dynamic application of
formal elements and distortion. The artworks also project permanent tendency in
Germanic and Nordic art especially that of time of social change or spiritual crisis.

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This art presentation brings about new standards and evaluation of art Art critics
criticizedthis method as art targeted to come forth from within the artist, as opposed to
a projection of the external visual world Artists projected the modern city; among these
are alienated people as products of urbanization as capitalism is also taking shape in
the modern society.

Futurism

The modern day living characterized by technology, modernity, youth, and speed are
seen and observed in futurism works of art Common themes and objects seen here
include airplane, car and the urbanized city Advocacy of this art inculcates the thrust
of modern technology in order to express the dynamism and movement of modern life.

Modernists paved way the traditional concepts and replaced them with so much
energy of the machine age Artists concentrated on crafting dynamic uniqueness of
what lies ahead and they also manifest urbanity of portrayals.

Dynamism of the past-faced life was projected through movements or actions of speed
The observable use of lines of force and motion including blurring were dominant,
which methods were from the Cubism artists Adoption of technology aided these
artists in their massive quest to communicate their political, aesthetic and social
ideals through advancements in mass media, transportation and printing Thus, wider
dissemination of their works was done

Its influence and impact spread into the fields of painting, sculpture, interior, graphic
and urban design, film, textile, architecture, literature, ceramics, and even food
preparation.

Symbolism

Conversely compared to realism, symbolism art works possessed some difficulty at

understanding What accounts for this? Symbolism uses one thing to represent
something else in their representation.

Have you ever joined a poster making contest? What common elements have you
observed? More often than not, you will see a dove, a round figure at the middle then
at the bottom part; you will notice hands opening upward What are the meanings of
these? The bird then symbolizes peace; round figure represents the more commonly
known shape as the globe or earth and the hands indicate unity.

Furthermore, even the colors used in an artwork signify meanings and their utilization
convey significance in an artists’ work White for instance stands for purity, red for
violence and love in most instances, while black may mean darkness or something evil
These are but several of the characteristics being conveyed by symbolism in art.

EVALUATE
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After reading this module, try to assess your learning by answering the questions
below.

I. Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. What refers to the manner of presenting art by altering the shape in such a way
that the art differs from the natural measurements either by twisting and/or
stretching?
Abstraction
Cubism
Distortion
Mangling

2. What is given when the artist provided his personal meaning to his art work?
conventional meaning
factual meaning
objective meaning
subjective meaning

3. Which correctly describes the content of an art work?

It is impression of the audience.
It is the objects depicted by the art.
It is the objects not directly shown in the art work.
It is what the artist is trying to express and communicate.

4. What is the subject of the art work Blood Compact by Juan Luna?
commemorative events
common objects
human form
interesting animal

5. What is the source of subject of the art work Basket of Fruit by Michelangleo Merisi
da Caravaggio?
figure
mythology
nature
still life

II. In 5-10 sentences, support your answer to the following question.

Why do you think that some artists provide explanations to their works while others
prefer not to?

REFERENCE
S
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Cerbo, S. N., Gonong, G., Morales, G. S., Roman, L. (2010). An Introduction to the Humanities: The
Arts. Suatengco Publishing House. Caloocan City
Sedgwick, John P. Jr. (1959). Art Appreciation Made Simple. Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden
City, New York
Sonsona, R., Pamintuan, M., Balabagno, J., Echem, E. (2020). An Eye for Art Appreciation: Perception
and Expression. C and E Publishing. Quezon City

Prepared:

BINGO L. ALIGO

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