LESSON 1 ASSUMPTIONS AND NATURE OF
ART IS NOT NATURE
ARTS
What is Art?
 Art is something that is perennially around us.
 Some people may deny having to do with arts but it is
indisputable that life presents us with many forms of
and opportunities for communion with the arts.
 The word ART comes from the ancient Latin, ars
which means a “craft or specialized form of skill, like
carpentry or smithying or surgery” (Collingwood,
1938).
 Ars in Medieval Latin came to mean something
different. It meant “any special form of book-
learning, such as grammar or logic, magic or
astrology” (Collingwood, 1983).
 The fine arts would come to mean “not delicate or
highly skilled arts, but “beautiful arts” (Collingwood,
1983).
 “The humanities constitute one of the oldest and most
important means of expression developed by man”
(Dudley et al., 1960). Human history has witnessed
how man evolved not just physically but also
culturally, from cave painters to men of exquisite
paintbrush users of the present.
ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
1.ART IS UNIVERSAL
 Timeless, spanning generations and continents
through and through.
 Misconception: Artistic made long time ago.
 Age is not a factor in determining art.
 Literature has provided key words of art. lliad and the
Odyssey are the two Greek Epics that one’s being
taught in school.
 The Sanskrit pieces Mahabharata and Ramanaya are
also staples in this fields.
 In every country and in every generation, there is
always art. Often times, people feel that what is
considered artistic are only those which have been
made long time ago. This is a misconception. Age is
not a factor in determining art. “An art is not good
because it is old, but old because it is good” (Dudley
et al., 1960)
 In the Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and
Francisco Balagtas are not being read because they
are old.
 Florante at Laura never fails to teach high school
students the beauty of love, one that is universal and
pure.
 Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, has
always captured the imagination of the young with its
timeless lessons.
 When we recite the Psalms, we feel in communion
with King David as we feel one with him in his
conversation with God.
 When we listen to a Kundiman or perform folk
dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino ancestors
while away their time in the past.
2.
 Art, not directed by representation of reality, is a
perception of reality.
 In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear
some consumers of local movies remark that these
movies produced locally are unrealistic. They
contend that local movies work around certain
formula to the detriment of substance and faithfulness
to reality of movies.
 Paul Cezanne, a french painted a scene from reality
entitled Well and Grinding Wheel in the Forest of the
Chateau Noir.
3.ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE
 It does not full detail but just an experience. Actual
doing of something.
 Getting this far without a satisfactory definition of art
can be quite weird for some. For most people, art
does not require a full definition. Art is just
experience. By experience, we mean the “actual doing
of something” (Dudley et al., 1960) and it also
affirmed that art depends on experience, and if one is
to know art, he must know it not as fact or
information but as an experience.
 A work of an art then cannot be abstracted from
actual doing. In order to know what an artwork, we
have to sense it, see and hear it.
 An important aspect of experiencing art is its being
highly personal, individual, and subjective. In
philosophical terms, perception of art is always a
value judgment. It depends on who the perceive is,
his tastes, his biases, and what he has inside.
LESSON 2 FUNCTIONS OF ART AND
PHILOSOPHY
FUNCTIONS OF ART
Functions of art is an inquiry on what art is for. When it comes
to functions, different art form come with distinctive functions,
some may be functional more than others. The value of the art
lies in the practical benefits from it. One may look at the value
based on its specific purpose or for personal.
1.PERSONAL FUNCTIONS OF ART
 Personal functions of art is highly subjective and
depends on the artist who created the art. An art may
be created for expressing self, for entertainment or for
other purposes.
2.SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF ART
 If an art is opposed to personal interest and for
collective interest it is considered to have a social
function. Art may convey, message such as to support,
to protest, contestation and other messages an artist
intends to carry at his work.
 Political Art is a very common example of an art
with a social function.
 Art can depict social conditions such as photography
of industrialization and poverty.
 Performance art like plays serves social functions as
it rouses emotions for a common situation a society
has.
3.PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS OF ART
 This are artworks that are crafted in order to serve
physical purpose such as jars, plates, and jewelries.
 Architecture, jewelry-making, interior design all
serves physical functions.
PS: Other functions of art may serve culture, history and
religion. Music is an artwork used for different purposes such
events for culture, historical and religious gatherings.
Sculpture, poems, spoken poetry, movies and other form of
arts are used for its specific functions.
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ART
1.ART AS AN IMITATION
 In Plato’s The Republic, paints a picture of artists as
imitators and art is mere imitations. In his
metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this
world are only copies of the original, the eternal, and
the true entities can be found in the World of Forms.
 Art is just an imitation of imitation. A painting is just
an imitation of nature, which is also an imitation of
realty in the World of Forms.
2.ART AS A REPRESENTATION
 Aristotle, agreed with Plato, however he considered
art as an aid to philosophy in revealing the truth.
 Art represents version of reality. In Arestotelian
worldview, art serves two particular purposes: art
allows for the experience of pleasure and art has an
ability to be instructive and teach its audience things
about life.
3.ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT
 Emmanuel Kant, in his Critique of Judgement,
considered the judgement of beauty, the cornerstone
of art, as something universal despite its subjectivity.
He recognized that judgement of beauty is subjective.
4.ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION
 According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays a huge role in
communication to its audience’s emotions that the
artist previously experienced
 Art communicates emotions.
LESSON 3 ARTS AND ARTISANS
 Artist is an art practitioner such as painter, sculptor,
choreographer dancer, musician, a poet who produces
or creates indirectly functional arts with aesthetic
value using imagination.
 Artisan is a craftsman, such as carpenter, carver,
plumber, blacksmith, weaver embroider and etc. who
produces directly functional and/or decorative arts.
FAMOUS PERSONALTIES OF ART AND THEIR
WORKS
1.Leonardo da Vinci
Born: April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy
Profile: Painter, Architect, Sculptor, Inventor,
Military Engineer, and Draftsman
Died: May 2, 1519, Amboise, France
Motto: "He who thinks little, errs much"
Famous Works: The Last Supper, Mona Lisa,
Vitruvian Man
2.Vincent van Gogh
Born: March 30, 1853, Zundert, Netherlands
Profile: Painter
Died: July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Motto: "I dream of painting and then I paint my
dream."
Famous Works: The Starry Night, Sunflowers, Irises
3.Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Born: March 6, 1475, Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Profile: Painter, Architect, Poet
Died: February 18, 1564, Rome, Italy
Motto: "Genius is eternal patience."
Famous Works: David, Creation of Adam, St. Peter’s
Basilica
4.Claude Monet
Born: November 14, 1840, Paris, France
Profile: Painter, Philosopher
Died: December 5, 1926, Giverny, France
Motto: "The richness I achieve comes from Nature,
the source of my inspiration."
Famous Works: Water Lilies, Impression, Sunrise,
Rouen Cathedral Series
5.Frida Kahlo
Born: July 6, 1907, Mexico City, Mexico
Profile: Painter
Died: July 13, 1954, Mexico City, Mexico
Motto: "I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint
my own reality."
Famous Works: The Two Fridas, Self-Portrait with
Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, The Broken
Column
6.Georgia O’Keeffe
Born: November 15, 1887, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin,
USA
Profile: Painter
Died: March 6, 1986, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Motto: "The days you work are the best days."
Famous Works: Black Irises III, Cow’s Skull: Red,
White and Blue, Radiator Building Night, New York
7.Edgar Degas
Born: July 19, 1834, Paris, France
Profile: Painter, Sculptor
Died: September 27, 1917, Paris, France
Motto: "Art is not what you see, but what you make
others see."
Famous Works: The Absinthe Drinker, The Dance
Class, The Bellelli Family
8.Edvard Munch
Born: December 12, 1863, Ådalsbruk, Norway
Profile: Painter
Died: January 23, 1944, Oslo, Norway
Motto: "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow
and I am in them and that is eternity."
 MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUES
 Mediums is the mode of expression in which the
concept, idea or message is conveyed. These are the
materials which are used by an artist to interpret his
feelings or thoughts.
 Technique is the manner in which artist controls his
medium to achieve the desired effect. It has
something to do with way he manipulates his
mediums to express his idea.
1.VISUAL ARTS
 Are those mediums that can be seen and which
occupy space.
 Examples of visual arts are paintings, drawings,
photography and sculpture.
2.CURATION
 An art curator is in charge of managing collections of
works of art for a museum, foundation or an art
gallery.
LESSON 4 ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
ART
SIX (6) INTEGRAL COMPONENTS IN THE
CREATION OF A DESIGN
1.LINES
 Vertical: Represents dignity, formality, stability and
strength.
 Horizontal: Represents calm, peace and relaxation.
 Diagonal: Represents action, activity, excitement and
movement.
 Curved: Represents freedom, the natural, having the
appearance of softness and creates a soothing feeling
or mood
2.COLOR
 Color has an immediate and profound effect on a
design. Colors can affect how humans feel and act.
 Warm Colors (Reds, oranges, yellows)
 Cool Colors (Blues, purples, greens)
3.FORM/SHAPE
 The shape, outline, or configuration of anything
(Squares, Circles, Ellipses, Ovals, Rectangles,
Triangles)
4.SPACE
 It can enlarge or reduce the visual space.
 Types
 Open, uncluttered spaces
 Cramped, busy
5.TEXTURE
 The surface look or feel of an object.
 Types
 Smooth surface: Reflects more light and,
therefore, is a more intense color.
 Rough surface: Absorbs more light, appears
darker.
6.VALUE
 The relative lightness or darkness of a color
 Methods
 Shade: Degree of darkness of a color
 Tint: A pale or faint variation of a color
FIVE (5) PRINCIPLES THAT ENCOMPASS AN
INTERESTING DESIGN
1.BALANCE
 Parts of the design are equally distributed to create a
sense of stability. There can be physical as well as
visual balance.
2. RHYTHM
 It is the repeated use of line, shape, color, texture or
pattern.
3.EMPHASIS
 Emphasis is the most personal aspect of a design. The
feature that attracts viewers. It can be achieved
through size, placement, color and use of lines.
4.PROPORTION AND SCALE
 It is the comparative relationships between elements
in a design with respect to size.
5.UNITY
 Unity is applying consistent use of lines, color, and
texture within a design.
LESSON 5 HISTORY OF ART
HISTORY OF ASIAN ART
Asian art is diverse and rich, spanning thousands of years and
dozens of countries. It is known for its ritual bronzes, beautiful
ceramics, jades, textiles, poetic painted landscapes, garden
design, elaborate goldwork, extraordinary temples, shrines,
pagodas and stupas, woodblock prints, shadow puppets and
the highest art form in East Asian art—calligraphy. Enduring
Asian treasures include works such as
Fan Kuan’s Travellers among Mountains and Streams,
Katsushika Hokusai’s Fugaku sanjurokkei (‘Thirty-six views of
Mt Fuji’) series, and Basawan’s Akbar Restraining the Enraged
Elephant Hawa’i. Today the impact of Asia on contemporary
art is immense. Since the 1990s, Asian contemporary art has
grown exponentially due to a mushrooming of regional
biennials and triennials, new contemporary art museums, and
the international recognition of artists such as Chinese-born
Cai Guo-Qiang, Japanese-born Miwa Yanagi, Korean artist
Suh Do-Ho, and the Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
HISTORY OF WESTERN ART
Art historians describe the history of Western art in terms of
successive periods and or movements, including Classical,
Medieval, Byzantine, Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroquem
Rococo, Neolassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism,
Modernism and Postmodernism.
 HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ARTS
 The history of Philippine art is describe according to
Philippine Art Period Timeline
 Pre-Colonial Art Period
 Spanish Colonial Art Period
 American Colonial Art Period
 Post-Colonial Art Period
 Contemporary Art Period
PRE-COLONIAL ART PERIOD
 Age of Horticulture/Neolithic period (6185 to 4400
BC)
 Metal Age (3190 to 190 BC)
 Iron Age(200BC to 1000BC)
 Local communities are being estyablished and art
starts to go beyond mere craft such as stone weapons
and jewelry but starts to have decorative elements,
meaning and context.
 Pre-colonial traditional art have religious symbols,
everyday activity such as fishing, farming, etc., or a
specific decorative art pattern to the community.
 It has either the influence of local region (animistic)
or Islamic based.
 There is also an exchange of art aesthetics and art
processes with the Chinese and other Asian countries
who frequents as traders with our indigenous groups.
 Other pre-colonial art are pottery, weaving, tattoo,
jewelry, carving and metal craft.
SPANISH COLONIAL ART PERIOD (1521-1898)
 Introduced formal painting, sculpture and architecture
which was inspired by the Byzantine, Gothic,
Baroque and Rococo art styles.
 Most art works are religious(Catholic) based.
 Spanish colonialism lives on with the Filipino
“antique” furniture and carving designs.
 In the formation of elite Filipino class, the illustrado,
pave way for the rich locals to study abroad, a more
“academic” and “western” has been learned.
 The Filipino Classicism is formed that borrows the
Neo-Clacissim, Romanticism, and even a hint of
Impressionism.
AMERICAN COLONIAL ART PERIOD (1898-1946)
 The American brought in Education and Value
Formation, with both following the “American way of
life”(Allice Guillermo,Sining Biswal,1994,p.4)
 Art illustration, advertising and commercial design
gained popularly and incorporated in Fine arts.
 Painting themes still largely favored genre paintings,
landscapes and still life; portraits are reserved for
high ranking officials with a more academic approach
to make the subject more formal.
POST-COLONIAL ART PERIOD (1946-1986)
 Art after the War: The growing and Expanding
Philippine Art
 Philippine Modern Art (1946 to 1970)
 Philippine Post Modern Art (1970-1980s)
 Pop Art, Installation Art and Performance Art were
dominating the post-modern period of the Philippine
Art.
PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ART (1980s To
PRESENT)
 The on-set of the sudden rise of personal computers
and new technology created a new art medium for the
arts and human expression. But there were also
countless revivals of old style being done. This
started a new direction for the art.
Lesson 6 Soul-Making
Soul-making is an alternative venue for knowing ourselves
and looking into the depths and real meaning of what we are
doing for everyday life. It develops our inner artist and it helps
us to communicate with people, understanding culture and
embodying tolerance and peace. It opens door for multiple
intelligences and expressions.
SOUL-MAKING: MAKING AND DERIVING MEANING
FROM ART
 In order for the human to make sense of language and
derive meanings from words, semantic, and
grammatical rules are important elements to be
considered.
 In order to people to make sense of the work, it
require understanding the visual elements where art
was the grounded on, specially the principle of design,
 Important to note the audience of the said artwork
must have certain level of awareness to the style,
artwork, form, and content of the said work.
 Form- is the totally of the artwork, which includes the
textures, colors, and shapes utilized by the artist.
 The content of an artwork includes not only form but
also its subject matter and its underlying meanings or
themes.
IMPROVISATION
 Doing something without prior preparation.
 There is a decision to act upon something that may
not necessarily be planned.
 Some would say that it is a reaction against the
stiffness in the arts during the twentieth century,
because it blurs the line of reality and that origin of
that imagination.
 Infusing spontaneity and improvisation adds up to the
totality of the work of art.
 It allows the artist to explore and think about how the
audience can actually be a part of the work in itself.
APPROPRIATION
 The practice of using pre-existing objects and images
in an artwork without really altering the originals.
 This notion paved the way for the emergence of
appropriation artist who seem to promote the idea
that authorship relies on the viewer.
 Traditionally, forgery can be classified into two
forms: outright copies of existing works and pastiches,
which are works that bring together elements from a
work and infusing them to a new work.
 The intentions of the appropriation artist are often
questioned since issues of plagiarism or forgery
sometimes arise, because some would argue that the
reason behind this is that they want the audience to
recognize the images they copied.