LESSON 1. WHAT IS ART: INTRODUCTION
• Art is something that is perennially around us. Some
people may deny having to do with the arts but it is
indisputable that life presents us with many forms of and
opportunities for communion with the arts.
Why Study the Humanities?
• 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, 1938). It was only
during the Renaissance Period
• "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
ART IS UNIVERSAL.
• 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).
• Art has been crafted by all people regardless of origin, time,
and place. It stayed on because it is liked and enjoyed by
people continuously.
• A great piece of work will never be obsolete.
ART IS NOT NATURE.
• Paul Cézanne- Well and Winding Path in the Park of
Château Noir
• Art is man's way of interpreting nature.
• What we find in nature should not be expected to be
present in art too.
• Art is like each of these men's view of the elephant. It is
based on an individual's subjective experience of nature. It is
not meant, after all, to accurately define what the elephant
really like in nature.
• Artists are not expected to duplicate nature just as even
scientists with their elaborate laboratories cannot make
nature.
• What reasons might the artist have in creating something?
In whatever work of art, one should always ask why the
artist made it. What is it that he wants to show?
ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE.
• art does not require a full definition. Art is just experience.
By experience, we mean the "actual doing of something"
(Dudley et al., 1960).
• When one says that he has an experience of something, he
often means that he knows what that something is about.
• When one claims that he has experienced falling in love,
getting hurt, and bouncing back, he in effect claims that he
knows the (sometimes) endless cycle of loving.
• When one asserts having experienced preparing a
particular recipe, he in fact asserts knowing how the recipe
is made.
• Knowing a thing is different from hearing from others what
the said thing is.
• Art is always an... experience. Unlike fields of knowledge
that involve data, art is known by experiencing.
• A painter cannot claim to know how to paint if he has not
tried holding a brush. A sculptor cannot produce a work of
art if a chisel is foreign to him, Dudley et al. (1960) affirmed
that "[a]ll art depends on experience, and if one is to know
art, he must know
• In order to know what an artwork is, we have to sense it,
see or hear it, and see AND hear it. To fully appreciate our
national hero's monument, one must go to Rizal Park and
see the actual Sculpture.
Let's Wrap It Up
• Humanities and the art have always been part of man's
growth and civilization. Since the dawn of time, man has
always tried to express his innermost thoughts and feelings
about reality through creating art.
• Three assumptions on art are its universality, its not being
nature, and its need for experience.
• Art is present in every part of the globe and in every period
time. This is what is meant by its universality.
• Art not being nature, not even attempting to simply mirror
nature, is the second assumption about art. Art is always a
creation of the artist, not nature.
• Finally, without experience, there is no art. The artist has to
be foremost, a perceiver who is directly in touch with art.
LESSON 2. Art Appreciation: Creativity, Imagination, and
Expression
Art Appreciation as a Way of Life
• Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous French philosopher of the
twentieth century, described the role of art as a creative
work that depicts the world in a completely different light
and perspective, and the source is due to human freedom
(Greene, 1995).
• Each artwork beholds beauty of its own kind, the kind that
the artist sees and wants the viewers to perceive.
• refining one's ability to appreciate art allows him to deeply
understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the
beauty it possesses (Collins & Riley, 1931).
• In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also
exercise and develop his taste for things that are fine and
beautiful.
• Learning to appreciate art, no matter what vocation or
profession you have, will lead to a fuller and more
meaningful life (Collins & Riley, 1931).
The Role of Creativity in Art Making
• Creativity requires thinking outside the box. It is often used
to solve problems that have never occurred before, conflate
function and style, and simply make life a more unique and
enjoyable experience.
• In art, creativity is what sets apart one artwork from
another.
• A creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another
artist's work.
Art as a Product of Imagination, Imagination as a Product of
Art
• Albert Einstein - "Imagination is more important than
knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and
understand, while imagination embraces the entire world,
and all there ever will be to know and understand."
• Imagination is not constrained by the walls of the norm, but
goes beyond that.
• Through imagination, one is able to craft something bold,
something new, and something better in the hopes of
creating something that will stimulate change, allows
endless possibilities
• In the same way that imagination produces art, art also
inspires imagination.
Art as Expression
• An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he
expresses it.
• Robin George Collingwood, an English philosopher who is
best known for his work in aesthetics, explicated in his
publication The Principles of Art (1938) that what an artist
does to an emotion is not to induce it, but express it.
• Expression, on the other hand, individualizes. An artist has
the fondom to express himself the way he wants to. Hence,
there is no specific technique in expression. This makes
people's art not a reflection of what is outside or external to
them, but a reflection of their inner selves.
• expressing emotions is something different from
describing emotions.
There are countless ways of expressing oneself through art.
The following list is included, but is not limited to, popular
art expressions
• Visual Arts - Creations that fall under this category are
those that appeal to the sense of sight and are mainly visual
in nature.
- Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to
reproduce things that they have seen in the way that they
perceived them (Collins & Riley, 1931).
- Some mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings,
letterings, printing. sculptures, digital imaging, and more.
• Film - refers to the art of putting together successions of
still images in order to create an illusion of movement.
- focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value and is
considered as both an art and an industry.
- can be created by using one or a combination of some or
all of these techniques: motion-picture camera (also known
as movie camera), animation techniques, Computer-
Generated Imagery (CGI), and more.
• Performance art - is a live art and the artist's medium is
mainly the human body which he or she uses to perform, but
also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or
sound.
- It usually consists of four important elements: time, where
the performance took place, the performer's or performer's
body, and a relationship between the audience and the
performer(s) (Moma Learning, n,d.)
• Poetry Performance - is an art form where the artist
expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or
camera, but expresses them through words.
- It uses a word's emotional, musical, and spatial values that
go beyond its literal meaning to narrate, emphasize, argue,
or convince.
- These words, combined with movements, tone, volume,
and intensity of the delivery.
• Architecture - not all buildings are beautiful. Some
buildings only embody the functionality they need, but the
structure, lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully
expressed.
- not all buildings can be considered architecture.
- Buildings should embody these three important elements-
plan, construction, and design-if they wish to merit the title
architecture (Collins & Riley, 1931).
• Dance - is a series of movements that follows the rhythm
of the music accompaniment.
- Dancing is a creative form that allows people to freely
express themselves. It has no rules. You may say that
choreography does not allow this, but in art expression.
• Literary Art - Artists who practice literary arts use words-
not paint, musical instruments, or chisels to express
themselves and communicate emotions to the readers.
- Simply constructing a succession of sentences in a
meaningful manner is not literary art.
- It focuses on writing using a unique style, not following a
specific format or norm. It may include both fiction and non-
fiction such as novels, biographies, and poems.
• Theater - uses live performers to present accounts or
imaginary events before a live audience. Theater art
performances usually follow a script, though they should not
be confused with literary arts.
- Much like in filmmaking. theater also considers several
elements such as acting, gesture, lighting, sound effects,
musical score, scenery, and props.
- Similar to performance art, since theater is also a live
performance, the participation of the viewer is an important
element in theater arts.
• Applied arts - is incorporating elements of style and design
to everyday items with he aim of increasing their aesthetical
value.
- Industrial design, interior design, fashion design, and
graphic design are considered appled arts.
- Through exploration and expression of ideas, consideration
of the needs, and careful choice of materials and techniques,
artists are able to combine functionality and style.
Let's Wrap It Up
• Art is a product of a man's creativity, imagination, and
expression.
• An artwork may be inspired by nature or other works of art,
but an artist invents his own forms and patterns due to what
he perceives as beautiful and incorporates them in creating
his masterpiece.
• Perhaps not everyone can be considered an artist, but
surely, all are spectators of art, which gives us all a role in
the field of art appreciation.
•Refining one's ability to appreciate art allows him to deeply
understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the
beauty it possesses.
• Creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another. A
creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another
artist's work. He does not imitate the lines, flaws, colors, and
patterns in recreating nature.
• While through imagination, an artist is able to craft
something bold, something new, and something better in the
hopes of creating something that will stimulate change. In
the same way that imagination produces art, art also
inspires imagination.
• Lastly, through expression, an artist is able to explore his
own emotions while at the same time, create something
beautiful out of it. Expressing emotions is something
different from describing emotions. Description actually
destroys the idea of expression, as it classifies the emotion,
making it ordinary and predictable. Expression, on the other
hand, individualizes the artist.
Some forms of art expression include visual arts, film,
performance art, poetry performance, architecture, dance,
literary arts, theater arts, and applied arts.
LESSON 3. Functions and Philosophical Perspectives on Art
• Greek philosopher Aristotle claimed that every particular
substance in the world has an end, or lelos in Greek, which
translates into "purpose"
• Functions of Art
When one speaks of function, one is practically talking about
the use of the object whose function is in question.
• An inquiry on the function of art is an inquiry on what art is
for Alternatively, the answer to the question "what is it for is
the function of whatever "It" in the question refers to.
• Does Art Always Have to be Functional?
- While it has been shown that most arts are functional, still
there are some which are not. The value of a work of art
does not depend on function but on the work itself.
- A functional object cannot be claimed to be beautiful
unless it can perform its function sufficiently
• Philosophical Perspectives on Art
• Art as an Imitation
- In Plato's metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this
world are only copies of the original, the eternal, and the true
entities that can only be found in the World of Forms
- Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two
reasons; they appeal to the emotion rather than to the
rational faculty of men and they imitate rather than lead on
to reality.
- For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty
replacement for the real entities that can only be attained
through reason.
•Art as a Representation
- Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy in revealing
truth.
- The kind of imitation that art does is not antithetical to the
reaching of fundamental truths in the world.
- Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another
imitation, Aristotle conceived of art as representing possible
versions of reality.
• Art as a Disinterested Judgment
- Kant mentioned that judgment of beauty, and therefore, art,
is innately autonomous from specific interests.
- It is the form of art that is adjudged by one who perceives
art to be beautiful or more so, sublime.
- Kant recognized that judgment of beauty is subjective.
• Art as a Communication of Emotion
- Art then serves as a language, a communication device
that articulates feelings and emotions that are otherwise
unavailable to the audience.
- In the same way that language communicates information
to other people, art communicates emotions.
- In listening to music, in watching an opera, and in mading
poems, the audience is at the receiving end of the artist
communicating his feelings and emotions.
• Let's Wrap It Up
- Art has remained relevant in our daily lives because most
of it has played some form of function for man. Since the
dawn of the civilization, art has been at the forefront of
giving color to man's existence.
- The different functions of art may be classified as either
personal, social, or physical.
- An art's function is personal if it depends on the artist
herself or sometimes still, the audience of the art.
- There is a social function in art if and when it has a
particular social function, when it addresses a collective
need of a group of people.
- Physical function, finally, has something to do with direct,
tangible uses of art. Not all products of art have function.
This should not disqualify them as art though.
- As mentioned and elucidated by some of the most
important thinkers in history, art may serve either as
imitation, representation, a disinterested judgment, or simply
a communication of emotion.
LESSON 4. Subject and Content
- In the field of the sciences, experimentation is the key to
proving a hypothesis or a larger theory.
- In the arts, there are also observable qualities that the
artwork holds that will point to its subject, and sometimes
even to its content In order to flesh out what the subject of
the artwork is.
• Types of Subject
- Portraits such as the "Mona Lisa" are good examples of
what is called representational art.
A. Representational art - These types of art have subjects
that refer to objects or events occurring in the real world.
Often, it is also termed figurative art, because as the name
suggests, the figures depicted are easy to make out and
decipher. Despite not knowing who Mona Lisa is, it is clear
that the painting is of a woman that is realistically-
proportioned.
B. Non-representational art - There were no clear figures that
jot out from the canvas: there were only drips and splashes.
often termed non-figurative art
- does not make a reference to the real world, whether it is a
person, place, thing, or even a particular event. It is stripped
down to visual elements such as shapes, lines, and colors
that are employed to translate a particular feeling, emotion,
and even concept.
• Non-representational Art and Abstract Art
- One source of confusion is the notion that non-
representational art is the same as abstract art. This is
essential to discuss because it introduces the fact that
representational art and non-representational art is not a
clear-cut divide; rather, they exist in a spectrum.
- Abstract art is in itself a departure from reality, but the
extent of that departure determines whether it has reached
the end of the spectrum, which is non- representationality--a
complete severance from the world.
- A proponent of non-representational art was Russian artist
Vasily Kandinsky. Although his chosen art form was
paintings, he likened non-representational art to music, an
art form that he was also very keen to.
- He asserted that with sounds, musicians are able to evoke
imagery in their listeners or audiences, Object-free, he
alludes to the sounds and spiritual experiences that music
makes possible in his paintings.
• Sources and Kinds of Subject
- it is important to note that these two are often inextricably
related. Often, even a singular source of inspiration can yield
multiple translations. A good starting point is, of course, the
nature.
- Artists throughout history have explored diverse ways of
representing nature: from plants to animals; the qualities of
bodies of water and the terrain of landmasses; and even the
perceivable cycles and changing of seasons.
- Nature - Vincent van Gogh - He saw art and nature as
inseparable, often finding solace and happiness in painting
in it and painting from it (landscapes).
- landscapes and seascapes - Claude Menet, Camille
Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, and JMW Turner - In the Philippines,
National Aists for Painting Fernando Amorsolo and Fabian
de la Rosa gained prominence from their painted rural
scenes such as women in the fields gathering harvest.
- nature into smaller parts - Jan van Kessel the Elder - stiff
lives and small-scale, highly detailed studies, and scientific
illustrations of flowers. insects, shells, fruits, garlands, and
bouquets
- Greek and Roman mythology - from episodes that transport
the viewer to heroic encounters of Achilles and Aeneas;
warnings about man's folly like the vanity of Icarus; the wit
and cunning of Odysseus; the beauty of Aphrodite and the
athleticism of Myron.
- literature - gave faces to Greek and Roman deities or the
gods and goddesses whose fates are seemingly as tragic as
those of men.
- wall paintings or frescos and sculptural works such as
busts, statuaries, and ceramics and pottery, among others.
- distinct relationship with a higher controlling power. If the
belief systern of Greeks and Romans was polytheism with a
multitude of gods and goddesses, the Judeo-Christian
tradition stems from a belief in a lone creator of the universe
or what is called monotheism.
This tradition had an immense influence in Western
civilization especially in art. Guided by a host of styles and
techniques, various media and art forms were also
experimented with paintings, frescos, church architecture
sarcophagus, icons and other carvings, vestments, tapestry,
illuminated manuscripts, and other sacred scriptures,
among others.
- Islam - practicing Jews and Christians were allowed to
depict God and other important biblical figures
- hybrid between literature and sacred text is India's
miniature paintings -In Central India, the kind of art that was
produced was deeply rooted in Vedic texts such as
Upanishads, Puranas, and other important texts like the
Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. These paintings
were small but were highly pictorial, stylized, and employed
a good contrast of colors. Some artists also included verse
from the epics as part of the cartouche which added interest
and meaning to the paintings.
- Historically significant events particularly in the affairs of
humanity - are abundant references for art production. From
early breakthroughs such as the discovery of fire and the
overthrow of geocentric theory in favor of a sun-centered
universe, succeeding advancements brought about by
discovery, innovation, and man's incessant search for glory
plotted a dynamic course of history.
- history of art, it is important to remember that the source
and kind of subjects were not merely a product of the artist's
inclination and choice.
- A closer examination of the various art movements and
artworks created within those movements will indicate that
notions of freedom and independence, which are presumed
to be enjoyed by artists, were not without limits or
restrictions.
- History - as a resource for artists in search of subjects,
brings into consideration events that are familiar and
sometimes even common or shared in world context. These
works serve as documentary and commemorative artworks
that illustrate subjects such as important leaders and
figures
• Content in Art
- subject may simply be referred to as the "what-what is
readily seen and relates to the artwork, its inspiration, and
the many kinds of translation. But apart from what is made
explicit, to recognize and grasp the message of the artwork,
the viewer may sometimes need to go beyond what is visible.
Why was the artwork created in the first place? When this
question is asked, we are after the meaning or message that
is expressed or communicated by the artwork.
- To take on the challenge of understanding the content of
art, it must be reiterated that there are various levels of
meaning.
- factual meanibg - pertains to the most rudimentary level of
meaning for it may be extracted from the identifiable or
recognizable forms in the artwork and understanding how
these elements relate to one another.
- Conventional meaning - pertains to the acknowledged
interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, symbols
other cyphers as bases of its meaning. These conventions
are established through time strengthened by recurrent use
and wide acceptance by its viewers or audience and
scholars who study them.
- subjectivities meaning - a variety of meaning may arise
when a particular work of art is read. These meanings stem
from the viewer's or audience's circumstances that come
into play when engaging with art
LESSON 5 Artists and Artisans
Artists have treaded a long history. Their roots can likewise
be traced in one of the major milestones in human
civilization.
The impulse to create is at the core of human civilization,
much like the impulse to communicate through language.
Early on, artists were embedded in the development of
culture, and in turn, art was nurtured by the varying cultures
in which it existed.
The works produced varied from the prosaic to those that
explored a wide range of aesthetic possibilities.
It was in this light that artists worked and most of the time,
the products were considered not as artworks at all but
rather as craft or placed under some other category.
The use of the word "embedded" may be taken to mean that
what was created automatically circulated in the operations
of society and was not integral to an art object that the
identity of its maker be known.
• The Artisan and the Guilds
Museums are packed with numerous artifacts and
interesting objects from all over the world that have survived
centuries for us all to see
Perhaps what made the difference was the materials,
medium, and the principles behind the process of their
creation.
Another contributory factor is the emergence of technology
and knowledge in managing and conserving all of these
objects and structures, enabling the retention of the integrity
of the artwork and the intention of the artist in terms of the
design
Craftsmen and builders in the past did not have
sophisticated terminologies and principles that architects
and engineers abide by today. Yet, they fulfilled overlapping
roles such as the draftsman, architect, engineer, and even as
the builder, What they had was a sense on how materials
behaved. how the environment, light, and weather patterns
affected structures, and other more intuitive principles of
creation.
What is meant here is a kind of formalization of craft
education in which regulation was set in place.
Here, skills qualification was needed for an apprentice to
register under a particular craft guild. These guilds were
prevalent during the Middle Ages. particularly during the
thirteenth to fifteenth century, where towns had formalized.
groups of artisans or craftsmen who took on a particular
specialization or trade: shoemakers, textile and glass
workers, carpenters, carvers, masons, armorers, and
weapon-makers, among others.
Here, the practice of artists was not grounded on the idea of
individual capacities or success; rather, in the commitment
to work together as a collective, Guilds were a type of social
fellowship, an association structured with rules, customs,
rights, and responsibilities.
A master artisan or craftsman would then be open to hiring
apprentices who would be under his tutelage and instruction.
In these guilds, artistry and technology flourished under one
roof. This brought to light various ways of thinking about
transferring knowledge and skills by visualizing and
articulating the principles, processes, and tricks of the trade
both in words and in print through manuals and publications.
• The Artist and His Studio
Moving back to Europe, the big shift that propelled the
evolution of the pivotal role of the artist in the arts started
during the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance. period. Most
pivotal developments included the transformation of the
craftsman to an artist or an independent artist the
widespread patronization of secular art (alongside the
continuous production of works with religious subjects), and
the assertion of cognition, the will, and individuality. Before
the Renaissance Period, artworks were left unsigned. Artists
claiming authorship for their works by affixing- their mark
onto the surfaces of their paintings were a big milestone in
the history of the artist. Combined, these resulted in a wider
variety of artworks, not just in form, but more so in style and
technique. The site that saw this shift was a very personal
space for the artist himself, which is the studio,
Today, artist studios have been a place of interest for the
public. It is interesting 10 see and learn where creativity
manifests itself, especially since an artist's studio is an
extension of the artist himself. The studio model dates back
from the Renaissance Therein, artists flexed their
relationship with their patron as a site where negotiations
and works were made. There were those whose work
stations were segmented into two, the studiolo and the
bottega, the latter is where the work usually happened
Apprentices studied under masters, assisting with menial
tasks or the preparation of the painting surfaces, In the
seventeenth century, these demarcations became lose,
eventually merging together9. This was especially true with
artists who explored oil painting techniques whose long
process can be described by cycles of mixing, layering. and
drying of paint. This format remained throughout the latter
part of the 1800s.
• Other Players in the World of Art
Storage Manager Studio , Studio Manager Collector, Art Fair
Director , Gallery Assistant Art Handler Artis Gallery Director
, Gallerisor, Curator , Critic , Museum Press officer ,
Museum BMuseumEducator, Museum director
• Production Process
- The process of creating an artwork does not necessarily
follow a linear progression. One of the things that one must
accept is the fact that the arts have an anarchic dimension
to it, allowing it to fully hamess its creative potential.
- The very reason why different art styles, periods, and
movements were made possible, is because there was a
form of flexibility given to artists in terms of how to
conceptualize and execute their ideas into reality.
- The process is essentially tripartite
(1) preproduction, (2) production, (3) postproduction.
1.preproduction - The artist always begins with an idea that
he wants to express or communicate with his audience. It
may not necessarily be fully formulated, and so some form
of exposure, research,
2. Production - The execution of the art may take a variety of
forms such as painting, sculpture, tapestry, photograph, film,
a routine (dance), or a track or composition (music).
3. postproduction - Once an artwork is finished, it will then
be decided on how it will be circulated not only in the art
world, but the many publics. If the artist decides that he
alone should see the work, then so be it.
• Medium and Technique
• medium - is one of the aspects of art that directly
correlates with its composition and presumed finality of the
artwork.
- is the mode of expression in which the concept, idea, or
message is conveyed.
• The appreciation or engagement with the artwork is also
affected by the medium spatiotemporally.
- concrete works, the objects physically manifest
themselves for a prolonged or lasting period.
- ephemeral works, on the other hand, it is durational
• The technique of the artwork shows the level of familiarity
with the medium being manipulated. It alludes to the
necessity of additional tools or implements
• Engagement with Art
The defining roles and nature of exhibitions have had an
interesting evolution, changing alongside the demands of
the society that purports to partake in its display.
The art exhibition, by its nature, holds a mirror up to society,
reflecting its interests and concerns while at the same time
challenging its ideologies and preconceptions.
Keeping art relevant to society and to a diverse audience at
any given point in history is one of the main goals of the art
exhibition and one of the reasons it is so important to the
history of art."
In Paula Marincola's What Makes a Great Exhibition? (2006),
it reads that "exhibitions are strategically located at the
nexus where artists, their work, the arts institution, and many
different publics intersect. This opportunity is singular, as
most interactions in the art world are limited to two players
at a time.
Exhibitions create an opportunity in which the different roles
in the art world get to meet, interact, and even enter into a
discussion.
Exhibitions may be long-term or permanent hangs, or it may
be temporary or periodically changing. An artist may have a
solo exhibition or may be included in a two-person showing
or even a group exhibition.
• Awards and Citations
One of the most common measures in which artists and
other creative producers are given incentives and honor for
their work is through state-initiated and given awards and
citations. The two major awards given to artists in the
Philippines are the Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining
(Order of National Artists) and Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan (National Living Treasures Award)
The conferment of the Order of National Artists is the
highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who
have made significant contributions to the development of
Philippine arts; namely, music, dance, theater, visual arts,
literature, flim, broadcast arts, and architecture and allied
arts. The order is jointly administered by the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred by the
President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both
institutions (NCCA, 2015).
The very first recipient of this award was painter Femando
Amorsolo, who was touted as the "Grand Old Man of
Philippine Art." He was the sole awardee in the year 1972, a
National Artist for Visual Arts
At present, there are 66 awardees of this prestigious honor
across different art forms. Some of them were given the
award posthumously, while others were fortunate enough to
receive the award themselves.
Some of the honors and privileges that a national artist
awardee receives are the following:
(1) the rank and title, as proclaimed by the President of the
Philippines;
(2) a medallion or insignia and a citation that will be read
during the conferment;
(3) cash awards and a host of benefits (monthly life pension,
medical, and hospitalization benefits, life insurance
coverage);
(4) a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani
(Heroes' Cemetery); and
(5) a place of honor or designated area during national state
functions, along with recognition or acknowledgment at
cultural events. The most recent conferment was in 2016.
The recipients of the GAMABA are sought under the
qualification of a "Manilikha ng Bayan who is a "citizen
engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose
distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical
and artistic excellence and have been passed on to and
widely practiced by the present generation in his/ her
community with the same degree of technical and artistic
competence (NCCA, 2015).
This artists' practice may fall under the following categories:
folk, architecture, maritime transport, weaving, carving,
performing arts, literature, graphic and plastic arts,
ornament, textile or fiber art, pottery and other artistic
expressions of traditional culture.
Some of the incentives accorded to the awardee are the
following:
(1) a specially designed gold medallion; inferred from a sense of depth, whether it is real or
simulated.
(2) an initial grant of P100,000 and a P10,000 monthly
stipend for iffe (this was later increased to P14,000); - Real space is three-dimensional. Like what has been
previously mentioned, sculptures are a perfect example of
(3) benefits such as a maximum cumulative amount of artworks that bear this element. However, this can only be
P750,000 medical and hospitalization benefits; and manifested in two-dimensional artworks through the use of
different techniques, or the use (or non-use) of area around
(4) funeral assistance or tribute fit for a National Living
a drawing or picture
Treasure.
a Positive and negative space - usually identified with the
white space is the negative space. The positive space, on
the other hand, is the space where shadow is heavily used.
LESSON 6. Elements and Principles of Art
b Three-dimensional space can be simulated through a
Elements of Art: Visual
variety of techniques such as shading. An illusion of three-
1. Line - refers to a point moving at an identifiable path-it has dimensionality can be achieved in a two-dimensional work.
length and direction. It also has width. It is one-dimensional,
5. Color - perhaps one of the elements that enhances the
- A quality that is ascribed to lines is its ability to direct the appeal of an artwork.
eyes to follow movement or provide hints as to a work's
- Its effect has range, allowing the viewer to make responses
focal point.
based on memory, emotion, and instinct, among others.
a. Horizontal lines are normally associated with rest or calm.
- color wheel - first property of color, hue.
It also alludes to position of the reclined body at rest.
a. Hue - this dimension of color gives its name. It can be
b. Vertical lines,, connote elevation or height, which is
subdivided into a
usually taken to mean exaltation or aspiration for action
• Primary colors-red, yellow, and blue
c. Together, these lines communicate stability and firmness.
• Secondary colors-green, orange, and violet
d. diagonal lines convey movement and instability, although
the progression can be seen
• Tertiary colors-six in total, these hues are achieved when
primary and secondary colors are mixed
e. Crooked or jagged Ines, are reminiscent of violence,
conflict, or struggle.

f. Curved lines- that bend or col. They allude to softness,

b. Value this refers to the brightness or darkness of color.
grace, flexibility, or even sensuality.
Often, this is used by artists to create the illusion of depth
and solidity, a particular mood, communicate a feeling, or in
Lines may not necessarily be explicit or literally shown. As
establishing a scene
what many examples will portray, implied lines may be just
as powerful, if not more.
• Light colors - taken as the source of light in the
composition
2-3 Shape and Form
• Dark colors - the lack or even absence of light
- These two are related to each other in the sense that they
define the space occupied by the object of art.
• Tint - this is a lighter color than the normal value (e.g., pink
for red)
- Shape refers to two dimensions: height and width
• Shade - this is a darker color than the normal value (e.g.,
- form refers to three dimensions: height, width, and depth.
maroon for red)
Even if shapes are part of a bigger picture
• Intensity- this is the color's brightness or dullness. It is
Two categories can be used as a broad distinction:
identified as the strength of color, whether it is vivid or
a Geometric - shapes find origin in mathematical muted.
propositions, often man-made.( squares, triangles, cubes,
• Bright or warm colors - positive energy
circles, spheres, and cones)
• Dull or cool colors - sedate/soothing, seriousness or calm
b. Organic - shapes are those readily occurring in nature,
often irregular and asymmetrical.
• Monochromatic harmonies - use the variations of a hue.
4. Space - Related to shape and form is space, It is usually
• Analogous harmonies - make use of two colors beside
each other in the color wheel

6. Texture - can be other real or implied. experienced POINTERS TO REVIEW

through the sense of touch (and sight).
•Assumptions of Arts:
- commonly associated with textiles.
- Universal
a. Textures in the two-dimensional plane - texture can be
implied using one technique or a combination of other -not nature
elements of art. one can imagine how the surface will feel if
- involves experience
it was to be touched. (rough or smooth, hard or soft, hairy,
leathery, sharp or dull, etc.)
• Creativity, Expression, Imagination
b. Surface texture refers to the texture of the three-
• Diff. Expression of Arts:
dimensional art object
- visual arts, films, performance arts, poetry performance,
engage with the visual and tactile qualities of the artwork
architecture, dance, literature, theter, applied arts
through a "common language" that may be widely
understood. • Functions of Atts:

- there is something from which the idea, concept, message, - personal, social, physical
or intended mood of the artist may be inferred.
• Subject and Content
- It offers a starting point or a baseline from which analysis
may take place. This kind of analysis is called formal • What is GAMMABA
analysis of art.
• Principles/Elements of Arts
• Planes and Perspective

Picture plane is the actual surface of the painting or

drawing, where no illusion of a third dimension exists.

Its use was based on the following observations: Identification & Application of arts

As forms and objects recede, the smaller they become. b. 40 items

We were taught that parallel lines never meet. However,
when they, too, seem to converge when they recede into a
distance, at a point, they both disappear This point of
disappearance is called the vanishing point.

There are three types of perspective, grounded on the

number of vanishing points used by the artist:

a One-point perspective- often used in depicting roads,

tracks, hallways, or rows of trees; this type of perspective
shows parallel lines that seem to converge at a specific and
lone vanishing point, along the horizon line.

b. Two-point perspective- pertains to a painting or drawing

that makes use of two vanishing points, which can be placed
anywhere along the horizon line. It is often used in depicting
structures such as houses or buildings in the landscape that
are viewed from a specific commer

c. Three-point perspective-in this type of perspective, the

viewer is looking at a scene from above or below.