LECTURE 3

AESTHETICS: Study of Art

and Beauty
LECTURE
The Field of3.1
Aesthetics

Etymology ALEXANDER
BAUMGARTEN
“AESTHETICS” (1714-1762)

AESTHETICS

GREEK
aesthesis “Aesthetics” first used by Baumgarten
“The science of sensory perception.”
ENGLISH Rene Magritte,
• Concrete knowledge, distinct from abstract
“sensory perception” The False Mirror,
1928 • Content is communicated in sensory forms.
 AESTHETICS AESTHETIC
DEFINITION
Theory about the ultimate
Philosophy
reality of things
is the creation by the artists in their creativity
and
of beauty Nature of Beauty: Why are
beautiful things beautiful? appreciation by the art spectator with artistic taste

of BEAUTIFUL anything with a value that delights

and art Essence of Art: What makes

something a work of art? human-made art distinguished from nature
objects.

TWO WAYS OF
CONSIDERING BEAUTY
DIVISION OF AESTHETICS
RELATIVE ABSOLUTE
“Beauty is in “Beauty is in THEORY OF BEAUTY
the eye of the the thing itself.” Nature of beautiful things
beholder.”
THEORY OF ART
Essence of art

THEORY OF ART CRITICISM

Evaluation of the merit or
demerit of works of art
SUBJECT OBJECT
 Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1486 Model:
Simonetta
Vespucci

Zephyr

Venus
Nymph
THEORY OF
BEAUTY:
Is she
beautiful?
Why?
THEORY OF ART: Is this art? Why?
THEORY OF ART CRITICISM: Is this art great? Why?

Immanuel Kant
Principle of Aesthetics
Principle of Aesthetics
Disinterested attitude - without our
Aesthetic Judgment to be meaningful must personal, emotional baggage
be made from disinterested interest
Pleasure or satisfaction is derived from
Disinterested judgements are impartial and the judgement of beauty, not the
pure, not biased other way around
Question:

Is it possible to make such a pure objective

aesthetic judgment free from personal
biases and emotions?

Aesthetical experience is not only

about liking or disliking, its about the
interaction between the object,
person and the environment.
 What is environment? ARTISTIC TASTE & IDENTITY

• Taste in art is highly individual , it is strongly felt.

Visual-Sight
• An important part of our identity, the sense of who we
Tactile-Touch are.

Kinesthetic-Movement • Linked with the choices how to spend our time and with
Olfactory-Smell whom to spend it

Auditory-Sound Ex.
Teenagers who struggle for self-identity
Gustatory-Taste
Adults who turn to their favorite genres of fiction or film to escape
from boredom and stress.

Mysterious Appeal Factors Involved in Aesthetic Judgment

Intense aesthetic experience Aesthetic judgments is linked to emotions with

physical reactions
brings a sense of intimacy, “belonging,” and
closeness with the artwork. - heart beats fast or eyes wide open,
instinctive facial expressions
As if the artwork “understands” the viewer's, innermost
thoughts, feelings, or values. - with disgust (seeing traces of spaghetti in
one's teeth)
 Factors Involved in Aesthetic Judgment
1. Intellectual Meaning and Interpretation
What does it mean and symbolize?
2. Skill
Not everybody has the talent but …
3. Presentation and Style
- Interesting than boring
- Most preferred than originality
Factors Involved in Aesthetic Judgment
4. Culturally conditioned
- African sculpture as ugly
5. Economic, political, or moral value
- Lamborghini or Hermes desirable as a
status symbol, or disgusting because it
signifies luxury and insensitivity to the poor.
 CATEGORIES OF VALUE

LOGICAL True and False

LECTURE 3.2
Aesthetic Terms ETHICAL Good and Bad

AESTHETIC Beautiful and Ugly

AESTHETICS VALUES

BEAUTIFUL UGLY
Delights Glooms

Wow! Yuck!
Walastik! Eww!
Hanep! Sus!
 BLURRY PICTURESQUE EMOTIONAL EFFECT
Ugly Color Beautiful Color OF COLOR

Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Edvard Munch

White on White, 1918 Colourful Ensemble, 1938 The Scream 1893

COLORFUL BUILDING
Sunset at Anawangin Cove
St. Basil’s Cathedral
San Antonio, Zambales
Red Square, Moscow, Russia

HORROR VACUI:
Fear of Empty (White)Space

FILIPINO SENSE
OF BEAUTY

Alfonso Ossorio,
Beach Combers (1953)
Colorful
is beautiful.
Horror Vaccui
Filling the void!

Ossorio, Perpetual
Sacrifice, (1949)
 COLORFUL ART OF THE PAROL

COLORFUL DESIGN IN PHILIPPINE FOLK ART

COLORFUL PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS ART

ABDUL MARI IMAO,

National Artist for Visual Arts;
Filipino sculptor, (1936-2014)
 PAHIYAS FESTIVAL, LUCBAN, QUEZON SINULOG-SANTO NINO FESTIVAL, CEBU CITY

COLORFUL COSTUMES
ACCESSORIES AND
DECORATION

KADAYAWAN FESTIVAL, DAVAO CITY PENAGBENGA FESTIVAL, BAGUIO CITY

PRETTY
Beautiful Shape

DINAGYANG FESTIVAL, ILOILO CITY ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL, KALIBO, AKLAN

GROTESQUE
Ugly Shape

THE COLORFUL IS BEAUTIFUL

MASSKARA FESTIVAL, BACOLOD

 BEAUTIFUL SHAPE
DOMES

SEXY
Beautiful shape of the
female body
St.Peter’s Basilica Taj Mahal,
Vatican City Agra, India

Sydney Opera House

Sydney, Australia

GROTESQUE
Ugly Shape

Grotesque Face
Juan Luna
Jean Augustte Dominique Ingres
Odalisque, 1885
Grande Odalisque, 1814

Henri Privatt-Livemontt Venus of Willendorf,

Absinthe Robette poster 28,000-25,000 BC
advertisement, 1901

Style
ART NOUVEAU
Michelangelo Buonarotttti,
Grotesque heads, c. 1524-25
 GREEK & WESTERN
SENSE OF BEAUTY
Big is beautiful!
Burj Khalifa,
Dubai
829.8 m (2,722 ft),

CUTE 163 163 above

ground

Beautiful Size

PIQUANT
Ugly Size
Phidias, Statue of Zeus at
Olympia, about 13 m (43
ft) tall, 435 BC

Frédéric Augustte Barttholdi,

Statue of Liberty, Liberty
Island Manhattan, New York
City
305 feet 1 inch (93 meters),
1886

JAPANESE
SENSE OF
BEAUTY BONSAI
Small is Miniature Tree
In a Pot
beautiful.
TALLEST BUILDING
IN
THE PHILIPPINES

Grand Hyatttt Manila,

Taguig, Metro Manila,
281.78 m(924.5 ft),
66 floors,
2017

SMALLEST ORIGAMI
Folded from a piece of plastic film
measuring 0.1 x 0.1 mm
by Naito Akira in 2004
 HAIKU JAPANESE
SENSE OF
A very short form of Japanese poetry
BEAUTY
consisting of 17 syllables in three
phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on respectively or The less is
consisting of 11 on in three phrases of 3, beautiful
5, and 3 on, respectively.
MINIMALISM
Use of least
An old silent pond... A summer river being crossed number of
A frog jumps into the pond, how pleasing Yamaoka Tesshu,
Mt. Fuji Zen Scroll elements
splash! Silence again. with sandals in my hands! Painting

Autumn moonlight— Light of the moon

a worm digs silently Moves west, flowers' shadows
into the chestnut. Creep eastward.
In the moonlight,
In the twilight rain The color and scent of the wisteria
these brilliant-hued hibiscus – Seems far
A lovely sunset. away.
- Yosa Buson (1716-1784)
- Basho Matsuo
(1644-1694)

ZEN BUDDHISM The cause of suffering in life is

AND MINIMALISM attachment to material things.
The lesser the possessions, the lesser the
suffering. So the secret to happiness
is living a simple life.

GRACEFUL
君が代は Beautiful Motion
千代に⼋千代に
さざれ（細）⽯の
KIMIGAYO いわお（巌）となりて
Waka Poem こけ（苔）の⽣すまで
(794-1185 AD)
Kimigayo wa
Chiyo ni yachiyo ni
Sazare-ishi no Iwao
National to narite
Anthem Koke no musu made
of Japan
May your reign Continue
for a thousand,
Eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders Lush Kanye West's
with moss awkward robot
dance
 LOVELY Beautiful sound Harsh Surface
DROLL Ugly sound

TIMBRE OF THE HUMAN VOICE

FLOWING EFFECT Jose Mari Chan,
(Continuous Sound) Constant Change (1989)

TREMBLING EFFECT Louis Daniel Armstrong, Smooth Surface

TREMOLO OR What a Wonderful
VIBRATO World (1967)
(Vibrating Sound)

Ridiculous Fashion

FANTASTIC
Beautiful Image

RIDICULOUS
Ugly Image
 Rene Magritte,
Fine Realities, 1964

Jacek Yerka,
Salvador Dali,
The Persistence of Memory, 1931 Personal Shelf, 1999
FANTASTIC OR
RIDICULOUS
IMAGES?

Rene Magritte, Jacek Yerka,

The Son of Man, 1964 The Other Side of the Castle, 2004