CONTEMPORARY

FINE ARTS
FINE ARTS
When we say fine arts, this means that the artist is
required to be a master in the use of
material/medium, in technique and craftsmanship.
Material/medium is the physical element of art, like
paint, stone, clay or metal. Technique is the artist’s
personal way of using their material.
Craftsmanship is the skill of doing what can be done
with the medium and the ability to do it.
A. Painting

- it is the most popular among the

fine arts because almost any theme
can be applied here. The materials
in painting are flexible, durable and
readily available.
 Four Styles:
1. The style of Objective Accuracy
- means painting an accurate depiction of physical objects or people. This is not
easy to achieve. It involves creating an impression of reality through a selective use
of visual facts.
Can be done in two ways:
a. The Artist as Detached Observer - This is where the artwork seems to
have been made by a reporter who is observing a subject, or a photographer
using a candid camera.
b. The Artist as Selective Eye - “Illusion of reality” is created by
eliminating details that the eye might see.
 There are 5 ways to achieve objective accuracy:
1. Correct drawing
- This takes mastery acquired from serious practice. Good
observation skills are needed to draw something accurately. The artist
needs to see and understand what he/she is looking at, whether it is live
or through a picture.
2. Control and handling of illumination
- This helps in creating realistic images. The amount of light an
object receives, the shapes of its shadows, the transition from light to
shadow and the source of light are the things the artist learns to observe
and control in the medium he/she uses.
3. Focus
- This is achieved through sharpness or softness, distinctness
or vagueness of form and contour.
4. Color
- is a powerful instrument. It is mainly connected with the
description of the objects. The color of the objects varies
depending on the amount and source of light they receive and on
their location in space.
5. Perspective
- This is the pictorial device that relates to the artist’s ability
to create the illusion of deep space within the painting.
 2. The style of Formal Order
 Formal order in contemporary art is associated with stability
and permanence. It is exhibited by its qualities which are
intellectual order, biomorphic order and aesthetic order. This
style is visible in cubism where an intellectual method of
analyzing forms is used by the artist.
Cubism - a style of art that stresses abstract structure at the
expense of other pictorial elements especially by displaying
several aspects of the same object simultaneously and by
fragmenting the form of depicted objects
 3. The style of Emotion
- Romanticism and emotion are used in painting when the artist
wants to share personal feelings in relation to love. Anxiety,
despair, disappointment, bitterness, disturbance or uncomfortable
feelings in paintings can be expressed through making it look
dark or chaotic. Joy and celebration can be shown through
vigorous, uncomplicated approach through movement and energy.
Brushstrokes are also used to express sparkle, freshness and
abundance.
 4. The style of Fantasy
 Fantasy art originates in both logical and irrational mental
processes, it presents no common set of visual qualities.
Fantastic works may be objectively accurate or subjectively
distorted. Illusionism is used in contemporary art to create
fantastic images or substitute real objects for the illusionistic
treatment of reality, meaning the object is recognizable from
real life, but distorted from reality to achieve a certain effect.
SCULPTU
RE
B. Sculpture

- Sculpture is the action or art of

processing (as by carving, modeling, or
welding) hard materials into works of art.
Sculptural processes are done in ways most
suitable to the material the artist chooses.
 Stone can only be carved, drilled, scraped and polished.
 Wood can offer the same processes though more easily and
technology allows it to be permanently bent and molded.
Wood is appealing for its grain, color and its origin in a living
tree.
 Terracotta or clay is more responsive that wood or stone. It
can be molded. However, they possess little strength in
tension or compression and require an armature for support.
Armature an open framework on which a sculpture is molded on with clay or a similar
material; the skeleton of a sculpture.
 Metal can be casted, cut, drilled, filled, extruded, bent,
forged and stamped.
 Sculpting can either be subtractive, where the material is
removed or carved out until the desired form is visible, or
additive, where the material is added part by part until the
form is completed
Four basic Sculpting
Techniques:
1. Modeling - Modeled sculptures are created when a soft or
malleable material, like clay, is built using an armature and then
shaped to create a form. This is an additive process.
2. Carving - This involves cutting or chipping away a shape from a
mass of stone, wood or other hard material. This is a subtractive
process where the material is systematically eliminated from the
outside.
3. Casting - involves giving solid shape to a fluid substance by
pouring it in a mold of a desired shape and letting it harden
4. Assembling - Sculptors gather and put together different
materials, including found objects to create an assembled
sculpture. This is an additive process using adhesive, welding,
and other chemicals for adhesion.
 Styles and movements in Sculpture
a. Monolithic Sculpture
- This is carved from a slab of stone and is limited by the material’s shape
and size. The sculptor can only make a form that is allowed by the material’s
shape and size and cannot exceed its size.
b. Constructivism
- This is popular among contemporary artists. This makes use of new
materials like plastics, plexiglass, metal wire, etc., and allows a break from
the figurative representation of sculpture.
c. Sculptural assemblage
- This involves putting found objects together through a single method of
attachment, and a single color and surface texture. The sculptor does not have to worry
about volume and contour, balance and movement or illusions and reality.
d. Kinetic Sculpture
- This is a sculpture in mechanical motion. When suspended in the air, wind may be
used to make the sculpture move and can even produce sound.
e. Niches, Boxes and Grottoes
- is a recessed place in a wall where a sculptured figure or bust can be located. It
encloses forms physically and dictates which angle the sculpture can be seen.