INTRODUCTION

TO ART
APPRECIATION

P R O F . F R A N C I S C O T R A N C E , J R , L P
T ,
M A E d
WhatIs Ar
t?
and Assumption
s Introduction
 1. Understand the role of humanities and arts in man’s attempt at fully
LEARNING realizing his end;

O UTC O MES 2. Clarify misconceptions about

art;
3. Characterize the assumption of arts;
and
4. Engage better with personal experiences of and
art
 W H AT I S A R
• T
Art ?came from the Latin word “ars” which
means craft or specialized form of skill.
• Art is something that is perennially around us.
• Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating
visual, auditory or performing artifacts
(artworks), expressing the author's imaginative,
conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be
appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional
power.
• language that goes beyond words - tells our stories
- involves a relationship between artist, artwork and
audience.
National Museum of Fine Arts,
Manila
 W H AT I S A R
•T ? suggested the capacity to produce an intended
Art then
result from carefully planned steps or method.
• Ars in Medieval Latin means any special form of book
learning, such as grammar, logic, magic and astrology.
(Collingwood, 1938)
• The ancient world did not have any conceived notion of art
the same way that we do now.
• Art only meant using the bare hands to produce something
that will be useful to one’s day to day life.

Scenes of courtly love on a lady's ivory mirror-case. Paris, 1300–

1330.
 Pie ta, 1499 b y Michela n g elo and .Monalisa, 1503 by Le onard o Da
Vinci

• It was only during the Renaissance Period that the

WHA IS AR word reacquired a meaning that was inherent in its
ancient form of craft.
T T? • Early Renaissance artists saw their activities merely as
craftmanship, devoid of a whole lot of intonations
that are attached to the word now.
Why do we have to study Humanities?
•For as long as man existed in this planet, he has
cultivated the land, altered the conditions and the flora
and fauna in order to survive. Alongside these
necessities, man also marked his place in the world
through his works. Through his bare hands, man
constructed infrastructures, that tended to his needs, like
his house. He sharpened sword and spears. He
employed fire in order to melt gold. The initial meaning of
the word “art” has something to do with all these craft.
 • 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.
Neanderthal Cave Painting

• The Galloping Wild Boar found in the cave of
Galloping Wild Boar, Altamira Spain
• Even if one goes back to the time before written
records of man’s civilization has appeared, he can
find cases of man’s attempts of not just crafting tools
to live and survive but also expressing his feelings
and thoughts.
Altamira, Spain is one such example. In 1979, a
Spaniard and his daughter were exploring a cave
when they saw pictures of a wild boar, a hind and
bison. According to experts, these paintings were
purported to belong to upper Paleolithic age, several
thousands of years before the current era.
• Pre-historic men, with their crude instruments, already
showcased and manifested earliest attempts at
recording man’s innermost interest, preoccupations,
and thoughts. The Humanities, then, ironically, have
started even before the terms has been coined.
• Human persons have long been exercising what it
means to be a human long before he was even
aware of his being one. The humanities stand tall in
bearing witness to this magnificent phenomenon. Any
human person, then, is tasked to participate, if not,
totally partake in this long tradition of humanizing
himself.
Assumptio
ns
a b o u tA r t
ART IS UNIVERSA
L • Literature has provided key works of art. Among the
most popular ones being taught in school are the two
Greek epics, Iliad and Odyssey. The Sanskrit pieces of
Mahabharata and Ramayana are also staples in this
field. These works purportedly written before the
beginning of recorded history, are believed to be
man’s attempt at recording stories and tales that have
been passed on, known, and sung throughout the
years. Art has always been timeless and universal,
spanning generations and continents through and
through.
• In every country and in every generation, there is always art. Oftentimes,
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. 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. Otherwise other works of other Filipinos
who have long died would have been required in junior high school too.
• The pieces mentioned are read in school and have remained
to be with us because they are good. They are lined and
adored because they meet our needs and desires.
• 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 one with him in his
conversation with God, when we listen to Kundiman or
perform folk dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino
ancestors whiled away their time and past.
• The first assumption then about humanities is that art has been crafted and
enjoyed by people continuously. A great piece of work will never be obsolete.
Some people say that art is art for its intrinsic worth.
• Art will always be present because human beings will always express themselves
and delight in these expressions. Men will continue to use art while art persist
and never get depleted.
ART IS NO T NATUR
E • One important characteristic of art is that it is not nature. Art is man’s expression of his
reception of nature. Art is man’s way of interpreting nature. Art is not nature. Art is
made by man, whereas nature is given around us.
• Art and nature are opposites.
• What we find in nature should not be expected to be present in art too. Movies are not
meant to be direct representation of reality. They may according to the moviemaker’s
perception of reality, be a reinterpretation or even distortion of nature.
• Art is not nature because in many ways, art is not “natural”, it is an artificial construct
created by man. Sometimes it appears to be close to nature or it may even sometimes
“go beyond” nature but it always returns to the mind, heart and hands of man.
ART INVO LVESEX PERIENC
E • Art does not have 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.
• Unlike fields of knowledge that involves 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 all art depends on experience, and if one is to know
art, he must know it not as fact or information but as experience.
• In matters of art, the subject’s perception is of primacy.
• An important aspect of experiencing art is its being highly personal, individual, and
subjective.
• In Philosophical terms, perception of art is always a value judgement. It depends on
who the perceiver is, his tastes, his biases and what he has inside him. Degustibus non
Dispotandum Est (Matters of taste are matters of dispute)
• One cannot argue with another person’s evaluation of art because one’s experience
can never be known by another.
• Finally, one should also underscore that every experience with art is accompanied by
some emotion.