ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 3:
Functions and Philosophical
Perspectives on Art
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the students should be
able to:
1. Distinguish between directly functional art and
indirectly functional art;
2. Explain and discuss the basic philosophical
perspectives on the art;
3. Realize the function of some art forms in daily
life; and
4. Apply concepts and theories on beauty and
aesthetics in real-life scenarios.
LESSON PROPER
Functions of Art:
• Roughly and broadly, the functions of art are classified
into three: personal (public display or expression), social
(celebration or to affect collective behavior), and physical
(utilitarian).
Does Art Always Have to Be Functional?
• The value of a work of art does not depend on function
but on the work itself.
• Despite these, efficiency cannot be mistaken as beauty.
While it certainly determines beauty in some works of
art, an efficient functional object is not necessarily
beautiful.
Philosophical Perspectives on Art:
I. Art as an Imitation.
- For Plato, when one ascribes beauty to another
person, he refers to an imperfect beauty that
participates only in the form of beauty in the
World of Forms.
II. Art as a Representation
- Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy
in revealing truth. It allows for the experience
of pleasure. art also has an ability to be
instructive and teach its audience things about
life; thus, it is cognitive as well .
Philosophical Perspectives on Art:
III. Art as a Disinterested Judgment
- Kant considered the judgment of beauty, the
cornerstone of art, as something that can be
universal despite its subjectivity. Kant mentioned
that judgment of beauty, and therefore, art, is
innately autonomous from specific interests.
IV. Art as a Communication of Emotion
- Art plays a huge role in communication to its
audience’s emotions that the artist previously
experienced.
DISCUSSION POINTS
• Does art necessarily have an end?
• When an artist creates a work of art,
does he have an end in mind?
• Do all artworks have a function?
Does the function make an object a
work of art?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
• What art form/artwork has
changed something in your life?
Why?
• Do you think that art can be a
catalyst for change?
ANSWER KEY
Let’s Work On This:
1. What art form/artwork has changed something in your life?
Why? Account for the experience.
Answers may vary.
2. Does art always have a function? Why? Support your
response. Provide your own example.
Answer: While some arts are functional, there are some which
are not. The value of the artwork is not dependent on its
function but on the work itself.
3. If an artwork ceased to have a function, will it remain an art?
Why?
Answer: Yes. Art demands so much more than efficiency.
LESSON SUMMARY
• Art has remained relevant in our daily
lives because most of it has played some
form of function for man.
• The different functions of art may be
classified as either personal, social, or
physical.
• Art may serve either as imitation,
representation, a disinterested judgment,
or simply a communication of emotion.
 Lesson 4:
Subject and Content
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of the session, the students should be able to:
1. Differentiate representational art and non-
representational art;
2. Discuss the difference between an artwork’s subject
and its content;
3. Identify the subject matter and content of specific
examples of art; and
4. Enumerate the sources of the subjects of some of the
most recognizable works of art in Philippine art
history.
LESSON PROPER
• The primary stage of engaging with art is its
perception.
• Subjectivity is illustrated in the way that
selective perception renders one or two
details more prominent than others,
prompting the viewer to focus on some details
as essential or as standouts.
• In the arts, there are also observable qualities
that the artwork holds that will point to its
subject, and sometimes even to its content.
Types of Subject:
• Representational art – have subjects that
refer to objects or events occurring in the
real world.
• Non-representational 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.
Sources and Kinds of Subject:
• Often, even a singular source of inspiration
can yield multiple translations.
Content in Art:
• To recognize and grasp the message of the
artwork, the viewer may sometimes need
to go beyond what is visible.
• There are various levels of meaning –
factual, conventional, and the possibility of
a variety of meanings.
DISCUSSION POINTS
• What are the hurdles of accessing art
in terms of its subject and content?
• Where do artists source their
subjects?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
• Why do you think that in the
Philippines, people are not
engaged in art activities?
• How important is perception in
engaging in art?
ANSWER KEY
Let’s Work on This:
1. What are the hurdles of accessing art in terms of its subject
and content?
Answer: The notion that in order for one to appreciate art, one
must be ale to extract a specific image and derive a certain
meaning from the work.
2. Where do artists source their subjects?
Answer: Artists can source their subjects from nature, religious
connections, and history.
3. Name an example of an artwork and speculate on the content
of the artwork based on its factual, conventional, and subjective
meanings.
Answers may vary.
LESSON SUMMARY
• One may begin by looking at perceivable
features of the artwork. Taking note of
what is apparent will provide clues as to
what the intended meaning of the artist
might be.
• Knowing more about the context of its
creation—from the artist’s inspiration,
reference or source, will prove useful in
understanding the meaning of the artwork.
 Lesson 5:
Artists and Artisans
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Outline the history of the emergence of artists and artisans;
2. Recognize and critically discuss the function of state
sponsorship in the field of arts and culture through the
National Artists Award and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan (GAMABA);
3. Identify and define the different individuals and groups who
take on varied roles in the world of art and culture; and
4. Classify the practices of artists in terms of form, medium,
and technique.
LESSON PROPER
• 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 Artisan and the Guilds:
* 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. With a lifetime commitment to a
particular trade, an artisan develops immense skill and
expertise in his craft.
The Artist and His Studio:
• The site that saw the shift from a craftsman to an independent
artist was a very personal space for the artist himself, which is
the studio.
Other Players in the World of Art:
• In the last century, some of the roles that have been existent
since the beginning of art history have been properly dealt with
—ascribed with a name—and legitimized into a sophisticated
network of relationships and exchanges. This network is what we
call the art world.
• What must be recognized is that, as Becker contended, there are
numerous people who either work in consent or dissension, and
in doing so, continuously (re)-define, (in)validate, maintain (or
abolish), reproduce, and circulate the “cultural category of art,
and to produce the consent of the entire society in the
legitimacy of the art world’s authority to do so” (Irvine, 2013).
Production Process:
• The process of creating an artwork does not
necessarily follow a linear progression.
• The process is essentially tripartite: (1)
preproduction, (2) production, and (3)
postproduction.
Medium and Technique:
• Medium is the mode of expression in which the
concept, idea, or message is conveyed.
• The technique of the artwork shows the level of
familiarity with the medium being manipulated.
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.
Awards and Citations:
*After an artist has spent considerable time in honing his
skills, establishing the relevance of the body of his works,
and even gaining respect from his colleagues in the art
world, he may be considered or nominated for awards and
citations.
DISCUSSION POINTS
• What makes the art world a complex
system?
• Why does the process of creating an
artwork have an anarchic dimension
to it?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
• How relevant still are the awards
National Artists and GAMABA, not only
to the art world, but also to the Filipino
society as a whole?
• What do you think is the role of the
artist in the 21st century society?
ANSWER KEY
Let’s Work on This:
1. What do you think is the role of the artist in the 21st century
society?
Answers may vary.
2. How relevant still are the awards National Artists and
GAMABA, not only to the art world, but also to the Filipino
society as a whole?
Answers may vary.
3. Analyze and critique state-sponsored recognition for artists
and cultural workers. What do you think are some of the
considerations that must be addressed with regard to these?
Answers may vary.
LESSON SUMMARY
The evolution of the artist throughout
history is one of the most interesting
progressions in the affairs of man.
 Lesson 6:
Elements and Principles of Art
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Enumerate the different elements of visual and
auditory art;
2. Differentiate the principles of art;
3. Provide examples of the interrelatedness of some of
the elements and principles of art;
4. Explain the relevance of the elements and principles of
art in the study of art and its products (artworks); and
5. Illustrate examples of hybrid art and dissect what art
forms are combined therein.
LESSON PROPER
Elements of Art: Visual
• These elements of art are generally produced when
something is done to the medium after the technique is
carried out.
• To enumerate, the elements of art and design are the
following: line, shape and form, space, color, and
texture.
Planes and Perspectives:
• Picture plane is the actual surface of the painting or
drawing, where no illusion of a third dimension exists.
• Aside from this technique, linear perspective changed
the way pictorial representation was done.
Elements of Art: Auditory
• Perhaps one of the most widespread forms of art, whose
intersection in daily life is most perceptible, is music. Music
is sound organized in a specific time.
• Some of the common elements of music are the following:
rhythm, dynamics, melody, harmony, timbre, and texture.
Principles of Art:
• The principles of art will provide explicit ways in which
these elements are used, how they are manipulated, how
they interact, and how they inform the overall composition
of the artwork to assist the artist in conveying his intention.
• These principles are: balance, scale and proportion,
emphasis and contrast, unity and variety, harmony,
movement, rhythm, and repetition and pattern.
Combined or Hybrid Art:
• In combined arts, improvisation is often
tapped in addition to practical and logical
considerations of creating an artwork.
• Another movement that is reminiscent of the
motivations of the Renaissance, and whose
emergence is hinged on the frontiers of
science and technology, is called hybrid arts
DISCUSSION POINTS
• In two-dimension artworks such as paintings,
cite the elements and principles of art that
when utilized in the composition of the
artwork, will help simulate or suggest the
three-dimensional space.
• How can hybrid artworks expand imagination?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
• To what extent does the knowledge of
the principles of art relevant to the
knowledge of the elements of art?
• What is the relevance of combined arts
and hybrid art in the 21st century?
ANSWER KEY
1. What are the elements of art?
line, shape and form, space, color, and texture
2. In two-dimension artworks such as paintings,
cite the elements and principles of art that when
utilized in the composition of the artwork, will
help simulate or suggest the three-dimensional
space.
3. What is the relevance of combined arts and
hybrid art in the 21st century?
Answers may vary.
LESSON SUMMARY
The elements and principles of art
are essential to any artwork. Some
of them will be more obvious than
others, becoming the anchors in
which the viewer may latch on to
engage with the artwork.