AAH 101: Introduction to Visual Art & Nature of Art

• The AAH 101 course is about reading visual arts
• The course aims to give an in-depth introduction to visual art and its intensive analysis
• It analyzes facets like techniques, composition, materials, forms, culture, and social influences
• It targets visual artists, their evolving formats, and how their personalities evolve into artists
• It provides an understanding of diverse cultures and their realities, using thematic examinations of art
• It formalizes learning terminologies describing art properties, techniques, and social, psychological, spiritual, and physical uses

Grading System

• Quizzes, papers, and homework are 20% of the grade
• Recitation, attendance, and work ethic are 20%
• Projects are 30%
• Examinations are 30%
• The unit is about discovering the arts and Lesson 1 focuses on the Nature of Art

What is Art?

• Art serves as an avenue for witnessing truth, beauty, and goodness
• Man is the agent of art, crafting beauty and giving form and meaning to creation

Art as Universal

• Art is all-embracing, showcasing human wisdom and aspirations
• Works of art have been significant in building a nation's history and identity
• Artists share a vision for a brighter future

Art as Cultural

• Culture defines identity, nurturing traditions, values, and beliefs that bind a nation
• Arts and culture provide national identity that cultures proudly claim
• Art is integral due to its provision of meaning and imagery to lives and beliefs

Art Involves Experience

• Artists become creative through diverse experiences like failures, triumphs, hopes, social issues, and tragedies
• Personal experiences inspire analysis and judgement of phenomena
• Artists transform human experience into literature, music, theatre, film, or sculpture

Art as Expression

• An expression is a way of communicating feelings or emotions
• Art expresses emotions, spirit, and aspirations

Three Interrelated ways Artists have unfolded the arts:

• Representation of the world
• The Power of Imagination
• The Idea of Beautiful

Representation of the World

• Artists represent the material world
• Artworks express the everyday world can be transcended - artistic imagination raises to a different reality

The Power of Imagination

• Artists directly present reality based on their own imagination
• Imagination is a faculty in every artist
• Artists imagine the supernatural --God, mythology, angels, dreams, evil, fairy tales
• Artists imaginatively and subjectively unleash what is hidden

The Idea of the Beautiful and Meaningful

• The world needs beauty to avoid despair
• One purpose of art -- to make objects and events pleasurable or beautiful
• Art satisfies aesthetic sense -- desire to see and experience

The Subject Matter of Arts

• Subject Matter - what is literally depicted in the artwork
• Portraiture - representations of individuals, groups, or historical figures
• Still Life - painting of objects like furniture, utensils, flowers, fruits, and vegetables
• Animals and Plants - symbolic images and interpretations
• Places - Historical cities that help with promotion of culture/the arts
• Events - Paying homage to historical accounts
• Religious items - artworks depicting aspects of religion
• Mythological - Gods and Goddesses
• Country life - images and scenes of daily life
• Landscape - various forms of land
• Seascape - forms of water
• Edifices - sacred and commercial spaces and mega structures
• Dreams and Fantasies - Portrays what is beyond the senses

Style

• Style - how artists employ materials, technique, and portrayal of subject matter
• Representational - Artworks easily recognized by most people
• Non-representational - artworks that have no resemblance to any real subject; abstract art

Methods of Presenting the Subject

• Naturalism/Realism - presenting subjects as they appear in real life
• Abstractionism - drawing away from realism
• Surrealism - concerned with presenting the subconscious reality of the artist

Genres of Art

• Dance - choreography, direction, performance
• Music - composition, direction, performance
• Theater - direction, performance, production design, light and sound design, playwriting
• Visual Arts - painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media, illustration, graphic arts, performance art
• Literature - poetry, fiction, essay, literary/art criticism
• Film and Broadcast Arts - direction, writing, production design, cinematography, editing, animation, performance, new media
• Architecture and Allied Arts - architecture, interior/landscape architecture, urban design
• Design - industrial design, fashion design