Introduction to Humanities and Arts

Introduction to Humanities and Arts

• Protagoras stated that "Man is the measure of all things".
• Humans continue to evolve in knowledge and technology, leaving a lasting legacy.
• The study of humanities comes from the Latin word "humanus"
• Humanus means human, cultured and refined.
• Being human involves rationality, benevolence, and care.
• Being cultured and refined involves showing good taste and manners

Academic Disciplines in Humanities

• Arts and Music
• Literature
• Religious Studies
• History
• Philosophy
• Humanities is devoted to understanding the various phenomena within the human cultural context.

Fundamental Principles of Humanities

• Humanism is associated with beliefs about freedom.
• Human beings can make significant personal choices within the constraints of heredity, personal history and environment.
• Key aspects of humanism are:
  • Being inherently good
  • Having the freedom to make choices
  • Possessing virtually unlimited potential for growth and development
  • Self-concept
  • Self-actualization
  • Defining reality individually
  • Having responsibility to themselves and others

Natures of Arts

• The word "art" comes from the Aryan root "ar" meaning to join or put together.
• The Latin term "Sars Artis" means everything artificially made or composed by man.
• Art is the oldest and most important means of expression developed by man.
• Humanities through the arts explores the internal world, personality and experiences of humans.
• Art is subjective and provides enjoyment and simulation.

Functions of Art

• Functional arts are generally applied arts and serves a purpose
• Non-functional arts encompass paintings, sculptures and fine art and seek to engage the viewer.
• Art fulfills the human need for expression
• Art serves a social need for display, celebration and communication
• Art addresses the physical need for functional objects

Arts Viewed by Philosophy

• Philosophy is the discipline that attempts to explain all aspects of human existence
• Aesthetics is the philosophical study of beauty and taste
• According to Plato:
  • The physical world is a copy of a perfect, rational, external, and changeless original form
  • Art as imitation results in copies, leading one away from the truth
  • Art is dangerous due to its power to stir emotions
• According to Aristotle:
  • Art is the imitation or representation of nature
  • Universal elements of beauty are manifested by order, symmetry, and definiteness
• According to Immanuel Kant:
  • Beauty does not rest in the properties of the objects
  • Beauty is dependent on how people respond to these objects
  • Beauty is a matter of taste
  • Subjective taste involves emotion being aroused
  • Universal taste does not consider the beauty of artwork.

Artist and Artisans

• An artist has exceptional skills, while an Artisan is a person in skilled trade.
• Artisans produce things by hand.
• Examples of artisan work:
  • Ceramic Making in Tiwi, Albay
  • Wood Carving in Paete, Laguna
  • Piña Weaving in Kalibo, Aklan
  • Basket Weaving in Pangasinan

Art Forms

• Paintings involve application of pigment to a surface
• Sculpture is three-dimensional art.
• Architecture is the most functional of all art forms
• Music is art of sound expressed through a song
• Dance is art of body movement
• Literature is art using words to express thoughts
• Theatre is performance of drama

Appreciating the Art

• Appreciating art involves engaging the audience/learners to relate to the work.
• Appreciating art helps them understand art from the artist's point of view.
• Steps to appreciate art:
  • Give a good physical description
  • Analyze artworks to understand what the artist wants to represent
  • Perceive the artwork
  • Give meaning to the artwork based on description
  • Judge the artwork as good or bad

Quote

• "Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed."

Elements and Principles of Arts

• A line can be defined in various ways:
  • It is the oath made by a moving point
  • A prolongation of points/ a dot that went for a walk
  • An intended mark made by the artist to convey meaning beyond physical description
• Lines vary in their presentation
• Lines can be straight (rectilinear) or curved (curvilinear).
• Straight lines are geometric and impersonal
• Straight lines direction:
  • Horizontal Line - moves from left to right or vice versa
  • Vertical Line - starts from bottom going up or vice versa
  • Diagonal Line - slanting; suggests positive and negative meanings
  • Zigzag Line - angular lines resulting from abrupt changes in direction
  • Curved Line - technically curvilinear

Color

• Color cannot be over emphasized..
• Hue is the name given to a color, like red, green, violet, and blue, for example
• For pigments:
  • Red, yellow, and blue are primary hues
  • Orange, green, and violet are secondary hues
• Primary colors:
  • Red, blue, yellow
• Secondary Colors:
  • Purple, green, orange
• Value refers to lightness or darkness of a color.
• Intensity denotes the brightness or dullness of a color and gives the color its strength.
• Colors differ in intensity or vividness
  • Hues become less intense (dull) when white is added making the color lighter in value.
  • Adding black results in a variation in intensity without changing value
  • The color becomes less bright but neither lighter nor darker in its tone
  • A hue in its most vivid form is said to be in full intensity.
• Tint is adding white to a pure hue.
• Shade is adding black to a pure hue.
• Tone is adding grey to a pure hue.

Shape

• In visual arts, a shape is formed when two ends of a line meet to enclose an area.
• Natural or organic shapes are those found in nature.
• Abstract shapes have little or no resemblance to natural objects.
• Non-objective or biomorphic shapes seldom reference recognizable objects.
• Geometric shapes include triangles, rectangles, squares, cylinders, and cubes.
• Texture is the tactile quality of an object's surface.
• Space is an illusion in graphic arts.
• Space is created by techniques that add depth and distance to 2D art.

Ways of Creating Space

• Overlapping planes create space when one object covers part of another behind it.
• Relative size indicates nearness for larger objects and distance for smaller objects.
• Position on the picture plane represents spatial organization based on the object's position relative to the frame.
• Perspective gives distance perception using covering lines, direction of lines and size of the objects
  • Linear perspective has converging lines
  • Aerial perspective involves the effect of haze, mist, or atmosphere.
• Movement involves how artists manipulate medium and elements to portray motion and their artworks.
  • Actual movement results in kinetic art, often achieved naturally or mechanically.
  • Implied movement uses lines, repetition, position changes, or size variation to create the impression of movement in 2D art.

Elements of Combined Arts

Elements of Music

• Rhythm is the pattern with uniform recurrence of accented and unaccented beats.
• Melody is the succession of tones in a way that gives a musical sense
• Harmony is when a series or group of tones are sounded at the same time.
• Harmony refers to the pleasing sound when two or more notes are played together
• Timbre is the tonal quality or character of the tone produced by an instrument or the human voice
• Form is the structure or framework of composition

Vocal Forms

• Opera is a drama set to music with action, costumes, and scenery
• Cantata is a religious story set to music without action.
• Moro Moro is a Philippine drama set to music representing the conflict between Christians and Muslims
• Instrumental Forms include:
  • Sonata: a long composition for solo instruments
  • Symphony: a sonata for the orchestra

Dynamic

• Dynamic refers to the loudness and softness of sound.
  • pp - pianissimo - very soft
  • p - pianissimo - soft
  • mp - mezzo piano - half soft
  • f - forte - loud
  • ff - fortesisimo - very loud
  • crescendo - gradually becoming louder
  • decrescendo - gradually becoming softer

Elements of Dance

• Plot is the overall structure of the play
  • Exposition familiarizes the audience with characters and setting
  • Complication develops the conflict that began in the exposition
  • Resolutions, also called anticlimax
• Setting is the locale and period of the story
• Character is the person in the story
• Dialogue occurs through words uttered by characters in the story
• Theme is the meaning of the story

Elements of Theater

• Theater is a live performance art.
• The Playwright works out the plot in terms of performance and dialogue for actors
• The Performers portray the characters in a play.
• The Director works with the playwright to present the play interpreted into dramatic action.
• Production Design includes the scenery, props, make-up, costumes, lights, music, sound, and special effects.

Elements of the Cinema

• Acting and the Stars involves portraying/impersonating a character in the story.
• Set and Art Directors should know the setting and build artificial sets.
• Music and Musical Director is in charge of composing new songs, writing orchestration, preparing music, creating musical scores, and supervising all recording.
• Colour is an innovation in cinematography.
• Makeup, Hair and Costume Designers
• Technicians are responsible for making the dialogue clear

Principles of Arts

Elements of Visual Arts

• Form refers to how the specific elements in the artwork are organized to produce a unified whole.
  • Primary Features is how artwork appears to the viewer
  • Secondary Features is how primary features relate to one another
• Content refers to the message the artist wants to convey.
  • Factual is the literal interpretation of the work
  • Conventional takes into consideration basic genres, figurative meanings and qualities of the work.
  • Subjective takes into consideration the effects of the form on the viewers of the art
• Context refers to various circumstances that influence the work.
  • Primary Context pertains to the characteristics of the artist
  • Secondary Context pertains to the settings

Principles of Design

• Principles of design describe ways an artist uses elements of art to create beautiful compositions
• Balance is the distribution of visual weight of objects, color, texture, and space.
  • Symmetrical balance has similar elements on both sides of the design
  • Asymmetrical balance is when sides of the composition are different, but still look balanced
  • Radial balance involves elements arranged around a central point
• Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer's attention.
• Movement is the path the viewer's eye takes when looking through the artwork.
• Pattern is the repetition of objects, lines, or symbols across the space or picture plane.
• Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts relate well with each other.
• Repetition works with patterns to make the work seem active.
• Rhythm is when design elements are used repeatedly to create a feeling of movement.
• Variety is when elements of design are used repeatedly to produce a feeling of movement
• Unity is the harmony among parts of the artwork that creates completeness.

Rules of Third

• Third is used by visual artists to create compositions.
• The surface has two spaced vertical and horizontal lines.
• Placing objects on interesting points results in a pleasing composition
• The function of the rule provides a proper place to create an interesting composition.

Vinci Principles

• Leonardo da Vinci was more than an artist.
  • Curiosita involves a heightened sense of wonder and continuous search to know and learn more
  • Dimostrazione is a commitment to test knowledge and persist in tasks
  • Sensazione is refinement of the senses in the work
  • Sfumato translates life paradoxes and uncertainties.
  • Arte/Scienza is finding balance.
  • Corporalita involves taking care of the body.
  • Connessione involves discovering patterns in the way things work.