Understanding the Humanities

• Humanities involves understanding arts and is an important field of study.
• Modules provides with insights and ideas to help you understand humanities and the arts in general.
• The module aims to illustrate the knowledge of humanities and the reasons for studying it.
• Module aims to characterize art and artistic expression.
• Module aims to discuss the nature of preliminary expression in art and characterize the assumptions of art.

Humanities Defined

• Derives from "HUMANUS," meaning truly human, and signifies qualities of rationality, kindness, and tenderness in Latin.
• Being truly human involves cultural enhancement and refinement.

Culture

• Stems from Latin terms "Cultus-Colere," meaning to cultivate and develop.
• It encompasses the general way of life in human society, including thinking, beliefs, customs, language, art, and traditions.
• Colleges and universities in the Renaissance period uses the word humanities in context to art appreciation.

Purpose of Studying Humanities

• It is essential due to the world shrinking from information technology.
• Mastering humanities allows individuals to understand others better and become more marketable.
• It facilitates understanding of the past, which shaped the present culture.
• The arts reflect cultures of the past and illustrate progress.
• It connects us with history, music, art, philosophy, and literature, enriching our existence.

Importance of Studying Humanities

• Offers the opportunity to examine what it means to be human.
• Helps recognize fundamental values such as beauty, truth, love, justice, and faith.
• Develops critical thinking and appreciation for cultural heritage.
• Fosters understanding across barriers of race, class, gender, and ethnicity.
• Highlights the interconnectedness of all knowledge areas and introduces new perspectives and places.
• Cultivates a global perspective through studying cultures and traditions in artworks.
• Emphasizes the dignity of every human being.

Fundamental Principles of Humanities

• The main goal is the development of human virtue in its fullest form.
• It aims to reform social order by understanding what is inherently human.
• It considers man as a central character with aesthetic potential for transformation.

Nature of Art

• The word ART originated from the Aryan root AR, meaning "join" or "put together”.
• The related Greek verbs are Artizein (to prepare) and Arkiskein (to put together).
• The Latin terms ARS, ARTIS encompass everything artificially made or composed by man.
• Art is a product of human creativity, imagination, and expression.
• Cultivating an appreciation for art involves developing a taste for fine and beautiful things.
• This enables informed choices and decisions, considering aesthetic and practical value.
• Learning to appreciate art enriches life, irrespective of profession.
• Creativity, requiring thinking outside the box, sets artworks apart.
• Imagination is not restricted by norms and enables crafting something new and impactful.
• Imagination produces art, and art inspires imagination.

Art as Expression

• Artists express emotions, exploring them and creating beauty, not inducing emotions.
• Expressing rather than describing emotions makes art a reflection of inner selves.

Core Concepts

• Meaningful human actions are directed by the intellect and expressed through actions leading to virtue or art.
• Art involves making objects useful and beautiful for contemplation and enjoyment.
• Art is the subjective expression of thoughts and feelings, aligning with humanities.

Assumptions of Art

• A universal language that evokes emotions, ideas, and thoughts
• It is valued by past, present, and future generations.
• It is designed to be enjoyed and understood by everyone, regardless of age or ability.
• It stems from culture and experience, involving creative expression.
• It is an imitation of nature with clarity and meaning, representing a creative activity

Art Appreciation

• It involves knowing and understanding the timeless qualities of great art.
• It betters the ability to develop, evaluate, and improve personal artwork.
• Judging relies on description, analysis, content, meaning, and judgment.
• Beauty provides pleasure and can be objective, subjective, or situational, involving both object and subject.
• While art appreciation is subjective, it can also be objective.

Standards for Appreciation

• Successive experiences reveal insights into beauty and meaning.
• Critical study of beauty properties like order, proportion, and clarity is key.
• The consensus of experts and time serve as arbiters of art's value.

Aspects of Beauty

• Everything in nature and art is inherently beautiful, but its significance may diminish with familiarity.
• Poverty and disease are ugly conditions in human life but gain meaning and beauty when painted or written about.
• The sublime involves astonishment and awe, like starry heavens.
• The nice involves love and sympathy, and the comic involves satire and irony.

Classifications and Forms of Art

• Criticism verifies and develops a artistic sensibility.
• Arts include Visual Arts, Literature and Combined Arts, Performing Arts, and Applied Arts

Visual Arts

• Appeals to the sense of sight and includes paintings, drawings, and sculpture.
• Filmmaking uses successions of still images to create the illusion of movement and focuses on aesthetic, cultural, and social value.
• Performance art uses the human body and other art forms in live performances.
• Poetry uses words to express emotions and stimulate feelings through carefully selected language.

Forms of Art

• Architecture is the making of beautiful buildings that embody plan, construction, and design.
• Dance, a performing art, involves movements following music.
• Expresses oneself, and literary art uses words to communicate emotions.
• Theater presents live accounts or imaginary events with acting, lighting, and sound effects.
• Applied arts incorporates design into everyday items, increasing their aesthetic value.

Divisions based on Purpose

• Practical arts produce useful artifacts, while liberal arts involve intellectual efforts.
• Fine arts express beauty, and major and minor arts are characterized by expressiveness and practicality.

Divisions based on Media & Forms

• Plastic arts are perceived visually, phonetic arts are based on sounds and words, and kinetic arts involve rhythmic movement.
• Pure arts use one expression medium, while mixed arts combine two or more.
• Space arts are visual, either 2D or 3D, while time arts are auditory.