What is Art?

Module 1: What is Art?

• Humanities and arts help man realize his goals.
• Art is something that is primarily around us.

Defining Art

• Art stems from the Ancient Latin "Ars," denoting craft or specialized skill, like carpentry, smithying, or surgery. (Collingwood, 1938)
• In the Ancient World, art involved using bare hands to produce useful items.
• Medieval Latin "Ars" meant "Any special form of book-learning such as grammar, or logic, magic or astrology" (Collingwood, 1938)
• In the Renaissance, the word "art" reacquired a meaning of mere craftsmanship.
• By the 18th century, the word "art" evolved to differentiate between fine arts and useful arts.

Significance of Art

• Art is studied for being among the highest expressions of culture.
• Art embodies ideals and aspirations and challenges assumptions and beliefs.
• Art creates new visions and possibilities.
• Contemporary art refers to fine art.
• Before the Renaissance, art was defined within the realm of functional crafts like goldsmithing.
• The concept of autonomous art or art for art's sake developed later.

Assumptions of art

• Literature offers key artistic works like the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey, and the Sanskrit Mahabharata and Ramayana.
• Art is man's attempt at recording stories and tales.
• Age does not influence the quality of art, but rather excellence ("Art is not good because it is old, but because it is good" - Dudley et al., 1960)
• Enjoyment of art is a higher good, according to John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism (1879)
• Human beings express themselves through art.

Art and Nature

• One characteristic of art that it is not nature
• Art is man's expression of the reception of nature and also man's interpretation of it.
• Art is based on an individual's subjective experiences of nature.

The role of experience in art

• Art is experience and the "Actual doing of something" (Dudley et al., 1960).
• Experience is a personal, individual, and subjective aspect of assessing art.
• Perception of art is always a value of judgement.
• Every experience with art is accompanied by some emotion.

Lesson 2: Art Appreciation: Creativity, Imagination, and Expression

• Art is distinguished from nature by being a product of creativity, imagination, and expression, not just recordings of natural beauty.

Art Appreciation as a way of Life

• Jean Paul-Sartre defined art as a creative work depicting subjects in a different light, stemming from human freedom (Greene, 1995).
• Appreciation of art refines one's ability to deeply understand its purpose (Collins & Riley, 1931).
• Cultivating art appreciation involves exercising and developing a taste for fine and beautiful things, enabling intelligent choices regarding necessities and luxuries.
• Art appreciation leads to a fuller and more meaningful life.
• Creativity requires thinking outside the box to solve unique problems and enhance life.

Role of Creativity in Art

• Creativity sets apart an artwork from another.
• Creative artists embrace originality and add their own flavor to their work, rather than copying.
• Creativity avoids plagiarism by researching related art to avoid conflict.

Art as It Relates to Imagination

• Albert Einstein emphasized that imagination is more important than knowledge because it embraces the entire world.
• Imaginary artworks can become real through creation.

Expression of Emotion Through Art

• R.G. Collingwood explicated that artists express emotions rather than inducing them in their work.
• Expression individualizes emotion, unlike description, which classifies it.
• Artists have freedom in expressing themselves.
• People's art reflects their inner selves, not external elements.
• Artwork expresses a defined feeling during the Romantic Movement and evokes emotional responses from viewers.

Lesson 3: History of Arts

Art in Early Civilizations

• Archaeological discoveries offer insight into early civilization's beliefs and activities.
• Early peoples' materials reflect their attitudes on social, political, and economic matters.
• Central themes persisted in artworks despite adaptation to changing environments.

Prehistoric Art

• Archaeological explorations reveal the shift from nomadism to permanent settlements.
• Stone Age humans created stable lives, permanent shelters, and tools.
• Paintings and sculptures depicted humans, animals, and their natural habitats, reflecting life during that time.
• Paleolithic art arose from climate change as early humans sought shelter in caves.
• Cave paintings, such as those in Lascaux, France, were created using advanced techniques like spray-painting by blowing ground pigments through reeds and hollowed-out bones.
• Neolithic art developed with stable human life, including monumental structures like Stonehenge.
• As the Neolithic Period ended, civilizations flourished in river valleys such as the Nile in Egypt, Indus in India, Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, and Huang Ho River in China.

Egyptian art and civilization

• Early Egyptians' recognized the Nile River's importance to their daily lives, leading them to worship the Nile.
• Periods of Egyptian Civilization: Old, Middle, and New Kingdom
• The Great Pyramid of Giza served as tombs for pharaohs, constructed from roughly two million limestone blocks.
• Middle Kingdom saw a shift in political hierarchy but art took a backseat.
• New Kingdom art referenced preceding kingdoms and new mortuary temples, resulting in inflated egos.
• Monuments and sculptures were still linked to death and reverence for the deceased.
• The Amarna Revolution, led by King Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti, shifted the capital to Tel El-Amarna.
• Sculptures of this period feature curving lines, full-bodied forms, elongated jaws, and thick-lidded eyes.
• Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, revealing gold artworks and gold coffin.

Ancient Greece

• Greek art and architecture were rooted in the belief that nature was in perfect order
• Development of Greek art can be divided into four periods: Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic
• Greece’s trading activities and the origins of theater and drama occurred during the Greek archaic period
• Classical period had Greek sculpture and architecture at its peak.
• Hellenistic sculptures began to emphasize balance while showcasing dynamic movement
• The followers of Dionysus, the god of fertility, initiated the Greek theater.

Ancient Rome

• Roman civilization came of age during the Hellenistic period, applying the principles of realism
• A fusion of Greek and Roman cultures can be seen in Roman artworks,
• Romans were master builders. One of their architectural achievements: the Colosseum
• Colosseum’s was for entertainment purposes like public events and gladiator games.

Middle Ages

• The period between the decline of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance
• The Christian Church’s scriptures were copied.

Renaissance Art

• Valued individual arts
• Influenced by humanism and naturalism emphasis on human body proportionality
• Exploration of depths in spaces provides paintings with a three-dimension perspective.
• Importance given to non-religious themes revival of Roman theatrical plays.

Mannerism

• Artists copied subjects from existing works of art.
• Most artwork during this period displayed distorted figures, two-dimensional space, and lacked a defined focal point.

Baroque and the Rococo Era

• Strengthened politics and art aside from religion.
• Baroque was derived from the Portuguese term barocco "irregularly shaped pearl."
• Artists considered motion, space, time, and dramatic lighting.
• Most composers came from Italy including Vivaldi, Corelli, and Monteverdi.

Neoclassism

• An emergence of modern painting exhibitions arose
• Aimed to revive and rekindle Greek and Roman influences into art and architecture.

Romanticism

• Used the central themes of Neoclassical artworks to promote justice, equality, social order, and emotions.

Realism

• Influenced by Hellenistic Greek culture
• Replaced idealistic concepts and images with real manifestation of society.
• Focuses on the accuracy of detail and what depicts and mirrors reality.

Impressionism

• A style of work started in France that emerged around the 1800s.
• Incorporated scientific principles to achieve a distinct representation of color.
• Emphasize the artist's immediate impression to a particular event.

Post-Impressionism

• An artistic movement emerged from France from the influence and rejection of Impressionism.

Neo-Impressionism

• Response to empirical realism of impressionism.
• Painters rely on techniques that have predetermined visual effects so it could also affect the audiences.

Art Nouveau

• From 1890 and 1910 witnessed by countries from Europe and the US
• Assymetrical line that is in form of insects or flower stalks.
• An ornamental style of art uses long and organic lines that is manifested in architecture, jewelry, and glass design.

Fauvism

• Style of art emerged in France around the 20th century.
• Used pure and vibrant colors that are directly applied from the paint tubes directly to the canvas and also the use of movement of color.

Cubism

• from 1907 and 1914 introduced by Pablo Picasso.
• Highlighting the two-dimensional surface of the picture plane rejected the notion that art should imitate nature
• Does not intend to copy texture, form, or colors.

Futurism

• Started in Italy and highlighted the speed, energy, dynamism, and power of machines.
• A common theme is to be restless and fast-paced.
• Embraced change, innovation, creativity, and originality.
• Disregarded the traditional method of the art in the past.

Lesson 4: Functions and Philosophical Perspective on Art

Greeks and Aristotle claimed every substance has its end or telos.

Functions of Art

• The value of the art depends on the work itself
• Plays of Aeschylus and the poetry of Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe are still considered great works, despite not having a known function.

Personal Function of Art

• Is extremely subjective
• It depends on the artist and what type of art they create

Social Function of Art

• Is social when it expresses collective interest opposed of what is personal

Physical Function of Art

• It is understandable in artwork that serves art that serves some physical purpose.

Other Functions of Art

• Music is used for dance and religion

Philosophical Perspective on Art

-Plato paints a picture of artists being imitators and a s mere imitation.

• Art imitate emotions and not lead one reality.
• Aristotle considers that art aims to represent reality as it is and teaches its audience about life, thus it is meant for cognitive as well.

Art And Communication and Emotion

• Expresses people’s existence because makes accessible feelings and emotions that people from the present and the past can feel.

Lesson 5: Artist and Artisan

• The cultivation of arts and culture helps contribute in different points of view, may it be society.

Artisan and Guilds

• Museums are packed with thousands of artifacts and objects that have survived for centuries
• Skills qualifications were important because it is needed for an apprentice to register under a particular guild.

Artist and Studio

• Studios are extensions of artists with artist flexing relationship with their patron as site where creations are made

Other Players in the World of Art

• With complexity of ART the plays aren't as limited because, it could take time for administration, managerial roles, directorship, or curator. The role of curators and interpret the artwork.
• The artist always has an opinion.
• Pre-production, production and post-production ART.

Engagement with Art

• Exhibitions act as a catalyst of art and ideas.

Lessons 6: Filipino Arts

• Pre-colonial artwork in the Archipelago Knowledge about Artistic Handicrafts Musical Instruments in the Philippines

• Philippines reflects a society influenced by diverse cultural beliefs and by the influences that the European country has on them.

• "Indigenous Philippines Arts and Crafts"

Traditional Craftsman Ship in the Philippine

• Jewelry located in Luzon and Mindanao region

Metal Crafts

• in Luzon and Mindano region

Pots and Jars

• in the region of Ilocos

Woven Fabrics

• Cordillera is in the Northern Luzon region.

Wood Carving

• Cordillera is in the Southern Luzon region.

"Love local" initiative helps economics and to provide help to many.

Famous people

- Rizon says to support

Precolonial

-Indigenous dance

Lessons 7: Visual Art

• Convey an idea about the symbolism
• Demonstrate knowledge
• Display an ability to paint A flat area is created when two ends of a line are linked Use materials