Art Appreciation - GEED-10073 UNIT 1

UNIT 1 – ARTS AND HUMANITIES: WESTERN AND FILIPINO CONCEPTS OVERVIEW: The arts is a necessity at this time in world life when values are challenged and shaken by events; cultures are damages by dominant concerns of politics and power struggles; and economic deprivation cuts across cultures especially in the so-called “third world” community. The humanities are very much present in the Philippine college curriculum because of the merits they render to humanizing the Filipino student who in the future, will join the work force and take up different roles in the society. By the term humanities, we generally mean art, literature, music and theater, areas in which human values and individual expressiveness are celebrated (Ramirez, et. al, 2008) Art, which is an important component of the humanities, takes life for its subject matter, with man as its main component. It relates to almost everything that surrounds man today, other people and other times. As such, it is a powerful record of everything human that evolves through the ages. LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to: 1. Students must be able to understand some central issues in the development of Western civilization in relation to humanity and the sciences; 2. Characterize artistic expression based on personal experiences with art 3. Differentiate art history from art appreciation; 4. Discuss the nature of art’s preliminary expression 5. Clarify misconceptions about art; Differentiate art from nature; 6. Distinguish between directly functional and indirectly functional art 7. Recognize the philosophical contribution of Western civilization and Filipino concept of pagpapakatao in relation to the formation of humanistic discipline; 8. Examine and explain the varied concepts between an Artist and an Artisan 9. Apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetics in real life scenarios 10. Discuss philosophical perspectives of art (Art as mimesis-Plato, Art as Representation- Aristotle, Art for Art’s sake- Kant, Art as an Escape, Arts as functional) 11. Explain and analyze the concept of art appreciation and the human faculties; 12. Differentiate content from subject; 13. Classify artworks according to subjects; 14. Analyze how artists present their subjects in relation to the real subject; 15. Characterize sources and kinds of art 4 COURSE MATERIALS: Lesson 1: ART AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE: THIS THING CALLED ART (The Meaning, Origin and Importance of Art) HUMANITIES AND ART: AN INTRODUCTION HUMANITIES: What is it? - The term Humanities comes from the Latin word, “humanitas”. It generally refers to art, literature, music, architecture, dance and the theatre—in which human subjectivity is emphasized and individual expressiveness is dramatized. - From the word “Humanus – Humanitas – Human , humanity – it refers to the quality of being human; huma, civilized, cultured) - It is a branch of Learning- which refers to the study of arts. As a study its material object is “Art work” and its formal object is “creativity and appreciation”. Every creation around us which is made by human beings represents someone's humanity. The chair we are sitting in, the clothes we are wearing, the building we are in, or our home, even the time of day which people created, all are representative of someone's humanity -- their human-ness. In other words, everything that human beings have created can be classified as part of the humanities. 1. How important is Humanities? - The fields of knowledge and study falling under humanities are dedicated to the pursuit of discovering and understanding the nature of man. - The humanities deal with man as a being of purpose, of values, loves, hates, ideas and sometimes as a seer or prophet with divine inspiration. - The humanities aim at educating. - Humanities is more concerned on how a person expresses his/her feelings. These feelings can be in facial manifestations or body movements. Laughing, crying, clenching our fists, curling our toes, stretching out our fingers, and crossing our arms are representations of humanities (Menoy, 2009). 2. Misconceptions on the term Humanities: It should not be confused with the terms: 2.1. Humanism – specific philosophical belief 2.2. Humanitarianism – concern for charitable works. 3. Humanities: Art and Science 3.1. Art: Skills (Greek techne or technical) 3.2. Science: Involves a process. 3.3. Social Science: Man as the focus. Art is the subject matter, but art is created by man for man. 5 4. Humanities vs. Philosophy Comparison: Humanities: Man is the source and fountain of all creativity. (Creating Subject) Philosophy: Man is the starting point of knowledge. (Inquiring Subject) Contrast: Humanities: Explicit understanding of artworks – extensions of his being (man). Philosophy: Implicit understanding of himself as composed of body and soul. 5. Why Study Humanities? 1. Through Humanities, we can be connected to places we have not visited, understand the past or history which has significance to the present. It makes us encounter great minds and hearts of human history. 2. Through Humanities, we will be studying what humans have found valuable or good throughout the time. 3. Through Humanities, we experience connection between culture and community through different art exposures – museum visits, concerts, theater performance, and support of local artists. 4. Through Humanities, we increase our respect for cultural and individual differences through a knowledge of achievements and of world civilization. 5. Through Humanities, we gain a global perspective through the knowledge of world cultures. 6. Through Humanities, once will be able to build up his/her career, focus in life, minimize frustration, and most importantly, be able to work as part of an effective team. ART: ITS MEANING AND IMPORTANCE In our life, we experience so much fragmentation of our thoughts and feelings. But, by creating arts, it brings things back together. We merely make art because of so many reasons, and we enjoy the process of it. - The word “art” usually refers to the so-called “fine arts” (e.g. pictorial, plastic, and building)– and to the so-called “minor arts” (everyday, useful, applied, and decorative arts) - The word “art” is derived from the Latin word arti, [or Italian artis] which denotes craftsmanship, skill, mastery of form, inventiveness. It includes literature, music, paintings, photography, sculpture, etc. It serves as an original record of human needs and achievements. It usually refers to the so-called “fine arts” (e.g., graphics, plastic, and building) and to the so-called “minor arts” (everyday, useful, applied, and decorative arts). It is the process of using our senses and emotions in making creative activities (Marcos, 2010 and A. Tan); or from the Latin word ars meaning ability or skills (J.V. Estolas). - Art is a product of man’s need to express himself (F. Zulueta). It concerned itself with the communication of certain ideas and feelings by means of sensuous medium, color, sound, bronze, marble, words, and film (C. Sanchez) - Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, argues that art is important even amidst extensive poverty and deprivation. - It is a human capability to make things beautiful (e.g., buildings, illustration, designing, painting, sculpture, and Photography) through the production of his/her imagination depending on the preparation, theme, medium, and values used 6 1. Some definitions of art according to philosophers: - Art is that which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the world.-Plato - Art tries to reach the ideal (the God-like)- Plato - Art is the whole spirit of man.-Ruskin - Art is the medium by which the artist communicates himself to his fellows.- Charleton Noyes - Art should express harmony. – Aristotle - Art is the product of genius. - Kant - Art is anything made or done by man that affects or moves us so that we see or feel beauty in it. (Collins and Riley) Plato - Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind - one which demands for its own satisfaction and fulfilling, a shaping of matter to new or more significant form. - John Dewey Aristotle ART, CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION AND EXPRESSION BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF ART Art: Concept or Fact? Art is either a concept or a fact. As a concept, it is subject to be understood and be grasped by any perceiver. Furthermore, it cannot be defined because it springs from the ideas and emotions of man concretized by means of any sensuous material. But, art as a fact is observable; is that which is known through the senses. It refers then to any creative work of an artist that can easily be described upon noticing the different mediums being used and the context in which it is produced. Assumption 1: ART IS TIMELESS AND UNIVERSAL “I dreamt I saw great Venus by me stand, Leading a nodding infant by the hand; And that she said to me familiarly – Take Love, and teach him how to play to me.” -Translated by Leigh Hunt Art has been Art has been created by all people at all times, in all countries and it lives because it is well-liked and enjoyed. In every age or country, there is always art. Wherever we go, whether it is a city or a province, here or abroad, we surely have to pass buildings of various sorts---houses, schools, churches, stores, etc. Some of them appear attractive and inviting, some do not. We look at 7 some of them with awe and admiration. We find art also in the clothes and the accessories we wear, in the design of our furniture and furnishings; in the styles of the vehicles we use. We find art objects in the home and in the community, in religion, in trade and in industries. Art is universally present in all forms of human society and in every generation because it serves some fundamental needs. Often times, people feel that what is considered artistic are only those which have been made long time ago. This is a misconception. Age is not a factor in determining art. “An art is not good because it is old, but old because it is good” (Dudley et al., 1960) as cited in (Wel, 2018). Examples: 1. Iliad and Odyssey 2. Mahabharata and Ramayana 3. Florante at Laura 4. Ibong Adarna 5. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo 6. Psalms (from the Bible) Assumption 2: ART IS NOT NATURE, NATURE IS NOT ART. ART IS MAN-MADE Distinctly different from each other, we see and hear only what there is in nature; the artists open our eyes to see nature more clearly and to provide new visions and interpretations of life (Lamucho et al, 2003). This relates to the concept of the Resemblance theory in Art Work. This theory would mean that work of art may closely resemblance nature, but it can never duplicate nature in as much as it is only man-made. The photographic art is somewhat closest to this theory. The pictures or photographs you'll get are somewhat similar to the original specimen but even then, they are only the records of the subject or a scene. Figure 1 Manila Bay's iconic sunset Note: Manila Bay's iconic sunset, taken from the viewing deck of the Manila Ocean Park, Behind Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Ermita, Manila, Philippines (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manila_Bay_Sunset_(2).JPG) Copyright 2015 Lawrence Ruiz. Used under Creative Commons Attribution Assumption 3: ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE, ART IS A PERSONAL AND INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE) Art involves experience and that there can never be appreciation of art without experience, the actual doing of something. Experience is the first and last demand of art. Unless one knows the work itself has experience of it, he knows little. 8 “Someone else can compose music for you, Someone else can perform music for you, No one on earth can listen to music for you.” -Olga Somaroff All art demands experience. There can be no appreciation of art without experience. An experience is something that affects your life. Persons Affected by Art Experience: 1. The person of the artist. 2. The person of the percipient. Characteristics of Experience: 1. It must be personal and individual. It must not exactly be the same as that of any other person. 2. Experience is accompanied by emotion or emotional reaction. You like it or you do not like it. Assumption 4: ART MUST BE CREATIVE, NOT IMITATIVE The comparison between the artist and craftsman has confused a lot of people. As mentioned before, the word art originally meant skill, ability, or craft (corresponding to the Greek techne from which we derive the words like technical and technique). In the ancient world, a "work of art" was simply any object that required skill or craft in its production. Only gradually, beginning about the middle of the 17th century, did work of art mean a work of fine or high art. In this case, the artisan or the craftsman is not expected to be original and he is good at his job to the extent that he can successfully follow the relevant rules. A work of a craft is good if it matches the appropriate template and performs the desired function. However, the artist must be creative and original. Good art cannot be produced by slavish rule following and imitation. Great artists are genius whose works transcend the rules and conventions of their time. Assumption 5: ART MUST BENEFIT AND SATISFY MAN- MAN MAKE USE OF ART IN PRACTICAL LIFE THROUGH ARTISTIC PRINCIPLES, TASTE, AND SKILL. Assumption 6: ART IS EXPRESSED THROUGH A CERTAIN MEDIUM OR MATERIAL BY WHICH THE ARTIST COMMUNICATES HIMSELF TO HIS FELLOWS. The choices a designer or artist can make are determined by the characteristics of the materials used, and the techniques applied to those materials. The combination of materials and techniques used are also referred to as the medium used. 9 The Use of Natural Objects in Works of Art There are some artists who would use the natural objects as they are without changing them in carrying their art work. Take for example, a landscape. Artists charged with the task of landscaping would have to use the stones and other natural materials without even deforming their shape, form and organization. This is the principle of non-transformation. Under the principle of Transformation, it is necessary for the artists to alter the natural objects in carrying their art work because by so doing the idea of the artist, the purpose of the art and the circumstances surrounding the art can properly be served. GENERAL CLASSES OF ARTIFACTS The three general classes of artifacts include the following: 1. Practically useful, but not disinterestedly pleasing (subjectively pleasing) 2. Both practically useful and disinterestedly pleasing (not subjectively pleasing); and 3. Not practically useful, but disinterestedly pleasing (not subjectively pleasing). The works of art most of the times fall under the third class. Disinterested – not determined by any personal or subjective interest. We take pleasure in something because we judge it beautiful in itself, rather than judging it beautiful because we find it pleasurable. Example: I like this artwork because it reminds me of the safety and warmth of our hometown. It is your own pleasure that serves as the criterion in judging the art as beautiful. Artworks are beautiful in themselves no matter they could give us subjective pleasure or not. Natural objects vs. Artifacts In relation to art and to the basic assumption # 2, the following are the arguments that would separate each other from a single category: 1. Works of art can express ideas or feelings, but nature cannot. 2. Works of art---like sentences, but unlike natural objects--can mean something. This point can perhaps be better put another way: works of art, like sentences, but unlike natural objects, can embody communicative intentions. Take for example, reading a poem. Through it, we are presumably entitled to ask, "What is trying to say?" We are certainly not entitled to ask such a question after looking at a waterfall or a cloud. 3. Works of art can imitate nature (and can be applauded for doing so), but nature cannot imitate nature COMMON AMONG ART WORKS (UNITY) The one thing that is common to all the works of art is the tie that relates a painting to a song, a play to a dance. The most basic relationship is that the arts are concerned with emotions; with our feelings about things. When a person sees a picture he thinks is beautiful or a play he thinks is exciting, he feels that is lovely or stirring. His reaction is primarily emotional. 10 DIVERSITY IN ARTS The arts are remarkable in their diversity, not only in the subject matter but also in the materials and in the forms. No rules can govern either in creation or in the appreciation. The artist is influenced by the world around him, so that his work reflects the time and the place in which he lives. If artists or critics do set up rules to follow, other artists and critics will prove the rules false. Arts change as life changes. Authorities in arts state that the work of an artist must be judged against the background of the time in which he lived. CHARACTERISTICS OF ART WORKS Drawing a conclusion from the ideas about art mentioned above, we can summarize the following as the various characteristics of an art work: 1. They are man-made; 2. They are universal; 3. They are united; 4. They are diversified; 5. They are expressive; 6. They are creative; and 7. They are beautiful. ART AS CREATIVE WORK Jean-Paul Sartre (French Philosopher in the 20th century) – Art as a creative work that depicts the world in a different perspective and source of human freedom. (Greene, 1995) – Each artwork beholds beauty of its own kind, the kind that the artist sees and wants the viewers to perceive. – Refining one's ability to appreciate art allows him to deeply understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses. (Collins & Riley, 1931) Exercise and develop his taste for things that are fine and beautiful Make intelligent choices and decisions in acquiring necessities and luxuries Learning to appreciate art, no matter what vocation or profession you have, will lead to a fuller and more meaningful life (Collins & Riley, 1931). What is Creativity? Kohl (2020) stated that creativity focuses on the process of forming original ideas through exploration and discovery. In children, creativity develops from their experiences with the process, rather than concern for the finished product. Creativity is not to be confused with talent, skill, or intelligence. Creativity is not about doing something better than others, it is about thinking, exploring, discovering, and imagining. Creativity is found in the obvious art and music, but can also be found in science and play. Role of Creativity in Art Making 1. Creativity requires thinking outside the box. 2. Creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another. 11 3. He [Artist] embraces originality, puts his own flavor into his work, and calls it his own creative piece. ART AS A PRODUCT OF IMAGINATION Albert Einstein (German physicist) – knowledge is derived from imagination. – "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.“ Crafting of something bold, something new, and something better in the hopes of creating something that will stimulate change. An artwork does not need to be a real thing, but can be imaginary (Collingwood, 1938). Artists use their imagination that gives birth to reality through creation. Imagination as a Product of Art 1. Art also inspire imagination. 2. Creative pieces were made not only because they were functional to men, but also because beauty gave them joy (Collins & Riley, 1931). ART AS EXPRESSION – An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he expresses it. – Robin George Collingwod, an English philosopher who is best known for his work in aesthetics explicated in his publication, The Principle of Art (1938) argues that what an artist does to an emotion is not to include it, but express it. Forms of Arts that an Artist used to Express Emotions 1. Visual Arts – a kind of art form that the population is most likely more exposed to, but its variations are so diverse — they range from sculptures that you see in art galleries. 2. Film - refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an illusion movement 3. Performance Art (dance) - is a live art and the artist medium is mainly the human body which he or she used to perform but also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound. 4. Poetry Performance - is an art where the artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera but expresses them through words. 5. Architecture - Making of beautiful buildings. Some buildings only embody the functionality, but the structure, lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully expressed. Buildings should embody these three important elements—plan, construction, and design. 6. Literary Art - uses words to express and communicate emotions to the readers. Literary art goes beyond the usual professional, academic, journalistic, and other technical forms of writing. It focuses on writing using a unique style, not following a specific format or norm. 7. Theater - uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience. It follows a script, considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting, 12 sound effects, musical score, scenery, and props. Participation of the viewer is an important element in theater arts. 8. Applied Art - incorporates elements of style and design to everyday items with the aim of increasing their aesthetical value. Industrial design, interior design, fashion design, and graphic design are considered applied arts. Artists can combine functionality and style. PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF ART PURPOSE OF ART Art has had a great number of different functions throughout its history, making its purpose difficult to quantify to any single concept. This does not imply that the purpose of art is “vague” but that it has had many unique, different reasons for being created. Some of the functions of art are provided in the outline below. This is a partial list of purposes as developed by Claude Lévi Strauss. 1. Expression of the imagination. Art provides a means to express the imagination (things, places, ideas that are unreal or unknowable) in non grammatical ways. Unlike words, which come in sequences, each of which has a definite meaning, art provides a range of forms, symbols and ideas with meanings that can be determined by the artist. An artist can create visual imagery of mythical animals, religious concepts such as heaven or hell, fictional places, or other things from their creative mind. 2. Ritualistic and symbolic functions. In many cultures, art is used in religion, spiritual or magical rituals, performances and dances as a decoration or symbol of a god or other divine quality. While these often have no specific utilitarian purpose, anthropologists know that they often serve a purpose at the level of meaning within a particular culture. This meaning is not furnished by any one individual, but is often the result of many generations of change and understanding, and of a cosmological relationship within the culture. 3. Communication. Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. Most forms of communication have an intent or goal directed toward other people. Illustrative arts, such as scientific illustration, are a form of art as communication. Maps are another example. However, the content need not be scientific. Stories, emotions, and feelings are also communicated through art. 4. Entertainment. Art may seek to bring about a particular emotion or mood, for the purpose of relaxing or entertaining the viewer. This is often the function of the art industries such as Motion Pictures and Video Games. And of course, more traditional art, such as some paintings and sculptures are simply meant to be enjoyable. 5. Political change. One of the defining functions of early twentieth-century art has been to use visual images to bring about political change. Art movements that had this goal— Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism, among others—are collectively referred to as the avant-garde arts. This purpose of art continues today in many objects aimed at exposing corruption of the ruling class, including government, the wealthy, and corporations. 6. Social causes. Art can be used to raise awareness for a large variety of causes. A number of art activities are aimed at raising awareness of AIDS, autism, cancer, human 13 trafficking, and a variety of other topics, such as ocean conservation, human rights in Darfur, murdered and missing Aboriginal women, elder abuse, marriage equality, and pollution. Trashion, using trash to make fashion, is one example of using art to raise awareness about pollution. 7. Psychological and healing purposes. Art is also used by art therapists, psychotherapists and clinical psychologists as art therapy. The Diagnostic Drawing Series, for example, is used to determine the personality and emotional functioning of a patient. The end product (the art object) is not the principal goal in this case, but rather a process of healing, through creative acts, is sought. The resultant piece of artwork may also offer insight into the troubles experienced by the subject and may suggest suitable approaches to be used in more conventional forms of psychiatric therapy. 8. Propaganda or commercialism. Art is often utilized as a form of propaganda, and thus can be used to subtly influence popular conceptions or mood (especially regarding political issues). In a similar way, art that tries to sell a product also influences mood and emotion. In both cases, the purpose of art here is to subtly manipulate the viewer into a particular emotional or psychological response toward a particular idea or object. These are just one writer’s categorization of purposes for art; there are many other ways to try to organize the diverse and complex ideas of art into artificial categories. In addition, the functions of art described above are not mutually exclusive, as many of them may overlap. For example, art for the purpose of entertainment may also be commercial or seek to sell a product (i.e. a movie or video game). Creativity or imagination is the primary basis of art. Art is created when an artist produces a stimulating experience that is considered by his audience to have artistic merit. The artwork is the visual expression of an idea or experience of an artist, through the use of a medium (Frank, 2011). It allows expression of the individuality of the artist. Through artistic endeavors, we can share what is important to us with others and can learn about the values of feelings of those sharing art with us. Some purposes of art are the following (Marcos et al., 2011). 1. Create Beauty- Art is an expression of our thoughts, emotions, and intuitions. It is the communication of concepts that cannot be faithfully portrayed by words alone. The Artist has considered nature as the standard of beauty. The example of beauty can be in a snowy mountain scene, and the art is the photograph of it shown to the family. 2. Provide Decoration- Artworks are used to create a pleasing environment. It is intended to beautify things to please and amuse the viewers through its colors and patterns. 3. Reveal Truth- Artwork helped to pursue truth and attempted to reveal about how the world works. It is a kind of language that allows artists to send a message to the souls of the recipients that help change their attitudes, their sensibility, and their ethics. 4. Express Values- Arts can illuminate our inner lives and enrich our emotional world. Through arts, the artist will be encouraged to develop their creativity, challenge, and communication skills. It also promotes self- esteem and wellness. 5. Commemorate Experience- Art serves to convey the personal experiences of an artist and record his impression in his work. 14 6. Create Harmony- An artist makes use of the composition to put an order in the diverse content of his work. FUNCTIONS OF ART Art has had a great number of different functions throughout its history, making its purpose difficult to abstract or quantify to any single concept. This does not imply that the purpose of art is “vague” but that it has had many unique, different reasons for being created. Some of the functions of art are provided in the outline below. The different purposes of art may be grouped according to those that are non-motivated and those that are motivated (Lévi-Strauss). Non-motivated Functions of Art The non-motivated purposes of art are those that are integral to being human, transcend the individual, or do not fulfill a specific external purpose. In this sense, art, as creativity, is something humans must do by their very nature (i.e., no other species creates art), and is therefore beyond utility. 1. Basic human instinct for harmony, balance, rhythm. Art at this level is not an action or an object, but an internal appreciation of balance and harmony (beauty), and therefore an aspect of being human beyond utility. Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the instinct for ‘harmony’ and rhythm, meters being manifestly sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this natural gift developed by degrees their special aptitudes, till their rude improvisations gave birth to Poetry. —Aristotle 2. Experience of the mysterious. Art provides a way to experience one’s self in relation to the universe. This experience may often come unmotivated, as one appreciates art, music or poetry. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. —Albert Einstein 3. Expression of the imagination. Art provides a means to express the imagination in non grammatic ways that are not tied to the formality of spoken or written language. Unlike words, which come in sequences and each of which have a definite meaning, art provides a range of forms, symbols and ideas with meanings that are malleable. Jupiter’s eagle [as an example of art] is not, like logical (aesthetic) attributes of an object, the concept of the sublimity and majesty of creation, but rather something else – something that gives the imagination an incentive to spread its flight over a whole host of kindred representations that provoke more thought than admits of expression in a concept determined by words. They furnish an aesthetic idea, which serves the above rational idea as a substitute for logical presentation, but with the proper function, however, of animating the mind by opening out for it a prospect into a field of kindred representations stretching beyond its ken. —Immanuel Kant 15 4. Ritualistic and symbolic functions. In many cultures, art is used in rituals, performances and dances as a decoration or symbol. While these often have no specific utilitarian (motivated) purpose, anthropologists know that they often serve a purpose at the level of meaning within a particular culture. This meaning is not furnished by any one individual, but is often the result of many generations of change, and of a cosmological relationship within the culture. Most scholars who deal with rock paintings or objects recovered from prehistoric contexts that cannot be explained in utilitarian terms and are thus categorized as decorative, ritual or symbolic, are aware of the trap posed by the term “art.” -Silva Tomaskova MOTIVATED FUNCTIONS OF ART Motivated purposes of art refer to intentional, conscious actions on the part of the artists or creator. These may be to bring about political change, to comment on an aspect of society, to convey a specific emotion or mood, to address personal psychology, to illustrate another discipline, to (with commercial arts) to sell a product, or simply as a form of communication. 1. Communication. Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. As most forms of communication have an intent or goal directed toward another individual, this is a motivated purpose. Illustrative arts, such as scientific illustration, are a form of art as communication. Maps are another example. However, the content need not be scientific. Emotions, moods and feelings are also communicated through art. [Art is a set of] artifacts or images with symbolic meanings as a means of communication. —Steve Mithen 2. Art as entertainment. Art may seek to bring about a particular emotion or mood, for the purpose of relaxing or entertaining the viewer. This is often the function of the art industries of Motion Pictures and Video Games. 3. The Avante-Garde. Art for political change. One of the defining functions of early twentieth-century art has been to use visual images to bring about political change. Art movements that had this goal—Dadaism, Surrealism, Russian constructivism, and Abstract Expressionism, among others—are collectively referred to as the avante-garde arts. By contrast, the realistic attitude, inspired by positivism, from Saint Thomas Aquinas to Anatole France, clearly seems to me to be hostile to any intellectual or moral advancement. I loathe it, for it is made up of mediocrity, hate, and dull conceit. It is this attitude which today gives birth to these ridiculous books, these insulting plays. It constantly feeds on and derives strength from the newspapers and stultifies both science and art by assiduously flattering the lowest of tastes; clarity bordering on stupidity, a dog’s life. —André Breton (Surrealism) 4. Art as a “free zone,” removed from the action of the social censure. Unlike the avant-garde movements, which wanted to erase cultural differences in order to produce new universal values, contemporary art has enhanced its tolerance towards cultural differences as well as its critical and liberating functions (social inquiry, activism, subversion, deconstruction…), becoming a more open place for research and experimentation. 16 5. Art for social inquiry, subversion, and/or anarchy. While similar to art for political change, subversive or deconstructivist art may seek to question aspects of society without any specific political goal. In this case, the function of art may be simply to criticize some aspect of society. Spray-paint graffiti on a wall in Rome Graffiti art and other types of street art are graphics and images that are spray-painted or stenciled on publicly viewable walls, buildings, buses, trains, and bridges, usually without permission. Certain art forms, such as graffiti, may also be illegal when they break laws (in this case vandalism). 6. Art for social causes. Art can be used to raise awareness for a large variety of causes. A number of art activities were aimed at raising awareness of autism, cancer, human trafficking, and a variety of other topics, such as ocean conservation, human rights in Darfur, murdered and missing Aboriginal women, elder abuse, and pollution. Trashion, using trash to make fashion, practiced by artists such as Marina DeBris is one example of using art to raise awareness about pollution. 7. Art for psychological and healing purposes. Art is also used by art therapists, psychotherapists and clinical psychologists as art therapy. The Diagnostic Drawing Series, for example, is used to determine the personality and emotional functioning of a patient. The end product is not the principal goal in this case, but rather a process of healing, through creative acts, is sought. The resultant piece of artwork may also offer insight into the troubles experienced by the subject and may suggest suitable approaches to be used in more conventional forms of psychiatric therapy. 8. Art for propaganda or commercialism. Art is often utilized as a form of propaganda, and thus can be used to subtly influence popular conceptions or mood. In a similar way, art that tries to sell a product also influences mood and emotion. In both cases, the purpose of art here is to subtly manipulate the viewer into a particular emotional or psychological response toward a particular idea or object. 9. Art as a fitness indicator. It has been argued that the ability of the human brain by far exceeds what was needed for survival in the ancestral environment. One evolutionary psychology explanation for this is that the human brain and associated traits (such as artistic ability and creativity) are the human equivalent of the peacock’s tail. The purpose of the male peacock’s extravagant tail has been argued to be to attract females. According to this theory superior execution of art was evolutionarily important because it attracted mates. The functions of art described above are not mutually exclusive, as many of them may overlap. For example, art for the purpose of entertainment may also seek to sell a product (i.e. a movie or video game). 17 CLASSIFICATIONS OF ART Many changes in the arts took place during the early modern period. Its classification can be on many characteristics, including form, shape, function, use, or social context. Works of art are classified in many different ways, namely: 1. Visual Arts- These arts are those forms that create works which are primarily visual (forms perceived by the eyes). The man can take the beauty of nature through a piece of paper so that other people may take time appreciating the captured image. Examples of these arts include: a. Painting- This form of visual art aims to evoke an emotion from the viewers. It is practice by applying colors or other media to a surface with a brush or other objects. b. Sculpture- This form of visual arts characterized as the art of representing an imagined or observed objects in hard materials such as glass, metals, or wood in three dimensions. c. Architecture- This form of art provides us the physical structure we lived. It is a profound expression of human culture in a particular period, and it will endure and outlive us in forms of monuments that future generations will study and strive to understand. d. Drawing- This form of art enhances the way we see the world around and conditions us to capture its details in a two-dimensional medium. This has been a critical element of art throughout history and in the contemporary art world. e. Photography- This form of art is a process of creating portraits by recording radiation on a radiation-sensitive medium, such as electronic image sensors or photographic films. 2. Performing Arts- These arts are those forms in which the artists used his/her own body, face, and presence as a medium. Examples of these arts are as follows: a. Theatre (Drama) - This form of art uses performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place and time. b. Music- This form of art helps to express our mood and feel the way through our emotions and ideas. Based on a study, different types of music may be suitable to different moods though classical music is still recommended as the most calming music option. c. Dance- This form of art is expressed through body movement which entails social interaction, or presented in a spiritual or performance setting. d. Film- This form of art allows us to explore the complexities of the human situation. This is used to work out our emotions, to make history comes alive, science is explained, and literary works are brought into life. e. Installation Art- The fundamental nature of this form of art is the participation of the spectators. In this work of art, viewers become active and navigate the work in an environment that they can experience visually. It also has the capacity of passing on particular information about any significant event around the world and interactively represents documentary issues. f. Opera- This form of art helps to tell stories through music. This is also performed with a full orchestra composed of the various musical instrument sections. In this art form, singers and musicians perform a dramatic work by combining text (called a libretto) and musical score. g. Stagecraft- This form of art is a technical aspect of theatrical production. This includes constructing and arranging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, the design of 18 costumes, makeup, and procurement of props, stage management and recording and mixing of sound. 3. Literary Arts- These arts centered on creative writing and other composition processes which intended to read. These include prose and poetry (e.g., novels, short stories, sonnet, ballad, epic, and essay). READINGS / REFERENCES: 1. Bascara, Linda R. and Adela Avillanoza. (2006). Humanities and the Digital Arts. Manila. Rex Bookstore. 2. Lamucho, Victoria Santos et al. (2003) Introduction to Humanities. Valenzuela City. Mutya Publishing House. 3. Menoy, Jesus Z. Introduction to the Humanities A Holistic Approach. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp., 2009. 4. Ramirez, Veronica et al.(2008). “Minding the Arts. Art Appreciation for College Students”, Mutya Publishing House, Malabon City. 5. Sanchez, Custodia A., Paz F. Abad, and Loreto V. Jao. Introduction to the Humanities Revised Edition. Rex Bookstore. Online Source(s) 1. Functions of Art. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/masteryart1/chapter/oer-1-2/ 2. Kohl, M. A. F. (2020, April 2). What is Creativity? | Process Art and Creativity. Bright Ring Publishing, Inc. http://brightring.com/about-creativity/fostering creativity/#:%7E:text=Creativity%20is%20not%20about%20doing,found%20in%20scie n ce%20and%20play. 3. Overview on Humanities and Arts. Retrieved from: http://www.geocities.ws/vitasophia_bookcenter/humanities.pdf 4. Purposes of Arts. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sac artappreciation/chapter/oer-1-2/ 5. Wel, T. (2018, November 17). Art: Introduction and Assumptions. Ruel Positive. http://www.ruelpositive.com/art-introduction-assumptions IMAGES: 1. Ruiz, L. (2015, April 15). Manila Bay Sunset [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manila_Bay_Sunset_(2).JPG 19 2. Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.-a). Aristotle [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jp g 3. Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.-b). Plato [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Bust_of_Plato%2C_Vatican_Mus e um%2C_Rome.jpg WATCH: 1. Anthony Garcia. (2012, May 13). Humanities Presentation “What is Humanities?” for CASC [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t72HTrH_xX4 2. TED-Ed. (2018, November 26). Who decides what art means? - Hayley Levitt [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoXyw909Qu0 3. TED-Ed. (2013d, October 4). How art can help you analyze - Amy E. Herman [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubEadhXWwV4 ACTITVITIES/ASSESSMENT: 1. ACRONYM IT IS! (Describe me please!) From the insights that you have gained in the readings, create an acronym using the words HUMANITIES and ARTS, to artistically describe the two concepts. Write your description vertically in a short bond paper. You may use colorful materials as a background for your texts. Example: H- A U- R M- T A- S N I T I R E S- Criteria for checking I. Presence of Creativity in use of words (5 pts) II. Content (relationship and relevance of ideas) (10 pts.) III. Uniqueness/ Originality (10 pts.) Total= 25 pts. 20 2. Reflection Paper: Answer the question below. For offline learners, you may write your answers in a yellow pad. For online learners send your paper on _____ through our assigned social platform (ex. Google Classroom) a. Does art always have a function? If an artwork did not have any function, will it remain art? Criteria for Checking I. UNITY (presence of topic sentence) –5pts II. COHERENCE (use of transitional devices)- 5pts III. EMPHASIS (diction/ choice of words)- 5pts 21 COURSE MATERIALS: LESSON 2: THOREAU’S DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ARTIST AND AN ARTISAN “Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins,” James Baldwin admonished in his advice to aspiring writers as he considered the real building blocks of genius: “Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” Two decades before that, in pondering whether great artists are born or made, Jack Kerouac proclaimed: “Genius gives birth, talent delivers.” More than a century earlier, Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817–May 6, 1862) — one of humanity’s greatest artists, in the most expansive sense of the word — brought his formidable intellect and spiritual genius to this question in his 1849 masterwork A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers Right around the time he was contemplating the myth of productivity and the true measure of meaningful work, Thoreau writes: “The Man of Genius may at the same time be, indeed is commonly, an Artist, but the two are not to be confounded. The Man of Genius, referred to mankind, is an originator, an inspired or demonic man, who produces a perfect work in obedience to laws yet unexplored. The Artist is he who detects and applies the law from observation of the works of Genius, whether of man or nature. The Artisan is he who merely applies the rules which others have detected. There has been no man of pure Genius; as there has been none wholly destitute of Genius.” Thoreau — who wrote beautifully about the dignity of defining one’s own success — argues that true genius is often met with resistance; that the test and mark of genius is how well one is able to stay one’s course amid external pressures to conform to the beaten path: “To the rarest genius it is the most expensive to succumb and conform to the ways of the world. Genius is the worst of lumber, if the poet would float upon the breeze of popularity. The bird of paradise is obliged constantly to fly against the wind, lest its gay trappings, pressing close to its body, impede its free movements. He is the best sailor who can steer within the fewest points of the wind, and extract a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. Most begin to veer and tack as soon as the wind changes from aft, and as within the tropics it does not blow from all points of the compass, there are some harbors which they can never reach.” Not unlike we use the word “artist” today, Thoreau uses the word “poet” in more than its literal sense, connoting not just writers of poetry but creators who enlarge our poetic appreciation of beauty and truth through their work, whatever its nature. He writes: “It is the worshippers of beauty, after all, who have done the real pioneer work of the world. The poet will prevail to be popular in spite of his faults and in spite of his beauties too. He will hit the nail on the head, and we shall not know the shape of his hammer.” 22 To the artists whose genius goes unrecognized in their lifetime, Thoreau offers the consolation of a vaster perspective: “The poet … will remember only that he saw truth and beauty from his position, and expect the time when a vision as broad shall overlook the same field as freely.” ARTIST. CRAFTSMAN. ARTISAN: WHAT is the DIFFERENCE? An Artist is someone who produces works like paintings or sculpture, or works in the performing arts, or is skilled at a particular task or occupation. An Artisan is someone who is skilled in an applied art, or makes a distinctive product in small quantities. A Craftsman is someone who is a sort of amalgam of both. So what IS the difference? The main difference is defined by how other people respond to the piece in question – especially when they don’t like it. It’s also about the intention of the creator – " Why am I doing this?" Although a craftsman might theoretically end up with a work of art… even by accident. Is Artistry about originality vs. duplication? An Artisan will be expected to be able to duplicate their work, whereas an Artist is all about originality every time. Creativity is key to all three in different levels of measure. However, the reason creativity in advertising is a craft is because what we produce has a function. And that’s common to all objects produced by a craftsman. And yet, sometimes - especially these days - it seems that we are also producing what could equally well be described as aesthetic material without function, and that’s a pure definition of art. The definition is in a negative reaction Food preparation is a very good example of something that might exist in all three definitions simultaneously. It is only the intention of the creator and the reaction of the consumer that decide which definition it falls into. Is a chef creating a work of art when they prepare food? Are they making something delicious? Are they creating something easily duplicated by others? Or are they just manufacturing fuel? Also, the reaction by the creator to a rejection of the food can be anything from derision of ignorance of what excellence is, to coming out of the kitchen with a meat cleaver. The difference can be within what the individual does with the material they’re working with. The artist might take a material and apply it in a totally unique way to a subject. Whereas an Artisan or craftsman might work within the limits of the material to get out of it the best they can. 23 Then there’s the acquisition of the skills and talent. Craft is about learning as well as following teaching. Art is inherent in one’s soul and doesn’t answer to the rules, and yet one needs to know the rules in order to break them. IMPORTANCE OF ARTISANS AND TYPES OF ARTISANS Who are Artisans? Artisans are tradesmen and tradeswomen or craftsmen and craftswomen. They are skilled workers that are involved in skilled trade using their hands in making things, installing things, repairing things and maintaining things with the help of tools, equipment or machinery. Unlike white collar jobs, these crafts persons are known for blue collar jobs. As a matter of fact they are skilled manual workers that specialize in specific crafts. Artisan services involve the use of hands in making crafts hence these crafts are called handicrafts such that while the male artisans are called handicraftsmen, the female artisans are called handicraftswomen. Some artisans are also referred to as technicians as a result of their technical skills. In times past, artisans are also called artificers. Artisans are divided into two categories. Artisans that teach or train others are called masters while those learning from these masters are called apprentices or journeymen. Apprenticeship is the process and period of time for apprentices to learn crafts or trade from their masters under agreed conditions. Importance of Artisans 1. Artisans through their skills make things that can be used at homes, offices and industries 2. Artisans help fix things for individuals, businesses, governmental and non-government organizations. 3. Artisans that are good in installation help install things in homes, offices and industries. 4. Artisan services are sources of blue collar jobs which can reduce unemployment, poverty and social vices. 5. Artisan services enable people who are not financially buoyant or academically sound to be useful to themselves, their families and the society by learning vocational and technical skills. 6. Artisans contribute to the economy of a nation through their taxes paid to the government. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARTISANS AND CRAFTSMEN Although artisans and craftsmen are generally regarded to be the same, however it should be noted that they differ in some ways. Thus, artisans are quite different from craftsmen because they are skilled workers that make things using their hands owing to their dexterity (ability to make things or perform tasks using hands). The things made my artisans can have functional values, decorative values or aesthetic values. Besides, artisan products (i.e products made by artisans) may have higher value than those of craftsmen. Craftsmen on the other hand are skilled in crafts with lesser creativity but high replication. Craftsmen products(products made by craftsmen are called crafts) have mainly functional values. The products made by 24 craftsmen may be of lesser value than those of artisans. We can therefore say to some extent that some craftsmen are artisans but not all artisans are craftsmen. Some Differences between Artisans and Technicians All technicians are artisans but not all artisans are technicians. This is because some artisans specialize in making only crafts while those that can install, repair and maintain things like automobiles, electricals, electronics, equipment, machinery, etc are technicians in their own right. Artisans have practical knowledge than theories unlike technicians that have both theoretical and practical knowledge. Thus, technicians possess practical skills, know the techniques and understand theories about specific field of technology. Artisans undergo apprenticeship and/or vocational and technical training for skills acquisition but technicians may undergo technical schools or institutions to acquire theoretical and practical skills. While artisans are offered certificates of apprenticeship, technicians can have certificates and even diplomas. Technicians are better paid than artisans. However, artisans and technicians can be highly skilled or semi-skilled. It is important to note that besides technologists, artisans and technicians are cadres of engineering. CLASSIFICATION OF ARTISANS AND TYPES OF ARTISAN CRAFTS There are many ways to classify artisans. On this context however, artisans and their crafts can be classified into the following categories based on the nature of work of artisans, artisans’ crafts, what artisans work with and what artisans work on. 1. Woodworkers(woodland crafts): They are artisans that work on, work with wooden materials. Those that manufacture using wood usually produce wooden crafts. 2. Building and construction workers(building crafts): These are artisans that use their artisan skills to contribute to the building and construction industry. They make use of metal materials, wooden materials, chemicals, etc. 3. Textile workers(textile crafts): These are artisans that make use of textiles and fabric materials. They more or less part of the fashion industry. Hence fashion designers or tailors that make clothes are textile workers. Leather workers that make use of hides and skin in making shoes, bags, belts and caps fall under this category. 4. Metal Workers(Metal crafts): These are artisans that specialize in using metal materials. They make, install, repair and maintain metal stuff. Welders and fabricators fall under this category of artisans. TYPES OF ARTISANS OR TYPES OF ARTISAN SERVICES An artisan specializes in a particular craft. Thus, an artisan service varies depending on the skill of individual artisans 1. Armorers: These are artisans that specialize in making of weapons. An example of an armorer is a gunsmith. 2. Blacksmiths: Blacksmiths are artisans that specialize in making or forging iron. Ironsmiths and iron benders are typical examples of blacksmiths. 25 3. Bladesmiths: Bladesmiths are artisans that make blades, knives, daggers and swords using hammers, anvils and other smithing tools. 4. Goldsmiths: Goldsmiths are artisans that specialize in forging things from gold. Thus, can be using gold in making jewelry 5. Gunsmiths: Gunsmiths are artisans that have the skills to make guns. A gunsmith is an example of armorers. 6. Locksmiths: Locksmiths are artisans that make locks as well as unlock locks. The process of making locks is called locksmithing. 7. Nailsmiths: These are artisans that specialize in making nails which are fasteners used in construction and woodwork. 8. Joiners: Joiners are artisans that are trained to join two or more things together. Joiners are makers of wooden furniture or fittings. Carpenters are joiners. The process of getting these things joined is called joinery. 9. Coopers: Coopers are artisans that specialize in making barrels and repairing barrels. They are can also make wooden vessels and repair wooden vessels- making casks, repair casks, make buckets, repair buckets, make tubs and repair tubs. 10. Dyers: Dyers are artisans that are specially trained to dye cloth or fabrics. 11. Furriers: Furriers are artisans that specialize in making fur clothes, selling fur clothes and repairing fur clothes. 12. Hatters: Hatters are artisans that specializing in making hats, selling hats and repairing hats. 13. Potters: Potters are artisans that are trained in making pots and ceramic wares. Thus, potters use clay in making vessels. The process of making these pots is called pottery. 14. Rope makers: Rope makers are artisans that are skillful in rope making. In fact, they make ropes. 15. Saddlers: Saddlers are artisans that make seats or tacks that are used in horses’ back, bikes, bicycles, and others. 16. Shoemakers and Cobblers: Shoemakers are artisans that specialize in making shoes and the process is called shoemaking. Cobblers are artisans that repair shoes hence otherwise called shoe repairers or shoe menders. 17. Stonemasons: Stonemasons are artisans that work with stones. 18. Tailors and Seamstresses: Tailors are tradesmen(male artisans) that makes and amends men’s clothing while seamstresses makes and amends women’s clothing. Tailors and seamstresses are also called fashion designers or fashion makers. In fact, they sew clothes and repair clothes. 26 19. Tanners: Tanners are artisans that tan hides to leathers which can be used in making shoes, bags and belts. Tannery is the place where hides are tanned and the process of converting hides to leathers is called tanning. 20. Weavers: These are artisans that are capable of twisting strands or materials of different lengths over others. It can be human hairs or hair extensions, baskets, sieves, etc. Besides the above types of artisans the following are also some types of artisans. 1. Bricklayers that specialize in bricklaying. They are also called masons and what they do is called masonry. They are contracted for building residential and commercial homes and offices respectively. 2. Plumbers that specialize in plumbing. They are hired for plumbing jobs or plumbing services 3. Tilers that specialize in tiling. They are hired for tiling jobs or tiling services 4. Electricians that specialize in electrical works or electrical services. They are hired for electrical jobs or electrical services which could be electrical installations, electrical repairs and electrical maintenance. 5. Painters that specialize in painting: They are hired for painting jobs or painting services 6. Carpenters that specialize in carpentry. They are hire for carpentry jobs or carpentry services. Roofers specialize in roofing while furniture makers specialize in making furniture. 7. Hairdressers and barbers that specialize in hairdressing and barbing respectively. 8. Welders and fabricators that specialize in welding and fabrication. They are hired for welding and fabrication jobs or welding and fabrication services. 9. Artists and craftsmen that specialize in making artworks and crafts respectively. They are hired for arts and crafts jobs or services. 10. Decorators that specialize in decorations. They are hired for decoration jobs or decoration services. 11. Bead makers that specialize in bead making. They are hire for bead making jobs or bead making services. Bead making trainers are known to provide bead making training. 27 READINGS / REFERENCES: 1. Ramirez, Veronica et al.(2008). “Minding the Arts. Art Appreciation for College Students”, Mutya Publishing House, Malabon City. 2. Menoy, Jesus Z. Introduction to the Humanities A Holistic Approach. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp., 2009. Online Source(s) 1. Thoreau on the Difference Between an Artisan, an Artist, and a Genius Retrieved from: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/03/03/thoreau-on-genius/ WATCH: 1. Is there a difference between art and craft? - Laura Morelli. (TED-Ed; 7 Mar 2014) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVdw60eCnJI ACTITVITIES/ASSESSMENT: 1. WRITE ON ME! Create an essay for the question below. For offline learners, you may write your answers in a yellow pad. For online learners send your paper on _____ through our assigned social platform (ex. Google Classroom) a. If you were an artist, what kind of artist will you be? What art field will you explore? Why? b. How can you utilize the arts to express yourself, your community, and your relation to others and with the earth? Criteria for Checking I. UNITY (presence of topic sentence) –5pts II. COHERENCE (use of transitional devices)- 5pts III. EMPHASIS (diction/ choice of words)- 5pts 28 COURSE MATERIALS: LESSON 3: THE FILIPINO CONCEPT OF ART Article: IN FOCUS: PHILIPPINE ARTS IN CONTEXT BY PROF. FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR. A social view of the world makes people sociable, harmony-seeking and unitive. It encourages a devotional attitude towards the highest ranking being in the cosmic social order for the reason that becoming one with this figure unites one with the whole world. Filipino traditional culture, which is essentially Southeast Asian, views the universe as the infinite manifestations of a dynamic, creative living spirit, whose sacred essence is often symbolized as a mythical hero or divine being and whose concrete representations are believed to be permeated by this being’s spiritual energy. Hence, images of these divine beings attract so much devotional fervor in all traditional Filipino life, especially in the villages. A strongly shared devotion develops an expanded sense of self, an orientation that is communal rather than individualistic, intuitive and holistic rather than logical and analytic, and preferring interdependence and relationships over self-assertion and privacy. Filipinos are highly relational people. They are hardly alone, quite happy being together – when they eat, sleep, work, travel, pray, create or celebrate. Having a minimal sense of privacy, they are open, trusting and easily accessible socially. Instead of a meticulous concern for safeguarding their private sphere, as in the case of Western peoples, many Filipinos actively seek a convergence of their lives with the lives of others. For example, a sharing of concern is seen in a common form of greeting in the region such as, “Where are you going?” or “Where have you been?” Sharing of tasks and responsibilities within the family and the community is a way of life. Thus, they become highly skilled and creative in interpersonal relations and social interaction. The capacity to integrate socially becomes one of the hallmarks of maturity. The communal orientation is manifested in all aspects of traditional Filipino village life and, to a great extent, even in urban settings. Attributes of Integral Art The traditional arts most sensitively reflect this communal orientation. Being the most lucid and expressive symbols of a culture’s values, the arts are the most powerful instruments of inquiry into the essential character of a culture. It is undeniable that the following basic concepts and attributes of art and the contexts of artistic creation, expression and experience could only have arisen in communal or integral Filipino cultural settings: 1. Integration of the arts with other values and functions; they are not valued for their own sakes. The aesthetic is not divorced from utilitarian, religious, moral, spiritual, social, and ecological concerns. This ensures a balanced cultivation and development of human faculties – physical skills as well as inner potentials. 2. Unity of the arts. Consistent with the integration of faculties is the integration of artistic sensibilities. No one sensory mode and aesthetic intelligence is to be cultivated at the expense of the others. Although one may be given emphasis – literary, visual, spatial, musical, 29 kineaesthetic, gustatory and olfactory senses have to be harnessed and promoted together for maximum aesthetic well-being. 3. Art is integrated with everyday life and not regarded as a separate activity; it does not become a specialism (specialization that is narrow or at the expense of everything else, according to Jacques Barzun). It is not for the specialist alone but for everyone. This implies that there will be no special venues or spaces for art because it virtually exists wherever and whenever there is human activity. 4. Equality of opportunity for participation in the artistic, creative process; there are relatively no superstars, for the source of power is not the individual, who is only a channel of divine inspiration or creativity. Thus, the author or creator is often anonymous. 5. The artist is not separate from his audience or society, communal participation is the norm. Unlike in the West, there is no dichotomy of artist and society because art is not the specialists’s concern alone. Everybody is expected to be an artist and participate in creative, expressive activities. 6. Flexibility of material, technical, and formal requirements. No rigid or fixed standards dictate the choice of materials, techniques, and forms for artistic creation and expression, e.g. there is nothing like an arbitrary, fixed system of tuning as in the European equal-tempered system though definite principles underlie the tuning of musical instruments such as lutes, flutes and gongs. Such flexibility ensures a wider participation of people in artistic activity. 7. Use of available resources for artistic creation. Art is not synonymous with big production costs because what matters is artistic excellence or the creative idea as well as making art part of everyday life. Thus, the least expensive mediums, e.g. paper for kites is regarded highly and not considered inferior to the costlier ones. And even the most practical objects like a coconut grater, container, knife handle, tree stump, mat, or hat can become a medium for the finest art. 8. Emphasis on the creative process rather than the finished product, endowing extemporaneous, improvisatory or spontaneous expressions of creativity a higher value than deliberate, often solitary, conceptualization and composition of forms. This valuing of process rather than product nurtures creative health and can inhibit mere idolizing of masterpieces and obsession with permanence 9. Simultaneity of conception and realization. This involves affirmation of the creative imagination through the tradition of instant mirroring or biofeedback, which, together with emphasis on the creative process, provides an excellent condition for communal participation. As the Philippines became more Westernized towards the latter part of the 19th century because of exposure to European liberal and secular ideas, particularly in the urban centers, these contexts were replaced by their exact opposite. Artistic creation becomes highly specialistic, separate from everyday life, an assertion of the individual ego, and driven by commercial success. It becomes a medium for technical virtuosity, sensory impacts, entertainment, and highly materialistic values. Art loses its magical, mythical and spiritual qualities. The Filipino cultural substratum, however, does not succumb that easily to foreign influences no matter how dominant. The cultural matrix of Philippine art remains communal except among Filipino artists thoroughly educated in the West. Hence, contemporary artists in the Philippines – 30 even those schooled in Western classical-romantic, realist, impressionist, post-impressionist, cubistic, surrealist, expressionistic, abstractionist, constructivist, photorealist, pop-op, avant garde or post-modern thought – will exhibit formal tendencies clearly rooted in traditional art. Western influences on Philippine art constitute some kind of a thin veneer or mask that disguises indigenous qualities rooted in the communal tradition. Unlike twentieth century cubism which fragments and dissects objects, Filipino art turns to various techniques for presenting many sides or views of the object precisely for the purpose of preserving its wholeness and articulating its nature. The omniscient perspective of communal art reveals a keen interest in depicting the object as we know it rather than as we see it. As a rule, the broadest sides are tilted towards us for greatest recognizability of the object. We see this approach in contemporary painter Norma Belleza’s works, where it is extensively used, as in her “Hapunan”(Supper). Objects most easily identifiable from the top view are portrayed from this vantage point, such as the table, plates, stove and slippers. Those that are more intelligible from a frontal or lateral orientation are depicted accordingly, such as the bottle, human figures and the cat. Other contemporary artists notable for relying on the broadest aspect technique are Antonio Austria and Manuel Baldemor. An intimate knowledge of reality, such as may be obtained from a multi-view approach is impossible to achieve with the camera. This machine can only depict one view at a time, and hence can only present to us the surface, never the essence of reality. Honore Daumier, French painter and caricaturist, just right after the use of the camera became popular in the 1840s, declared that “the camera sees everything but understands nothing.” Inspite of this declaration, however, Western art has become so imbued with the mechanistic world view that conventional or academic Western realism has become synonymous with this view, in varying degrees. The reason for this, perhaps, is that single or one-view perspective is a fitting metaphor for the highly individualistic philosophy that pervades Western, especially American, culture up to the present time. This is not to gainsay, however, the great strides in the West towards a non-mechanistic world view since the advent of Cezanne and the post impressionists. In fact, the major movements of twentieth century art in Europe implicitly question the philosophy of mechanistic materialsm. The communal perspective attempts to represent the views of all the members of a community. Hence, we do not find a single focal center in its artistic expressions. In the works of Larry Alcala, the most popular Philippine cartoonist who recently passed away, there is no interest in a single individual’s view of things. Instead, we get a wide panorama of social life and activities, the way things would be experienced by different people at any one time or by one person at different points in time. It could also be the experience of a community at various points in time. Among the highly popular artists strongly manifesting this multi-focal, omniscient view are Carlos Francisco, Jose Blanco, Tam Austria, Angelito Antonio, Mauro Malang Santos and Anita Magsaysay Ho. Related to this multi-focal tendency is the absence of emphasis on any one individual person. There are no superstars. Most often it is not a single person but a group or community that is portrayed. The Filipino popular psyche is exceptionally transparent in its openness, spontaneity, and capacity for empathy. This is most likely why many Filipinos are excellent communicators, highly expressive, superior performers, extremely sensitive, warm and emotional. It is probably for the same reason that they are good in pakikiramdam (participatory sensitivity) and lambing (tender, 31 loving care). Some of the correlates of these inner qualities are the preference for richly tasting food (particularly flavors derived from garlic, sour fruits, shrimp paste, fish sauces, ginger, turmeric, laurel, oregano and other spices); highly inflected speech; markedly tactile and biomorphic forms, delight in rainbow hues and the polychromatic, and strong curvilinear tendencies in the visual arts. In contrast, Western, particularly British and American food, is relatively bland, their speech monotonal, their art more visual than tactile, their colors monochromatic and their forms rectilinear-geometric. Certainly the works of many contemporary Filipino artists are supreme examples of polychromaticism (use of rich, intense myriad hues) and immediately establish their relation to multi-colored traditional creations such as fans, mats, Christmas star lanterns; and festivals like the Pahiyas of Lucban, Moriones of Marinduque and Ati-Atihan of Kalibo. A marked tendency of Philippine art, whether traditional, modern or contemporary, is the penchant for filling up every empty space with form and detail. We call this maximalism. More than anything else, this tendency seems to be a manifestation of the Filipinos’ highly sensitive and expressive nature that is rooted in communal existence. One who connects to others so fully, sensitively and intimately will have so much to be expressive about. Filipino spontaneity and exuberance, it seems, knows no bounds. A well-known example of this in popular art is the Filipino jeepney, whose profuseness of detail for a public utility vehicle – normally drab and uniform in other countries – exists nowhere else in the world. In the more academic and serious genres, there is a long thread of maximalism from Fernando Amorsolo in the early twentieth century to Vicente Manansala in the 50s and Angelo Baldemor of today. The Filipinos’ intuitive, holistic and multisensory approach to life militates against fragmenting experience into separate levels or compartments. Indeed activities, objects, and the arts tend to be multifunctional. Producing something that has many different uses creates a sense of community for they bring people of different interests and needs together. A typical Filipino food called sinigang combines soup, meat and vegetables in one bowl whereas they would constitute separate dishes in another culture. Typically, Philippine stores and markets, even bookstores and drugstores, but especially department stores and malls will contain all kinds of things because they typically cater to Filipinos who come in groups. Traditional Filipino culture does not divide the arts into seven different sensory–behavioral categories. This insight at once provides us with a directional force in Philippine contemporary art: a movement towards integration. The arts brought to the Philippines from Europe in the 19th century came in separate specializations: graphic, plastic, performing, literary and so forth. But Filipinos inevitably moved towards their integration, as they have always done in the past. Again, the strong influence of modernism in Philippine art during the thirty-year span from the 50s to the 70s demanded the purity of painting as painting and sculpture as sculpture. But this began to change in the 80s with the new and younger artists’ explorations into multi-media and installation art. An outstanding example of this is Aro Soriano, who, for a long time enduring a Bohemian existence as an exile in Paris, re-established himself in the Philippines in the 80s to rediscover his roots. His works, though very contemporary in sensibility, characteristically display great skill in integrating visual elements, folklore, song texts, ritual and performance. 32 Having a traditional base, the popularity of mixed media and installations in Philippine art now eclipses all the others. These could either be an assemblage of three-dimensional forms within a two-dimensional format, playfully interactive works which could be touched and manipulated such as those of Noel Cuizon and Dennis Ascalon, or a combination of indigenous materials and found objects, as in the installation and environmental art which gained prominence through the pioneering efforts of Junyee, Santiago Bose and Roberto Villanueva and later Imelda Cajipe-Endaya , Alwin Reamillo, and, in a class by himself because of his fusion of found objects to create highly imaginative but functional sculptures, Gabby Barredo. A heightened concern for the environment and assertion of indigenous identity are among the significant contributions of this younger group of artists. Though unrecognized by many art critics, it appears that the most salient feature of Philippine arts is a rather stylized, rhythmic and patterned design or organization of forms. This is especially evident in folk and popular art but manifest in almost the same degree in serious art and other genres, except perhaps in social realist art and works of artists like Jaime de Guzman and Onib Olmedo, whose genuine expressions of angst are typically non-existent in Philippine art. Even the most impressionistic variety of Philippine art will not succumb to the lure of formlessness and the shifting, shimmering textures of European impressionism. The use of thick, raw, frenetically driven and agitated impastos in Western abstract expressionism is alien to the Filipino temperament. Instead we find the so-called “abstract expressionist” textures and compositions of Jose Joya and Raul Isidro to be highly lyrical, musical and rhythmically patterned in a way akin to that of traditional weaving. Even works superficially labeled surrealistic in Philippine art are in reality playful fantasies, with none of the nihilism, sense of ambiguity and absurdity of life associated with it in the West. The rhythmic patterning in Philippine arts seems to stem from the Filipinos’ highly devotional attitude towards the divine and the predisposition towards experiencing life as an integrated whole, inspiring in them a deep sense of community and feeling of harmony with the vital rhythms of existence. The joy and feeling of well-being that springs from this harmony engenders in the Filipino soul an inherent musicality that provides the rhythmic matrix for everything the Filipino artist touches. The quintessential expression of this gift is the abstract art of Hernando Ocampo. The sinuous, cell-like, biomorphic forms of his paintings are individually alive and distinct yet sensitive to one another and seemingly engaged in a collective dance of joy. Some critics have suggested that Ocampo’s art could be the most faithful expression of Filipino identity. It is heartening to realize that no matter how extensive Western influence is on Philippine culture, the Filipinos’ traditional sensibility, world view, values and attitudes remain essentially intact, as can be gleaned from their contemporary visual arts. READINGS / REFERENCES: Online Source(s) 1. In Focus: Philippine Arts in Context by Prof. Felipe M. De Leon, Jr. Retrieved from: http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/philippine arts-in-context/ 33 Additional Reading: 1. Covar, Propero (1992). “Kaalamang Bayang Dalumat ng Pagkataong Pilipino”, url: http://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/index/djwf/article/view File/ 4950/4459 WATCH: 1. Dayaw Season 1 (6 episodes), Legarda, 2015 (Ep 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlO6_Jpd-4&t=8s EP 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvkNKkRrgsc Ep 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riI0bJA16hM Ep 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yByYvQ__-kQ Ep 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JseIf3ZMnzE Ep 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va1lmKd705g ACTITVITIES/ASSESSMENT: 1. EMBRACE ME NOW. From the readings above, create a Brace Map Graphic Organizer being guided by the questions below. Make sure to properly label entries to show an organize concept. You may add symbols or creative images to support your entries. For offline learners, you may write your answers in a short bond paper. For online learners send your paper on _____ through our assigned social platform (ex. Google Classroom). a. How did the writer describe a Filipino artist as an individual? b. What makes a Filipino artist vary from its Western counterparts? Example of a Brace Map Organizer: Criteria for checking: II. Organization of concepts (10 pts I. Creat per brace maps III. Con the pre 34 COURSE MATERIALS: LESSON 4: PHILOSOPHICAL IMPORTANCE OF ART "Mimes" is the basic theoretical principle in the creation of art. The word is Greek and means "imitation" (though in the sense of "re-presentation" rather than of "copying"). Plato and Aristotle spoke of mimesis as the re-presentation of nature. According to Plato, all artistic creation is a form of imitation: that which really exists (in the "world of ideas") is a type created by God; the concrete things man perceives in his existence are shadowy representations of this ideal type. Therefore, the painter, the tragedian, and the musician are imitators of an imitation, twice removed from the truth. Aristotle, speaking of tragedy, stressed the point that it was an "imitation of an action"--that of a man falling from a higher to a lower estate. Shakespeare, in Hamlet's speech to the actors, referred to the purpose of playing as being "... to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature." Thus, an artist, by skillfully selecting and presenting his material, may purposefully seek to "imitate" the action of life. ART AS MIMESIS (PLATO) In Plato's The Republic, he paints a picture of artists as imitators and art as a mere imitation. In his description of the ideal republic, Plato advises against the inclusion of art as a subject in the curriculum and the banning of artists in the Republic. In his theory of Mimesis, Plato says that all art is mimetic by nature; art is an imitation of life. He believed that ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality. Art imitates idea and so it is imitation of reality. He gives an example of a carpenter and a chair. The idea of ‘chair’ first came in the mind of carpenter. He gave physical shape to his idea out of wood and created a chair. The painter imitated the chair of the carpenter in his picture of chair. Thus, painter’s chair is twice removed from reality. Hence, he believed that art is twice removed from reality. He gives first importance to philosophy as philosophy deals with the ideas whereas poetry deals with illusion – things which are twice removed from reality. So to Plato, philosophy is superior to poetry. Plato rejected poetry as it is mimetic in nature on the moral and philosophical grounds. On the contrary, Aristotle advocated poetry as it is mimetic in nature. According to him, poetry is an imitation of an action and his tool of enquiry is neither philosophical nor moral. He examines poetry as a piece of art and not as a book of preaching or teaching. Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the belief in copies and discourage men to reach for the real entities in the World of Forms. Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two reasons: 1. They appeal to the emotion rather than to the rational faculty of men. 2. They imitate rather than lead one to reality. Poetry arouses emotions and feelings and buzz, clouds rationality of people. Art is just an imitation of imitation. A painting it's just an imitation of nature, which is also just an imitation of reality in the world of forms. Art then is to be banished, alongside the practitioner's, so that the attitudes and actions of the members of the republic will not be corrupted by the influence of the arts. For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty replacement for the real and it sees that can only be attained through reason. 35 Aristotle replied to the charges made by his Guru Plato against poetry in particular and art in general. He replied to them one by one in his defense of poetry. 1. Plato says that art being the imitation of the actual is removed from the Truth. It only gives the likeness of a thing in concrete, and the likeness is always less than real. But Plato fails to explain that art also gives something more which is absent in the actual. The artist does not simply reflect the real in the manner of a mirror. Art cannot be slavish imitation of reality. Literature is not the exact reproduction of life in all its totality. It is the representation of selected events and characters necessary in a coherent action for the realization of the artist’s purpose. He even exalts, idealizes and imaginatively recreates a world which has its own meaning and beauty. These elements, present in art, are absent in the raw and rough real. While a poet creates something less than reality he at the same times creates something more as well. He puts an idea of the reality which he perceives in an object. This ‘more’, this intuition and perception, is the aim of the artist. Artistic creation cannot be fairly criticized on the ground that it is not the creation in concrete terms of things and beings. Thus considered, it does not take us away from the Truth but leads us to the essential reality of life. 2. Plato again says that art is bad because it does not inspire virtue, does not teach morality. But is teaching the function of art? Is it the aim of the artist? The function of art is to provide aesthetic delight, communicate experience, express emotions and represent life. It should never be confused with the function of ethics which is simply to teach morality. If an artist succeeds in pleasing us in the aesthetic sense, he is a good artist. If he fails in doing so, he is a bad artist. There is no other criterion to judge his worth. R.A.Scott -James observes: “Morality teaches. Art does not attempt to teach. It merely asserts it is thus or thus that life is perceived to be. That is my bit of reality, says the artist. Take it or leave it – draw any lessons you like from it – that is my account of things as they are – if it has any value to you as evidence of teaching, use it, but that is not my business: I have given you my rendering, my account, my vision, my dream, my illusion – call it what you will. If there is any lesson in it, it is yours to draw, not mine to preach.” Similarly, Plato’s charges on needless lamentations and ecstasies at the imaginary events of sorrow and happiness encourage the weaker part of the soul and numb the faculty of reason. These charges are defended by Aristotle in his Theory of Catharsis. David Daiches summarizes Aristotle’s views in reply to Plato’s charges in brief: “Tragedy (Art) gives new knowledge, yields aesthetic satisfaction and produces a better state of mind.” 3. Plato judges poetry now from the educational standpoint, now from the philosophical one and then from the ethical one. But he does not care to consider it from its own unique standpoint. He does not define its aims. He forgets that everything should be judged in terms of its own aims and objectives, its own criteria of merit and demerit. We cannot fairly maintain that music is bad because it does not paint, or that painting is bad because it does not sing. Similarly, we cannot say that poetry is bad because it does not teach philosophy or ethics. If poetry, philosophy and ethics had identical function, how could they be different subjects? To denounce poetry because it is not philosophy or ideal is clearly absurd. 36 Aristotle's Objection to the Theory of Mimesis Aristotle agrees with Plato in calling the poet an imitator and creative art, imitation. He imitates one of the three objects – things as they were/are, things as they are said/ thought to be or things as they ought to be. In other words, he imitates what is past or present, what is commonly believed and what is ideal. Aristotle believes that there is natural pleasure in imitation which is an in-born instinct in men. It is this pleasure in imitation that enables the child to learn his earliest lessons in speech and conduct from those around him, because there is a pleasure in doing so. In a grown-up child – a poet, there is another instinct, helping him to make him a poet – the instinct for harmony and rhythm. He does not agree with his teacher in – ‘poet’s imitation is twice removed from reality and hence unreal/illusion of truth', to prove his point he compares poetry with history. The poet and the historian differ not by their medium, but the true difference is that the historian relates ‘what has happened’, the poet, ‘what may/ought to have happened’ - the ideal. Poetry, therefore, is more philosophical, and a higher thing than history because history expresses the particular while poetry tends to express the universal. Therefore, the picture of poetry pleases all and at all times. Aristotle does not agree with Plato in the function of poetry making people weaker and emotional/too sentimental. For him, catharsis is ennobling and it humbles a human being. So far as the moral nature of poetry is concerned, Aristotle believes that the end of poetry is to please; however, teaching may be the by-product of it. Such pleasing is superior to the other pleasures because it teaches civic morality. So all good literature gives pleasure, which is not divorced from moral lessons. “ART AS A REPRESENTATION” (ARISTOTLE) In the field of aesthetics, Aristotle spoke of art as imitation but not in the Platonic sense. He wrote: one could imitate things as they ought to be and art partly completes what nature cannot bring to finish. To him, the artist repeats the form from the matter of some object of experience such as the human being or a tree and imposes that form on another matter such as a canvas or marble. This imitation is neither just copying an original model nor changing a symbol from the original; instead, it is a particular representation of an aspect of things and each work is an imitation of the universal whole. Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another imitation, Aristotle conceived of art as representing possible versions of reality. For a reason tell, all kinds of art do not aim to represent reality as it is, it endeavors to provide a version of what might be or the myriad possibilities of reality. In Aristotelian worldview, art serves to particular purposes: 1. Art allows for the experience of pleasure (horrible experience can be made an object of humor) 2. Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach its audience things about life (cognitive) In consonance with Plato, Aristotle believed that aesthetics was inseparable from morality and politics. And his book Politics, he maintained that music affects human character and hence, the social order. Because he held that happiness is the aim of life, the major function of 37 art is to provide human satisfaction. He interpreted art as a means of pleasure and intellectual enlightenment of rather than an instrument of moral education (Lamucho et al, 2003). “ART FOR ART’S SAKE” (KANT) Art enthusiast or not, this is a phrase many of us in the 21st Century will be familiar with. On questions of why we create and value art, “art for art’s sake” argues judgment should not be made based on how well work serves external purposes, such as moral or political commentary. Instead, value is intrinsically defined by the aesthetic impression. This, of course, is just one way of looking at art. Rooted in romanticism, the slogan rose to prominence in 19th Century Europe, especially in France among artists seeking to defy conventions of art’s rationalized utility and create for themselves. As a reflection on the meaning of art, “art for art’s sake” is closely linked to British Aestheticism, a movement that claimed art’s defining feature was its unparalleled beauty rather than its ‘deeper’, socio-political meanings; Oscar Wilde famously distinguished the artist as “creator of beautiful things”. However, this is not an absolute equivalent. Today the phrase is often deployed as a motto to defend freedom of expression as the chief aim of art. Piet Mondrian, ‘Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow’, 1930 (image © public domain) Before gaining such popularity, German philosopher Immanuel Kant qualified “art for art’s sake” as a mode of approaching art in The Critique of Judgement (1790). Declaring content, subject matter, and any other external demands obsolete, Kant argued the purpose of art is to be “purposeless”. It should not have to justify any reason of existing and being valued other than the fact that it is art. Our experience of art – the ways we appreciate and criticize work – is therefore wholly commanded by aesthetic pleasure and delight, separate to the rest of the world. To Kant, this was the only window through which it could be viewed. Responsible for a host of core ideas in Western philosophy, Kant’s thoughts on autonomy and transcendental value have resonated throughout modern thinking to present day. Key theorists of the modern era stressed Kant’s theory was crucial to philosophical debates around avant-gardism and, especially, formalism. Inspired by the value of art’s material elements, Clive Bell assessed the configuration of

Art Appreciation - GEED-10073 UNIT 1

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