ST.

ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

CHAPTER

1
Identifying art

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter is divided into two section; defining art, and assumption of art. Both sections provide an
overview to the nature of art. Highlights of the chapter include

• Art Appreciation as a Way of Life

• Role of Creativity in Art Making
• Art as a Product of Imagination
• Art as Expression
• Brief History of Art
• Art is Universal
• Art is not Nature
• Art Involves Experience

Defining Art

Art Appreciation as a Way of Life

Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous French philosopher of the twentieth century, described the role
of art as a creative work that depicts the word in a completely different light and perspective, and
the source is due to human freedom. Each artwork beholds beauty of its own kind, the kind that
the artist sees and wants the viewers to perceive. More often than not, people are bind to this beauty
and only those who have developed a fine sense of appreciation can experience and see the art the
same way the artist did. Because of this, numerous artworks go unnoticed, artists are not given
enough credit, and they miss opportunities. It sometirnes takes a lifetime before their contribution
to the development of art is recognized Hence, refining one’s ability to appreciate art allows him
to deeply understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses.

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 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
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Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also exercise and develop his taste for things
that are fine and beautiful. This allows individuals to make intelligent choices and decisions in
acquiring necessities and luxurious, knowing what gives better value for time or money while
taking into consideration the aesthetic and practical value. This continuous demand for
aesthetically valuable things I influences the development and evolution of art and its forms.
Frequenting museums, art galleries, performing arts theaters, concert halls, or even malls
that display art exhibitions that are free in admission during leisure time will not only develop an
understanding of the art, but will also serve as a rewarding experience. Learning to appreciate art,
no matter what vocation or profession you have, will lead to a fuller and more meaningful life.

The Role of Creativity in Art Making

Creativity requires thinking outside the box. It is often used to solve problems that have
never occurred before, conflate function and style, and simply make life a more unique and
enjoyable experience. In art, creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another. We say
something is done creatively when we have not yet seen anything like it or when it is out of the
ordinary. A creative artist does not simply copy or imitate another artist’s work. He does not imitate
the lines, flaws, colors, and patterns in recreating nature. He embraces originality, puts his own
flavor into his work, and calls it his own creative piece.
Yet, being creative nowadays can be quite challenging. What you thought was your own
unique and creative idea may not what it seems to be after extensive research and that someone
else has coincidentally devised before the idea in another part of the world. For instance, the
campaign ad “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” used by the Department of Tourism (DOT)
boomed popularity in 2011, but later on it was found out that it was allegedly plagiarized from
Switzerland’s tourism slogan “It’s More Fun in Switzerland,” back in 1951. In DOT’s defense,
former DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. claimed that it was “purely coincidental.” Thus,
creativity should be backed with careful research on related art to avoid such conflicts.

Art as a Product of Imagination

Where do you think famous writers, painters, and musicians get their ideas? Where do ideas
in making creative solutions begin? It all starts in the human mind. It all begins with imagination.

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 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

German physicist Albert Einstein who had made significant and major contributions in
science and humanity demonstrated that knowledge is actually derived from imagination. He
emphasized thin idea through his words:
“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.”

Imagination is not constrained by the walls of the norm, but goes beyond that. That is why
people rely on curiosity and imagination for advancement. Through imagination, one is able to
craft something bold, something new, and something better in the hopes of creating something that
will stimulate change. Imagination allows endless possibilities.
In an artist’s mind sits a vast gallery of artworks. An artwork does not need to be a real thing,
but can be something that is imaginary. Take for example a musician who thinks of a tune in his
head. The making of this tune in his head makes it an imaginary tune, an imaginative creation, an
imaginary art. It remains imaginary until he hums, sings, or writes down the notes of the tune on
paper. However, something imaginary does not necessarily mean it cannot be called art. Artists
use their imagination that gives birth to reality through creation.
In the same way that imagination produces art, art also inspires imagination. Imagine being
in an empty room surrounded by blank, white walls, and floor. Would you be inspired to work in
such a place? Often, you will find coffee shops, restaurants, and libraries with paintings hung or
sculptures and other pieces of art placed around the room to add beauty to the surroundings. This
craving and desire to be surrounded by beautiful things dates back to our early ancestors. Cave
walls are surrounded by drawings and paintings of animals they hunted: wild boars reindeers, and
bison. Clays were molded and stones were carved into forms that resemble men and women: burial
jars were created with intricate designs on them. These creative pieces were made not only because
they were functional to men, but also because beauty gave them joy.

Art as Expression

There may have been times when you felt something is going on within you, you ty to explain
it but you do not know how. You may only be conscious about feeling this sort of excitement, fear,
or agitation, but you know that just one word is not enough to describe the nature of what you truly
feel. Finally, you try to release yourself from this tormenting and disabling state by doing
something, which is called expressing oneself. Suppose this feeling is excitement. It is frustrating
to contain such feeling, so you relieve it by expressing through shouting or leaping in excitement.
An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he expresses it.

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 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

Robin George Collingwood, an English philosopher who is best known for his work in
aesthetics, explicated in his publication The Principles of Art (1938) that what an artist does to an
emotion is not to induce it, but express it. Through expression, he is able to explore his own
emotions and at the same time, create something beautiful out of them. Collingwood further
illustrated that expressing emotions is something different from describing emotions. In his
example, explicitly saying "l am angry" is not an expression of an emotion, but a mere description.
There is no need in relating or referring to a specific emotion, such as anger, in expressing one's
emotion. Description actually destroys the idea of expression, as it classifies the emotion, making
it ordinary and predictable. Expression, on the other hand, individualizes. An artist has the freedom
to express himself the way he wants to. Hence, there is no specific technique in expression. This
makes people's art not a refection of what is outside or external to them, but a reflection of their
inner selves. There are countless ways of expressing ng oneself through art.

Brief History of art

This quick guide to Art History is intended to be brief and concise but should also prod
into further exploration of some art periods.
Prehistoric
▪ Cave paintings, Venus figurines which are considered portable sculptures
▪ Greek standard of beauty: the birth of the Classical” Age
▪ Romans: the competitor of Greece, created realistic sculptures of human figure
Middle Ages
▪ The “death” of artistic freedom due to canonical standards of visual interpretation
▪ The rise of Gothic art especially in Gothic Churches
▪ Popular art: Stained glass windows and illuminated manuscripts
Renaissance
▪ Revival of artistic genius
▪ Where the term ‘Renaissance Man’ was derived because of man’s intellectual
achievements in the arts and science
▪ The time of “Masters’ e.g., Donatello, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Van Eyck
Baroque
▪ Grandiose and ornate art

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▪ Artistic innovation: “spotlight effect” called chiaroscuro or in extreme usage, it is called

tennebrism
▪ Artists to note: Caravaggio (Italy), Velazquez (Spain), Poussin (France), and Antonio
Gaudi (designer of “Sagrada Familia” chapel in Barcelona)
19th Century
▪ Emergence of “isms”
▪ Neoclassicism Greek and Roman Classics revived
▪ Romanticism, Realism, Art Nouveau, impressionism
▪ Photography comes into the scene
▪ Post-impressionism, early expressionism, and symbolism
20th Century Modern Art
▪ Art became more non-representational
▪ Garish colors explored in Fauvism Abstracted sculptures emerged Simplified forms in
paintings by Picasso and Matisse
▪ Art movements: Cubism. Futurism, Constructivism, Expressionism
▪ Mondrian’s purely geometric art
Art During the Wars
▪ Dadaism: the art movement that defies logic
▪ Surrealism stepping into thee dreamworld
▪ American art blossoms: Jackson Pollock became famous as “Jack the Dipper” and pared
the way for American Abstract Expressionism
▪ Mobile Sculptures (Alexander Calder) and Color Field (Rothko) paintings also became
prominent
20th Century to Contemporary
▪ Highly experimental and radical
▪ Pop art defines consumer culture; dominated mostly by works of Andy Warhol
▪ Minimalism: glorifying the simplest art elements
▪ Birth of conceptual art
▪ Photography is further developed which paved way to art movement, Photorealism
▪ Neo-expressionism or new expressionism is characterized by strong subject matters
▪ Contemporary Art: a very diverse art scene, the rise of appropriation, photography-
derived works, graphic style of art, experimental works, multimedia and multi-modal art

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 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

Assumptions of Art

Art Is universal

Literature has provided key works of art Among the most popular ones being taught in school
are the two Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Sanskrit pieces Mahabharata and
Ramayana are also stapling in this field. These works, purportedly written before the beginning of
recorded history, are believed to be man’s attempt at recording stories and tales that have been
passed on, known, and sung throughout the years. Art has always been timeless and universal,
spanning generations and continents through and through.
In every country and in every generation, there is always art. Oftentimes, 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.” In the Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and Francisco Balagtas are not
being read because they are old. Otherwise, works of other Filipinos who have long died would
have been required in junior high school too. The pieces mentioned are read in school and have
remained to be with us because they are good. They are liked and adored because they meet our
needs and desires. Florante at Laura never fails to teach high school students the beauty of love,
one that is universal and pure. Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, has always captured
the imagination of the young with its timeless lessons. When we recite the Psalms, we feel in
communion with King David as we feel one with him in his conversation with God. When we
listen to a kundiman or perform folk dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino ancestors whiled
away their time in the past. We do not necessarily like a kundiman for its original meaning. We
just like it. We enjoy it. Or just as one of the characters in the movie Bar Boys thought, Kundiman
makes one concentrate better
The first assumption then about the humanities is that art has been crafted by all people
regardless of origin, time, place, and that it stayed on because It is liked and enjoyed by people
continuously. A great piece of work will never be obsolete. Some people say that art is art for its
intrinsic worth. In John Stuart Mil’s Utilitarianism (1879), enjoyment in the arts belongs to a higher
good, one that lies at the opposite end of base pleasures. Art will always be present because human
beings will always express themselves and delight in these expressions. Men will continue to use
art while art persists and never gets depleted.

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 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

Art is not Nature

In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear some consumers of local movies remark
that these movies produced locally are unrealistic. They contend that local movies work around
certain formula to the detriment of substance and faithfulness to reality of the movies. These
critical minds argue that a good movie must reflect reality as closely as possible. Is that so?
Paul Cezanne, a French painter, painted a scene from reality entitled Well and Grinding
Wheel in the Forest of the Chateau Noir. The said scene is inspired by a real scene in a forest
around the Chateau Noir area near Aix in Cezanne’s native Provence. Comparing the two, one can
see that Cezanne’s landscape is quite different from the original scene. Cezanne has changed some
patterns and details from the way they were actually in the photograph. What he did is not nature.
It is art.
One important characteristic of art is that it is not nature. Art is man’s expression of his
reception of nature. Art is man’s way of interpreting nature. Art is not nature. Art is made by man,
whereas nature is a given around us. It is in this juncture that they can be considered opposites.
What we find in nature should not be expected to be present in art too. Movies are not meant to be
direct representation of reality. They may, according to the moviemaker’s perception of reality, be
a reinterpretation or even distortion of nature.
This distinction assumes that all of us see nature, perceive its elements in myriad, different,
yet ultimately valid ways. One can only imagine the story of the five blind men who one day argue
against each other on what an elephant looks like. Each of the five blind men was holding a
different part of the elephant. The first was touching the body and thus, thought the elephant was
like a wall Another was touching the beasts’ ear and was convinced that the elephant was like a
fan. The rest were touching other different parts of the elephant and concluded differently based
on their perceptions. Art is like each of those men’s view of the elephant. It is based on an
individual’s subjective experience of nature. It is not meant, after all, to accurately define what the
elephant really like in nature. Artists are not expected to duplicate nature just as even scientists
with their elaborate laboratories cannot make nature.
Once this point has been made, a student of humanities can then ask further questions such
as: What reasons might the artist have in creating something? Why did Andres Bonifacio write
“Pag-big sa Tinubuang Lupa”? What motivation did Juan Luna have in creating his masterpiece,
the Spoliarium? In whatever work of art, one should always ask why the artist made it. What is it
that he wants to show?

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San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

Art involved experience.

Getting this far without a satisfactory definition of art can be quite weird for some. For most
people, art does not require a full definition. Art is just experience. By experience, we mean the
“actual doing of something.” When one says that he has an experience of something, he often
means that he knows what that something is about. When one claims that he has experienced
falling in love, getting hurt, and bouncing back, he in effect claims that he knows the (sometimes)
endless cycle of loving. When one asserts having experienced preparing a particular recipe, he in
fact asserts knowing how the recipe is made. Knowing a thing is different from hearing from others
what the said thing is. A radio DJ dispensing advice on love when he himself has not experienced
it does not really know what he is talking about. A choreographer who cannot execute a dance step
himself is a bogus. Art is always an experience. Unlike fields of knowledge that involve data, art
is known by experiencing A painter cannot claim to know how to paint if he has not tried holding
a brush. A sculptor cannot produce a work of art if a chisel is foreign to him. Art depends on
experience, and if one is to know art, he must know it not as fact or information but as experience.
A work of art then cannot be abstracted from actual doing. In order to know what an artwork
is, we have to sense it, see or hear it, and see AND hear it. To fully appreciate our national hero’s
monument, one must go to Rizal Park and see the actual sculpture. In order to know Beyoncé’s
music, one must listen to it to actually experience them. A famous story about someone who adores
Picasso goes something like this: “Years ago, Gertrude Stein was asked why she bought the
pictures of the then unknown artist Picasso. ‘I like to look at them,’ said Miss Stein.” At the end
of the day, one fully gets acquainted with art if one immerses himself into it. In the case of Picasso,
one only learns about Picasso’s work by looking at it. That is precisely what Miss Stein did.
In matters of art, the subject’s perception is of primacy. One can read hundreds of reviews
about a particular movie, but at the end of the day, until he sees the movie himself, he will be in
no position to actually talk about the movie. He does not know the movie until he experiences it.
An important aspect of experiencing art is its being highly personal, individual, and subjective. In
philosophical terms, perception of art is always a value judgment. It depends on who the perceiver
is, his tastes, his biases, I and what he has inside him. Degustibus non disputandum est (Matters of
taste are not matters of dispute). One cannot argue with another person’s evaluation of art because
one’s experience can never be known by another.
Finally, one should also underscore that every experience with art is accompanied by some
emotion. One either likes or dislikes, agrees or disagrees that a work of art is beautiful. A stage
plays or motion picture is particularly one of those art forms I that evoke strong emotions from its
audience. With experience comes emotions and feelings, after all. Feelings and emotions are
concrete proofs that the artwork has been experiences.

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