LESSON 1

What Is Art: Introduction and Assumptions

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. understand the role of humanities and arts in man's attempt at fully realizing his end,
2. clarify misconceptions the art characterize the assumptions of arts; and
3. engage better with personal experiences of and in art.
Art is something that is perennially around us. Some people may deny having to do with the arts but it is
indisputable that life presents us with many forms of and opportunities for communion with the arts
Example; A bank manager choosing what tie to wear together with his shirt and shoes, a politician shuffling
her music track while comfortably seated on her car looking for her favorite song, a student marveling at the
intricate designs of a medieval cathedral during his field trip, and a market vendor cheering for her bet in a
dance competition on a noontirne TV program all manifest concern for values that are undeniably, despite
tangentially, artistic.
Despite the seemingly overflowing instances of arts around people, one still finds the need to see more and
experience more, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Plato had the sharpest foresight when he discussed in the Symposium that beauty, the object of
any love, truly progresses. As one moves through life, one locates better, more beautiful objects of desire
(Scott, 2000). One can never be totally content with what is just before him. Human beings are drawn
toward what is good and ultimately, beautiful.
Definition of ART.
The word "art" comes from the ancient Latin, ars which means a "craft or specialized form of skill, like
carpentry or smithying or surgery (Collingwood, 1938) Art then suggested the capacity to produce an
intended result from carefully planned steps or method When a man wants to build a house, he plans
meticulously to get to what the prototype promises and he .executes the steps to produce the said structure
then he is engaged in art. The Ancient World did not have any conceived notion of art in the same way that
we do now. To them, art only meant using the bare hands to produce something that will be useful to one's
day-to-day life.
Ars in Medieval Latin came to mean something different. It meant "any special form of book-
learning, such as grammar or logic, magic or astrology (Collingwood, 1938) It was only during the
Renaissance Period that the word reacquired a meaning that was inherent in its ancient form of craft Early
Renaissance artists saw their activities merely as craftsmanship, devoid of a whole lot of intonations that
are attached to the word now.
It was during the seventeenth century when the problem and idea of aesthetics, the study of
beauty, began to unfold distinctly from the notion of technical workmanship, which was the original
conception of the word "art".
It was finally in the eighteenth century when the word has evolved to distinguish between the fine
arts and the useful arts The fine arts would come to mean "not delicate or highly skilled arts. But beautiful
arts (Collingwood, 1938) this is something more akin to what is now considered art.

The humanities constitute one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by man
(Dudley et al, 1960) Human history has witnessed how man evolved not just physically but also culturally,
from cave painters to men of exquisite paintbrush users of the present Even if one goes back to the time
before written records of man's civilization has appeared, he can find cases of man's attempts of not just
crafting tools to live and survive but also expressing his feelings and thoughts. The Galloping Wild Boar
found in the cave of Altamira, Spain is one such example. In 1879, a Spaniard and his daughter were
exploring a cave when they saw pictures of a wild boar, hind, and bison. According to experts, these
paintings were purported to belong to Upper Paleolithic Age, several thousands of years before the current
era.

Assumptions of Art
1. 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 staples
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 (Dudley et al., 1960) 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.

2. 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 Cézanne, a French painter, painted a scene from reality entitled Well and Grinding Wheel in the
Forest of the Château Noir. The said scene is inspired by a real scene in a forest around the Château Noir
area near Aix in Cézanne's native Provence Comparing the two, one can see that Cézanne's landscape is
quite different from the original scene Cézanne 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.
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 beast's 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 these 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 is 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?

Example: Why did Andres Bonifacio write "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa"? What
motivation did Juan Luna have in creating his masterpiece, the Spolianum? In
whatever work of art, one should always ask why the artist made it.? What is it
that he wants to show?
Figure 4. The Elephant and the Blind Men

3. Art involves experience.

Art is just experience. By experience, we mean the "actual doing of something" (Dudley,et al, 1960) When
one says that he has an experience of something, he often means that he knows what that something is
about.
Example: When one claims that he has experiericed 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 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.
Like to look at them,' said Miss Stein" (Dudley et al, 1960) 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

Figure 5. Pablo Picasso

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.
1. 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. and what he has inside him. (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.
2. 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. Example: A stage play or
motion picture is particularly one of those art forms 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.
Quiz 1
Direction: Read and answer the following questions carefully. Select the best answer from the given
choices. Write your answer legibly on your answer sheet.
1. What is art?
a. Art is not everywhere.
b. Art is perennially around us.
c. Art sometimes ugly
2. Art comes from the ancient Latin, ars which means ______?
a. craft
b. specialized form of skill
c. both are correct
3. Who discussed in the Symposium that beauty, the object of any love, truly progresses?
a. Thomas Hobbes
b. Michael Angelo
c. Plato
4. Who said the following ideas about art? “As one moves through life, one locates better, more beautiful
objects of desire”.
a. Plato
b. Scott, 2000
c. Collingwood, 1938
5. Who said the following lines? “The humanities constitute one of the oldest and most important means of
expression developed by man”.
a. Collingwood, 1938
b. Dudley et al., 1960
c. Scott, 2000
6. What are the two most popular Greek Epics being taught in school?
a. Iliad and the Odyssey
b. Mahabharata and Ramayana
c. a and b are both correct
7. Is age, a factor of determining good art?
a. yes
b. no
c. sometimes
8. The humanities is ultimately the expressions of man’s feelings and thoughts?
a. this statement is false
b. this statement defines what humanities is all about
c. this statement is not always true
9-14 (2 points each) write the 3 assumptions of art and give brief definition of each assumption.
1. Art is universal- age is not a factor in determining good art.
2. Art is not nature - Art is not nature but we can duplicate it.
3. Art involves experience- When one says that he has an experience of something, he often means that he
knows what that something is about.
15. Art is a byproduct of imagination? yes or no