ASSUMPTIONS AND NATURE OF ART: "Creation" in art refers to the act of combining or

Creativity and Imagination ( PART I ) reordering already existing materials that a new
object is formed (Ortiz et al., 1976).
Art History and Art Appreciation Thus, creativity in art involves skill and
expertness in handling materials and organizing
What is Art? them into new, structurally pleasing, and
significant units (Ortiz et al., 1976).
History of "art" as a word
Art comes from ancient Latin word, ars, meaning Examples of Art
"craft" or specialized skill (Collingwood1938).
o Spoliarium by Juan Luna, 1884, Oil on Panel
In Medieval Latin, ars meant "any special form
o Women Working in a Rice Field by Fabian dela
of book learning such as grammar logic, or
Rosa, 1902, Oil on Canvas
astronomy (Collingwood, 1938).
o Manila Cathedral, Architecture
Because of the prominence of aesthetics, the
study of beauty, in the 17th century, art began o Torogan (Maranaw), Architecture
to unfold from its previous connotation of o David by Michelangelo, 1501-1504, Marble
craftsmanship (Caslib, Garing, & Casaul 2018).
o Immaculate Conception by Vicenzo Assenza,
Fine art were those forms that were commonly 1942, Bronze, Polychrome
found in galleries and museums: painting,
sculpture, etc. o Bamboo Mañalac playing at a Christmas Party
in 2006, Music, Performance
In the 18th century, the divide between fine arts
and useful arts came to be known (Collingwood, o Joey Ayala performing at Conspiracy Bar in
1938). Quezon City in Jan 29, 2014, Music,
Performance
Crafts were those art forms that had everyday
use: pottery, ceramics, copperware, wallpapers, o Commemorative Ten Peso Coin Depicting
jewelry, etc. the People Power Revolution, Coin
o Rihanna at the MET Gala 2017, Fashion,
Fine Art = "Beautiful Arts"
Clothing
Useful Arts = "Crafts"
The Meaning of Humanities
The idea of art as a piece done with
extraordinary craftsmanship was challenged by The study of art belongs to the discipline of
artists in the 20th century. humanities.
Today, the definition of art is continually being Questions puzzling the existence of man have
challenged by artists. Art is continuously been asked since time immemorial:
expanding as innovation by artists progresses in
the 21st century. What am I? Why am I what I am? Why am I in this
world?
ART is the used of skill and imagination in the
creation of aesthetic objects, environments,
experiences to be shared to others. What are humanities?
They are records of man's quest for answers to
Creativity in Art the fundamental questions he asks about himself
and about life. (Ortiz, Erestain, Guillermo,
What is creativity? Montano, & Pilar, 1976).
Humanities include literature, music, and art.
 Through the humanities, we learn what it is to What is Art Appreciation?
be human (Ortiz et al., 1976).
Appreciation is an attitude towards art. It allows
us to understand deeply the purpose of an
artwork and recognize its beauty it possesses
(Collins & Riley, 1931).
Intentions in Artmaking

Art is a form of expression. KEY POINTS

An artist explores his/her humanity-physical, The definition of art is continually being

emotional, psychological, sociological, and challenged by artists today.
economic state-and create art out of these Through the humanities, we learn what it is to be
explorations. human.
Thus, art becomes the expression of the artist's
Art history is a discipline of studying arts
exploration of his/her humanity.
through the lens of history.

Why should we study humanities? Art appreciation allows us to understand deeply

the purpose of an artwork and recognize its
Humanities is aimed to shape our subjective beauty it possesses.
energies (feelings, attitudes, aspirations) in
accordance with a particular view of the social Creativity in art involves skill and expertness in
world in which we dream, act, and fulfill handling materials and organizing them into
ourselves (Ortiz et al. 1976). new, structurally pleasing, and significant units.

Art History: Studying Art through Art History

What is Art History?

It is a discipline of studying arts through the
lens of history. In simple terms, the job of art
historians is to study the visual and tangible
objects humans make and map them in history
(Pooke & Newall, 2008).

What are the questions an art historian might

ask? (Kleiner, 2011)
Who made this? What was his intention in
making it?
Where and when was this made? What was
happening around the artist at that time?
Who or what is the subject? How is the subject
represented?
How was this made? What style was used?
How did the artist's audience receive the work?
What did it mean for them during that time?

ART APPRECIATION: Art History vs. Art

Appreciation
 ASSUMPTIONS AND NATURE OF ART: ❖ Country Scenes in Mountain Landscape,
Creativity and Imagination ( PART II ) Anonymous Chinese Artist (Nanking School),
17th Century
Expression of Art
Art Involves Experience
ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
Three major experiences of art (for artists):
What are the assumptions of art?
Experience that an artist wants to communicate
Overview (Ortiz, Erestain, Guillermo, Montano, &
Experience in creating the artwork
Pilar 1976):
Experience after creating the artwork
o Art is Universal
o Nature is Not Art
Examples:
o Art Involves Experience
❖ The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,
o Art as an Expression Francisco Goya, Etching (1799)
o Art as a Form of Creation
❖ Workstation of a photographer in a darkroom

Art is Universal ❖ Kevin Carter is the photographer of the

controversial image, The Struggling Girl, in
Art is not only for concert halls, museums, or which a vulture stalks a Sudanese child dying
galleries. of hunger

Art is not only for those who can afford to pay.

Audience's experience of art:
Art is not only for critics and scholars.
Sensory response
Art is for everyone. Art is everywhere.
Emotional response

Examples: Intellectual response

❖ A jeepney waiting to leave Carbon Market in

Example:
downtown Cebu
❖ La Marina, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Oil on
❖ Bulalo, Pamana
Canvas (1917)
❖ Breuer Chair, 2008
Art as an Expression
Nature is Not Art
Art has grown out of man's need to express
Art is man-made. himself.

Nature has been a constant source for models of The personal and social values of the artist and
art. his penetrating psychological insights into
human reality are also conveyed through art.
Examples: Art uses symbols which organize into some
comprehensible equivalent of the experience
❖ The Morning, Caspar David Friedri (1820-
that an artist is trying to convey.
1821)
Art is an expression of a general vision of the age
❖ Annona Muricata (Plate from Flora de
in which it was created.
Filipinas), Francisco Manuel Blanco (1880-
1883)
 An artist becomes a kind of historian, recording ➢ Three-dimensional
in his/her work the attitudes and way of life of his o Sculpture
period. o Installation
o Architecture
Examples: o Ceramics
o Furniture
❖ Effigy of Philippine President Arroyo burned o Others
during SONA 2007

❖ The Scream, Edvard Munch (1911) Auditory or Time Arts - medium which can be
heard and which are expressed in time.
❖ Aztec painting of a birth

➢ Music
Art as a Form of Creation
➢ Literature
As a creative activity, art involves skill or
expertness in handling materials and organizing
them into new, structurally pleasing, and Combined Arts - medium which can both be
significant units. seen and heard, and which exists in both space
and time.
Art is a planned activity.

Art may be produced by an individual or a team. ➢ Dance

➢ Drama
Examples: ➢ Opera
❖ T'nalak Weaver ➢ Film
❖ Korean Fok Dance, Buchaechum, Fan Dance ➢ Performance Art

KEY POINTS
MEDIUM OF THE ARTS
The following are the assumptions of art: art
What are the materials that artists use? is universal; art is not nature; art involves
experience; art as an expression; and art as a
form of creation.
Definition
Medium refers to the material or means which Medium refers to the material or means which
the artist uses to objectify his/her feeling or the artist uses to objectify his/her feeling or
thought. thought.

Categories Based on Medium

Visual or Space Arts - medium which can be
seen and which occupy space.

➢ Two-dimensional Art
o Painting
o Drawing
o Printmaking
o Photography
o Others
 FUNCTIONS OF ART AND PHILOSOPHY: It seeks to influence the collective behavior of
Subject and Content ( PART I ) people

Functions of Art It is created to be seen or used primarily in public

situations

Functional Vs Non-Functional Art It expresses or describes social or collective

aspects of existence as opposed to individual
Functions of Art and personal kinds of experiences.
Broadly speaking, all arts have function. We
create because we have a particular need for art. Social Function: Influencing Social Behavior

Art can be categorized into functional and non- ➢ Paintings, photographs, posters, and
functional art. cartoons have been used to express
humanitarian concern as well as ideological
and political comment.
Functional Art
➢ Propaganda literature - usually very moving
Directly useful
and persuasive - has the capacity to sway
Architecture, weaving, furniture-making, people's minds and feelings towards certain
industrial design, etc. ends.

➢ In spreading doctrine or teaching ideas, the

Non-Functional Art arts have been used in place or as
complement of the written word.
Indirectly useful
➢ Traditional arts play significant functions in
Paintings, sculpture, literature, music, theater, rituals of communities.
etc.
➢ Commercial and advertising art aims to affect
the buying behavior of people.
How does art serve us?

Art has a general function of satisfying: Social Function: Display and Celebration
➢ Our individual needs for personal expression, ➢ Art is used to commemorate important
personages in society.
➢ Our social needs for public display,
celebration, and communication, and ➢ Art are linked to rituals.
➢ Our physical needs for utilitarian objects or ➢ Public celebrations such as festivals employ
structures. arts.

PERSONAL FUNCTION Social Function: Social Description

Art educates our senses and sharpen our ➢ Artworks are vital historical documents.
perception of color, forms, textures, designs,
sounds, rhythms, and harmonies in our ➢ They describe aspects of existence at certain
environment. periods at certain places of certain
communities.
Art offers us fresh insights into nature and human
nature so that we gain better understanding of
ourselves and the world around us. PHYSICAL FUNCTION
Tools and containers are objects which function
SOCIAL FUNCTION to make our lives physically comfortable.

Art performs social function when:

Designing a functional object involves the
consideration of it's intended use and its
aesthetic look.

KEY POINTS
Art can be categorized into functional art and
non-functional art.
Art has three general functions:
➢ Personal
➢ Social
➢ Physical
 FUNCTIONS OF ART AND PHILOSOPHY: For Aquinas, beauty relates to the capacity of the
Subject and Content ( PART II ) intellect to elicit pleasure in "contemplation" of
objects "seen" (Maritain, 1930).
Philosophical Importance of Art
Aesthetics as a Philosophy of Art Integritas
(Integrity)
What is Aesthetics?
Aesthetics is the philosophical study of beauty
and taste. Consonantia Claritas
It has a long history traced back to the writings of (Proportion/C (Clarity/Radi
onsonance) ance)
Plato.

It shapes our understanding not only of beauty,

taste, and value of art, but also how we define art
today (Munro and Scruton, 2018).
Beauty by Thomas Aquinas: Integritas
Art, Beauty, and Aesthetics
Integritas (integrity) pertains to the wholeness of
Aesthetics has aided philosophers in the work.
understanding what art is and how it can be
differentiated among other class of objects. A beautiful object must not be deficient in what it
needs to be most: itself.
As a philosophy, it raises question of what is
beautiful and what makes it so. The intellect is pleased in the fullness of being.

Does an object have to be beautiful to be

Beauty by Thomas Aquinas: Consonantia
considered art?
Consonantia (consonance or proportion)
Understanding Beauty pertains agreement of units to form a cohesive
whole.
Similar to the exercise done, we may or may
notagree on which particular objects are A beautiful object's dimensions should suitably
beautiful. correspond to other objects, as well as to a
metaphysical end.
This is why we have to establish the basis for
what characteristics can be associated with The intellect is pleased in order and unity.
beauty.
Beauty by Thomas Aquinas: Claritas
Bear in mind that individuals may differ in their
beliefs of what is beautiful, and that is perfectly Claritas (clarity or radiance) pertains to
okay. intelligibility of the object that is impressed on its
audience.
What did Thomas Aquinas have to say about
A beautiful object should clearly radiate
beauty?
intelligibility, the logic of its inner being and
Beauty by Thomas Aquinas impress this knowledge of itself in the mind of the
perceiver.
During the Medieval ages, St. Thomas Aquinas
devoted pages of Summa Theologiae, a text
explaining the logic of Christian faith, to the study
of beauty (Munro and Scruton, 2018).
Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of
Liturgy (McNamara, 2009)
"Integritas, claritas, and consonantia prove
critical in building a church, because as a
theological and sacramental revelation of the
new heaven and new earth, a beautiful church
will provide a fullness of theological ideas but
being complete not only in all of its functional
parts, but also in its sacred imagery."

"Moreover, these parts will be proportional to

their nature, showing not merely an earthly
meeting hall but an icon of a glorified reality,
conventionally understood in architecture
through sophistication of design, rich materials,
and high levels of craft to be worthy of a church."

"This worthiness and glorification is made

knowable to the mind of the viewer, for whom the
church building impresses into his or her mind
the signs and symbols of heavenly realities. This
participation in the liturgy is the aim to be
considered before all else specifically because
by perceiving heavenly realities in earthly matter,
we have the opportunity to become heavenly
ourselves, and we are suited to live happily with
God for eternity."

KEY POINTS
Aesthetics is the study of beauty and taste.

According to Aquinas, the prerequisites of

beauty are integritas, consonantia, and claritas.
 FUNCTIONS OF ART AND PHILOSOPHY: ART FOR ART'S SAKE
Subject and Content ( PART III )
Art is an end in itself.
Basic Philosophical Perspective of Art Art for art's sake is a perspective of art that
believes in the inherent value of art.
OVERVIEW
Art has a value in itself and should not be judged
➢ Art as mimesis based on themes it may touch on: morality,
religion, politics, etc.
➢ Art as representation
➢ Art for art's sake
Who defended the idea of art for art's sake?
➢ Art as an escape
In The Critique of Judgment, a book where
➢ Art as functional Kant discusses about aesthetics and art, he
argues that the purpose of art is to be
ART AS MIMESIS "purposeless."

Simply put, it is a perspective that art has no

Art imitates reality.
need for justification.
Art is an imitation of nature or reality.
Art for art's sake in History
Plato believed in this perspective as expressed
in one of the dialogues of The Republic (381 BC). Art of art's sake is a translation of a slogan, l'art
pour l'art, coined by 19th century French
Decline of Mimesis philosopher, Victor Cousin.

In the late nineteenth century, art as imitation It was a reaction of the Romantics to the demand
began to fade in Western aesthetics to be for art to become functional.
replaced by other perspectives of art.
ART AS AN ESCAPE
Photography could copy reality with more
accuracy than painting.
Art imitates reality.

ART AS A REPRESENTATION
What does escape mean?
Art is derived from reality. Escape in this philosophical perspective can be
defined as forgetting the reality for an instance
What is representation? and immersing oneself in a fantasy world that an
artist has created.
Representation in art pertains to a certain degree
of abstraction - that is, taking away of one or
What art forms are typical of escapism?
more characteristic or more of the original.
This is typical in literature and film.
How does representation apply in art? The reader or audience suspends his/her
A person existing in three dimensions is depicted disbelief and allows the narrative to carry him/her
in painting in two-dimensional surface through into another reality.
pigment.
ART AS FUNCTIONAL
For painting, a painter takes agency to select
some details that will represent this person Art is a means to an end.
without the need to include everything.
What are the functions of art?
➢ Aesthetic Pleasure

➢ Truth and Knowledge

➢ Moral Improvement

Truth and Knowledge as the aims of art

Art as the means for the acquisition of truth

is another alleged function of art.

In opposition to art as expression, art as a means

of achieving truth and knowledge believes that
art serves not only emotional function, but also
cognitive function.

Art as a path moral improvement

Some believe that its function of art is to make

a person morally better.