MODULE 2

ASSUMPTIONS, FUNCTION, AND SUBJECT OF ART

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:
1. Clarify misconceptions about art
2. Describe the functions and philosophy of art
3. Differentiate content from subject
4. Classify artworks according to subjects

Art is universal
In every country of the world, art exist because it is important to people’s lives. It is the
oldest and most important means of expression developed by man in any culture. In
fact, man learned to draw before he could even start to talk as evidenced by some early
paintings in caves and trunks of trees --- shown in prehistoric times. Art has been
created by all people of the world at all times; it has lived because it is liked and
enjoyed. The elements and forms of art apply to all arts everywhere.

Art is cultural
Art contributes to the understanding of past and present cultures. Through art, people
learn about their culture's values and strengthen their culture’s identity. Through art, the
people feel proud of their customs, traditions, and beliefs because they give a sense of
belonging.
The artists' work such as painting, sculpture, music, dances, ceramics, prints and others
are records of their society's culture. They create within the person’s sensitivities toward
their community, their country and the world around them.

Art is not nature

Art is not nature because it is man-made.
Art is man's interpretation of what he
perceives as art. Nature, such as the
mountains, the volcano, lakes, rivers, land
terrain are made by God and not by man.
Thus, art, and not nature, is made by man
by all times.

Art is an expression of the mind

According to Jeff Lee (2016), art is a form
of expression of the deepest emotion of the
minds. According to him, the egoic mind
(conscious mind) and the echoic mind
(unconscious mind) together making up the
totality of thinking.

Artistic expression may be expressed 100% in conscious mind but those who are
extremely artistic or right-brained individuals, they may be more creative and are able to
recognize the value of linking seemingly unrelated thoughts or ideas, methods, and
concepts because of their frequent practice.

Art is a form of creativity

Art is a product of the imagination that entertains, pleases and inspire people. The
various artworks of artists reflect the artist’s power of creativity.

Artists create artwork about anything they want;

imagine or see around them. The artists use
their imagination to create any artwork using
strange shape and different kinds of links and
colors.

Color expresses the artist's personal feelings

and moods. Colors symbolize ideas. It brings
art a particular meaning, mood, and feeling in
an artwork. The artist's choice of color
expresses the beauty and elegance of the
artist's work and also feeling the artist has at
that moment. He does all this as a
consequence of his creative mind and
imagination.
Therefore, we can say that art is creative, not imitative; artworks are produced

Art involves experience

When a work is finished in a satisfactory manner, an experience occurs. Likewise, when
a problem is solved or a game is played, or a conversation is rounded out satisfactorily;
experience do occur. Fulfillment and consummation of an act conclude the experience.

In all experiences, every successively part flows freely. Artists use their experiences to
ventilate their feelings through the works that they make. Some artists focus on societal
problems, issues, and concerns. Some of
them use expressionism to communicate
strong and intense feelings. They reflect
in their works on the brink of socio-
cultural problems because of their
experiences. For example, Ang Kiukok, a
famous Filipino-Chinese painter likes to
dwell on subject matters showing the
"harsh, disturbing, morbid" realities
happening in the Philippines. Due to his
experiences, he likes to express anger as
well as frustration in his paintings.
Emotion is the moving and cementing
force of his artwork.

In like manner, the painting of Vincent Van Gogh, the "Starry Night" is an expression of
feelings based from his experiences. In his artwork, he displayed stars swirling in the
sky. He used bold jagged strokes, gloomy colors to convey strong and strange feelings.
The lines, colors and shapes express his feelings about the scene in his paintings. The
expressions of the artists are shown in the way they express their feelings towards their
artwork.

THE FUNCTIONS OF ART

Every art form has a definite function since it satisfies a particular need. To the layman,
art may have little function. Some find meaning in art in its ability to serve the purpose
for which it was designed. Obviously, architecture is directly and almost entirely
functional because buildings and other structures are always built for some special
purpose. Music and dance were used in ancient rituals and worship of the gods, for
social and folk entertainment, as well as in the military. Paintings and sculpture may be
used to narrate events, to portray people or events, to instruct (as in the case of
Christian art), to commemorate individuals or historical events, and to serve as vehicles
of personal expression. Metal works such as gates, grills, lamps, Christian religious
objects, armor, weapons, and tools, ceramics, glassware, stained glass, mosaic,
tilework, textile, and furniture are among the many types of arts or crafts. Each of these
examples is made for some definite and specific use.
The seven (7) functions of art are:

1. Aesthetic function — Through art, man becomes conscious of the beauty of nature.
he benefits from his own work and from those done by his fellowmen. He learns to use,
love, and preserve them for his enjoyment and appreciation.

2. Utilitarian function — With the creation of

the various forms of art, man now lives in
comfort and happiness. Through art, man is
provided with shelter, clothing, food, light,
medicine, beautiful surroundings, personal
ornamentals, entertainment, language,
transportation, and other necessities and
conveniences of life. Art does not only enrich
man's life. It also improves nature through
landscape gardening, creation of super
highways, and through propagation and
conservation — of natural resources.

3. Cultural function — Through the printed matter, art transmits and preserves skills
and knowledge from one generation to another. It makes man aware of his cultural
background, making him more knowledgeable making his life more enduring and
satisfying.

4. Social function — Through civic and graphic arts, man learns to love and help each
other. International understanding and cooperation are fostered and nations become
more unified, friendly, cooperative, helpful, and sympathetic.

5. Political function —Art reinforces and enhance a sense of identity and ideological
connection to specific political views, political parties and politicians.

6. Educational function — There are art symbols and signs to illustrate knowledge and
attitudes that are not expressed in words.

7. Spiritual function — Some art works express spiritual beliefs, customs, ceremonies
and rituals about the meaning and destiny of life. These artworks may have religious
significance.

PHILOSOPHY OF ART

Philosophy of art refers to the study of the nature of arts, its concept, interpretation,
representation, expression and form. Philosophy of art is closely related to aesthetics,
which is the study of beauty and taste.

There are five (5) philosophical perspectives of art. These are:

1. Art as Mimesis
The word mimesis is a Greek word which
means "imitation" or "copying", although it
may also mean representation. The
philosophers Plato and Aristotle spoke of
mimesis as the representation of nature.

Plato believed that all artistic creation is a

mimesis. It exists in the "world of ideas" and
is created by God. The concrete things that
man created are just shadows created by
man's mind. All artists are imitators of
nature.

Aristotle speaks of tragedy as an "imitation

of an action" — that of a man falling from a
higher to a lower estate. Thus, when an artist skillfully select and present a material,
that artist is purposely seeking to imitate or copy the action of life.

2. Art as Representation (Aristotle)

Art represents something. When an artist uses signs and symbols to take the place of
something else, he is using art as a representation of such signs and symbols. It is
through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of
naming its elements. Signs and symbols are arranged in order to form semantic
constructions and express relations with the other things.

3. Art for Art's Sake (Kant)

It was Victor Cousin, a French philosopher who
translated this slogan which means "I'art pour I'
art". Artists associated with aestheticism
believes that art needs no justification. Art does
not serve political didactic or other hand.

Immanuel Kant's main interest was not in art per

se, but in Beauty
in the Sublime. Kant being an Enlightenment
writer thought that beauty
or sublimity were not really properties of objects,
but ways in which we
respond to objects. Kant pointed out that what
he meant by Beauty is not
the Form of the Beautiful but about Taste.
Kant's concern i' not on the
subjective aesthetic response but on the
function of individual or personal l,
taste. He claimed that judgment of taste are both subjective and universal.
He said that aesthetic universals are subjective because they are
responses of pleasure and do not essentially involve any claim about the
properties of the object itself. On the other hand, aesthetic judgment is
universal because it is not merely personal but also, it is disinterested.

4. Art as an Escape
According to Allen Weinstein, without mental escape, we build up a lot of anxiety within
ourselves. Artists have to get rid of this anxiety and pressure because if we keep these
worries and anxieties within our mind, they will come out in the form of anger and even
hatred. Unfortunately, such anger and hatred are often taken out on the wrong people.

According to Seneres and others (2008), the artists’ works of art reveal the emotional
outburst that has been kept for many years in their mind. The only way to take out such
tension is through painting, dancing, music, and other art forms. They are a cathartic
solutions to one's anxiety and life's difficulties. Likewise, the awareness that these
works of art created among the viewers may also lead to a positive or negative
emotional reaction.

5. Art as Functional
The artist intent in creating a functional piece of art is to bring creativity, beauty, and
usefulness into people's everyday lives. Whether it's a curvy chair made of cardboard, a
banca made of paper, functional art makes us rethink and re-assess the way we look at
ordinary things, sometimes by using unusual materials in their construction.
MEANING OF SUBJECT OF ART

In any art from -- painting, music, sculpture, architecture,

or dance there is always a subject that serves as the
foundation of the creation of the work of art. A subject of
art is usually anything that is represented in the artwork. It
is varied— it may be a person, object, scene, or event. v

Sources of Subjects
Subjects of art may be found in primary sources such as:
• artwork • autobiographies
• film of the artist • interviews
• diaries • speeches
• letters • photographs
• documents • nature
• history • mythology
• Christian tradition • sacred oriental text
• others not mentioned above

Where to Find the Primary Sources:

• archives • sketchbooks
• catalogues • art galleries
• exhibits • art museums
• notebooks • art and cultural centers

Types of Subjects

1. Representational or Objective Arts

There are artworks that depict something easily recognized by most people. Painting,
sculpture, graphic arts, literature, and theatre arts are generally classified as
representational arts, although some
paintings and sculptures are without
subjects. Music and dance may or may not
have subjects.

Traditional sculptures and paintings have

subjects. When looking at a traditional
painting or a statue, one expects to
recognize the subject -- a man, animals, a
landscape, a waterfall, figures, dreams,
fantasies, seascape, still life, etc.

2. Non-Representational or Non-Objective Arts

There are artworks that have no resemblance to any real subject. They do not represent
anything and they are what they are. they rather appeal directly to the senses primarily
because of the satisfying organization of their elements.
Some contemporary painters have shifted their interest to the work of art as an object in
itself, an exciting combination of shapes and colors that fulfill the aesthetic need without
having to represent image or tell a story. Many modern paintings have a purely visual
appeal, so difficult that literal-oriented spectators cannot appreciate them.

Content in Art
Content in art refers to the meaning or significance, and/or feeling imparted by a work of
art. This is not the same thing as the subject matter the work depicts. Content of art is
inextricably linked with form, Form refers to the pictorial aspects of art such as word,
design, and choice, about shapes, sizes, colors, contrast, medium, soft, or hard edges,
and many other decisions.

Content in art may be classified as factual, conventional, and subjective.