LESSON 2 - Functions of Art and Philosophy - BSIE A2020

Function and Philosophy of Art
Summary of Report:
Function and
Philosophy of Arts
Presented by: Group 2

Bandoquillo, Daisery Jean
Caudal, Ayesa
Pagtakhan, Ron
Pendilang, Sharifa
Wenceslao, Hans David
Function of Art
Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess with some accuracy where it came from
and when. This best-case scenario also includes identifying the artist because they are in no
small way part of the contextual equation. You might wonder, "What was the artist thinking when
they created this?" when you see a piece of art. You, the viewer, are the other half of this
equation; you might ask yourself how that same piece of art makes you feel as you look at it.
The functions of art normally fall into three categories: physical, social, and personal. These
categories can and often do overlap in any given piece of art. When you're ready to start
thinking about these functions,
 Personal Function
The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are many types
of personal functions and these are highly subjective. Personal functions of art are not likely to
be the same from person to person.
An artist may create a piece out of a need for self-expression or gratification. They might also or
instead want to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only trying
to provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A piece might be meant to
entertain, provoke thought, or even have no particular effect at all.
 Physical Function
The physical functions of art can be found in artworks that are crafted with the intention of
serving a physical function. Architecture, crafts such as welding and woodworking, jewelry –
making, interior design, and industrial design are all types of art that serve physical functions.
• Social Function
Art has a social function when it addresses aspects of (collective) life as opposed to one
person’s point of view or experience. Viewers can often relate in some way to social art and are
sometimes even influenced by it.
Art may convey message of protest, contestation or whatever message the artist intends his
work to carry.
Philosophy of Art
• the study of the nature of art, including concepts such as interpretation, representation,
expression, and form. It is closely related to aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty
and taste.
• The philosophy of art is distinguished from art criticism, which is concerned with the
analysis and evaluation of particular works of art. The aim of art criticism, is to achieve
an increased understanding or enjoyment of the work.
Philosophers of Art
Philosophers of Art are also called as “Aesthetician” which means truly knowledgeable about
beauty and nature. “Not all Art Critics Are Philosopher of Arts”
The task of the philosopher of art is not to heighten understanding and appreciation of works
of art but to provide conceptual foundations for the critic by
(1) examining the basic concepts that underlie the activities of critics and enable them to
speak and write more intelligibly about the arts and by
(2) arriving at true conclusions about art, aesthetic value, expression, and the other
concepts that critics employ.
Concepts of Philosophical Arts

Art as Imitation (Representation)
In the world of art, we have different subject to be paint in our artwork. Some artist uses
their imagination and some of use what they see. In Plato's metaphysics, he said that art is an
imitation. It is only a copy of a copy form from world of form (a transcendent world towards to
the reality). Art as imitation reflects reality in its relation to man and depicts man, his spiritual
world and relations between individuals in their interaction with the world.
Art as Representation
Aristotle has a different perspective when it comes to an art. He conceived that it has
possible to present the reality. This does not mean that art must always imitate reality, but it
must in some form (even through abstraction) depict reality.
 Subject Matter
Subject is a matter to the artist. In the story it is the main character. It would be the center of the
artwork.
 Symbols
Some artist uses particular symbols to defined or express something in their artwork.
Sometimes, symbols could give you a clue or the whole story itself.
Art as Expression
Artist use arts to express their feelings. It is the way for our inner feelings to explore their
internal reflections. It is a phenomenon such as art. This phenomenon is on awaking process of
our inner feelings to find a way out.
Art as Form
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.
“Art for art’s sake, not art for life’s sake” is the watchword of formalism.
Formal principles in art:
 Organic unity
A work of art must have what Aristotle called “a beginning, a middle, and an end”; it must
be unified, it must “hang together” as one entity.
Everything, of course, has some degree of unity or other. Even a collection of things,
such as a woodpile, has some unity inasmuch as it can correctly be called one thing: it is a
collection, but it is a single collection. But the unity desired in works of art is much greater than
this: it is more like the unity of the higher organisms in which every part functions not
independently of the others but interdependently with them, and it is this interdependency of the
parts that constitutes an organic unity. Take away one part, and the remainder of the parts fail to
function as before.
 Complexity or diversity
The term complexity in art refers to the visual representation of certain objects which
appear complex. Complexity may be subjective, meaning based on the perception of the viewer
or it may be objective based on artist's judgement. While diversity is the idea of everyone and
everything coming in different shapes, forms and sizes.
 Theme and Thematic Variation

Theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by a work, such as a performance, a
painting, or a motion picture. This message is usually about life, society or human nature.
Variation is the use of the elements of visual arts to create differences in an artwork for visual
interest.
 Development or Evolution
Evolutionary art is a branch of generative art, in which the artist does not do the work of
constructing the artwork, but rather lets a system do the construction. While development is to
develop the other parts or subject of an artwork.
 Balance
Balance in Art refers to the use of artistic elements such as line, texture, color, and form in the
creation of artworks in a way that renders visual stability. Balance is one of the principles of
organization of structural elements of art and design, along with unity, proportion, unity and
rhythm.
Art as a means to moral improvement

To say that a work of art is aesthetically good or has aesthetic value is one thing. To say
that it is morally good or has a capacity to influence people so as to make them morally better is
another. Yet, though the two kinds of judgments differ from one another, they are not entirely
unrelated. Three views on the relation of art to morality can be distinguished:
 Moralism
It is the view that the aesthetic value of an artwork is determined by its moral value. The most
extreme version of this position reduces all aesthetic value to moral value.
 Aestheticism
Aesthetics may be defined narrowly as the theory of beauty, or more broadly as that together
with the philosophy of art. The concepts of expression, representation, and the nature of art
objects will then be covered.

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LESSON 2 - Functions of Art and Philosophy - BSIE A2020

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Function and Philosophy of Art

Presented by: Group 2

Concepts of Philosophical Arts

Formal principles in art:

 Theme and Thematic Variation

Art as a means to moral improvement

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