Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation
The arts refers to the theory, human application and physical expression of creativity
found in human cultures and societies through skills and imagination in order to produce
objects, environments and experiences.
What is APPRECIATION?
Recognition of good qualities of person or something
A full understanding of a situation
Synonyms- respect, esteem, comprehension
ART APPRECIATION
Recognition of the good qualities and understanding of art
Acquiring knowledge leads to appreciation
Knowing vocabulary, concepts, themes, processes, materials
Knowing contexts
Does not require liking or loving
Defining Art
Art is uniquely human and tied directly to culture. As an expressive medium, it allows us to
experience wide ranges of emotion, between joy or sorrow, or confusion and clarity. It gives
voice to ideas and feelings, connects us to the past, reflects the present, and anticipates the
future.
Visual art is a rich and complex subject, and its definition is in flux as the culture around it
changes.
What is an Art?
Art is uniquely human and tied directly to culture. It takes the ordinary and makes it
extraordinary. It asks questions about who we are, what we value, the meaning of beauty and
the human condition. As an expressive medium it allows us to experience sublime joy, deep
sorrow, confusion and clarity. It tests our strengths, vulnerabilities and resolve. It gives voice to
ideas and feelings, connects us to the past, reflects the present and anticipates the future.
Along these lines, art history, combined with anthropology and literature, are three main
sources in observing, recording and interpreting our human past. Visual art is a rich and
complex subject whose definition is in flux as the culture around it changes. Because of this,
how we define art is in essence a question of agreement.
History of Art
In Ancient Greece, all art and craft was referred to by the same word, techne. Thus, there was
no distinction among the arts. Ancient Greek art brought the veneration of the animal form and
the development of equivalent skills to show poise, beauty, and correct proportions. Ancient
Roman art depicted gods as idealized humans, shown with characteristic distinguishing
features (e.g. Zeus' thunderbolt).
In Byzantine and Gothic art of the middle Ages, the dominance of the church insisted on
the expression of biblical truths.
Eastern art has generally worked in a style akin to Western medieval art, namely a
concentration on surface patterning and local color (meaning the plain color of an object, such
as basic red for a red robe, rather than the modulations of that color brought about by light,
shade and reflection).
Categories of Arts
Literature (including poetry, drama, story)
Visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Graphic arts (painting, drawing, design, and other forms expressed on flat surfaces)
Plastic arts (sculpture, modeling)
Decorative arts (enamelwork, furniture design, mosaic, etc.
Performing arts (theatre, dance, music)
Music (as composition)
Architecture (often including interior design)
ART AS EXPRESSION
“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.” – Robin George Collingwood
Expressing emotions is different from describing emotions.
This makes people’s art not a reflection of what is outside or external to them, but a reflection
of their inner selves.
VISUAL ARTS
Creations that fall under this category are those that appeals to the sense of sight and are
mainly visual in nature.
Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in the
way that they perceived them.
There are also other artistic disciplines that also involve a visual aspect, such as
performance arts, theater, and applied arts.
Some mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings, letterings, printing, sculpture,
digital imaging.
FILM
Film refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an
illusion of movement.
Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value and is considered both an art
and an industry.
Techniques in film-making process:
- Motion-picture camera (also known as movie camera)
- Animation techniques
- Computer-generated imagery (CGI)
Filmmaking simulates experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope of our imagination
as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewers.
PERFORMANCE ART
Performance art is a live art and the artist’s medium is mainly the human body which he or
she uses to perform, but also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound.
Elements of performance arts:
- Time
- Where the performance took place
- The performer’s body Relationship between the audience and the performer(s)
The fact that performance art is live makes it intangible, which means it cannot be bought or
traded as a commodity.
POETRY PERFORMANCE
Poetry is an art form where the artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal,
or camera, but expresses them through words.
These words are carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to stimulate strong
emotions of joy, anger, love, and sorrow among others.
It uses a word’s emotional, musical, and spatial values that go beyond its literal meaning to
narrate emphasize, argue, or convince.
These words combined with movements, tone, volume, and intensity of the delivery add to the
artistic, value of the poem
ARCHITECTURE
Art is the pursuit and creation of beautiful things while architecture is the making of beautiful
buildings.
However, not all building are beautiful because some only embody the functionality they need,
but the structure, lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully expressed.
Important elements:
- Plan
- Construction
- Design
Buildings should embody these three important elements if they wish to merit the title
architecture.
DANCE
Dance is series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music accompaniment.
Dancing is a creative art form that allows people to freely express themselves.
IT HAS NO RULES.
Choreography may seem not to allow this, but in art expression, dancers are not confined to
set steps and rules but are free to create and invent their own movements as longs as they
deem them graceful and beautiful.
LITERARY ART
Artists who practice literary arts use words to express themselves and communicate
emotions to the readers.
Simply becoming a writer does not make one a literary artist.
Literary art goes beyond the usual professional, academic, journalistic and other technical
forms of writing.
It focuses on writing using a unique style, not following a specific format or norm.
It may include both fiction and non-fiction such as novels, biographies, and poems.
- Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare
- The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
THEATER
Theater uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live
audience.
Theater art performance usually follows follow a script, though they should not be confused
with literary arts.
Like in filmmaking, theater also considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting,
sound effects, musical score, scenery and props.
Like performance art, theater also is a live performance.
Genres: drama, musical, tragedy, comedy and improvisation
APPLIED ARTS
An applied art is incorporating elements of style and design to everyday items with the aim of
increasing their aesthetic value.
Artists in this field bring beauty, charm, and comfort into many things that were useful in
everyday life.
Industrial design, interior design, fashion design, graphic design
PERFORMING ARTS
Performing arts refers to forms of art in which artists use their voices, bodies or inanimate
objects to convey artistic expression. It is different from visual arts, which is when artists use
paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects.
Performing arts include a range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience,
inducing theatre, music, and dance.
The performing arts include dance, music and theater. Many performing artists use their
bodies, voices and talents as a means of artistic expression. They include singers, actors,
comedians and dancers.
Theatre, music, dance and object manipulation, and other kinds of performances are present
in all human cultures. The history of music and dance date to pre-historic times whereas circus
skills date to at least Ancient Egypt. Many performing arts are performed professionally.
Performance can be in purpose built buildings, such as theatres and opera houses, on open
air stages at festivals, on stages in tents such as circuses and on the street.
MUSIC
It is a form of art whose medium is silence and sound. The word "music" was derived from the
Greek word "mousike" which means the art of the muses. The common elements of music
include rhythm, pitch, dynamics, timbre and texture. The performance, creation, significance
and definition of this art depend on the social context and culture.
Music can be assorted into different genres or subgenres, although the divisions of these
genres are usually vague and subtle. It is also said that there is a very strong connection
between mathematics and music. To a lot of people who belong to various cultures, music
plays an important part in their lives.
OPERA
Opera is a form of performing arts wherein musicians and singers perform a dramatic work that
combines text, which is called the libretto and musical score. This form of art is a popular part
of the Western classical music tradition. The art incorporates a lot of elements of spoken
theatre, including scenery, acting and costumes. Sometimes it also includes dance.
The performance in an Opera is usually done in an opera house. It is also accompanied by
either a musical ensemble or an orchestra. Opera originated in Italy by the 16th century and it
soon spread to the rest of Europe as it gains popularity. Various musicians in Europe
developed a lot of ways in flourishing this form of art and made it even more popular.
DANCE
Dance is a form of performing arts that refers to the art of moving the body rhythmically and
usually in accordance to music. It is used as a form of social interaction and expression, or it is
commonly presented in a performance or spiritual setting.
It is also seen as a form of nonverbal communication, a type of communication where words
are not used. Definitions of what dance is really all about usually varies in each culture, society
or person.
Some people considered even the movement of the leaves as a form of dance while some
even considered martial arts, like karate, as one form of it.
Dance can also be social, participatory, and performed for an audience. It can as well be
erotic, ceremonial or competitive in purpose.
Nowadays, dancing has evolved into many styles. These styles include ballet, break dancing,
and krumping. Nevertheless, each type of dance, whether what style, has something that is
common. It does not only involve the usage of the human body kinetics and flexibility but also
physics.
DRAMA
Drama refers to a mode of fiction represented in a performance. The word "drama" originated
from the Greek word "drao" which means action. Dramas are usually enacted by actors on a
stage for an audience.
The structure of the text for dramas is usually influence by collective reception and
collaborative production. Masterpieces that can be considered to be in this form include the
classical Athenian tragedy, "Oedipus the King" of Sophocles and "Hamlet" of William
Shakespeare.
SPOKEN WORD
Spoken word is often used as an entertainment or musical term, referring to works that are
intended to be performed by a single person who will speak by himself naturally.
Musically, this is different from rapping for the latter involves rhythm while spoken words do not
follow such. Spoken words is said to be more akin to speaking or narration.