GE1701

Aesthetics: The Study of Art and Beauty

The Field of Aesthetics

The word “aesthetics” is from the Greek word “aesthesis” which means “Sensory perception”.

Alexander Baumgarten (1714-1762) – The word “aesthetics” was first employed by

Baumgarten to mean “the science of sensory perception.” Particularly, he used it to

denote a realm of concrete knowledge, as distinct from the abstract where content is

communicated in sensory forms.

Aesthetics and its definition of art

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Philosophy Theory about the ultimate reality of things

of beauty Nature of beauty: why are beautiful things beautiful?

and art Essence of Art: what makes something a work of art?

Anthropology of art – studies and analyses the wide range of materials and objects produced by people
around the world. These materials include sculpture, masks, paintings, textiles, baskets, pots, weapons,
and the human body itself.

Art
is the creation - by the artists in their creativity

and appreciation - by the art spectator with artistic taste

of beautiful - anything with a value that delights

human-made objects. - art distinguished from nature

Two Ways of Considering Beauty

RELATIVE ABSOLUTE

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” “Beauty is in the thing itself”

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SUBJECT OBJECT
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 Division of Aesthetics

Theory of Beauty – Nature of beautiful things

Theory of Art - Essence of art

Theory of Art Criticism - Evaluation of the merit or demerit of works of art

Botticelli paid much attention to her hair and

hairstyle, which reflected his interest in the way
women wore their long hair in the late fifteenth
century. He gave Venus an idealized face which is
remarkably free of blemishes, and beautifully shaded
her face to distinguish a lighter side and a more
shaded side.

Retrieved from http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/

last December 14, 2017.

Aesthetic Terms

Categories of Value

Logical – True and False

Ethical – Good and Bad

Aesthetic – Beautiful and Ugly

Aesthetics Values

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 Aesthetics Values According to the Senses

SENSES SENSING: SENSE-DATA FORMS OF ART

EYE Seeing: Color, Shapes, Size, Motion Visual Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture,
Dance, Drama
EARS Hearing: Sound Auditory Art: Music, Drama

NOSE Smelling: Odor Olfactory Art: Perfume Making

TONGUE Tasting: Taste Culinary Art: Cooking

SKIN Touching: Texture, Shape, Size, Tactile Art: Sculpture, Lovemaking

Motion
IMAGINATION Imagining: Image Imaginative Art: Literature, Drama

SENSE-DATA BEAUTIFUL UGLY

COLOR Picturesque Blur

SHAPE Pretty
Grotesque
SIZE Piquant
Cute
MOTION
Graceful Awkward
SOUND Droll
Lovely
ODOR Fragrant
Foul
TASTE Delicious Pungent

TOUCH Harsh
Pleasant
IMAGE Fantastic
Ridiculous

Filipino sense of beauty:

Horror Vacui is a Latin derived term which means “fear of emptiness”.

It was Mario Praz (1896 – 1982), an Italian-born critic of art and literature, who used “horror vacui” to assail the
Victorian fetish for cluttering up designs.
Horror Vacui. Retrieved from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/horror-vacui-the-fear-of-emptiness last December 14,
2017.

Horror Vacui is obviously seen in colorful designs in Philippine arts: street, indigenous, festivals, costumes,
vehicle and cart designs, and fine arts.

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 Hierarchy of Beauty

Beauty – Ugly

14 Degrees of Aesthetic Value

SUBLIME Purely delights

B
GRAND
Delights and awes
E
ELEGANT
Delights and impresses
A
CHARMING
Delights and attracts
U
COMIC
Delights and entertains
T
TRAGIC
Delights and saddens
Y
TERRIBLE
Delights and fears

SCARY Gloom and fears

HORRIBLE
Gloom and saddens
U
BIZARRE Gloom and entertains
G
POIGNANT Gloom and attracts
L
PERVERSE Gloom and impresses
Y
RUSTIC Gloom and awes

PATHETIC Purely glooms

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 Venus of Willendorf, also called Woman of Willendorf or Nude Woman,
Upper Paleolithic female figurine found in 1908 at Willendorf, Austria, that is
perhaps the most familiar of some 40 small portable human figures (mostly female)
that had been found intact or nearly so by the early 21st century. (Roughly 80 more
exist as fragments or partial figures.) The statuette—made of oolitic limestone tinted
with red ochre pigment—is dated to circa 28,000–25,000 BCE. At 4 3/8 inches (11.1
cm) high, it was easily transportable by hand. Both its size (portability) and the
material from which it was made (not found in Willendorf) are indicators that the
artifact was made elsewhere and carried to Willendorf. Its arms, though visible, are
negligible and crudely depicted. Though a head is present, the only detail to be
seen is a pattern representing a braid or cap; there are no facial features. Feet too
are missing and were probably never part of the overall design.

It has been suggested that she is a fertility figure, a good-luck totem, a mother goddess symbol, or
an aphrodisiac made by men for the appreciation of men. Further, one researcher hypothesized that it was
made by a woman and that “[w]hat has been seen as evidence of obesity or adiposity is actually
the foreshortening effect of self-inspection.” Although much has been written about the Willendorf figurine,
little other than the details given in the paragraph above can be stated as fact. – Kathleen Kuiper

Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-of-Willendorf last December 18, 2017.

In this work, rightly considered now one of the

highest achievements of the Baroque, Bernini put
not only his theological competence but also that
theatrical style that was so peculiar of him, an
artistic approach directed to give the viewers the
impression that a special and incredible event, in
fact a miraculous event, is happening right here
and right now, before our very eyes, so that we
can believe and nurture our faith. In fact, Bernini’s
statue is what we would nowadays call
an installation. It is made of white marble, but
placed within an edicola decorated with ceiling
frescoes, from which a rain of golden steel rays
comes down on the Saint. The marble group is
like floating in air, and a child-like angel is about
to penetrate Teresa’s heart with an arrow.
Bernini’s rendering of Teresa’s description of her
angelic visions resorts to explicit sexual symbolism. Bernini visualized the spiritual pain that Teresa
describes in her writing with a physical experience that has clear sexual overtones; however, Bernini’s work
is in fact very faithful to Teresa’s own description. In her autobiography, which was widely read in
Rome, Teresa of Avila recalls a vision in which an angel appeared before her and pierced her heart with a
golden spear. Teresa describes being repeatedly penetrated by the angel, setting her on fire with a love for
God, and causing her to moan in ecstatic bursts of pain.

I saw in his hands a long golden spear […] This, he plunged into my heart several
times into my heart, that it penetrated to my entrails. […] The pain was so severe
that it made me utter several moans, and yet such pain was so exceedingly sweet
that one cannot possibly desire it to cease. (St Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582)

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 It is this scene on which Bernini’s statue is based. His angel grips his arrow, preparing to strike again,
looking down at the swooning Teresa with a sly smile. Teresa lies overwhelmed beneath, her eyes and
mouth in ovals of euphoria, her rippled habit mimicking the spasms charging through her body.

Retrieved from https://www.romaexperience.com/rome-blog/2013/5/24/the-spiritual-orgasm-of-saint-teresa last December 14, 2017.

Japanese Sense of Beauty

“Small is beautiful.”

Examples:
Bonsai, Poems (haikus), Zen Painting (minimalism)

The Filipino Aesthetic Worldview

Analysis of Aesthetic Terms According to Filipino Anthropology

Covar – Pagkataong Filipino and the concepts of Labas and Loob

Jocano – Filipino Aesthetic Worldviews

Worldview – A way people look at the universe. People’s picture of the universe that lies deep in the heart of
culture

Culture – A system of symbols and meanings people use to organize their ideas which they express
through language

Language – contains words that carries culture.

Analysis of the meaning of words in a language is analysis of the form of culture on which lies people’s
worldview

Dimensions of Filipino Worldview

1. Natural Dimension
2. Biological Dimension
3. Communal Dimension
4. Social Dimension
5. Normative Dimension
6. Ethical Dimension
7. Moral Dimension
8. Aesthetic Dimension
9. Teleological Dimension
10. Ideological Dimension

Ganda (Beauty)

The primary Filipino aesthetic term

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 “Sum total of katangian (traits) of anything that gives the highest pleasure to the senses”
Relative term since its use defends on the judgement of the beholder

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 When applied to person, ganda involves both the Physical appearance _ (ayos) and
Social character (ugali).

Ganda is about the “totality of the person,” both his pagkataong panlabas (physical appearance) and his
pagkataong panloob (social behavior).

Ganda and buti (good) are interchangeable terms so that whatever is maganda is also mabuti. Aesthetic taste
involves moral judgement.

Aesthetics of Filipino Personhood (Estetika ng Pagkataong

Filipino) Categories of Ganda

The Phenomenon of Ganda

As an affective Phenomenon – Ganda is judged in terms of the emotion or the sentiment

It evokes from the perceiver.

Nakakabighani: Ganda evokes desirability

Nakakaakit: It attracts
Nakakatawag ng Pansin: It calls attention

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 As an olfactory sense phenomenon – Ganda is judged through scent or sense of smell

Nananatili o namamalagi: Ganda makes its presence felt (amoy bagong paligo)
Malinis: It feels or smells clean (malinis haplusin/amoy malinis)
Sariwa: It smell or feels fresh (amoy-sariwa/amoy pinipig)

As behavioral, ethical phenomenon – Ganda is judged in terms of

Action, public appearance or human relation (ugali)

Mahinhin: It is coy, dainty, demure

Mabait: It is good-natured, considerate
Magalang: It is respectful or polite

As physical phenomenon – ganda is judged as a concrete entity with physical attributes

Makinis ang balat: smooth skin
Maamo ang mukha: gentle, docile face
Matipuno ang katawan: Healthy body
Matikas ang tindig: Graceful

As a capability phenomenon – Ganda is judged as the ability to perform work or do things

Masipag magtrabaho: industrious

Magaling magluto: A good cook
Mahusay kumanta: a good singer

References:

Miller, E. (2004). Introduction to aesthetics. Retrieved from http://users.rowan.edu/~millere/Introduction

%20 to%20Aesthetics.htm
JocanLanda F (2001). “Aesthetic Dimension,” in Filipino Worldview, Quezon City: PUNLAD Research
House, 2001. pp.135-144.
Lloren, Gregg S (2011). “Horror Vacui and the Pinoy Inclination for Filling Up Every Inch of Space” in
https://www.academia.edu.
Birth of Venus. Retrieved from http://www.italianrenaissance.org/botticelli-birth-of-venus/ last December 14,
2017.
Ecstasy of St. Therese. Retrieved from https://www.romaexperience.com/rome-blog/2013/5/24/the-spiritual-
orgasm-of-saint-teresa last December 14, 2017.

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