Art Appreciation

UNIT I. THE IMPORTANCE, MEANING, AND ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

Overview

This unit addresses the importance of art in our everyday life as part of a complex society and as an
integral mode of expression and communication. Art’s meaning covers its etymological to modern sense,
and how it is perceived by man variable and relative from a person, time, and location. The assumptions
discuss the principles and sources of art appreciation and set the margin and boundary of accountability
and duty to achieve what man is capable of doing.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit, I am able to:

1. understand and realize the importance of arts in daily life
2. explain the meaning of arts and the different assumptions on arts
3. differentiate the philosophical perspectives of arts
4. explain the nature and the various functions of arts
5. identify the different classification of arts

Setting Up

Motive Questions

Name: RONA MAE Q. GABOGEN Score:

Course/Year/Section: BSCE 2C Date:

Direction: Answer the following questions concisely.

1. How do you define the ART? In your opinion, is there a universal meaning of this term? Why?
-Art is everywhere. It's the things we see that is made by an artists, sculptures, painters, and
even an amateur people that serves as their way of expressing their feelings, opinion about
something and what they wanted to say. Somehow it can be the things we used in our daily
living such as flower pots and more. And in my opinion, art do have a universal meaning
because even though artists has their own meaning about the art they make but it only
shows what they wanted to portray about something. So basically art is the artists' way of
expressing what's in their heart and mind.

2. What can and cannot be considered art? Justify your answer.

-For me all of the things we are seeing around us can be called as an art. Because I believe
that even a single dot can be considered as art. It's just on how the artists and the people see
what it portrays and the use of it.

Lesson Proper
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THE IMPORTANCE OF ART

There is no question of the assumption that arts have never been more important to our society,
and that they should be completely incorporated into our lives, our community, and the whole of
education.

Art is important because…

it is a component of
dynamic civilization

it is an essential form of
it enhances daily
expression and
experiences
communication

it develops the intellect of

younger generation to
build up positive
character and appreciate
natural aesthetics

MEANING OF ART

The word art is also rooted in the 13 thcentury French word art, which means “skill as a result of
learning or practice,” and the Latin word ars, meaning “ability or practical skills.” In Medieval Latin, ars
meant “any special form of book learning such as grammar,
logic, or astronomy (Collingwood, 1983). Because of the
prominence of aesthetics, the study of beauty, in the 17 th
century, art began to unfold from its previous connotation of
craftsmanship (Caslib,
Garing, and Casaul 2018). In the 18 th century, the divide
between fine arts and useful arts came to be known
(Collingwood, 1983). Fine arts are those forms that were
commonly be found in galleries and museums: painting,
sculpture, etc. Crafts are those art forms that had everyday
use: pottery, ceramics, copperware, wallpapers, jewelry, etc.

You can also describe art in three different ways

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Art involves activities creating Art is the completed work

pictures and unforgettable works or final output
Art is the skill of man to make things
Beautiful and stirring; it is as an
Imaginat ion and creativity.
ability

Art
as a as a
process product

Definitions of Arts by Popular Thinkers

“Art is that which brings life in harmony with

Plato the beauty of the world.”

“Art is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind-

one that demands its own satisfaction and
John Dewey fulfilling, a shaping of matter to new and more
significant form.”

“Art is the most intense mode of

Oscar Wilde individualism that the world has known.”
Elbert Hubbard “Art is not a thing; it is a way.”
“Art is essentially the affirmation, the
Nietzsche blessing, and the deification of existence’.

Artists challenged the idea of art as a piece done with extraordinary craftsmanship in the 20 th Century.
Today the definition of art is continually being challenged by artists. Art is continuously expanding as
innovation by artist progresses in the 21st century.

Four Common Essentials of Art

1. Art has to be human-made

2. Art must be creative, not imitative
3. Art must benefit and satisfy a man
4. Art is expressed through a certain medium
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Art History
It is a discipline of studying arts through the lens of history. It involves dealing with objects and works of
art in their historical development and stylistic contexts. In simple terms, the job of art historians is to
study visual and tangible objects humans make and map them in history (Pooke & Newall, 2008).
In studying art history, historians ask a series of questions. Some of them are:
• Who made this? What was his intention in making it? Where and when was this made? What was
happening around the artist at the 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?

The Meaning of Humanities

The study of art belongs to the discipline of humanities. Questions puzzling the existence of man
have been asked since time immemorial: What am I? Why am I what I am? Why am I in this world?
And art, answering these question boils down as records of man’s quest for answers to the fundamental
questions he asks about himself and life (Ortiz, Erestain, Guillermo, Montano & Pillar, 1976).
Humanities include literature, music, and art. Through humanities, we learn what it is to be
human. In the 21st century, there is a focus on the study of science and technology. Arts and humanities
seem to belong to the past. The modern definition of Humanities aims to shape our subjective energies
(feelings, attitudes, aspirations) in accordance with a particular view of the social world in which we
dream, we act and fulfill ourselves (Ortiz et al., 1976).

Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation is an attitude toward art. It allows us to understand the purpose of an artwork
deeply and recognize the beauty it possesses (Collins & Riley, 1931). Art appreciation in the humanities
can look at a work of art and form a wise opinion of the work. It is also having the knowledge,
background, and understanding of the universal and timeless qualities that comprise all works of art. Art
appreciation, therefore, deals with learning or understanding and creating artworks and enjoying them.
An artist explores an individual’s humanity: physical, emotional, psychological, sociological, and
economic state - and create art out of these explorations. Thus, art becomes the expression of the artist’s
exploration of one’s humanity.

Creativity
“Creation” in art refers to the act of combining or reordering already existing materials so that a
new object is formed. Thus, creativity in art involves skill and expertness in handling materials and
organizing them into new, structurally pleasing, and significant units (Ferrer et al., 2018). This is an
imaginative characteristic developed in the course of one's life to find solutions or express one's feelings.
His continuing reactions to the changing natural and social circumstances give birth to new ideas and new
methods. Those, in turn, use to resolve difficulties, which in turn offer a solution to a dream, create art, or
trigger social change, the process of encounter with reality.

ASSUMPTIONS OF ART
1. Art is Universal
It is not only for concert halls, museums, or galleries, not only for those who can afford
to pay, not only for critics and scholars. Art is for everyone. Art is everywhere, wherever people
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have lived together, art has arisen among them as a language full of emotions and meaning. Art
has no boundaries and rises above traditions, races, and civilizations. The desire to construct this
language seems to be universal, and art as a cultural force can be widespread and strong. It's
eternal as it goes beyond the span of our own life.
2. Art is Not Nature
Art is human-made; it is the development of a man who uses his analytical ability and
artistry to process and plan. Art is synthetic since it is either an imitation or even an infringement
of truth and nature. It is the expression of concepts, thoughts, and feelings that are expressed
intellectually and innovatively.
3. Art involves Experience
Art is a reflection of our experience. It is seeking participation. Every art has something
to do with some physical content, a body, or something beyond the body; hence, the only way to
find justification and affirmation is through immersion in the arts. We can only appreciate art if
we spend time looking at it, listening to it, touching it, and feeling its presence.
Three major experience of art (for artist):
a. Experience that an artist wants to communicate
b. Experience in creating the artwork
c. Experience after creating the artwork
Audience Experience of Art:
a. Sensory Response
b. Emotional Response
c. Intellectual Response

4. Art as Expression
Art has grown out of man’s need to express himself. The personal and social values of
the artist and his penetrating psychological insights into human reality are also conveyed through
art. It uses symbols that organize into some comprehensible equivalent of the experience that an
artist is trying to convey. Art is an expression of a general vision of the age in which it was
created. An artist becomes a kind of historian, recording in his/her work the attitudes and way of
life of his period.
5. Art as a form of Creation
As a creative activity, art involves skill or expert handling materials and organizing them
into new, structurally pleasing, and significant units. It is a planned activity that may be produced
and executed by an individual or a team.

FUNCTIONS OF ART
Functional VS Non-Functional

Functional Art Non-Functional Art

Directly Useful Indirectly Useful
Architecture, weaving, furniture-making, Painting, sculpture, literature, music, theater,
industrial design, etc. etc.

How does art serve us?

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1. Personal
Art educates our senses and sharpens our perception of Color, forms, textures, designs,
sounds, sounds, rhythms, and harmonies in our environment. It offers us fresh insights into
nature and human nature so that we gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world around
us.

Personal expression through mural painting (Adobo

Magazine, www.google.com)
2. Social
Art seeks to influence the collective behavior of
people. It is created to be seen or used primarily in
public situations and expresses or describes social or
collective aspects of existence or opposed to
individual and personal kinds of experiences.
Paintings, photographs, and cartoons have been used
to express humanitarian concerns as well as
ideological and political comment. In spreading
doctrine or teaching ideas, the arts have been used in
place or as a complement of the written word.
Float Parade during Panagbenga Festival at Baguio
Traditional arts play significant functions in the rituals
City (Pilipinas Popcorn, www.google.com
) of communities. Commercial and advertising art aims
to affect the buying behavior of people. Art is used to
commemorating important personages in society. It is also linked to rituals, public celebrations such
as festivals. Artworks are vital historical documents. They describe aspects of existence at certain
periods in certain places of certain communities.

3. Physical
Tools and containers are objects which function to make our lives physically
comfortable. Designing functional objects involves the consideration of how it will be used and
its aesthetic look. Physical function encompasses the aesthetic function through which art
becomes influential for man to be aware of the beauty of nature.

BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF ART

1. Art as Mimesis (Plato) - all artistic creation is a form of imitation: that which exists (in the
“world of ideas”) is a type created by God; the tangible things man perceives in his existence
are shadowy representations of this ideal type.
2. Art as Representation (Aristotle) - He recognized that literature is a representation of life,
yet also believed that representations intervene between the viewer and the real. Creates
worlds of illusion leading one away from the "real things."
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3. Art for Art’s Sake (Kant) - that art needs no justification, that it need serve no political,
didactic, or other ends. Art has its own reason for being.
4. Art as an Escape - the ritual of producing or making art touches the deepest reaches of the
mind and the essential dimension of the artistic, creative process. The sacred level of art not
only transforms everything into art but also transforms the artist at the very center of his or
her being.

References:

Collingwood. R. G. (1983). The Principles of Art. Read Books Ltd. Worcestershire

Caslib, B. N., Garing. D., Casaul, J. A. (2018). RBS Art Appreciation. Rex Bookstore, Inc. Sampaloc
Manila
Ortiz, M.A. Erestain T. Guillermo, A. Montano, M. Pillar, S. (1976). Art Perception and Appreciation.
University of the East and JMC Press, Inc.
Pooke, G., Newall, D. (2008). Art History: The Basics. Routledge. Oxon.
Kleiner, F.S. (2011) Gardiner’s Art through the Ages: a Global History. 13 th Edition. Wardsworth
Cengage Learning, Boston
Ortiz, M.A., Erestain, T. Guilermo A. Montano, M., Pillar, S. (1976). “The nature of Art.” Art perception
and Appreciation. University of the East and JMC Press. Inc. pp. 5-14
Ranisan, W.K., Ferrer, M.C. D., Mangahas, T. L. S., Roldan, C., Antonio, M.T. Art Appreciation:
Malabon City. Mutya Publishing House Inc Electronic Sources:
https://frontlearners.com/blended/pluginfile.php/10364/mod_resource/content/3/index. html
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Assessing Learning

Activity 1

Name: RONA MAE Q. GABOGEN Score:

Course/Year/Section: BSCE 2C Date:

Direction: Read the following statements carefully. Identify what is being described in the statement and
write your answers on the space provided before the number.

Fine arts 1. These are the forms of art that were commonly found in galleries and museums.
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Ability or practical 2. Art comes from the ancient Latin word, ars, meaning ______.
skills

________________3. It involves skills and expertness in handling materials and organizing them into
new, structurally pleasing, and significant units.

________________4. Aimed to shape our subjective energies in

accordance with a particular view of the social world.

________________5. These are the art forms that had everyday use.

________________6. It is a discipline of studying arts through the lens of history.

________________7. Refers to act of combining or reordering already existing materials that a new
object is formed.

________________8. It allows us to understand deeply the purpose of an artwork and recognize its
beauty it possesses.

________________9. People who study the visual and tangible objects humans make ad map them in
history.

_______________10. It becomes the expression of the individual’s exploration of his/her own humanity.

Activity 2

Name: Score:
Course/Year/Section: Date:

Direction: Read each item carefully. Determine whether the statement is true or false. Write T if the
statement is true; F if false. Answers must be written on the space provided before the number.
__________1. Humanities help us to learn how and what it is to be human, particularly in which
we dream, act, and fulfill ourselves.

__________2. Making art is a human impulse. This is the reason why we have seen multiple
examples of art made from different parts of the globe.

__________3. In the Classical period, the word art means “any special form of book learning
 Art Appreciation

such as grammar, logic, or astronomy.”

__________4. Art has to be human-made. But it doesn’t mean that an artist has the freedom to
create anything like a product of his personal and social exploration.

__________5. In the 21st century, there is the focus of arts and humanities. As a result, science
and technology seem to belong to the past.

__________6. People have particular demands, and these demands drive them to create
particular artwork.

__________7. We use our senses to recognize arts but it will not develop our perceptions in
specific elements.

__________8. A better understanding of ourselves and the world can be achieved by gaining
pristine perceptions from the arts.

__________9. Art describe aspects of existence at certain periods at certain places of certain
communities.

__________10. Propaganda literature usually static and un-compelling to influence people’s

cognition and affection

Activity 3

Name: Score:
Course/Year/Section: Date:

Direction: In the Concept Map below, concisely discuss the three major functions of Arts.

FUNCTIONS OF ARTS

PERSONAL SOCIAL PHYSICAL

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Activity 4

Name: Score:
Course/Year/Section: Date:

Direction: Answer the following questions concisely.

1. If you were an artist, what kind of artist will you be? What art field will you explore? Why?

2. How can you utilize the arts to express yourself, your community, and your relation to others
with the earth?

3. Why is art ageless and timeless?

4. Why is an art not nature?

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5. Why does art involve experience?

Activity 5

Name: Score:
Course/Year/Section: Date:

Direction: Art serves you in the personal aspect. In the box below, draw symbols/figures that can best
describe yourself. You can use any drawing and coloring tools to make your output more creative. Write
a concise explanation of the symbols or figures you have drawn. Your output will be graded using the
holistic rubric below.

CLEANLINESS/NEATNESS 10%
ORIGINALITY 20%
CONTENT 30%
CREATIVITY 40%
Total 100%