Instructions: the artist feels compelled to release what

is inside.
1. Read the notes. - It involves the application of creativity,
2. Take time to remember important imagination, and skill to create original
points, personalities, concepts, and work.
dates. - It arouses feelings and emotions in us.
Good art will make you feel something.
3. Expect for videos and other links as we
- It depicts nature in all its forms (living
discuss these topics. and non-living)
4. Be ready for quizzes
Defining Art
Topics:
The tendency is to conceive art as essentially
What is Art?
imitation of objects or aspects of the material
Art History
world, and as being therefore of limited moral
How to Look at Art
and educational value. It is a functional creation,
Qualities of a Good Work of Art
does not offer reality but unreal imitations.
The Values of Art
Some Basic Assumption of Art
The Seven Traditional Forms of Art “Poetry and the arts feed and waters the
Functions of Art passions instead of starving them. Philosophy
exercises and appeals to reason, poetry and the
Topics for August 26 to 31 arts openly address the feelings.” Plato
What is Art?
Art History “Art has this character common with nature.
How to Look at Art (how to appreciate For art, too employs materials – concrete
art, etc) images, human actions, and sounds – and it
Topics for Sept 2 to 7 deals with these materials as form or meaning
Qualities of a Good Work of Art emerges or dawns through them. Art is an
The Values of Art imitation of nature, and have healthful and
Some basic Assumption of Art formative effects on the mind. “ Aristotle
Topics for Sept 9-14
The Seven Traditional Forms of Art “The basic function of art is to express emotions
(Types of Art) rather than create beauty, but at the same time
Functions of Art beauty is a legitimate standard in the criticism
of works of art. The choice of a standard is
Art can be defined as creative works of beauty ultimately an expression of personal preference,
or emotional appeal which express the creator’s and that taste is subjective and relative.
feeling and vision. Art is created through the
application of skill and imagination. Beauty is defined as the capacity of an object
aesthetically contemplated to yield feelings that
There are various aspects of art when we define are pleasant. There is, then, no such thing as
it. authoritative opinion concerning the beauty of a
given object.” Curt Ducasse
- It involves the creation of aesthetic
works. We enjoy beautiful art through of There are no concrete or abstract forms, but
five senses. only forms which are more-or-less convincing
- Helps to communicate or share the lies. Yet, art is more than the artificial, art is a
artist’s ideas, emotions, experiences, and lie that makes us realize truth.” Picasso
beliefs. Art is a form of catharsis where
“Art is the imitations of nature; it tries to offer
an abridgement of reality. In speaking of an
imitation one cannot get very far without first How to Look at Art
understanding what it imitates.” Coleridge
For what was this piece of art made? This is
“The value of art lies in its obvious social essentially a question of context. Most of the
usefulness. The function of art, in other words, is religious paintings in our museums were
to spread and instil specific social ideas in originally meant to be seen in churches in very
human minds.” Tolstoy specific settings. To imagine in their original
setting helps us to understand that they had a
Art History devotional purpose that is lost when they are
seen on a museum wall. To ask about the
In the Medieval period the word “humanities” original setting, then helps us ask further
distinguished that which pertained to humans whether the painting is in fact devotional or
from that which pertained to God. Mathematics, meant as a teaching tool or to serve some other
the sciences, the arts, and philosophy were purpose.
humanities. They had to do with humans.
Theology and related studies were the subjects Setting is crucial. A frescoed wall on a public
of divinity. They had to do with God. This building is meant to be seen by many people
distinction does not have the importance it once while a fresco on the on the wall of an
did. Today we think of the humanities as those aristocratic home is meant for a much smaller,
broad areas of human creativity and study that more elite, class of viewer. A sculpture designed
are distinct from mathematics and the “hard” for a wall niche is going to have a shape
sciences, mainly because in the humanities different that one designed to be seen by
strictly objective or scientific standards are not walking around it. Similarly, art made under
usually dominant. official sponsorship of an authoritarian
government must be read is a far different than
In the Western tradition, the visual arts have art produced by underground artists who have no
been divided into fine arts, those involved in standing with the government. Finally, art may
making objects to serve utilitarian purposes, as be purely decorative or it may have a didactic
well as to provide visual delight. The idea has purpose, but purely decorative art may teach us
been to prevent confusion. On the one side are while didactic art may end up being purely
those arts which, by their very nature, are decorative.
capable of communicating human experience in
all its depth and complexity. On the other are What, if anything, does this piece of art hope to
those art whose primary aim is to enhance the communicate? This question is one of the
appearance and other functions of utilitarian intellectual or emotional contexts. Funeral
objects or to serve a function other than pure sculpture may reflect the grief of the survivors
visual communication or delight. Examples of or a desire to commemorate the achievements of
this latter are furniture design and advertising the deceased or to affirm what the survivors
art. However, appearance is a function that believe about life after death or a combination of
suffers when it is separated from other functions. these purposes. If we think of art as a variety of
speeds we can then inquire of any artwork: What
The term fine arts and applied arts were coined is it saying?
when craftsmen are the sole suppliers of
utilitarian objects for everyday use. The arts of An artist may strive for an idea (“I want to paint
drawing, painting, sculpture, and architecture the most beautiful woman in the world” or “I
were considered to be of “higher” order since wish my painting to be taken for reality itself” or
they were involved primarily with aesthetics and “I wish to move people to love or to hate or
the intellect. sorrow by my sculpture”) or to illustrate the
power of an idea or (as is the case with most powers as we enter into the picture or engage the
primitive art) to “capture” the power of the spirit sculpture or look at their film.
world for religious and/or magical purposes.
Composition, obviously, is not restricted to
An artist may well produce a work simply to painting. Filmmakers compose with close-ups or
demonstrate inventiveness or to expand the tracking shots just as sculptures carve for frontal
boundaries of what art means. The story is told or side views of an object. Since all these
of Pablo Picasso’s reply, “Congratulations, techniques are designed to make us see in a
Madame. Your child is a genius.” We know that particular manner, only by thinking about
before he was a teenager Picasso could draw composition do we begin to reflect on what the
with photographic accuracy. He said that during artist has done. If we do not think about
his long life he tried to learn how to paint with composition, we tend to take an artwork at “face
the fresh eye and spontaneous simplicity of a value” and, as a consequence, we are not
child. training our “eye”.

How was this piece of art made? This question What elements should we notice about a work
inquired into both the material and the skills the of art? The answer to this question is a
artist employs to turn material into art. To learn summary of what we have stated above. Without
to appreciate the craft of the artist is a first step pretending to exclusivity, we should judge art on
toward enjoying art for its worth as art – to the basis of the following three aspects:
developing an eye” for art. This requires looking
at the object as a crafted object. Thus, for Formal elements. What kind of art work is it?
example, a close examination of Michelangelo’s What materials are employed? What is its
Pieta show the pure smooth beauty of marble composition in terms of structure? In terms of
while his Slaves demonstrate the roughness of pure form, how does this particular work look
stone and the sculpture’s effort to carve meaning when compared to a similar work of the same or
from hard material. We might stand back to another artist?
admire a painting a whole, but then to look
closely at one portion of it teaches us the subtle Symbolic elements. What is this artwork
manipulation of color and line that creates the attempting to “say”? Is its purpose didactic,
overall effect. propagandistic, to give pleasure, or what? How
well do the formal elements contribute to the
What is the composition of this artwork? This symbolic statement being attempted in the work
question addresses how the artist “composes” of art?
the work. Much Renaissance painting uses a
pyramidal construction so that the most Social elements. What is the context of this work
important figure is at the apex of the pyramid of art? Who is paying for it and why? Whose
and the lesser figures from the base. Some purpose does it serve? At this level many
paintings presume something happening outside different philosophies come into play. A Marxist
the picture itself (such as an unseen source of critic might judge a work in terms of its sense of
light); a cubist painting tries to render class or economic aspects, while feminist might
simultaneous view of an object. At other times inquire whether it affirms women or acts as an
an artist may enhance the composition by the agent of subjugation and/or exploitation.
manipulation of color with movement from light
to dark or a stark contrast between dark and It is possible to restrict to formal criticism of an
light, as in the chiaroscuro of Baroque painting. artwork (Is this well done in terms of craft and
In all these cases the artist intend to do composition?), but such an approach does not do
something more than merely “depict” a scene; full justice to what the artist is trying to do.
they appeal to our imaginative and intellectual Conversely, to judge every work purely in terms
of social theory excludes the notion of an artistic
work and, as a consequence, reduces art to simply because of the value of their materials.
politics or philosophy. For a fuller appreciation Even the monumental cult statue of Athena in
of art, then, all the elements mentioned above Parthenon disappeared without a trace,
need to come into play. presumably because of the value of the gold and
ivory form which it was made.
Qualities of a Good Work of Art
Religious Value
To be able to appreciate a good work of art and
to develop a good sense of artistic evaluation of One of the traditional ways in which art has been
it, you must bear in mind these qualities of a valued is in terms of its religious significance.
good art: Paintings and sculpture depicting gods and
goddesses make their images accessible. Such
1. It must be an expression of the inner buildings as the Mesopotamian ziggurat (stepped
vision of the artist who through a skilful tower), temples in many cultures, and Christian
manipulation of medium makes such a churches have served as symbolic dwellings of
vision concrete and well-illustrated. the gods, relating worshipers to their deities.
2. It must be able to communicate the Tombs express belief in an afterlife. During the
embodied concept or message of the European Middle Ages, art often served an
artist to the viewer or listener, etc. educational function. One of the important way
3. It must have form and must obey the of communicating Bibles stories and legends of
laws of form as dictated by whatever the saints to a largely illiterate population was
medium the artist uses. through the sculptures, paintings. Mosaics,wall-
4. It must be self-contained, i.e. it must hangings, and stained-glass windows in
have a beginning and end. The pattern churches. Beyond its didactic (teaching)
must be clearly delineated or there will function, the religious significance of a work of
be no clear perception of artist’ vision art may be so great that entire groups of people
and craftsmanship if the pattern is identify with the object. The value of such a
lacking. work of art highlighted when it is taken away. In
1973, the Afo-a-Kom - a sacred figure
THE VALUES OF ART embodying the soul of an African village in
Cameroon – disappeared. The villagers
Material Value reportedly fell into a depression when they
discovered that their statue was missing. The
Works of art may be valued because they are subsequent reappearance of the Afo-a-Kom in
made of a precious metal. Gold, for example, the window of a New York gallery caused
was used in Egyptian art to represent divinity international scandal that subsided only after the
and the sun. These associations recur in statue was returned to tis African home.
Christian art, which reserved gold for the
background of religious icons (the word icon is Intrinsic Value
derived from the Greek eikon, meaning
“image”) and for haloes on divine figures. A work of art may contain valuable material, but
During the Middle Ages in Europe, ancient that is not the primary basis on which its quality
Greek bronze statues were not valued for their is judged. Its intrinsic value depends largely on
aesthetic character (their beauty), nor for what the assessment of the artist who created it and on
they might have revealed about Greek culture. its own aesthetic character. The Mona Lisa, for
Instead, their value lay in the fact that they could example, is made of relatively modest materials
be melted down and reformed into weapons. – paint and wood but it is a priceless object
Through the centuries art objects have been nonetheless, and arguably the Western world’s
stolen and plundered in disregard of their most famous image. Leonardo da Vinci, who
cultural, religious, or artistic significance, painted it around 1503 in Italy, was
acknowledge as a genius in his own day, and his pointed out that they had won the war (which
work has stood the test of time. The paintings of Germany had started). At the time of writing the
the late nineteenth-century Dutch painter case is unresolved, and the hoard remains in
Vincent van Gogh have also endured, although Russia.
he was ignored in his lifetime. It was not until
his death that the aesthetic value of his work was The nationalistic value of art can be so great that
widely recognized in his lifetime. In the 1980s countries whose works have been taken to go
one of van Gogh’s paintings was bought by a considerable lengths to recover them. Thus, at
Japanese collector for $80 million. Intrinsic the end of World War II, the allied Army
value is not always apparent, and in fact it varies assigned a special division to recover the vast
in different times and places, as we can see in numbers of artworks stolen by the Nazis. A
the changing assessment of van Gogh’s works. United States army taskforce discovered
“Is it art?” is a familiar question which expresses Hermann Goering’s two personal hoards of
the difficulty of defining “art” and of stolen art in Bavaria, one in a medieval castle
recognizing the aesthetic value of an object. and the other in a bomb-proof tunnel in nearby
mountain. The taskforce arrived just in time, for
Nationalistic Value Goering had equipped an “art train” with
thermostatic temperature control to take “his”
Works of art have nationalistic value in as such collection to safety. At the Nuremberg war trails,
as they express the pride and accomplishment of Goering claimed that his intention had been
a particular culture. Nationalistic sentiment was purely honourable: he was protecting the art
a primary aspect of the richly carved triumphant from air raids.
arches of ancient Rome because they were
gateways for returning military victors. Another example of the nationalistic value of art
can be seen in the case of the Elgin Marbles. In
The nationalistic value of certain works of art the early nineteenth century, when Athens was
has frequently made the spoils of war. When under Turkish rule, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of
ancient Babylon was defeated by the Elamites in Elgin, obtained permission from Turkey to
1170 B.C., the victors stole the statue of remove sculpture from the Parthenon and other
Marduk, the chief Babylonia god, together with buildings on the Acropolis. At huge personal
the Law Code of Hammurabi. In the early expense, Lord Elgin sent the sculpture by boat to
nineteenth century, when Napoleon’s army England. The first shipment sank, but the
overran Europe, they plundered thousands of remainder of the works reached their destination
works of art that are now part of the French in 1816 and the British Museum in London
national art collection in the Musee de Louvre, purchased the sculptures for only 35,00o
in Paris. pounds. The Elgin Marbles, also known as the
Parthenon Marbles, are still in the British
When the nineteenth-century German Museum, where they are a tourist attraction and
archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated are studied by scholars. For years, the Greeks
ancient Troy, in modern Turkey, he removed a have been pressing for the return of the
hoard of gold from the site and brought it to sculptures, but the British have refused. This
Germany. During World War II, the Russians kind of situation is a product of historical
invaded Germany and took the treasure to circumstances. Although Lord Elgin broke no
Russia. They later denied any knowledge of its laws, and probably saved the sculpture from
whereabouts, admitting only in 1994 that they considerable damage, he is seen by many Greeks
had it. The issue that then arose was who owned as having looted their cultural heritage.
the gold – Turkey - German - Russia. The Turks
argued that it was theirs, by right of origin, the Modern legislations in some countries is
Germans claimed that they had excavated and designed to avoid similar problems by restricting
essentially “discovered” it, and the Russians or banning the export of national treasures.
International cooperation agreements attempt to training and experiences, inclinations or aptitude
protect cultural property an archaeological and special interest for any of the arts. That is,
heritage worldwide. we may find that going to art galleries or
attending concerts and listening to operas and
Psychological Value symphonies are pleasurable when we have
previous training and special interest for the arts.
Another symbolic value of art is psychological.
Our reactions to art span virtually the entire
range of human emotion. They include pleasure,
fright, amusement, avoidance, and outrage.

One of the psychological aspects of art is its

ability to attract and repel us, and this is not
necessarily a function of whether or not we find The following are example of some various
a particular image aesthetically pleasing. People forms of art (such as audial, visual, and kinetic)
can become attaché to a work of art, as Leonardo
was to his Mona Lisa. Instead of delivering it to - Music that communicates the emotions,
the patron, Leonardo kept the painting until his lessons, or beliefs of musician.
death. Conversely, one may wish to destroy - Religious art that conveys the beliefs,
certain works because they arouse anger. In stories, or experiences of the believers.
London in the early twentieth century, a - Sculpture of religious, political, or other
suffragette slashed Velasquez’s Rokeby Venus prominent figures of society.
because she was offended by what she - A play that depicts a battle in history or
considered to be its sexist representation of a promotes certain cultural values.
woman. During the French Revolution of 1789,
mobs protesting the injustices of the royal family Traditionally, there are seven forms of art and
destroyed statues and paintings of earlier kings these forms give us broad methods of classifying
and queens. In 1989 and 1990, when Eastern art.
Europe begin to rebel against communism, the
protesters tore down statues of their former
1. Painting. This is a form of art that uses
leaders. Such examples illustrated intense
paint as the primary medium.
response to the symbolic power of art.
2. Sculpture. Sculptures are three-
dimensional works of art, such
Some Basic Assumption about the Arts as carvings, and statues.
3. Literature. This is art through written
Our attitude towards the arts may be influenced works.
by these assumptions: 4. Architecture. This is the art of
designing and constructing buildings.
1. Art has been created by various people, 5. Cinema. This is art through moving
at all places and time. Art exists because images that tell stories.
it is liked and enjoyed. Art does not 6. Music. This is an audio form of art
grow old. where instruments or human voices are
2. Art is something to be seen, or heard, or used to express emotions or pass ideas.
3. Art is the product of man’s imagination, 7. Theatre. This is a form of art that uses
good taste and skill in doing things. live performances.
4. Nature is artful. Its beauty and artistry
could be enhanced. However, there are limitations of classifying the
traditional method of art. For example, where do
The way we perceived the arts depends largely you classify art forms such as graphic design,
on the kind of person we are as a result of past animations, digital art, and web design? There’s
a need then to modify the classification of the considerable improvement in quantity or extent
seven art forms or come up with new classes. has been made in this area.
With this, we can say that there’s no perfect
method of classifying art. The aesthetic factor in the minor arts lies in the
“styling”. They are addressed primarily to the
Indeed, the task of categorizing art into types is sense of sight and their usefulness. The minor
difficult because: arts are inferior in degree, especially in the
extent of aesthetic quality. (Into to Humanities
 Art is broad, and there is an by Josefina V. Estolas et.al)
overwhelming number of art styles and
forms. Functions of Art
 Art is always evolving, and it can be
difficult to categorize emerging forms of Ideally, one can look at a piece of art and guess
art adequately. with some accuracy where it came from and
 Definitions of the different art forms when. This best-case scenario also includes
can be hazy. This means that different identifying the artist because they are in no
arts can appear in more than one small way part of the contextual equation. You
category. might wonder, "What was the artist thinking
 Different people classify art in when they created this?" when you see a piece of
different ways and there is no art. You, the viewer, are the other half of this
consensus on any particular method. equation; you might ask yourself how that same
Given that classifying art is inherently piece of art makes you feel as you look at it.
subjective, this can lead to endless
arguments. These—in addition to the time period, location
 Some artists don’t like being put in a of creation, cultural influences, etc.—are all
box and detest the idea of classifying factors that should be considered before trying to
art. assign functions to art. Taking anything out of
 Some people feel that categorizing context can lead to misunderstanding art and
art leads to hierarchies. For example, misinterpreting an artist's intentions, which is
someone in fine art may consider never something you want to do.
someone in applied art as an inferior
artist. The functions of art normally fall into three
 Nonetheless, classifying art makes it categories: physical, social, and personal. These
easy for an ordinary person to make categories can and often do overlap in any given
sense of the countless existing art forms. piece of art. When you're ready to start thinking
about these functions, here's how.
Arts can be generally grouped into major and
minor. Minor arts include the decorative arts, the Physical
popular arts, the graphic arts, the plastic arts,and
industrial arts.
The physical functions of art are often the
easiest to understand. Works of art that are
According to Webster, major arts involve mans’
created to perform some service have physical
skill to create works of art that are in form,
functions. If you see a Fijian war club, you may
content, and execution, aesthetically pleasing
assume that, however wonderful the
and meaningful as in music, painting,
craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform
architecture and sculpture. They are called major
the physical function of smashing skulls.
because they appeal to the senses of sight,
hearing, and feeling. They are notable and
conspicuous in effect, dignity, interest and scope A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art that
than those in the minor arts. Much more, performs a physical function in a tea ceremony.
Conversely, a fur-covered teacup from the Dada
movement has no physical function. personal functions and these are highly
Architecture, crafts such as welding and subjective. Personal functions of art are not
woodworking, interior design, and industrial likely to be the same from person to person.
design are all types of art that serve physical
functions. An artist may create a piece out of a need for
self-expression or gratification. They might also
Social or instead want to communicate a thought or
point to the viewer. Sometimes an artist is only
Art has a social function when it addresses trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both
aspects of (collective) life as opposed to one for self and viewers. A piece might be meant to
person's point of view or experience. Viewers entertain, provoke thought, or even have no
can often relate in some way to social art and are particular effect at all.
sometimes even influenced by it.
Personal function is vague for a reason. From
For example, public art in 1930s Germany had artist to artist and viewer to viewer, one's
an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this art experience with art is different. Knowing the
exert influence on the German population? background and behaviours of an artist helps
Decidedly so, as did political and patriotic when interpreting the personal function of their
posters in Allied countries during the same time. pieces.
Political art, often designed to deliver a certain
message, always carries a social function. The Art may also serve the personal function of
fur-covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, controlling its viewers, much like social art. It
carried a social function in that it protested can also perform religious service or
World War I (and nearly everything else in life). acknowledgment. Art has been used to attempt
to exert magical control, change the seasons, and
Art that depicts social conditions performs social even acquire food. Some art brings order and
functions and often this art comes in the form of peace, some creates chaos. There is virtually no
photography. The Realists figured this out early limit to how art can be used.
in the 19th century. American
photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) Finally, sometimes art is used to maintain a
along with many others often took pictures of species. This can be seen in rituals of the animal
people in conditions that are difficult to see and kingdom and in humans themselves. Biological
think about. functions obviously include fertility symbols (in
any culture), but there are many ways humans
Additionally, satire performs social functions. adorn their bodies with art in order to be
Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746–1828) attractive to others and eventually mate.
and English portrait artist William Hogarth
(1697–1764) both went this route with varying Determining the Function of Art
degrees of success at motivating social change
with their art. Sometimes the possession of The functions of art apply not only to the artist
specific pieces of art in a community can elevate that created a piece but to you as the viewer.
that community's status. A stabile by American Your whole experience and understanding of a
kinetic artist Alexander Calder (1898–1976), for piece should contribute to the function you
example, can be a community treasure and point assign it, as well as everything you know about
of pride. its context. Next time you are trying to
understand a piece of art, try to remember these
Personal four points: (1) context and (2) personal, (3)
social, and (4) physical functions. Remember
The personal functions of art are often the most that some art serves only one function and some
difficult to explain. There are many types of all three (perhaps even more).