Art Appreciation and Humanities Lecture Notes

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions of art functions, styles, subjects, and the principles of artistic design as detailed in the lecture.

Art Appreciation

The process of understanding history and putting value to artworks through appreciation.

Humanities

Derived from the word —Humanus,— it refers to culture and the development of the complete social being.

Individual or Personal Function

A function where artists perform or create out of passion, a need for self-expression, or gratification.

Public/Social Function

Art that goes beyond intrinsic value to provide social benefits, connecting the artist with others to produce social awareness.

Commercial Function

The role of art as a direct and indirect contributor to the state’s economies, such as the Pahiyas Festival.

Political Function

Art serving as a forum for ideas that lead to power, status, employment, and prestige, such as election posters and propaganda.

Historical Function

The use of art to record and preserve information, serving to document or reconstruct historical figures and events.

Cultural Function

The articulation and transmission of new information and values through art, such as the $1892$ painting —Parisian Life— by Juan Luna.

Structural/Physical Function

Art in buildings, industrial design, and interior decoration designed to make life safer and more meaningful.

Religious Function

Art that underpins religious or spiritual significance, such as Joey Velasco’s —Hapag ng Pag-asa— (The Table of Hope).

Aesthetic Function

Art intended to provide a visual flavor for interiors or to bring out elegant features of dance elements through beauty.

Representational Art

Also known as objective arts, these are arts with identifiable subjects like paintings, sculpture, literature, and theater arts.

Non-representational Art

Also known as non-objective arts, these are arts without subjects that appeal directly to the senses, such as music and architecture.

Realism

A style where the artist's main function is to describe naturalistic reality as accurately and honestly as possible based on sensory observation.

Abstraction

Meaning —to move away or separate,— it occurs when the artist shows only an idea or feeling about a subject rather than objective reality.

Distortion

A type of abstraction where the subject is in a misshapen condition or its regular shape is twisted out.

Elongation

A form of abstraction referring to a subject that is being lengthened, protracted, or extended.

Cubism

A revolutionary style of modern art that stresses abstract form through the use of the cone, cylinder, sphere, and other basic geometrical shapes.

Symbolism

A method of presentation using a visible sign of something invisible, such as an idea or a quality.

Fauvism

Derived from the French word —fauve— meaning —wild beast,— it is a style characterized by spontaneous manners and extremely bright colors.

Dadaism

A protest movement in the arts started in $1916$ in Zurich that reacted against outworn traditions and evils in society.

Balance

The proportion of opposing visual forces where forms, colors, textures, and shapes are harmoniously combined.

Symmetrical Balance

A type of balance where both sides of an artwork are identical.

Asymmetrical Balance

A form of symmetry where two sides of a picture are different but remain visually balanced.

Radial Symmetry

A type of balance in which the parts of an object or picture are regularly arranged and radiate from a central point.

Emphasis

The focal point within an artwork that uses color, contrast, or placement to attract the viewer’s eyes first.

Contrast

The arrangement of opposite elements and effects, such as light and dark colors or smooth and rough textures.

Movement

The impression of action in a work of art created to drive the eye toward a focal point.

Rhythm

The repetition of visual movement of elements such as colors, shapes, values, forms, spaces, or texture.

Proportion

The relative size and scale of various elements in a design and the relationship between parts of a whole.

Unity/Variety

Also called harmony, it refers to the congruity or agreement among the elements of a design to form a whole composition.