Art Appreciation

Art

  • According to Collingwood (1938), The word “art” comes from the ancient Latin word “ars” which means a “craft or  specialized form of skill, like carpentry or smithying or surgery” 


Assumptions in Art

  • Art is Universal - Timeless and inherited 

  • Art is not nature - Expression and Interpretation. 

  • Art involves experience - Uses five (5) senses


Art viewed by Philosophers

  • Plato (428 - 347 BCE) 

    • Art is imitation 

    • Art is dangerous 

  • Aristotle (428 - 347 BCE)

    • Art is an imitation or representation of nature, imagination, ideas, and reality 

  • Immanuel Kant

    • Art is a Subjective Taste - Emotions 

    • Art is a Universal Taste - Appreciation 


Artist vs. Artisan

  • Artist

    • a person who exhibits exceptional skills in the visual and/or performing arts. 

  • Artisan

    • a person who is in a skilled trade that involves making things by hand. 

Art Forms

  1. Visual Arts - Creative Expressions that appeal to the sense of sight. 

  2. Performing Arts - such as music, dance and drama 

  3. Digital Arts - Any practice that uses digital technology 


Painting

  • Application of pigment to a surface. 

  • Ex. Spoliarium by Juan Luna portraying the Gladiator of Romans 


Sculpture

  • an art form that is best described as three-dimensional. The sculptor creates a solid form using molding, carving,  welding, casting, and assembling. 

  • Ex. U.P. Oblation by Guillermo Tolentino

~ Sources of Subject ~

Nature

  • The most popular source of objective art

People

  • Human subjects, whether real or imagined

History

  • Depict real events which are verifiable facts that occurred in the past

Legends

  • Present to viewers of the art something tangible even when unverified

Religion

  • Based on the sacred texts

Mythology

  • Based on the stories of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece, Rome, Celts, Norse and the Egyptians

Dreams and Fantasies

  • The intrigue of the unconscious that inspires the artists to present it through art for others to see, relate and interpret

Technology

  • Tall buildings and machinery are also subject matter for the artists



~ Ways of Presenting the Subject ~

Naturalism

  • Greek dieties are depicted in idealized human form

Realism

  • Depicts the artist’s attempt to portray the subject as it is.

Abstraction

  • Involves the process of simplifying or reorganizing characteristics and elements of the work to adhere to the artist’s level of artistic expression. (Distortion)

Abstraction

  • Distortion

    • figures have been so arranged that thei proportions differ significantly from reality.

  • Elongation

    • The subject is stretched vertically and/or some parts lengthened to give the impression of thinness

  • Mangling

    • Artists show the subject as cut, lacerated, mutilated, or hacked with repeated blows

  • Cubism

    • Presented through the use of figures


Symbolism

  • Adds a mysterious quality to the artwork that invites viewers to uncover

Fauvism

  • Did not express ethical, philosophical, or psychological themes but painted pictures of comfort, joy, and pleasure.

Dadaism

  • “hobby horse”

  • A revolt against tradition and aims to show the wickedness of society

Futurism

  • highlights the technology of modern life.

Pointillism

  • A technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image

Surrealism 

  • Emphasized the activities of the unconscious mind

Expressionism

  • Depicts the emotions aroused by objects and events, subjects involve chaos, sadness, tragedy, and defeat.

Impressionism

  • An attempt to accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and color