Introduction to Art and Contemporary Philippine Arts

Lesson 1: Introduction to Art

  • Definition of Art

    • Application and expression of human creative skill and imagination.

    • Springs from present-day events and passions in society.

  • Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

    • Created by: Isabella Mishka Santos | 12-STEM 2 Art.

    • Art as a form of creative activity (e.g., painting, music, literature, dance).

    • Works are produced to be appreciated primarily for their beauty and power.

    • Interaction between the interpreter and the maker.

Traditional vs Contemporary Art

Traditional Art

  • Focuses on art representations.

  • Culture-bounded approach.

  • Emphasizes realistic figures.

  • Limited to established structures and standard sets.

  • Revolves around the artist's feelings.

Contemporary Art

  • Considered a product of everyday living.

  • Emerged as the newest form of art (1960s to 1970s).

  • Encompasses a diverse array of materials, media, and styles.

  • Not limited by established rules and standards.

Social Realism in Contemporary Art

  • 1970s Context

    • Marked by an era of repression and censorship of artistic expressions.

  • Emergence Factors for Contemporary Art

    • Function in a global society.

    • Culturally diverse and technology-oriented.

    • Collaborative process involving audience reaction and construction of meaning about the work.

    • Reflects artists' communication through their art.

    • Developed in the Philippines during a restoration of liberties post-Marcos Regime.

    • Art as a means to oppose the regime and convey social commentary.

    • Art movement aimed at exposing real conditions in Philippine society.

    • Associated with the return of democracy under the Aquino Government.

  • Cultural and Aesthetic Influence

    • Improved economic and political environment in the country, especially in the regions.

    • Advent of new technologies and free media access.

    • Heightened awareness evokes elevated responses in viewers.

Functions of Contemporary Art

  • Various Functions:

    • Pleasure: Provides an escape from everyday concerns; experiences of pleasure.

    • Profession: Artists earn a living through art; it possesses economic value.

    • Commentary: Visual accounts of events or individuals reflective of societal views.

    • Spirituality: Expresses beliefs regarding the destiny of life influenced by higher powers.

    • Remembrance: Aids memory through artistic representation.

    • Persuasion: Art achieves political change and modifies collective thoughts and behaviors.

    • Self-Expression: Communicates personality, feelings, and worldview; an intersection between artist and viewer.

Historical and Cultural Context

  • Primary Context: Artists’ intentions behind their art.

  • Secondary Context: Aesthetic experiences connected to the art.

Context of Art

  • Definition of Context: Factors surrounding a piece of art, including:

    • Historical events.

    • Economic trends.

    • Contemporary cultural developments.

    • Religious attitudes.

    • Social norms.

    • Various artworks of the period.

  • Characteristics:

    • Historical, social, political, and artistic climate during the artwork's creation.

    • Cultural context includes influences on artists due to their environment and subjective experiences.

    • Essential to examine artists’ attitudes, beliefs, interests, values, educational background, and biography (psychological influences).

  • External Conditions: Influence of religious, philosophical, socio-political, and economic structures, as well as climate and geography.

  • Philosophical Inquiry: Investigates whether feelings like enchantment or guilt are sufficient to categorize something as art or artistic.

Consensus of the Artwork

  • Cultural practices and shared meanings related to art.

Lesson 2: Forms, Styles, and Art Practices in Contemporary Arts

Fine Arts

  • Regarded as supreme cultural achievements of human civilization.

  • Typically displayed in museums, performed in theatres, or screened in art house cinemas.

  • Requires a level of sensitivity and refinement from the audience for appreciation.

Popular Art

  • Consensus: The art world operates as an institutional network (schools, museums, galleries, commercial market systems, and professions) that shapes public perception of art.

  • Cultural: Each culture creates art, maintaining its own standards of representation, cultural contexts, and aesthetic conventions.

Categories of Art

  • Fine Arts: Western categorization emphasizing refined objects, usually by the best artists with unique sensibilities and training.

  • Popular Culture: Represents a broad mass audience; is more accessible, inexpensive, entertaining, commercial, political, naive, and colorful compared to fine art.

Craft and Visual Arts

  • Examples of Craft: Includes ceramics, glass, weaving, and woodworking.

  • Other Art Forms:

    • Architecture: Often considered lowly, integrating vernacular and widely circulated designs.

    • Creates objects rather than mere images but may involve decorative surfaces.

    • Serves utilitarian purposes while exhibiting aesthetics that extend beyond human use.

  • Medium-Based Classification:

    • Encompasses various media to express artists' ideas, emotions, and imagination.

    • Primarily designed for visual perception.

Classification of Art Forms

  • Two-dimensional Arts: Includes artworks on a flat surface such as paintings, sketches, mixed media, graphics, arts, photographs, or prints.

  • Three-dimensional Arts: Consists of works having volume and mass, such as sculptures, monuments, assemblages.

  • Architecture: The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.

Sub-disciplines and Common Elements in Art

  • Sub-disciplines:

    • Interior Design

    • Landscape Architecture

    • Urban Design

    • Music

    • Common Elements include:

      • Pitch: Governs melody and harmony.

      • Rhythm: Relates to tempo, meter, and articulation.

      • Dynamics: Refers to loudness and softness.

      • Sonic Qualities of Timbre & Texture: Describe the color of musical sound.

    • Dance: Combines vocal and instrumental sounds; features performing art with selected sequences of movement.

    • Types of Dance: Ballet, folk, indigenous, street, modern.

Theater, Film, Photography, and Other Contemporary Forms

  • Photography Classification:

    • Fine Arts Photography: Imbues photos with artistic statements and a selective vision of reality.

    • Photojournalism: Provides a documentary visual account, representing objective reality.

    • Commercial Photography: Aims to create idealized images of products/services for advertising purposes.

  • Cinema: Distribution of video/audio content through mass media (televisions, radio, internet).

    • Includes artistic communication through images and sound.

  • Digital Art: Utilizes digital technology for creation, forming mixed media artworks.

  • Installation Visual Art: Engages fully with the environment, occupying entire spaces to transform perceptions.

Categories of Various Art Forms in the Philippines

  • Drawing

  • Painting

  • Sculpture

  • Calligraphy

  • Photography

  • Architecture

  • Fashion

  • Jewelry Design

  • Interior Design

  • Dance

  • Music

  • Theater Arts

  • Film Production

  • Literature

C.P.A.R. | Academics Committee