Forms and Functions of the Art
TOPIC
Week 3
I. Forms of the Art
1. Visual Arts
• those forms perceived by the eyes; includes painting, sculpture, and architecture among
others;
• also called spatial arts for they occupy space;
• further divided to graphic arts and plastic arts:
➢ Graphic Arts are those that have length and width; also called two-dimensional arts;
described as flat arts because they are seen on flat surfaces
✓ paintings, printing, drawing, sketching, commercial art, mechanical processes, computer
graphics and photography, etc.)
➢ Plastic Arts are those that have length, width, and volume; also called tri-dimensional arts;
✓ sculpture, architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, interior design, costume
design, set design, theater design, industrial design, crafts (handicrafts), etc.
2. Audio-Visual Arts / Performing Arts
• are those forms perceived by both ears (audio) and eyes (video);
• also called performing arts since the artists render a performance in front of an audience;
e.g. Music (vocal, instrumental, and mixed), dance (ethnological, social, theatrical), and drama
(tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, farce, and melodrama, etc.)
3. Literary Arts
• are those presented in the written mode and intended to be read;
• include prose (short stories, novels, essays, and plays) and poetry (narrative, lyric, and
dramatic);
Prose forms differ from verse or poetic forms in that the former are in paragraph (composed of
sentences) form, while the latter in stanza (composed of lines) form.
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❖ History of Art
▪ Greek Period
▪ Greek Golden Age (500 BC – 410 BC)
▪ Hellenistic Period (336 – AD 146)
▪ Roman Period (146 – 323)
▪ Medieval Period or Middle Ages (323 – 1400)
▪ Early Medieval Period
▪ High Middle Ages
▪ Renaissance Period (1270 – 1594)
▪ Early Renaissance Period
▪ High Renaissance Period
▪ Age of Manerism (1530 – 1616)
▪ Baroque Period (1600 – 1750)
▪ Classic Period (1644 – 1793)
▪ Rococo Period (1715 – 1794)
▪ Romantic Period (1773 – 1848)
▪ Realist and Naturalist Period (1827 – 1927)
▪ Impressionistic Period (1863 - 1900)
▪ Modern Period (1895 – 1990)
▪ Post Modernism (1990 – the present)
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II. Functions of the Art
1. Personal or Individual Function.
✓ The love of Robert Browning for Elizabeth Barrett in the form of a poem entitled
“My Last Duchess” and Elizabeth’s “How Do I Love Thee.”
✓ The composer of the song “Vincent” was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, “The
Starry Night.”
✓ Gary Valenciano renders concerts for free because he loves singing; Geleen Eugenio
provides free dance instructions because she enjoys dancing.
2. Social Function.
✓ Choral singing and group dancing in religious rites and other practices; Houses and
churches are built for the smallest social groups – families and for communal worship.
✓ A drama is performed by a group of performers called the cast before a group of viewers
known as audience.
✓ Oral and written literatures are handed down from one generation to the next and
enjoyed by people of various races and ages.
✓ Museums house paintings and sculptures which are viewed by many onlookers.
3. Economic Function.
✓ J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter series, has become one of the most highlypaid
women in the British history
✓ Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson raked millions for their best-selling records
✓ Michael Angelo’s and Leonardo’s paintings now worth millions of dollars.
✓ Movie outfits in the Philippines spend millions of pesos for the sets and costumes.
4. Political Function.
✓ Imelda Romualdez-Marcos promoted her political programs by means of the arts
(painting murals along the national roads and busy streets, building of the CCP, PICC,
FAT, FCP.
5. Historical Function.
✓ Paintings of French Kings, Sculptures of Philippine Heroes, tomb of rulers (Pyramid of
Egypt and Taj Majal of India), religious plays (cenaculo), the Our Lady EDSA shrine, etc.
6. Cultural Function.
✓ Material culture (buildings, furniture (chairs, tables, etc.), clothes, etc. Nonmaterial
culture (music, dance, language and drama)
7. Religious Function.
✓ Worshiping rituals (songs and dances)
✓ First great architectural works were built for religious purposes (Great Pyramids of Egypt
to entomb the Pharaohs, the mausoleum of Rome served as the cemetery, churches
and mosques for religious worships.
8. Physical Function.
✓ Houses and other buildings are for the protection of the occupants and all others inside
them.
✓ Paintings serve to protect the walls and ceilings of some buildings.
✓ Dance is one of the best forms of exercise.
✓ Music is a form therapy.
✓ Tragedy as a dramatic form has a cathartic effect.
✓ Others bring about exhilarating and ecstatic experiences after having completed a work
of art.
9. Aesthetic Function.
✓ Paintings serve to decorate houses and other buildings.
✓ Sculptures serve to decorate churches and other similar edifices.
✓ Tall buildings are sights to behold.
✓ Set designs, costumes and props make dance and song performances not only realistic
but also appealing.
