Art Appreciation

Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

LESSON 1: -> In any art form- painting, music, sculpture,

THE DIFFERENT THEORIES OF AESTHETICS architecture, or dance – there is always a
● Imitationalism – The aesthetic which subject that serves as the foundation of the
applies to artwork that looks very creation of the work of art. The subject of art is
realistic. These artworks contain varied. A subject of art is usually anything that
recognizable, realistic looking objects is represented in the art work. It is varied- it
and scenes that closely imitate what may be a person, object, scene or event.
we see in the real world.
-> Artworks that depict something easily
● Formalism – The aesthetic theory
recognized by most people are called
which focuses on the effective
representational or objective arts. Painting,
arrangements of lines, colors, shapes,
sculpture, graphic arts, literature, and theatre
and other elements of art. They are not
arts are generally classified as
intended to look realistic. A formalist
representational, sculptures are without
artwork is considered to be successful
subjects, music and dance may or may not have
if the artist has created a visually
subjects.
interesting design.
● Emotionalism – The aesthetic theory
THE FOUR MAIN FUNCTIONS OF ART
which stresses the expressive qualities
1. AESTHETIC FUNCTION - Through art,
in an artwork. The primary purpose of
man becomes conscious of the beauty
an emotionalist artwork is to vividly
of nature. He benefits from his own
communicate moos, feelings and ideas
work and from those done by his
to the viewer. The main focus is to get
fellowmen. He learns to use, love, and
the viewer’s attention in a dramatic
preserve them for his enjoyment and
way to impact the viewer’s emotions.
appreciation.
2. UTILITARIAN FUNCTION - With the
VISUAL ARTS
creation of the various forms of art,
➢ Plan – the pattern, organization, or
man now lives in comfort, and
map system of art, how its parts or
happiness. Through art, man is
divisions are arranged such that the
provided with shelter, clothing, food,
viewer’s divisions are arranged such as
light, medicine, beautiful
their eyes drawn to the key parts
surroundings, personal ornamentals,
➢ Medium – the material used to make a
entertainment, language,
work of art. Different mediums have
transportation, and other necessities
different effects.
and convenience of life. Art not only
➢ Tension – a controlled dramatic
enriches man’s life but also improves
quality or pairing of opposites in works
nature through landscape gardening,
of art
creation of superhighways, and
-> The following are elements which are used
through propagation and conservation
in the development of visual arts
of natural resources.
-> more deeply into the artwork. Seeks to
3. CULTURAL FUNCTION - Through the
create a form, distance and makes the art look
printed matter, art transmits and
real
preserves skill and knowledge from
one generation to another. It makes
man aware of his/her cultural
THE SUBJECT OF ART
background, making him/ her more

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

knowledgeable and his/her life more 3. INTERPRETATION – Based on the

enduring and satisfying. artwork, what have you learned so far?
4. SOCIAL FUNCTION - Through civic What do you think was the artist trying
and graphic arts, man learns to love to say? Why did the artist create this
and help each other. International artwork? What do you think does this
understanding and cooperation are mean? What feelings do you have
fostered and nations become more when looking at the artwork? Do you
unified, friendly, cooperative, helpful think there are things in the artwork
and sympathetic. that represent other symbols?
4. JUDGMENT – Do you like the artwork?
THE SCOPE OF ARTS Is it good artwork? Is it important?
● FINE ARTS OR INDEPENDENT ARTS Then justify your opinion, explain why
– Made primarily for aesthetic you feel the way you feel about the
enjoyment through the senses, artwork. Always present a criteria in
especially visual and auditory. judging/appreciating the artwork.
Examples: visual arts: painting, sculpture,
literature, dance, drama, etc. THE ARTIST’S MEDIUM
Concepts:
● PRACTICAL ARTS OR UTILITARIAN ● Medium refers to the material used by
ARTS – Intended for practical use. It is an artist (Media-Plural)
the development of raw materials for ● Technique is the manner by which an
utilitarian purposes. artist manipulates the medium
Examples: architecture, industrial art, ● Combined arts or mixed media are
household art, civic art, commercial art, those who mediums can be both seen
graphic art, etc and heard and which exist in both
space and time
THE PROCESS OF ART APPRECIATION ● Painting is the art of creating
1. DESCRIPTION – In this step, objective meaningful effects on a flat surface by
observations about what is seen is the use of pigments
noted. Describe only the facts such as ● Sculpture is the construction of a
the name of the artist, his or her figure by putting together module
nationality, and information about segments of the material.
him/her; the name of the artwork or
the year/s it was made. Describe as Medium are the materials which are used by an
well the details that are seen in the art artist to interpret his/her feelings or thoughts.
work such as the line shape, form, ● Painter -> Pigments on wood, canvas
space, texture, color and value. ● Sculpture -> Steel, marble, bronze,
2. ANALYSIS – In this step, a wood, metal
consideration for the most significant ● Musician -> Instruments
art principles used in the artwork ● Literary Writer -> Words.
should be noted. Principles like,
balance, contrast, emphasis, harmony, On the basis of medium, the arts are primarily
variety, unity, gradation, movement, classified as visual and auditory.
rhythm, proportion, depth, and ➢ Visual arts are those whose medium
composition can be seen and which occupy space.

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

➢ Auditory arts are those whose Paul Cezanne, a Frenchman, painted a scene
medium can be heard and expressed in from reality entitled well and grinding wheel in
time the forest of the Chateau Noir.

Assumptions of Art C. ART IS INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

A. ART IS UNIVERSAL Getting this far without a satisfactory
Literature has provided keywords of art definition of art can be quite weird for some.
- Iliad and the Odyssey are the two greek For most people, art does not require a full
epics that one’s taught in school definition. Art is just experience, By
- The sanskrit pieces mahabharata and experience, we mean the “actual doing of
Ramayana are also staples in these something” (Dudley et al., 1960) and it also
fields. affirmed that art depends on experience, and if
In every country and in every generation, there one is to know art, he must know it is not as fact
is always art. Oftentimes, people feel that what of information but as an experience.
is considered artistic are only those which have
A work of an art then cannot be abstracted
been made a long time ago. This is a
from actual doing. In order to know what an
misconception. Age is not a factor in
artwork is, we have to sense it. See and hear it.
determining art. “An art is not good because it
is old, but old because it is good” (Dudley et al., An important aspect of experiencing art is its
1960) being highly personal, individual, and
subjective. In philosophical terms, perception
In the Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and
or art is always a value judgment. It depends on
Francisco Balagtas are not being read because
who he perceives, his tastes, his biases, and
they are old.
what he has inside.
Florante at Laura never fails to teach
THE ART WORLD
highschool students the beauty of love, one
● Art Market - Economic entailment of
that is universal and pure.
arts which includes production, selling,
Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, competition, rise and fall of monetary
has always captured the imagination of the value of arts.
young with the timeless lessons ● Art adviser - an art
connoisseur/expert
When we recite the Psalms, we feel in ● Art Dealer - may be an art
communion with King David as we feel one with connoisseur/expert, who deals within
him in his conversation with God. the art market; may be a “reseller” or
an agent for art pieces sold within the
When we listen to a kundiman or perform folk art market
dances, we still enjoy the way our Filipino ● Art Market and The Press - the
ancestors while away their time in the past. influence and power of the press in
marketing arts (art exhibits/ galleries
B. ART IS NOT NATURE
/artists)
In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear
● Auction - an activity where pieces of
some consumers of local movies remark that
art are sold either by artists themselve
these movies produced locally are unrealistic.
of by elders.
They contend that local movies work around
certain formulas to the detriment of substance
and faithfulness to reality of movies. LESSON 2:

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

FUNCTION OF ARTS
- Depicts - Without any
Functional Art Non-Functional Art objects that reference or
are recognizable
- Directly useful - Indirectly commonly objects
- Architecture, useful recognized by - Abstract; does
weaving, - Painting, most people not represent
furniture- Sculpture, - Attempt to real objects
making, literature, copy what is - Uses “content”
industrial music, theater, real or and is
design, etc. etc. portray the concerned with
subject as it “how” the
is. artwork is
HOW DOES ART SERVE US? - Uses “form” depicted
➢ PERSONAL - Art educates our senses and are
and sharpens our perception of color, concerned
forms, textures, designs, sounds, with “what” is
sounds, rhythms, and harmonies in our to be
depicted
environment.
➢ SOCIAL - Art seeks to influence the
collective behavior of people. The Artist and His Choice of Subject
➢ PHYSICAL - Designing functional ● Everything under the sun is raw
objects involves the consideration of material for the artist to draw his
how it will be used and its aesthetic subject
look. ● The artist’s choice of subject is usually
affected by his medium
BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF ● The piece of art depends largely upon
ART the time in which he lived
● Art as Mimesis (Plato)
● Art as Representation (Aristotle) SOURCES OF SUBJECT OF ART
● Art for Art’s Sake (Kant) ● Sacred Oriental Text - Sacred texts of
● Art as an Escape Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, Zoroastrianism,
SUBJECT OF ART Jainism, and Islam
The term Subject in art refers to the main idea ● Nature - Most common inspiration and
that is represented in the artwork. The subject subject. Eg. animals, people, activities,
in art is basically the essence of the piece. landscape
- It is the matter to be described or to be ● History - Historical people, events,
portrayed by the artist periods
- This may refer to any person, object, ● Greek and Roman Mythology - Myths
scene or event. or Definite parts of inheritance
● Religion - anything that represent
spiritual beliefs and doctrines
KINDS OF ARTS AS TO SUBJECT
Subject of art may be…
Representational/ Non-
● Landscape, seascape, cityscape
objective Art Representational/
non-objective Art ● Still life - inanimate objects arranged
in indoor setting

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

● Animals unveiled his painting of grapes, they

● Portraits - the realistic likeness of a appeared so real, luscious and inviting
person. that the birds flew down from the sky
○ Attire, accessories are very to peck at them.
much expressive because they 2. ABSTRACTION. Its etymology derives
reveal so much of the person from the Latin “abstractus” “put
and his time forward”, or from the Latin past
● Figures - nude/clothed participle “abstrahere”: from ‘abs’–
○ Greeks - physical beauty was down + ‘trahere’– take, meaning
the symbol of moral and removed or isolated from material
spiritual perfection objects or practical matters.
● Everyday life - Life around the artist, Its etymology is derived from Latin
or the actual setting, E.g., children “abstractus "drawn away," or Latin past
playing, life at the park participle “abstrahere:” from ab(s)-
● History and Legends "away" + trahere "draw," which means
○ History - consist of verifiable "withdrawn or separated from material
facts objects or practical matters." It is totally
○ Legends - Unverifiable but the opposite of realism.
they have been accepted as Through abstract art, the artist
true presents the subject in no way as an
● Religion and Mythology - use to objective fact, but his idea or his
preach and teach feeling (exaggerated emotionalism)
○ Art - handmaid of religion about it. It’s all about what the artist
● Dreams and Fantasy - mostly used by are thinking and what mood they want
surrealist painters to reflect. All types of visual art, no
real-life pictures, scenery or objects.
Ways of presenting the object Abstract subjects can also be presented in many
1. REALISM. It often refers to the artistic ways like:
movement, which began in France in a. Distortion - this is the process when
the 1850s. The popularity of realism the figures have been so arranged that
grew with the introduction of proportion differs noticeably from
photography - a new visual source that natural measurement, This is clearly
created a desire for people to produce manifested when the subject is in
things that look “objectively real”. misshapen condition, or the regular
Undistorted by personal bias, realism shape is twisted out. This is done to
believed in the ideology of objective dramatize the shape of a figure or to
reality and revolted against create a dramatic effect/emotional
exaggerated emotionalism. Simply effect.
speaking, it is a method of portraying b. Elongation - refers to that which is
an art subject according to objective being lengthened, a pretraction or an
reality. It depicts what the eyes can extension
see, what the ear can hear, what the c. Mangling - this may not be a
sense faculty may receive. Example commonly used way of presenting an
was the painting of Zeuxis, a 5th abstract subject, but there are a few
century painter. The subject of his artists who show subject or objects
painting was a grape. When he

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

which are cut, lacerated, mutilated or urban life and the technological
hacked with repeated blows success of man beyond nature.
d. Cubism - it stresses abstract form
through the use of a cone, cylinder or 7. SURREALISM. It is an offshoot or a
sphere at the expense of their pictorial dada boy. Sometimes known as
elements. Thecubists want to show “super” realism, which revolves around
forms in their basic geometrical the process of making things look
shapes. ordinary and exceptional. It focuses on
actual objects found in imagination or
3. SYMBOLISM. A symbol is a clear fantasy, or it has realistic subjects
indication that anything like an idea or found in the subconsciousness;
a standard is invisible. Symbolism uses illustrating the inner mind’s dreamlike
symbols to systematically focus or images
amplify meaning, rendering the
artwork more subjective (rather than 8. IMPRESSIONISM. It's also often called
objective) and traditional. For optical realism because of its interest
instance, a flag is a country symbol and in the actual visual experience,
it represents the essence of including things such as the influence
nationalism; a lion representing of color, light and motion on the nature
bravery, and a lamb representing of the object portrayed in the world of
meekness, art. Impressionism centered on
explaining the visual stimuli
4. FAUVISM. It is derived from the French originating from nature, directly.
“les fauves”, which means “the wild
beasts”. It is the last part of the 19th LESSON 3: Art Appreciation and the
century artistic movement that Human Faculties
stressed spontaneity and the use of - Art comes from the latin word
excessively bright colors. For example, "ars/artis" which means "to do" or
to a fauvist a tree trunk doesn’t need "man made".
to be gray. It might be bright red, - Art is often considered to be the
purple or any other color. expression or application of human
creative skill and imagination.
5. DADAISM. The word “dada” is a french
- The Definition of art is subjective and
word which means “hobby-horse”. A has changed throughout history.
hobby-horse is the children's pet toy
made of a wooden horse mounted on a History of art
stick. We may claim with this The History of art is often told as a history of
etymology dadaism is a “nonsensical” objects, but art is not just about the things we
art movement. Some would say it is not make. It's also about the way we see the world
rare since it appears to have absolutely around us.
no sense. - Over time, art has evolved and
changed. New styles and techniques
6. FUTURISM. Futurism was described as
have been developed.
a modernist movement embracing the
future age of technology. The
Different Classifications of Arts
automobile, the aircraft, the industrial
1. By the AUDIENCE
town reflected the development of
2. By CRITICS

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Art Appreciation
Notes | Mrs. Abegail M. Rebadulla GE 6 - Pineda

3. By and ARTIST

Other classification
REAL ART
ABSTRACT ART