Let us start our class every day with a warm up ritual.

We do a few minutes of quiet concentrated blind contour

drawing from observation of a real thing, person, setup, or scene. Secondly, I suggest we end every period, after
cleaning up, with another ritual.

“Practice makes anything easier. Practice builds self-esteem. Practice builds

confidence.”
Art Rituals in the Classroom

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:

1. differentiate representational art and non- representational art;

2. discuss the difference between an artwork’s subject and its content;
3. identify the subject matter and specific examples of art; and
4. enumerate the sources of the subjects of some of the most recognizable works of art in Philippine art
history.

In viewing art, there are clues that mediate between the artwork and the viewer, allowing the viewer to
more easily comprehend what he is seeing.
These clues are the three basic components of a work of art:
 Subject – the visual focus or the image that may be extracted from examining the artwork; the
“what”
 Content – the meaning that is communicated by the artist or the artwork; the “why”
 Form – the development and configuration of the art work – how the elements and the medium
or material are put together; the “how”
 Exercise 1: Think and Talk About It
Look at the painting by artist David Bailly
entitled Selbstbildnis mit Vanitassymbolen
(Self-Portrait with Vanitas Symbols).

1. List down everything that you see

within the four corners of the work.
List as many items as you can in 3
minutes.
2. Based on your answers, write an
assumption about what the painting
means.

In the sciences, experimentation is the key to proving a hypothesis or a larger theory.

In the arts, there are observable qualities that the artwork holds that will point to its subject, and
sometimes even to its content.
 TYPES OF SUBJECT

REPRESENTATIONAL ART

These types of art have subjects that refer to

objects or events occurring in the real world.
Also termed figurative art because the figures
depicted are easy to make out and decipher.

Despite not knowing who Mona Lisa is, it is clear

that the painting is of a woman that is
realistically-proportioned;
only the upper torso is shown;
a beguiling and mysterious smile is flashed;
the background is a landscape

Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
(1503)

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART

Art forms that do not make a reference to the real

world, whether it is a person, place, thing, or even a
particular event.
It is stripped down to visual elements, such as shapes,
lines, and colors that are employed to translate a
particular feeling, emotion, and even concept.

Number 1A
Jackson Pollock
(1948)

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART AND ABSTRACT ART

Is non-representational art the same with abstract art?

 There is no clear-cut divide, rather, they exist in a spectrum. Non- representational art Abstract
art Representational art
 Looking at the combination of lines, shapes, and
colors of the sculpture will point to a head of a
woman
Even with the abstraction of the image, this work is
arguably representational art.

Head of a Woman, Mougins

Pablo Picasso (1962)

SOURCES AND KINDS OF SUBJECT

For non-representational art, a higher, level of perceptiveness and insight might be required to fully
grasped the feeling, emotion, or concept behind the work.

For representational art, it is easier to infer the subject matter because from the figures depicted in the
artwork, there is already a suggestion as to its implication.

Sources of Subject
Kinds of Subject
 Nature
 History
 History
 Still life
 Greek and Roman mythology
 Animals
 Judeo-Christian tradition
 Figures
 Sacred oriental texts
 Nature
 Other works of art
 Landscape
 Cityscape
 Mythology
 Myth
 Dreams
 Fantasies
 CONTENT IN ART

The meaning or message that is expressed or communicated by the artwork.

In understanding the content of art, it is important to note that there are various levels of meaning:

Factual meaning
The most rudimentary level of meaning for it may be extracted from the identifiable or recognizable
forms in the artwork and understanding how these elements relate to one another.

Conventional meaning
Pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, and symbols and other
cyphers as bases of its meaning.
These conventions are established through time, strengthened by recurrent use and wide acceptance by
its viewers or audience and scholars who study them.

Subjective meaning
When subjectivities are consulted, a variety of meanings may arise when a particular work of art is
read.
These meanings stem from the viewer’s or audience’s circumstances that come into play when
engaging with art (what we know, what we learned, what we experienced; what values we stand for)
Meaning may not be singular, rather, multiple and varied

Creation of Adam (from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel)

Michelangelo (1814)

Analysis
 Subject: biblical art
 Factual meaning: Creation Story (creation of man)
 Conventional meaning: man was created in the image and likeness of God
 Subjective meaning: endowment of intellect to man from God
 Learning Task 1

Cite one example of an idealized work of art (painting, images, sculptures). Create a series
of tableaux vivants, or living pictures. Create the story using your bodies with props if you’d like.
This is basically like a freeze frame. Snap pictures of each tableaux to document the learning
experience. (Attach selected works with captions and add a commentary why you selected the works
and their significance.)