Republic of the Philippines

NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE

Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

(GE5)

ART APPRECIATION

Module 1
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What is Art to Me? Understanding How Art Can Meet Some Human Needs

Objectives:

Understand the role of art as tool to aid human limitations.

Relate art to yourself: to your context, experiences, and longings as a person.
Challenge one’s critical thinking skills through creative ways of confronting life’s
problems.
Inculcate values and humanistic attitude towards art.

Introduction:

Do you agree with the assumption that our generation today is called the “anxious generation”?
When you talk to those who were born during the age of “baby Boomers,” most of them would
probably describe a life formed out of simple choices to make: go to school, study, work, and
get married. However, the time today pose a stark contrast to such simplicity. We have never
been so detached from the primary values of our humanity: we are often distracted by illusions
and “ideal lives” that the internet age suggests.

Hence, in this lesson, you will learn and relearn the value of art
in our lives. Even even if you are not an artist, hopefully you will understand that the art are
actuall meant to aid some human limitations that we have often ignored or set aside because of
so many distractions in our generation today.

These are some proposed functions of arts in our lives but are
not supposed tolimit other presumed ideas. There is definitely more, but considering the scope
and limit of our time, we will focus on the following:

Beauty 5. Remembering and mark-making

Happiness and hope 6. Raising awareness
Identity and understanding one self 7. Culture and togetherness
Grief and healing

INSPIRED BY THE BOOK “Art as Therapy” Alain de Boton, this version of the seven functions
of art are common human experiences with which, I believe, we as Filipino can mostly adhere
to. Hence, by taking off from these ideas, we can also relate to the role of art through our
shared humanity.

Choose any of these activities which are most feasible to do for

you. Afterward, answer the analysis portion.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

ACTIVITY 1: Page | 2

Visit a local art and culture center. It maybe a pottery-making place, a local art gallery, a
museum, or a local arts and craft store. Observe what is happening. Observe the processes
that the artist or the craftsmen are involve in. Take note of the guide questions below as you
conduct your visit.

ANALYSIS:

Answer the following questions:

What did you see? Enumerate 5-10 things that we must notable in the place. Describe
them briefly.

Describe your visit:

1. How did it awaken your senses? Did you feel relax, excited, curious, or intrigued?

2. Why is this industry of making art or other cultural materials in your place? When
did they start? Why do they do it and keep at it? (You may modifiy and fit these
questions to your chosen venue.)

ACTIVITY 2:

Observe Francisco Goya’s “The third of May 1808.” Compare and contrast the work with Juan
Luna’s “Spoliarrium” (research this art work online). Do not mind the historical context of the art

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

work yet. Just try to observe each one. Form small groups and discuss the possible
interpretations of the paintings. Try to think of all the factors involved in creating it and list
down the parallelism you can find.

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Look for the picture of “The third of May 1808” by Francisco Goya in the internet

ANALYSIS:

Answer the questions in a discussion and write down your answers as a group:

What kind of event is being portrayed in the paintings? What emotion/s are the artist
trying to evoke? For what reason?

As mere, frail human beings, why do you think we have such artworks to process the
emotion?

_______________________________________________________________________

c. How did the artist elicit the emotions of the narrative through the subject matter?

ABSTRACTION

The exercises offered us some of the ways that artist addressed human issues. Read the
following elaborations on each of the functions to further aid your understanding:

Beauty
Why do you think some people hang artworks on their wall? What is the most common
answer? The connotation of beauty is debatable topic, but let us talks about prettiness
and the aesthetic value of art. One of the innate qualities that “pretty art” can give is
that it makes our dull, lifeless walls come to life. The contrast of having something
“alive” and dynamic to look at on something ordinary and common, let us say a pristine
white wall, evokes in us an infinity towards its beauty. Though we have different notions

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

of beauty, still it is a common denomination when we are talking about appreciating

forms of art. Beauty makes sense to most of us.

Look for the “The Artist Garden at Vetheuil,” Claude Monet 1880 in the internet.
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Happiness and hope

There is something about art that mirrors the soul of those willing to confront it. In a
societal tone, artworks tend to echo the hopes and anxieties of an age. There is a wide
range of properties of art why it gives sense of joy and hope to its audience. These are
examples:
When painting are place in daunting environment such as hospitals;
The experience and process of creating art itself;
The bliss of looking at a piece of imagery evoking a happy memory: e.g., the painting of
a do;
Direct words from typography and graphic messages that are so relatable as if the
author has read your mind and feelings; and
Identifying oneself with the properties of an artwork: a homage to something; works
addressing diaspora, displacement, and other social issues.
Identity and understanding the self
Today’s generation, being the “me” generation, is also sometimes tagged as the
“anxious”. A lot of social, issues evidently reflect this struggle for identity: gender
issues, disconnectedness brought on by social media, regionalism, and even mental
health issues. How do you think an art can be a tool to address such challenges? Do
you agree that we need something outside of us and tangible enough to define what we
are feeling and struggling against? Some time we see ourselves in an artwork.
Sometimes we see ourselves in the process. Art can serve as a powerful tool to help
us communicate and relay our confusion. Even psychological interventions use art as
therapy to aid in processing some sensitive experiences.
Grief and healing
Many of the most poignant and humanistic products of art were made after the world
war II. Twentieth-century art mostly expressed human suffering and darkness in its
themes. Artist such as Rachel White read talked about his haunting remembrance of
holocaust victims in her work “Ghost Library.” Here she used an experiential type of
artistic expression, exploring the themes of place and memory in an architectural
setting.

Some may use art as a tool to express pain and process it in therapy. Nonetheless, it
plays an important role in making grieving somehow dignified.
Remembering and mark-making
How do you think has art helped us remember? How have artist shape our landscape?
The monument of Rizal in Luneta Park is one example of a type of art that help us
remember. Without the tangible characteristic of art, we will not be able to sustain our
nationalistic values well enough. We have pictures, films, and paintings that depict
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

heroism and nationalism. Try to look up these artists: “Angel of the North: by British
sculptor Anthony Gormley and Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate” in Chicago.Gormly’s work
has been considered as the largest sculpture in the world and one of the most popular.
The humongous figure of a person with airplane-like wings is situated in Gateshead,
England, and was commissioned to become an identifying landmark of the region. On
the other hand, Kapoor had his humongous, bean-shaped metallic sculpture placed at Page | 5
the certainly builds a sense of mark and identity to that place where the traffic of
pedestrians is usually heavy.
Raising awareness
Have you seen large sculpture effigies (those papier-mache-made-to-be-burned protest
art)during rallies in Manila? Some art can be categorized as activist art. Such also the
case of our local churches with large domes at the altar part and huge stained glass
windows.
Culture and togetherness

Lastly, forms of art are often localized so that they bring identity also to certain regions. This is
very evident here in the Philippines, which is geographically separated by thousands of islands-
we are very regionalized. In a way, there is a sense of redemption for the past weakness of
Philippines when the Spaniards strategized the divide and conquer method. Do you remember
the national costume of Miss Universe 2019? Here we see how reigning queen Catriona Gray
wore the “whole Philippines,” symbolically uniting us through her Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao-
inspired national costume. Indeed it is an attempt to represent our unity and national identity
as Filipino. What do you think about the costume?

Assessment:
Answer the following questions:

1. As an individual who has gone through a specific set of experiences, what kind of art
would you make? What do you want to share to others? What do you want to awaken
in them? Is there something you would like to remember? Or would you like your
audience to take pleasure in the aesthetics of what you have created? Remember their
is neither right nor wrong answer for artistic interpretation (can be made or captured
e.g., photo). The goal is to express something of relevance to you as a person (even to
your artistic taste) in a visual form.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

(GE 5)
Art Appreciation
MODULE 2 Page | 6

How Do I Study Art? Making Art

OBJECTIVES:

Learn how art communicates color, symbolic quality of shape, line movement quality of
texture, the drama of lighting, and many others.
Be able to read design principles behind some effective and thought-provoking art
forms and graphic design
Explore materials and techniques through firsthand experience

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever watched something being made: a time- lapse

of a building construction, a short video on how to bake muffins, potter spinning his wheel and
pulling up clay into the shape of a vase? There is something satisfying in seeing these process
and how things are created. One can have a clue on the skill set, materials, and methods
required to the task done.

In the same way, we can all learn to appreciate art by taking

time to carefully look at the “ingredients” that make up the different art forms.

This lesson will cover three topics: Elements and Principles,

Design Psychology, and Materials and Techniques. These are meant to help you and gain first-
hand experience on the creative process and what goes on inside an artistic pursuit.

ACTIVITY:

1. Draw a tree but with different methods:

Draw using your non-dominant hand.

Draw in a square world where everything is square.
Draw using continuous lines.
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NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Color only the outside of the lines.

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ANALYSIS:

In the activity, did you observe how a simple change in how

you interpreted a simple object gives a different dimension to the subject matter? What does
each box, with the tree, remind you of after doing the exercise?

2. Examine: Research one of this artist in the internet/books. Try to observe how they used
paint in their works. Simply focus on the techniques.

Jacson Pollock*
Rembrandt
Vicente Manansala
Ang Kiukok

ANALYSIS:
How did they treat the Materials? How would you describe their painting in terms of its
aesthetic appeal to you?

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

ABSTRACTION:
What’s in a circle? Art Elements and Principles

Elements of art are the format or tangible aspects of art. These are termed as elements
because they are the “medium of language” of visual arts. The following are elements: Page | 8
Lines-lines can be expressive and have a quality of its own like: scribbles, whimsical, or
naive lines, implied lines, blurred lines (lines that are smudges, shaded or erased),
aggressive lines, and calligraphic lines.
Shape – Three basic kinds: geometric biomorphic, and amorphous. Shapes can also be
implied (shapes produced by the negative space).
Form – Three dimensional shape. Can refer to the quality and likeness of an entire
mass, let us say, the form of a woman. It employs several techniques like shading,
perspective, and lighting.
Value – the lightness and darkness of a color. Often represented in a tonal value scale,
it has two parts: the tints (lighter tones) and the shades (darker tones), A tone is a
general term for a certain value.
Color – also known as hue. Scientifically, it is the light that bounces off a surface. In art
we use subtractive colors, i. E., colors that are from pigments. Additive colors refer to a
property of light.
Texture – can be used in paintings like impasto, stamping, and scratching in pottery,
embossing when making prints, and many others. Contemporary artists have also used
the element of texture to convey a certain emotion.
Light – without light, all the previous elements will not be implied, natural, or artificial (
as with a digital rendition). The lighting of an art work has a very strongeffect on its over
all impact. An example of strong and theatrical lighting is called chiaroscuro.
Space – an area where the other elements can interact. Two types: positive and
negative space. Double negative space refers to a blank space used as negative space
by, let us say, a field of color or pigment.

Quick Facts:

What is representational, abstract, and

nonrepresentational art?

Representational simply means its mimics what is real or what can be seen. The image
is recognizable as interpreted by the artist. Abstract on the other hand is a modified
interpretation of something that exists, but it becomes hardly recognizable. Lastly,
nonrepresentational art is purely concerned with forms, shapes colors, and the rest of the
elements. It does not represent any other subject matter outside of itself.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

After learning about the elements, let us now study how they interact with each other in some
of our favourite art works or design.

There is a certain appeal to the eyes when some thing is repeated on the ceiling of a
restaurant, like an undulant installation of wood. The well thought arrangement of colors in an
interior makes it appealing to clients. Page | 9

Principles of Design are long held composition techniques which have been proven and used
by both fine and graphic artists to communicate ideas and concepts effectively. There is a
variety of proposed principles but here are some:

Contrast Design principle which uses the elements of values to

created depth and dimession. Light also plays an important
role in creating good contrast.
Harmony Elements are related to each other in terms of form, color,
theme, etc.
Balance (symmetrical Aesthetic quality of a work mark by a sensible balance
and Asymmetrical) between two areas: right and left; top and bottom.
Rhythm and Movement Creating a sense of direction through repetition of elements.
Movement direct the viewer’s eye toward something.
Unity and Variety Elements should be seen as a whole in unity; variety still
gives a sense of wholeness but the elements differ in some
aspects and provide more interest to the work.
Emphasis and An area of specific subject is given focus; hence other parts
subordination of the picture are subordinated.
Scale and proportion This can be either an appropriate use of scale and
proportion or it can also be an effective way of changing the
scale to achieve a certain visual goal. It also shows relation
ship between the object and space.
Depth and Perspective Shows three-dimensionality of a space through the use of
perspective lines and vanishing points.

Psychology in Art

Why include this idea in the study od art-making? Relating art

to how the brain receives and interprets sysmbols and images can benefit one’s decision in
effective composition and visual communication. Art in a way, is a method of psychology and
understanding how people persive images, create meaning and connect those meanings
together. In this topic, we now integrate the “why of art-making into the previous topics of
elements and principles.

Gestalt Theory – this strategy tend to “sum up” an idea into one iconicimagery. It open plays
with negative and positive space and makes use of both. Consider an example on the left.

This is an example of Gestalt . since it seems to become a

summary of the information that the artist wants to present, this approach is very effective in
making logos. Look up the logo of WWF (World Wide Foundation). You will notice the form of
panda right away. How ever, upon close examination, the image was actually formed using
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

disconnected shapes and lines. Such is a principle of Gestalt taht communicates the whole as
the summation of its parts. If you are more inclined toward math, you can understand the idea
of summation here and probably relate to its aesthetics.

Color psychology – colors have imbibed certain meanings. Whether it is a social construction
or a product of association, this hues certainly appeal to our understanding of the world based Page |
on how they are used. Here are some examples: 10

White: pure, pristine, clean and neutral Yellow: optimism, confidence, hope,
friendliness
Re: strength, power, reliability, warmth, Pink: childish, comfort, fragrant, friendly,
nature, heat, support, and seriousness calm, and innocent

What is your favourite color? Can you find its meaning among the examples mentioned in the
previous page?

Compositional function of lines and shapes – A composition is basically how the elements are
arranged in space with the intention of artistic expression. Here are some compositional
devices used by classical artists and and are still evedent these days: ( give sample imagery)

a. A Half circle, ofen use in domes for some classical paintings and even modern architecture,
symbolizes femininity because of its womb-like shape. Since it has no corners, it also
resonates eternity. Socialism in art has a different connotation for the circle, which states about
people’s equality.

b. A triangle, when used in composition suggests relationship. In Leonardo Da Vinci’s

“Madonna of the Rocks” the triangular arrangement of the figures, with the Madonna at the
apex may suggest stability and inclination toward the central figure.

(See “Madonna of the Rocks” by Leonardo Da Vinci in the internet)

c. An implied line or line movement in a painting may intentionally lead a viewer to a focal point
of the subject matter.

APPLICATION:
Create your own logo, emblem, or symbol based on the guiding principles of art and
psychology. The image can be about a particular advocacy you want to promote, a tool or
gadget you envision creating in the future, or just simply you as a future professional. What
color would represent your envisioned brand? What would be the shape and what does it
symbolize? How would you compress information yet have a strong impact in your imagery?
Draw and color your branding or logo in the box provided.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

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Quick Facts:

What is medium?

A medium, like a language, is the tool or the material used in realizing the expression.
In visual arts, this is the term for the materials used in specific types of techniques, let
us say, dry media for drawing. It can include pencil, charcoal, or pastels. Watercolor is
an example of wet medium. Non- conventional types may include mix media, computer
graphics, and found objects.

ACTIVITY AND APPLICATION:

Explore material and Techniques by doing any of these activities. If the next procedures are not
possible (e.g., you have no knowledge of video editing), you may stick with the first procedure
or activity.

Cover a bottle with different materials, Discover what you can use as long as it can stick to the
bottle. Use glue if needed. For ideas, you may cover with clay, pepier Mache, sawdust,
transparent material, decaying material, something rubbery, etc. Create at least 2 variations of
the covered project. Put the bottle next to each other.

Photograph each bottle. Use lighting and explore backgrounds that can complement your work.
Just be experimental. Layout the photos together. How do they look?

Submit the photograph and the bottle to your teacher for checking.

ANALYSIS:
Realize that we can actually categorize what you just did into the following suggested
categorizations:

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

2 –Dimensional: photography, drawing painting, printmaking, etc.

3- Dimensional: found objects, casting and moulding, subtractive and additive sculpture.

Page |
Reflect how different materials and techniques can change the character and narrative of an 12
object you are portraying. Answer the sets of question below.

What do you think is the most dominant design principle/s in the set of bottles you made?

How did each covering change its perception of the bottle? Describe each bottle.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________

ABSTRACTION:
More often than not, you might encounter a time in your life where you can envision a
painting or a sculpture that depicts an idea, an emotion, or an experience of your own. As one
writer says, we all have a work of art in our minds. However, not all of us can translate this into
reality. This where the skill or the knowledge of techniques and materials become essential. That
is why there are artists-skilled and talented individuals who can help us address our non-verbal
yet significant human expressions. Also we should not miss the fact that because lots of
materials are know available and have become valid forms of art, our expressions need not be
limited to drawing and painting. Techniques on the other hand, takes time and practice.
Combining the two, excellent techniques applied to materials, art expression becomes more
successful.

ASSESTMENT:
How do you think these elements and principles are coherent/parallel with other art disciplines
(music, dance, etc.) Do you think it make sense that they are called elements and principles?

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

_______________________________________________________________
Page |
Critique: Do you think it is necessary to study first these knowledge for a person to be able to
create a good work of art? Why and why not? Do these terms per-empt an artist’s experience 13
through solid facts? Why or why not?

What can you say about the experience of creating something for artistic purposes? From the
last activity you performed, can the process help you to think of a related concept or idea? If
you were to use the products of the application part, how and in what concern or issue?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Art Appreciation
(GE 5)

Module 3
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14
How did Art begin?

INTRODUCTION:

History may be quite a sedentary topic, often associated with memorizing events and
becoming familiar with chronological events. However, if we want to have sensible knowledge
about art, it is appropriate to just look into the lens of the past. How can we better understand
the climate of art now if we do not know how it was been influenced by artists who strove to
evolve the meaning and expression of art?

In the first lesson, we will have a quick run through of historical markers in the art
scene. Through this, we can better understand the present and where some analogies and
appropriations in art came from. Writing about art will also be easier if we have knowledge of
historical context: the experience of art will become more holistic and more fulfilling.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Learn about art history, art criticism, and art theories (methodologies)
2. Relate art history to significant events that transpired in the few last decades.
3. Construct proper art criticism by asking appropriate and relevant questions.
4. Learn the different methodologies of looking at and reading art.

Picture of Neoclassical relief at the

national museum old senate
session hall.

Weaved into this lesson is the topic of Art criticism that will help and guide you in
knowing what kinds of works to select and hopefully enhance your taste in art.

Quick Facts:

An art period is a specific length of time in history with a prominent movement,

treens, or creed in artistic practice.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Art History Quick Map:

This quick guide to Art History is intended to be brief and concise but should also prod
you into further exploration of some art periods.

Prehistoric
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Cave paintings, Venus figurines which are considered portable sculptures 15
Greek standard of beauty: the birth of the “classical Age”
Romans: the competitor of Greece; created realistic sculptures of human figure

Middle Ages

The “death” of realistic freedom due to canonical standards of visual interpretation

The rise of Gothic art especially in Gothic churches
Popular art: Stained glass windows and illuminated manuscripts

Renaissance

Revival of artistic genius

Where the term “Renaissance Man” was derived because of man’s intellectual
achievements in the arts and science
The time of “Masters” e.g., Donatello, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Van Eyck

Baroque

Grandiose and Ornate art

Artistic innovation: “spotlight effect” called chiaroscuro or in extreme usage, it is called
tenriebrism
Artist to note: Caravaggio (Italy), Valensuela (Spain), Poussin (France), and Antonio
Gaudi (designer of “ Sagrada Familia” chapel in Barcelona)

19th Century

Emergence of “isms”
Neoclassicism: Greek and Roman Classics revived
Romanticism, Realism, Art Nouveau, impressionism
Photography comes into the scene
Post-impressionism, early expressionism, and symbolism

20th Century Modern Art

Art became more non-representational

Garish colors explored in Fauvism
Abstracted sculptures emerged
Simplified forms in paintings by Picasso and Matisse
Art movements: Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Expressionism
Mondrian’s purely geometric art

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NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Art During the Wars

Dadaism: the art movement that defies logic

Surrealism: stepping into the dream world
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American art blossoms: Jacson Pollock became famous as “Jack the Dripper” and
16
paved the way for American Abstract Expressionism
Mobile Sculptures (Alexander Calder) and color Field (Rothko) paintings also became
prominent

20th Century to Contemporary

High experimental and radical

Pop art defines consumer culture: dominated mostly by works of Andy Warhol
Minimalism: glorifying the simplest art elements
Birth of conceptual art
Photography is further developed which paved way to art movement, Photorealism
Neo-expressionism or new expressionism is characterized by strong subject matters
Contemporary Art: a very diverse art scene; the rise of appreciation, photography-
derived works, graphic styles of art, experimental works, multi-media and multi-modal
art

Art Criticism

Art works are didactic in nature, therefore they demand a response. However, oftentimes, being
confronted by artworks is quite perplexing. Meaning is sometimes inaccessible to the common
place and person.

However, if you are a work of art, how would you like to be criticized? Do you want to be judge
or dismissed right away? Or would you rather be examined carefully first before arriving at a
conclusion?

Most of us will choose the later. It is the same with art work analysis and art criticism. Indeed It
is more proper to know more about an artwork before arriving at a judgement.

ASSESSMENT:
Many of us like entertainment and social media. It is flamboyant, noisy, and easily
catches our attention. We often just take in the information and news they provide without sifting
through them and realigning what we have heared and seen with our values as a person. In the
discipline of art criticism, what did it teach you about the act of looking? Should you just accept
what is placed before you? Why do you think it is better to counter-check every judgement or
thought that comes into our heads, not just in art, but also in everyday life? Write down your
thoughts:
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NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

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ABSTRACTION:

Art Criticism as mentioned by James Elkins in the easy, What Happened to Art Criticism, is the
discipline of the arts that seems to be both healthy and dying. If you live in a city where ther
are art gallaries and museums, you will notice that this institutions produce exhibit notes and
pamphlets that give a little bit of informative and elaborative writing about the artworks on
display. However, this is not widely practiced in the academe, especially in terms of General
Education. Do you think this is an important skill to learn? Why or why not?

Methods in Reading Art:

What is a method?

Think of method as filter that help you appreciate aspects of art in deferent lenses. There are
some “filters” that are more effective than others, especially when we talk about context and
content.

Have you encountered philosophy as a required subject to study? Philosophy has been man’s
attempt to make sense of why we do and what we do. If we want to be more diverse in our
approach to learning, art methodologies is one of the means and these are mainly hinged on
long-held philosophies. Depending on what the art is talking about and where it is from, we
can read it in a non-biased way through these approaches:

1. Formalism and style and Style- basically gives importance o the formal qualities (art
elements, materials, and design principles) as basis for the meaning of art. Roger Fry
is a major purveyor of this thinking. The form is the content and does not take history
and context into account.
2. Iconography – Focuses on the subject matter primarily over form. When using this
method, you will answer questions like: who is this person the artist painted and what
does it represent? Why did the artist choos this image and what for?
3. Contextual Approaches – from the term itself, context becomes an important factor in
criticizing artworks here. We can take many approaches to context like Marxism,

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Orientalism, Colonialism, Racial Iconography, Feminism, and Gender. As you can

observe these are mainly school of thought and philosophical movements which place
an artwork within a certain parameter. For example, in the forces behind an artistic
creation.
4. Biography and Autobiography – Consider the life and context of the artist. This
approach is based on the assumption that the artist’s life, beliefs, choices, and Page |
personality are directly connected to the works that he or she creates. 18
5. Semiotics – From the greek word “sema,” which means sign. Hence an artwork or art
form is assumed to be composed of a set of signs that may have significant cultural and
contextual meanings beyond itself.
6. Psychoanalysis – Freud is probably a familiar name in the field of psychology Marxism
is about art in relation to economics. On the other hand, Feminism is bent toward the
social context of the art wherein gender becomes a strong factor and he is one of the
basis of this theory. In psychoanalysis, one is concerned about the unconscious mind
in relation to the artist, the viewer, and the cultural context it is involved in.
7. Aesthetics and Psychoanalysis – Individual notion of what is considered acceptable,
beautiful, or attractive in works of art are in part influenced by psychological factors.
This approach then connects psychology to one’s constructed philosophy of art.

ASSESSMENT:

After Learning further approaches on reading art, analyze the artwork “ The Fall of Man” by
Cornelisz Van Haarlem , using three of the methodologies discussed.

Refer to the Internet for picture of “The Fall of Man”

Method 1:

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Lemery Campus, Lemery, Iloilo

Method 2:
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Method 3:

(GE5) Art Appreciation

Prof. Melanie M. Orpeza Page 19