Art

Appreciation
This covers the humanities, specifically, art appreciation and how it relates to
other fields of specialization, and it implication to the holistic development of
the learners. It is intended to acquaint students and expose them to various
kinds of arts, not just in practice but also in pedagogy, with some applications
Course in theory of visual, auditory, performing arts, the literature, and other types. In
addition, it aims to enhance students holistically, specifically to intensify
Description growth of awareness; to be compassionate to the state of arts and culture; to
develop a sense of creativity; to use logical analysis; and to synthesize human
experience in the fields of arts, music, literature, architecture, and more
particularly, the Philippine arts. Thus making one be aware of even the minute
existence of things and turn ordinary things into something beautiful.

Art appreciation refers to the understanding, analysis, and enjoyment of

various forms of art. It involves developing an understanding of the elements
Definition and principles of art, such as color, form, line, shape, texture, space, and
composition, among others.

Art The word “art” is derived from the Latin ars, which originally meant “skill” or “craft.”
Britannica Dictionary definition of ART is something that is created with imagination and
skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.

What is Art? Elements and Principles

Elements of Design
Definition Principles of design
Purposes of Art Representational Art
Art and Its Convention Non-representational Art
Perception and value
Value Judgement

Context and Perspective Fine Art Media and Technique

How We See: Objective and Subjective Two-Dimensional Art

Critical Modalities Drawing
Analyzing symbols Painting
Iconographic Analysis Printmaking
Photography
Three-dimensional Art
Sculpture
Installation Art

NAME:
A.Y 2023-2024
YR/SEC:

QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

preview INITIAL TASK : Examine the artworks below and in your own words, elaborate the meaning/s you see in it.

Your pa

painted by Paschou Constantin Painting made by Korean rapper Hoony Hoon recently appeared on MBC‘s Radio Star where he shared
the story of how he drew the famous drawing in the acclaimed Korean film, Parasite.

Azerbaijani artist Rashad Alakbarov

Glass Narcissus, 2013 (Unique version 1)

Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Photographed by Marlo Manzano 2023

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Art is indeed a paradox. It is a word which everybody knows yet nobody is capable of defining
substantially (Padilla, 2019). Art is very subjective. It depends on how one perceives its concept.

Highest expression
Art is studied because “it is among the highest
expressions of culture, embodying its ideals and
aspirations, challenging its assumptions and beliefs,
and creating new visions and possibilities for it to
pursue” (Sayre, XVI). When we discuss contemporary
art, we are typically referring to the practice of fine art,
but prior to the Renaissance, art was defined within the
realm of functional crafts, such as goldsmithing. The
idea of autonomous art or art for art’s sake developed
later, over many eras.
Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

FORMALISM AND CONTENT

The term formalism comes from critical art theory,
which resembles “aesthetics discussion.”

Content is one aspect of the artwork. This will also

touch on point of view (POV), which is an important
factor as we look at and discuss artworks.

Viewing Art
Personal Level. When we are looking at art, when we find or “run into” an artwork or exhibition, we
typically have an initial response or impression. This response to what we see (or hear, etc.) is
formed by a lifetime of knowledge and experience and the culture and time in which we live. The
expression “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” gets at the subjective and personal nature of
perception—and of the “first impression,” in particular. There’s nothing wrong with one’s first
impression or response—it is, after all, a personal response. It’s your point of view.

Formal Analysis is a close and analytical way of looking at and discussing a work of art. It includes
describing the work in terms of various design elements, such as color, shape, texture, line,
lighting, mass, and space, as well as a discussion of how those elements have been used (the
design principles). Formal analysis moves beyond description of the artwork and its content by
linking the elements of the work to the effects that they have on the viewer. This is discussion of
the artwork from the point of view of “here is the artwork, and this is what I see and can make
sense of . . .” Formal analysis uses art terminology to consider the effects of an artwork the viewer
(you), and it’s a process that enables us to think about and consider the overall meaning of the
artwork.

Content is simply the the subject matter of an artwork. It’s the images you see—like the trees in a
painting of a forest, or the town, the sky, and the moon in Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Content can
play a role in formal analysis, but the content aspect is less important than the “artwork” aspect

Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

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Non-motivated Functions of Art

Those that are integral to being human, transcend the individual, or
do not fulfill a specific external purpose.

1.Basic human instinct for harmony, balance, rhythm. Art at this

level is not an action or an object, but an internal appreciation of
balance and harmony (beauty), and therefore an aspect of being
human beyond utility.

Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the

instinct for ‘harmony’ and rhythm, meters being manifestly
sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this natural
gift developed by degrees their special aptitudes, till their rude
improvisations gave birth to Poetry. —Aristotle

Navajo rug made circa 1880

Non-motivated Functions of Art

2. Experience of the mysterious. Art provides a way to
experience one’s self in relation to the universe. This
experience may often come unmotivated, as one
appreciates art, music or poetry.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the

mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. —
Albert Einstein

3. Expression of the imagination. Art provides a means

to express the imagination in nongrammatic ways that
are not tied to the formality of spoken or written
language. Unlike words, which come in sequences and
each of which have a definite meaning, art provides a
range of forms, symbols and ideas with meanings that
are malleable.

Non-motivated Functions of Art

4. Ritualistic and symbolic functions.

In many cultures, art is used in rituals, performances and

dances as a decoration or symbol. While these often have
no specific utilitarian (motivated) purpose, anthropologists
know that they often serve a purpose at the level of
meaning within a particular culture.

This meaning is not furnished by any one individual, but is

often the result of many generations of change, and of a
cosmological relationship within the culture. Most scholars
who deal with rock paintings or objects recovered from
prehistoric contexts that cannot be explained in utilitarian
terms and are thus categorized as decorative, ritual or
symbolic, are aware of the trap posed by the term “art.” —
Silva Tomaskova
Image: Parasite Movie (2019)
Oscar’s award winner
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Motivated Functions of Art

Motivated purposes of art refer to intentional, conscious actions on
the part of the artists or creator. These may be to bring about
political change, to comment on an aspect of society, to convey a
specific emotion or mood, to address personal psychology, to
illustrate another discipline, to (with commercial arts) to sell a
product, or simply as a form of communication. .

1.Communication. Art, at its simplest, is a form of

communication. As most forms of communication have an
intent or goal directed toward another individual, this is a
motivated purpose. Illustrative arts, such as scientific
illustration, are a form of art as communication. Maps are
another example. However, the content need not be
scientific. Emotions, moods and feelings are also
communicated through art.

[Art is a set of] artifacts or images with symbolic meanings

as a means of communication. —Steve Mithen
Navajo rug made circa 1880

Motivated Functions of Art

2. Art as entertainment. Art may seek to bring about a
particular emotion or mood, for the purpose of relaxing
or entertaining the viewer. This is often the function of
the art industries of Motion Pictures and Video Games.

3. The Avante-Garde. Art for political change. One of

the defining functions of early twentieth-century art
has been to use visual images to bring about political
change. Art movements that had this goal—Dadaism,
Surrealism, Russian constructivism, and Abstract
Expressionism, among others—are collectively referred
to as the avante-garde arts.
Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion (“Sallie Gardner,” owned
by Leland Stanford; running at a 1:40 gait over the Palo Alto track, 1878)

4. Art as a “free zone,” removed from the action of the social

censure. Becoming a more open place for research and
experimentation.
5. Art for social inquiry, subversion, and/or anarchy. While similar
to art for political change, subversive or deconstructivist art may
seek to question aspects of society without any specific political
goal. In this case, the function of art may be simply to criticize
some aspect of society.
Graffiti art and other types of street art are graphics and
images that are spray-painted or stenciled on publicly viewable
walls, buildings, buses, trains, and bridges, usually without
Image: Spray-paint graffiti permission. Certain art forms, such as graffiti, may also be illegal
when they break laws (in this case vandalism).
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Motivated Functions of Art

6. Art for social causes. Art can be used to raise awareness
for a large variety of causes. A number of art activities were
aimed at raising awareness of autism, cancer, human
trafficking, and a variety of other topics, such as ocean
conservation, human rights in Darfur, murdered and missing
Aboriginal women, elder abuse, and pollution. Trashion,
using trash to make fashion, practiced by artists such as
Marina DeBris is one example of using art to raise awareness
about pollution.

Motivated Functions of Art

7. Art for psychological and healing purposes. Art
is also used by art therapists, psychotherapists
and clinical psychologists as art therapy.

The Diagnostic Drawing Series, for example, is

used to determine the personality and emotional
functioning of a patient. The end product is not the
principal goal in this case, but rather a process of
healing, through creative acts, is sought. The
resultant piece of artwork may also offer insight
into the troubles experienced by the subject and
may suggest suitable approaches to be used in
more conventional forms of psychiatric therapy.

8. Art for propaganda or commercialism.

Art is often utilized as a form of propaganda, and thus can be used
to subtly influence popular conceptions or mood. In a similar way,
art that tries to sell a product also influences mood and emotion. In
both cases, the purpose of art here is to subtly manipulate the
viewer into a particular emotional or psychological response toward
a particular idea or object.

9. Art as a fitness indicator. It has been argued that the ability of

the human brain by far exceeds what was needed for survival in the
ancestral environment. One evolutionary psychology explanation
for this is that the human brain and associated traits (such as
artistic ability and creativity) are the human equivalent of the
peacock’s tail. The purpose of the male peacock’s extravagant tail
has been argued to be to attract females. According to this theory
superior execution of art was evolutionarily important because it
attracted mates.
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ART, AESTHETICS, AND BEAUTY

Beauty is something we perceive and respond to. It may be a
response of awe and amazement, wonder and joy, or
something else. It might resemble a “peak experience” or an
epiphany. It might happen while watching a sunset or taking
in the view from a mountaintop—the list goes on.

Here we are referring to a kind of experience, an aesthetic

response that is a response to the thing’s representational
qualities, whether it is man-made or natural (Silverman).

The subfield of philosophy called aesthetics is devoted to the

study and theory of this experience of the beautiful; in the
field of psychology, aesthetics is studied in relation to the
physiology and psychology of perception
image by Psychologs Magazine 2023

ART, AESTHETICS, AND BEAUTY

Aesthetic analysis is a careful investigation of the
qualities which belong to objects and events that
evoke an aesthetic response.

It is important to recognize that we are not saying

that the natural wonder experience is bad or lesser
than the art world experience; we are saying it is
different.

When something is made by a human– we know

that there is some level of commonality and/or
communal experience.

How we engage in aesthetic analysis?

Often the feelings or thoughts evoked as a result of contemplating an artwork are initially based
primarily upon what is actually seen in the work. The first aspects of the artwork we respond to are
its sensory properties, its formal properties, and its technical properties (Silverman). Color is an
example of a sensory property. Color is considered a kind of form and how form is arranged is a
formal property. What medium (e.g., painting, animation, etc.) the artwork is made of is an example
of a technical property.

The sequence of questions in an aesthetic analysis could be: what do we actually see? How is what
is seen organized? And, what emotions and ideas are evoked as a result of what has been
observed? Silverman, Ronald. Learning About Art: A Multicultural Approach. California State University, 2001. Web. 24, June 2008.
 Arts and Its Convention
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Preproduction
In this phase, planning, researching, scripting, and storyboarding.
If pre-production had a mantra it’d be “make a plan now“. And the
pre-production stage of the filmmaking production process is
where you create a vision for your film, a plan for production
(based on that vision), and secure all the resources (humans,
space, and equipment) you will need to complete your film.
(Steven Spicer, 2020)
Create a budget, cast actors and hire your crew. Let’s talk about
money. Pre-production is the time to research and understand
exactly how much money you need to finance each stage of the
filmmaking process. You want to think about actors, crew,
https://fxhome.com/blog/the-3-stages-of-film-production
costumes, catering, equipment, location rental, and any special
permissions you’ll need for filming.

Production
This phase is the actual execution like painting, filming, recording,
etc. The “point of no return” in filmmaking is the point during the
production phase when it becomes cheaper to follow through to
the end than to dip out early (even if you’re anticipating a flop of a
film). The money is spent and to tear it all down now would create
a way worse situation and financial fallout than pushing towards
the finish line. See why a budget and production schedule are
critical?

Postproduction
This phase include the final master copy of the artwork. The post-
production process gives you the power to seriously enhance the
quality of your film.

Post-Production is the stage after production when the filming is

wrapped and the editing of the visual and audio materials begins.
Post-Production refers to all of the tasks associated with cutting raw
footage, assembling that footage, adding music, dubbing, sound
effects, just to name a few (Alyssa Maio, 2023).

Silverman, Ronald. Learning About Art: A Multicultural Approach. California State University, 2001. Web. 24, June 2008.
Arts and Its Convention
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Art is universal and Timeless

Literature can best provide us records for art is
universal and timeless. When we deem universality, we
consider it timeless because we transcend our
perception to the present. Going back t literature, may
worlds from different artists portray art as universal
and timeless. Michael Angelo’s SIstine Chapel, a
painting of a God reaching Adam’s hand, created a lot
of interpretations.

Art and Nature are not one.

Many people believe that art s nature or that nature is
art. Nature is not an art because it is created by God’s
divine creativity. He can claim the authority to say
nature is art, but we, human beings, rely upon nature
to produce art. Nature is our raw material for art. Art
is something we do out of our resources.
According to Merriam-Webster, nature is the physical
world and everything in it (such as plants, animals,
mountains, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by
people.

On the other hand, art is also defined as something

that is created with imagination and skill created by
artist to express important ideas or feelings.
With the given definition of the two-subject matter
we can clearly see that nature is not an art because
nature is not made by people, but it was given to us by
the Almighty. Art itself is manmade it was a
product of imagination and experience that was
made into a masterpiece that would connect
people through its emotions.

An artist needs experience.

No college student does not know the painting Mona Lisa, it is very
popular, and schools often use it as an example of a very famous and
controversial painting of the great artist, Leonardo da Vinci. No one is a
fool to say that Da Vinci has painted the Mona Lisa without prior
experience of holding a paintbrush. The point is, an artist needs the
experience of art. No one is an automatic expert. How can anyone be
referred to as an artist even without experience of art? Will one get a
dance choreographer who can’t even execute a single dance step? Will
a person get a cook for an event who does not have any experience
how to do a simple main dish?
Art needs experience because it is personal and subjective.
 Perception and Value
How We Assign Value to Art

The word art is often used to apply judgments of

value, as in expressions like “that meal was a work of
art” (implying that the cook is an artist) or “the art of
deception” (the advanced, praiseworthy skill of
deceiving). It is this use of the word as a measure of
high value that gives the term its flavor of
subjectivity.

When we say a painting has unity we are making a

value judgment. Too much unity without variety is
boring and too much variation without unity is
chaotic.

Value Judgement
Does It Have to Be Visually Pleasing or Not?
Making judgments of value requires a basis for
criticism. At the simplest level, deciding whether
an object or experience is be considered art is a
matter of finding it to be either attractive or
repulsive. Though perception is always colored by
experience, and is necessarily subjective, it is
commonly understood that what is not somehow
visually pleasing cannot be art.

However, “good” art is not always or even regularly

visually pleasing to a majority of viewers. In other
words, an artist’s prime motivation need not be the
pursuit of a pleasing arrangement of form.
Also, art often depicts terrible images made for
social, moral, or thought-provoking reasons.

For example, the painting pictured by

Francisco Goya, depicts the Spanish
shootings on the third of May, 1808. It is a
graphic depiction of a firing squad
executing several pleading civilians. Yet at
the same time, the horrific imagery
demonstrates Goya’s keen artistic ability in
composition and execution, and it
produces fitting social and political
outrage.

Thus, the debate continues as to what

mode of aesthetic satisfaction, if any, is
required to define “art.” The revision of
what is popularly conceived of as being
visually pleasing allows for a reinvigoration
of and a new appreciation for the
standards of art itself.

Francisco de Goya, El Tres de Mayo. Image is in the public domain

 Assessment 1
1. Art is nature. True or False?
2. What are the two purposes of art?
3. He says the mysterious is the most beautiful thing we may encounter. All
true art and science originate from it.
4. This art refers to intentional, conscious actions on the part of the artist.
5. These arts do not fulfill a specific external purpose.
6. ________ is a term that refers an art by using trash to make fashion,
practiced by artists such as Marina DeBris as she did it to raise awareness
about pollution.
7. Art is also used for healing purposes, what specific test do psychologists will
give to a patient?
8. Internal appreciation underlies to what specific function of art?
9. The anatomy of brain is an example of what specific function of art?
10. Under the non-motivated function of art, this statement shows that art can
provide ideas in an nongrammatical manner.
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ELEMENTS OF ART
Elements of art are the physical or visual components with which an artist creates a work of art.

1. Line is defined by a which a figure (or shape) is defined; the sum of these lines forms the
figure’s contour.
2. Shapes exist in a two-dimensional space (“forms” exist in 3-D space). They can be flat or
limited to height and width. They can be regular or irregular, simple or complex, geometric
or organic. Geometric is usually with straight lines or regular shapes. Organic is irregular or
asymmetrical; also refers to shape found in nature.
3. Form is three-dimensional and encloses volume. It includes height, width, and depth. sculpture,
performance arts, and crafts area are all three-dimensional. The teapot’s 3-D form mixes positive
space (e.g., the handle) with a negative space (the area near the handle).
4. Space is the area around, between, and within shapes or forms. Composition is the
arrangement or positioning of elements within the pictorial space. In 2D, the positive space
is called the figure while the negative space is called the ground. As objects recede into the
distance, they become paler, hazier, and bluer in color. The illusion of depth of space is
heightened by the dynamic difference in color and light between grounds. The techniques
are overlapping, size, placement, and shading.
5. Texture is the way things feel, or loo like they might feel, if touched, It is the tactile or
perceived surface quality of an object. Texture can be real or implied. Texture can be applied
in 2D such as painting by applying thick and heavy stroked of paint.
6. Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a color which can be used to define form. It
creates solidity in the forms as well as to emphasize emotive qualities within. Moreover, a
color’s value changes when white or black is added.
7. Color is an object’s property produces when light strikes and is reflected and viewed by the
eye. We will explore the “Munsell Color System” model bases on the color theory work of
Albert Munsell (1858-1918)
Color has three main properties:
1. Hue - is the actual color (e.g., red, orange, yellow, green, blue)
2. Chroma or saturation - is the level of intensity ( how much gray )
3. Value or Brightness - is the lightness or darkness ( how much white or black is added)
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PRINCIPLES OF ART
Principle of art are created based on the use of the elements of art.

1. Unity occurs when design elements are similar or identical or some repetitive colors and shapes
provide unity/ uniformity. A work of art is the strongest when it expresses an overall unity in
composition and form, a visual sense that all the parts fit together; that the whole is greater than its
parts.
2. Variety is achieved when design elements are varied in size, color, shape, texture and other elements.
3. Proportion refers to both the scales of objects individually as well as in relation to other elements.
4. Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight of shapes and forms, can be asymmetrical
symmetrical, and radial.
5. Emphasis is a way of directing the viewer’s eye to the most important aspect of the work.
6. Movement is the wat in which the viewer’s eye is directed in a work. It can imply motion or create a
pleasing effect.
7. Rhythm occurs when similar shapes or forms are repeated within a work of art. This is the visual
beat within a work of art.
8. Pattern is the regular and planned repetition of an element in a design.

Radial Balance : The Rose Asymmetrical Balance: Rule of Thirds Symmetrical Balance: Eva Isaksen, Orange Light, 2010. Print
Window of Chartres Cathedral Gateway Arch, Missouri and collage on canvas. 40” x 60.”
in Paris Permission of the artist
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 REPRESENTATIONAL AND NON REPRESENTATIONAL
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Key Points
• Representational art or figurative art represents objects or events in the real world.
• Romanticism, Impressionism, and Expressionism contributed to the emergence of abstract art in
the nineteenth century.
• Even representational work is abstracted to some degree; entirely realistic art is elusive.

REPRESENTATIONAL ART
This figurative or representational work from the
seventeenth century depicts easily recognizable
objects–ships, people, and buildings.

Representational art or figurative art represents

objects or events in the real world, usually looking
easily recognizable. For example, a painting of a cat
looks very much like a cat– it’s quite obvious what
the artist is depicting.

Johann Anton Eismann, Meerhaven. 17th c. Work is in the public domain

NON-REPRESENTATIONAL ART
Abstraction indicates a departure from reality
in depiction of imagery in art. Abstraction exists
along a continuum; Abstract art can formally
refer to compositions that are derived (or
abstracted) from a figurative or other natural
source.
The most “extreme” form of abstract art is not
connected to the visible world and is known as
nonrepresentational.
Delaunay’s work is a primary example of early
abstract art. Nonrepresentational art refers to
total abstraction, bearing no trace of any
reference to anything recognizable. In
geometric abstraction, for instance, one is
unlikely to find references to naturalistic
entities. Figurative art and total abstraction are
Robert Delaunay, Le Premier Disque, 1913. Work is in the public domai
almost mutually exclusive. But figurative and
representational (or realistic) art often contains
partial abstraction

PICASSO’S GUERNICA

What elements feel like they are strongly

represented?

Which principles of design feel strongly

engaged in this composition?

What about the type of representation?

GUERNICA BY PABLO PICASSO

 Assessment 11
1. This is a subfield of philosophy that focuses on studying the perception of beauty.
2. In the arts, aesthetics, and beauty what are the two properties we have to consider?
3. Based on the second question, color is an example of what type of property?
4. Based on the second question, the animation, painting, and photography that use colors are
in what specific type of property?
5. What are the three properties of a color?
6. Positive space : ______________; Negative space :____________
7. 2-dimensional is to space and 3-dimensional is to ____.
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CONTEXT
Is seeing also understanding?

The physiological processes that come together to

form our vision, or sight capabilities, are a
component of the larger complex process of how
we ‘see’ or comprehend the world.

Consider the statement by Henry Sayre,

“Everything you see is filtered through a long
history of fears, prejudices, desires, emotions,
customs, and beliefs.” Our understanding of visual
culture, including art, is dynamic, informed by our
The Bride's Toilet by Amrita Sher-Gil prior experiences and identities.

CONTEXT
We live in a time of unprecedented saturation of visual
culture, exponentially increased by the ease of digital
communication. The term ocularcentrism has been
used to describe the dominance of the visual in
contemporary Western life (Rose 3). But does seeing
necessarily equal understanding? Consider Sayre’s
example in questioning visual information, as to what
colored stripe is at the top and bottom of the American
flag ?

As the national symbol, we assume we have a thorough

understanding of it because we’ve seen it so frequently.
However- not only seeing, but remembering what we
have seen is often inaccurate, and can be more of a
creative interpretive process than we may recognize.

PERSPECTIVE
Perspective is a point-of-view. In a way it
is regarding something through a specific
filter. Each perspective or filter has unique
characteristics that direct how something
is considered.
For example, if you were analyzing an
artwork in regards to gender, an aspect of
identity, you might consider how being
male, female, or transgendered might
contribute to the experience of an artwork.
Context or contextual knowledge relates
to perspective, in that all perspectives are
shaped by the circumstances around
them that constitute a kind of background
they form within.
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3 B A S I C T Y P E S O F P E R S P E C T I V E

Cultural Perspective
Culture is a complex concept that encompasses the ways that
social life effects and informs our experiences.
To quote Stuart Hall:
“Culture, it is not so much a set of things- novels and paintings,
or TV programs or comics- as a process, a set of practices.
Primarily culture is concerned with the production and exchange of
meanings- the ‘giving and taking of meaning’ between members in
a society or group… Thus culture depends on its participants
interpreting meaning- fully what is around them, and ‘making
sense’ of the world, in broadly similar ways (Rose 2).”
It could be said that growing up in America contributes to an
‘American worldview’. We each may have variations to this, but
unless you were raised outside of the United States, you are
strongly (consciously or unconsciously) influenced by an American
perspective.
Johannes Vermeer
Representations, in whatever form they take, contribute to
Girl with a Pearl Earring
‘made meanings’ of culture, specifically as visual culture. We
1665
participate in constructing culture by selecting and elevating
certain forms of representations, and that specific visual culture
Historical Perspective we experience has the power to influence our personal view on life.

As time passes, scholarship and research occur and many

people become aware of a particular artwork, art form, art style,
etc. Recognition may increase (and sometimes decreases). Art
historical analysis is an investigation art historians do to
understand and give meaning to works of art. They do this by
describing formal properties, examining content or subject
matter and placing works of art in their historical context.
(WCUniversity)

Vincent Van Gogh is an example here—totally unappreciated

while he was alive, he’s recognized worldwide as a notable
painter. Other examples might be the negative attitudes
towards jazz music or hip-hop in the mid-twentieth century.
These currents of recognition often spring from institutions like
museums, academic writing and journals, college art classes,
and art history as a field of study. Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night (Over the Rhône), 1888. Oil on canvas

Personal Perspective
Personal perspectives are formed by the layered
aspects that form our individual identities. This could be
any number of defining aspects such as, gender, class,
race, where you were born and raised, education,
aspects of family, group affiliations, etc., and the list
goes on.
These aspects form our unique biographical
experiences that constitute our identities and color our
personal point of view or the way we interpret our life
experiences. You may find that your personal response
to art and artworks will change as you learn more about
design, art making, and the history of art in general.
Knowledge and/or education about art usually helps us
appreciate and understand it.
Sweeping judgments based purely on a personal
emotional response can be colored with bias and often
come from having little knowledge of a subject or
artwork or the larger cultural context. These are habits
of thinking that inhibit a critical understanding of things
that are new to us like artwork. In general, it’s a good
idea to take a generous stance to art forms or artworks
we don’t like or don’t understand or just don’t connect
to.
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Up until now we’ve been looking at artworks through the most immediate of visual effects: what we see in front of our
eyes. Now we can begin to break down some barriers to finding specific meaning in art, including those of different
styles and cultures. To help in this journey we need to learn the difference between looking at something in an
objective way versus subjectively.

Objective and Subjective

To look objectively is to get an unbiased overview of our
field of vision. Subjective seeing speaks more to
understanding. When we use the term “I see” we
communicate that we understand what something means.
There are some areas of learning, particularly psychology
and biology, that help form the basis of understanding
how we see.
For example, the fact that humans perceive flat images as
having a “reality” to them is very particular. In contrast, if
you show a dog an image of another dog, they neither
growl nor wag their tail, because they are unable to
perceive flat images as containing any meaning. So you
and I have actually developed the ability to “see” and read
specific meanings into images.

I’m trying by Lee Ellis

Objective and Subjective

Subjective relates to the personal meaning ascribed to something.
It involves individual or unique perspectives and emotions.

Objectivity is depersonalized and usually described as “unbiased”.

There is no emotional meaning attached to something like
perspectives, judgments, or criticisms.
(Nicole Burger, 2023 Art in Context)

In essence, there is more to seeing than meets the eye. We need

to take into account a cultural component in how we perceive
images and that we do so in subjective ways. Seeing is partly a
result of cultural conditioning and biases. For example, when many
of us from industrialized cultures see a parking lot, we can pick out
each car immediately, while others from remote tribal cultures
(who are not familiar with parking lots) cannot.

"Woman III" by Willem Kooning

CRITICAL MODALITIES
People approach meaning from different perspectives.
The artworks sit silent while all around them the voices
change. We are in a time when there are several,
sometimes greatly conflicting, ways of thinking about
meaning in art. Here are six different critical modalities art
critics use as compasses to interpreting meaning:

1. Structural Critisism
2. Deconstructive Criticism
3. Formalist Criticism
Richard Brooks, William Seward, bronze on stone pedestal, c. 4. Ideological Criticism
1909. Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission 5. Psychoanalytic Criticism
6. Feminist Criticism

Recognize and describe six different critical modalities that art critics use to analyze and interpret artwork.
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The professional art critic is one of the gatekeepers who, through their writing, endorse or reject
particular kinds of art, whether in style, artistic ability, or message. In fact, a study of the different
ways to look at art can tell us much about changing times and philosophies: the role of aesthetics,
economics, and other cultural issues have a lot to do with the origin of these philosophical positions.
Of course, none of them is completely true—they’re simply different types of discourse

Structural Criticism
Structuralism is based on the notion that our concept of reality is expressed through
language and related systems of communication.
On a larger scale, visualize culture as a structure whose foundation is language,
speech and other forms of communication. When this approach is applied to the visual
arts, the world of art becomes a collective human construction, where a single work
needs to be judged within the framework supported by the whole structure of art. This
structure is still based in language and knowledge and how we communicate ideas. I
often use the example of the word “cowboy”.
In your head: visualize a cowboy: then describe what you saw. What gender was your
person? What race was this person? Now let’s apply those answers to historical fact. The
fact is that upwards of 60 percent of the historical cowboys in the United States were
black slaves freed after the Civil War. Did you see your cowboy as white? Your idea of
cowboy might have come from film, which is an extremely different form of reality. The
structural idea manifests itself when we look for meaning in art based on any
preconceived ideas about it we already have in our mind. These preconceptions (or
limitations) are shaped by language, social interaction and other cultural experiences.

Deconstructive Criticism
Deconstruction goes one step further and posits that any
work of art can have many meanings attached to it, none of
which is limited by a particular language or experience outside
the work itself. In other words, the critic must reveal
(deconstruct) the structured world in order to knock out any
underpinnings of stereotypes, preconceptions, or myths that
get in the way of true meaning.
Taking the perspective of a deconstructive critic, we would
view a portrait of Marilyn Monroe by pop artist Andy Warhol as
an imaginary construct of what is real. As a popular culture
icon, Marilyn Monroe the movie star was ubiquitous: in film,
magazines, television and photographs. But Marilyn Monroe the
Iconic Andy Warhol Portrait of
person committed suicide in 1962 at the height of her stardom.
In truth, the bright lights and celebrity of her Hollywood Marilyn Monroe
persona eclipsed the real Marilyn, someone who was troubled,
confused and alone. Warhol’s many portraits of her –each one
made from the same publicity photograph –perpetuate the
myth and cult of celebrity.

Formalist Criticism
Formalism is what we engaged in when we looked at the elements and principles of
art. Formalism doesn’t really care about what goes on outside the actual space of the
work, but finds meaning in its use of materials. One of the champions of the formalist
approach was Clement Greenberg. His writing stresses “medium specificity”: the notion
there is inherent meaning in the way materials are used to create the artwork. As is
relates to painting and works on paper, the result is a focus on the two-dimensional
surface.
Formalism allows a more reasoned discussion of abstract and nonrepresentational
art because we can approach them on their own terms, where the subject matter
becomes the medium instead of something it represents. This is a good way to
approach artworks from cultures we are not familiar with, though it has the tendency to
make them purely decorative and devalue any deeper meaning. It also allows a kind of
training in visual seeing, so it is still used in all studio arts and art appreciation courses.
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Ideological Criticism
Ideological criticism is most concerned with the
relationship between art and structures of power. It infers
that art is embedded in a social, economic, and political
structure that determines its final meaning. Born of the
writings of Karl Marx, ideological criticism translates art
and artifacts as symbols that reflect political ideals and
reinforce one version of reality over another. A literal
example of this perspective would view the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C. as a testament to a political
system that oppressed people because of race yet
summoned the political will to set them free in the
process of ending a Civil War. The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Photo by Jeff Kubina and licensed through
Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychoanalytic criticism is the way we should look at artwork if
we feel it is only about personal expression. The purest form of
this criticism ranks the work of untrained and mentally ill artists
as being just as important as any other art. It is in this way that
the artist “inside” is more important than any other reason the
art happens or the effect the art has. When discussing Vincent
van Gogh you will often hear people allude to his mental state
more than his actual artwork, experience, or career. This is a
good example of psychoanalytic criticism. One of the problems
in this type of criticism is that the critic is usually discussing One of van Gogh's Sunflowers
issues the artist themselves may be totally unaware of (or
deny).
In the case of his still life paintings, Van Gogh borrowed from the minimalism characteristic of the Japanese aesthetic, with
the vases of sunflowers surrounded by emptiness. As he described to his brother:
“Their work is as simple as breathing, and they do a figure in a few sure strokes as if it were as easy as doing up your
raincoat.”
The symbolism of the flowers also echoes Japanese traditions. Like the sakura blossoms, Van Gogh’s sunflowers give the
impression of being impermanent and short lived.
This is emphasised in his earlier work ‘Four Cut Sunflowers’ (1887) depicting broken stems and the drying heads of the
flowers

Feminist Criticism
Feminist Criticism began in the 1970s as a response to the neglect of women artists over
time and in historical writings. This form of criticism is specific to viewing art as an
example of gender bias in historical western European culture, and views all work as a
manifestation of this bias. Feminist criticism created whole movements in the art world
(specifically performance based art), and has changed over the last few years to
include all underrepresented groups.

Examples of feminist art include Judy Chicago’s large-scale installation The Dinner Party
and the work of Nancy Spero. 98 In reality, all of these critical modalities hold some
truth. Art is a multifaceted medium that contains influences from most all the
characteristics of the culture it was created in, and some that transcend cultural
environments.

These modalities, along with the different levels of meaning we explored in this module,
help us to unravel some of the mysteries inherent in works of art, and bring us closer to
seeing how art expresses feelings, ideas and experiences that we all share. In our search
it is important to be aware of all the issues involved, take aspects of each critical
position depending upon the work being viewed, the environment (and context) you’re
seeing it in, and make up our own mind.
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Recognize what a symbol is and and differentiate how semiotics and iconography are used to
decipher symbols in artwork and other types of visual culture.

1. Iconography
Iconography was developed by art historian Erwin
Panofsky, as a means of expanding beyond formal
analysis, and focusing on analyzing subject matter in
artwork, specifically symbols whose meaning is
understood by a people or culture in that specific time
(Rose 202, Sayre 32). For example, in the Western world
we are familiar with what a Buddha statue looks like, but
most Western people likely have no idea that the position
of the hands in the statue carries symbolic meaning
(Sayre 33). If you are a Buddhist however, you would read a
specific meaning into the hand gesture and position.
Symbolic meanings in artwork may also be lost over time
even within the culture that created them (Sayre 35).
a. Semiotics
Semiotics offers another way of analyzing images, be they found in
artwork or another type of visual culture, like advertising. Semiotics is
the study of signs. In semiotics the basic unit is the sign. Signs are
representations that have meanings beyond what they literally
represent. Signs can come in visual or auditory form- as in language or
sounds. Signs are everywhere, not just in art.

Semiotics offers a way to break an image into its constituent parts its
signs, and trace how they relate to each other, and other systems of
meaning (Rose 105).
One of van Gogh's Sunflowers
b. Signified and Signifier
In semiotics the image itself is the focus and the most
important site of meaning (Rose 108). The signs in an image are
analyzed into two parts, the signified and signifier. The signified
is the concept or thing the representation stands in for. The
signifier is the representation. For example, in a photograph
with a baby in it— the baby is the signifier, and the signified
could be youth or some other association that we make with
the representation of a baby. Another example of a symbol is
the American flag. If you were raised in America, you are taught
that it stands for the country America and national pride, and
possibly other meanings like freedom, but how the flag looks is
arbitrary. It could just as easily have taken on some other
graphic representation, and still have been coded with those
meanings, just like the flags of other countries share a similar
national significance in those other cultures.

c. Icon, index, symbol

There are three basic types of signs: icon, index, and symbol. Icons
bear a very close visual relationship to the thing they represent.

1. An icon of a woman might be a photograph of an actual

woman.

2. An indexical sign points to the thing it represents or bears

some relationship to the thing it represents, but is one step
removed. An example of an indexical sign of a woman is the simple
illustration of a woman that you find on restrooms designated for
women.

3. A symbol is arbitrary, and bears no relation to the thing it

represents. An example of a symbol for women is the circle/cross
shape that signifies the female gender.
 Assessment 111

1. What kind of perspective you are using when you are critiquing an artwork based on your own experience?
2. What kind of perspective you are using when you are basing with the society’s norms?
3. What kind of perspective you are using when you are looking for the relatedness of the artwork’s message in the
present time?
 FINE ART MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE
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T W O - D I M E N S I O N A L A R T S
Creating a work of art is a process. When an artist chooses to work with a certain medium, or use
specific techniques, those choices are some of the most defining parameters of the entire
creative process.

DRAWING
Drawing is the simplest and most efficient way to
communicate visual ideas, and for centuries charcoal,
chalk, graphite and paper have been adequate enough
tools to launch some of the most profound images in
art

Da Vinci draws the figures in a spectacularly realistic

style, one that emphasizes individual identities and
surrounds the figures in a grand, unfinished landscape.
He animates the scene with the Christ child pulling
himself forward, trying to release himself from Mary’s
grasp to get closer to a young John the Baptist on the
right, who himself is turning toward the Christ child
with a look of curious interest in his younger cousin. The
traditional role of drawing was to make sketches for
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist larger compositions to be manifest as paintings.

DRY MEDIA: GRAPHITE, CHARCOAL

Dry Media includes charcoal, graphite, chalks and
pastels. Each of these mediums gives the artist a wide
range of mark making capabilities and effects, from
thin lines to large areas of color and tone. The artist
can manipulate a drawing to achieve desired effects in
many ways, including exerting different pressures on
the medium against the drawing’s surface, or by
erasure, blotting or rubbing.
Graphite media includes pencils, powder or
compressed sticks. Each one creates a range of values
depending on the hardness or softness inherent in the
material. French sculptor Gaston Lachaise’s Standing
Nude with Drapery is a pencil drawing that fixes the
energy and sense of movement of the figure to the
paper in just a few strokes
Charcoal, perhaps the oldest form of drawing media, is
made by simply charring wooden sticks or small Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Self Portrait Under the Influence of Morphine, around
branches, called vine charcoal, but is also available in a 1916. Ink on paper. Licensed under Creative Commons
mechanically compressed form
Oil pastels, pigment mixed with an organic oil binder
that deliver a heavier mark and lend themselves to
more graphic and vibrant results.

WET MEDIA: INK, FELT TIP, CALLIGRAPHY

Ink: Wet drawing media traditionally refers to ink
but really includes any substance that can be put
into solution and applied to a drawing’s surface.
Because wet media is manipulated much like
paint – through thinning and the use of a brush –
it blurs the line between drawing and painting. Ink
can be applied with a stick for linear effects and
by brush to cover large areas with tone.

Traditional Chinese painting uses water-based

inks and pigments. In fact, it is one of the oldest
continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painted
on supports of paper or silk, the subject matter
includes landscapes, animals, figures and
Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion. Before the thirteenth calligraphy, an art form that uses letters and
century. Hand scroll, ink on paper. The Palace Museum, Beijing. Licensed script in fluid, lyrical gestures.
through Creative Commons
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T W O - D I M E N S I O N A L A R T S
Creating a work of art is a process. When an artist chooses to work with a certain medium, or use
specific techniques, those choices are some of the most defining parameters of the entire
creative process.
PAINTING
Painting is the application of pigments to a support
surface that establishes an image, design or decoration. In
art the term “painting” describes both the act and the
result. Most painting is created with pigment in liquid form
and applied with a brush.

Three of the most recognizable images in Western art

history are paintings: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa,
Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Vincent van Gogh’s The
Starry Night. These three art works are examples of how
painting can go beyond a simple mimetic function, that is,
to only imitate what is seen. The power in great painting is
that it transcends perceptions to reflect emotional,
psychological, even spiritual levels of the human
condition. The three basic ingredients are the pigment,
The Scream, 1893 by Edvard Munch binder, and solvent. And the six characteristics are the
encaustic, tempera, fresco, oil, acrylic, watercolor.

PRINTMAKING
Printmaking uses a transfer process to make
multiples from an original image or template. The
multiple images are printed in an edition, with each
print signed and numbered by the artist. All
printmaking media result in images reversed from
the original. Print results depend on how the
template (or matrix) is prepared. There are three
basic techniques of printmaking: relief, intaglio
and planar.

Serigraphy, also known as screen printing, is a

third type of planar printing medium. Screen
printing is a printing technique that uses a woven
mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The
attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that
transfer ink or other printable materials that can Silkscreen box and stencil by Meul. Licensed through Creative Commons.
be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged
image onto a substrate such as paper or fabric. A
roller or squeegee is moved across the screen
stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of
the woven mesh in the open areas.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Using the camera obscura as a guide, early photographers
found ways to chemically fix the projected images onto
plates coated with light sensitive materials. They installed
glass lenses in their early cameras and experimented with
different exposure times for their images.

Window at Le Gras is one of the oldest existing

photographs, taken in 1826 by French inventor Joseph
Niepce using a process he called heliograpy (“helio”
meaning sun and “graph” meaning write). The exposure for
the image took eight hours, resulting in the sun casting its
light on both sides of the houses in the picture.
Window at Le Gras taken in 1826 by Joseph Niepce
The photograph gave (for the most part), a realistic and unedited view of our world. In its early beginning,
photography was considered to offer a more “true” image of nature because it was created mechanically,
not by the subjective hand of an artist.

Before photography, painted portraits were afforded only to the wealthy and most prominent members of
society. They became symbols of social class distinctions. Now portraits became available to individuals and
families from all social levels
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T H R E E - D I M E N S I O N A L A R T S

Distinguish between additive and subtractive sculpture techniques

SCULPTURE

SCULPTURE METHOD: CARVING

1. Carving uses the subtractive process
to cut away areas from a larger mass,
and is the oldest method used for three-
dimensional work. Traditionally stone
and wood were the most common
materials because they were readily
available and extremely durable.
Contemporary materials include foam,
plastics and glass. Using chisels and
other sharp tools, artists carve away
material until the ultimate form of the
work is achieved.
Michelangelo, David, 1501, marble, 17 feet high. Galleria dell’Accademia,
Michelangelo’s masterpiece statue of Florence. Image in the public domain
David from 1501 is carved and sanded to
an idealized form that the artist releases
from the massive block, a testament to
human aesthetic brilliance.

SCULPTURE METHOD: CASTING

2. Casting: The additive method of casting has
been in use for more than five thousand years.
It’s a manufacturing process by which a liquid
material is usually poured into a mold, which
contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape,
and then allowed to solidify. One traditional
method of bronze casting frequently used
today is the lost wax process. Casting materials
Richard Brooks, William Seward, bronze on stone pedestal, c.
are usually metals but can be various cold-
1909. Image by Christopher Gildow. Used with permission setting materials that cure after mixing two or
more components together; examples are
epoxy, concrete, plaster, and clay.

Traditionally, bronze statues were placed atop pedestals to signify the importance of
the figure depicted. A statue of William Seward (below), the U. S. Secretary of State
under Abraham Lincoln and who negotiated the purchase of the Alaska territories, is
set nearly eight feet high so viewers must look up at him. Standing next to the globe, he
holds a roll of plans in his left hand.