ART APPRECIATION

MODULE 1: An Introduction
Instructress: Ma’am Hannah R. Combatir, LPT

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 understand the importance of Humanities and Art Appreciation in every
individual’s life;
 gain a general knowledge of the creation and functions of arts; and
 recognize the certain purpose of art as well as its classification and discuss their
characteristics.

Meaning and Importance of Humanities

Etymologically, the term “Humanities” is from a Latin word humanus which

means educated. It refers to the learning of arts such as architecture, dance, literature,
music, painting, theatre, and sculpture (Sanches, 2011). They are branches of
knowledge that focuses on the human opinions, and relationships (Machlis, 2003). As a
branch of learning, the artwork is considered as the material object while its creativity
and appreciation is the formal object (Menoy, 2009& Marcos, et al., 2010).

Likewise, Humanities is more concerned on how a person expresses his/her feelings.

These feelings can be in facial manifestations or body movements. Laughing, crying,
clenching our fists, curling our toes, stretching out our fingers, and crossing our arms
are representations of humanities (Menoy, 2009).

As a branch of knowledge, Humanities explores on human conditions through the use of

analytical, critical, or theoretical methods. These methods are in the form of ideas and
words that help makes our life more meaningful. Moreover, Humanities can also be as
the study on how an individual documented and processed his/her experiences
particularly in connecting to others (Stanford University, 2016). Imparting humanities as
an academic science is designed to let our learners (particularly the new generations)
become creative and artistic individuals. Humanities help the students to connect with
the community through art exposure like museum outings, concerts, theatre
performance, etc. (Marcos, 2010).

Description of Art Appreciation

When we look around, we see a lot of things that relate to art. Art can come in
the form of many items such as posters, paintings, portraits, covers, and more. People
look at art in different ideas that they want to know more about or may be studying. Art
can show ideas about the past, what is currently happening and what may happen in
the future. It can also show meaning, love, boredom, and creativity (Ramos, 2012). Art
can be meaningful because of the colors, shapes, and depictions it can create.

Art Appreciation is a way to motivate ideas and allows individuals to illustrate

their feelings when they viewed an artwork. It helps develops critical and innovative
skills in thinking and teaches essential qualities in listening, observing, and responding
to multiple viewpoints It also requires an ability to differentiate what is apparent and
what is not (Gargaro & Jilg, 2016 and Sanger, 2012).

The Creation of Arts

In our life, we experience so much fragmentation of our thoughts and feelings.
But, by creating arts, it brings things back together. We merely make art because of so
many reasons, and we enjoy the process of it.

The word “art” is from a Latin arti, which means craftsmanship, inventiveness,
mastery of form, skill. It includes literature, music, paintings, photography, sculpture,
etc. It serves as an original record of human needs and achievements. It usually refers
to the so-called “fine arts” (e.g., graphics, plastic, and building) and to the so-called
“minor arts” (everyday, useful, applied, and decorative arts). It is the process of using
our senses and emotions in making creative activities (Marcos, 2010). It is a human
capability to make things beautiful (e.g., buildings, illustration, designing, painting,
sculpture, and Photography) through the production of his/her imagination depending on
the preparation, theme, medium, and values used.

Significantly, the word artist comes from the French word artiste and the Spanish artista,
which means “performer.” It is someone who creates art that is merely trades and
professions by which different people make their livings (Goines, 2004).
Artist is most often referring to those who create within a context of the fine arts such as
acting, dancing, drawing, filmmaking, painting, sculpture, writing, photography, and
music. They are those who use imagination, and a skill to construct works that may be
judged to have aesthetic importance. Creativity is a characteristic of an artist that
progressed in the extent of his/her life to express feelings. These are all processed in
three significant phases namely: Creation of Forms; Creation of Ideas; and Creation of
the Materials (Sanchez, 2011).

a. The Creations of ideas. Artists are usually impressionable persons. They used
their experiences as their basis in the making of dance, picture, a poem, or a play or a
song. For example, a composer may write a song on the developing romance between
a man and a woman, or on the pains of a broken-hearted.

b. The Creations of the Materials. The artist uses different materials or mediums to
give form to an idea. For example, a painter uses pigments; a sculptor uses wood,
metal or stone; an author uses words; and a composer who uses musical sounds to
determine the notes.

c. The Creations of Forms. There are diverse forms used by the artists in expressing
their ideas. It is a medium of artistic expression recognized as fine art. This form is
used to explain the physical nature of the artwork like in metal sculpture, an oil painting,
etc.

Functions of Arts
From the very beginning, arts have been part of human history. It described,
defined, and deepened the human experience. In the Prehistoric period for example,
peoples performed songs and dances to gratify their ancestors. Likewise, hunters
brushed different figures on the walls of caves to depict their day to day experiences.
Arts also serve several functions which are item outcome to its purpose (Menoy, 2009),
namely:

1. Individual Function- The artists perform arts because of the passion of their
respective art forms. A singer presents a concert for free because of his advocacy and
the love of singing. For example, Regine Velaquez (Asia’s Songbird) is well-known for
possessing extensive vocal range.
2. Social Function- Man associates with others through his art performance that
arouses social consciousness. Examples of this association are the choral singing,
group dancing, public art exhibits and other practices.

3. Economic Functions- Arts are emerging as a potent force in the economic life of
people assumes an essential role as a direct and indirect contributor to state
economies. Example of this is by generating economic vitality in under-performing
regions through crafts, tourism, and cultural attractions.

4. Political Functions- Art provides a forum for ideas that will lead to employment,
prestige, status, and power. During election period, for example, the candidates created
their artworks (poster) which expresses their propaganda, agendas and political views
about making a stable society.

5. Historical Functions- Art is an essential technique for information to be recorded

and preserved. It serves to document or reconstruct historical figure and events. Most
arts that are in Museums, for example, are filled with amazing stories about the world
most excellent and most creative people who brought us the treasures. By looking at a
work of art’s colors, materials, and symbolism, we can learn about the story and culture
that produced it in the past.

6. Cultural Functions- Art is an articulation and transmission of new information and

values. Example, when you think of Manila, you probably think of Fort Santiago, Luneta
Park, and its world-renowned churches, or the famous Intramuros.

7. Physical Functions- Buildings are artistically designed and constructed to protect

their occupants and make their life inside more meaningful. Architects, Industrial and
Graphic Designers, and Interior Decorators share responsibility in building environment
that balance forms and functions.

8. Aesthetic Functions- Any artwork means beauty. It is visual spice for gracefully
adorned interiors and can bring out the most elegant features of different décor
elements. It reasonably reproduced visual images which communicate through
fantastic persuasions and meaningful words.
Purpose of Art
Creativity or imagination is the primary basis of art. Art is created when an artist
produces a stimulating experience that is considered by his audience to have artistic
merit. The artwork is the visual expression of an idea or experience of an artist, through
the use of a medium (Frank, 2011). It allows expression of the individuality of the artist.
Through artistic endeavors, we can share what is important to us with others and can
learn about the values of feelings of those sharing art with us. Some purposes of art are
the following (Marcos et al., 2011).

1. Create Beauty- Art is an expression of our thoughts, emotions, and intuitions. It is

the communication of concepts that cannot be faithfully portrayed by words alone. The
Artist has considered nature as the standard of beauty. The example of beauty can be
in a snowy mountain scene, and the art is the photograph of it shown to the family.

2. Provide Decoration- Artworks are used to create a pleasing environment. It is

intended to beautify things to please and amuse the viewers through its colors and
patterns.

3. Reveal Truth- Artwork helped to pursue truth and attempted to reveal about how the
world works. It is a kind of language that allows artists to send a message to the souls
of the recipients that help change their attitudes, their sensibility, and their ethics.

4. Express Values- Arts can illuminate our inner lives and enrich our emotional world.
Through arts, the artist will be encouraged to develop their creativity, challenge, and
communication skills. It also promotes self- esteem and wellness.

5. Commemorate Experience- Art serves to convey the personal experiences of an

artist and record his impression in his work.

6. Create Harmony- An artist makes use of the composition to put an order in the
diverse content of his work.

Classifications of Art
Many changes in the arts took place during the early modern period. Its
classification can be on many characteristics, including form, shape, function, use, or
social context. Works of art are classified in many different ways, namely:
1. Visual Arts- These arts are those forms that create works which are primarily visual
(forms perceived by the eyes). The man can take the beauty of nature through a piece
of paper so that other people may take time appreciating the captured image.
Examples of these arts include:

a. Painting- This form of visual art aims to evoke an emotion from the viewers. It is
practice by applying colors or other media to a surface with a brush or other objects.

b. Sculpture- This form of visual arts characterized as the art of representing an

imagined or observed objects in hard materials such as glass, metals, or wood in three
dimensions.

c. Architecture- This form of art provides us the physical structure we lived. It is a

profound expression of human culture in a particular period, and it will endure and
outlive us in forms of monuments that future generations will study and strive to
understand.

d. Drawing- This form of art enhances the way we see the world around and conditions
us to capture its details in a two-dimensional medium. This has been a critical element
of art throughout history and in the contemporary art world.

e. Photography- This form of art is a process of creating portraits by recording

radiation on a radiation-sensitive medium, such as electronic image sensors or
photographic films.

2. Performing Arts- These arts are those forms in which the artists used his/her own
body, face, and presence as a medium. Examples of these arts are as follows:

a. Theatre (Drama) - This form of art uses performers to present the experience of a
real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place and time.

b. Music- This form of art helps to express our mood and feel the way through our
emotions and ideas. Based on a study, different types of music may be suitable to
different moods though classical music is still recommended as the most calming music
option.

c. Dance- This form of art is expressed through body movement which entails social
interaction, or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.
d. Film- This form of art allows us to explore the complexities of the human situation.
This is used to work out our emotions, to make history comes alive, science is
explained, and literary works are brought into life.

e. Installation Art- The fundamental nature of this form of art is the participation of the
spectators. In this work of art, viewers become active and navigate the work in an
environment that they can experience visually. It also has the capacity of passing on
particular information about any significant event around the world and interactively
represents documentary issues.

f. Opera- This form of art helps to tell stories through music. This is also performed with
a full orchestra composed of the various musical instrument sections. In this art form,
singers and musicians perform a dramatic work by combining text (called a libretto) and
musical score.

g. Stagecraft- This form of art is a technical aspect of theatrical production. This

includes constructing and arranging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, the
design of costumes, makeup, and procurement of props, stage management and
recording and mixing of sound.

3. Literary Arts- These arts centered on creative writing and other composition
processes which intended to read. These include prose and poetry (e.g., novels, short
stories, sonnet, ballad, epic, and essay).

The Value of Arts in the Educational System

Knowing and practicing the arts disciplines are fundamental to the development
of the minds and spirits of the students (National Art Education Association, 1994). Arts
are inseparable from education. When early humans drew images on the walls of the
caves, the artworks have been the means of recording human experiences and of
making sense of the world. It educates us on how early people lived and survived.
Thus, without the skills in the arts, no one can claim that he/she is professionally
trained.

There are several reasons for the arts to be included in an educational system.
It is evident that involvement in the arts has been shown to help students in their
academic, personal, and social development. Listed below are other details for this
assertion.
1. Arts are worth studying because it served to connect our imaginations with the
most profound questions of human existence.

2. Arts are always used because it helps to present issues and ideas to teach,
persuade, and entertain people.

3. Arts are integral to every person’s daily life because it helps shape our spiritual,
political, economic, cultural, and social environments.

4. Arts are refreshing because it offers unique sources of enjoyment and it

investigates relationships between thought and actions.

5. Arts develop students’ attitudes because it teaches self-discipline, reinforces self-

esteem, fosters the thinking skills and creativity and values the importance of teamwork
and cooperation.