LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING ART

Humanities: Its Meaning, Importance, and Scope

 Latin “humus” means “ground/lupa”
 “Humanus” means “human, cultured, refined”
 “refined” means “to upgrade”
 What makes human complete (ex. Abilities, skills, etc)

ARTS
 Is lifeblood
 Latin word “ars” means “ability and skills”
 Italian word “artis” means “human skills through imagination”
 Importance: it is indeed important in our lives
 Art, like love, is not easy to define
 It is an activity that provides the beauty and pleasure. It is also made from one’s skill as well as one’s feelings and emotions.

5 Definitions of Arts
 Arts is what we see, do, hear
 Arts is everywhere
 Arts is all about ourselves
 Arts is subjective
 Arts can lift your spirit

PERIODS BASED ON HUMANITIES

Ancient Period
 Humanities is all about writings of moral teaching
Medieval Age
 Spiritual life (humanities)
Renaissance Period (Re-birth/Reborn)
 Human refined
Present Era
 Skills and values through arts

Science vs Humanities
 External and Internal
 Science is the external
 Humanities is internal because it is subjective

Arts and culture are tandem

Culture
 Human pattern
 Everything is man-made

Societal norms
 Mga itinuro mula noon
 Adaptation culture, we need it to survive

Assumption about Arts

 Arts is everywhere
 Arts is not nature, it is man-made
 Arts is imitating and creating

Beauty
 Though we have different, notions of beauty, still beauty is the common denominator when we are talking about appreciating
forms of art.
2 FORMS OF BEAUTY

1. Relative Beauty
 It is subjective and it depends on the person looking at the thing
 Its in the eye of the beholder

2. Absolute Beauty
 It is objective because of standards
 It considers the view that a thing is beautiful by virtue of itself.
 Beauty is objective and resides in the thing regardless of the people looking at it.

ARTS AS AN EXPRESSION OF FEELINGS

Happiness and Hope

 Powerful tool to communicate relay our confusion.
 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 a sense of joy and hope to its audience.

Examples:
 When paintings are placed in a daunting environment such as hospitals;
 The experience and process of creating art itself;
 Identifying oneself with the properties of an artwork: an homage to something; works addressing diaspora, displacement, and
other social issues.

Identifying and Understanding the self

 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. 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

 Throughout the years, artists have interpreted these shared human experiences in different ways, which also help us process
our grief. 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

 The monument of Rizal in Luneta Park is one example of a type of art that helps us remember. Without the tangible
characteristic of art, we will not be able to sustain our nationalistic values well enough.

Raising Awareness
 Express ourselves through arts
 In the Philippines, many socially-concerned artists have emerged in the age of modernism portraying politicians and the
governments system in their most hateful actions.

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.

Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, to inspire and to motivate.
LESSON 2: ELEMENTS OF ART

What are the Elements of Art?

 The elements of art are sort of like ATOMS in that they serve as "building blocks" for creating something.

7 ELEMENTS OF ARTS
1. Colors
 Give meaning and value to an object
 gives meaning, value, intensity and saturation to an object. It has series of wave lengths which strikes our retina.

Color Theory
 Colors are one of the first things we learn in school. Understanding the basic primary colors and how they blend is an activity
found in most elementary school classrooms, but that’s just one piece of a much larger field known as color theory.
 Used by painters, graphic designers, interior decorators, and anyone working in visual culture, color theory is an essential
part of any artist’s toolkit. By understanding the principles of color and the science behind how we perceive different hues,
artists can mix, match, and blend a wide range of colors to please the eye
 Initial explorations in color were from a scientific point of view. Isaac Newton, in his 1704 book Opticks made a breakthrough in
proving that light was made of different colors. Controversial at the time—as it was thought that pure light was colorless—his
experiments became important stepping-stones for color theory. He even organized an early color wheel based off of the color
combinations he saw when refracting light through a prism.

Properties of Color
Value
 lightness, brightness, darkness of color.

Saturation
 degree of quality, purity, and strength such as scarlet and indigo.
Classifications of Colors
2. Lines
 Dimensional
 one or two dimensional art that indicates direction, orientation, movement, and energy. It is considered as the oldest, simplest,
universal element.

Directions of Lines
Vertical Lines
 basic framework of all forms, power & delimitation, strength, stability, simplicity, and efficiency. Moreover, vertical lines often
communicate a sense of height because they are perpendicular to the earth, extending upwards toward the sky

Horizontal Lines
 creates an impression of serenity and perfect stability. Rest, calmness, peace, and reposed.

Diagonal Lines
 convey a feeling of movement. Objects in a diagonal position are unstable. Because they are neither vertical nor horizontal,
they are either about to fall or are already in motion.
Jog Lines
 it shows violence, zigzag, confusion, and conflict

Curve Lines
 it shows a gradual change of direction and fluidity. It signifies subtle form. Also, the curve of a line can convey energy. Soft,
shallow curves recall the curves of the human body and often have a pleasing, sensual quality and a softening effect on the
composition.

3. Medium
 Expression
 it denotes the means of artists to express his ideas, it pertains to materials used to express feelings through art.

4. Rhythm
 pattern, arrangement of lines, color, synchronization or connection of path that suggest gracefulness.
 Connection and agreement

5. Style
 the typical expressing and training of artist and outlook in life.

6. Structure
 surface and quality of object either real or made to be appeared real. It gives variety and beauty on art.
 Expression

7. Shape/ Structure
 the enclosed space defined by other elements of art. shapes may take on the appearance of 2D or 3D objects.
 Quality of an object or artwork

“Art speaks where words are unable to explain” - THREADLESS ARTIST MATHIOLE

LESSON 3: READING/ STYLES OF ART

 different styles from different periods.

Style
 mood or temper of the art
 Determined by history
 It is determined by history (time and place), by the personality of the artists as well as by the theory of art.

Styles of Classical Art

1. Classicism
 Perfect symbol of beauty is their body. Body is considered as our temple
 This is the style found in the ancient Greek and roman sculptures.
 It is an idealist imitation of the beauty and perfection of the human body.
 The sculptors were Praxiteles, Polycritus, and Myron.
 In architecture, classicism is found in the 3 Greek orders, and the additional 2 roman orders, indicated by the designs of
columns.
(DORIC, IONIC CORINTHIAN , TUSCAN, COMPOSITE)

2. Medieval Art
 Spiritual life, spiritual teaching
 This style has religious subjects, and applies flat projection. The church is the patron of art. The art forms are mosaic, stained
glass paintings, illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy.
 The noted paintings are the frescoes by Giotto di Bondone

Islam/ Muslim
 Dominant religion

Cemetery
 Dominant place

Icthus
 Parang fish style or yung ribbon ni leni na naka-pahiga
 Used as a symbol of christianity

3. Renaissance Art
 Rebirth, revival, resurrection
 Revival of ancient Greek and Roman Art Discovery and application of perspective Application of chiaroscuro and sfumato
Triangular Composition Religious and secular subjects Patrons of art: The church and wealthy families
 Early Renaissance: Boticelli Flemish School of Painting: Van Eyck High Renaissance: Florentine School of Painting: Donatello
(1483-1520), Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564), Raphael (1386-1466)

La Pieta
 Marble sculpture of jesus and mary
 Resurrection
 Means sorrow, pity, peace and hope

Mona Lisa
 Most realistic portrait of history

4. Mannerism
 Alternative style, elongated, adaptation
 Combination of classical art
 This is an alternative style to Renaissance Art. Representations are stylized with elongated figures and usually religious subjects
 Mannerist paintings are those by El Greco or Dominikos Theotokopolus.

5. Baroque
 Dramatic using gloomy colors
 Easily to understand
 Self-confidence
 Various subjects presented in highly realistic way. Applicationof deep chiaroscuro. Dominance of curve lines to suggest motion.
 Rembrant van Rijn, Giorgione Castelfranco, Peter Paul Reubens, Jan Vermeer

6. Neoclassicim
 Neo means new
 Aesthetic beauty
 Revival of classical values
 Talks about authority
 Revival of Renaissance & Classical Style
Styles of Modern Art

7. Impressionism
 Bare impression
 How they describe the way they live
 Beginning of Modern Art Subjects taken from everyday ordinary life Surface filled with bursting light of the sun.
 Pale colors and blur outlines indicate movement and passage of time

8. Expressionism
 Inner feeling or inner ideas
 Art is an expression of the artist’s emotion. Unnatural representation. Symbolic use of color. Dominance of curve lines for
emotional effect. Heavy impasto paints

9. Fauvism
 Individual expression, because of extravagant colors
 The name is from the French fauve that means “beast”. It uses unnatural colors for exciting visual effect. Subjects are taken
from unnatural, extra ordinary objects. Paintings by Henry Matisse

10. Pointilism (Divisionism)

 Daily experience
 Uses points or dots as the main visual element. Based on the principle of visual mixing. Subjects taken from the everyday,
ordinary experiences. Structurally formal and visually representational. The main proponent is George Seurat

11. Art Nouveou

 Ornamental style and energetic style
 Poster-like paintings for advertisement. Subjects are women in sensual postures. Linear composition and flat projection.
Paintings by Alphonse Ma. Mucha

Ornamental style
 Decorations

12. Surrealism
 Fantasy and dreams through imaginations
 Art is a revelation of the artist’s subconscious mind (Psychoanalysis). Reaction to rationalism & romanticism. Emphasizes
passion and imagination, weird, fantastic and dream-like presented in highly realistic way