Introducing the Humanities

HUMANITIES: What is it?

The term Humanities comes from the Latin word, humanitas
It generally refers to art, literature, music, architecture, dance and the theatrein which human subjectivity is emphasized and individual expressiveness is dramatized.

HOW IMPORTANT IS HUMANITIES?

The fields of knowledge and study falling under humanities are dedicated to the pursuit of discovering and understanding the nature of man. The humanities deal with man as a being of purpose, of values, loves, hates, ideas and sometimes as s seer, or prophet with divine inspiration. The humanities aim at educating.

THE ARTS: What is it?

The word art usually refers to the so-called fine arts (e.g. pictorial, plastic, and building) and to the so-called minor arts (everyday, useful, applied, and decorative arts) The word art is derived from arti, which denotes craftsmanship, skill, mastery of form, inventiveness. Art serves as a technical and creative record of human needs and achievements.

What are the Arts?

Those significant achievements of the human race which illuminate and illustrate the distinctive characteristics of man as a social, rational and spiritual being (De Leon, 2000).
Sporre (2000) pointed out that they are the processes, products, and experiences that communicate aspects of human living in a variety of ways

Some definitions of art according to philosophers:

Art is that which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the world. Plato
Art is the whole spirit of man.- Ruskin Art is the medium by which the artist communicates himself to his fellows. - Charleton Noyes Art is anything made or done by man that affects or moves us so that we see or feel beauty in it. -Collins and Riley

What is Aesthetics?
- The concept began with Greeks - Central Questions: How ought we to define Beauty? Can works of art impart knowledge?, and if so, what kind of knowledge? What are the functions of art (e.g., emotional, political, spiritual, ethical)? - Can ones tastes be disputed?

FUNCTIONS OF THE ARTS

Personal/Individual Function Social Function Economic Function Political Function Historical Function Cultural Function Religious Function Physical Function Aesthetic Function

Imagine life without ART

Art is the center of culture. The highest expression of who we are. Arts fill the gap of boredom in life. Art adds color to life. It uplifts the soul.
ART functions in many ways depending on how we perceive it and how we respond to it.

Ideas/Approaches to the study of the Arts...

-use a method of analysis that works for the particular work -look at component parts and how they work together -place work in social, political, cultural context -discover its purpose (intention) -uncover how it was received by contemporaries -learn iconography (subject matter of art object) -investigate biographical remarks, which may include psychological revelations

The Core Components of ART

Art is BOTH form and content. *Form means: The elements of art, the principles of design and the actual, physical materials that the artist has used.

Content is idea-based and it means:

-What the artist meant to portray,

-What the artist actually did portray

and -How we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.

Art = form + content

Artist : Edvard Munch (1893) Type: Oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard Location: National Gallery, Oslo,Norway

Lascaux (Lascaux Caves) is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.

The Parthenon

Greek Mythology

Artist Vincent van Gogh Year 1889 Type Oil on canvas Dimensions 73.7 cm 92.1 cm (29 in 36 in) Location Museum of Modern Art (F612, JH1731) [1], New York City

Neo-Sumerian Great Ziggurat of Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq

Artist Michelangelo Year 15011504 Type Carrara marble Location Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

Classifications of ART
Plato and Aristotle: art as a creative output can produce real things or manifest images Galen (2ND Century A.D. physician): it is vulgar or liberal Quintilian, a Roman rhetorician: art is any of the following> theoretical (e.g. astronomy), practical (e.g.dance), or productive (painting) Cicero: The highest form of art (major form) is Politics and Military arts.

Classification of ART as per the Cultural Center of the Phils. and the Natl. Comm. on Culture and the Arts 1. Architecture (Applied Arts) 2. Visual Arts 3. Music 4. Literature 5. Dance 6. Cinema / Film 7. Theatre / Drama

The Commonalities of the ART forms

Disciplinary own terms/concepts/principles Core components> FORM and CONTENT The Artist The Composition The Technique The Medium The Style and Conventions General Functions (Secular or Religious) Genres

Basic Art Concepts

Subject (Still life, Landscape, Nature, Portraiture and Abstract) Content (idea, theme, message) Medium (material art is made of) Techniques (the process or method) Style (the time, manner or convention)

Arts and Culture

The Humanistic Disciplines History Religion Philosophy (Aesthetics)

At present, what fields of study or disciplines are actively promoting or enriching ARTS and CULTURE?

ART HISTORY

...THE STRUGGLE TO BE SALIENT CONTINUES...