Art Appreciation
*HUMANITIES
• refers to the arts – the visual arts such
as architecture, painting and sculpture;
the performing arts such as music
dance theatre or drama, and literature.
• branches of learning concerned with
human thought, feelings, and relations.
• “humanus” meaning humane, cultured
and refined. To be human is to possess
the qualities and attributes of man and
have the feelings and dispositions
proper to man.
• a study of the different cultural aspects
analyzes man’s frailties in life and how
this can be improved.
• FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS
1. Art is a product of man’s need
to express himself. – F. Zulueta
2. Art is concerned with the
communication of certain ideas
and feelings by means of
sensuous medium,
color, sound, bronze, marble,
words, and film. – C. Sanchez
3. Art is that which brings life in
harmony with the beauty of the
world. – Plato
4. Art is an attitude of spirit, a
state of mind – one which
demands for its own
satisfaction and
fulfilling, a shaping of
matter to new and more
significant form. – John Dewey
5. Art is the skillful arrangement
or composition of some
common but significant
qualities of nature such as
colors, sounds, lines,
movements, words, stones,
in a perfect meaningful and enjoyable way. –
Panizo and Rustia
*ARTS (DEFINITION)
• ETYMOLOGICALLY
-Italian word “artis”, which means
“craftsmanship, skill, master of form,
inventiveness, and the association that exist
between form and ideas and between materials
and techniques; “
-Aryan root “ar” which means “to join” or “put
together”
-Greek words “artizein,” which means to
“prepare”, and “arkiskein” meaning to “put
together.”
-Latin word “ars” meaning “ability or skill.”
woods, etc., to express human
feelings, emotions, or thoughts
COMMON AND ESSENTIAL DEFINITION
1) art must be man-made;
(2) art must be creative;
(3) art must benefit and satisfy man and man
must make use of art in practical terms; and
(4) art is expressed through a certain medium
or material by which the artist communicates
himself to his fellows.
*Origin of art
Art dates back to the time when superstitions
and beliefs in the spirits are still very common
in every culture.
-Indigenous art came rituals & ceremonies
-Worship of gods & goddesses
-Life & work of their ancestors
-Tribalist cultures  body paintings
- Ancient religious beliefs  cave
paintings/drawings
Art appreciation is the ability to interpret or
understand man-made arts and enjoy them
either through actual and work experience with
art tools and materials or possession of these
works of art for one’s admiration and
satisfaction.
*FUNCTIONS OF ART
1. Aesthetic function – through art, man
becomes conscious of the beauty of
nature.
2. Utilitarian function – with the creation
of the various forms of art, man now
lives in comfort and happiness.
3. Cultural function – through the printed
matter, art transmits and preserves
skills and knowledge from one
generation to another.
4. Social function – through civic and
graphic arts, man learns to love and
help each other.
*SCOPE OF ART
• Arts that are classified according to media
• Two dimensions of arts, namely (1) fine
arts or independent arts and (2)
practical arts or useful or utilitarian arts.
(1)Fine arts - made primarily for aesthetic
enjoyment through the senses, especially
visual and auditory.
a. Fine arts or aesthetic arts are music,
painting, sculpture, architecture, literature,
dance and drama.
2)Practical arts - intended for practical use.
It is the development of raw materials for
utilitarian purposes.
a. Practical arts are or useful arts are
industrial art, applied or household art, civic
art, commercial art, agricultural art,
business art, distributive art, and fishery art.
• Major divisions (1) according to purpose
and (2) according to media and forms:
Arts that are classified according to
purpose fall into 5 categories;
1. Practical or useful arts- directed to
produce artifacts and utensils for
the satisfaction of human needs.
2. Liberal arts- directed toward
intellectual growth, such as in the
study of philosophy, psychology,
literature, mathematics, and
sciences.
3. Fine arts - focused towards creative
activity for the contemplation of
the mind and the upliftment of the
spirit.
4. Major arts - characterized by actual
and potential expressiveness such
as music, poetry, and sculpture.
5. Minor arts - concerned with
practical uses and purposes, such as
interior decoration and porcelain
art.
and forms are divided into five types:
1. Plastic arts - works which exist in a
physical space and perspective by
the sense of sight.
2. Kinetic arts - involves the element
of rhythm.
3. Phonetic arts - utilizes sounds and
words as medium of expression.
4. Pure arts - takes only one medium
of expression like sound in music
and color in painting.
5. Mixed arts - takes more than one
medium such as the opera which
combines music, poetry, and
drama.
 The Artist's Medium
Medium and Technique
• from the Latin word medium, denotes
the means by which an artist
communicates his idea.
• On the basis of medium, the arts are
primarily classified as visual and
auditory.
a. Visual arts are those whose mediums can
be seen and occupy space. These are
classified into two classes:
1. dimensional or two-dimensional-
painting, drawing, printmaking, and
photography
2. three-dimensional arts- sculpture,
architecture, landscape, community
planning, industrial designs, and craft like
ceramics and furniture.
b. Auditory arts are those whose mediums can
be heard and which are expressed in time.
These are music and literature.
 The combined arts, also known as
performing arts, are those whose
mediums can be both seen and heard
and which exist in both space and time.
These include dance, opera, drama, and
film.
Technique is the manner in which the artist
controls his medium to achieve the desired
effect.
*Mediums of the Visual Arts
1. Painting-the art of creating meaningful
effects on a flat surface by the use of pigments.
a. Watercolor - Simple and clear spontaneity is
its principal essence. While change may be
made once the paint has been applied, such
changes normally tend to make the color
luminous.
b. Fresco - is a painting method done on a moist
plaster surface with colors ground in water or
limewater mixture.
c. Tempera-mineral pigments mixed with egg
yolk or egg white and ore.
d. Encaustic-used by Egyptians for painting
portraits on mummy cases.
2. Mosaic- the art of putting together small
pieces of colored stones or glass called
‘'tesserae" to create an image.
3. Stained Glass- made by combining small
pieces of colored glass, held together by bands
of lead.
4. Tapestry - fabric produced by hand-weaving
colored threads upon a warp.
5. Drawing - Can be done through pencil, pen
and ink, or charcoal.
6. Bistre - A brown pigment extracted from the
soot of wood, and often used in pen and wash
drawings.
 The Elements of Visual Arts and Performing Arts
*The Elements of Visual Arts
1. Lines
a. Horizontal lines- lines of repose and serenity.
b. Vertical lines - denotes action. They suggest
poise, balance, force, aspiration, exaltation, and
dynamism.
c. Diagonal lines - suggest action, life, and
movement.
d. Curved lines- suggest subtleness, direction,
instability, movement, flexibility, joyousness,
and grace.
e. Crooked or jagged lines - express energy,
violence, conflict, and struggle.
2. Color
a. Hue - the dimension of color that gives color
its name.
 Primary colors- red, yellow, and blue.
 Secondary colors- green, orange and
violet
 Tertiary colors- six in total, these hues
are achieved when primary and
secondary colors are mixed
b. Value - sometimes called chiaroscuro, refers
to lightness or darkness of a color.
-used by artists to create the illusion of depth
and solidarity, a particular mood, communicate
a feeling or establishing a scene.
 Light colors- source of light in the
composition
 Dark colors- the lack or absence of light
b.a. Tints – lighter color than the normal value
b.b Shade- darker color than the normal value
c. Intensity - another dimension of color, refers
to its brightness or darkness. Identified as the
strength of color, whether it is vivid or muted.
 Bright or warm colors- positive energy
 Dull or cool colors- sedate/soothing,
seriousness or calm
Color Harmonies:
1. Related color harmonies - may either be
monochromatic or adjacent.
2. Contrasted color harmonies- colors which lie
directly opposite each other in the color circle
are called complementary colors (red and
green, orange and blue, violet and yellow)
 Red is for ‘I love you’; pink conveys a
‘Thank you’, white says ‘you are
heavenly’.
 White roses denote secrecy and several
other meanings such as innocence,
purity, reverence and humility.
 Deep pink roses convey gratitude and
appreciation
 The lighter pink expresses sympathy,
grace and gentility.
 Red roses also mean courage and
fortitude.
 Yellow roses represent joy and freedom
Psychological Effects of Color Values
 The effects of color values are similar to
those in dark-and-light.Light values or
tints make the size of objects appear
larger because these values reflect
light...
  Dark hues or values seem to decrease
the size of objects because these values
absorb light.
3. Texture -an element that deals more directly
with the sense of touch.
4. Perspective- deals with the effect of distance
upon the appearance of objects, by means of
which the eye judges spatial relationship.
a. Linear perspective - the representation of
the appearance of distance by means of
converging lines.
b. Aerial perspective - the representation of
relative distances of objects by gradation of
tone and color.
5. Space
6. Form- applies to the overall design of a work
of art. It describes the structure or shape of an
object. Form directs the movements of the
eyes. Since form consists of size and volume, it
signifies visual weight.
a. Regular forms - those whose parts are
related to one another in a consistent, orderly
manner.
b. Irregular forms - those whose parts are
dissimilar and unrelated to one another.
c. Volume- refers to the amount of space.
*The Elements of Performing Arts
 Music
1. Rhythm - the basic element of music, the
beginning of music.
2. Melody - associated with mental emotion.
3. Pitch - indicates the highness or lowness of
the sound.
4. Harmony - refers to the manner of sound
combination in which we add subordinate
sounds to enhance the quality of the main
sounds.
5. Tempo - refers to the speed of a certain
musical piece.
terms commonly used to indicate tempo:
 largo- very slow
 adagio- slow and stately
 andante- at a walking pace
 andantino- alternatively faster or
slower than andante
 allegreto- moderately fast
 allegro-Fast presto- very fast
 accelerando- gradually becoming faster
 ritardando- gradually becoming slower
6. Dynamics - refers to the amount, strength, or
volume of the sound.
7. Timbre - refers to tone quality.
 Dance- an art and a recreation. As an
art, it tells a story, a set of moods, or
expresses an emotion. Some forms of
dances are religious dance, magical
dance, commemorative dance,
ceremonial dance, recreative dance,
and testimonial dance.
 Folk Dances/ Ethnic Dances- are social
dances that portray the beliefs,
interests, habits, customs, and practices
of the native.
 Ballroom dances - dances of public
entertainment, usually performed in
pairs in ballrooms, nightclubs,
auditoriums, or public places.
 Theatrical dances- performed for the
entertainment of the audience in a
theater.
*The Elements of Dance
1. Theme - the most basic element of the
dance. It conveys the message of the
dance. Thus, a dance that does not
convey a message, even if there is
movement, is not a dance.
2. Design - the pattern of movement in
time and space. Pattern in time refers
to the unaccented beats of movements
into measures. Pattern in pace refers to
the path traced by the dancer's feet on
the floor and the levels on which they
move.
3. Movement refers to the bodily actions
of the dancer that include his steps,
gestures of the arms, hands and body,
and facial expression.
4. Technique is the skill or movement
executed by the dancer.
5. Music is the auditory background to
which a dancer moves.
6. Costume and body paraphernalia are
properties worn by the dancer that help
reflect the message, customs, beliefs,
and setting of the dance.
7. Choreography refers to the figures and
steps in dancing that enable the
dancers to perform in an organized
manner.
8. Scenery refers to the background or
setting where the dance is performed
to make it more realistic and enriching.
*Literature is one of the arts that express
human feelings.
Classification of Literature
1. Interpretative literature - pleasure plus
understanding.
2. Escape literature - pleasure.
Uses of Literature
 As propaganda
 To provide therapeutic help
 To impart moral values
General Elements of Literature
1. Emotional appeal is attained when the
reader is emotionally moved or
touched.
2. Intellectual appeal is about exposing
the ills of the society of its period,
reminding the reader of what he can do
to better his condition.
3. Humanistic value can be realized when
the literary work affirms the dignity and
worth of all people.
Elements of the Short Story
1. Plot- the skeleton or the blueprint of
the story
2. Characters- the people or animals that
take parts in the events in the story
3. Point of view- the manner in which the
story is told
4. Setting- a locale or place where the
event or action took place
5. Theme- the message communicated by
the story
6. Irony- a contrast among what seems
and what is and could be
 7. Symbolism- something that is more b. Meter -the arrangement of accents so that
than what it is in reality they occur at approximately equal intervals of
time
8. Style- control of material through
precise use of literary and figurative 6. Thought or meaning
languages
 the experience the poem expresses
Elements of Poetry  total meaning the idea in a poem
 prose meaning - the value and worth of
1. Language
the poem
 denotative
METHODS OF REPRESENTING ARTS SUBJECTS
 connotative
 poetic Realism- to portray the object as it is.
 Figurative 1. Abstraction- to remove away or to
separate.
2. Tone 2. Symbolism- visible sign of something
3. Fauvism- didn’t attempt to express
 atmosphere
ethics
 feeling
4. Dadaism- playful and highly
 attitude
experimental
 stance or the way poet at his subject or
5. Futurism- captures speed and force
the world
6. Surrealism- violent and cruel themes
3. Imagery 7. Expressionism- belief in the necessity of
spiritual rebirth
 representation of sense experience
 mental duplication of a sense of
impression
 visual
 auditory
 tactile
 gustatory
 Bodily

4. Sounds

 pleasant
 unpleasant

5.a. Rhythm-regular and irregular patterns of

stressed and unstressed syllables, metrical, or
rhetorical stress