I. Introduction To Art

I.
Introduction To Art
ART
Art is a form of self- expression. Good art does not go out of style. It reflects the society. It is
a unique medium to express the creator. Art gives insight into human condition. It expresses
the feel of the artist. Many do art for pure joy, as it makes one more moral and uplifts
spiritually. Art serves as a tool of education or enculturation. It is a type of therapy or
meditation, as well makes human more moral. Art has the value of allowing catharsis; it gives
an insight into human condition.
According to Tolstoy: art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man
consciously, by means of certain external signs on to others feelings he has lived through, and
that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them (or) Indirect means
to communicate from one person to another. Art stimulates individuals’ thoughts, emotions,
beliefs, or ideas through the senses.
According to Albert Einstein, the most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. i.e. Art provides a way to experience one’s
self in relation to others. Art express the imagination in harmony, balance and rhythm.
According to Plato, Art is imitation, representing the persons, things and scenes of the world.
Fine Art: a visual art considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic and intellectual
purposes and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness. Five main fine arts are painting,
sculpture, music, poetry, theatre.
Applied Art: it incorporates design and creative ideals to objects of function and everyday use
/ utility. Eg. Cup etc. Art reflects not only the external world but also inner state of the artist.
THE SOCIOLOGY OF ART:

1. Art as a model of man’s activity and a reflection of the world
2. Art as the condensed expression of social practice, the crystallized experience of
communication.
3. Art as a form of social consciousness.
FUNCTIONS OF ART: -
Art as expression:
Art reflects not only the external world but also the inner state of the artist. It is the
expression of man’s inner life. Expression brings about a new combination of element in the
medium. In the creative process the artist brings about a new dimension through the
expressive process. The creation of art involves self-expression. It is not necessarily of one’s
own feeling but something more, such as the feeling but something more, such as the feeling
of one’s race of one’s nation or of all men.
Art and pleasure (Enjoyment):

A work of art should be means towards pleasure. Great art may please; it may also move,
shock; challenge the lives of those who experience it deeply. Pleasure is only one of many
kinds of effect it produces.
Art as a means of truth and knowledge:

The purpose of art is its cognitive function. Art is a means to acquire truth. It is a path leading
to the highest knowledge which cannot be attained by other means.
Art as a means of moral improvement:

Art functions as a handmaiden to morality. Art that does not promote moral influence of the
desired kind is viewed by the moralist with suspicion. It is because sometimes art may
undermine belief and attitudes on which the welfare of the society rests. When art does not
affect people morally it is considered a harmless pleasure. But if it promotes questioning and
defers established attitudes it is labelled as insidious and subversive.
Art and Culture:

Art is the creation of fundamental values of any culture which cease to be a creation as soon
as the culture deviates from its basic values. The ideological concepts, the education or the
culture of a particular period has great bearing upon its art and the various theories of beauty
flourished in the art there upon.
Some of the other functions are as follows:
1. The social and transforming function (as activity).

2. Art as cognition & enlightment
3. Art as research into the condition of the world.
4. Art as prediction.
5. Art as information & communication.
6. Educational function of art (cathartic) – shaping a harmonious personality.
7. Art’s impact on the subconscious mind.
8. Shaping creative personality.
9. Art as enjoyment.
10. The unity of the object & the goal of art – humanism, the happiness & the
meaningful existence of the individual. And to enhance the individual’s social
awareness & assert his absolute value.
ARTIST
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to
creating art, practicing the arts, demonstrating an art.
• A person who creates art

• A person skilled at some activity
Artist is a person who expresses him or herself through a medium.
Functions of the artist:

1. Artist controls his art through the ideology of his own perspectives.
2. He enjoys & suffers with the common people of his own period.
3. He exposes the subtle beauty through his art, not yet enjoyed by people.
4. He creates consciousness or awareness in the people towards spiritual
enlightenment.
5. In his art people find their respective solace.
6. Like a yogi artist attains the light through his art.
7. Artists do not accept the partial outlook but take life as a whole. For them religion,
philosophy, politics & literature are not separate.
General principles of art

1. Organic unity:- A work of art must have what Aristotle
called a beginning, middle and an end. It must be unified. It
must hang together as one entity. The interdependency of
parts often achieves a state of such perfection.
2. Theme and thematic variation: The unity and variety are
held together by a central theme. In a work of art there
must be a dominant theme or motif.
3. Development and evolution: In works of temporal art
each part develops or evolves into the next. Each part is
necessary to the succeeding part of the development.
4. Balance: the arrangement of various parts should be
balanced. In painting the right and the left halves of it. For
every item on the left there should be an item or the right

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I.

THE SOCIOLOGY OF ART:

Art and pleasure (Enjoyment):

Art as a means of truth and knowledge:

Art as a means of moral improvement:

Art and Culture:

1. The social and transforming function (as activity).

• A person who creates art

Artist is a person who expresses him or herself through a medium.

Functions of the artist:

General principles of art

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