7820240415095240-Arts App Module 4
7820240415095240-Arts App Module 4
7820240415095240-Arts App Module 4
APPRECIATION
MODULE 4
Part I
The Western Art History
“Art history looks at art works and the people
who have created them”.
Susan Vreeland
As a preliminary activity for the topic, the teacher will ask the students about
their perception on the picture below.
H
istorically speaking, the human instinct to create art is universal. Art is an
approach of a human being to communicate his/her beliefs and express
ideas about his/her experiences. It also provides valuable insights into the
past and existing cultures. It helps us to understand how others have lived
and what they valued (Annenberg Foundation, 2017).
The history of art reflects the remnant of civilization, the study of artworks, and
the lives of artists illuminate much about our shared past. It helps us to discover,
authenticate who made a particular art object (Meyer, 2009). It also helped us to
appreciate the stylistic and recognized development of artistic practices on a large
scale and within a broad historical viewpoint.
The history of art also covers the entire history of humankind since prehistoric
times. Art is a product of man’s emotional and intellectual connection with the world.
It also aimed to produce a message which will either provoke an unexplainable
consciousness within the hearts of its viewers or incite wisdom among inquisitive
minds. Leroi-Gourhan (1967) lists three primary domains of the expression of feeling
associated to the first periods of humanity that may add to our understanding of the
beginnings of art such as Psycho-physiological impressions; Magic-religious; and
techno-economic.
The term “prehistoric” relates to the time before written history. Specifically, the
writing developed in ancient Mesopotamia before 3000 B.C.E., so this period includes
visual culture (paintings, sculpture, and architecture) made before that date (Zucker,
2015). The oldest recognized decorative art forms come from Africa date back to
100,000 BC.E.
Prehistoric art has four main periods: Stone Age, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron
Age. The remaining artifacts of this period are small sculptures and cave paintings.
During these early times, different forms of art were created and performed as a sign
of communication or adoration to the deity. This practice shows how cultural and
religious factors played little to the development of the art forms that made the ancient
society so famous until now.
Ancient people often represented their worldviews and beliefs through visual
images. Art emerged with the appearance and the dispersal of entirely modern people
through Africa, Asia, Australia, America and Europe. Paintings, sculptures,
engravings, and potteries are expressions for beauty and complex social and spiritual
systems. Prehistoric art like animals are the favorite subjects of hunters, herdsmen,
and breeders.
Prehistoric art is a symbolic system that is an integral part of the culture that
creates it (Honour et al., 2005). Many archaeologists have identified Stone Age art,
namely: petroglyphs (rock carvings and engravings); pictographs (graphic imagery,
symbols); ancient sculpture (totemic statues, ivory carvings); and megalithic arts
(performs or any other works associated with the formation of stones).
The tools made of tone were the instruments by which early man developed and
progressed. All human culture founded on the ingenuity and brainpower of our early
ancestors in creating sophisticated tools that enable them to survive. The first stone
tools (eoliths- which are now believed to be naturally produced by geological
processes such as glaciation) and other types of organic materials (wood, bone, ivory,
and antler) were about two million years ago. The oldest human tools were a simple
stone chopper, such as those unearth at Olduvai George in Tanzania. Many
Paleoanthropologists (people who study the origins and predecessors of the present
human species) confirmed that the Palaeolithic Man produced four types of tools in
creating an art namely: pebble tools (with a single sharpened edge for cutting or
chopping): Bifacial tools (hand axes); Flake tools; and Blade tools.
Pebble Tools (Pebble chopper). It is a first cutting device and considered as the
oldest type of tool made by humans. The tool contains a rounded stone struck some
blows with a similar stone used as a pounder, which created a serrated crest that
served as a chopping blade.
Bifacial tools. It is a hand ax prehistoric stone tool flake with two faces or sides.
These tools may be oval, triangular, or almond-shaped in form and characterized by
axial symmetry. The cutting edge could be straight or jagged and is used as a knife,
pick, scraper, or weapon. The technique was distinctive of the hand-ax tradition of the
lower Palaeolithic period and the Acheulian culture.
Flake tools. These are hand tools used during Stone Age. They are usually
formed by crushing off a small or large fragment then used as the tool. Both cores and
flakes could be as stone tools. New flakes were very sharp, but quickly became blunt
during use and had to be sharpened again by further flaking, a process called
“retouch.”
Blade tools. These are a Stone tool created by striking a long narrow flake from
a stone core. This procedure of cutting the stone and creating the blades is called lithic
reduction. After chipping the blades, they integrated into larger tools, such as spears.
The primitive art of the Western world covers an extensive range of time and
place over 1000 years. Specifically, Medieval art in Europe grew out of the artistic
culture of the Roman Empire and the iconographic practices in the church of the early
Christian (Oliquiano, 2012). These sources were mixed with the influential
"barbarian" artistic culture of Northern Europe to make an extraordinary creative
legacy. Medieval art portrayed in Pietistic painting (religious art) displayed in a
Ceramics, fresco and mosaic paintings, Goldsmith and Silversmith, Stained Glass,
illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, Tapestry, and Heraldry in churches.
The great artists introduced the advancement of arts during the middle periods.
During this era, artists split away from the influences of the Byzantium art style and
developed into the Gothic visual art. The Medieval painters and sculptors were
founders of the movement towards greater realism which culminated in the
Renaissance art style. Most famous artists during medieval period were Donatello,
Giotto, Leon Battista Alberti, Cimabue, Filippo Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico and
Lorenzo Ghiberti.
During the classical era, most paintings were discovered in panels, tomb, and
vases. It portrays natural symbols with dynamic masterpieces about battle scenes,
mythological figures, and everyday scenes. It also discloses a grasp of linear
perspective and naturalist illustration (Rayos, 2018). Familiar paintings in classical
Greek are as follows:
Kerch Vase is red-figured pottery named after the place where it discovered.
Most common motifs were scenes from the life of women, mythological beings or
mythical story or event. This type of painting used a technique known as polychromy
which combined different colors especially the brilliant one in an artistic manner. The
shapes commonly found are:
b. Panel Painting
Panel Painting was especially famous for making beautiful altarpieces. This type
of paintings executed on flat panels of wood or metals which can be either a small,
single piece or several boards that are together. The earliest known old panel painting
is the Pitsa Panel (dated between 540 and 530 B.C.E.).
c. Tomb/Wall Painting
Popular Tomb or wall painting during classical period uses either tempera (water-
based) or encaustic (wax) as a method of fresco. Colors in this type are made with
grind powder stains in pure water, dry and set with plaster to become a lasting part of
the wall.
Part II
The Filipino Art and Crafts
“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is
still the secret of great creative people”
– Leo Burnett
Springboard
As a preliminary activity for the topic, the teacher will facilitate any of the
activities below:
1. Divide the class into five groups. Let each group compose a four-verse poem
or song honoring the great Philippine contemporary artists that have discussed
in this lesson. They may write it in whatever language or dialect they prefer
and let them share their composition in class.
3. Let the students name at least three festivals celebrated in their region/
municipality/City. Let them enumerate the different activities that showcase
in these festivals. Let them share this in class.
Input
L
ike in any other country, art influenced the life of the Filipinos and the
things that surround them. The Philippine arts reflect a Filipino society
with diverse cultural influences and traditions of the Malayan peoples such
as the Chinese and Indians. Islamic traditions were introduced to the
Philippine Islands in the 14th century.
Likewise, Europe and the United States intensely influenced Filipino artists.
However, while drawing on Western forms, the works of Filipino musicians, painters,
and writers are imbued with distinctly Philippine themes. By expressing the richness
of the culture of the archipelago in all its diversity, Filipino artists have helped in
shaping a sense of national identity. Many Malay cultural traditions have continued
until this time despite foreign rule. Muslims and tribal groups maintained distinct
traditions in dance, music, and sculpture.
Indigenous arts in the Philippines are labors of love and patience. The intricate
carvings on wood, metal, stone or glass are products of skillful hands and imaginative
minds of the different tribes of the archipelago. Indigenous musical instruments like
the flute, drums, rainsticks, native guitars, and bells made of bamboo, animal skin,
seeds, and seashells. The careful manipulation of these materials produces sounds and
unique instruments used mostly in tribal dances and rituals (Ramirez, 1999).
The arts in the Philippine archipelago had its past and continued to develop by
numerous modern artists. With their different context regarding history, style, cultural
symbols, and meanings, these artworks are portrayed (Estrella, 2017).The following
are some known artforms in the Philippines:
Kadal Iwas. It is a dance performed by the T-boli and Tausug tribes respectively
which mimic a mealtime of monkeys in removing nits and lice from each other. A
variation of this dance is to mimics a monkey who sits on an anthill by mistake and is
attacked by angry ants all over his body.
Mamakar. It is a Bontoc War Dance performed during the planting season and a
bountiful harvest.
Mumbaki. It is a local term which refers to the “sayer of prayers” among the
Ifugaos in Northern Luzon. These prayers are performed during funerals, wedding,
Thanksgiving, and other celebrations. This is offered to the supreme deity,
Maknongan.
Ngilin. It is a cultural dance performed among the Kalinga tribe during Marriage
rituals and other celebrations like the budong (peace pact). This type of dance is
played to simulate the romantic or peaceful interactions of a rooster and a hen.
Pagdiwata. It refers to a ritual performed among the ethnic group in the north
and central Palawan. The ceremony is held on various occasions including bountiful
harvests and weddings.
Sampak. It is a war dance performed by the Mandaya tribe. This type of dance
requires excellent skill in the handling of a shield, spear, and a sword.
Aerophones. It refers to any musical instrument which produces sound without the
use of strings or membranes. Examples of these are as follows:
Every Filipino family owns handicraft products like baskets, brooms, feather
dusters, and other furniture. Likewise, accessories like earrings, bracelets, necklaces,
and other clothing apparel made from native products such as beads, shells, and seeds.
These are clear indications that our handicraft industry is enjoying the patronage of
Filipinos.
Filipino handicraft makers fashion them into accessories, bags, bamboo sofa sets,
baskets, cabinets, clothes, lamp shades, wall décor, and others. The following are the
typical materials needed in the making of Filipino handicrafts:
The following are some handicrafts in the different regions of the Philippines: