CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY NAIC

(Formerly Cavite College of Fisheries)

Bucana Malaki, Naic, Cavite

PROF. ZARITA A. MANALO

 INTRODUCTION TO ART MODULE1

MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO ART

OVERVIEW

Art is something that is everywhere. Some people may deny having to do with the arts
but it is irrefutable that life presents us with many forms of and opportunities of experiencing
arts. This lesson is about appreciating the beauty around us and the various conceptions and
some preliminary clarifications on assumptions that people normally hold about art. This
module also discusses the different functions of art and philosophical perspectives on art.

LESSONS

1. Introduction to Humanities

2. What is Art?

3. Functions and Philosophy of Art

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After the completion of the module you will be able to:

1. understand the role of humanities and arts in man’s attempt at fully realizing his end;
2. identify the scope of humanities;
3. give the importance of studying humanities;
4. characterize artistic expression based on personal experiences with art;
5. define and clarify misconceptions about art;
6. articulate personal experiences or engagements with different samples of art;
7. examine various examples and forms of art;
8. explain and discuss some of the key philosophical perspectives on art;
9. identify the functions of some forms of art in daily life; and
10. apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetics in concrete and real-life
scenarios.

LET’S GET STARTED

What comes to your mind when you come across the term “art”? Write your answers
inside the box.

ART

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LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES

When one hears the word humanities, one would generally think of the arts i.e.
painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, dance and theater. These areas in which
human subjectivity is emphasized and individual expressiveness is celebrated. Art, however,
is just one part of the world of the humanities.

Humanities
 came from the Latin word “humanus” which means, human, cultured and refined. To
be human is to show characteristics of rationality, benevolence and care; to be cultured
and refined is to show good tastes and manners indicative of good, proper education.
These are all the thoughts and actions that center on human interests and ideals,
values and sentiments.
 contains the records of man’s quest for answers to the fundamental questions he often
asks about himself and about himself and about the world he lives in.
 composed of academic disciplines that make it distinctive in both content and method
from the physical and biological sciences and from the social sciences.
 constitute one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by
man (Dudley et.al. 1960).
 studies how people process and document the human experience using philosophy,
literature, religion, art, and history as their way of understanding and recording their
world.

Humanities

Arts and Religious

Literature History Philosophy
Music Studies

Why Study Humanities

1. The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and cultures.
2. They foster social justice and equality.
3. And they reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of
the world.
4. The humanities teach empathy.
5. They teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect
information.
6. And they teach us to weigh evidence skeptically and consider more than one side of every
question.
7. Humanities students build skills in writing and critical reading.
8. The humanities encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about human
and to ask questions about our world.
9. The humanities develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy
could not flourish.

Nine (9) reasons why humanities matter mentioned. What’s your number 10?
Source: https://curt-rice.com/2014/02/25/here-are-9-reasons-why-humanities-matter-whats-your-number-10/

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LESSON 2: WHAT IS ART?

A. NATURE AND ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

Humanities through the arts deals with man’s internal world including his personality
and experiences. We can say that art is subjective because it employs the use of perception,
insights, feelings and intuition. A person can also express himself as an individual and how he
views his existence. Moreover, it is the heightened expression of human dignity and
weaknesses felt and shared so powerfully in a world increasingly aware of its successes and
failures.

Art
 Comes from the ancient Latin, ars which means a “craft or specialized form of skill, like
carpentry or smithying or surgery” (Collingwood, 1938). Art then suggested the
capacity to produce an intended result from carefully planned steps or method.
 Comes from the Aryan root ar, which means ‘to join’, or ‘put together’. Latin term sars,
artis, mean everything that is artificially made or composed by man.
 Provides enjoyment and stimulation, particularly when people try to understand them.
 Provides people with an image of themselves to enable them to further understand
their nature and provide them with a way to showcase their passions and desires, their
potentials and their relationship with other people.

Assumptions of Art

1. Art is universal – Art has always been timeless and universal, spanning generations and
continents through and through. Art is present in every part of the globe and in every period.
2. Art is not nature – Art is man’s expression of his reception of nature. Art is man’s way of
interpreting nature. Art is made by man, whereas nature is a given round us.
3. Art involves experience – Without experience there is no art. The artist has to be foremost,
a perceiver who is directly in touch with art.

B. ART APPRECIATION: CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION, AND EXPRESSION

Art is a product of man’s creativity, imagination and expression. No matter how colorful
and beautiful the sunset is and no matter how extraordinarily the mountains are formed, the
nature is still not considered art simply because it is not made by man. An artwork may be
inspired by nature or other works of art, but an artist create his masterpiece based on what he
perceives beautiful. He invents his own forms and patterns. Perhaps not everyone can be
considered an artist, but all are spectators of art.

Art Appreciation as a Way of Life

Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous French philosopher of the twentieth century, described the
role of art as a creative work that depicts the world in a completely different light and
perspective, and the source is due to human freedom (Greene, 1995). Each artwork beholds
beauty of its own kind, the kind that the artist sees and wants the viewers to perceive.

The Role of Creativity in Art Making

Creativity requires thinking outside the box. Through creativity one can often solve
problems, bring together function and style, and make life a more unique and enjoyable
experience.

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In art, we say something is done creatively if it is not done out of the ordinary. A creative
artist does not simply imitate another artist’s work of art. He has originality and put his own
style into his work, and calls his work his own creative piece.

Art as a Product of Imagination, Imagination as a Product of Art

Where do famous writers, painters, and musicians get their ideas?
Where do ideas on making creative solutions begin?
It all starts in the human mind and begins with imagination. Knowledge is actually
derived from imagination.

“Imagination is more important than

knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now
know and understand, while imagination embraces
the entire world, and all there ever will be to know
and understand.” – Albert Einstein).

Artists use their imagination through creation to give birth to reality. Imagination
produces art and in the same way art also inspires imagination.

Art as Expression

Have you ever experienced something is going on with you but you don’t know how to
explain it? Sometimes we could not understand how we feel and we could hardly express our
emotions. Through expression a person can explore his emotions and create something
beautiful out of them.
An artist has the freedom to express himself the way he wants to and use his own
technique in expression. We can say that an art is a reflection of inner self.

C. POPULAR ART EXPRESSIONS

1. Visual Arts – appeal to the sense of sight and are mainly visual in nature. This form
of art uses any medium to represent the artist’s idea, emotion and imagination. Some
mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings, letterings, printing, sculptures,
digital imaging and more.
2. Film – refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create
an illusion of movement. Filmmaking is considered as both an art and industry. It
focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value. Metro Manila Film Festival and
Oscars recognize excellence in the art of filmmaking.
3. Performance Art – is a live art and much appreciated and enjoyed by people. The
artist’s medium is mainly the human body which he or she uses to perform, but also
employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound. It usually consists of four
elements: time, where performance took place, the performer’s body, and a
relationship between the audience and the performer(s).
4. Poetry Performance – Poetry is an art form where the artist expresses his emotions
through words. These words are carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to
stimulate strong emotions, narrate, emphasize, argue or convince. These words are
combined with movements, tone, volume and intensity of the delivery. Examples:
Balagtasan and Spoken Poetry.
5. Architecture – It is the making of beautiful buildings. An architectural design should
embody functionality and be aesthetically pleasing. Three important elements of
buildings are: plan, construction, and design. Example: Grand Theatre de Bordeaux.
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6. Music –This is the art of sound expressed through a song, through the use of
instruments or a combination of both. Music is powerful. It can lift our spirits,
emotionally move us and change our mood. Examples are rock music, blues, classical,
country music, jazz, rap, gospel and soul.
7. Dance – is a series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music
accompaniment. Through dancing, people can freely express themselves because it
has no rules. In art expression, dancers are not confined to set steps and rules but are
free to create and invent their own movements as long as they deem them graceful
and beautiful. Examples are Philippine folkdances like Tinikling, Singkil, ballet, hip-
hop, ballroom and others.
8. Literary Art – Artists who practice literary arts use words to express themselves and
communicate emotions to the readers. It may include both fiction and non-fiction such
as novels, biographies, and poems. Examples of famous artists and their work include
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Romeo and Juliet by William
Shakespeare.
9. Theater – Theater uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before
a live audience. Theater considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting,
sound effects, musical score, scenery and props. Some genres of theater include
drama, musical, tragedy, comedy and improvisation.
10. Applied Arts – Applied art can be defined as an art with practical application and
functionality. It incorporates elements of style and design to everyday items with the
aim of increasing their aesthetic value. Examples are industrial design, interior design,
fashion design and graphic design. Applied is often compared to fine arts, where the
latter is chiefly concerned on aesthetic value.

Please read The Different Forms of Art That Are Surprisingly Versatile. Retrieved at
https://arthearty.com/different-forms-of-art

LESSON 3: FUNCTIONS OF ART AND ART AS VIEWED BY PHILOSOPHY

A. FUNCTIONS OF ARTS

When one speaks of function, one is practically talking about the use of the object.
Asking for the function of art means an inquiry of what an art is for.

Functional art forms – serve functions that make man’s life better. E.g. architecture, weaving,
furniture making

Non-functional art forms – the human need for beauty and aesthetics transcends sensual
amusement and to the cultured elevates human expression, bringing it closer to the divine.
Painting, sculpture, literature, music, dance and theatre, though non-functional, serve
purposes far beyond mundane survival functions.

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Functions of Art
1. Personal Functions- An artist may create an art out of the need for self-expression
(for communication, entertainment and therapy).
2. Social Functions – Art is considered to have a social function if and when it addresses
a particular collective interest as opposed to a personal interest. Examples are political
art and photography of poverty, performance art like plays and satires.
3. Physical Functions – The physical functions of art can be found in artworks that are
crafted in order to serve some physical purpose. Examples, Japanese raku bowl,
architecture, jewelry-making, and interior design.

B. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ART

Aesthetics – is the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is concerned with the nature
of art and used as basis for interpreting and evaluating individual works of art.

Views of Three Famous Philosophers

1. Plato (428-347 BCE)
 Philosopher of Ancient Greece known for his
famous Dialogues that includes his equally famous
teacher, Socrates. Plato was said to have loved
and hated arts at the same time.
 Good literary stylist and a great story teller.
 The idea of art as “mimesis” was first developed by
Plato. The term “mimesis” in Greek means copying
or imitation. Because of this, art was defined as the
representation or replication of somethings that is
meaningful and beautiful. (Art as a representation)

Source: thegreatthinkers.org
 Two ideas of the arts:
o Art is imitation. – Art is a copy of a copy which leads people farther from
away the truth (or the Forms). At best, works of art are great for
entertainment.
o Art is dangerous – art has the power to stir emotions.

2. Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

 Philosopher of Ancient Greece who was a student of Plato.
Regarding arts, Aristotle first distinguished between what is good
and what is beautiful.
 According to him, universal elements of beauty are manifested by
order, symmetry and definiteness.
source: britannica.com
 In his “Poetics”. He stated that physical manifestation of beauty is likewise affected
by its size i.e, it should not be too big nor too small.
 Considered art as imitation or representation of nature.
 His emphasis was on poetry.

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3. Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804)

 German, Enlightenment Philosopher.
 He was one of the most influential of the early theorists toward
the end of the 18th century.
 His main interest was not in art itself but on beauty. Beauty is a
matter of taste.
 He believed that art should not have a concept but should be
judged only on its formal qualities because the content of the
work of art is not of aesthetic interest. (Art as a form)
 Two kinds of aesthetic responses:
o Beauty results in pleasure if there is order, harmony and symmetry
source: gosouth.co.za
o Beauty leads to a response of awe that overwhelms the viewers of the art.

 Beauty is a question of form and color is not important. What is important in beauty is
the design and the composition.
 He believed that art should be judged only on its formal qualities but not on the content
of the work.

Three Categories of Definition of Art

1. Art as a Representation or Mimesis
2. Art as Expression of Emotional Content
3. Art as Form
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-definition-of-art-182707

Please watch: What is Art? Retrieved at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhqx7gvyT6g&t=25s

What is art for? Retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0bDD4gXrE

REFERENCES:

Ferrer, M.C.D, Mangahas, T.L. S, Geron, C.DT, Santos, M.S., Velasco, V.V, and Trinidad,
J.L F. (2018). Art Appreciation. Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc.
Caslib, Bernardo Nicholas, Jr. et.al (2018). Art Appreciation. Rex Bookstore,
Inc.
Inocian, REyanaldo B. et.al. (2021). Modular Approach to Art Appreciation.
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
The Different Forms of Art That Are Surprisingly Versatile. Retrieved at
https://arthearty.com/different-forms-of-art
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-definition-of-art-182707
What is art for? Retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0bDD4gXrE
What is Art? Retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhqx7gvyT6g&t=25s
https://curt-rice.com/2014/02/25/here-are-9-reasons-why-humanities-matter-whats-your-
number-10/

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Name: ___________________________ Date: __________________

Course/ Section: ___________________ Score: _________________

ACTIVITY 1
ESSAY

Why do you think art is at the center of the seven fields of humanities? Discuss the
connection of art to each of the following field.

Philosophy

Music History

ART
Language Religion

Literature

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Name: ___________________________ Date: __________________

Course/ Section: ___________________ Score: _________________

ACTIVITY 2
My Personal Encounter with Arts

Share your most striking encounters with arts. It could be your experiences when you
visited some art museums or you came across some artworks that were appealing to you.
Paste the pictures and write about your experiences.

My Personal Encounter with Arts

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Photos

Note: Use separate sheet if needed.

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Name: ___________________________ Date: __________________

Course/ Section: ___________________ Score: _________________

ACTIVITY 3
FUNCTIONS OF ART

A. Select 5 samples or pictures of artworks and identify their functions.

B. Look around your house and your community; and think of the places that you have been
to. Try to remember the works of art that you have seen, watched or experienced and realize
the various functions that art plays in your life and in the society. Then, write a reflection paper
about it.

Why is art important?

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