CHAPTER 6 History of Arts and Its Various Planes Learnings Contents and Activities The series of target ILO’s brings you to a general context and wide array of art forms in different historical periods. The core ideas embedded in this chapter with balanced instructional competency models require skills in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of various art forms. This is another dimension where you critically describe and analyze arts and their impact on the lives of people. In fact, this is the visible yet subtle way of delving into the issues, problems and progress of the world expressed in arts. Thus, you seek the knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the world art; shed light on its thrusts and produce ideas to value and innovate. As we learn together, let us adhere to the keenness of this selflearning Module as we both retrospect and introspect various arts in the world. Certainly, this molds you to be critical thinkers who can maintain the status quo of preserved arts and do innovations for sustainable development. Various Planes of Arts Art appears in various forms but this chapter sheds light on the visual arts (paintings, architecture, etc.) from era to era. In most cases when you are asked by someone if the painting is good or bad, you would usually give a random vivid or abstract description as “nice”, “cool”, or “beautiful”. But, what are your own bases or criteria when you give such descriptions? Usually your bases are drawn from your personal preferences, beliefs, principles, orientation and attitude which are relatively subjective (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGnpJ_KdqZE). Our self-impression and description towards the art forms refer immediately to the over-all visual appearance of an artwork which is called plane. As such place stands as the art stimulus that solicits response from our own description. Below are interrelated keywords of planes that guide you throughout the chapter. a. Plane refers to any surface area within space. In two-dimensional art, the “picture plane” is the flat surface that the image is created upon, such as paper, canvas, or wood. b. Three-dimensional figures may be depicted on the flat picture plane through the use of the artistic elements to imply depth and volume, as seen in the painting Small Bouquet of Flowers in a Ceramic vase by Jan Brueghel the Elder. c. Distortions of space and Foreshortening, a method for presenting foreshortened geometry systematically onto a plane surface, was unknown for another 300 years. These projectors intersect with an imaginary plane of projection and an image is created on the plane by the points of intersection. d. Color Field Painting is characterized primarily by its use of large fields of flat, solid color spread across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane (Camille 1992). e. Cezanne is named after Paul Cezanne, a French artist and post- Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations in 19th Century (Adams 1966). He used planes of color and small brushstrokes to form complex fields and convey intense study of his subject. f. Linear perspective is a technique artist developed during the Renaissance to accurately depict threedimensional space on a two-dimensional picture plane, such as the canvas of a painting (Baxandall 1972). The comparative matrix below displays clear and succinct juxtaposition of how arts vary and evolve through times. This matrix, showcases example of architectural art designs featured in different historical eras. With exposure of the art and music, dance and the performing arts in Chapter 7; textile and art of weaving in Chapter 10; ethnic and emerging art in Chapter 11; improvisation and theater in Chapter 12, it is intentional that architectural art is featured for emphasis. Prevailing Issues Depicted by Arts Across Time A. The Prehistoric Period The issues of security and survival are depicted in the art of the pre-historic men and women. They engaged in the art of hunting wild animals through the use of crude implements ranging from stone flakes, bones of animals to bow and arrow. They used animal skin and fur as primary fabric to protect their bodies from harsh weather conditions. Cave paintings were used to scare the wild beast in their cave dwelling to ensure security of their families. They used polished stones in horticulture during the Mesolithic Age. They learned the art of animal domestication to respond their families’ increasing demands of food. Their animistic beliefs led them to pay homage to nature for protection against the forces of natural phenomena like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms and other natural calamities. B. The Ancient Period While human population grew in number, the struggle for space was one issue that led to furious attacks of city-states and kingdoms they fought for territories for the control of natural resources. The art of iron-smelting was essential in the production of wheels, chariots and swords during war for supremacy. The art of writing cuneiform in Mesopotamia, hieroglyphics in Egypt and calligraphies in Asian countries proved the essentiality of communication and education in those times. Construction of temples that are made of stones and bricks like the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the pyramids of Egypt and Meso-America and the Hindu and Buddhist temples in Asian countries and mosques among the Muslims proved the prowess of ancient architecture, reflecting religious beliefs and traditions. Kingdoms and empires in the ancient periods constructed dikes and drainage system to prevent floods and protect their crops. The art of political administration called satrapy, in order to unite the different provinces with respective satraps or governors. This art of political administration remains visible at present in managing the different provinces in the Philippines, with the governor as head of the province. C. Medieval Period The issue of power and authority reflects society’s social stratification during the medieval period. Royal families who controlled kingdoms and empires constructed palaces with massive and elaborate architectural designs, which flaunted their authority; while the poor lived in peasant houses. Likewise, while the Catholic church remained the most stable institution, artists during this period used Gothic, Doric, Ionian and Romanesque architectural design in its construction typical to western civilization. The clergy commissioned them to embellish church ceilings with beautiful paintings, depicting images of saints. One of these works is Michelangelo’s “The Creation” of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. The clout of Christianity greatly influenced architectural art during this time to the Byzantine period. Cultural differences between the West (Roman Catholics) and the East (Greek Christian Orthodox) predisposed different cultural orientations. The influence of the Islamic culture was very elemental in the Byzantine art with the use of domes, minarets and arabesques. There was a restriction of art solely to Christianity, following the essentialist conventions that deprived artists to explore other themes in art that jeopardized their art selection and freedom. The attack of the barbaric tribes during the Dark Ages desolated everything into rubbles, except the castles, palaces and churches that stood because of its massive architectural designs with wide arches, vaults and domes. The entry of the Renaissance ushered the shift of art perspective. As a period of reawakening, the use of secularism emphasized the greater degree of freedom in art from the clout of church influence. This rebirth disclosed issues that affected ethical and moral principles like the projection of nudity in painting and in sculpture. D. The Modern Period This liberal consciousness of the artists ushered more prominence during the Baroque period. Coinciding with the Period of Absolutism, monarchs commissioned artists embellish palaces with gorgeous art masterpieces, using illusory and vivid colors. Art in Baroque period paved its way to the Tudor and Rococo styles in the modern era, where monarchs commissioned artists to embellish their palaces with beautiful, vibrant and elaborate paintings and wall plasters. Intellectual, industrial and scientific revolutions steered new developments in the art sector. Structuralism in the Classical period was replaced slowly with minimalism-an art movement that eliminates the non-essential forms and features in art. As human population increased, space became one of the issues. Therefore, Minimalist designs became more popular and typically answered the people’s satisfaction. E. Post-modern Period (1851 to the Present) Minimalism allows the artists to have wider degrees of freedom in terms of their imagination. However, there is defiance of structuralism in terms of art conventions. They use maximum control of their space to manipulate wider art planes in their respective genres. There is so much experimentation that resulted in some issues of art bastardization: the defiance on the law of gravity in architectural designs and structures that created the famous Dancing House of Frank Gehry in Prague, Czechoslovakia and Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi, Dubai. Post modern art characterizes Jacques Derrida’s deconstructionism with higher degree of manipulation and fragmentation that focuses on the artist’s experience. Types of Abstract Arts 1. Dadaism- It is an art movement formed during the First World War in Zurich in negative reaction to the horrors and folly of the war. The art, poetry and performance produced by dada artists in often satirical and nonsensical in nature. 2. Surrealism- This uses principles, ideals or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations. 3. Constructivism- This is an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1915 by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko. Abstract and austere, constructivist art aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space. 4. Abstract Expressionism- This is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. it is often characterized by gestural brushstrokes or mark-making and the impression of spontaneity. 5. Optical Art- This work is abstract with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, it gives the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns or of swelling or warping. 6. Pop Art- It is based on modern popular culture and the mass media especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art values. 7. Minimalism- It describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essense, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts. 8. Conceptual Art- It is an art in which the concept or idea involved in the work takes precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical and material concerns. 9. Photorealism- It is genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium(Wallace,2015) Installation Arts What do the two photos below have in common as art forms? They are not actually paintings nor architectures but are still arts in some respects. You can see some pieces of materials put together or installed in a dramatic way occupying spaces to come up with an artistic portrayal. This art form is called installation. It is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Types of installation Arts 1. Body Installation 2. Land/Earth Installation 3. Performance Installation Ways of Reading the Image in Different Art Forms An artwork is not only intended for display to amuse and fascinate the eyes of the viewers. Since it is created with purpose and expression of artist’s thoughts and sentiments, it aims to solicit reactions and responses from the viewers. As viewers, how can we respond to the artwork? In fact, upon glancing at the artwork in an instant, our minds already create response and perception towards it unconsciously. There is apparently mutual and silent communication between the mind and he art. But the overarching questions go like these: how well we read and evaluate a piece of an artwork? Is our evaluation objective enough to see how such artwork really depicts its purpose? The following are the four ways that serve as guides in reading and appreciating the different artworks proposed by Guillermo (2000). THE DIFFERENT PLANES OF ART The different planes of art can be best exemplified by analyzing bahay-kubo as a typical architectural design in the Philippines using the four identified planes: semiotic, iconic, contextual and axiological.
