Gutierrez, Crystal V.
UP-FA2-BSPSYCH1-02
Art Appreciation
Art — original classical definition was derived from the Latin word "ars" (meaning "skill" or "craft“)
— useful starting point. This broad approach leads to art being defined as: "the product of a body of knowledge,
most often using a set of skills."
— art is something we DO, a verb.
— an expression of our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires, but it is even more personal than that:
it’s about sharing the way we experience the world, which for many is an extension of personality. -William Joseph Nieters
Types of Art: Visual Art, Literary Art, Performance Art
Visual Art — arts that meet the eye and evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination.
— most ancient/oldest documented forms, such as painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and
installation art and other visual arts.
Literary Art — something in the form of writing or stories that have artistic and cultural value that displays the beauty
of speech and language to convey certain meanings.
Performance Art — time-based art form that typically features a live presentation to an audience and draws on such
arts as acting, poetry, music, dance, and painting.
Nature of Art — a creative activity that expresses imaginative or technical skill.
Work of Art — the product of art. produces a product, an object.
— drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, dance, music, poetry, prose, theatre, etc.
Motivated (functional) — ex. Architecture, weaving, furniture making
Non-motivated (non-functional) — ex. painting, music, sculpture
The Common functions of Art
1. Personal Function — arts are vehicles for the artists’ expression of their feelings and ideas.
2. Social Function — (1) it influences social behavior, (2) seeks or tends to influence the collective behavior of ppl.
(3) it addresses aspects of (collective) life as opposed to one person's point of view or experience.
3. Spiritual Function — designs of religious structures tells so many things about the culture of the faithful.
4. Educational Function — 'time off for good behavior' or as 'therapy'" and how the ease and carefreeness of the
arts are supposed to bring joy and a sense of calmness."
5. Political Function — ex. are statues of national heroes that grace our parks and plazas are commemorative works as are the
commissioned paintings of leaders or rulers.
— they serve to record important historical events, or reveal the ideals of heroism and leadership that the
community would want the young to emulate.
6. Physical Function — works of art that are created to perform some service such as tools and containers are objects
which make our lives physically comfortable. / created to perform physical functions; vases, bench, chairs
Historical Foundation of Art
Stone Age (30,000 BC- 2,500 BC)
— era of Cave Painting; (mineral pigment/animals/humans/symbols)
Mesopotamian (3500 BC – 539 BC)
— era included many stone sculptures and narrative reliefs, including the stele upon which hammurabi’s code is carved
— Hammurabi’s code – batas na kailangang sunduin ng mga tao ng mesopotamia
Egyptian (3100 BC – 30 BC)
— includes the Great Pyramids / egyptian art is a pretty huge umbrella term for an entire culture after all
— sa great pyramids nililibing ng mga egyptian na mataas ang authority
Greek and Hellenistic (850 BC-31 BC)
— one of idealism and perfection, which was greatly in the era’s architecture and sculptures
—Parthenon--they built a temple dedicated to athena—the goddess of wisdom and warfare
— famous styles of greek column during this time: doric, ionic, and corinthian
Roman (500 BC- 476 AD)
— construction of the Pantheon- a temple dedicated to all roman gods
— the colosseum
Byzantine and Islamic (476 AD – 1453 AD)
— the birth of islamic religion, and structures like the Hagia Sophia (church) and the Alhambra (ancient palace)
Middle Ages (500 – 1400)
— era of celtic and gothic art / the rise of intricate gothic cathedrals and structures like notre dame
Early and High Renaissance (1400 – 1550)
— the word “renaissance” french term meaning “rebirth” / it was a cultural rebirth of art, literature, and intellect after a vast
period of darkness, disease, and war.
— Michael Angelo – considered as the best artist in his lifetime and ever since he has been held as greatest artist of all time
(ex. PIETA)
—Leonardo Da Vinci – known for his dramatic and expressive work / keen eye and quick mind led him to make important
discoveries yet he never published his ideas (ex. MONALISA)
—Donato de Niccolo di Betto Bardi – was a florentine sculptor of the renaissance period / studied classical sculture
(ex. Maria Maddalena)
Venetian and Northern Renaissance (1430 – 1550)
—during this era, the Renaissance movement spread from Italy to France, Germany, Poland and other northern European
countries. Bellini, Jan van Eyck, Bosch, and other artists reigned during this time
Baroque (1660 – 1750)
— like Rembrandt and Caravaggio were well known during this time for the tense, moody, and extremely dramatic style of
their work, reflected in lighting techniques and subject matter
— baroque architecture like that of the Palace of Versailles was known for its ornate intensity
Neoclassical (1750 – 1850)
— overlapping Age of Enlightenment, which saw another turn towards the scientific over the religious. That set the
tone for this era, as well as the concurrent Industrial Revolution
— Jacques-Louis David, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres were well known painters during this time
Romanticim (1780 – 1850)
— emphasis on the self / as well as a rejection of the kind of order that the Enlightenment had imposed in favor
of a more chaotic approach to life (ex. the raft of medusa)
Realism (1848 – 1900)
— the first movement to finally reject all the drama, intensely exaggerated emotion, and grandeur of other art styles
for a more grounded approach to human nature (ex. ivan the terrible and his son)
Impressionism (1865- 1885)
— been one of the first purely aesthetic art periods, a style focused on capturing a visual phenomenon rather than an intensely
political or religious one / painters like Monet, Manet, and Cassatt were known during this time / watercolors were popular during
this time. (ex. woman with a parasol painting)
Post-Impressionism (1885 – 1910)
— art style that maintained its philosophy – a rejection of traditional art rules and its focus on perfection – but also rejected its
supposed limitations / unrestricted brush techniques
— notable post-impressionist include: Rousseau, Toulouse-Lactrec, and Van Gogh
Fauvism and Expressionism (1900 – 1935)
— flourished during and after the first WWar with its harsh colors, bold shapes, and often its disturbing emotional content.
— Mattisse, a fauvist painter, usually kept things very light /
— German Expressionism was influenced by Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele.
Cubism, Futurism, Supremativism, Constructivism, De stijil (1905 – 1920)
— this era saw shapes, abstract objects, and highly deconstructed renders of landscapes and other things used as a means of
expression, rather than traditional techniques seen before.
Dada and Surrealism ( 1917- 1950)
— rejected so much of traditional art that it dived into absurdism. Elements of dreams and the subconscious were
explored with this style, as well as wartime horrors (it overlapped World War II and the atomic bombings of Japan)
— captured perfectly in Marcel Duchamp’s piece
— notable surrealist include Dali and Magritte
Pop Art (c. 1950s CE – 1960s CE)
— they were interested in advertising, consumer products, television, magazines, and comics.
Neo Expressionism (1980s)
— by the end of the 1970s a movement emerged that threw out the cool ideas of Minimalism and embraced the
impassioned emotions of Expressionism (a German art movement of the early 1900s)
Art Appreciation — the knowledge and understanding of the universal and timeless qualities that identify all great art.
— exploration and analysis of the art forms that we are exposed to.
— appreciation involves a deeper look into the setting and historical implication and background of the
piece, a study of its origin
Why is Art Appreciation Important?
— it is a good way to understand the history behind the work, and the period from which the piece originated.
Artists often reflect the problems that they face, and the issues of the society in their work
— by reflecting on a piece of art, we delve into our own experiences and nostalgia, thus a piece of art means
something different to every person that comes across it.
Expression — the ability to convey meaning.
— artists are painting ideas that many choose to ignore, using their art as their voice to react to the
injustices they see in this world.
— within its nature, art has no rules. there are no guidelines to express yourself / it is meant to be the way
the artist wants it to be.
— art is controversial yet peaceful, simple yet bold.
Imagination — the ability to produce and simulate novel objects, peoples and ideas in the mind.
— the ability of the mind to build mental scenes, objects or events that do not exist, are not present,
or have happened in the past.
— also described as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations of past experiences
such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or they can be completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes.
Creativity — a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed.
— created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or
a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary work, or a painting).
— creativity can be matched with imagination: for finding solutions and choosing between options.
— Innovation in its modern meaning is "a new idea, creative thoughts, and new imaginations in form of device/method"
The Visual Element of Art
1. Line — the foundation of all drawing. / 1st and most versatile of the visual elements of art
— used to suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm, movement and a range of emotions.
- Curved lines suggest comfort and ease.
- Horizontal lines suggest distance and calm.
- Vertical lines suggest height and strength.
-Jagged lines suggest turmoil and anxiety
The way we draw a line can convey different expressive qualities:
Freehand lines can express the personal energy and mood of the artist.
Freehand- the ability to draw something without depending on instruments or something else to draw
Mechanical lines can express a rigid control.
Mechanical Drawing- combinations of straight lines and curved lines that show the edges and surfaces of an object.
Continuous lines can lead the eye in certain directions. It is one in which a single, unbroken line is used to develop the image.
Broken lines can express the ephemeral or the insubstantial.
Thick lines can express strength.
Thin lines can express delicacy.
2. Shape — can be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, flat (2-dimensional) or solid (3- dimensional), representational
or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored, patterned, textured.
Perspective drawing- angles and curves of shapes appear to change depending on our viewpoint.
The Behavior of Shapes are as follows:
(1) Shapes can be used to control your feelings in the composition of an artwork.
(2) Squares and Rectangles can portray strength and stability.
(3) Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous movement.
(4) Triangles can lead the eye in an upward movement.
(5) Inverted Triangles can create a sense of imbalance and tension
5. Tone — lightness or darkness of a color.
The tonal values of an artwork can be adjusted to alter its expressive character. It can be used to create
(1)a contrast of light and dark,
(2) the illusion of form,
(3) a dramatic or tranquil atmosphere,
(4) a sense of depth and distance and
(5) a rhythm or pattern within a composition.
4. Color — visual element that has the strongest effect on our emotions.
5. Pattern — repeating or echoing the elements of an artwork to communicate a sense of balance, harmony, contrast,
rhythm or movement.
Two basic types of Pattern
Natural Pattern: Pattern in art is often based on the inspiration we get from observing the natural patterns that occur in nature.
Example, shape of a leaf and the branches of a tree, structure of a crystal, the spiral of a shell, the symmetry of a snowflake and
the camouflage and signaling patterns on animals, fish and insects.
Man-Made Pattern: Pattern in art is used for both structural and decorative purposes. For example, an artist may plan the
basic structure of an artwork by creating a compositional pattern of lines and shapes. Within that composition he/she may ‘
develop its visual elements to create a more decorative pattern of color, tone and texture across the work.
6. Texture — surface quality of an artwork - the roughness or smoothness of the material from which it is made.
We experience texture in two ways:
Optical Texture: An artist may use his/her skillful painting technique to create the illusion of texture.
Physical Texture (Actual/Tactile texture): can be felt by touching the surface of the object or material.
Ephemeral Texture: textures whose fleeting forms are subject to change like clouds, smoke, flames, bubbles and liquids
7. Form — physical volume of a shape and the space that it occupies. It can be representational or abstract.
The Principles of Art — are essentially a set of criteria which are used to explain how the visual elements are
arranged in a work of art.
— principles are possibly the closest thing we have to a set of objective criteria for analyzing and judging art.
Balance — visual weight of the elements of the composition. It is a sense that the painting feels stable and "feels right."
imbalance causes a feeling of discomfort in the viewer.
Balance can be achieved in 3 different ways:
A. Symmetry — both sides of a composition have the same elements in the same position, as in a mirror-image,
or the two sides of a face.
B. Asymmetry — the composition is balanced due to the contrast of any of the elements of art.
Radial symmetry — elements are equally spaced around a central point, as in the spokes coming out of the
hub of a bicycle tire.
Contrast — difference between elements of art in a composition, such that each element is made stronger in relation
to the other. when placed next to each other, contrasting elements command the viewer's attention.
— notan (light and dark harmony)
Emphasis — when the artist creates an area of the composition that is visually dominant and commands the viewer's
attention. This is often achieved by contrast.
Movement — the result of using the elements of art such that they move the viewer's eye around and within the image.
Pattern — the uniform repetition of any of the elements of art or any combination thereof
Zentangles - which an abstract or representational outline is divided into different areas, each of which contains a unique pattern.
Rhythm — created by movement implied through the repetition of elements of art in a non-uniform but organized way.
It is related to rhythm in music. Unlike pattern, which demands consistency, rhythm relies on variety.
Unity/Variety — Too much unity creates monotony, too much variety creates chaos. You need both.
Harmony — refers to how well all the visual elements work together in a work of art.