Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation
Table of Contents
UNIT 1: Introduction to Art Appreciation
Lesson 1 What Is Art? Introduction
and Assumptions
Lesson 2 Art Appreciation: Creativity,
Imagination and Expression
Lesson 3 Functions and Philosophical
Perspectives on Art
Lesson 1:
What Is Art?
Introduction and Assumptions
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the student should be
able to:
1. Understand the role of humanities and arts in
man’s attempt at fully realizing his end;
2. Clarify misconceptions about the art;
3. Characterize the assumptions of arts; and
4. Engage better with personal experiences of
and in art.
LESSON PROPER
What Is Art?
- The word “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.
LESSON PROPER
What Is Art?
- Arts in Medieval Latin came to mean
something different. It meant “any special
form of book-learning, such as grammar or
logic, magic or astrology” (Collingwood, 1938).
- The fine arts would come to mean “not
delicate or highly skilled arts, but ‘beautiful’
arts” (Collingwood, 1938). This is something
more akin to what is now considered art.
LESSON PROPER
What Is Art?
- The expression or application of
human creative skill and
imagination, typically in a visual
form such as painting or sculpture,
producing works to be appreciated
primarily for their beauty or
emotional power. (Oxford 2019)
Assumptions of Art:
1. Art is Universal – Art has always
been timeless and universal,
spanning generations and
continents through and through.
Assumptions of Art:
2. Art is not nature – Art is man’s expression
of his reception of nature. Art is man’s way
of interpreting nature.
3. Art involves experience – Unlike fields of
knowledge that involve data, art is known
by experiencing. A work of art then cannot
be abstracted from actual doing. In order to
know what an artwork is, we have to sense
it, see or hear it, and see AND hear it.
DISCUSSION POINTS
• Why do people have difficulty in
coming up with a single definition of
art?
• “Art is subjective. It depends on how
one perceives the art work.” To what
extent do you agree with this
statement?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
• How can we see art in our everyday
lives?
• If you were an artist, what kind of
artist would you be? Are there
specific themes or messages that you
would want your art to contain?
LESSON SUMMARY
• Humanities and the art have always been part of
man’s growth and civilization.
• Since the dawn of time, man has always tried to
express his innermost thoughts and feelings
about reality through creating art.
• Three assumptions on art are its universality, its
not being nature, and its need for experience.
• Without experience, there is no art. The artist
has to be foremost, a perceiver who is directly in
touch with art.
Lesson 2:
Art Appreciation:
Creativity, Imagination,
and Expression
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the student should be
able to:
1. Differentiate art from nature;
2. Characterize artistic expression based on
personal experiences with art;
3. Discuss the nature of art’s preliminary
expression; and
4. Categorize works of art by citing personal
experiences.
LESSON PROPER
Art Appreciation as a Way of Life:
• Art as a creative work that depicts the world in a
completely different light and perspective, and the
source is due to human freedom (Jean Paul Sartre
as cited in Greene, 1995)
Ex. Criticism and Stress
• Hence, refining one’s ability to appreciate art
allows him to deeply understand the purpose of an
artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses
(Collins & Riley, 1931).
Ex. Time
Sabel in Blue
by Benedicto
Cabrera, 2006
The Role of Creativity in Art Making:
• In art, creativity is what sets apart one
artwork from another.
Ex. Message, form, medium, technique