What is Humanities?

- The term humanities generally refers to art, literature, music, architecture, dance, the theatre
and other subjects, all of which have one main objective to focus the attention on the life and
achievement of man.
- Humanities then provides an appreciation of what is “the true, the good” and “the beautiful”
concepts which vary from age to age, from country to country.

What is Art-
● “the right reason of doing things”- Aristotle
● Is that which brings life in harmony with the beauty of the world – Plato
● Is the whole spirit of man – Ruskin
● Is the medium by which the artist communicates himself to his fellows – Charlton Noyes
-In general, art is either the making or the composition of things useful for our human needs, or
the arrangements of certain elements and qualities made for the contemplation of the mind and
relaxation of the spirit.

Essential Requirements of Art

● Art must be man-made
● It must benefit and satisfy man.
● It must be expressed through certain medium or material.

ART and Nature

Aristotle’s teaching regarding imitation in art:
“Art aims at imitating nature.”
“Imitation is natural to man.”
“It is natural to man to delight in works of imitation.”

ART is EVERYWHERE
ART as EXPRESSION & COMMUNICATION
ART as CREATION
ART as EXPERIENCE
ART as BEAUTY

Divisions of Art
1 . With respect to the purpose
● Practical or useful arts – when human activity is directed to produce things like artifacts
and utensils, which cope the human needs.
● Fine arts – which are the products of human creative activity in so far as they express
beauty in different ways and media, for the contemplation of the mind and the relaxation
of the spirit.
● Liberal Arts – in which intellectual efforts are considered.
● Major Arts – which are characterized by their actual and potential expressiveness.
● Minor Arts – which are connected with practical uses and purposes.
2. According to media and forms
● Plastic Arts –which are developed through space and perceived by the sense of sight
● Mixed Arts – which uses two or more media
● Phonetic Arts- which are based on sounds and words as media of expression

THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN ART CREATION AND APPRECIATION

The subject of Art

-The subject of art refers to any person, object, scene or event described or discussed by the
artist in his work.
-The art that has subjects are called objective arts or representational.
-While the non-objective arts do not present descriptions, stories or references to identifiable
objects or symbols.

Ways of representing a subject

● Realism
● Abstraction
● Symbolism
● Surrealism
● Cubism
● Fauvism
● Expressionism

Realism – sometimes called as naturalism, it generally attempts to represent a subject matter

truthfully.
- it is a precise, detailed and accurate representation of scenes and objects.
Abstraction – when the subject is not presented as an objective reality but only the feeling or
idea of the artist is the one shown
Symbolism – in art can simply be an emblem that assumes a new meaning originating from a
highly personal and unique association in the mind of the creator
Surrealism –this are visual artworks that are distant to reality to activate the unconscious mind
to imagery.
Cubism – it can be done through the use of cubes or geometrical figures to represent the object.
Fauvism – uses unnatural colors from its usual representational and realistic role giving new
emotional meaning to the colors.
Expressionism- an art which the artist is more concerned with expressing his emotional reaction
to an object or situation.
NOTE : While subject refers to the objects depicted by the artist, the content refers to what the
artist expresses or communicates on his work as a whole.

Elements of Art
● Line
● Shape
● Color
 ● Value
These are the basic elements that are used in making Art
● Form
● Texture
● Space

Line - A mark made by a pointed tool such as a brush, pen stick; a moving point

Shape - A flat, enclosed area that has two dimensions, length and width.

Geometric Shapes – Organic Shapes

Color -One of the most dominant elements. There are three properties of color;
Hue (red, orange yellow...)
Value (shades [Black] and tints [white],) and Intensity (brightness.)

The Color Wheel - A circular arrangement of colors organized by chromatic relationship

to one another.
● Primary Color (RED, Blue, Yellow)
● Complementary Colors ()
● Analogous ()
● Triadic ()
● Value - Degrees of lightness or darkness

Form- Objects that are three-dimensional having length, width and height. They can be viewed
from many sides. Forms take up space and volume.

Texture - Describes the feel of an actual surface. The surface quality of an object; can be real or
implied

SPACE - Is used to create the illusion of depth. Space can be two-dimensioned, negative and/or
positive.

Functions of Art can be generally classified into two:

● Directly Functional and
● Indirectly Functional.

Directly Functional - Art that we use in a daily basis and serves a literal or tangible function in
our lives.
Indirectly Functional Art - Art that are ‘perceived through the senses.” They are used to inform,
educate and entertain people and transforms us into better human beings.

Artistic Functions can be classified into four:

1. Aesthetic
2. Utilitarian
3. Social
4. Cultural

1. Aesthetic Function - An art functions aesthetically when it becomes instrumental for man to
be cognizant of the beauty of nature and where the real feelings of joy and appreciation to
nature’s beauty are manifested through appreciation and enjoyment when in contact with the
artwork.

2. Utilitarian Function - Art serves this function when it is used to give comfort, convenience, and
happiness to human beings. It served basic functions such as clothing, food, and shelter, and
other things that make humans live with happiness and ease.

3. Social Function - It seeks or tends to influence the collective behavior of the people and it is
also created to be seen or used primarily in public situations.

4. Cultural Function - Art serves as an aperture towards skills, knowledge, attitudes, customs,
and traditions of different people. The art helps preserve, share and transmit culture of people
from one generation to another.

Philosophical Imports of ART

● Artistic Integrity
● Consonance and Dissonance
● Scale and Proportion
● Clarity / Radiance

Artistic integrity - is generally defined as the ability to omit an acceptable level of opposing,
disrupting, and corrupting values that would otherwise alter an artist's or entities’ original vision
in a manner that violates their own preconceived aesthetic standards and personal values.

Consonance and Dissonance - In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of

simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, consonance is typically
associated with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability while dissonance is associated with
harshness, unpleasantness, or unacceptability.

Scale and Proportion - Scale refers to the overall physical size of an artwork or objects in the
artwork.
Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole

Clarity / Radiance - The idea of clarity is based upon the principle that the individual form
rendering of each object does not leave the viewer puzzling about its identity.

Radiance is a type of glowing: either from a light source like the sun or a healthy, beaming
person.
Ways of Representing Subjects
● Realism
● Symbolism
● Cubism
● Expressionism
● Abstraction
● Surrealism
● Fauvism

KINDS AND SOURCES OF SUBJECTS

● Nature
● Animals
● Portrait or Human Figures
● History and Legends
● Still Life
● Religion and Mythology
● Dreams and Fantasies
● Cityscapes
● Seascapes

CONTENTS in Art (LEVELS OF MEANING)

● Factual meaning
● Conventional meanaing
● Subjective meaning

Factual Meaning - The literal statement or the narrative content in the work can be directly
apprehended because the objects presented are easily recognized.

Conventional Meaning - Refers to the special meaning that a certain object or color has a
particular culture or group of people.
It also pertains to the acknowledged interpretation of the artwork using motifs, signs, symbols
and other cyphers as bases of its meaning.

Subjective Meaning -Any personal meaning consciously or unconsciously conveyed by the artist
using a private symbolism which stems from his own association of certain objects, actions or
colors with past experiences.

What’s the difference between an Artist and an Artisan? This question is comparable to the
issue of what constitutes art and what is labeled as a craft.

Artists & Artisans

Artist - The word “artist” is generally defined as an art practitioner, such as painter, sculptor,
choreographer, dancer, writer, poet, musicians and the like, who produces or creates indirectly
functional arts with aesthetic value.

Artisan - An artisan is a craftsman such as carpenter, carver, plumber, weaver, embroiderer and
the like, who produces directly functional arts and/or decorative arts.

Key Components on the Art Market

The art market is an economic ecosystem that relies not only on supply and demand but also on
the fabrication of a work’s predicted future monetary and/or cultural value.
The following are the important players in the markets:
● Curator
● Art Buyer
● Art Dealer

Curator - A curator is a manager or overseer or keeper of a cultural heritage institution

(Galleries, Museums, Libraries or Archives), A curator is a content specialist charged with an
institution’s collections, selecting art to be displayed in a museum, organizing art exhibitions in
galleries or public places, researching artists, and writing catalogs and involved with the
interpretation of heritage.

Art Buyer - An art buyer is a professional who is knowledgable in art, or who may look for an art
and buy it on behalf of a collector or a company.

Art Dealer - An art dealer is a person or a company that buys and sells works of art . Art dealer
often study the history of art before starting their careers. They have to understand the business
side of the art world. They keep up with the trends in the market and are knowledgeable about
the style of art that people wants to buy.

Medium & Technique

Medium - It refers to the materials that are used by an artist to create a work of art. The plural of
medium is media.
Examples:
● Painting: Oil Paints, water color, Acrylic
● Architecture: Glass, Cement, Metal, wood
● Drawing: Graphite, Crayon, Ink, Charcoal, Chalk/Oil Pastel

Technique - It refers to the artist’s ability and knowledge or technical know-how in manipulating
the medium.
Examples:
● Spray Painting
● Sketching
 ● Finger Painting
● Pointilism

Recognition & Award for Artists & artisans

Gawad sa Manlilikhang Bayan (GAMABA) National Living Treasure Award

-The award was institutionalized in 1992 through Republic Act No. 7335. The National
Comission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA), which is the highest policy-making and coordinating
body of the Philippines for Culture and the Arts, was tasked with the implementation.
-It is conferred to a person or group of artists recognized by the Government of the Philippines
for their contributions to the country’s intangible cultural heritage.
The categories are, but not limited to the following categories of traditional folk arts:
● Weaving
● Carving
● Performing Arts
● Literature,
● Graphic Arts
● Plastic Arts
● Ornament
● Textile or Fiber Art
● Pottery

-“Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino
whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and
have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her community
with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.
National Commission for Culture and Arts

National Artists of the Philippines (Mga Panbansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas)

-The Order of National Artists is considered to be the highest national recognition for individuals
who contributed to the development of Philippine Arts
- The Order is administered by the Cultural Center of the Philippines by virtue of President
Ferdinand Marcos's Proclamation № 1001 of April 2, 1972 and the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts.
The first award was posthumously conferred on Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo.
- The Order of the highest state honor is conferred on individuals deemed as having done much
for their artstic field.
Such people are then titled by the virtue of a Presidential Proclamation as National Artist
Categories under which National Artists can be recognized originally included:
● Music – singing, composition, direction, and/or performance;
● Dance – choreography, direction and/or performance;
● Theater – direction, performance and/or production design;
● Contemporary Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art,
mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging;
 ● Literature – poetry, fiction, essay, playwriting, journalism and/or literary criticism;
● Film and Broadcasting/Broadcast Arts – direction, writing, production design,
cinematography, editing, camera work, and/or performance; and
● Architecture, Design and Allied Arts – architecture design, interior design, industrial arts
design, landscape architecture and fashion design.

Benefits:
The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines
The insignia of a National Artist and a citation;

THE NATIONAL ARTIST INSIGNIA OR “ORDER OF NATIONAL ARTIST”.

IT IS A GRAND COLLAR ADORNED BY CIRCULAR LINKS REPRESENTING THE ARTS.THE
MAIN MEDALLION COMMEMORATES THE SUN AND THE COLORS OF THE PHILIPPINE
FLAG.THE HIGHLY STYLIZED THREE LETTER Ks STAND FOR “KATOTOHANAN,
KABUTIHAN,ATKAGANDAHAN”(THE TRUE, THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL).

● A lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to those
received by the highest officers of the land such as:
● a cash award of one hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00) net of taxes, for living
awardees;
● a cash award of seventy-five thousand pesos (₱75,000.00) net of taxes, for posthumous
awardees, payable to legal heir/s;
● a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits;
● life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;
● a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani;
● a place of honor, in line with protocolar precedence, at national state functions, and
recognition at cultural events;

Some National Artists of the Philippines:

● Fernando Amorsolo (1972- Visual Arts/Painting)
● Jose Garcia Villa (1973- Literature)
● Leonardo Locsin (1990- Architecture)
● Lino Brocka (1997- Film)
● Fernando Poe, Jr. (2006- Film)
● Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera (2006-Visual Arts/ Painting)
● Ryan Cayabyab (2018-Music)