THE ARTSHuman100: Introduction to Humanities
WHAT IS ART?
ART comes from the Latin language “ars”
which means skill or craft. It constitutes one of the oldestand most important means of expression developed byhuman beings and has been a part of every societyacross the globe.
WHAT IS ART?
The arts represent an outlet of human expression,usually influenced by culture, and driven by humancreative impulse. Major constituents of the arts includeliterature – including poetry, novels and short stories, andepics; performing arts – among them music, dance,opera, theatre and film; and visual arts – includingdrawing, painting, and sculpting. Some art formscombine a visual element with performance (e.g. film)and the written word (e.g. comics).
WHAT IS ART?From prehistoric cave paintings to modern day
films, art serves as a vessel for storytelling and conveyingmankind's relationship with its environment.
Pre-historic Paintings in the Cova delsCavalls cave in Valltorta, Spain
“Art is an imprint of people’s past, present and future civilizations.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART
Many of us assume that a work of art should be beautiful, and even art’s entire purpose is to be beautiful. However art serves a variety of functions encompassing more than physical beauty.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART
Art is about experience
Art is uniquely individual
Art reflects a society’s culture
Art is produced by all people and speaks to us at our most human levels of feeling and responding
Art is not nature and is not intended to be nature
Art is always about something
Art is dynamic
THE ARTISTS’ TASK
Create places for some human purpose
THE ARTISTS’ TASK
Create extraordinary versions of ordinary objects
THE ARTISTS’ TASK
Record and commemorate
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln
THE ARTISTS’ TASK
Give tangible form to the unknown
THE ARTISTS’ TASK
Give tangible form to feelings and ideas
“
”
Artist refresh one’s vision and help see the world in new ways.
CLASSIFICATION OF ART
• Visual Arts
• Drawing
• Painting
• Photography
• Architecture
• Sculpture
• Literary Arts
• Short Story
• Novels
• Poems
• Comics (both Visual and Literary)
• Preforming Arts
• Music
• Theatre
• Dance
VISUAL ARTS
The visual arts are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video, filmmaking and architecture.
Also included within the visual arts are the applied arts such as industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and decorative art.
LITERARY ARTS
Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work; etymologically the term derives from Latin literature / litteratura "writing formed with letters", although some definitions include spoken or sung texts.
Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, and whether it is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorized according to historical periods, or according to their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).
PERFORMING ARTS
Performing arts are art forms in which artists use their body, voice, or objects to convey artistic expression—as opposed to visual arts, in which artists use paint/canvas or various materials to create physical art objects. Performing arts include a variety of disciplines but all are intended to be performed in front of a live audience.
ACTIVITY
In a ¼ sheet, answer the following questions:
1. Define arts base on your own understanding.
2. Explain one significant characteristic of arts that strike you most.