What is art?
Learning Outcome
Define the wide range meaning and definition of art.
Demonstrate understanding on identifying the different meaning
and definition of art.
Explain the connection of art in our lives as part of our culture and
history.
Based on your activity What
is art?
What is Art?
The thing about art is that it’s so diverse that there are
as many ways to understand it as there are people.
That’s why there are scholars who give their own
special definition of the word, such the one penned by
this famous Russian novelist, which goes:
“Art is the activity by which a
person, having experienced an
emotion, intentionally transmits
it to others” – Leo Tolstoy
1. People classify a wide range of objects as art
by general agreement.
2. Every culture on earth has produced objects
of visual interest, involving ornamentation,
design, picture making, and abstraction.
3. Many of these objects serve no purpose
What is art? except to feature such things, and we regard
them as art.
4. Some of them have a purpose - to tell a
story, to venerate a god, to memorialize
someone
5. A well-rounded education in art includes
fine examples of architecture and crafts.
What is Art?
• Art lacks a satisfactory definition.
• It is easier to describe it as the
way something is done “the use of
skill and imagination in the
creation of aesthetic objects,
environments, or experiences
that can be shared with others”
rather than what it is.
What IsArt?
1. Work of art-visual expression of an
idea or experience formed with skill
through use of a medium
2. Media/medium-type of tools used to
create the artwork clay, fiber, stone,
wood, paint, video, photography,
3. Some communication can only be
expressed through visual form or
music...
Other definitions emphasize that…
1. Art is subjective and art is more
subjective than objective.( Art for art
itself)
2. Art is form and content.( there is always
a concept).
3. There is a connection between beauty
and art and beauty is the measure of
quality of art.
Why Study Art?
Expression Social Values,
Human Intelligence You might
even say "Art is subjective and
means something different to
every single person on earth.
Living with Art
The role of art in human life is to
transform man's widest
metaphysical ideas, by selective
reproduction of reality, into a
physical form—a work of art—
that he can comprehend and to
which they can respond
emotionally.
Functions of an artist
1. Create places for human purpose
2. Create extraordinary version of ordinary
objects
3. Record & commemorate
4. Tangible form to the unknown
5. Form to feeling and ideas
6. See the world in new ways
What is the purpose
of art?
• Art objects provide visual delectation
• Art objects serve a wide variety of
additional functions
• These other functions may make them
interesting for historical or intellectual
reasons, but don't have any goodness (or
badness) in themselves.
• It happens, especially in contemporary art,
that an artist presents an object with poor
visual qualities, with functions other than
visual delectation.
What is the purpose of art?
• Such objects often have the intention to
provoke thought in some way
• Whatever interesting insights they may
prompt, the strategy resembles using a
broken hammer to prop open a door - using
a tool that doesn't perform its original
purpose well for another purpose unrelated
to its category.
• That it works, in its way, doesn't inspire
celebration.
• Art can:
Purposes and • tell us things
• elevate our spirits
Functions of • show beauty
Art • show injustice
Art for
Communicating
Information
Through the ages, art has
been used to impart
information
Art for Day-
to-Day Living
Objects made to
delight the eye as
well as serve useful
functions
Art for Worship and
Ritual
Through the ages
people have used
art to use for
prayer, worship,
magic, and
ceremony
Dance Wand in Honor of Eshu.
Elegba Cult.
Yoruba, Nigeria.Height 19-3/4".
Art for Personal Expression
The artist uses their medium to express
their personality and/or feelings to the
viewer
Self-Portrait with Thorn
Necklace and
Hummingbird
(Autorretrato con Collar
de Espinas) is a 1940
painting by Mexican
painter Frida Kahlo.
Rembrandt van Rijn. Self-Portrait.
1658.52-5/8" × 40-7/8".
Art For Social Causes
• Humans are influenced by what they see
• Artists can use their art to influence
the public
The Vulture and the Little girl: Kevin Carter
Francisco Goya. The Disasters of War, No. 18: Bury Them and Say
Nothing. 1818.
5-7/8" × 8-3/8".
Chaz Maviyane-Davies. Global Warning. 1997.
Art for Visual
Pleasure
• Art is often
identified solely
by this definition
• Art made to be visually
attractive and well crafted
So, Why Is Art
Important?
• We use
(unconsciously) art for
our entertainment,
cultural appreciation,
aesthetics, personal
improvement, and even
social change. We use
art in order to thrive in
this world.
6 Powerful Theories
What makes art important, and Why?
Art is very important in society because it is an essential
#1 ingredient to empowering the hearts of people
When activists are showing images of children suffering
from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the
art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful
to make changes.
When photographers publish the photos of war torn
areas, it catches the attention of masses whose hearts
reach out for those who need help.
When artist create great music and movies, it entertains
people around the world.
This is art, making a difference in society.
#2 Art integrates mind, body,
soul and spirit
Art drives thinking
Thinking drives conscience
Conscience delivers realization
Realization turns out to an action
A powerful action can change the world
#3 Great art tells meaningful
stories
A powerful story well said!
A rural circus is underway outdoor
under blazing sun. An animal
tamer performs stunt with his
elephant who is trying to use his
trunk to pick up an apple. Lions
and Parrots are waiting for it’s turn
to entertain people. The audience The truth is that art is more than just a practice – it is a
way of life. Art is more than just a skill – it is a passion.
watches it with a lot of amusement Art is more than just an image – each one tells a story
and astonishment.
Art encourages self-expression
#5 Art explains world’s two most powerful
concepts – Love and Death
Understanding love and death brings meaning and purpose
to your existence. They uplift the element of humanity within
you
Art makes you realize – WHY OTHER HUMANS ARE
IMPORTANT? – which in fact allows us to understand each
other
As quoted here - Self-expression involves revealing your
thoughts, feelings, or ideas, through writing, speaking,
music, art, or dance. Essentially, it is the way we interact
with the world around us and this interaction holds great
value, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to
make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
#6 Art is a remarkable mode of
depicting culture
When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know
that it’s a practice that originated from China. When you see paper
swans swarming a beautiful wedding ceremony, you know that this
is origami, an art that came from Japan. When you see
films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a
movie from India.
Art has the power to take cultural practices from where they are
from and then transport and integrate them into different parts of
the world without losing their identity.
Art creates and spreads awareness of culture
Questions
about Art
How do I know whether a work of art is good?
• When you taste food, you detect its
goodness with your tongue.
• When you hear music, you detect its
goodness with your ear.
• When you look at art, detect its
goodness with your eye.
What does 'good' mean in art?
• Art objects can have any number of virtues.
• Only one virtue matters to art specifically:
• successful form.
• Without successful form, other virtues
matter little.
• So 'good' means 'good form.'
• You might call the other virtues 'good' in some
larger sense, but if they exceed the goodness
of an art object's form, the object is suffering
from artistic compromises.
What makes good art good?
• We can't say. Artists and art lovers wish they had a list they could follow to make and
identify good art. None exists. We can name a long list of widely-displayed virtues in art:
• draughtsman ship, craft, composition, originality etc..
• This brings up two problems.
• One, when we try to talk about why these virtues have virtue, what constitutes good
craft or good draughtsman ship,
• for example, we walk down a philosophical staircase that has no bottom
• Two, for any virtue we might name, we can find a low-quality exemplar and a high-
quality counterexample.
• although we can't say, we can still detect goodness: a color feels right, a design looks
snappy, a fine
I sometimes see a work of art in a museum or
gallery that I think is terrible. What's going on?
• Good taste doesn't appear as often as you might think in the art world.
• Talent for looking at art occurs more commonly than talent for making art, by far, but it operates at
high levels in a relatively small number of people.
• Education in art, furthermore, often consists of the indoctrination of taste rather than its cultivation.
• Many people with bad and middling taste pursue art professionally, and such people feel as much
gratification indulging their tastes as people with good taste feel when indulging theirs.
I sometimes see a work of art in a museum or
gallery that I think is terrible. What's going on?
• Because the category of art has blurry boundaries, people with questionable taste often
think that objects that lie on them have sophisticated and progressive properties.
• People sometimes key on to specific traits about art that they believe lend greatness to
works in every case, even though no such trait exists.
• Its place in the museum or gallery sanctions it professionally, but not artistically.
• Artistic sanction can only come from you, and you should give it only according to your
eye.
Do I need to know art history to
understand art?
• Usually, but note the difference between
understanding art and appreciating art.
• You appreciate art with your eye and your
taste. You understand it with your intellectual
capabilities.
• You may like something and not understand it.
You may understand something and not like it.
Do I need to know art history to
understand art?
• You may have good taste and poor knowledge,
or the converse. But if you know iconography,
general movements and their intentions, color
theory, and other art-related topics, your
powers of detection improve.
• Best of all, you might try to make some art
yourself. Nothing clarifies the difficulties
involved quite like trying to solve them with
your own hands
Thank you!
