SATHYABAMA UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Building and Environment

Department of Architecture

AR 1101 SOCIETY, CULTURE AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Course objective: To introduce the various aspects of different social, cultural forms
and built environment.

UNIT 1

CULTURE AND ARTS

Role of art, art reality, perception, representation categories of art in terms of media and
technique, paintings, sculpture, film- basic characteristics and development of each
field, aspects of literature, performing arts - theatre, dance, music with examples from
different cultural contexts.

Objective: To introduce the various art forms both stabile and mobile and to understand
the relationship between arts and culture.

Methodology:
Role of art, art reality, perception,
Representation categories of art in terms Visual presentation and Discussion
of media and technique, paintings,
sculpture, film
Development of each field, Aspects of
literature, performing arts theatre, dance, Power point presentation
music
Examples from different cultural contexts. Group assignment, discussion

Art and culture

Culture Art forms

Culture is everything that human beings create in the world, in the physical space.
Every single thing that we create is a culture.
Art is one of the aspects of culture. It is a much defined creative approach to making
objects or making concepts. It is defined as a physical thing that we create be it
a painting or a movie or whatever. So it is almost like creating. It is a craft or a skill by
which we create an object. It is a defined activity and it is a much defined product.
Whereas the culture is everything, what we are surrounded by.
Art represents people, cultures, values, and perspectives on living, but it does much
more. While bringing us pleasure, art teaches us. While reading or contemplating a
painting our minds go elsewhere. We are taken on a journey into a world where form
and meaning are intertwined.

Art and Culture represent the zenith of mental and emotional evolution of mankind.
They denote the aesthetic dimension of progress. Art adores life; painting, sculpture,
music and dance weave the tapestry of joy and bliss in ordinary life. Art elevates us
from mundane pursuits to sublime accomplishments. By adding enthusiasm and flavour,
they alchemise our existence despite our travails and tribulations. They mirror our flaws
and foibles in a subtle manner and transform us into new beings. They are harbingers of
social reforms and radical idea

Art is 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.

Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities, usually
involving imaginative or technical skill.
 include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history
of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.
 Focuses primarily on the visual arts, which includes the creation of images or
objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and
other visual media like graphics, animation etc.

- Painting (visual), two dimensional

- Sculpture (tactile), three dimensional
- Utility ware (function), practical use
 Architecture is considered as the master of all arts.
Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis, expression, communication of emotion,
or other qualities. During the Romantic period, art came to be seen as "a special faculty
of the human mind to be classified with religion and science".
Creativity + Interpretation = Aesthetics

Representational categories of art

Architecture‎ Digital art‎ Painting‎
Art games‎ Drawing‎ Paper art‎
Arts and crafts‎ Electronic games Pavement art‎
Artworks in concrete‎ Film‎ Photography‎
Artworks in metal‎ Glass art‎ Plastic arts‎
Basket weaving‎ Graffiti Printmaking
Body art‎ Graphic design‎ Replicas‎
 Artists' books‎ Installation art‎ Robotic art‎
Ceramic art‎ Jewellery‎ Rock art‎
Collage‎ Kites‎ Sculpture‎
Comics‎ Laser art‎ Seashells in art‎
Computer art‎ Light art‎ Stained glass‎
Crafts‎ Masks‎ Television‎
Digital art‎ Mosaics‎ Textile arts‎
Drawing Murals‎ Woodworking‎

Read the links

1) http://users.clas.ufl.edu/burt/filmphilology/heideggerworkofart.pdf
2) http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1315975.files/2%20Beginnings%20and%20
Ends/Heidegger_Origin%20of%20the%20Work%20of%20Art.pdf

History of art
In the perspective of the history of art, artistic works have existed for almost as long as
humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art. One early sense of the
definition of art is closely related to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to
"skill" or "craft," as associated with words such as "artisan."
The second, and more recent, sense of the word art as an abbreviation for creative
art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century.
Fine art refers to a skill used
- to express the artist's creativity
- to engage the audience's aesthetic sensibilities
- to draw the audience towards consideration of more refined
or finer work of art.
Within this latter sense, the word art may refer to several things:
(i) a study of a creative skill
(ii) a process of using the creative skill
(iii) a product of the creative skill
(iv) Audiences experience with the creative skill.
The creative arts
- a collection of disciplines which produce artworks (art as objects) that
are compelled by a personal drive (art as activity)
- convey a message, mood, or symbolism for the perceiver to interpret
(art as experience).
Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas
through the senses.
 Skill is being used in a common or practical way, people will consider it a craft
instead of art.
 skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it may be
considered commercial art instead of fine art
 sometimes crafts and design are considered applied art.
The purpose of works of art may be to
 communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated
art
  to create a sense of beauty
 to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure
 to generate strong emotions.
 The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

Art has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and
ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake, and
as mimesis or representation.
The creative arts are often divided into more specific categories, each related to its
technique, or medium, such as decorative arts, plastic arts, performing arts, or literature.
An artistic medium is the substance or material the artistic work is made from, and may
also refer to the technique used. For example, paint is a medium used in painting, and
paper is a medium used in drawing.
An art form is the specific shape, or quality an artistic expression takes. The media used
often influence the form. For example, the form of a sculpture must exist in space in
three dimensions, and respond to gravity. The constraints and limitations of a particular
medium are thus called its formal qualities. A genre is a set of conventions and styles
within a particular medium.

Art formal qualities genre

canvas texture, color, and brush still life, pastoral landscape,
painting
texture expressions
sculpture Earth, metal, wood, paper still life, expressions
non-linearity, interactivity and virtual
video games Humans, animals, mobility
presence

A medium is a means by which one communicates a message, the vehicle carrying the
message. Thus, if you take the term 'media art' literally, all art is media art. After all,
each artwork must have a vehicle, such as a piece of paper, a block of marble, or a
video tape.

Traditional drawing media

Airbrush Crayon Marker Sand
Acrylic paint Gouache Oil paint Water colour
Chalk Graphite Pastel Tempera
Charcoal (soft or Colored pencil Pen and ink Human finger
hard) Pencil

Traditional bases for drawing

Canvas Glass Paper Vellum
Card stock Human Plaster Walls (typically
Fabric body (typically Scratchboard for murals)
for tattoos) Wood
Metal
Pencil Drawings

The common pencil (the word derives from the latin 'peniculus' meaning brush), used by
draughtsmen around the world, is the most immediate and sensitive of
the drawing media, being as capable of producing a quick sketch or a finely worked
drawing. Pencil marks vary according to the hardness of the graphite lead in the shaft.
Harder the lead (and the sharper the tip) the finer the line. Pencils are a dry medium, in
contrast to pens which apply liquids.

The Frenchman Nicolas-Jacques Conde is credited with inventing the modern pencil
in the 18th century, when a method was found of combining graphite with clay.

Preparatory Sketches with Pencil

The major drawback of artworks in pure pencil is their relative impermanence, and
monochrome character. As a result, most draftsmen commonly execute works in more
permanent media (or with a fixative), and add pigment through the use of water
colours or gouache or pastels. However the easy erasability of pencil lines makes the
medium exceptionally convenient for preparatory sketches, which is why the majority of
modern painters, using oils, water colours or acrylics, execute their initial designs in
pencil.

Types of Lead Pencil

Pencils are available in traditional form, enclosed in a wooden shaft, or as graphite

sticks. These sticks are made from high-grade compressed graphite, formed into thick
chunky sticks. The draftsman can vary the marks made by using the point, the flattened
edge of the point or the length of the stick. The graphite stick is the preferred medium of
many artists, for its variable density of tone.

Painting
Traditional paint Supports for Traditional tools Mural techniques
media painting and methods
Acrylic paint Architectural Action painting Aerosol paint
Blacklight paint structures Aerosol paint Digital painting
Encaustic paint Paperboard Airbrush Fresco
Fresco Canvas Batik Image projector
Gesso Ceramics Brush Pounce art
Glaze Cloth Cloth
Gouache Glass Paint roller or paint
Ink Human pad
Latex paint body (typically Palette knife
Magna paint for tattoos) Sponge
Oil paint Metal Stick
Primer Paper
Stencil Vellum
Tempera or poster Wall
paint Wood
Vinyl paint
(toxic/poisonous)
Vitreous enamel
Watercolor

Sculpture
Sculpture is the art of producing in three dimensions representations of natural or
imagined forms. It includes sculpture in the round, which can be viewed from any
direction, as well as incised relief, in which the lines are cut into a flat surface. Stone
sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone. It
is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the
controlled removal of stone.

Carving, incise, bas

reliefs

modeling permits addition as well as subtraction of the material and is highly

flexible

carving strictly limited by the original block from which material must be
subtracted

casting a reproduction technique that duplicates the form of an original whether

modeled, carved, or constructed, but it also makes possible certain
effects that are impractical in the other techniques.
The principal sculptural techniques have undergone little change throughout the ages.
Hand modeling in wax , papier-mâché, or clay remains unaltered, although the firing of
the clay from simple terra-cotta to elaborately glazed ceramics has varied greatly.

 Carving has for centuries made use of such varied materials as stone, wood,
bone, and, more recently, plastics, and carvers have long employed many types
of hammers, chisels, drills, gauges, and saws.
 Bronze casting is also a technique of extreme antiquity. Metal may also be cast
in solid, hammered, carved, or incised forms.
The mobile is a construction that moves and is intended to be seen in motion. Mobiles
utilize a wide variety of materials and techniques.
Sculpture begins in the Stone Age. If these objects are pre-sculptural forms, the
earliest prehistoric sculpture proper emerged around 35,000 BCE in the form of
carvings of animals, birds, and figures.

Carving materials Tools Assembled materials

Bone carving Bristle brush Beads
Gemstones Chisel and hammer (modern pneumatic) Corrugated
Glass Clamp or vise fiberboard (cardboard)
Granite Hammer or mallet (modern pneumatic) Edible material
Ice Scraper Foil
Ivory Kiln for heating ceramics and metals Found objects
Marble Knife Glue and
Plaster Pliers other adhesives
Stone Potter's wheel Paperboard
Wax Power tools Textile
Wood Sandpaper Wire
Bronze Saw Wood
Snips
Welding and cutting torch
Wire cutter
Casting materials Finishing material Modeling materials
Cement Acids to create a patina (corrosive) Clay
Ceramics Glaze Papier-mâché
Metal Polychrome Plaster
Plaster Wax Sand
Plastic Styrofoam
Synthetic resin
Wax

Photography
Photography is a method of recording the image of an object through the action of light,
or related radiation, on a light-sensitive material. The word, derived from the
Greek photos (―light‖)‎and graphein (―to‎draw‖),‎was‎first‎used‎in‎the‎1830s.

It is a means of visual communication and expression, photography has distinct

aesthetic capabilities. In order to understand them, one must first understand the
characteristics of the process itself. One of the most important characteristics is
immediacy. Usually, but not necessarily, the image that is recorded is formed by
alens in a camera. Upon exposure to the light forming the image, the sensitive material
undergoes changes in its structure, a latent (but reversed) image usually called a
negative is formed, and the image becomes visible by development and permanent by
fixing‎with‎sodium‎thiosulfate,‎called‎―hypo.‖‎
The essential elements of the image are usually established immediately at the time of
exposure. This characteristic is unique to photography and sets it apart from other ways
of picture making. The seemingly automatic recording of an image by photography has
given the process a sense of authenticity shared by no other picture-making technique.

In photography a photosensitive surface is used to capture an optical still image, usually

utilizing a lens to focus light. Some media include:

 Digital image sensor

 Photographic film
 Potassium dichromate
 Potassium ferri cyanide and ferric ammonium citrate
 Silver nitrate

Daguerreotype is the first successful form of photography in the 1830s. Daguerre and
Niépce found that if a copper plate coated with silver iodide was exposed to light in
a camera, then fumed with mercury vapour and fixed (made permanent) by a solution of
common salt, a permanent image would be formed.

Talbot discovered that the gallic acid acid could be used to develop a latent image. This
discovery revolutionized photography on paper as it had revolutionized photography on
metal in 1835.

In 1850s the production of the stereograph entailed making two images of the same
subject, usually with a camera with two lenses placed 2.5 inches (6 cm) apart to
simulate the position of the human eyes, and then mounting the positive prints side by
side laterally on a stiff backing. Brewster devised a stereoscope through which the
finished stereograph could be viewed; the stereoscope had two eye pieces through
which the laterally mounted images, placed in a holder in front of the lenses, were
viewed. The two images were brought together by the effort of the human brain to
create an illusion of three-dimensionality.

Photography was revolutionized in 1851 by the introduction of the wet collodion

process for making glass negatives. This new technique was 20 times faster than all
previous methods and was, moreover, free from patent restrictions. Paper prints could
easily be made from glass-plate negatives. The process had one major drawback: the
photographer had to sensitize the plate almost immediately before exposure and
expose it and process it while the coating was moist.

In the 1870s many attempts were made to find a dry substitute for wet collodion so
that plates could be prepared in advance and developed long after exposure, which
would thereby eliminate the need for a portable darkroom followed by colours and by
1950s digital photography came in to existence.
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses cameras containing arrays
of electronic photo detectors to capture images focused by a lens, as opposed to an
exposure on photographic film. The captured images are digitized and stored as a file
ready for further digital processing, viewing, digital publishing or printing.

Literature

Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work; etymologically the term derives
from Latin literatura/ litteratura "writing formed with letters", although some definitions
include spoken or sung texts. More restrictively, it is writing that possesses literary
merit, and language that foregrounds literariness, as opposed to ordinary language.
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 their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre)

The history of literature follows closely the development of civilization. When defined
exclusively as written work, Ancient Egyptian literature,[43] along with Sumerian
literature are considered the world's oldest literatures.[44] The primary genres of the
literature of Ancient Egypt—didactic texts, hymns and prayers, and tales—were almost
entirely written in verse. Literature in all its forms can be seen as written records,
whether the literature itself be factual or fictional, it is still quite possible to decipher facts
through‎things‎like‎characters‘‎actions‎and‎words‎or‎the‎authors‘‎style‎of‎writing‎and‎the‎
intent behind the words.

The plot is for more than just entertainment purposes; within it lies information about
economics, psychology, science, religions, politics, cultures, and social depth. Studying
and analyzing literature becomes very important in terms of learning about our history.
Through the study of past literature we are able to learn about how society has evolved
and about the societal norms during each of the different periods all throughout history.
This can even help us to understand references made in more modern literature
because authors often make references to mythology and other old religious texts or
historical moments.

Performing arts

The performing art is a form of entertainment that is created by the artist's

own body, face and presence as a medium. There are many skills
and genres of performance, dance and theatre being examples. Performance art is a
performance that may not present a conventional formal linear narrative.
Performance art differs from the plastic arts, which use materials such as clay, metal or
paint which can be molded or transformed.
Performance art arose in the early 1970s as a general term for a multitude of
activities—including Happenings, body art, actions, events, and guerrilla theatre. It can
embrace a wide diversity of styles.

Performing arts may include dance, music, opera, theatre and musical
theatre, magic, illusion, mime, spoken word, puppetry, circus arts, performance art,
recitation and public speaking. There is also a specialized form of fine art, in which the
artists perform their work live to an audience. This is called performance art. Most
performance art also involves some form of plastic art, perhaps in the creation of props.
Dance was often referred to as a plastic art during the Modern dance era.

 Performance art borrows styles and ideas from other forms of art, or sometimes
from other forms of activity not associated with art, like ritual, or work-like tasks.

Theatre

Theatre is the branch of performing arts; concerned with acting out stories in front of an
audience, using a combination of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle.
Any one or more of these elements is performing arts. Theatre takes such forms
as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, illusion, mime, classical Indian dance and non-
conventional or contemporary forms like postmodern theatre, post dramatic theatre,
or performance art .

Dance

In the context of performing arts, dance generally refers to human movement, typically
rhythmic and to music, used as a form of audience entertainment in
a performance setting. Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent
on social, cultural, aesthetic artistic and moral constraints.

Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful
performers into something that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight
spectators who feel no wish to dance themselves

Civilization and arts

Egyptian art
 3000 BC to 100 AD.
 reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized
and symbolic
 use of media ranging from drawings on papyrus through wood, stone, and
paintings
  stone surfaces were prepared by whitewash, or if rough, a layer of coarse mud
plaster, with a smoother gesso layer above; some finer limestones could take
paint directly. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand strong sunlight
without fading.
 Sunk or sunken relief is largely restricted to the art of Ancient Egypt where it is
used for large reliefs on external walls, and for hieroglyphs

Sunk relief
Statue
Heiroglyphics

 Most of Egyptian secular and religious life was marked by the performance of
music and dance.
 Lotus flowers, mandrakes, wigs and unguent cones, as well as men and women
clothed in semi-transparent garments and the gestures of the banquet
participants appeared in the 18th century.
 Detailed study of the depiction of dancers has revealed that the artists were often
depicting a series of different steps in particular dances, some of which have
been reconstructed. Movements of Egyptian dances were named after the
motion they imitated.
 depictions of dance in Pharaonic tombs and temples invariably show the dancers
either being accompanied by groups of musicians or themselves playing to keep
the rhythm
 Many dancers depicted in the temple and tomb paintings and reliefs show
dancers in athletic poses such as cartwheels, handstands and backbends.

Greek art
 Most of Egyptian secular and religious life was marked
by the performance of music and dance.
 Lotus flowers, mandrakes, wigs and unguent cones, as
well as men and women clothed in semi-transparent garments and the gestures of
the banquet participants appeared in the 18th century.
 Detailed study of the depiction of dancers has revealed
that the artists were often depicting a series of different steps in particular dances,
some of which have been reconstructed. Movements of Egyptian dances were
named after the motion they imitated.
 depictions of dance in Pharaonic tombs and temples
invariably show the dancers either being accompanied by groups of musicians or
themselves playing to keep the rhythm
 Many dancers depicted in the temple and tomb
paintings and reliefs show dancers in athletic poses such as cartwheels, handstands
and backbends.

 Sculpture (materials – marble, bronze, terracotta and

wood)
 Dance – expressions and actions of the features and
head which suggest ideas like marching, acrobatic performances, mimetic.

 The plays were comedies (funny, often poking fun at

rulers) or tragedies (sad and serious, with a lesson about right and wrong)
 The masterpieces of Greek drama date from the 5th
century BC. At that time, in Athens, the audience sit on the bare hillside to watch
performances on a temporary wooden stage. In the 4th century a stone auditorium is
built on the site, and there is still a theatre there today - the theatre of Dionysus.

Read
more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=cui#ix
zz3dxsaIx5J

Roman art

 Roman art includes architecture,

painting, sculpture and mosaic work.
 Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory
carvings, and glass, are sometimes considered in modern terms to be minor
forms of Roman art, although this would not necessarily have been the case for
contemporaries.
 Sculpture was perhaps considered as the highest form
of art by Romans, but figure painting was also very highly regarded.
 Roman painting provides a wide variety of themes:
animals, still life, scenes from everyday life, portraits, and some mythological
subjects.
  it evoked the pleasures of the countryside and
represented scenes of shepherds, herds, rustic temples, rural mountainous
landscapes and country houses.
 Erotic scenes are also relatively common.
 The main innovation of Roman painting compared to
Greek art was the development of landscapes, in particular incorporating
techniques of perspective, though true mathematical perspective developed
1,515 years later.
 Surface textures, shading, and coloration are well
applied but scale and spatial depth was still not rendered accurately.
 Some landscapes were pure scenes of nature,
particularly gardens with flowers and trees, while others were architectural vistas
depicting urban buildings.
 Roman genre scenes generally depict Romans at
leisure and include gambling, music and sexual encounters

 It is also important to distinguish two quite distinct

‗markets‘‎for‎Roman‎sculpture
- the first was the aristocratic ruling class taste for more
classical and idealistic sculpture
- the‎second,‎more‎provincial,‎‗middle-class‘‎market‎
seems to have preferred a more naturalistic and emotional type of
sculpture, especially in portraiture and funerary works
Sculpture on Roman buildings could be merely decorative or have a more political
purpose, for example, on triumphal arches (which most often celebrated military
victories) the architectural sculpture captured in detail key campaign events which
reinforced the message that the emperor was a victorious and civilizing agent across
the known world.

The music of ancient Rome was a part of Roman culture from earliest times. Music was
customary at funerals, and the tibia (Greek aulos), a woodwind instrument, was played
at sacrifices to ward off ill influences.
Song (carmen) was an integral part of almost every social occasion.
Roman art depicts various woodwinds, "brass", percussion and stringed instruments.

Dances were numerous

- rurally ritual
- serious dancing profession through fields and villages.

Indus valley civilization

Sculpture in Stone
Sculpture in Metal
Sculpture in Terracotta
Pottery and Painting
Pottery found in large quantities shows that with the potter's wheel the craftsman
produced pottery of various artistic shapes. The special clay for this purpose was baked
and the different designs on pots were painted. Figures of birds, animals and men were
depicted on the pots. Paintings on the pots show, that these men were equally good at
painting.

 The art of the earliest people

in South Asia is of interest, this ranges from cave
paintings (such as at Bhimbetka), Neolithic pottery
glazed with patterns and decorations, terracotta
figurines, cast bronze statuettes, seals and various
figures‎ranging‎from‎priest‎figures‎to‎children‘s‘‎toys.

 Painted pottery and copper tools originated along the

banks of the Indus river
 Two types of pottery – monochromatic and multi colored
 Vessels were first painted with black outlines of design
and after firing colored with yellow, white, blue and red.

 Along with pottery clay idols and animal figurines are

characteristics for art of the Indus valley civilization
 Bumped bulls, birds, pumas, rams , fish etc were
depicted.
Some of the figures are solid and some are hollow.

Mother
Goddess, Bull,
bird figurines

 Numerous square seals engraved with images of

animals like bulls, rhinoceros, elephants etc, and unicorns, human or divine
figures.
 Elephant and deer seal

A number of bangles, necklaces and pendants decorate the figures neck and arms, and
the hair is coiled into a loose bun. Whether the figure actually represents a dancing girl
is a matter of some conjecture, though certainly the restrained movement inherent in the
pose, the provocative nature of the figure, and the numerous adornments indicate this
profession.

References

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http://www.britannica.com/technology/technology-of-photography
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