The Visual Arts
OBJECTIVES:
• DISCUSS THE RELEVANCE OF HAVING AN IN –DEPTH
UNDERSTANDING OF READING VISUAL ARTS
• EXPLAIN THE BASIC TERMS INVOLVED IN READING
VISUAL ARTS
• IDENTIFY THE IMPORTANCE AN DPURPOSE OF VISULA
ARTS IN REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS
ACTIVITY 1
Reading Visual Art deals with the
study of art appreciation,
interpretation, and criticism. It
surveys techniques, composition,
materials terminology, and art forms'
cultural and social influences.
Designed for the non-art major; this
course provides the foundation for
understanding the visual arts.
• Visual Arts are art
forms that create
works that are
primarily visual in
The Visual nature, such as
ceramics, drawing,
Arts painting, sculpture,
printmaking, design,
crafts, photography,
video, film making, and
architecture.
Visual Arts include:
• Fine Arts – refers to an art form practiced
mainly for its aesthetic value and its
beauty rather than its functional value.
• Contemporary Arts – include number of
modern art forms such as: assemblage,
collage, mixed-media, conceptual art,
installation, happenings and performance
art, along with film-based disciplines
such as photography, video art, and
animation, or any combination thereof.
• Decorative Arts and
Crafts – includes
ceramics and studio
pottery, mosaic art,
mobiles, tapestry, glass
art, and others.
• Other – graphic
design, fashion design,
and interior design.
New types of body art
may also fall in this
category which
includes tattoo art,
face painting, and
body painting.
Philosophical Perspective of
Arts
Art as mimesis (Plato)
• Mimesis is derived from the Greek word
“mimos” meaning to imitate. It is a critical
and philosophical term that carries a wide
range of meanings, which include
imitation, representation, mimicry,
receptivity, similarity, the act of
resembling, the act of expression, and the
presentation of the self.
Art as
representation
(Aristotle)
• Similar to Plato’s
writings about
mimesis, Aristotle also
defined mimesis as
the perfection, and
imitation of nature
Art of Art Sake
• "Art for art's sake" is
the usual English
rendering of a French
slogan from the early
19th century, "l'art pour
l'art“.
• Used to convey the idea
that the chief or only
aim of a work of art is
the self-expression of
the individual artist
who creates it.
The Subject of Art
Representational of
Objective
• Representational art or figurative art
represents objects or events in the real
world, usually looking easily
recognizable. It uses form and is
concerned with what is to be depicted
in the artwork.
Non-representational
or Non-objective
• These are those arts without
any reference to anything
outside itself. It is non-
objective because it has no
recognizable objects. It is
abstract in the sense that it
doesn’t represent real
objects in our world.
Sources of Subject Art
• Provide first hand
testimony or direct
evidence concerning a
topic under
investigation. They are
created by witnesses or
recorders who
experienced the events
or conditions being
documented.
Primary Sources
• Interpret and analyze
primary sources.
Because they are often
written significantly
after events by parties
not directly involved but
who have special
expertise, they may
provide historical
context or critical
perspectives.
Secondary Sources
Some of these
sources of art
subject are:
1. Nature
2. History
3. Greek and Roman
mythology
4. The Judaeo-Christian
tradition
5. Oriental Sacred Texts
6. Other works of art
Kinds of Subject
1. Still Life
2. Landscapes, Seascapes
& Cityscapes
3. Animals
4. Portraits
5. Figures
6. Everyday Life
7. History and Legends
8. Religion and
Mythology
9. Dreams and Fantasies
Different Levels of Meaning
Factual Meaning
• The literal meaning or
narrative content in the
work which can be directly
apprehended because the
objects presented are easily
recognized.
Conventional
Meaning
• Refers to the special
meaning that certain object
has in a particular culture or
group of people.
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 experience.
MODES OF PRESENTING ART
SUBJECTS
Certain methods of presenting arts are
employed in order for it to be effective.In
presenting his subject, the artists uses
different methods to express the idea he
wants to make clear.
ppt adapted from Veronica Baje
