ART APPRECIATION

The Humanities and Art

HUMANITIES
“HUMANUS”
human, refined, cultured
* Philosophy, ethics, jurisprudence,
language, linguistics and literary
studies, art and art history

* Study of human culture and the

human condition

* thoughts, beliefs, values and

feelings
Last judgment of Hunefer, from his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca.
1300–1290 bce. Painted papyrus scroll, 1′ 6″ high. British Museum, London.

The Book of the Dead contained spells and prayers. This scroll
depicts the weighing of Hunefer’s heart against Maat’s feather
before the deceased
can be presented to Osiris, god of the Underworld.
What is ART?
“ARS” - ability / skill
Kat sushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Edo period, ca.
1826–1833. Woodblock print, ink and colors on paper, 97–8 ″ × 1′ 23–4″. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(Bigelow Collection).
Virgin of Compassion icon (Vladimir Virgin), late Chris Ofili The Holy Virgin Mary, 1996. Acrylic,
11th or early 12th century, with later repainting. oil, polyester resin, paper collage, glitter, map
Tempera on wood, 2′ 61–2″ × 1′ 9″. Tretyakov pins, elephant dung on linen, 8′ × 6′. Victoria
Gallery, Moscow. Miro Gallery, London.
 “I stopped and leaned
against the balustrade,
almost dead with
fatigue. Above the
blue-black fjord hung
the clouds, red as
blood and tongues of
fire. My friends had left
me, and alone,
trembling with anguish,
I became aware of the
vast, infinite cry of
nature.”
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893. Tempera
and pastels on cardboard, 2′ 113–4″ × 2′ 5″.
National Gallery, Oslo.
What is ART?

Any human activity that expresses aesthetic ideas by

the use of skill and imagination in the creation of
objects, environments and experiences which can
be shared with others to help create an aesthetic
experience in the viewer.
 skill + imagination = ART

“ Imagination is more important than

knowledge. For knowledge is limited to
all we now know and understand, while
imagination embraces the entire world,
and all there ever will be to know and
understand.” - Einstein
“MAN IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS”
- Protagoras
Meaning man is used as the foundation of value
rather than any god or moral law.

Implying that the humanities emphasizes the dignity

and worthiness of man and recognizes creative
expressions. So ART as a creative expression of man
may be regarded as a "measuring stick" in looking
into a certain period/era or even a specific country
or group of people.

What one man holds to be true may be false with

another, depending on environment, culture and
other aspects that influence him.
Degustibus non disputandum est
(Matters of taste are not matters of dispute)
Assumptions about art
1. ART IS UNIVERSAL

Art has been created by various people, at all

places and time.

Art exists because it is liked and enjoyed.

Nude woman (Venus of
Willendorf ), from Willendorf,
Austria,
ca. 28,000–25,000 bce.
Limestone, 41–4″ high.
Naturhistorisches
Museum, Vienna.
Thutmose, Nefertiti, from Linda Carter Wonder Woman
Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, 70’s TV series
ca. 1353–1335 bce. Painted
limestone, 1′ 1–4″ high.
Ägyptisches
Museum, Staatliche Museen
zu Berlin, Berlin.
2. ART IS NOT NATURE

Art is man-made.

Art is man’s expression of his reception of

nature, his own interpretation of what he sees
around him. Man’s perception of what is
already given in nature.
“PERCEPTION”
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902–1904.
Oil on canvas, 2′ 31–2″ × 2′ 111–4″.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
(George W. Elkins Collection).
3. ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

How do you know if a movie is good? Or if the latest single of your

favourite artist is better than the last one?

In order to know what an artwork is, we have to sense it,

see or hear it, see and hear it. Emotion must be involved
in the experience of art.
Types of art
1. Visual art

• Perceived by the sense of sight

• Graphic Arts
• 2-dimensional surfaces
• Painting, drawing, photography and other
products of the printing
industry – books, signs, posters,
ads/advertisements
• Plastic Arts (Greek “plastikos” – to form or to
mold)

• 3-dimensional forms

• Architectural designs, other structures;

landscapes, interior design,
sculpture, crafts – jewelry, weaving,
ceramics; industrial arts –
designs of cars or appliances or clothing
or stage production
2. Performing arts
• Theater, play, dance and music
• Involves movement, speaking and
gestures
3. Literary arts
• Short stories, novels, poetry, drama
4. Popular Arts
• Film, newspaper, magazine, radio and
television
• Main characteristic – gay and lively
5. Gustatory art of the cuisine
• Skill in food preparation
6. Decorative Arts
• Visual objects produced for
beautifying houses, offices
• Also called Applied arts
• Example: bowls, chandeliers, furniture