Module 2

Mrs. Johara C. Bayabao - Angni 2nd Trimester 2020-2021 GEC 123 – Art Appreciation
Creativity, imagination, & Expression GEC 123 – Art Appreciation

Lesson 2 – Art Appreciation: Creativity, Imagination, and Expression

“The role of art as a creative work is to depict the world in a completely different light and
perspective” – Jean-Paul Sartre

It takes an artist to make art. One may perceive beauty on a daily basis. However, not every beautiful
thing that can be seen or experienced may truly be called a work of art. Art is a product of man’s
creativity, imagination, and expression. Not everyone can be considered an artist, but all are spectators
of art. We are able to distinguish what is fine and beautiful from what is not and what is good quality and
from poor. This gives us a role in the field of art appreciation.

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Differentiates art from nature;

2. Characterize artistic expression based on personal experiences with art;
3. Discuss the nature of art’s preliminary expression; and
4. Categorize works of art by citing personal experiences.

In one of your encounters with art through museum visits, musicals, and plays among others, have you ever
felt disconnected from an artwork? Was there a point in time when you did not understand what message the
art was trying to convey? Explain why you think you did or did not understand the art using the space provided
below.

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Creativity, imagination, & Expression GEC 123 – Art Appreciation

ART APPRECIATION AS A WAY OF LIFE

Each artwork beholds beauty in its own kind, the kind that the artist sees and
wants the viewers to perceive. More often than not, people are blind to this beauty
and only those who have developed a fine sense of appreciation can experience
and see the art the way the artist did. Hence, refining one’s ability to appreciate arts
allows him to deeply understand the purpose of an artwork and recognize the beauty
it possesses. In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also exercise and
develop his taste for things that are fine and beautiful. This allows individuals to make
intelligent choices and decisions in acquiring necessities and luxuries, knowing what
gives better value for time or money while taking into consideration the aesthetic
and practical value. Learning to appreciate art no matter what vocation or profession
you have, will lead to a fuller and more meaningful life.

THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY IN ART MAKING

Creativity requires thinking outside the box. In art, creativity is what
sets apart one artwork from another.
When can we say that something is creative?
O When we have not seen anything like it
O When it is out of the ordinary
O When it is not just a copy or imitation of someone’s work
…THERE IS ORIGINALITY!
Nowadays, being creative can be quite challenging. What you
thought was your own unique and creative idea may not what it seems to
be after extensive research and that someone else has
coincidentally devised before the idea in another part of
the world.

For instance, the campaign ad “It’s More Fun in the

Philippines” used by the Department of Tourism (DOT)
boomed popularity in 2011, but later on it was found out
that it was allegedly plagiarized from Switzerland’s tourism slogan “It’s More Fun in Switzerland,” back in 1951.
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In DOT’s defense, former DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. claimed that it was “purely coincidental.” Thus,
creativity should be backed with careful research on related art to avoid such conflicts.

ART AS A PRODUCT OF IMAGINATION, IMAGINATION AS A PRODUCT OF 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.”
– Albert Einstein
Imagination is not constrained by the walls of the norm, but goes beyond that. Through imagination, one
is able to craft something bold, something new, and something better in the hopes of creating something that
will stimulate change. In artist’s mind sits a vast gallery of artworks. An artwork does not need to be a real thing,
but can be something that is imaginary. However, something imaginary does not necessarily mean it cannot be
called art. Artists use their imagination that gives birth to reality through creation. In the same way that
imagination produces art, art also inspires imagination.

IMAGINATION

ART

ART AS EXPRESSION
“What an artist does to an emotion is not to induce it, but express it. Through expression, he is able to explore
his own emotions and at the same
time, create something beautiful
out of them.” – Robin George
Collingwood
Expressing emotions is
different from describing emotions.
This makes people’s art not a
reflection of what is outside or
external to them, but a reflection of
their inner selves.

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There are countless of ways of expressing oneself through art. The following list includes, but is not
limited to, popular art expressions.
Visual Arts
Creations that fall under this category are those that appeals to the sense of sight and are mainly visual
in nature. Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in the way
that they perceived them. There are also other artistic disciplines that also involve a visual aspect, such as
performance arts, theater, and applied arts. Some mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings,
letterings, printing, sculpture, digital imaging.
Film
Film refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in
order to create an illusion of movement. Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic,
cultural, and social value and is considered both an art and an industry.
Techniques in film-making process:
➢ Motion-picture camera (also known as movie camera)
➢ Animation techniques
➢ Computer-generated imagery (CGI)
Filmmaking simulates experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope
of our imagination as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewers.

Performance Art
Performance art is a live art and the artist’s medium is mainly the human
body which he or she uses to perform, but also employs other kind of art such as
visual art, props, or sound.

Elements of performance arts:

➢ Time
➢ Where the performance took place
➢ The performer’s body
➢ Relationship between the audience and the performer(s)
The fact that performance art is live makes it intangible, which means it
cannot be bought or traded as a commodity.

Poetry Performance
Poetry is an art form where the artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera,
but expresses them through words. These words are carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to
stimulate strong emotions of joy, anger, love, sorrow among others. It uses a word’s emotional, musical, and
spatial values that go beyond its literal meaning to narrate emphasize, argue, or convince. These words
combined with movements, tone, volume, and intensity of the delivery add to the artistic, value of the poem.

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Architecture
Art is the pursuit and creation of beautiful things while
architecture is the making of beautiful buildings. However, not
all building are beautiful because some only embody the
functionality they need, but the structure, lines, forms, and
colors are not beautifully expressed.
Important elements:
➢ Plan
➢ Construction
➢ Design
Buildings should embody these three important elements if
they wish to merit the title architecture.
Dance
Dance is series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music accompaniment. Dancing is a creative
art form that allows people to freely express themselves. IT HAS NO RULES. Choreography may seem not to
allow this, but in art expression, dancers are not confined to set steps and rules but are free to create and invent
their own movements as longs as they deem them graceful and beautiful.
Literary Art
Artists who practice literary arts use words to express themselves and communicate emotions to the
readers. Simply becoming a writer does not make one a literary artist. Literary art goes beyond the usual
professional, academic, journalistic and other technical forms of writing. It focuses on writing using a unique
style, not following a specific format or norm. It may include both fiction and non-fiction such as novels,
biographies, and poems. Examples of famous literary artists and their works include The Little Prince by Antoine
de Sain-Exupery and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Theater
Theater uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience. Theater art
performance usually follows follow a script, though they should not be confused with literary arts. Like in
filmmaking, theater also considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting, sound effects, musical
score, scenery and props. Like performance art, theater also is a live performance. Genres: drama, musical,
tragedy, comedy and improvisation
Applied Arts
Applied arts is incorporating
elements of style and design to everyday
items with the aim of increasing their
aesthetic value. Artists in this field bring
beauty, charm, and comfort into many
things that were useful in everyday life.
Industrial design, interior design, fashion
design, graphic design.

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Creativity, imagination, & Expression GEC 123 – Art Appreciation

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject & Section: ________________________________________________ Date of submission: __________________

Answer the following questions as precisely yet as thoroughly as possible.

1. What art field will you explore?

2. How can you utilize the arts to express yourself, your community, and your
relation to others?

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Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject & Section: ________________________________________________ Date of submission: __________________

Using the table below, write down examples of the different art forms studied in this lesson.
Provide ways on how these art forms express and unmask creativity from the artist.

How Does This

Types of Art How Does This
Example Unmask the Artist’s
Expression Express?
Creativity?

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Lesson 3 – Functions and Philosophical Perspectives on Art

Aristotle claimed that every particular substance in the

world has an end, or telos in Greek, which translates into
“purpose.” Every substance, defined as formed matter, moves
according to a fixed path towards its aim.

This telos, according to Aristotle, is intricately linked

with function. For a thing to reach its purpose, it also has to
fulfill its function.

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Distinguish directly functional and indirectly functional

art,
2. Explain and discuss the basic philosophical
perspectives on the art,
3. Realize the function of some art forms in daily life, and
4. Apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetics in real life scenarios.

Browse your Facebook and/or Instagram feed. Using the table below, list down as many different artworks that
you may encounter while scrolling/browsing. On the second column, identify what it is its function or purpose. You can
either research this or assume intelligently. Write them down on the corresponding column.

Artwork Function and/or Purpose

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Functions of Art
An inquiry on the function of art is an inquiry on what
art is for. For example, when one asks what is the Rizal
monument for? Why was it erected in Rizal Park or what then
was called Luneta or Bagumbayan? Is it for pure sentimental
value? Is it for aesthetic value? Or does it send a message to
those who witness it? In this string of questions, the inquirer
is hoping to get the function of the piece of art in Rizal Park.
When it comes to function, different art forms come
with distinctive functions. Some art forms are more
functional than others. For example, architecture as an art is
highly functional just like most applied arts. A building as a
work of art is obviously made for a specific purpose. On the
other hand, jewelry-making as an art is known by its product.
The name of the art in these applied arts is basically
denoted by its specific function. In this and other such
functional arts, “…function is so important that it has
usurped the name of the art on the identification of
individual’s works” (Dudley et al., 1960). Other
examples are paintings, poems, and statues. The name
of the art basically points toward the direction of the
product or its function.
On the
other end of
the spectrum, one can only think of painting and literature as forms of
art that have the least to do with purely practical values. When one
examines and thinks of a painting or a work of literature such as a poem
or a novel, one looks at the values of the art in itself and not because of
what it can do and benefit us. Unlike practical arts where the value of
the art (in pottery, jewelry-making, architecture, among others) in
question lies in the practical benefits one gains from it (a pot, a jewelry,
or a house or building), with painting and literature, one can only look
at the value of the product of art in and for itself. A poem is beautiful
regardless of its possible ramifications in society.
DOES IT MEAN THAT PAINTINGS AND LITERARY WORKS CAN NEVER HAVE ANY
FUNCTION?
This is definitely is not to say. The two masterpieces of our
national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo served as a catechist for Filipino
revolutionaries to gather strength in rejecting the oppressive forces of the Spaniards in the Philippines in the
19th century. The novels accrued value and as a consequence, function. They are functional in so far as they are
designed to accomplish some definite end.
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The functions of art are classified into three: personal (public display or expression), social (celebration
or to affect collective behavior), and physical (utilitarian). Let us understand each of these three.
Personal Functions of Art
The personal functions of art are varied and highly subjective. Functions depends on the artist who
created the art. An artist may create an art out of self -expression, entertainment, or therapeutic purpose.
Social Functions of Art
Art is considered to have a social function if and when it
addresses a particular collective interest as opposed to a
personal interest. Art may convey message of protest,
contestation, or whatever message the artist intends his work
to carry. Political art is a very common example of an art with
a social function. Art can also depict social conditions such as
photography (pictures of poverty). Performance art like plays
or satires can also rouse emotions and rally people toward a
particular end.
Physical Functions of Art
The physical functions of art can be found in artworks that
are crafted in order to serve some physical purpose.
Architecture, jewelry-making, interior design all serves
physical functions.

Other Functions of Art

Music was principally used for dance and religion. The
ancient world saw music as an instrument to facilitate worship
and invocation to gods. Music was essential for synchronicity
of dancers. Music guarantees that warriors were
simultaneous. Today, music has expanded its functions and
coverage. There is a lot of music that has no connection to
dance or religion. (e.g., Serenade – People compose hymns to express feelings and emotions). Music is also used
as accompaniment to stage plays and motion pictures.
Sculptures have been made by man most particularly for religion. In the Roman Catholic world, the
employment of sculptures for religious purposes has remained vital, relevant, and symbolic. Rizal and
Bonifacio’s monument and commemorative coins (Pope Francis).
Architecture may be the most prominent functional art. Unlike other forms of art, buildings take so much
time to erect and destroy. One cannot dismiss taking into consideration the function of a building before
construction. It is also in architecture where one can find the intimate connection of function and form.

DOES ART ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FUNCTIONAL?

Adequate performance of function partly determines the beauty of a design in these functional art
forms. Despite this, efficiency cannot be mistaken as beauty. While it certainly determines beauty in some works
of art, an efficient functional object is not necessarily beautiful. Art demands so much more than mere
efficiency. What then really comprises beauty and art? What makes something truly beautiful? What really
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makes a work of art? What really is art? The next part of this lesson attempts to provide different perspectives
on the nature of art.

Philosophical Perspectives on Art

Art as an Imitation
In Plato’s The Republic, paints a picture of artists as imitators and
art as mere imitation. In his description of the ideal republic, Plato advises
against the inclusion of art as a subject in the curriculum and the banning
of artists in the Republic. In Plato’s metaphysics or view of reality, the
things in this world are only copies of the original, the eternal, and the
true entities that can only be found in the World of Forms. For example,
the chair that one sits on is not a real chair. It is an imperfect copy of the
perfect “chair” in the World of Forms.
Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the belief in
copies and discourage men to reach for the real entities in the World of
Forms. Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two reasons:
1. They appeal to the emotion rather to the rational faculty of men
2. They imitate rather than lead one to reality

Poetry rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds rationality of people. Art is just an imitation of
imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also just an imitation of reality in the World of Forms.
Art then is to be banished, alongside the practitioners, so that the attitudes and actions of the members of the
Republic will not be corrupted by the influence of the arts. For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty
replacement for the real entities than can only be attained through reason.

Art as a Representation
Aristotle, agreed with Plato that art is a form of imitation. However, Aristotle considered art as an aid
to philosophy in revealing the truth. The kind of imitation that art does is not antithetical to the reaching of
fundamental truths in the world. Unlike Plato who thought that art is an imitation of another imitation, Aristotle
conceived of art as representing possible versions of reality. For Aristotle, all kinds of art do not aim to represent
reality as it is, it endeavors to provide a version of what might be or the myriad possibilities of reality.
In Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes:

• Art allows for the experience of pleasure (horrible experience can be made an object of humor)
• Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach its audience things about life (cognitive)

Art as a Disinterested Judgment

Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Judgment, considered the judgment of beauty, the cornerstone of art,
as something that can be universal despite its subjectivity. Kant recognized that judgment of beauty is
subjective. However, even subjective judgments are based on some universal criterion for the said judgment.

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HOW AND IN WHAT SENSE CAN A JUDGMENT OF BEAUTY, WHICH ORDINARILY IS CONSIDERED TO BE A
SUBJECTIVE FEELING, BE CONSIDERED OBJECTIVE OR UNIVERSAL?
How are these two statements different?
1. “I like this painting.”
2. “This painting is beautiful.”
The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective), while the second is an aesthetic judgment (objective).

Making an aesthetic judgment requires us to be disinterested. In other words, we should try to go beyond
our individual tastes and preferences so that we can appreciate art from a universal standpoint.

Art as a Communication of Emotion

According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays a huge role in communication to its audience’s emotions that the
artist previously experienced. In the same that language communicates information to other people, art
communicates emotions. As a purveyor of man’s innermost feelings and thoughts, art is given a unique
opportunity to serve as a mechanism for social unity. Art is central to man’s existence because it makes
accessible feelings and emotions of people from the past and present.

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Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject & Section: ________________________________________________ Date of submission: __________________

Answer the following questions as precisely yet as thoroughly as possible.

1. What art form/artwork has changed something in your life? Why?

2. Does art always have a function? Why? Support your response. Provide your own
example.

3. If an artwork ceased to have a function, will it remain an art? Why?

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Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject & Section: ________________________________________________ Date of submission: __________________

Look around your house and identify a product of art. In the box below, paste a picture of
that product of art in your household. Trace the beginnings of this item and identify what functions
it has played in history (e.g., a calligraphy art of some Surah or verses from Qur-an, a spoon, vase,
etc.).

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On your notebook, write your answers to the questions below. Take a few minutes to reflect on how
well you understood this module. How did you do on the activities and the exercises? Choose a number on
the scale below to indicate how well you understand the significance of creativity, imagination and
expression in art.

1………2………3………4………5………6………7………8………9………10
I’m bewildered! I need to brush up. Ask me anything!

1. Now identify anything you still don’t understand about the significance of creativity, imagination
and expression in art. What do you still need to learn or need clarification on?

2. For anything you don’t understand or can’t remember, what steps can you take to solve the
problem? Do you need to reread? Ask a classmate or your instructor questions? Write the information
down or review it some other way?

If there is anything you need to fix, continue to work on it. Even if there are things you don’t
yet understand perfectly, even if there are skills you need more practice on, you should feel very
proud of the progress you have made and how much you have learned.

The most successful people are those who view themselves as life-long learners. As
someone once said, “When you’re not learning, someone else is. When you meet, guess who has
the advantage?” Make yourself the one who has the advantage.

Butcher, S.H. (Ed.) (1902). The Poetics of Aristotle. New York: The Macmillan Company.
Collingwood, R.G. (1938). The Principles of Art. WOrcesterschire: Read Books Ltd.
Collins, M.R. and Riley, O. (1931). Art Appreciation for Junior and Senior High Schools. New York: Harcourt,
Brace & World, Inc.
Dudley, L., Faricy, A., and McGraw-Hill Book Company. (1960). The Humanities. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Greene, M. (1995). Art and Imagination: Reclaiming the Sense of Possibility. Indiana, USA: Phi Delta Kappa
International.
Moma Learning. (n.d.). “Conceptual Art.” Accessed October 14, 2020. Retrieved from
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/conceptual-art/performance-into-art.

The Arts Center. (n.d.) “Poetry is Art Form.” Accessed October 14, 2020. Retrieved from
https://www.theartscenter.org/art-exhibitions/poetry-art-from.html.
Unbound Visual Arts. (n.d.) “What is Visual Art?” Accessed October 15, 2020. Retrieved from
http://www.unboundvisualarts.org/what-is-visual-art/.

Prepared by:Johara C. Bayabao-Angni

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