U

OF SO THER
E
DMMA COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

N
MA COLLE

PHIL INES
(Formerly Davao Merchant Marine Academy)

IPP
Tigatto Road, Buhangin, Davao City, 8000
DM Philippines
1993

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MARINE ENGINEERING

NGEC 6 – Art Appreciation
DCSP-ACA-ME-CM-FBL-____

COURSE MODULE
(Paper-Based)

STUDENT’S COPY
Module Title INTRODUCTION TO ARTS

Module Number 1

Competence Understanding of basic concepts across the domains of knowledge.

KUP

 Understand the role of art in man’s attempt at fully realizing his end.
 Clarify misconceptions about arts.
 Characterize the assumptions of arts.
 Differentiate art from nature.
 Characterize artistic expression based on personal experiences with art.
 Discuss the nature of art’s preliminary expression.
Learning Outcomes  Differentiate representational art and non-representational art.
 Discuss the difference between an artwork’s subject and its content.
 Identify the subject matter and content of specific examples of art.
 Enumerate the different principles of arts.
 Differentiate the principles of arts
 Explain the relevance of these principles of art in the study of art and its products.

References

Essential Readings

Module Content
Additional [Link]
[Link]
Readings/Videos
[Link]
 What is Art?
The word “art” comes from the ancient Latin,
ars which means a “craft or specialized form of skill,
like carpentry or smithying or surgery” (Collingwood,
1938). Art then suggested the capacity to produce
an intended result from carefully planned steps or
methods. When a man wants to build a house, he
plans meticulously to get what the prototype
promises and he executes the steps to produce the
said structure, then he is engaged in art. The
ancient world did not have any conceived notion of
art in a way that we do now. To them, art only
meant using the bare hands to produce something
that will be useful to one’s day-to-day life.

The arts are described as means of expression that require

imagination and/or skill in making aesthetic objects or encounters that
can be shared with other people. These objects and experiences may
exhibit what is in the imagination of the artist or creator. These may
also portray ideas and emotions. These aesthetic objects and
encounters create beauty. The arts include visual arts and
architecture, literature, music, dance, theater, cinema or film (Panisan
et al, 2016).

ASSUMPTIONS OF ARTS

 Art is universal
The first assumption about humanities is that art has been crafted by all people regardless of
origin, time, place, and that is stayed on because it is liked and enjoyed by people continuously.
Great piece of work will never be obsolete. Some people say that art is art for its intrinsic worth. Art
will always be present because human beings will always express themselves and delight in these
expressions. In every country and every generation, there is always art.

 Art is not nature

Art is man’s expression of his reception of nature. Art is man’s way of interpreting nature. Art
is not nature. Art is made by human, whereas nature is given around us. It is in this juncture that
they can be considered opposites. What we find in nature should not be expected to be present in art
too.

 Art involves experience

One fully gets acquainted with art if one immerses himself into it. A work of art then cannot be
abstracted from actual doing. In order to know what an artwork is, we have to sense, see or hear it.
Finally, one should also underscore that every experience with art is accompanied by some emotion.
One either likes or dislikes, agrees or disagrees that a work of art is beautiful.
SUBJECTS IN ARTS

 Representational Art
These types of art have subject that refer to objects or events occurring in the real world.
Often, it is also termed Figurative Art, because as the name suggests, the figures depicted are easy
to make out and decipher. Example: Mona Lisa

 Non-Representational Art
It is also termed as Non-Figurative Art. Non-Representational Art does not make a reference
to the real world, whether it is a person, place, thing, or even a particular event. It is stripped down to
visual elements such as shapes, lines, and colors that are employed to translate a particular feeling,
emotion, and even concept. Example: Picasso’s works

ELEMENTS OF ARTS

 Visual
o Line – refers to a point moving at an identifiable path- it has length, width and direction. It
is one-dimensional.
• Horizontal and vertical lines
• Diagonal and crooked lines
• Curved lines
o Shape and Form – Shape refers to two dimensions: height and width, while Form refers to
three dimensions: height, width and depth.
• Geometric – squares, triangles, cubes, circles, spheres, cones
• Organic – irregular and asymmetrical
o Space – It is inferred from a sense of depth, whether it is real or simulated.
o Color – It is the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the
object, usually determined visually by measurement of:
 • Hue – this dimension of color gives its name (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary)
• Value – Refers to the brightness or darkness of color.
• Intensity – Refers to the lightness or dullness of color.
o Texture – This element in an artwork is experienced through the sense of touch (and
sight). This element renders the art object tactile.
o Plane – the actual surface of the painting or drawing where no illusion of a third dimension
exists.
o Perspective – with point of disappearance called the vanishing point.
• Man’s eye view -view standing up
• Worm’s eye view – view from a lower angle
• Bird’s eye view – View looking down on a scene

 Auditory
o Rhythm – the element of music that situates it in time.
o Dynamics – refers to the loudness or quietness of music.
• Pianissimo – very quiet
• Piano – quiet
• Mezzo-piano – moderately quiet
• Mezzo-forte – moderately loud
• Forte – loud
• Fortissimo – very loud
o Melody – refers to the linear presentation (horizontal) of pitch. By horizontal, it means
that in musical notation, it is read in succession from left to right. Pitch is the highness or
lowness of musical sound.
o Harmony – It is vertical. It arises when pitches are combines to form chords.
o Timbre – is often likened to the color of music. It is a quality that distinguishes a voice or
an instrument from another.
o Texture – The number of melodies, the type of layers, and their relatedness in a
composition is the texture of music. It maybe:
• Monophonic – single melodic line
• Polyphonic – two or more melodic lines
• Homophonic – main melody accompanied by chords.

 Hybrid
Its emergence is hinged on the frontiers of science and technology referencing and tapping into
the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, natural and computer sciences,
telecommunications, information, digital and interface technologies.

PRINCIPLES OF ARTS
The principles of art (or the principles of design) are essentially a set of criteria which are used to
explain how the visual elements are arranged in a work of art. These principles are possibly the
closest thing we have to a set of objective criteria for analyzing and judging art .

The principles of art represent how the artist uses the elements of art to create an effect and to
help convey the artist's intent. The principles of art and design are balance, contrast, emphasis,
movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity/variety. The use of these principles can help determine whether
a painting is successful, and whether or not the painting is finished (Marder, 2019).
  Pattern
Pattern is a very important design concept which refers to
the visual arrangement of elements with a repetitive form or
intelligible sequence.
Pattern is the uniform repetition of any of the elements of
art or any combination thereof. Anything can be turned into a
pattern through repetition. Some classic patterns are spirals,
grids, weaves.

 Balance
Balance refers to the visual weight of the elements of the
composition. It is a sense that the painting feels stable and
"feels right." Imbalance causes a feeling of discomfort in the
viewer.

Balance can be achieved in 3 different ways:

o Symmetry, in which both sides of a composition have the same

elements in the same position, as in a mirror-image, or the two
sides of a face.

o Asymmetry, in which the composition is balanced due to the

contrast of any of the elements of art. For example, a large circle
on one side of a composition might be balanced by a small
square on the other side

o Radial symmetry, in which elements are equally spaced around a

central point, as in the spokes coming out of the hub of a bicycle
tire.

 Emphasis
Emphasis is when the artist creates an area of the composition
that is visually dominant and commands the viewer's attention. This is
often achieved by contrast. Emphasis is a way of using elements to
stress a certain area in an artwork. Emphasis is really just another way
to describe a focal point in your artwork.
  Contrast
Contrast is the difference between elements of art in a composition, such that each element is
made stronger in relation to the other. When placed next to each other, contrasting elements
command the viewer's attention. Contrast can come in many forms:

o Texture contrast: A contrast between smooth and textured. Many of

Vincent van Gogh's paintings are great examples of texture contrast
in action.

o Color contrast: A contrast between light and dark, saturated and

dull or complementary colors (hue contrast).

o Detail contrast: A contrast between areas of detail and more

bland areas.

o Shape contrast: A contrast between different shapes (rectangles

and circles). For example, in the painting there are the curving
shapes created by the winding paths, water and trees contrast
against the rectangular shapes of the buildings.

o Interval contrast: A contrast between long and short intervals.

In the painting below, notice the variation in the lengths of the
intervals between the trees. The interval contrast can be used to
create a sense of rhythm in your artwork.
  Harmony and Unity
Harmony refers to how well all the visual elements work together in a
work of art. Unity refers to some kind of connection between all the visual
elements in a work of art. Like harmony, this is a bit of a vague term which is
difficult to objectively use to analyze art.

 Variety
Variety refers to the use of differing
qualities or instances of the visual elements.
Variety can be used to break up monotonous
or repetitive areas.

Note: You want your painting to feel unified such that all the elements fit together
comfortably. Too much unity creates monotony, too much variety creates chaos. You need both.

 Movement
Movement is the result of using the elements of art such that they
move the viewer's eye around and within the image. A sense of movement
can be created by diagonal or curvy lines, either real or implied, by edges,
by the illusion of space, by repetition, by energetic mark-making.

 Proportion
Proportion concerns the relationship between the sizes of different
parts in an artwork. For example, the width compared to the length, the
area of the sky compared to the land or the area of foreground compared to
the background. Some proportions are considered to be visually pleasing,
such as the rule of thirds and the golden ratio.
  Scale
Scale refers to the size of an object compared to the rest of the
surroundings. For example, the size of a man compared to the tree he
is sitting under or the size of a mountain compared to the clouds. Scale
is different to proportion in that scale refers to the size of an entire
object whereas proportion refers to the relative size of parts of an
object.