Visual Arts

refer to a broad category of artistic expressions that communicate ideas, emotions,

values, and experiences through visual perception.

Functions of Visual Arts

Personal and collective expression

Art allows individuals and groups to express their emotions, experiences, beliefs, and
shared struggles. Through art, people communicate what they feel and who they are,
both as individuals and as a community.

Cultural representation and identity formation

Art reflects a society’s culture, traditions, values, and way of life. It helps shape and
strengthen identity by showing what makes a group or nation unique.

Social critique and political commentary

Art can question social norms, expose injustice, and comment on political
[Link] gives voice to concerns about power, inequality, and change, often
challenging people to think critically.

Economic and creative industries

Art contributes to the economy through industries such as music, film, fashion,
design, advertising, and visual arts. It creates jobs, generates income, and supports
creative livelihoods.

Preservation of history and memory

Art records historical events, traditions, and collective experiences. Paintings,
literature, films, and monuments help future generations remember the past and learn
from it.

Classification of Visual Arts

1. Fine Arts
- Primarily created for aesthetic contemplation and intellectual engagement. refers to
art forms created mainly for aesthetic value and creative expression, rather than for
practical use.
Examples:
Drawing and Illustration
 Painting
Sculpture
Printmaking

2. Applied and Design Arts

- are art forms that combine creativity and aesthetics with practical function.
Unlike fine arts, they are created to be used in everyday life while still being
visually appealing. Visual arts that combine aesthetics with function and utility.
Examples:
Graphic and Communication Design
Fashion and Textile Design
Industrial and Product
Design
Interior and Environmental Design

3. Contemporary and Digital Visual Arts

- refer to modern art forms that use current ideas, technologies, and digital
tools to create visual works that reflect today’s society. Emerging forms shaped
by technology and modern society.
Examples:
Photography
Film and Video Art
Digital Art and Animation
Installation and Performance Art

Elements of Visual Arts are the basic building blocks that artists use to create and
communicate visual ideas.

Major Elements of Visual Arts:

1. Line – A mark with length and direction, which can be straight, curved, thick,
thin, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Lines can suggest movement, texture, or
boundaries.
2. Shape – A two-dimensional area defined by lines or edges. Shapes can
be geometric (square, circle, triangle) or organic (free-form, natural).
3. Form – A three-dimensional object with height, width, and depth. Forms can be
geometric (cube, sphere) or organic (human figure, tree).
Color – Produced by light, color has three main properties:
Hue – the name of the color
Value – lightness or darkness
4. Intensity – brightness or dullness
Color can evoke emotions, create mood, or emphasize parts of an artwork.
5. Texture – The surface quality of an object, which can be tactile (felt)
or visual (appears textured). It adds depth and interest.
6. Space – The area around, between, or within objects. Space can
be positive (filled) or negative (empty) and can create the illusion of depth in a
two-dimensional artwork.
7. Value – The lightness or darkness of an element, often used to create contrast,
depth, and emphasis.
8. Point – The simplest element, a small dot or mark that can create focus,
direction, or pattern.

Basic Visual Arts

Sincerity- satisfies the questions on whether the artist's intention is perfectly honest
of if he/she is striving for effect either by sentimentality or sensation. Subjects of
artwork like in the case of "Spoliarum" are fraught with frustration and sentimentality.

Universality- is the quality of artwork that should answer the elements of truth in the
artwork which is something permanent and not just of the momentary value. Like in
the case of the sculpture of Our Lady of Peace of Edsa. It speaks of man's universal
belief in the power of prayer in fighting for a cause.

Magnitude- is a criterion that tells about the scope and significance of a work of art.
A very good example is the work of Michelangelo which is the Sistine Chapel and
Juan Luna's "spolarium. These pieces can be seen several times and yet one cannot
exhaust the depth and extent of its meaning.

Craftmanship- is perceived from the point of viewof a master or a group of artists

who represents a style that reflects period and form of elements and technical skills.

Principles of Art

- Principles of Visual Arts are the guidelines or rules that artists and designers
use to organize the visual elements of art—like line, shape, color, texture,
space, and form—into a harmonious and effective composition. While the
elements are the “building blocks” of art, the principles show how to use
those blocks to create meaning, focus, and visual appeal.

Composition is a process- the act of composing or organizing the elements of art.

  Proportion- is the comparative relationship of the parts of or composition to
each other and to the whole.
- Scale- is the relative size of an object compared with others of its kind, its
setting, or human dimensions.

 Unity/Harmony- is oneness or wholeness. A work of art achieves unity when

its parts are necessary to the composition.

- Organic Unity and Unity in Variety. This means that each element in a
work of art is necessary to its value. It must be unified and must "hang
together" as one entity.
- Repetition of angles and curves, shapes, lines and color will give a
harmonious effect.
- Repetition of angles and curves, shapes, lines and color will give a
harmonious effect.

 Balance- A work of art possesses balance when its visual or actual weights or
masses are distributed in such a way that they achieve harmony. Balance gives
a feeling of stability and rest

 Balance may either be formal or informal

Formal Balance- It is also called symmetrical balance. This is achieved
by making both sides exactly alike.
Informal or asymmetrical balance - It is called occult balance. It is more
difficult to achieve than formal balance however, the results are more
interesting.

 Rhythm-is the regular repetition of sensory Impressions. A series of units

repeated one after another produces rhythmic movement.

 Emphasis- means giving the proper importance to the parts or to the whole.
Emphasis is the most noticeable in the art of advertising.

 Color- is also used to create emphasis. Contrast of colors can be used to

produce a center of interest.

Type of Subject
 Painting, sculpture, and other art forms can be divided into the categories of
representational (sometimes also called figurative art, although it doesn't
always contain figures), abstract, and non-representational (or non-objective)
art.
  Representational art describes artworks - particularly paintings and sculptures -
that are derived from real object sources, and therefore are by definition
representing something with strong visual references to the real world. Most,
but not all, abstract art is based on imagery from the real world.

 The most "extreme" form of abstract art is not connected to the visible world
and is known as non-representational.

REPRESENTATIONAL ART
 These types of art have subjects that refer to objects or events occurring in the
real world.

Methods of Presenting Art Subjects

Realism
 It often refers to the artistic movement, which began in France in the 1850s. The
popularity of realism grew with the introduction of photography - a new visual
source that created a desire for people to produce things that look "Objectively
real".
 Undistorted by personal bias, realism believed in the ideology of objective
reality and revolted against exaggerated emotionalism. Simply speaking, it is a
method of portraying an art subject according to the objective reality.
 It depicts what the eyes can see, what the ear can hear, what the sense faculty
may receive. Example was the painting of Zeuxis, 5th century painter. The
subject of his painting was a grape. When he unveiled his painting of grapes,
they appeared so real, luscious and inviting that the birds flew down from the
sky to peck at them.

Abstraction
 Its etymology is derived from Latin "abstractus" drawn away," or Latin past
participle "abstrahere:" from abs)- "away" + trahere "draw," which means

1. Representational art vs. Non-representational Art

Representational works are often favored because they are easier to recognize.
Viewers find great comfort when what they see registers are something familiar.
2. The Case of Abstract Art
This is essential to discuss because it introduces the fact that representational art and
non-representational art is not a clear-cut divide; rather, they exist in a spectrum.

The subjects depicted in works of art, particularly the visual arts, can be grouped into
(Ortiz et al., 1976):
[Link], seascapes, and cityscapes
 [Link] life
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[Link] and legend
[Link] and mythology
[Link] and fantasies

Content
Recognizing the subject is not necessarily grasping the content of a work of art.
Subject and content are two different things.

Subject matter may acquire different levels of meaning.

Factual meaning
- The literal statement or the narrative content in the work which can be directly
apprehended because the objects presented are easily recognized.

Conventional meaning
- This refers to the special meaning that a certain object or color has for 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 association of certain objects, actions, or
colors with past [Link] fully grasp the content of works of art, one must learn
as much as he can about the culture of the people that produced them and maintain an
open mind.

VISUAL ARTS (2D;3D)

1. Painting- the application of pigment (color) on any flat two- dimensional

surfaces.
2. Sculpture- the carving, modeling, casting, constructing, and assembling of
materials and objects into primarily three dimensional works of art.
3. Architecture- the art and technique of designing and building, as
distinguished from the skills associated with construction.
Performing/ Combined Arts
 1. Music
2. Dance
3. Film
4. Theater
5. Literary
6. Performance Poetry

Digital Arts- art made with the assistance of electronic devices, or intended to be
displayed on a computer, is the most important element in digital art.

[Link] Painting- Digital painting appeared in the 1990s and embrace

traditional painting techniques like watercolors, oil painting, and impastos.

[Link] photography includes the use of images taken from reality through
photographs, scans, satellite-imaging, and other possible records of what
exists.

Types of Digital Photography

a. Commercial Photography- Commercial photography is often taken to be used as
advertising material.
b. Documentary Photography- Just as it sounds, documentary photography is
primarily focused on documenting life moments and events.
c. Journalism Photography- Journalism photography has almost the same purpose
as documentary photography.
d. Editorial Photography- Editorial photography is usually used for publications
such as magazines.
e. Art Photography- Art photography is a form of photography used by artists to
show ideas, concepts, messages, and emotions through a picture.
f. Digital installations closely relate to the sculptures for their 3D nature but offer a
new typology in their relation to the viewer.
Applied Arts - the application of design and decoration to everyday objects to make
them aesthetically pleasing.
Examples of applied arts are:
 Industrial design - mass-produced objects.
 Architecture - also counted as a fine art.
 Ceramic art
 Automotive design
 Fashion design & Calligraphy
- Interior design
- Graphic design
Cartographic (map) design

An artisan is essentially a manual worker who makes items with his or her hands,
and who
through skill, experience and talent can create things of great beauty as well as being
functional.
An artist on the other hand is dedicated only to the creative side, making visually
pleasing work only for the enjoyment and appreciation of the viewer, but with no
functional value.
Key Components of the Art Market
1. Curator - a manager or overseer, and keeper of a cultural heritage institution.
2. Art Dealer - a person or a company that buys and sells works of art.
3. Art Buyer - refers to a professional who is knowledgeable in art, who may scout
talents for an advertising agency seeking to employ an art director, or who may
look for an art for a collection or a company.
The 5 Stages of the Creative Process
1. Preparation: The Inspiration Phase
While this might sound a bit like you're cramming for an excruciating exam you've
got to take in the morning, the first stage of the creative process is where your best
ideas are born.
2. Incubation: Absorbing and Processing
Now is the time to let all that information and inspiration you just breathed in soak
into your very core. In this stage of the creative process, it may not even feel like
you're really doing anything since it's your subconscious that's actually doing all the
work.
3. Insight: The "Eureka" Moment
In the previous stage, we alluded to a lightbulb flickering on, sending a person into a
full-fledged creative frenzy they couldn't possibly suppress.
4. Evaluation: Putting Your Idea Through the Wringer
Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the creative development process would be
remiss without acknowledging that not every creative idea is a great (or even good)
idea worth pursuing.
According to Robert Fritz, the creative process is as follows.
[Link] the result one wants to create
[Link] what currently exists.
[Link] actions.
[Link] one’s creativity.
Three Stages in the Creative Process
1. Germination (Ideas)
This stage is characterized with a burst of energy. A new idea, a new job, the first days
of your diet, when your team sets a new goal, the first weeks of a new relationship.

2. Assimilation
The most crucial stage of the creative process is assimilation. The initial energy that
you got in germination is over and you are now in the stage of growth and
development.
3. Completion
The final stage of the creative process is completion, which in its simplest form means
finishing your creation and bringing it to full fruition.
Three Stages in Art Making
 [Link]-production / Subject development
[Link] or Medium Manipulation
[Link]-production (completion) or exhibition
Medium and Technique
In art, "medium" refers to the substance the artist uses to create a piece of artwork.
For example, the medium Michelangelo used to create "David" (1501-1504) was
marble, Alexander Calder's stabiles employ painted steel plates, and Marcel
Duchamp's infamous "Fountain" (1917) was made with a porcelain medium.
"Medium" as an Artistic Material
Building off the type of art, medium can also be used to describe a particular artistic
material. This is how artists describe the specific materials that they work with to
create
a piece of art.
For example, you'll see notations following the titles of paintings that read along
the lines of:
"Gouache on paper" - It is a type of art that is executed with opaque watercolors
mixed with gum.
Tempera on board" - a method of painting with pigments dispersed in an emulsion
miscible with water, typically egg yolk.
"Ink on bamboo" The use of the word medium applies to all types of artwork as
well. Sculptors, for instance, may use metal, wood, clay, bronze, or marble for their
medium.

Technique is the instrument or method used in the application of media, including

any reproductive method.
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[Link] with acrylics.
[Link] with pencils.
 [Link] pencils.
[Link] with paper.
3D art with cardboard.