CPAR
Contemporary Philippine Arts from The Regions Learning Guide 1 :
LTContemporary ARTS
introduction
This module discusses the importance of humanities and the integration of different disciplines in art, specifically in contemporary art where diversity and eclecticism are encouraged. Also, it will discuss the subject of art and the different styles of depicting a subject in visual design. This module includes: Contemporary Art,Modern Art,Integrative Art & Subject of Art
he term Humanities refer to the study of the human experience – how people process and record their thoughts, beliefs, and longings. Humanities coexist with another branch of discipline-the sciences.
The Sciences deal with the object study of the external world – what we see in it and all processes that happen within it. These two disciplines can be integrated to create something that is both functional and delightful. For example, a building’s architecture. Science is used to construct a building that can endure all sorts of calamities, and humanities can further be implemented to create its artistic design.
The integration of different disciplines is common in art, specifically in contemporary art where
diversity and eclecticism are encouraged.
Contemporary art is the art that springs out of the present-day events and passions of the society.
It is the newest form of art, amusing people from the middle to the late 20th century up to this very minute.
Contemporary art is produced by the 21stcentury artists living in the postmodern age. It functions in a global society that is culturally diverse and technologyoriented. It provides instances for people to reflect and respond to
contemporary social concerns and issues. It is a combination of mixed styles, materials, techniques, and concepts that challenges tradition.
Modern art emerged in the late 1800s and continued to grow for more or less a century. It slowly waned in the middle to late 20th century when postmodernism came to light. Postmodernism then gave birth to what we know now as contemporary art.
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Modern art developed as styles and techniques, whereas contemporary means “with the time” (con tempo). Thus, contemporary art refers to the art of the present time.
Contemporary art is more socially conscious than modern art because more social issues have been realized in recent decades. Examples of the most popular contemporary subjects are feminism, globalization, migration, and environmental concerns.
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Integrative Art
that is described or presented in a work. It usually generates the question – What is because people expect to see or hear, subjects that they can recognize or are familiar with them.
In contemporary art, not only movements can be integrated into an artwork. Even seemingly different categories can be melded together to produce an integrated or combine art.
This “crossbreeding” in the contemporary scene has resulted in a hybrid art called Integrative Art. These art forms are interactive and multi-disciplinary in nature, that is consisting of ideas and practices from different branches of learningthe outcome, being the unity of separate areas of learning.
Earlier, we mentioned the integration of science and humanities- two different disciplines- in a building’s architecture, an example of integrative art. Another example is a unique presentation of three Filipino artists coming from three distinct disciplines- dance, music, song-performing at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Subject is different from theme or content; the theme is the recurring idea or element in a work of art, it refers to the ideas, thoughts, and feelings of the artist.
Realism
The first style is realism in which the subject is done the way it actually looks. Just like these Native Still Life paintings by Filipino painters Mukesh Muher and Vicente Collado Jr.
Distortion
The second is distortion wherein the artist uses his/her imagination and alters the subject according to his/her desire. Some distortion artworks are from Elmer Borlongan
Abstraction
The third is abstraction wherein the artist breaks apart a subject and rearranges it in a different manner. In Science, it is the process of analysis and synthesis. Pablo Picasso innovated this style in the early 1900s.
Non-objectivism
The fourth style is non-objectivism wherein there is totally no subject at all- just an interplay of pure elements like line, shape, or color.
Learning Guide 2: Contemporary
Part 2
1. Introduction
This module discusses the use of the elements and principles of design in an artwork. It also explains the three key elements of art: form, content, and context. This module contains: Elements of art: line, space, shape, form, texture, color, and value Principles of Design: balance, emphasis, rhythm, harmony, movement, variety, unity, and proportion Form, content, and context in art
Lesson 3: Elements of Art
The elements and principles of design are the building blocks used to create a work of art.
Elements of Art are the visual “tools” that artists use to create artwork. Artists manipulate these elements, mix them in with principles of design, and compose a piece of art. Not every work has every last one of these elements contained within it, but there are always at least two elements present. They are what makes up an image or an art object: line, shape/ form, value, color, space, and texture.
Line, color, shape, form, value, space, and texture are the seven core elements of art and they often overlap and inform one another. Whether talking about drawing, painting, sculpture, or design, these components of art all need to be taken into consideration. Once you have a handle on these seven visual elements, it’s even easier to create your own art.
The first element is LINE.
Line is a path of a moving point
It is the most basic or fundamental visual element of art. It is a starting place for most art creations.
Line is a mark with a greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; straight or curved; thick or thin.
The second element is SHAPE
Shape is a closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like freeform or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width.
The result of closed lines, shapes are two-dimensional,
flat, and only have height and width. Geometric shapes like circles and squares are mathematical and precise, while organic shapes take cues from nature and tend to be curved and abstract.
The third element is FORM
Form are three-dimensional shapes expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes, and pyramids are forms.
When a shape acquires depth and becomes three-dimensional, then it takes on form. Cylinders, pyramids, and spheres are some of the more common forms, though they can also
be amorphous. In sculpture, form is of the utmost importance, though it can easily be introduced into drawing and painting using 3D art techniques.
The next element is TEXTURE
Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft, or hard. Textures do not always feel the way they look; for example, a drawing of a porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.
Another element is VALUE.
Related to color, value is the lightness and darkness of a color. The lightest value is white and the darkest value is black, with the difference between them defined as the contrast. Playing with value can not only change certain forms, but also influence the mood of the artwork.
Next is COLOR
COLOR is light reflected off of objects.
Color has three main characteristics:
Hue (the name of the color, such as red, green, blue, etc.), Value (how light or dark it is), Intensity (how bright or dull it is).
There are different categories of colors:
White is pure light; black is the absence of light.
Primary colors are the only true colors (red, blue, and yellow). All other colors are mixes of primary colors.
Secondary colors are two primary colors mixed together (green, orange, violet).
Intermediate colors, sometimes called tertiary colors, are made by mixing a primary and secondary color together. Some examples of intermediate colors are yellow green, blue green, and blue violet. Complementary colors are located directly across from each other on the color wheel (an arrangement of colors along a circular diagram to show how they are related to one another). Complementary pairs contrast because they share no common colors. For exam-
ple, red and green are complements, because green is made of blue and yellow. When complementary colors are mixed together, they neutralize each other to make brown.
By working with hue, value, and intensity—three building blocks of colors—artists can tap into a wide range of emotions. There’s nothing that changes an artwork’s emotional impact more than color. Color can be used symbolically or to create a pattern. It can be selected for contrast or to set a specific mood.
The last element of art is SPACE
SPACE is the area between and around objects. The space around objects is often called negative space; negative space has shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of depth. Real space is three-dimensional; in visual art, when we create the feeling or illusion of depth, we call it space.
Lesson 4: Principles of Design
The elements of art and principles of design are the fundamental pieces that make up an artwork. We often judge art by how effectively the artist used these design fundamentals even before we learn about them.
The elements of art are the building blocks of an artwork: color, line, shape, form, value, texture, and space. The principles of design, on the other hand, are how those building blocks are arranged: rhythm, proportion, balance, unity, emphasis, movement, and variety. They are the ways an artist can organize the elements of art to create a wide range of effects. Each of these art fundamentals is closely related and many of them overlap. When combined, they produce a complete artistic vision.
Balance
is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. As a principle of art, balance refers to the distribution of weight in a composition. While actual weight is a factor in sculpture and architecture, the principle of balance most often refers to the visual heaviness of shapes and forms in an artwork. An artwork’s balance affects the equality and tension of the composition and can lend a feeling of calm or chaos to the work.
There are three main types of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial balance:
In symmetrical balance(formal), the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side. Symmetrical designs layout elements of equal weight on either side of an imaginary center line.
In asymmetrical balance(informal), the sides are different but still look balanced.
Asymmetrical balance uses elements of differing weights, often laid out in relation to a
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line that is not centered within the overall design.
In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central focal point. This method can be used to draw attention to the center of your design.
Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually, the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.
As a principle of art, emphasis refers to the area of an artwork that dominates attention or draws interest. It is often the place a viewer looks first. Artists create emphasis by contrasting the elements of art, such as color or shape.
Movement
It is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines, edges, shapes, and colors within the work of art.
Movement refers to the way the eye travels over a design. The most important element should lead to the next most important and so on.
Pattern
Pattern is the repeating of an object or symbol all over the work of art. It is an underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures in a consistent, regular manner. Pattern can be described as a repeating unit of shape or form, but it can also be thought of as the “skeleton” that organizes the parts of a composition.
Repetition
Repetition works with pattern to make the work of art seem active. The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the work of art.
Repetition is a great way to reinforce an idea. It’s also a great way to unify a design that brings together a lot of different elements. Repetition can be done in a number of ways: by repeating the same colors, typefaces, shapes, or other elements of a design.
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Proportion
This refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design. Artists can use the scale and proportion to create sensations such as depth, realism, disorientation, and drama.
Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other. Our most universal standard of measurement is the human body; that is, our experience of living in our own bodies. We judge the appropriateness of the size of objects by that measure. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head compared to the rest of the body.
Rhythm
Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting and active, variety is essential. Rhythm is usually achieved through repetition of lines, shapes, colors, and more. It creates a visual tempo in artworks and provides a path for the viewer’s eye to follow.
Rhythm can be described as timed movement through space; an easy, connected path along which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs. The presence of rhythm creates predictability and order in a composition. Visual rhythm may be best understood by relating it to a rhythm in sound. Rhythm depends largely upon the elements of pattern and movement to achieve its effects. The parallels between rhythm in sound/ music are very exact to the idea of rhythm in a visual composition. The difference is that the timed “beat” is sensed by the eyes rather than the ears.
Variety
It is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the viewer’s eye through and around the work of art.
Variety refers to the elements of a composition that differ from one another. Variety in design is used to create visual interest. Without variety, a design can very quickly become monotonous, causing the user to lose interest. Variety can be created in a variety of ways, through color, typography, images, shapes, and virtually any other design element.
Unity
Unity is a design principle that refers to the cohesiveness of an artwork—how whole, consistent, and complete it appears. Unity in art is not necessarily just a repetition of the same element over and over again, but it is the pleasing combination of elements to create a harmonious composition. It is the underlying principle that summarizes all of the principles and elements of design. It refers to the coherence of the whole, the sense that all of the parts are working together to achieve a common result; a harmony of all the parts.
Visual elements should have clear relationships with each other in a design. Unity also helps ensure concepts are being communicated in a clear, cohesive fashion. Designs with good unity also appear to be more organized and of higher quality and authority than designs with poor unity. It can be achieved through the effective and consistent use of any of the elements, but pattern-- that is, underlying structure-- is the most fundamental element for a strong sense of unity. Consistency of form and color are also powerful tools that can pull a composition together.
The first key element that a spectator should consider in an artwork is its Form.
Form is the surface of an artwork. As the saying goes “what you see is what you get,” form is just what it isnothing else.
In visual arts, forms can either be two-dimensional such as drawings and paintings; or three dimensional similar to sculpture, architecture. In music, form pertains to the structure of musical composition, like; serenade, opera, rhapsody, and others. Forms also exist in the literature, ranging from prose, drama, and poetry.
Theatre, on the other hand, has four basic forms: tragedy, comedy, drama, and melodrama.
Form is the physical manifestation of the artwork. It answers these types of questions:
what is it made out of (the medium)?
what techniques are used? how were the design elements and principles used?
what is the style (abstract, impressionistic, etc.)?
The form of a work of art or design refers to all of its visible elements and
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Form, Content, and Context
the particular way these come together as a whole. These include the material or medium, the color, the use of line, texture, composition, dimensions, and the duration of work.
Content, on the other hand, is the subject matter of a work of art or design. It is revealed through the formal properties of the work and may be evident on a number of levels. It is about what is happening in the works, what meaning you derive from them, and whether or not they create a particular mood or reaction. The formal elements of the work and its title can often help to read the content, as a recurring pattern, motifs, or symbols that may have special significance.
Content is the essence of the artwork. It answers these types of questions: what is the subject/ theme?
what is the meaning/ intention?
why was this artwork created?
Context in the arts refers to the varied situations in which the works have been produced or interpreted.
There are two kinds of context in the arts: primary and secondary.
Primary context is the personal type, for it concerns the sentiments of the artists – his beliefs, values, interest, attitudes, and emotions.
what is the context?
Secondary context refers to the place and period in which the artist has made his work: the social, political, and economic environment he is in, and his purpose in creating the artwork. These are the various circumstances in which works of art are produced and/or interpreted.