3. LESSON 1
CONTEMPORARY
ART DEFINED
We have been introduced
to crayons, pencils and paper
even before we reached
kindergarten. There may be
some of us who, out of honest
creativity, used the walls of our
homes as our drawing pad.
Then, while our moms clean the
walls in our living room, we
were drawing funny figures on
the kitchen table.
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6. 6
LESSON 1
CONTEMPORARY
ART DEFINED
Why do you think fast
food chains and other
restaurants hire commercial
photographers, food stylists
and prop stylists for their
products?
9. WHAT
IS ART?
Art is “ar” in Aryan, which means,
“to join or put together”.
It is “artizein” in Greek, meaning
“to prepare”.
It is “ars” or “artis” in Latin, which
means ability or skill”.
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10. WHAT
IS ART?
“Arts is the human ability to make
things of beauty and things that
stir us”. (Atkins & Snyder, 2017)
“It is the result of man’s
manipulation of talents and
materials” (Thesaurus, 2001)
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11. WHAT
IS ART?
“Arts is the use of skill and
imagination in the creation of
aesthetic objects, environments,
or experiences that can be shared
with others”. (Britannica Online,
2017)
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12. WHAT
IS ART?
“Art is a diverse range of human
activities in creating visual,
auditory, or performing artifacts,
expressing the author’s
imaginative, conceptual ideas, or
technical skill, intended to be
appreciated for their beauty or
emotional power” (Oxford, and
Merriam-Webster dictionaries)
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13. 13
Whether art represents
something beautiful or meaningful,
or is the arrangement of lines, colors,
shapes and other aesthetic
elements, for as long as the
completed work is a product of
expressing ambitions, emotions,
experiences, or thoughts, it is
considered art.
14. Remember the
prehistoric people who
used to draw in the
caves and paint on the
rocks? History tells us
that various artifacts
have been found in
different parts of the
world.
14
15. This only means
that art has long been
evident and it has been
used as one of the
earliest and most basic
form of communication
in the olden times.
15
16. It is through these
primitive artworks that
they get to express
themselves and share
their experiences to
others, and in return, it
is through their works
that we learn about
their civilizations.
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17. Hence, art is defined as the
manifestation of human creativity and skill
to express oneself. This is why we learn
and understand artists and the regions
where they come from – their artworks
reflect them and the society that they
belong to.
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18. 18
However, what constitutes art has
changed over time and the production of
art forms has indeed, evolved. This, then,
leads us to the very center of this subject
— Contemporary Art.
20. 20
CONTEMPORARY ART
is the art of the modern-day.
It is the art of “now” since the
artworks are produced in the
present time.
21. 21
PREHISTORIC ART (40,000-
4,000 B.C.)
The origins of art history can be
traced back to the Prehistoric era,
before the advent of written
language.
The earliest artifacts come from the
Paleolithic era, or the Old Stone
Age, in the form of rock carvings,
engravings, pictorial imagery,
sculptures, and stone
arrangements.
22. 22
ANCIENT ART (4,000-A.D.
400)
Ancient art was produced by
advanced civilizations from
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and
the Americas during the time
when written language has been
established.
23. 23
ANCIENT ART (4,000-A.D.
400)
One of the most famous works
from ancient Mesopotamia is the
Code of Hammurabi , which was
created around 1792 B.C., and
bears a Babylonian set of laws
carved in stone.
24. 24
MEDIEVAL ART (A.D. 500-A.D.
1400)
Often referred to as the “Dark
Ages,” the Middle Ages marked a
period of economic and cultural
deterioration following the fall of
the Roman Empire in 476 A.D.
25. 25
MEDIEVAL ART (A.D. 500-A.D.
1400)
Most of the artwork in the early years
of this period reflects that darkness,
characterized by grotesque
imagery and brutal scenery.
26. 26
RENAISSANCE ART (A.D. 1400-
A.D. 1600)
This period was characterized by
natural elements, individualism
and realism.
Artwork produced had attention-
to-detail and precision of the
human anatomy.
27. 27
RENAISSANCE ART (A.D. 1400-
A.D. 1600)
The Renaissance flourished in
Florence, Italy primarily due to the
Medici, a wealthy merchant family
who adamantly supported the arts
and humanism, a variety of beliefs
and philosophies that places
emphasis on the human realm.
28. 28
MANNERISM (1527-1580)
Inspired by the ideals of
Michelangelo, Raphael, and other
late Renaissance artists,
mannerists emerged but their
focus on style and technique
overshadowed the meaning of the
subject matter.
29. 29
MANNERISM (1527-1580)
Some of the most celebrated
Mannerist artists include Giorgio
Vasari, Francesco Salviati,
Domenico Beccafumi, and
Bronzino, who is widely considered
to be the most important
Mannerist painter in Florence
during his time.
30. 30
BAROQUE (1600-1750)
The Baroque period is
characterized by ornate, over-the-
top visual arts and architecture.
Baroque paintings were dramatic
as seen in the iconic works of
Italian painter Caravaggio and
Dutch painter Rembrandt.
31. 31
BAROQUE (1600-1750)
Painters used an intense contrast
between light and dark and had
energetic compositions matched
by rich color palettes.
32. 32
ROCOCO (1699-1780)
Rococo is characterized by
lightness and elegance, focusing
on the use of natural forms,
asymmetrical design, and subtle
colors.
This style also easily translated to
silver, porcelain and French
furniture.
33. 33
NEOCLASSICISM (1750-1850)
The Neoclassical period obtained
the elements of classical antiquity
where artists tried to recreate the
great works of ancient art taken
from archaeological ruins of
ancient civilizations in Athens and
Naples.
34. 34
NEOCLASSICISM (1750-1850)
This paved the way for a renewed
interest on harmony, simplicity and
proportion that were present in
classical art, mixed with modernity.
Neoclassical artists include Italian
sculptor Antonio Canova who used
the classical elements in his marble
sculptures, but shunned the cold
artificiality found in its early
creations.
35. 35
ROMANTICISM (1780-1850)
From painting to music to
literature, Romantic artists reject
order, harmony, and rationality,
which were embraced in both
Classical Art and Neoclassicism.
The individual and imagination are
emphasized with an appreciation
for nature that brought artists out
of dark interiors and enabled them
to paint outside.
36. 36
ROMANTICISM (1780-1850)
Artwork showed passion, emotion,
and sensation over intellect and
reason.
Renowned Romantic painters
include Henry Fuseli for his strange
macabre paintings that depicted
the dark recesses of human
psychology, and William Blake,
whose mysterious poems and
images conveyed mystical visions
and his disappointment in societal
constraints.
37. 37
REALISM (1848-1900)
Believed to the first modern art
movement, this period was a result
of the anti-Romantic movement in
Germany, the rise of journalism,
and the advent of photography,
which in turn encouraged new
interest in capturing activities of
everyday life in a more precise
manner.
38. 38
REALISM (1848-1900)
Artwork featured detailed, life-like
depictions of the subject matter.
Gustave Courbet is known as one
of the most influential leaders of
the Realist movement.
He is a French artist committed to
painting only what he could
physically see.
39. 39
IMPRESSIONISM (1865-1885)
Impressionist painters focused on
encapsulating the impression of an
exact moment.
They used short, quick
brushstrokes and an unfinished
sketch-like feel in their artwork
with modern life as their subject.
40. 40
IMORESSIONISM (1848-1900)
Impressionists prefer painting
situations like dance halls and
sailboat regattas rather than
historical and mythological events.
Claude Monet is one of the leading
contributors of this period and
among his notable works include
Impression, Sunrise (1872), from
which the name of the movement
was derived from.
41. 41
POST-IMPRESSIONISM (1848-
1900)
Post – Impressionist painters
concentrated on subjective visions
and symbolic, personal meanings
rather than observations of the
outside world in the form of
abstraction.
42. 42
POST-IMPRESSIONISM (1848-
1900)
Influential artists of this period
include Georges Seurat who is
known for his pointillism technique
that used small, distinct dots to
form an image and Vincent van
Gogh who used rugged
brushstrokes and dark tones in his
art in search for personal
expression.
43. 43
ART NOUVEAU (1890-1910)
Translated as “New Art,” this period
tried to create a totally genuine
movement free from any imitation
of styles that came before it.
Influenced by applied arts,
graphics, and illustration, it focused
on the natural world, characterized
by long, sinuous lines and curves.
44. 44
ART NOUVEAU (1890-1910)
Graphic designer Alphonse Mucha
is well-known for his theatrical
posters of French actress Sarah
Bernhardt while Spanish architect
and sculptor Antoni Gaudi went
beyond focusing on lines to create
curving, brightly-colored
constructions like that of the
Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in
Barcelona.
45. 45
FAUVISM (1900-1935)
This period was built upon the
artwork of Vincent Van Gogh and
George Seurat, which emphasized
the expressive use of intense color,
line and brushwork, a bold sense of
surface design and flat
composition.
46. 46
FAUVISM (1900-1935)
Henri Matisse led Fauvism and his
works were accentuated by
painterly qualities and strong color
rather then the representational or
realistic values of Impressionism.
This period is an important
precursor of Expressionism and
Cubism.
47. 47
EXPRESSIONISM (1905-1920)
Due to the growing conflict in
world views and loss of spirituality,
this period sought to display
anxieties and raw emotions
through the artists’ works that
show distortion of form and strong
colors.
48. 48
EXPRESSIONISM (1905-1920)
The origins of Expressionism can
be traced to Vincent van Gogh,
Edvard Munch, and James Ensor.
Aside from them, prominent
groups like Die Brücke (The Bridge)
and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue
Rider) were formed to allow artists
to publish their works and express
their ideals collectively.
49. 49
CUBISM (1907-1914)
Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges
Braque, Cubism discarded the idea
that art should imitate nature.
Instead, they moved away from
customary techniques and
perspectives, creating radically
fragmented objects through
abstraction.
50. 50
CUBISM (1907-1914)
Artwork during this period are
characterized by flat, two-
dimensional surfaces, geometric
forms or cubes of objects and
contrasting vantage points.
51. 51
SURREALISM (1916-1950)
Artwork in this period defied
reason, denouncing rational
mindset.
It was believed that surrealists
attribute this kind of thinking to
events like World War I, which
made people repress their
imaginative thoughts.
52. 52
SURREALISM (1916-1950)
Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí
sought to tap into the unconscious
mind to portray revelations found
on the street and in everyday life.
Dalí’s paintings depict historical
accuracy paired with vivid and
bizarre dreams.
53. 53
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
(1940s - 1950s)
This period preferred to do away
with traditional techniques and
instead used spontaneity and
improvisation to create abstract
artwork whose size could no longer
be placed on an easel but instead,
canvases are directly placed upon
the floor.
54. 54
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
(1940s - 1950s)
Abstract Expressionist painters
include Jackson Pollock known for
his unique style of drip painting
and Mark Rothko, whose Orange
and Yellow painting above
employed large blocks of color to
convey a sense of spirituality.
55. 55
OP ART (1950s - 1960s)
Short for “optical” art, this period
was greatly influenced by
developments in science and
technology as well as an interest in
optical effects and illusions.
56. 56
OP ART (1950s - 1960s)
The main idea during this period is
for artists to use shapes, colors, and
patterns to create images or
patterns that appear to be moving
or blurring, most of the time
produced in black and white for
maximum contrast, which are
meant to both confuse and excite
the eye..
57. 57
POP ART (1950s - 1960s)
This period used everyday objects
to create innovative works of art
that feature bold and vivid colors,
and challenged consumerism and
mass media.
58. 58
POP ART (1950s - 1960s)
Pop art like Andy Warhol’s
Campbell’s Soup Cans is perhaps
the most famous pop culture work
of art which paved the way for the
idea that art can be drawn from
any source.
Clearly, the launching of this period
is a shift towards modernism.
59. 59
ARTE POVERA (1960s)
Literally translated as “poor art,”
Arte Povera started introducing
common place materials into
artworks to challenge the
modernist, contemporary systems.
Many of the notable works during
this period are sculptural in nature
wherein soil, rocks, paper, rope,
and other natural elements were
used to evoke a pre-industrial
sentiment.
60. 60
ARTE POVERA (1960s)
Mario Merz’s anti-elitist work called
“Giap’s Igloo,” made from materials
from everyday life, focused on the
necessities of life: shelter, warmth,
and food.
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MINIMALISM (1950s - 1960s)
Founded by younger artists in New
York who probed the overly
expressive works of Abstract
Expressionism, minimalist artists
invite the viewers to focus on what
exactly the art portrays rather than
draw interpretations that are
beyond one’s emotions and reality.
62. 62
MINIMALISM (1950s - 1960s)
Using purified forms, order,
simplicity and harmony, American
artist like Frank Stella featured a
pattern of recti-linear stripes of
uniform width printed in metallic
black ink in his non-
representational painting called
“Black Paintings.”
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CONCEPTUAL ART
(1960s - 1970s)
This period is focused on ideas and
concepts, therefore, there is no
distinct style or form.
Conceptual art completely rejected
the previous periods of art where
artists valued ideas over visual
components.
65. 65
CONTEMPORARY ART
(1970s - Present)
This period is marked by the
exploration of Postmodernism,
Feminist Art, Neo-Expressionism,
Street Art, Appropriation Art,
Digital Art and other small
movements.
67. WHY
DO
ARTISTS
CREATE
ART?
For worship
To evoke emotions and feelings
To reinforce cultural ties and
traditions
For adornment
To tell stories
To capture historical events and
people
For recognition
To bring attention to ordinary
objects
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69. WHY
STUDY
ART?
It teaches us to distinguish and
understand individual differences.
It enhances our decision-making
and problem-solving skills.
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71. VISUAL
ARTS
Artworks that are primarily visual
in nature.
These are art forms that are
perceived and appreciated using
our sense of sight.
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72. 1.
FINE
ARTS
artworks that are developed for
aesthetics or beauty
primarily created for its
appearance and ability to
stimulate the intellect rather than
its functional value
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74. 2.
DECOR
-ATIVE
ARTS
Also called decorative crafts, these
art forms are created because of
its aesthetic design and practical
use.
Unlike fine arts whose function is
to be looked at, decorative arts are
utilitarian in nature - they are both
beautiful and functional.
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75. 2.
DECOR
-ATIVE
ARTS
Textile art
Glassware
Jewelry
Furniture and accessory furnishings
Earthenware
Book illustration
Embroidery
Floral arrangements
Metal craft
Pottery
Tapestry
Interior design
Fashion design 75
76. 3.
CONTE
MPORA
RY
ARTS
considered as a special type of art
that cannot be easily categorized
as fine arts or decorative arts
because of the newly conceived
art styles and techniques that did
not exist in the first two art forms,
which were discussed earlier.
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79. PERFORMING
ARTS
This is an art form in which artists
make use of their voices, body
movements or non-living objects
to express one’s emotions and
feelings.
Performing arts are meant to be
performed in front of a live
audience to provide
entertainment in theatres or
opera houses, open-air stages, on
stages in tents such as circuses,
and on the street.
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80. 1.
THEATER
ARTS
involves performers who act out
stories that are based on reality or
imagination using a combination
of speech, gesture, music, dance
and visual arts as props to convey
the story in front of an audience
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82. 2.
DANCE
defined as regulated or deliberated
order of body movements
typically refers to human
movements that have aesthetic
value and are often performed with
music accompaniment
comes in various forms and styles
and the art of making dances is
called choreography while the
person who practices this art is a
choreographer
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84. 3.
MUSIC
defined as the manipulation of
sound and silence
This form of art combines different
elements such as pitch, rhythm,
dynamics, timbre, and texture to
create sound, which happens to be
the material of music.
performed using musical sounds
from various musical instruments,
using the human voice with style or
technique, or a combination of both
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