ART

– It is said that art is a product of a

particular culture and time period.
 Humanities
refers to the study of the human experience
– how people process and record their
thoughts, beliefs, and longings. Humanities
include philosophy, history, literature, art,
music, and language as their modes of
expression.
 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 21st century
artists living in the postmodern age. It functions in
a global society that is culturally diverse and
technology oriented. For one thing, it provides
instances for people to reflect and respond to
contemporary social concerns and issues pertinent
to themselves and to the world. For another thing,
it is a combination of mixed styles, materials,
techniques, and concept that challenges traditions.
“CONTEMPORARY” and “MODERN”
is even the same. In this regard,
what makes modern art and
contemporary art different from
each other?
 The main distinction between modern art
and contemporary art is the time period in which
they have existed. MODERN ART emerges in the
late 1800s and continued to grow from more or
less a century. It slowly waned in the middle to
late 20th century now as contemporary art. This
art exists up to this day, and no one knows when
the new period will arrive to veil contemporary
art in its shadow.
Modern art develops as styles and
techniques, whereas contemporary
means “with the times” (Con tempo).
Thus, Contemporary arts refers to the
art of the present.
Both modern art and contemporary art
use modern (in the artist’s time) issues
as subjects for their art work, whether
it is a still life, an ordinary daily activity,
or a far more serious social issues like
human trafficking or war. Personal
thoughts are also common subjects.
However, many believe that contemporary
art is more socially conscious than modern
art because more social issues have been
realized in the recent decades. Examples of
the most popular contemporary subjects are
feminism, globalization, migration and
environmental concerns.
Example of Modern Art
Twittering Machine by Paul Klee. 1922.
Watercolor and
ink on paper
Example of Contemporary Art
Diaspora by Antipas Delatova. 2007. Oil on
canvas.
 INTEGRATIVE ART
In contemporary arts, not only
movement can be integrated into an
artwork. Even seemingly different art
categories can be melded together to
produce an integrated or combined 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 learning – the
outcome, being the unity of separate areas
of learning.
 Two different
Examples of
Integrative arts
First example is the building’s architecture. This is a discipline of integrative art.

National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel. 2019. Doha, Qatar

Second example of integrative discipline of
integrative art is Dance, Music and Song
– performing under one roof at the Cultural Center
of the Philippines (CCP) Manila
 THE ELEMENTS OF ART
Art form in the different regions
vary in subject, theme, style,
medium and technique.
There are common characteristics
that are common to all.
First, the arts share the same
tradition and influences
which our country has
undergone for more than
four centuries
Second, the arts can be used
skillfully to suggest feelings
and emotions .
 Finally, they share certain
elements and principles of
organization or principles of
design
 These are the essential to the
production of Philippine
Contemporary arts. They serve as
the basic and common expressive
tools of the art forms in the regions.
 SPACE
Space in visual arts can be defined as a void, an
emptiness which can be either be negative or
positive. The positive space refers to a space
enclosed in a shape, while the negative space
denotes the opposite.Moreover, in other art
forms, space can be referred to as an interval or
pause. In literature, it is the interval between
notes.
 LINE
Line is the extension of a point, a short
or long mark drawn or carved on a
surface. It is implied path suggesting –
a. direction: vertical, horizontal,
diagonal
b. character: jagged, curved, series of
dots or broken lines
 It is easy to pinpoint line in painting,
drawing and other artworks of the similar
type. But in other types of art, such as
performing arts and literary arts a line
described differently. In theater, a line may
refer to the script of the actor. In dance, it is
the series of steps that a dancer makes.
 SHAPE AND FORM
When the ends of the line meet, they
form a shape. Shape can also be described as
a figure separate from its surrounding area or
background. It can either be geometric
(angular) or organic (Curvy)
Form is slightly similar to shape. It is
enclosed line; a figure separates from its
background. But remember that shape is
two-dimensional, while form is three-
dimensional. For instances, the square is
an example of shape; the cube is a form.
The circle is a shape; the sphere is a form.
 VALUE
In Visual arts, value is the degree of lightness and
darkness of a color. In music, it is called pitch,
which is the highest and lowness of a tone. The
tone color or timbre refers to the quality of the
sound. Like color, the value suggests an
atmosphere or mood, also found in other art forms
(e.g., strong contrast suggest a strong emotional
response, especially in writing).
 TEXTURE
Texture is the surface of an artwork. A texture
can be actual or tactile, meaning, it can really be
felt by touch; or it can be simulated or illusory,
which means it can only be seen, not felt.In music
or writing, texture is the quality or style of a
composition. The sounds from different musical
instruments allow one to hear texture in sound.
These elements are the basic tools of
expression in any art form. They can be
found in nature and in a man-made
environment. Artists use, arrange and
manipulate them to express feelings or mood
and to convey their message to the viewers,
listeners or readers.
 Design
is the overall structure of an art
form. It is plan for order. It is the
means by which artists indicate and
demonstrate the ideas and feelings
they wish to convey.
The principles of design are also called
the organization of the elements. They
help people makes sense of the
environment, at the same time, make it
aesthetically pleasing and interesting
Because contemporary art has moved away from
the classical styles, it is sometimes hard to critic a
contemporary work of art. Therefore, it is
important to know the principles of design to be
able to evaluate its art value. A good
contemporary work of art follows most, if not all,
of these principles. They are tools for organizing
the elements of art to produce a unified and
harmonious design, composition or performance.
 HARMONY
This refers to the wholeness of the
design, the pleasing arrangement of parts
and the agreement between parts of a
composition, resulting in a united whole. It is
easy to spot unity in visual arts. If each of the
elements in a visual work of art plays a vital
role in the artwork, then harmony is present
 VARIETY
Variety pertains to the assortment of
diversity of a work of art. Variations are
produced so that monotony and
uniformity in the environment are
prevented.
 RHYTHM
It is the regular, repeated pattern in
the elements of art. It is flow, or feeling
of movement, achieved by the
distribution of visual units or sound units
in time. The beat can be regular or
irregular, simple or complex.
 PROPORTION
Elements in a work of art should
have a relationship with one
another. This relationship is called
proportion. A well- proportioned
shape is pleasing to the eye.
 BALANCE
It pertains to the even distribution
of weight. It is the principle that
deals with equality. In art, there are
two types of balance: formal
balance and informal balance.
 Formal Balance or symmetrical
balance
refers to two sides that are identical
to each other. An example is a cross-
sectional image of a butterfly. The
spread wings of the butterfly show
balance in the image.
On the other hand, Informal balance or
asymmetrical balance, refers to two
sides not identical to each other yet
equal in visual weight. Ikebana, the
Japanese art of flower arrangement, is a
good example of a design that uses
asymmetrical balance.
Formal balance

Informal balance
 MOVEMENT
This is the fundamental principle in
choreography and the theater arts.
Movement is a way to convey feelings and
emotions. It is the means by which dancers
make use their bodies to express an inner
condition
 EMPHASIS AND SUBORDINATION
Emphasis is the principle that
gives importance or dominance to a
unit or an area. This is opposite to
subordination, which gives less
importance to a unit or area.