Art appreciation / Bernardo Nicolas Caslib, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

There is nothing that grounds men and women more concretely than the work of their hands. When Plato claimed that man, more than anything else, is his soul and his capacity to think, and Aristotle added that his being social and political is what sets him apart, the masters of thought disappointed by missing out on one of the most important aspects of man: his capacity to create and appreciate these creations. The result of this facet of man is art and the humanities. It is no puzzle then why the field was called humanities. It is the work of man: his hymns, verses, paintings, and sculptures that define his humanity, his being man or woman. Without the great works of civilization, man would not have been man. This book is a survey of the most important elements of the study of the humanities. Art Appreciation, as a course, attempts to develop in students the ability to appreciate, scrutinize, and appraise works of art. This book was written with these aims in mind. This book will begin with the preliminaries on what art is, what its assumptions are, what it normally amounts to, and its functions. There will also be a survey of a few philosophies that were made and conceived by thinkers about art and beauty. After these, the subject and content of art, as well as the actors in art, the artisans, will be dealt with. Then, the history of art, from the cavemen to the contemporary ones will be charted. How did art evolve through time? Has there been a unifying element throughout the history? This book will end with a discussion of Philippine and Asian art, and how art has made us who we are. Through and through, each lesson is comprised of opportunities for the students not just to learn passively but also to actively contribute to and participate in art. We hope that teachers and students alike will take these opportunities for engagement to heart. Toward the end, this book only wishes to contribute to the holistic development of each Filipino learner in the hopes that every college student does not just become a skilled professional, an expert in his field, but one who is truly human, a kind that does not just think and socialize but one who appreciates the work of the hands and the beauty that he is capable of producing and beholding. --Rexestore.com