Functions and Philosophical Perspectives on Art

1. FUNCTIONS
AND
PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES ON ART
PREPARED BY: RHIALYN M. SANGRANO BSED- SCIENCE 2A

2. Every particular substance
in the world has an end,
or telos (purpose).’
-For a thing to reach its
purpose, it also has to
fulfill its function.
ARISTOTLE

3. FUNCTIONS OF ART

4. “An inquiry on the function of art is an
inquiry on what art is for.”
What is the Rizal
monument
for?

5. • Different art forms come with
distinctive functions.
• Some art forms are more
functional than others.

6. Architecture and Applied Arts
-The value of the art in question
lies in the practical benefits one gains from
it
-Obviously made for a specific purpose.
Painting and
Literature
-One can look at the value of
the product of art in and for
itself.

7. DOES IT MEAN THAT PAINTINGS AND LITERARY WORKS CAN
NEVER HAVE ANY FUNCTION?
• Dr. Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo. The novels accrued value
and as a consequence, function.
• they are designed to accomplish some
definite end.

9. PERSONAL FUNCTIONS OF ART
• The personal functions of art are varied and
highly subjective.
• Functions depends on the artist who created the
art.
• An artist may create an art out of self-
expression, entertainment, or therapeutic
purpose.

11. SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF ART
• Addresses a particular collective interest
as opposed to a personal interest.
-Art may convey message of protest,
contestation, or whatever message the
artist intends his work to carry.

13. PHYSICAL FUNCTION OF ART
• Artworks that are crafted in
order to serve some physical
purpose.

15. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
ON ART

16. ART AS AN IMITATION
• In Plato’s The Republic, paints a picture of
artists as imitators and art as mere imitation.
• In his description of the ideal republic, Plato
advises against the inclusion of art as a subject
in the curriculum and the banning of artists in
the Republic.

17. • Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce
the belief in copies and discourage men to reach
for the real entities in the World of Forms.
• Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for
two reasons:
1. They appeal to the emotion rather to the
rational faculty of men
2. They imitate rather than lead one to reality.

18. ART AS A REPRESENTATION
• Aristotle, agreed with Plato that art is a form of
imitation
• Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy
in revealing the truth.
• Aristotle conceived of art as representing
possible versions of reality.

19. • In Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular
purposes.
o Art allows for the experience of pleasure
(horrible experience can be made an object
of humor).
o Art also has an ability to be instructive and
teach its audience things about life
(cognitive)

20. ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT
•Immanuel Kant, in his “Critique of
Judgment”, considered the judgment
of beauty, the cornerstone of art, as
something that can be universal
despite its subjectivity.

21. •Kant recognized that judgment of
beauty is subjective.
•However, even subjective
judgments are based on some
universal criterion for the said
judgment.

22. ART AS A DISINTERESTED JUDGMENT HOW AND IN
WHAT SENSE CAN A JUDGMENT OF BEAUTY, WHICH
ORDINARILY IS CONSIDERED TO BE A SUBJECTIVE
FEELING, BE CONSIDERED OBJECTIVE OR UNIVERSAL?
“I like this
painting.”
“This painting is
beautiful.”

23. ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION
• According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays a huge
role in communication to its audience’s
emotions that the artist previously
experienced.
• In the same that language communicates
information to other people, art
communicates emotions.