The Maker and the

Viewer of Art
Created for Humanities by Jebbie E. Barrios MMA_Lecturer
LPUCAV_2016

There are two important parties involved in

art: the maker and the viewer.
The maker of art is called an artist. There are artists who are
schooled, who learn the basics of art-making and then develop
their style in making art.
Because the maker of art is a human person, he/she brings with
him/her his ideas, ideals, feelings, fears emotions, social
condition and everything else that concern the person doing art.

The viewer of art

Is a human being who receives the meaning being communicated
through an artwork.
Some people call the viewer the gazer, onlooker or
audience.
The viewer takes the role of an art critic who examines the
artwork from historical, social, biographical, critical or other
points of view. This requires more knowledge, experience and
articulation.

The Beautiful in Art

When is something considered beautiful?
The Beautiful, Aquinas writes, is that which pleases us upon
being seen (Adler 104).
Food and drink, health and wealth, and most of the other goods
we need or want please us upon being possessed. It is having them,
to use or consume, that pleases us.
They please us upon when they satisfy our desire to have them, not
just see them.

The Beautiful in Art

Therefore, it requires to be seen not by the eyes but by the mind
and the human senses.
To be seen beyond practical purpose and function, without
thinking of how it can make you richer or how it can decorate your
bare wall. Such is enjoyable beauty.
Let it not forgotten though, that this is subjective, a matter of
individual taste.
An artwork may or may not give pleasure or enjoyment, depending
on the taste of individuals.

The Beautiful in Art

An artwork may also be admirable. What is admirable beauty in the
judgment of experts may not be enjoyable beauty to many laymen (Adler
121). Adler asserts that an artwork has admirable beauty when it possesses
an intrinsic excellence of perfection that is appropriate to that kind of
thing.
To bring enjoyable and admirable beauty one step higher, we have to relate
them to goodness. The goodness of enjoyable beauty is in the disinterested
pleasure that comes with it, regardless of the character of the object
from which this pleasure is derived. The pleasure of spectatorship, a
pleasure that lifts us up from our practical involvement in the purposeful or
interested activities that occupy the greater part of our daily lives

The Beautiful in Art

The goodness of enjoyable beauty that makes indispensable
ingredient in the happiness of a well-lived life consists in its
providing us with that all of us need (Adler 129-130). Such is the
higher level that beauty can lead man to.

Purposes and Functions of Art

Art is made by human beings aided by art materials, tools and skills, shaped by
their creativity and imagination. The human hands that shape it will always be
visible in it.
As such, we may inquire as to: Why did the artist make it? What did the artist
want to show? What experience was he/she trying to make clear? What had
intrigued the artist so much that sharing it with others seemed important?
Dudley, Faricy, Rice; 18).
For the artist art may mean many things. It is a form of enjoyment. Why do you
think artist can stay up all night alone in a room, in front of their artwork working
with paints and brushes. The making of an artwork itself is an enjoyable thing to
its maker. It is a way of expressing mans feelings, ideas and other things that can
be conveyed through a selected medium.

Purposes and Functions of Art

-Art may also be a medium for political and social commentary. Artists
belong to a society, and they see themselves as catalyst for change.
Their artwork is the statement they make about certain issues or
circumstances that affect them and other human beings. Fernand
Leger (1881-1955), Manansalas teacher, a French cubist painter.
-Art is a powerful tool of communication. Without the use of words art
heavily relies on images that connect to the viewer as he/she relives
the moment captured in the artwork. These images communicate
beyond words, those that are innate to man.

Purposes and Functions of Art

-Psychologist and guidance counselors also rely on art to peek
through the mind and experiences of people who have difficulty in
language expression and articulation. In some cases, the
psychological treatment involves several art activities.

LPU_CAV 2016