GENERAL OVERVIEW OF HUMANITIES

The Meaning, Importance, and Scope of Humanities

Humanities - come from the Latin humanus, which means human, cultured, and refined.
To be human is to have or show qualities like rationality, kindness, and tenderness.
- the term humanities refers to the arts---the visual arts such as architecture;
painting and sculpture; music; dance; theater or drama; and literature.

Art - constitutes one of the oldest and most important means of expression
developed by man.
-language charged with feeling and significance.
-communication of certain ideas and feelings by means of a sensuous medium---
color, sound, bronze, marble, words, and film.

AREAS OF ART

1. Visual Art- art that we perceive through our eyes such as architecture, painting,
sculpture and even clothes, household appliances and furnishing.

Aesthetic- refers to the forms and psychological effect of arts.

2. Music- art of combining and regulating sounds of varying pitch to produce

compositions, expressing various ideas and emotions. It's primary function is to
entertain.

3. Dance- art that is common to man even during the earliest times; makes use of the
human body as its medium.

4. Theater or Drama- acting out the plot to get across to the audience the idea the author
is trying to express.

Motion Picture- is a popular addition to the various forms of the theater

5. Literature- art of combining spoken and written words and their meaning.

Play- is a form of literature. Scenery and costume provide the visual arts, and music may
serve as a background to set the mood or to serve as a part of the plot.

Opera- a drama set to music

What the arts have in common?

The most common or basic relationship is that the arts are concerned with
emotions, with our feelings about things.
An Artist- a person who exhibits exceptional skills in design, drawing, painting, etc. or
one who works in one of the performing arts, like an actor or musician.

Two kinds of Artists---creators and performers.

The Work of the Creative Artist

- Creativity is an artist's trait developed in the course of her life to solve problems or
express her feelings.

- Artist as the prime mover, communicating her ideas through the performer as her
interpreter to the audience.

The Process of Creation

1. The idea.

2. The Material and the Process.

Art of Space- something we can see or take in at a glance in it's entirely.

Art of Time- take a number of minutes to be sung or the entire composition to be played.

3. Organization and Form.

Asymmetric Balance- kind of organization found in most paintings and other two-
dimensional graphic works.

The Scope of the Humanities

VISUAL ARTS

Two Classifications of Visual Arts: Graphic Arts and Plastic Arts

1. The Graphic Arts- flat, or two dimensional surface such as:

a. Painting- process of applying pigment to a surface to secure effects involving forms

and colors.

b. Drawing- art of representing something by lines made on a surface or the process of

portraying an object, scene or forms

c. Graphic Processes- all processes involve the presentation of a master image of the
drawing or design on some durable material such as wood, metal or stone, from which
printing is done.
1. Relief Printing- process whereby unwanted portions of design are cut away on the
master image.

2. Intaglio Printing- method of printing from a plate on which incised lines, which carry
the ink, leave a raised impression.

2.1. Dry Point- artist draws directly on metal plate with a sharp needle and scratches
lines, or grooves, into the metal.

2.2. Etching- art or process of producing drawings or designs on metal plates covered
with wax.

2.3. Engraving- art done on a metal plate with a cutting tool called a barin.

d. Commercial Art- includes designing books, advertisements, signs, poster, and other
displays to promote sale.

e. Mechanical Processes- developed by commercial printers for rapid, large-quantity

reproduction of words and pictures in one or more colors.

f. Photography- a chemical-mechanical process by which images are produced on

sensitized surfaces by action of light.

2. The Plastic Arts- all fields of the visual arts in which materials are organized into three-
dimensional forms.

a. Architecture- art of designing and constructing buildings and other types of structures.

b. Landscape Architecture- planning outdoor areas for human use and enjoyment,
especially gardens, parks, playgrounds, golf courses.

c. City Planning- planning and arranging the physical aspect of a large or small
community.

d. Interior Design- designated design and arrangement of architectural interiors for

convenience and beauty.

e. Sculpture- design and construction of three dimensional forms representing natural

objects or imaginary shapes.

f. Crafts- designing and making of objects by hand for use or for pleasure.

g. Industrial Design- design of objects for machine production.

h. Dress and Costume Design- covers the design of wearing apparel all types---dresses,
coats, suits, shoes, ties, etc.

i. Theater Design- settings for dramatic productions.

LITERATURE
1. Drama- also known as play, is a story re-created by actors on a stage in front of an
audience.

2. Essay- is a non-fiction, expository writing ranging from informal, personal topics to

closely reasoned critical treatment of important subjects.

3. Prose Fiction- narratives created by the author, as distinguished from true accounts

4. Poetry- a literature of a highly expressive nature using special forms and choice of
words and emotional images.

5. Miscellaneous- history, biography, letters, journals, diaries.

MUSIC

1. Vocal Music- composed primarily to be sung.

2. Instrumental Music- music of this kind is written for instruments of four general
types---keyboard, string, wind, brass wind, percussion.

3. Music Combined with Other Arts

a. Opera- is a drama set to music.

b. Operetta and Musical Comedy- also a drama set to music but is light, popular,
romantic, and often humorous or comic.

c. Oratorio and Cantata- are sacred musical drama in concert form.

4. Other forms of arts are the ballet music and background music for motion pictures.

DRAMA/THEATER

1. Tragedy- a drama of serious nature in which the central character comes to some sad
or disastrous end.

2. Melodrama- the action is sensational or romantic and usually has a happy ending.

3. Comedy- generally includes all plays with happy endings.

a. Romantic Comedy- is a light, amusing tale of lovers in some dilemma which is finally
solved happily.

b. Farce- is a light, humorous play. The emphasis in a farce is on jokes, humorous

physical action, ludicrous situation, and improbable characters.

c. Comedy of Manners- sometimes called 'drawing room comedy'. The emphasis here is
on witty jokes.

4. Miscellaneous:

a. Tragicomedy- blending of tragic and comic elements

b. Miracle and Mystery Plays- dramatized stories from Bible and of the lives of saints.

c. Morality Plays- characters represent specific vices and virtues.

d. Closet Drama- used to designate plays written for reading rather than for staging.

e. Piano Drama- combines the interpretation of music with the recitation of poetry and
the literary source.

DANCE

1. Ethnolgic- includes folk dancing

2. Social of Ballroom dances- type of dancing generally performed by pairs such as

waltz, fos trot, rhumba and tango.

3. The Ballet- formalized type of dance which originated in the royal courts of the Middle
Ages.

4. Modern- sometimes called contemporary or interpretative dances.

5. Musical Comedy- refers to those dances performed by soloists, groups, and choruses
in theater, night clubs, motion pictures, and television. It combines various form of ballet,
modern, tap, and acrobatics.

EVALUATION:
Multiple Choice: Read the statement carefully. Choose the letter with the best answer.

1. From which word does humanities originally came from?

a. Unanus c. Humanis

b. Humanus d. Human

Rationalization: b. Humanus, because Humanities come from the Latin humanus,

which means human, cultured, and refined.

2. It constitutes one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by
man. What is it?

a. Music c. Art

b. Dance d. Architecture

Rationalization: c. Art, because it constitutes one of the oldest and most

important means of expression developed by man.

3. Art, like love is not easy to define. From which sentences below can support this
statement?

a. Art is bipolar as love.

b. Art is sometimes one-sided like love.

c. Art is concern with the communication of certain ideas and feelings that is hidden
sometimes.

d. None of the above.

4. It is an art that we perceived through our eyes. What is it?

a. Visual Art c. Drama

b. Motion Picture d. Music

Rationalization: a. Visual art, because it is an art that we perceive through our

eyes such as architecture, painting, sculpture and even clothes, household
appliances and furnishing.

5. The following is an example of application of Visual Art EXCEPT:

a. Eiffel Tower c. Statue of Liberty

b. Mona Lisa d. Cariñosa

Rationalization: d. Cariñosa, because visual art is an art that we perceive through

our eyes and Cariñosa do not belong to the group because it is a dance.

6. It refers to the forms and psychological effects of art. What is it?

a. Aesthetic c. Beauty

b. Kinesthetic d. Prostetic

Rationalization: a. Aesthetic, because it refers to the forms and psychological

effect of arts.

7. Noel Cabangon is excellent in combining and regulating sounds of varying pitch that
enable for him to produce compositions, expressing various ideas and emotion. What art
did Noel Cabangon good at?

a. Dance c. Literature

b. Play d. Music

Rationalization: d. Music, because it is an art of combining and regulating sounds

of varying pitch to produce compositions, expressing various ideas and
emotions.

8. What is the primary function of music?

a. To entertain. c. To give relaxation.

b. To educate. d. To make us cry.

Rationalization: a. To entertain, because it is the primary function of music.

9. What area of art that enable someone to express his/her emotions or feelings by
means of using body movement as medium?

a. Play c. Literature

b. Dance d. Music

Rationalization: b. Dance, because it is an art that makes use of the human body
as its medium.

10. It is an art re-created by actors on a stage in front of an audience. What is it?

a. Tragedy c. Drama/Play

b. Melodrama d. Comedy

Rationalization: c. Drama/Play, because it is a story re-created by actors on a

stage in front of an audience and the other options are types of drama/play.