FUNCTIONS

AND
PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES
ON ART
Every particular
substance in the
world has an
end, or telos
Every substance, For a thing to
defined as a
reach its
formed matter,
purpose, it also
moves according
to a fixed path has to fulfill its
toward its aim. function.
Man is bound to
achieve a life of
fulfillment and
happiness
 However, The telos and
happiness, the function of a thing
supposed end of are both related to
man, is linked with a thing’s identity.
his function which is
being rational.
 ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
❖ Does art necessarily have an end?
❖ When an artist creates a work of art, does he have
an end in mind?
❖ What function does an artwork perform?
❖ Does it have a purpose?
❖ Do all artworks have a function?
❖ Does the function make an object a work of art?
Functions
of art
 An inquiry on the
There is no
function of art is
one-to-one
an inquiry on what correspondence
art is for. between an art
and its function.
 FUNCTIONS
OF ART

● Personal
● Social
● Physical
 PERSONAL FUNCTIONS
OF ART
● functions depend on the person – the artist who
created the art
 need for self-expression
 mere entertainment for his intended audience
 may not even intend to mean anything with his work
 SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
OF ART
● when it addresses a particular collective interest
 Political art
 Photography
 Performance (plays or satires)
 PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS
OF ART
● easiest to spot and understand
● artworks that are crafted in order to serve some
physical purpose
 Architecture
 Jewelry-making
 Interior design
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Music
 in its original form was principally functional
- used for dance and
religion (instrument to
facilitate worship and
invocation to gods)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Music
 in its original form was principally functional
- essential to dance
(assures synchronicity
among dancers)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Music
 in its original form was principally functional
- guarantees that
marches, in the case
of warriors, were
simultaneous
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Music
 today, it has expanded its function and coverage
- people compose hymns
of love to express
feelings and emotions
(e.g. serenade)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Music
 today, it has expanded its function and coverage
- wonderful
accompaniment to
stage plays and motion
pictures
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Sculpture
 Then, sculptures have been made by man most
particularly for religion
(people erect status for
the divine)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Sculpture
 Then, sculptures have been made by man most
particularly for religion
(people erect status for
the divine)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Sculpture
 made in order to commemorate important figures
in history
(e.g. Jose Rizal’s monument in
Rizal Park, Andres Bonifacio’s
Monumento in Caloocan)
 OTHER FUNCTIONS
OF ART
 Architecture
 most prominent functional art form
 where one can find the intimate connection of
function and form
 Does art
always
have to be
functional?
 The value of a A functional object
work of art does cannot be claimed to
not depend on be beautiful unless it
function but on can perform its
the work itself function sufficiently
 Despite these, Art demands so much
efficiency cannot more than efficiency
be mistaken as
beauty
 Philosophical
Perspectives on Art
Art as an
Imitation
In Plato’s metaphysics
or view of reality, the
things in this world
are only copies of the
original, the eternal,
and the true entities
(World of Forms)
 When one ascribes Artists merely
beauty to another reinforce the belief in
person, he refers to copies and
an imperfect beauty discourage mean to
that participates only reach for the real
in the form of beauty entities in the World
in the World of Forms of Forms
 Plato was deeply
suspicious of arts and Art is dangerous
artists because it provides a
petty replacement for
● They appeal to the
emotion rather than the
the real entities that
rational faculty of men can only be attained
● They imitate rather than through reason.
lead one to reality
 Art as a
Representation
Aristotle, Plato’s most
important student in
philosophy,
considered art as an
aid to philosophy in
revealing truth.
 All kinds of art do not Unlike Plato who
aim to be represent thought that art is an
reality as it is, what art imitation of another
endeavors to do is to imitation, Aristotle
provide a vision of conceived of art as
what might be or the representing possible
myriad possibilities in versions of reality.
reality.
Art serves two particular purposes
(in the Aristotelian worldview),
● Art allows for the experience of
pleasure
● Art has an ability to be intrusive and
teach its audience things about life
 Art as a
Disinterested
Judgment
 Judgment of
beauty, the
cornerstone of art,
can be universal
despite its
subjectivity
 So when the same
person says that
Even subjective
something is beautiful,
judgments are
he does not just believe
based on some
that the thing is beautiful
universal criterion
for him, but in a sense,
for the said
expects that the same
judgment.
thing should put
everyone in awe.
 Art as a
Communication
of Emotion
 Art plays a huge
role in
communication to
its audience’s
emotions that the
artist previously
experienced.
 Art is central to man’s
existence because it
makes accessible
feelings and emotions
of people from the past
and present, from one
continent to another.