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Week 4 - Lesson 3 - Functions of Art

Art can serve physical, social, and personal functions. The physical function refers to how a work meets practical or utilitarian needs. Art with social functions addresses collective life or influences viewers. Personal functions are subjective and relate to self-expression, communication, aesthetics, entertainment, or religious purposes. A work's function depends on its context, such as origin, time period, creator, and audience.

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84 views20 pages

Week 4 - Lesson 3 - Functions of Art

Art can serve physical, social, and personal functions. The physical function refers to how a work meets practical or utilitarian needs. Art with social functions addresses collective life or influences viewers. Personal functions are subjective and relate to self-expression, communication, aesthetics, entertainment, or religious purposes. A work's function depends on its context, such as origin, time period, creator, and audience.

Uploaded by

lars
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lesson 3

Functions of Art
Introduction

Within art, there exist a PURPOSE for which a piece of art may be
designed.

These functions are assigned to an art work under a specific context.


How is function attached to an artwork?

CONTEXT

• Where it came from

• When it was created

• Who created it

Taking anything out of context can lead to • Who views it


misunderstanding art and misinterpreting an
artist's intentions.
Three Categories of Functions of Art

Physical

Social

Personal
Physical Function

The physical functions of art are often the


easiest to understand. Works of art that
are created to perform some service
have physical functions. If you see a
Fijian war club, you may assume that,
however wonderful the craftsmanship
may be, it was created to perform the
physical function of smashing skulls.
A Japanese raku bowl is a piece of art What physical function do churches serve?
that performs a physical function in a
tea ceremony
Social Function

Art has a social function when it


addresses aspects of (collective) life
as opposed to one person's point of
view or experience. Viewers can
often relate in some way to social art
and are sometimes even influenced
by it.
Public art in 1930s Germany
had an overwhelming symbolic
themes
Political art, often designed to deliver a
certain message, always carries a social
function
The fur-covered Dada
teacup, useless for holding
tea, carried a social function
in that it protested World
War I

Context:
Dada was a philosophical and artistic
movement of the early 20th century,
practiced by a group of European writers,
artists, and intellectuals in protest against
what they saw as a senseless war—World
War I
Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions.
Satirical Artworks serving social functions

Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and


performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses,
and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, with
the intent of shaming individuals, corporations,
government, or society itself into
improvement.
Satirical visual arts (like paintings and
photography) as well as dramas
service social functions
Personal Function

The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to


explain. There are many types of personal functions and these
are highly subjective. Personal functions of art are not likely to
be the same from person to person.
An artist may create a piece out of a need for
self-expression or gratification. They might
also or instead want to communicate a
thought or point to the viewer. Sometimes an
artist is only trying to provide an aesthetic
experience, both for self and viewers. A piece
might be meant to entertain, provoke
thought, or even have no particular effect at
all.
Art may also serve the personal function
of controlling its viewers, much like social
art. It can also perform religious service or
acknowledgment. Art has been used to
attempt to exert magical control, change
the seasons, and even acquire food. Some
art brings order and peace, some creates
chaos. There is no limit to how art can be
used if it serves its personal function.
In Summary…

Art's functions apply not only to the artist who made a piece, but
also to you, the viewer. Your whole experience and understanding of
a piece, as well as everything you know about its context, should
contribute to the function you assign it. Try to remember these four
points the next time you're trying to analyze a work of art: (1)
context as well as (2) personal, (3) social, and (4) physical functions
Keep in mind that some art serves only one function, while others
fulfill all three (perhaps even more).
Reference

Esaak, Shelley. (2020, August 27). The Most Important Functions of Art. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-are-the-functions-of-art-182414

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