Subjects

• Subject of art


  What the artwork is about or depicts, including people, objects, landscapes, events, or ideas that the artist represents in their work
• Content of art


  The message, meaning, or emotional expression conveyed by the artwork, including the artist's intent, style, technique, and the way in which the artwork affects the viewer. Content can be explicit or implicit, and it may be interpreted differently by different people, depending on their background and experiences.
• Representational art


  Art where the subject are real-world things or events, also known as figurative art
• Non-representational art


  Art forms that do not refer to a person, location, thing, or even a specific occurrence in the real world, simplified to visual elements such as shapes, lines, and colors to convey a particular sensation, emotion, or idea
• Appreciating non-representational art


  Requires a higher level of perceptiveness and insight to understand the sentiment, emotion, or concept behind it
• Representational art


  Easier to figure out the subject matter because the figures in the painting already hint at it
• Sources of subject in art

  • Nature
  • Greek and Roman mythology
  • Judeo-Christian tradition
  • Sacred Oriental texts
• Kinds of subject in art

  • History
  • Still-life
  • Animals
  • Figures
  • Nature
  • Landscape
  • Seascape
  • Cityscape
  • Mythology
  • Myth
  • Dreams
  • Fantasies
• Factual meaning


  The most basic level of meaning that can be taken from the recognized or recognizable parts of the artwork and how they interact
• Conventional meaning


  The accepted interpretation of an artwork based on motifs, signs, symbols, and other ciphers that develop over time and are reinforced by repeated exposure
• Subjective meaning


  A variety of meanings that may emerge when subjectivities are used to interpret a work of art, based on the viewer's or audience's knowledge, experiences, and values
• Known sculptures in the Philippines

  • Bul-ul of Ifugao
  • Manunggal Jar of Palawan
  • Higantes of Angono Rizal
  • Sarimanok of Maranao