- What are some symbolic meanings of birds and doves as mentioned in paragraph 4?
Birds being the generic term encapsulating creatures that fly. Meanings derived from a bird include universal values such as freedom, simplicity, and humility. These are freedom in flying, simplicity in its nest and humility when it picks sticks from the ground. Doves as suggested in the paragraph are a specific image of a bird. A dove therefore also shows a more distinct meaning from that of the generic flying creature. Dove symbolizes peace, purity, and inspiration. In the Christian context, the white dove gives us the hope of peace, the purity of its spirit, and its gracious flight and posture that inspires us to be the same.
- What is beauty? What is aesthetic emotion? Relate aesthetic emotion to art.
Beauty is our senses being captured by a pleasing sight. Beauty as I understand it is the connection between the truth and the natural. Truth which means the innate universal rules, images of the ideal/ transcended world (heaven) and the natural world, what our senses can capture. When the two meet, there is beauty.
Aesthetic emotion is a response that surfaces when meaning can be seen in an object. It is a weird mix of reason and emotion induced by what a person sees from a piece of art. Whet it connects, it creates that emotion.
Aesthetic emotion is a response to art. Art as being an expression of a transcended order, an attempt to immortalize a moment, creates in itself meaning and essence. When this meaning is picked up by the one who sees it and it binds with his reason and feelings, it creates a strong emotion referred to as Aesthetic emotion.
- Explain the relationship between art and culture. Give examples.
Summing up what I understood, art is the humanistic expression of the transcended form of nature, how it is and how we perceive it. Art somehow satisfies the ultimate quest for man to put order in a seemingly spontaneous and juggled universe. Within this context of reality, there exist a set of norms that binds the society as one mega-organism. It is through this cultural fabric of a society that one inculcates his view of the world, this nature of the transcended. Having this norms clearly established in a society, one can now have a solid foundation of deriving such concept of transcended order which is art. Art and culture are intimately interconnected. One can’t exist with out the other. Art can’t exist with out the framework of a culture, while culture can never be called as such if it has no art, no expression of a transcended order binding its cultural framework.
For example, Higaunon art is derived from their norm of natural forces and worship of deities. There art’s medium is commonly soil mixed with water, elements of nature. Another example is the art derived from the Aztecs. Their fierce belief in human sacrifice and sacred warfare produced art emphasizing mutilated human forms, sometimes even painted with real human blood.
- Explain the statement in paragraph 16, “All the languages of art have been developed as an attempt to transform the instantaneous into the permanent.”
It is always a fundamental truth that man has infinite desires and one in particular is the desire to immortalize a moment of beauty. What is true and beautiful are oftentimes preserved as something rare, something that comes along once in a blue moon in this accelerating world. This yearning to cherish forever what seems to be flicker of happiness is the underlying current of art. Nevertheless, this quest to immortalize a beautiful moment has been inducing humanity to venture, to develop, to master a sort of skill that captures that moment, to transform the instant into eternal. Art is the clear manifestation of such desire and it has been with humanity since we first decided to be one.
- Explain and give examples: “Art does not imitate nature, it imitates a creation, sometimes to propose an alternative world…”
As I would translate it, Art is not a mere reflection of what is there but it is the expression of what could be, what is transcended. It can never be called an art if one is simply a photocopy of what is obvious. It has no added value. Art is considered a reflection of creation because it (within the Biblical context) has to do with everything that is to become. It is somehow capturing that singular moment of mystery where everything is placed into its proper place yet in the same moment it ceases to be static because it moves, it is becoming to what it is suppose to be. That is similar to art. When it is created, it is in its proper form, as an expression of a transcended order, yet it has its essence that gives it its meaning. That innate quality of art makes it move, it is also becoming as seen through the eyes and interpretations of those who relish it. It proposes an alternative world because it is the expression of what can be to what is. It elevates us from the present reality and captures our imagination to what is beautifully permanent. One good example is the closing part of the story. It suggests an alternative world in which a bird is warm and living in a cold and harsh backdrop.
- Explain the meaning of paragraph 19, what is the purpose of the ending?
The ending gives a sort of imagery or a backdrop that provides the context where the object is at present. This gives it a feeling sensation which makes art alive. The imagery given in the last part shows us a contrast between what is real and what can be immortalized from that harsh reality. What is real is the freezing temperature that no birds could live. Having the sculpture of a bird, having the imagery of warmth and life is in high contrast to what is real. This is how I see it. The carved bird is image of a transcended possibility which can never be present in a harsh cold winter. I believe that the purpose of the ending gives as a sense of transformation, a picture of immortalized beauty in a cold harsh context. That is what art do. It transforms a harsh reality into one that is living and beautiful, one that has a sense of feeling thus giving it tremendous value.
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