Philosophy of Humanity

Aesthetics (Philosophy of Beauty)

Forms of Art

One of the subjects of aesthetic study is art itself. Humanity has cultivated numerous forms of art, and art historians have endeavored to classify them. Among the many forms of art known to humankind, several prominent groups can be distinguished:

Visual Arts encompass various forms of art that create representations of reality. Visual art pieces are tangible, perceived through sight, and employ rich symbolism. The main categories of visual art include:

◦ Architecture — the design and construction of buildings. Architecture is both an art, reflecting the creative impulses of its practitioners, and a science, grounded in precise norms of building engineering, physics, chemistry, optics, and more.

◦ Painting — the art of conveying visual images through the application of pigments on a surface. In painting, artists may use any colors, surfaces, and genres, dictated by artistic traditions and the technical capabilities of their time. Major genres in painting include: - Portrait — the depiction of individuals, with a focus on the person themselves, while other elements are either absent or secondary; - Self-Portrait — a portrait in which the artist represents themselves; - Icon — in Christianity, a religious and symbolic representation of events from the lives of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, or Biblical events; - Landscape — the depiction of natural scenery; - Still Life — the portrayal of inanimate objects from the natural world, separated from their usual environment (e.g., fruits on a table, flowers in a vase); - Battle Painting — the depiction of military actions, battles, soldiers, military equipment, and moments from military life; - Genre Painting — the representation of everyday life of ordinary people (peasants, townsfolk, craftsmen, people at leisure); - Historical Painting — the depiction of past events, usually significant historical events, figures, or locations; - Mythological Painting — the representation of mythological heroes (e.g., Venus, Apollo, Buddha); - Animal Painting — the depiction of animals and their lives; - Marine Painting — the depiction of the sea; - Architectural Painting — the depiction of buildings.

These painting genres can also apply to other forms of visual art. For example, landscapes can be created not only through painting but also through graphics, engravings, reliefs, and photography.

◦ Sculpture — a form of art whose name derives from the Latin word "sculpo" (to carve). Historically, sculptors carved images from stone, which gave rise to the term for this art form. Today, sculptors often model their works from a variety of materials.

◦ Relief — a type of sculpture and painting; a three-dimensional representation on a flat surface. Reliefs are divided into two types: bas-relief (low relief) — a sculptural composition that is minimally raised from the background, and high relief — a sculptural composition that protrudes significantly from the background plane.

◦ Graphics — a form of visual art characterized by the predominance of lines and strokes, often using a limited color palette (polychromatic) or solely black-and-white imagery (monochromatic). The term derives from the Greek "γραφικός" (written).

◦ Engraving — reproductions of images, predominantly in black-and-white tones, combining painting and graphics. Engravings are used in books, postage stamps, and other printed materials.

◦ Decorative Applied Arts — encompasses various art forms where the creations have practical uses, but their creators infuse them with an aesthetic dimension. For instance, clothing manufacturing serves a practical purpose, but designers strive to create not just functional garments but beautiful ones, imbuing their work with both practical and aesthetic value, thus transforming their craft into art. Decorative applied arts include activities such as weaving, pottery, ceramics, carving, and more.

◦ Design — artistic and practical planning. The term comes from the English "design" (plan). Designers plan spaces (homes, offices, yards, recreational areas, public spaces) or objects (cars, clothing, decorations) to ensure they are both practically functional and aesthetically pleasing.

◦ Photography — the capture of images using technical means. The word "photography" comes from the Greek "φωτός" (light) and "γράφω" (to write). Photography emerged in the 19th century.

Musical Arts — encompass various art forms related to sound. While visual art operates with a palette of colors and forms, music is founded on the harmony of sounds. There are many forms of musical art, classified by different criteria. The primary classification criterion is the source of sound. Music is divided into vocal (created by the human voice) and instrumental (created by musical instruments). Music can also be categorized by direction and genre, including:

◦ Folk Music — a collection of musical cultural heritage from various peoples of the world. It is closely linked to the cultural traditions of different peoples; the creators of folk music are often unknown, and it reflects the spirit of the people, their traditions, customs, religious practices, daily life, and historical circumstances. Each folk music tradition is tied to the self-identity of the people and is passed down through generations within families and communities, forming part of the collective historical memory. Folk music is classified according to the peoples who created it, so there are as many types of folk music as there are peoples on Earth.

◦ Sacred Music — includes those components of religious rituals associated with sound. Since the dawn of humanity, religion has involved various art forms, with the oldest art forms emerging from religious rituals, making religion the "mother of art." Sacred music holds a prominent place in religious ceremonies. Each religious confession has developed its own ritual and thus its own tradition of sacred music. Consequently, sacred music is best categorized by the type of confession. All forms of sacred music share the same goal: to focus the performer or listener on the spiritual realm, facilitating prayer, meditation, and spiritual elevation. Sacred music exists not for entertainment but for worship.

◦ Classical Music — emerged in Europe as a counterpart to sacred music. People sought to express not only prayers but also all aspects of their inner life (love, joy, sorrow, praise, etc.) through sound. These artistic expressions developed into a distinct form of musical art. In the 17th-19th centuries, this form became the dominant mode of cultural leisure for the European intelligentsia. The demand for high-quality music and the presence of many talented composers and musicians elevated this genre to a highly professional and elite art form, practiced exclusively by specialists. As this genre was used to train composers and musicians, it became known as "classical music." Various forms of classical music and methods of classification exist. One classification criterion is the number of performers involved. If a large number of artists perform a piece, it is called orchestral (for instrumental music) or choral (for vocal music). This includes marches, symphonic music, wind music, etc. If there are fewer performers, the music is called chamber music, performed by a chamber orchestra or choir. This term derives from "camera" (room), as chamber ensembles were small enough to fit into private homes or palaces. If a piece is performed by a single artist, it is termed a solo performance.

◦ Popular Music — musical styles aimed at a broad audience. Its emergence was driven by historical factors such as scientific and technological progress and industrial development, leading to mass migration and urbanization. These processes gave rise to a new type of culture, known as mass culture. Its representatives were often people of lower educational and cultural levels, such as factory workers, service employees, and others. This environment required its own form of art, including music. The existing forms of music could not satisfy the needs of this audience. Sacred music remained confined to religious settings and was not intended for entertainment, while folk music, tied to specific national and cultural traditions, did not address the needs of a diverse urban population. Academic music demanded a high level of education and culture from both its performers and listeners, rendering it somewhat incomprehensible to the general laboring classes. An alternative emerged in the form of popular music, which required no such preparation for its appreciation. The term for this genre derives from the Latin "populus" (people, crowd, masses). With the rise of cities and industries, this type of music gained popularity among the demographic from which it originated. Over time, popular music evolved, becoming more complex and diverse. Today, it encompasses a broad spectrum of styles and genres, ranging from high cultural achievements to simplistic expressions of mass culture.

Literature is the art of mastering the word. While works of visual art are composed of material substances, and musical works are composed of sounds, literary works are composed of words. Literature includes any text (acoustic or graphic). Various types of literature are distinguished:

◦ Scientific literature comprises texts that describe scientific discoveries or contribute to scientific discourse. It includes monographs (books dedicated to a single topic), scientific articles, theses, texts or abstracts of scientific reports, and so forth.

◦ Popular science literature is represented by books, articles, or essays that do not aim to describe scientific discoveries or express positions in scientific discussions, but rather to disseminate scientific achievements to a broader audience.

◦ Educational literature includes textbooks, guides, and other materials intended to aid in learning.

◦ Reference literature encompasses dictionaries, encyclopedias, and similar works.

◦ Sacred literature consists of the holy texts of various religions (such as the Bible, Torah, Quran, Avesta, Vedas, Tripitaka, and others) as well as prayer texts. Closely related to sacred literature is theological and exegetical literature, which aims to explain these sacred texts.

◦ Philosophical literature brings together texts (monographs, articles) dedicated to philosophical issues.

◦ Technical literature includes texts that provide information on the operation of something (instructions, etc.).

◦ Journalism is oral or written literature aimed at disseminating information to the masses.

◦ Artistic literature represents the most refined expression of mastery over the word. It is traditionally divided into prose and poetry, and further into three genres:

Epic literature or epic poetry narrates events or characters. This genre includes fairy tales, ballads, myths, novellas, short stories, novels, and epics.

Lyric literature or lyric poetry focuses on the internal world of individuals, their emotions and experiences. It includes odes (praise poetry evoking elevated feelings), elegies (melancholic poetry designed to evoke sadness), epitaphs (texts in memory of deceased persons), and sonnets.

Dramatic literature involves texts that model various life situations. Dramas are mostly written for theatrical performance. This genre includes: drama (a play that reveals a conflict and is accompanied by continuous emotional tension), comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, vaudeville (light comedy with sung verses), farce (light comedy featuring unrealistic and impossible situations, mistakes, and distortions), melodrama. Dramatic literature also includes film scripts and scenarios for amateur theater productions.

Performing arts are a category of art in which the material of creativity is the human being itself—their body, movements, emotional expressions, voice, etc. Variants of performing arts include: ◦ Theater—an art form where actors perform various genres on stage before an audience, accompanied by spoken (prosaic or poetic) text, music, and more.

◦ Circus—a performance on an arena involving acrobats, clowns, strongmen, jugglers, magicians, illusionists, riders, and others.

◦ Pantomime—a theatrical performance without words, where the audience interprets meaning through the actors’ movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

◦ Puppet theater—a theatrical performance where actors control puppets rather than performing themselves.

◦ Dance—an art based on the plastic movements of the human body, often set to music.

◦ Ballet—a combination of theater and dance. Ballet performers execute dances that convey meaning akin to a theatrical performance.

◦ Opera—a combination of theater and singing. Opera singers perform all their lines in song. Opera is simultaneously a form of musical art.

◦ Operetta—musical theatrical performances where the actors also perform musical compositions.

◦ Cinema—a complex of artistic actions unified by a single script and the authors’ concept, including theatrical performance and musical accompaniment, but potentially incorporating other forms of visual art. Cinema is distinguished by the recording and projection of performances on a screen. The activity focused on film production is known as cinematography, and the product of this activity is a film. Films are categorized into documentary and fictional; short and feature-length; single-episode, limited-series, and multi-episode. Films can exhibit as diverse a range of genres as theater and literary art.

Most art forms are intertwined, making clear classification quite challenging. For example, theater falls under visual arts but also incorporates music and literature. Before actors can perform a play, a writer must create it. Poetry is a form of literature but is written to be declaimed, and declamation includes elements of theater. A singer not only performs music but also sings a text that is a product of literary art, and this performance is accompanied by facial expressions and gestures that are elements of theater. Art is also connected with various practical skills; for instance, circus performances are impossible without sports and proper physical preparation of the performers.