LECTURE 1.

2 The Humanities in Western Civilization

Panofsky, “Art as a Humanistic Discipline”

The world “HUMANITIES” is etymologically derived from the Latin word “Humanitas”
meaning “humanity”

Three States of Humanities in Western Civilization

Divinitas Gods in the state of perfection in heaven
Humanitas People in the state of culture in civilized society
Barbaritas Savages in the state of nature for survival

THE PLACE OF HUMANITIES IN

THE HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Ancient (800 BC) COSMOCENTRIC VIEW
PROTAGORAS: Man is the measure of all things.
GEOCENTRISM: Man is at the center of the universe.

Medieval (300 AD) THEOCENTRIC VIEW

SCHOLASTICISM: Man is created in the image of
God
Man is at the center of creation.

Renaissance (1400) ANTHROPOCENTRIC VIEW

HUMANISM: Nothing is more wonderful than man.

Modern (1600) SCIENTIFIC-TECHNOCENTRIC VIEW

Man is a part of nature.

Post Modern (1960) ECLECTIC VIEW

Man is a piece of everything.

Humanities in the History of western civilization can be traced from its

philosophical foundation. Significant icons in the history of education made
contributions in understanding the underlying principle, theory and concept in terms of
its influence in the world of Art from Painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dance
and cinema.
 ANCIENT
IMAGE OF
COSMOCENTRICMAN:
GEOCENTRIC THEORY

Earth (Man) is
the center of
the universe.

Ptolemy
(100-170 AD) Almagest

MEDIEVAL IMAGE
OF THEOCENTRIC MAN
Man is created by God.

The Illuminated Manuscript created during 10 th

Century reveals the “story of creation” where
Man was created by God on the seventh day.
In this period, religion dominates in the world.
The divine revelation as explained by St.
Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas Aquinas
enlightens the mind of the people.
Theologically speaking, man is inseparable
from God. It is the Divine power of God that
gives life to every person. “Man’s existence is
solely dependent upon God’s existence”.

Escorial Beatus, Illuminated

Manuscript, 10th Century
 RENAISSANCE
IMAGE OF MAN:
ANTROPOCENTRIC MAN:

“Man is the Measure of all things”

The Vitruvian Man, sketched by Leonardo

da Vinci portrays an Individual which is arm-
stretched, nude and appearing to be
performing an exercise for the body/
muscle-building. This Artwork is considered
to be significant particularly in the field of
mathematics.

Leonardo da Vinci
Vitruvian Man, 1490

RENAISSANCE IMAGE OF
ANTHROPOCENTRIC MAN
The image of man is the
image of God. Man is the
measure of God.

Michelangelo, The Creation of Man

(Sistine Chapel Painting, 1512)
 HELIOCENTRIC THEORY:
Removed man from the center of
the universe and suggested the
view man was special in the
universe.

Copernicus,
On the Revolution
of Celestial Bodies,
1542

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the heavenly

spheres), written by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and published
just before his death, placed the sun at the center of the universe and argued that the
Earth moved across the heavens as one of the planets. Copernicus anticipated his
ideas would be controversial and waited more than 30 years to publish his book. De
Revolutionibus opens with a brief argument for the heliocentric universe and follows
with an extensive set of mathematical proofs and astronomical tables. Copernicus was
not trying to disparage the accepted wisdom of astronomers and religious thinkers;
instead he sought to uncover a more elegant order in the universe. His ideas were
revolutionary, but they built on an existing line of thinking. The movement of Mercury
and Venus had long perplexed philosophers and astronomers 1.

MODERN IMAGE OF
SCIENTIFIC-
TECHNOCENTRIC MAN
Man is a part of nature.

The Evolution of Man

The famous Charles Darwin theory on “Evolution of Man” scientifically based that
everything in this world continuous to evolve and discover its potential which benefits
the entire society and the whole wide world. From stone age to digital age, several
1

On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres - World Digital [Link]

changes made to happen and have shaped the course of history. Man, no longer hide
himself from the world outside. Man learns to discover his power in inventing tools,
gadgets that are helpful in Architecture, sculpture or even in everyday living. The rise of
Industrial revolution takes a bigger step in the world of discovery in the field of science
and technology. “everything else is related to the design of man” thus, technology
becomes useful in aid to fancy life of every individual.

MODERN IMAGE OF
SCIENTIFIC-TECHNOCENTRIC
MAN
The scientist is detached
observer of the objectified
man.

Rembrandt, The Anatomy

Lesson of Dr. Turf, 1642

Rembrandt painted this group portrait of seven surgeons and the physician
Nicolaes Tulp in 1632. The painting is one of a series of group portraits that were made
for the board room of the Guild of Surgeons, the earliest of which dates from 1603. An
anatomy piece of this kind has a central motif, an anatomy lesson, and a protagonist,
the praelector or reader. This painting was occasioned by the anatomy lesson that Tulp
gave in January 1632. Twice a week a leading physician gave the Amsterdam surgeons
a theory lesson. One element of this extra training was attendance at practical
demonstrations in the anatomy theatre in order to gain a greater understanding of
human anatomy. There was one public autopsy each year, conducted in the winter
because the stench of the body would have been unbearable at any other time. The
dissection was carried out under the supervision of the praelector. He did not
necessarily do this every year, but Tulp, who had become reader of the Guild of
Surgeons three years earlier, performed his first autopsy in 1631 and his second in
1632. It was of this occasion that Rembrandt made his famous painting 2

2
The Anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp – [Link]
 MODERN IMAGE OF
SCIENTIFIC-
TECHNOCENTRIC MAN

Man is dehumanized
during
the industrial age.

Legaspi, Gadgets
1947

Another important work, “Gadgets,” 1947, done in

two versions, reflects the increasing importance of
machines in the post-war industrialization period, as
well as what he perceived was the insidious threat of
human metamorphosing into machine

POSTMODERN IMAGE
OF ECLECTIC MAN
Man is a piece of
everything.

Medio Cruz, Poleteismo,

from Kulo Exhibit 2011
INSTALLATION ART

What is Installation Art?

An art installation is a three-dimensional visual artwork, often created for a
specific place (in situ) and designed to change the perception of space.

The term “installation”, which appeared in the 1970’s, generally applies to works
created for interior spaces (ie. gallery, museum); outdoor works are more often referred
to as public art, land art, or, to put it roughly, humans intervening on an environment
and putting their “stamp” on it.

That said, an outdoor piece can most certainly be considered an “installation” of

sorts, but, typically, installation art is most often found within an indoor space, as some
artists would prefer to contain their creative statement to the context of a room, which is
simple enough for a viewer to comprehend 3.

On August 9, board members at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), in

Manila, shut down “Kulo,” a group exhibition that has ignited a debate about the limits of
freedom of speech in the Philippines, in regard to religious imagery in art.

The CCP board cited “an increasing number of threats to person and property”
and an August 4 incident in which a couple tried to set the exhibition on fire. The center
also received criticism from prominent political figures, including former First Lady
Imelda Marcos, who claimed that one installation, Mideo Cruz’s Poleteismo (2002/11),
“could not be considered art.”

Though the show consisted of individual works by 32 different artists that were
intended to challenge social mores—“kulo” means “to boil” in Tagalog—most criticism
focused on Poleteismo, meaning “polytheism.” The work, a shrine-like installation of
found media images, religious iconography and objects, critiques the god-like personas
of celebrities in Philippine society. The most controversial items include a crucifix with a
large red phallus attached, another crucifix covered with a pink condom, and a statue of
Jesus Christ wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Commenting to Art Asia Pacific, Cruz
explained that a penile object remains “a symbol of power with most people 4.”

3
What Is Installation Art? Description, History, and Prominent [Link]
4
ArtAsiaPacific: Closure Of Kulo Exhibition Ignites Art Censorship Debate In The
[Link]
 HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINES

HISTORY
Human events happening in the world

LANGUAGE Written and oral forms of human communication

PHILOSOPHY Human reason concerning reality

ART Admiration (ART APPRECIATION) of human-made

objects and the human creativity (ART CREATION) by
which these objects are made
 WESTERN CONCEPT ART
ACADEMIC Only schooled people are artists
ELITIST Meant for the higher social class
HIERARCHICAL Liberal art and servile art, high and low
art, major art and minor art or craft, fine
art and practical art, folk art, indigenous
art, popular art

WESTERN CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ARTS
MAJOR ART Made by artists and
primarily concerned with
the form of beauty
MINOR ART OR CRAFT Made by artisans and
concerned with functionality
and usefulness of
human-made objects
(artifacts)
 The term crafts is often used to describe the
family of artistic practices within the family
decorative arts that traditionally are defined
by their relationship to functional or utilitarian
products (such as sculptural forms in the
vessel tradition) or by their use of such
natural media as wood, clay, ceramics, glass,
textiles, and metal.

Michelangelo,
Painting in the Ceiling of Sistine Chapel
1508-1512

Made by the artist and the artisans, but

only the artist took the credit

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous

painted interior spaces in the world, and
virtually all of this fame comes from the
breathtaking painting of its ceiling from about
1508-1512. The chapel was built in 1479
under the direction of Pope Sixtus IV, who
gave it his name (“Sistine” derives from
“Sixtus”).

The location of the building is very close to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Belvedere
Courtyard in the Vatican. One of the functions of the space was to serve as the
gathering place for cardinals of the Catholic Church to gather in order to elect a new
pope. Even today, it is used for this purpose, including in the recent election of Pope
Francis in March 2013.
Originally, the Sistine Chapel’s vaulted ceiling was painted blue and covered with
golden stars. The walls were adorned with frescoes by different artists, such as Pietro
Perugino, who painted Christ delivering the keys to St. Peter there in 1482 5.

5
Michelangelo’s Painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling – [Link]
 Conversion of St. Paul Parish Church
Pitogo, Quezon

Baroque Architecture
Built in 1817

There is beauty in irregularity, a concept which perfectly embodies the church

that stands in Pitogo. The Parish of the Conversion of St. Paul or simply known as
Pitogo Church, has one of the most unique architectural style for a church during its
point in history. It was at that time when most churches in the archipelago followed the
all too common Baroque style, while the Pitogo Church, on the other hand, was built
with a neo-classical design, possessing a semi-circular pediment.
The fact that Pitogo is built on a
promontory of rolling hills has a great
rationale behind. Historical records
show that this site was selected by the
town’s founders in 1766 because its
lofty elevation provided them with good
look out points for the marauding vintas
of Muslim pirates who were then
threatening the safety of the natives.

In 1754, a band of Christian settlers led

by Juan Mauricio founded the town
farther inland, a few miles up the
Mayubok River, (now Pinagbayanan), to
be safe from Moro depredations. But
despite this precaution, the Moros came
and raided the town. They came along
the coastal town of Kalilayan6 (Tayabas)

Façade of Pitogo Church

Made of adobe (gasang)| Bell tower built in 1984

Pitogo, Quezon - [Link]

What is coralline limestone?
limestone, sedimentary rock wholly or in large part composed of calcium
carbonate. It is ordinarily white but may be colored by impurities, iron oxide making it
brown, yellow, or red and carbon making it blue, black, or gray. The texture varies from
coarse to fine. Most limestones are formed by the deposition and consolidation of the
skeletons of marine invertebrates; a few originate in chemical precipitation from
solution. Limestone deposits are frequently of great thickness. The action of organic
acids on underground deposits causes such formations as the Luray Caverns, the
Carlsbad Caverns, and Mammoth Cave. Limestone is used as a flux in the extraction of
iron, as an ingredient in Portland cement, as a source of lime 7.
In some limestone we find fossilised coral, stemming from a coral reef on the
edge of an ocean over 200 million years ago. Coral polyps are small animals that
accumulate limestone, and eventually build coral reefs. Coral reefs are the most
species-rich environment on Earth, and this was already the case over 200 million years
ago.
The remains of mussels, snails, fish and aquatic reptiles are also found in these
limestones. Over millions of years, vast cemeteries of sea life, with thousands of meters
of deposits, piled up on the ocean floor. Today these fossil-rich rocks are found, for
example, on the Murtèr saddle, at 2500 metres above sea level, a long way from any
tropical ocean8.

Limestones are used in many sectors of the national economy: as a flux in

ferrous metallurgy; for the production of portland cement in the cement industry; for the
production of soda, calcium carbide, mineral fertilizers, and other products in the
chemical industry; for the purification of sugar beet juice in the sugar production
industry; and in the glass industry for giving glass heat resistance, mechanical strength,

7
Coralline limestone - definition of Coralline limestone by The Free [Link]
8
Coralline limestone - Swiss National [Link]
and resistance to the effect of chemical agents and weathering. In addition, limestone is
used in the printing industry and in housing, road, and industrial construction (quarry
stone, gravel, stone for laying walls, facing and decorative stone, and so on) 9

9
Coralline limestone | Article about Coralline limestone by The Free
[Link]