The Fine Arts refer to the main forms of artistic realization or aesthetic representation historically cultivated by humanity. These are considered “pure” forms of art that use different techniques, materials, and procedures. Each, however, encompasses a multitude of recognized practices, styles, and trends. These arts are traditionally part of the lasting and transcendental elements of humanity; those considered worthy of a central place in high culture, both as documents or testimonials of an era, a way of feeling, or as symbols that concern a specific conception of the world and of existence.
Traditionally, six forms of Fine Arts are recognized: painting, music, literature, dance, and sculpture. Later, cinema (the seventh art), architecture, and graphic narrative or sequential art (the ninth art) were added. It must be said that the concept of Fine Arts is linked to the idea of the museum and historical art, and not so much of contemporary art, which has put this concept in question. Nowadays, art is viewed from different perspectives, given that the traditional notion of Fine Arts has often been accused of being ethnocentric (privileging the European conception of art) and culturally exclusive.
History of Fine Arts
The ancient Greeks studied artistic representation (especially Aristotle) and understood it in two opposing categories: the superior and the minor. The former were more elevated, poetically powerful, and transcendental, while the latter were more vulgar and simple. This distinction was supposedly derived from the senses used to perceive beauty (sight and hearing were the superior senses). However, the term Fine Arts was used properly from the eighteenth century to group the artistic practices valued at the time and try to unify the many theories about beauty, style or taste. Declamation and oratory were included among them, but they were replaced in time.
How are the Fine Arts classified?
The classic division of the Fine Arts is established from the materials that it uses and the way it uses them, in the following ways:
- Architecture. Uses various construction materials to make homes, buildings and urban spaces that are beautiful and functional, aesthetic and livable at the same time.
- Dance. Uses the human body and the musical rhythm as a form of expression of artistic contents.
- Sculpture. Uses stone, clay or various solid materials to achieve three-dimensional artistic representations, either figurative or abstract.
- Painting. Uses pigments obtained from various natural and artificial sources to aesthetically represent reality through color and shapes on canvases and other surfaces.
- Music. Through diverse instruments constructed by the human being, it seeks to reach beauty through rhythms, melodies and harmonically orchestrated sounds to elicit an aesthetic experience in listening.
- Literature. Using language as a raw material, individuals compose stories, theatrical representations or poetic descriptions that can then be read and enjoyed aesthetically.
- Film. Using complex technical instruments, it captures light, sound and times itself in sequences of simulated or real events that make up a story, a discourse or an audiovisual representation of reality.
Characteristics of Fine Arts
The Fine Arts are diverse among themselves, but they suppose a uniform set of characteristics:
- They aspire to beauty. In any way and through varied techniques and materials, the Fine Arts seek to communicate a specific experience of the beautiful, the harmonious, the transcendent or the profound.
- They are universal. In principle, works of art should be appreciable by all humanity, regardless of the particularities of their origin, religion or sex.
- They are durable. Works of art should last over time and be able to communicate their content to future generations, whether in museums, reproductions, or specialized. Oftentimes, the most lasting and meaningful art begins with clear intention from the artist. An artist must have a purpose in mind, be patient, and stay inspired.
Conclusion
Art has been part of society since the beginning of time as a means of expression, which has different dimensions and transformations according to the artist and the time in which it develops. The artist is the one who creates a new way of interpreting and experiencing it, for which each individual handles different skills in painting, sculpture, music, etc. in a different way. The different mutations of art over the years take us to the place where we are, where technology has invaded every corner and serves as a visual, auditory and perceptive medium within any artistic field.
