Culture and the arts Apollo Belvedere in a Landscape by Charles Meynier

Culture and the arts

Apollo Belvedere in a Landscape by Charles Meynier

The word culture is derived from the Latin root cultura or cultus meaning to "inhabit, cultivate, or honour". In general, culture refers to human activity; different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or criteria for valuing human activity. Present day Anthropologists use the term to refer to the universal human capacity to classify experiences and to encode and communicate them symbolically. They regard this capacity as a defining feature of the genus Homo. Since culture is learned, people living in different places have different cultures. There can be different cultures in different countries, and there can also be shared cultures among continents.

The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art," which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompasses visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance, spoken word and film, among others.

Art, in its broadest meaning, is the expression of creativity or imagination. The word art comes from the Latin word ars, which, loosely translated, means "arrangement". Art is commonly understood as the act of making works (or artworks) which use the human creative impulse and which have meaning beyond simple description. Art is often distinguished from crafts and recreational hobby activities. The term creative arts denotes a collection of disciplines whose principal purpose is the output of material for the viewer or audience to interpret. As such, art may be taken to include forms as diverse as prose writing, poetry, dance, acting or drama, film, music, sculpture, photography, illustration, architecture, collage, painting, craft and fashion. Art may also be understood as relating to creativity, æsthetics and the generation of emotion.

Culture – set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that define a group of people, such as the people of a particular region. Culture includes the elements that characterize a particular peoples' way of life.

The arts – vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. The arts encompasses visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts.

Literature – the art of written works.

Fiction – any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s).

Poetry – literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning.

Critical theory – examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities.

Visual arts – art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature.

Architecture – The art and science of designing and erecting buildings and other physical structures.

Classical architecture – architecture of classical antiquity and later architectural styles influenced by it.

Crafts – recreational activities and hobbies that involve making things with one's hands and skill.

Drawing – visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium.

Design – the process for planning the overall look of an object.

Film – motion pictures.

Painting – practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface with a brush or other object.

History of painting

Photography – art, science, and practice of creating pictures by recording radiation on a radiation-sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or electronic image sensors.

Sculpture – three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials – typically stone such as marble – or metal, glass, or wood.

Performing arts – those forms of art that use the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium.

Dance – art form of movement of the body.

Film – moving pictures, the art form that records performances visually.

Theatre – collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place.

Music – art form the medium of which is sound and silence.

Music genres

Jazz – musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States, mixing African and European music traditions.

Opera – art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score.

Musical instruments – devices created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds.

Guitars – the guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings.