In everyday life, of course, we often see the artwork is very diverse and the artwork is not infrequently we also have done an award or assessment of the artwork. Well, this is what we call the art appreciation.

What is Art Appreciation?

Appreciation comes from Latin, “appreciation” which means appreciation or judgment of something. We also know “appreciate” in English which means seeing, determining value, enjoying, realizing beauty, and living things. Meanwhile, art is something that has a value of beauty or aesthetics and created by humans-usually called by art. Someone who is doing appreciation is usually called appreciator.

However, is art just like art? No. Art itself is a branch of art that forms artwork with media that can be seen by the eye and can be felt by touch. Visual art can also be interpreted as a work of art that created an object with certain criteria such as the concept of lines, fields, shapes, textures, colors, even lighting with aesthetic reference-so, this art can be enjoyed using the senses of the eyes and touch. Meanwhile, the artist is usually called the artist.

Thus, it can be interpreted that the appreciation of art is a form of recognition, appreciation, or assessment for a work of art in the form of objects that can be enjoyed by seeing and feeling.

However, to appreciate a work of art to pay attention to elements such as theme, style, technique, and composition. To appreciate the art is also not only to judge a work of art but can appreciate something that is around us. For example, when we want to buy clothes at a clothing store, of course, we choose one of the clothes to buy from the many choices of clothes offered by the seller. That means we have also done an appreciation.

The assessment of each individual also differs from each other because basically, each individual has a different character from one another so that the likes and the judged are also different. If according to the appreciator the first work is appropriate as with his personality, not necessarily the other appreciator say the same thing. This is because:

• Different social status
• Intellectual level
• The level of understanding and assessment of a person is various.

Appreciation Type

Appreciation of the art itself can be divided into three types, namely:

• Emphatic appreciation, which is to assess or appreciate a work of art that can be captured with limited sensory only.
• Aesthetic appreciation, the judge or appreciate a work of art by involving observation and deep appreciation.
• Appreciation criticism, that rate or appreciate a work of art by involving classification, description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation and conclude the assessment or appreciation. Appreciation of this one can be done by observing an object directly and real.

According to Brent G. Wilson in his book entitled Evaluation of Learning in Art Education, appreciation itself has three main contexts, namely:

• Feeling: Relates to feelings about beauty.
• Valuing (Assessment): Very closely related to the assessment of a work of art.
• Empathizing (Empathy): With respect or appreciation of the arts and professions such as painters, sculptor, printmaker, designer, and others.

Who can appreciate art? Anyone can appreciate artworks. Appreciation is also divided into two types, namely:

• Passive appreciation; perpetrators of this appreciation are the people who are still new to the art, but have a good interest in a work of art.
• Appreciation is on; the appreciation that occurs after a person judges a work of art.

Stages of Appreciation

In addition to the types of appreciation that have been described, to perform an appreciation of the creative arts also requires five specific stages as follows:

• Observation: Observation of a work of art is not done with one sense only. However, by empowering the whole person. That is, this appreciation is also done with the sharpness of one’s observation and knowledge of art.
• Physiological Activity: Actual action in conducting an observation.
• Psychological Activity: It is a perception with the evaluation that can then lead to an imaginative interpretation as a driver of creativity.
• Appreciation Activity: Performed by observing an art object in depth.
• Reward Activity is an evaluation of the object by giving suggestions or criticism.