To learn about types of art, we should first come to know about what art is. Art is the sharing of one's inner thoughts, feelings, emotions, visions, and struggles through multiple mediums. It provides us with many ways to express our thoughts and emotions. These ways differ from each other, i.e., music, painting, theatre, sculpture, etc. 

Types of Art

Though art is a vast field and it is inconceivable to enclose all of its types in a single article. However, here we'll try to cover some of them that are the essential categories of art. Art is divided into many types, which are further divided into other subtypes. We are here elaborating on the main three types/ categories of art, which are as fellows.

Visual Arts:

Visual arts are the form of art that can be visualized as apparent from its name. In easy words, it can be said as it is the type of art that we can see, i.e., painting, sculpture, calligraphy, and photography. Let's discuss it in detail.

• Painting: 

Painting is, at the same time, the most important and the oldest form of visual arts. It is a straightforward way for an artist or a painter to express his feeling, emotions, and inner thoughts via just putting different brushstrokes of colors on the canvas. The painting was very well-known and considered as a source of communication in ancient times when no language was invented/ discovered. At that time, after body gestures, the painting was the medium for conveying messages and exchanging ideas. 

It Has great importance in everyday Egyptian life where tombs of pharaohs were covered with paintings that used to describe the daily life of Egypt. Even Italy was famous as the center of Renaissance Painting during the Restoration/ Renaissance era. The master products of this era were Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. The noblest painters of the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) were Rembrandt and Vermeer as well.

• Photography: 

It is the art or practice of talking and processing photographs. It is the art of capturing light with a camera, usually via digital sensor or film, to create an image. We can even capture the objects that are invisible to the human eye with the right camera; we can also obtain the objects that are invisible to the human eye with the right camera. These hidden objects include wavelengths of light, UV, infrared, and radio. In 1826, the photography was correctly practiced for the first time. The first photographer was named Joseph Nicephore Niepce, who belonged to France.

 The device that is used to practice photography is said to be a camera. There is a different type of camera that has been invented. Though there are specific/ dedicated cameras for this purpose named DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex), more users friendly are the cameras present in our smartphones, which are quicker and easier to use. 

• Sculpture:

Sculptures are the 3-D (the dimensional) pieces of art that are created by shaping various kinds of materials, i.e., stone, steel, plastic, ceramics, and wood. The art of sculpture is also known as plastic arts. It is the only branch of the visual arts that is concerned explicitly with expressive three-dimension form.

It was generally accepted that an artist used to portray a moment in time through carving a sculpture or paint a painting. The sculptures are categorized based on materials they're made of, i.e., stone sculpture, wood sculpture, bronze sculpture, clay sculpture, etc. Along with these materials, different traditional materials are also used in the making of sculptures, including ivory, whalebone, and precious metals as well. In the modern era (20th century), concrete, stainless steel, fiberglass, aluminum, bicycle parts, and stained glass are also used to make sculptures. 

Sculptures have also been used for the devotion of religions in many cultures. In ancient times, large sculptures were too expensive to be built by an individual. These sculptures were used as a symbol to express religion or politics as well. The cultures of Mediterranean, Indian, China, South America, and Africa survived a lot in the field of sculptures. Even in the age of the Renaissance, the sculptures were practiced a lot, and the sculpture of Michelangelo's David proves it.

 The art of sculpture was revolutionized in the early days of the 20th Century by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). He was a Spanish painter and sculptor who is considered one of the most recognized artists of his time. 

• Calligraphy:

Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing. It is simply the arm of beautiful handwriting. The word calligraphy is derived from two Greek words, "kallos" (beauty) and "graphein" (to write). In calligraphy, signs are used to communicate the languages. 

Calligraphy is the art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well. It consists of a set of skills and techniques that are used to position and inscribe words to show integrity, harmony, rhythm, and some sort of ancestry. Symbols refer to the conventional signs having a specific agreed-upon meaning in a language, i.e., a letter of the alphabet, a digit, or a word. Harmony elaborates on the relationship between different visual elements in a piece of calligraphy.

Calligraphy is a bit different from typography, and non-classical handwriting as a calligrapher may practice both. Calligraphy is used for various purposes, i.e., invitations of weddings, birthday parties, or various events. It is also used in religious art, i.e., in Islam, many verses of Quran Pak are framed in the form of calligraphy.

Applied Arts

Applied art is an extended field that unites aesthetics, design, consumer need, and finding practical solutions to problems. The term "applied art" indicates the applications and resulting product of artistic design to different objects in everyday use. Here we are discussing various forms of applied arts, including architecture, fashion designing, and jewelry designing. 

• Architecture:

 It is an art form that reflects how we present ourselves across the earth's landscape, and like other expressive mediums, it varies with styles, technologies, and cultural adaptations. The art of architecture is used to practice designing and constructing buildings. The architecture provides shelter to the people in the form of houses, cottages, bungalows, etc. It also employs a large number of people. Even in Pakistan, it's the profession of many people. According to a survey held in 2018, by gender, there are 71% male and 29% female architects, which show that not only men but women can also earn their living through it. 

It represents human ideals in buildings like court-houses, government buildings, and manifestations of the spirit in churches and temples. Architecture has been practiced via basic methods of building designs and construction for thousands of years. The necessary materials used in it include bricks and stones that are joined through the mud. Besides them, wood is also an essential material used in architecture. These are used in making furniture, doors, stairs, etc.

• Fashion Designing:

It is the art of applying designs, aesthetics, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It differs from culture to culture, and the social values also influence fashion designing. Religion also influxes the way we dress up. 

Fashion designers attempt their work by considering the demand of their customers as well as the event or the occasion on which the dress or the garment to be designed will be worn. They use a wide range of materials, including colors, patterns, and styles. They search according to the interests of the majority of their costumers and then work on it. Manufacturers use Their specific designs. These designs are sold out based on the quality of the material or stuff that is used in the making of designs. 

Nowadays, in Pakistan and all over the world, fashion designing is a broad field having a vast scope. Many people are earning through it even for some people is the only source of income, and they are making enough thorough it. Where it is providing an ethical making too many people, it is also offering people to dress-up according to their desire to pursue their stylish and luxury lifestyles. 

• Jewelry Designing:

As apparent from the name, jewelry designing is the art of designing and creating jewelry. It also has the impact of culture, society, and religion as well. It varies from civilization to civilization. The art of jewelry designing is one of the most ancient forms of applied art. It is probably the most demanded art, especially by females. Like many other fields of art, jewelry designing also has taken many forms throughout the centuries, from the simple beadwork of ancient times to the sophisticated metalworking and gem cutting are known in modern days.

Before a piece of jewelry is created, it is finalized by a jewelry designer or a professional who is trained in architectural and functional knowledge of materials, fabrication techniques, compositions, wear-ability, and market trends. These designs are also influenced by traditional handwriting and drafting methods. 

It is also a broad field and serving as a source of income for many people. On the other hand, it is offering the people the opportunity to continue their fancy lifestyles.

Performing Arts:

It refers to the form of art in which artists use their voices, bodies, gestures, or inanimate objects to convey artistic expression. Simply performing arts are the forms of art whereby artists use their sounds, bodies, and gestures to express their emotions, feelings, and inner thoughts in an artistic way. It also reflects the picture of the society of an era. We are further discussing its types below, including dance and singing.

• Dance:

Dance is a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement that is inspired by aesthetic and symbolic values and is acknowledged as dance by performers and viewers within a particular culture. In general, the choreography is used to design dances that are intense to be performed as a concert dance. The art of choreography involves the specification of human movement and form of space, shape, time, and energy, typically within an emotional or non-literal context. 

Dance can be sub-divided with specific reference to its choreography, range of movements, and its historical period or its place of origin. There are many types of dance, including Classical, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tango, Rumba, Samba, Ballroom, Cha-Cha-Cha, Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Bolero, Charleston, Swig, Moonwalk, Boogie-Woogie, etc. Some Of The Latin Dances Include Salsa, Flamenco, Argentina Tango, Lambada, Polka, Jive, East Coast Swing, Capoeira, etc. There are many more types that cannot be enclosed within a single article.

• Singing:

Singing is a form or performing art whereby musical sounds are produced with the voice and augment regular speech by the use of sustained rhythm and tonality and a variety of vocal techniques. Singing is a natural anti-depressant. It is known to release endorphins that refer to a chemical named "feel-good brain chemical" that makes us feel uplifted and happy. Scientists have identified a tiny organ in the ear called the sacculus, which responds to the frequencies created by singing.

The art is called singing, and the artist who practices the current art is said to be a singer or a vocalist. Singing has many forms, i.e., formal, informal, arranged, or extemporized. There are many reasons to practice singing, i.e., a kind of religious act, hobby, source of income/ pleasure, comfort, or part of music education. There are different styles whereby singers practice singing. These styles include art music, i.e., Opera, Chinese Opera, Indian music, and religious music styles, i.e., gospel, traditional music, and popular music styles such as pop, rock electronic dance music, etc. 

Whereas the art of singing is also providing a source of income for many people, at the same time, it is serving as a natural anti-depressant for many of them.