Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

Region IV-A-CALABARZON
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
San Pedro Campus
Division of Laguna

READING VISUAL ARTS

GEED 20093

Members

de Mesa, Mel-c S.
Dela Cerna, Irejules
Echague, Monica R.
Gabuyo, Vera R.
Garcia, Juniel L.
Gilbuena, Ella Mae M.
Gentalian, Gillian Elaine S.

BSED EN 1-1

Prof. Karyl Peñaflor Guray

MOVIE: Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson in 1997

Jess Aaron (Josh Hutcherson)

An average kid who likes running, drawing, and his favorite teacher - befriends a new neighbor, Leslie,
who introduces him to a magical imaginary land.

Leslie burke (Anna Sophia Robb)

Is full to the brim with imagination, creativity, mischief, and fun. A voracious reader with a keen sense of
intellectual curiosity, she is the one who comes up with the idea of Terabithia.

May belle (Bailee Madison)

Is just a sweet, innocent little girl. If Jess asks her to get his shirt for him, she does it. She laughs at his
jokes - after Jess explains the jokes, of course. She can even be bribed with paper dolls, as Jess and Leslie
figure out

What it is all about?

Bridge to Terabithia tells the story of bullied kids Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke, 12-year-old
neighbors who create a fantasy world called Terabithia and spend their free time together in an
abandoned tree house.

What it is for?
It is for having a good friend and Bridge to Terabithia demonstrate that friendship is the
most important part of children’s lives and is key to developing imagination.

What it is made of?

Bridge of Terabithia is a 2007 American movie directed by Gábor Csupó. It is based by a novel of
Katherine Paterson in 1997.

What is the style?

Coming-of-age fantasy adventure film. Bridge to Terabithia is an appealing adventure film with
some fantasy elements.
What are the criticism/s given by all artists?
Bridge to Terabithia was released to positive reviews; critics called it a faithful adaptation of the
children’s novel, and found dynamic visuals and natural performances further enhanced the imaginative
film.

What makes it a masterpiece art?

The Bridge to Terabithia shows the reality of every children having a friend. Showing respect and
valuing their emotions.

NOVEL: The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

What is it about?
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is about a young college student named Esther Greenwood. The book
starts out with her staying at the Amazon with eleven other girls because they all won the same
internship. When the internship ends, she goes home to find that she didn’t get into a writing program
she had applied to earlier.
While living with her mother, she becomes depressed and attempts suicide multiple times. She
is then sent to an asylum and the book concludes with her going into an interview that will decide
whether or not she can return to college.

What is it for?
This novel is for people whose suffering from mental illness or what we call depression.

What is it made of?

It was made because of the protagonist’s birth of mental illness in line with Plath’s own
experiences of clinical depression or bipolar II disease.

What is the style?

• The Bell Jar focus on body vs. Mind.
• The novel is written using a series of flashbacks that show up parts of Esther’s past.
• It’s a semi-autobiographical type of novel
• It uses symbolism, imagery, and allegory
How good is it?
It shows that the pathways of people suffering from mental illness are not easy.

Criticisms
"The Bell Jar” is fiction that cannot escape being read in part as autobiography."
-Howard Moss

"If we are to understand the American female, using the idea that women themselves tell us what their
lives are like and how they think and feel, we certainly need more fictional characters with more candor
and insight and the courage to reveal themselves.
It is probably this vacuum in American literature that made The Bell Jar's protagonist so popular."
- Jeanne Inness

What makes it a masterpiece?

It was considered to be a masterpiece because it was able to depict the conflicts brought upon
young women living in the 1950s who did not willingly decide to conform to the expectations of women
in that era.

POEM: Ang Aking mga Kabata

Dr. Jose P. Rizal

 Jose Rizal wrote it in 1869 at the age of eight.

 A poem about the love of one’s native language written in Filipino Language.
 The poem was widely taught in Philippines schools to point out Rizal’s precociousness and early
development of his nationalistic ideals.
 “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” was a nationalistic artwork promoting the use of Tagalog(Filipino)
language by the Filipino people.
 “Ang Aking Mga Kabata” is considered as one of the masterpiece of Jose Rizal.
 Jose Rizal wrote this poem because he wanted to reveal earliest nationalist sentiment.
MUSIC: Black or White
Michael Jackson

1. What is it about?
"Black or White" is a single by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released by Epic
Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous. He co-
wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. The song has elements of dance, hip hop and hard
rock. Epic Records described the song as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".
2. What is it for?
As one listens to this song, they will realize that Jackson was expecting his audience to be both
white or of color ethnicities. The common problem between many ethnicities is racism. These lyrics
describe his opinion on racism and how they have affected him and the world around him. The first
lyrics that caught my attention were "They printed my message, In the Saturday Sun, I had to tell them, I
ain't second to none." Here he states that he is not no one, that he is a person, with equalities. Next,
Jackson wrote " I told about Equality, An It's True, Either You're Wrong or you're right." In these few
lines Jackson is trying to say that everyone has their own opinion on what equality is. If someone has a
different opinion on equality, each person is right. Later in the song, Jackson states "I am tired of this
devil, I am tired of this stuff, I am tired of this business, So when the going gets rough, I ain't scared of
your brother, I ain't Scared of No sheets, I ain't scare of nobody, Girl when the goin' gets mean." Jackson
is stating that he is tired of the racism, which is described as a Devil. Also, he states that he is not scared
of anyone when things get bad and will not let the racism, that another person has for a different
ethnicity, affect him.
3. What is it made of?
The song has elements of dance, hip hop and hard rock music such as Bill Bottrell's guitars and
Jackson's vocal style. This song is played in the key of E major, with Jackson's vocal spanning from E3 to
B4, and its tempo is measured at 115 BPM.
The song’s main riff, played by Bill Bottrell, is often incorrectly attributed to Guns N’ Roses
guitarist Slash. Slash’s guitar playing is actually heard in the skit that precedes the album version of the
song and he did play the main riff during live performances of the song.

4. What is the style?

The video featured a morphing technique that was very innovative at the time. Macaulay Culkin
and George Wendt (Norm from the sitcom Cheers) appeared in it, as well as Tyra Banks before she
gained supermodel status.
5. How good is it?

 Black or White" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 35.A week later it shot up to
number three and in its third week, December 7, 1991, it ascended to number one, making
it the fastest chart topper since The Beatles' "Get Back", which also won the Hot 100 in just
 three weeks in 1969 and also his twelfth number-one entry. In the UK, the single became
the first single by an American to go into the singles chart at number one since 1960.
 Black or White" hit number one in 20 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico,
Cuba, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland .The single was certified platinum
in the US, selling over one million copies and became the second best-selling single of the
year.
 Reviews of the song were generally favorable. "Neither this slow-burn solo nor the Stones-
derived riff on 'Black or White' offers the catharsis of Eddie Van Halen's blazing break on
'Beat It'".

6. What are the criticism given by all artist/ critic in this category?
“For a figure as enigmatic as Michael Jackson, one of the more fascinating paradoxes about his career is
this: as he became whiter, he became blacker. Or to put it another way: as his skin became whiter, his
work became blacker.
To elaborate, we must rewind to a crucial turning point: the early 1990s. In hindsight, it represents the
best of times and the worst of times for the artist. In November 1991, Jackson released the first single
from his Dangerous album: Black or White, a bright, catchy pop-rock-rap fusion that soared to No 1 on
the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at the top of the charts for six weeks. It was his most successful solo
single since Beat It. “
-Joseph Vogel

Architectural Structure: The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)

What is it about?

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is the premiere showcase of the arts in the
Philippines.

This is basically the place where every Filipino dancer would want to perform, where every
Filipino indie movie director would want to showcase his film, and where every Filipino opera singer
would want to sing his heart out. In short if you want to go big locally, you must perform at the CCP.

What is it for?

The most prominent characteristics of International Style buildings are rectilinear forms; light,
rigid plane surfaces that have been completely exposed; open interior spaces by the use of glasses in
genera; and an illustrational weightless quality produced by the use of cantilever construction.

What is it made of?

 The rest of the structure is clad in concrete, textured by crushed seashells, the parts or the shell
itself within the concrete that was used mainly in street and amazingly in structure itself.

The seashell was distinguished that was included into the cement that they used in the
construction of Tanghalang Pambansa or in the whole CCP Complex.

What is the style?

It has a ramp foremost to the entrance, giving its façade an only one of its kind look. Most of the
time, a huge fountain delights the viewers with a light and water show. It is a good jogging place not
only because I’ve seen a lot of people running around but because of its upward and downward
relativity of ground surface.

The detail below its wide cantilever was all designed by massive structures or construction and
more of geometrical shapes incorporated to itself. The detail to it sides was entirely made of marble and
was cladded by seashells. And I also notice those small openings beneath its corrugated textured walls.

How good is it?

It is a good jogging place not only because I’ve seen a lot of people running around but because
of its upward and downward relativity of ground surface. The formal elements present in the CCP are
lines, lights and shape.

Line is evident by the straight line that is used in the sides of the CCP building, while lights are
shown by the artificial lights that they have installed. Shapes is pretty evident in the building as the
building is just a cube on top of a cube on top of an elliptical pathway. The principles of design that is
present in the CCP building that I can see are unity, proportion and balance.

Criticism

According to Mr. Tiongson, “The encyclopedia documents all of these forms. There’s no
prejudice, in, for example, comics or telenovela. The point is that is has to be defined from the artists of
all sectors and regions of the Philippines. It’s trying to imagine a national community with a culture that
has people-oriented values.”

What makes it a masterpiece?

Leandro V. Locsin (August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994) was a Filipino architect, artist, and
interior designer, known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various
projects.
 He is a great Architect of all times here in the Philippines. An avid collector, he was fond of
modern painting and Chinese ceramics. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for
Architecture in 1990 by President Corazon C. Aquino.

PIECE OF CLOTHING: T’boli T’nalak

Land of the Dream Weavers

T’nalak is a sacred cloth woven by the T'boli people in communities around Lake Sebu,
Mindanao island. Traditionally made by women of royal blood, thousands of patterns that reference
folklore and stories are known to the T’boli women by memory. Fu Dalu, a spiritual guardian,
guides t’nalak weaving, a process that is enriched with taboo and ritual.

T’nalak has a distinctive tri-colour scheme: White for the pattern, red for relief elements and
black (or deep brown) for the background. Fibres used in weaving are harvested from the abaca tree and
prepared in a process known as kedungon. Two metal blades are used to quickly remove the pulp and
reveal the filaments, which are worked by hand into fine threads.

During tembong, an artisan will connect individual threads end to end. Temogo, or dyeing, is

done in the ikat-style, using beeswax and natural pigments. Fibres are first boiled in a black dye for
several weeks. Weaving (mewel) is done on a backstrap loom (legogong) and weaving one piece of cloth
can take up to a month of uninterrupted work. The final stage in the process, semaki, involves
burnishing the fabric with a cowrie shell that is heated by friction. Nut oil is used to condition the fabric
and add sheen.

T’nalak is used for ritual purposes, as an offering to the spirits and during festival celebrations. It
is also exchanged between families for food and supplies in the T'bolis’ barter economy, which endures
to this day. Many communities rely on the commercial sale of t’nalak to earn a living. T’nalak clothing
was used in beauty pageants and in the fashion industry.

Lang Dulay
Lang Dulay (August 3, 1928 - April 30, 2015) was a Filipino traditional weaver who was a
recipient of the National Living Treasures Award.
She is credited with preserving her people's tradition of weaving T'nalak, a dyed fabric made
from refined abaca fibre.