Module crafted by Arvin Narvaza and Dr.

Maria Angeles Hinosolango

ENG 102: Art Appreciation

Module 2: Exploring Arts and Culture

Week 2: September 6-11, 2021| 1st Semester, S.Y. 2021-2022

Book: An Eye for Art Appreciation: Perception and Expression

Page(s):11-25

Introduction

In this module, you will learn why arts cannot be separated from the study of
culture. Culture and arts are symbiotic, which means that culture influences the
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production of art, and art, in return establishes cultural identity.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• Define what culture is along with arts and society; and

• Grasp the assumptions and beliefs on how one views art through the
cultural lens.

Rediscovering Culture

✓ CULTURE, according to social scientists, is a “set of values, beliefs, and

attitudes” that a person or group of individuals may possess.
✓ Humanistic scholars believed that culture pertains to the “complex whole of
ideas and things” produced by men in their existence.
✓ Moreover, Encyclopedia Americana (1992) describes cultures as the
“human behavior and history”.

Culture and Arts

In the early book, Newhill and La Paglia (1977) testified that to most people the
concept of culture describes refinement or sophistication. With this, they claimed
that a “cultured” person possesses good manners, and appreciates art, music, and
literature.

But how could arts explore in the realm of culture? Arts becomes a gateway to
understanding people and their culture. Through arts, we understand people and
we gain better means of grasping the behavior and customs of individuals in the
concepts relating to motives and norms and in accessing a greater sense of the
humanity of other peoples as well; we understand their humanness through their art
forms like dancing, singing, acting, drawing, and textiles.

Culture and Society

Newhill and La Plagia (1977) contend that culture and society are two distinct
concepts and should not be interchanged. Culture connotes the way of living in
which the society creates to satisfy its basic needs, while society comprises
individuals interacting in various tasks for the sole purpose of survival.

Human society cannot exist without culture. Similarly, in this respect, societies
without culture may be deduced to animal existence. For this reason, only human
societies make cultures. This entails that culture and society are interwoven.

Key Concepts on Culture

[1] Culture is a total pattern. The personality of a person, so with his behavior, is
affected by culture. This becomes evident in the ways in how a person was
 Module crafted by Arvin Narvaza and Dr. Maria Angeles Hinosolango

raised. His common acts of sleeping, eating, and even expressing despair or
showing affection are influenced by culture.

[2] Culture has structure. Imagine a jigsaw puzzle being put together, cultures are
formed with different components. A Filipino tribal village may not exist if there
are no units such as families, political entities, and economic groups. On another
note, civilization cannot exist without hierarchies. These hierarchies are structures
that may pertain to politics such as a barangay leader and the constituents.

[3] Culture is learned or adapted. Culture shapes and molds individuals. It is through
a culture that man learns to adapt to his present society and acts according to
the standard and norms of the community he belongs to.
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[4] Culture is shared. The idea of culture sharing is often manifested by people living
in specific geographic locations—they share the same principles and practices.
For instance, in language, Cebuano-Visayan roots in Cebu but people in
Cagayan de Oro share the same language, but with variations due to other
nearby cultures that contribute to the uniqueness of the dialect.

[5] Culture is influential. The Spanish regime in the Philippines lasted for more than
300 years. During the occupation, Filipinos were stripped off of their own culture
and identity, by brute force. This is why up to now, our ways of living may still
depict practices that show the influences of our past.

[6] Culture is transmitted. Culture can be passed from one generation to the next.
In today’s age, most Filipinos, when it comes to intimate relationships, still prefer
to start with proper courtship or “ligaw.” This part of our culture was passed on
to the present times because it has been transmitted through the values that our
parents believe and inculcate in us.

[7] Culture is dynamic. Some practices before may no longer be practiced now
because they are deemed obsolete or peculiar in modern times. Say, our way
of communicating now has changed throughout the technological revolution.

[8] Cultures are different. No two persons are alike given that we grow up in varied
cultural environments. Our lifestyle is greatly influenced by what our culture
dictates, so as with our art products. A good example would be our textiles that
vary from region to regions, like Cotabato’s T’nalak that were woven based on
the weaver’s dreams and Marawi’s Landap that are brightly colored textiles
woven with gold threads and beads to symbolize royalty.

Elements of Culture

What makes a culture? Culture is organized with the following elements by John W.
Bennett (1992) of Washington University. And these are enumerated:

[1] Trait. This serves as the quality which makes one person or thing different from
another.

[2] Complex. The situation and even the materials used are forming part of how this
element exists.

[3] Pattern. The existence of a regular and repeated way of doing things such as the
reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of
a person, group, or institution.

To better understand the three concepts above, a good example of these three
(trait, complex, and pattern) occurs in the presence of a “cellular phone”. The
possession of this gadget is the trait. And the communication devices are
complex that includes the trait of a cellular phone, and the styles of
communication are the patterns.
 Module crafted by Arvin Narvaza and Dr. Maria Angeles Hinosolango

[4] Meanings. The derived idea represented by a word, phrase, or even the idea
expressed in a work of writing, art, and others. To put it simply, the emotional
symbol may be found in the minds of the people who respond to how things
were presented. An example of this is the meaning attached to the item of
culture, which can be an idea, behavior, pattern, or object.

[5] Functions. This is identified by the observer and not by culture bearers. Also, this
refers to the purpose of a particular item, word, or idea of a specific culture. As
in the previous example, a cellular phone serves as to facilitate communication
in a mass society that is embedded with high technology and a strong sense of
value time.

[6] Institutions. Groups of activities with specific need-satisfaction and how they
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function. These can be the families and other groups of individuals. And most of
the time, these are the social institutions that cohabit in a given society like that
of a family; while under political are community organizations, government, and
also an economic category which comprises cooperative labor, housing, and
private entities.

Module 2: Exploring Arts and Culture

 Module crafted by Arvin Narvaza and Dr. Maria Angeles Hinosolango

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CLASS PARTICIPATION: TRY THIS!

Name of Artwork: The Nose Flute
Artist: Carlos Francisco

Question: How is our culture being manifested in the

painting?
Select one key concept and focus your explanation through that. Explain
in 3-5 sentences only. Post your comments under this module in our
Facebook group on or before September 12, 2021. But, kindly wait for
your instructor’s general instructions about this activity.

QUIZ 2
Answer pages 22-23 of your book or ask your Art App instructor about the
quiz. And, kindly wait for the general instructions from your Art Appreciation
course instructor.

Submit this activity on or before September 12, 2021*.

References

• Sonsona, et al. (n.d.) Art Appreciation: Perception and Expression. PanAsia

Book Exchange Inc. Philippines.