ART APPRECIATION MODULE

Subject: Art Appreciation

Units: 3
Semester: 2nd Semester
School Year: 2022 -2023
Meeting Schedules: MW every Monday
TTh every Tuesday
Prepared by: Doreen Sagge - Inoc – LPT, EdD

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This subject is a 3-unit course that develops the students’ ability to perform,
appreciate, analyze, and critique works of art. Further, it equips the students with a
broad knowledge of the practical, historical, philosophical, and social relevance of
the arts to develop the students’ ability to exercise their understanding of the vast
world of arts.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS: (By Chapter)

MIDTERM COVERAGE (FROM 1ST WEEK – 9TH WEEK)

 Chapter 1 – Assumptions and Misconceptions on the Nature of Art

 Chapter 2 – Functions and Philosophy of Art
 Chapter 3 – Work of Art: Its Subject, Form and Content
 Chapter 4 – Language of Art: Elements and the Principles of Design
 Chapter 5 – Narratives, Appropriation, Borrowing and Ownership of Art

FINAL COVERAGE (FROM 10TH WEEK – 18TH WEEK)

 Chapter 6 – Music and Its Genres

 Chapter 7 – Soul-Making and the Da Vincian Principles
 Chapter 8 – Textile Art and the Art of Weaving
 Chapter 9 – Visual Elements in the Philippine Traditional Motifs and Crafts
 Chapter 10 – Improvisation in Different Art Forms

NOTE: THE CLASS WILL BE DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS FOR ALL THE
GROUPED ACTIVITIES. ALWAYS HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE TO
TURIN IN EACH ACTIVITY IN GOOGLE CLASSROOM.
Chapter 1 – Assumptions and Misconceptions on the Nature of Art

Art Imagination and Expression

Art is a part of life. Every now and then, we constantly live with it in our daily
living like in expressing how to cook, speak, sing, dance, and write, being by product
of our productive imagination. What is the difference between imagination and
expression in art studies? Imagination is an abstraction of a certain thought or feeling
that produces a good art based on reality or experience while, expression is an
automatic response to it. For instance, when a mother thinks on what foods to
prepare for her children’s meal, she imagines the ingredients, the kitchen utensils,
and the processes to use, before expressing it into the actual cooking. Unexpressed
imagination is not art when an individual fails to realize its beauty and utilitarian
purpose. Vis-à-vis, when the mother fails her imagination in providing a palatable
meal for her children, she duds her art of cooking. However, expressions of art can
either be positive or negative. When both means and ends of art are constructive, its
expression enhances not only to the individual’s quality of life, essential to his or her
progress and development; but to the life of others and the nation as well. The
expression of art in advertisement found in billboards, magazines, and social media
entice public opinion in patronizing certain brands and buy their products, in order to
increase company’s sales, improve employees’ life, and regulate government tax
collections. When neither means nor ends of art expression are destructive like the
art of war, it may result to misery, hinder progress and development, and promote
chaos. Thus, this situation may bring imminent danger to society. The burning of
buildings, the looting of goods, the destruction of properties, and the violent protests
in some places in the US brought by racism and COVID-19 related issues show
concern on how we use our means and ends of art expression more positively.
Using this US context, how your means and ends of art expression respond to this
ferocity? With what happens to our existing environment today, it is imperative to
nurture positive and more peaceful expressions of art rather than the negative.

Etymology and Definition of Art

Don’t you know that art is derived from a Latin term ars, which means skill,
talent or ability? In a broad sense, art is skill in making or doing something because,
every individual has a talent. We are skillful in everything we do that ends with a
good purpose. This ability allows us to claim that we are all artists in our own right,
depending on our preferences and abilities that determine our specific interest in art.
The belief that art is only good for the rich and famous is the second misconception.
There is no bifurcation of art according to status. God created human beings with
equal number of neurons, capable to rationalize compared to other ordinary
creations in the animal kingdom. The human brain is capable to think 5,000 thoughts
per day (Laboria, 2013), including thinking for the art. We are all gifted with art, the
problem is when we fail to recognize it and the lethargy that dictates us not do it,
because we want everything easy and instant given in a ‘silver platter’ to us. It is an
urgent call to stop this complacency. We need exposure to hone our imagination to
its maximum potential.

Creativity and Art Appreciation

Do you believe that creativity is the mother of all inventions? While it is true,
imagination remains its grandmother. This metaphor means that imagination allows
us to be creative, in order to create scientific inventions and aesthetic innovations.
Creativity is a metacognitive skill – a form of divergent thinking that allows us to
generate relationship, integrate concepts, elaborate information, brainstorm issues
with fluency, flexibility, and originality (Johnson, 2010), As a thinking outside of the
box, creativity is an unstructured free flowing process to capacitate the body and
create art. We appreciate art because art gives us pleasure. Listening to music is a
form of appreciation that makes us enjoy and provides a panacea of our day’s
tedious work. Art allows us to imagine our past experiences and draws our feelings
to appreciate beauty. Inocian, et al., (2019) emphasized that “Art is an expression of
feelings and emotions; craft is a form of work with the use of available materials.
Zulueta (1994) rejoined that art is beautiful rather that useful; while craft is making
something useful more than beautiful.11Art and craft can be different, but these two
can be similar in some ways.” In simpler terms, art is the expression of imagination;
craft is the realization of the expression. Art tinges with a psychological process; craft
provides a utilitarian and mechanical process of creation. As a form of emotional
release, art can stand alone even without craft as a lighter side of our own humanity.
Yet, craft without art is awful with no appreciation. This is the danger when craft is
subjected to a mechanical and systemic routine in industries ran by machines to
yield a mass production of goods. The production process is dull and repetitive;
unless the artists in industries shall continue to imagine the latest product innovation,
design, packaging, and marketing. These industries will become more sustainable to
keep their patrons and make their business alive. Craft producers use colors, motifs
or decoration to suit market demands (Coppock, 2000).

How can imagination and expression take place in the world of the visual
arts? Primarily, the artist is honest about his or her feelings on the realities of nature
and society, affecting his or her life and the life of everybody, either reflecting the
core or the peripheral context of society in the artwork. For instance, how can a
lonely artist paint on canvass? The artist imagines, sensitizes, and clarifies the core
and peripheral issues of loneliness depicting his or her art. He or she imagines the
core of loneliness, referring to any of these psychological issues: struggling for
acceptance of rejection, scuffling for despair, fighting for pain, fearing of the
unknown, lingering anxiety, and facing the uncertainty. These core issues interface
with the peripheral, which include the people’s response to socio-economic, political,
environmental, technological, and public health issues. This explicit expression of
feelings from the imagined core and peripheral issues is a ‘magic recipe’ of art. The
visual quality of the artwork depends on craftsmanship on how the artist selects the
art media, uses the brush, mixes colors on palette, contrasts hues between lighter
and darker values of tints, tones, and shades, to enhance the artist’s techniques of
painting. Applying all these into the actual painting proves the artist’s art of painting
and craftsmanship to produce several pieces of artwork for public use. Osborne
(2014) specified that tints are the combination of white to a color that increases
lightness; tones are the combination of a specific color with gray to produce its tinting
and shading; shades are the combination of a specific color with black to increase
darkness. These techniques to an artistic craftsmanship are common in the visual
arts more so in the art of painting. This context shows a classic mix of art and craft
principles and techniques in the arts.

The Humanities

As coined from the Latin words humanus and humanitas, meaning humans,
the field of humanities provides human beings to think critically and creatively, in
order to understand the values and cultures of the world, and to bring clarity to the
future (Standford Humanities Center, 2015). The study of humanities includes
philosophy, history, religion, art, literature, language, and music, which can be
remembered through the acronym called PHARLLM. However, Zulueta (1994)
included dance and theater as part of the humanities.

The Fields of Humanities

Art is at the center of the seven fields because this provides the enhancement
of the individual human potential. Linking art and the other fields of humanities is
relevant to our religious customs and lifestyles (Coppock, 2000). Philosophy is
derived from the Greek words philos or philein, which means love and Sophia, which
means wisdom. Hence, philosophy is defined as the love of wisdom. History is
derived from the Latin word historia, which means to scribble and record the events
in the past. History intertwines together with the development of civics for a
democratic citizenship. These two fields enhance either logical or sequential
thinking, which is essential to the artist’s imagination and expression in the arts.
Religion is derived from the Latin word religare or religio, which means to bind. It is a
form of obligation that binds the faithful into one divine power. Religion enhances the
art of meditation and reflection for discernment, good judgement, self-control,
fortitude, and sound decision-making process of the artist. Literature is a derivative
from the Latin word littera or litteratura, which means letter or knowledge of books. It
concentrates on the study of fiction like: myths, epics, folktales, short stories, poems,
and drama. While, non-fiction deals with prose and narratives in essays, news,
research, technical reports, and other printed media that depict cultural implications
of people’s life in the society. Literature enhances the art of writing and reading of an
individual. Not only that these arts are essential indicators to basic literacy of the
world’s human population, these also promote appreciation of beauty of the
intangible cultures and urban legends. From the Latin wordlingua, which means
tongue, language provides avenues for better communication using the art of
speaking and listening. Oration, declamation, story-telling, news reporting, and public
speaking are the techniques for auditory art.

This auditory art is essential to promote understanding, peace, and harmony

in the society, by listening to individual voices, either in print or audio media. The
power of words in effective communication can never be underestimated - it heals or
it kills. Poor language communication breaks communities and sound language
builds these communities to promote alliances. From the Greek word mousa, which
means muse and the Latin word Musa denotes to the goddess of music, in particular
who is employed to represent a song or poetry for appreciation of beauty brings the
etymology of music (Mansfield, 1923). Music is the pleasing combination and
succession of sounds (Harper, 2020), with or without the use of musical instruments.
This auditory art relaxes the soul and stirs pleasant and happy emotions, by singing,
humming, chanting, rapping, and in engaging into jingles and tonal rhymes (Inocian,
2018).

Nature and Art History

To Dante Alighieri, nature is the art of God. As an artistic creation of God,

nature comprises plants, animals, lands, and other features and produce of the
earth. It has been used by many artists as one of their sources of inspiration and
subject in art. The seven essential elements of art: line, color, space, form, shape,
texture, and value (Ray & Daniel, 2016) are essential to enhance the sense of
aesthetics (Silva, 2010). Growing trees show vertical lines, mountains, cliffs, and hills
reflect curve, triangular, and zigzag lines, valleys and plains are carved with
horizontal lines. Lush vegetation shows the different tints and shades of green,
blooming flowers with bright colors, vast space of deserts, oceans and skies appear
with yellowish brown and blue colors. Bumpy, rocky, protruding, rolling, sparsely, and
densely places speak for the environment’s natural texture. Daytime and nighttime
provide the values of sharpness between lightness and darkness of colors, the
shininess or dullness of the surface, and the clarity or dimness (Beardsley, 1981) of
the surroundings. The massive land and water distributions reflect their varied forms
and shapes, with remarkable beauty. Nature is not art but its source. Art is made by
man no matter how close it is to nature (Zulueta, 1994). Before the mass production
of colors by industries, artists and weavers in the past extracted juices from plants as
colors used primarily to dye threads in weaving for cloth. For instance, the
Sumbanese women extracted brown colors from tobacco juices, blue colors from
indigo, and other plants to produce different colors for the weaving or spinning of
cloth (Forshee, 2001).
 Thus, the elements of art are line, shape, value, form, space, texture, and
color.

Art History

Art history begins with the emergence of human beings whose imagination
propels an expression of great legacies that human civilizations have witnessed. Art
is as old as history, even before the discovery of the cuneiform writing in
Mesopotamia and the hieroglyphics in Egypt. For thousands of years, incessant
interaction of early humans to the environment paved the enhancement of
imagination that led to discovery and gradual evolution of the finer aspects of life.
Although culture was unsophisticated, art became a witness in the early humans
‘quest for people’s struggle for power, security, and survival. Table 1 highlights the
historical development of art from its simplest evolution until its finest sophistication.
Though art history has been characterized with a Eurocentric bias because of power
influence and historical control of the West (Chase, 2014), art historians and
researchers start to unfold the inclusion of the Oriental perspectives. The obvious
bias on the development of art history between the West and the East is reflected in
the art history timeline created by Warhol (2012). This chapter shows only a brief
description of art history based on what is reflected in Table 1 and Figure 9. Its
intensive discussions will be taken up in subsequent chapters of this book,
interfacing the art history of Asia, Africa and other parts of the world reduce its
conceived bias.

The 3 Most Influential Civilizations with Their Examples of Contributions to Art

CIVILIZATION PAINTING SCULPTURE ARCHITECTURE

S
Egyptians

Great Sphinx of Giza Great Pyramid of

Wall Painting of Giza
Nefertari
Greeks

Symposium North Laocoon and His Artemis Temple

Wall Sons
Romans

Pompeii Augustus of Prima Colosseum of

Porta Rome

Note: The civilizations can also be considered as classifications.

Classifications of Painting with Examples

 Early Christian – The Supper at Emmaus

 Byzantine – Madonna Enthroned
 Romanesque – The Three Magi
 Gothic – The Last Judgment
 Renaissance – Mona Lisa
 Baroque – David with the Head of Goliath
 Rococo – The Swing
 Neoclassical – The Death of Socrates
 Romanticism – The Death of Sardanapalus
 Mannerism – Madonna of the Harpies
 Realism – Stacking Grain Sheaves
 Naturalism – The Hay Wain
 Impressionism – Sunrise
 Symbolism – The Death of the Gravedigger
 Iconography and Iconology – Seven Joys of the Virgin
 Fauvism – Woman with a Hat
  Cubism – Girl with a Mandolin
 Expressionism – The Scream
 Suprematism – A boy Holding a Knapsack
 Surrealism – The Persistence of Memory

Classifications of Sculpture

 Mesopotamian – The Stele of Hammurabi

 Early Christian – Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
 Renaissance – Donatello’s Bronze Statue of David
 Baroque – A Faun Teased by Children
 Donatello – Magdalene Penitent
 Michelangelo – Statue of David (marble block)
 Bernini – Apollo and Daphne
 Antonio Canova – Venus Victrix
 Clodion – Poetry and Music
 Puget – Milo of Crotona
 Rodin – The Bronze Age
 Lehmbruck – Standing Youth
 Calder – Flamingo
 Maillol – The River
 Brancusi – The Gate of Kiss

Note: The surnames of sculptors are also considered as classifications.

Classifications of Architecture

 Egyptian – Pharaohs of Alexandria

 Greek – Parthenon Temple
 Roman – Segovia Aqueduct
 Mesopotamian – Hanging Garden of Babylon
 Early Christian – Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito
 Byzantine – Taj Mahal
 Romanesque – Notre Dame Cathedral
 Gothic – The Magic Kingdom
 Renaissance – St. Peter’s Cathedral
 Baroque – Grand Place
Activity No. 1

For Those with Internet Access

What to do?

1. Each group will make a power point presentation to be presented and submitted
next meeting which must have the following contents:
a. picture
b. title of the work
c. classification
d. description
2. Each must appoint or choose who will be the presenter to deliver in class their
output good for 15 to 20 minutes. Note: Do not come up with an oral reading of the
slides.
3. be reminded that the group 1 will judge the work of group 2, group 2 will judge the
work of group 3, and group 3 will judge the work of group1 with the help of the
rubrics given.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Content All the contents Some contents A little of
mentioned are are missing. contents are
present present.
2. Creativity Appropriate Appropriate Limited
creative layout creative layout creativity with
of the slide of the slide less appealing
presentation presentation to the class.
that does not that does need
need some
improvement at improvements
all which is very which is a little
appealing to the appealing to
class. the class.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing a little smooth stormy sailing
of the sailing of the of the
presentation presentation presentation
without oral with some oral with lots of oral
reading of the reading of the reading of the
slides, and has slides, and has slides, and has
the ability to some ability to a little ability to
capture the capture the capture the
class’ attention. class’ attention. class’ attention.
 The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

For Those Without Internet Access

What to do?

1. Using your analytical impression, give your own thoughts in terms of ‘The 3 Most
Influential Civilizations with Their Examples of Contriuptions to Art’.
2. Utilize a paragraph for each picture or image using long bond papers for this
activity.
3. With regards to the analytical impression, be sure it covers the details of the art
work shown (the picture) which includes the title or name of the art work, the 7
elements used with your own thoughts for each, and your own interpretation of
the picture. At the end, provide your own generalization of what chapter 1 is all
about.
4. Please be guided accordingly with the aid of the rubrics.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (11- Very Good (6- Good (1-5pts) Total
15pts) 10pts)
1. Content All the contents Some contents Majority of the
mentioned are are missing. contents need
present from The work is improvement.
the picture very good! Good job!
titles, elements,
and your
thoughts of the
pictures.
Everything is
excellently
done!
2. The The The
Generalization generalization is
generalization generalization
using 5 is using above is using a
sentences only. or below 5 sentence only.
With regards to sentences. With regards to
the general With regards to the idea,
idea, it is the idea, it is a majority needs
catchy, unique, bit catchy, improvement.
and appealing unique, and Everything is
to the reader. appealing to not order and
Everything is inthe reader. systematic.
order and Everything is
systematic. not so order
and systematic.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)
Chapter 2 – Functions and Philosophy of Art

Functions of Art

The basic question concerning art is: “Why are there artists?” Or, better yet,
we can propose, “Why bother doing something that one calls an art?” Be it painting,
sculpting, drawing, singing, dancing, writing, and so on, the over-all thread that binds
these acts together is the same: artists do something that they love doing. This
particular “itch” is the driving force for creating a magnum opus, a bestseller, or a
work of genius. There are, of course, many reasons as to why people engage in art.
The most common of these is the utilitarian intention. Some people are motivated to
do a work of art because they find it useful, say, in earning a living, in expressing
one’s emotions, in letting one’s voice be heard on certain issues especially on
morality, in campaigning for a particular candidate or political platform, etc. The list is
endless. Basically, there are three functions of art: 1) personal (utilitarian, public
display, expression) 2) social (used for public display and celebration, used to affect
the collective behavior) and 3) physical (utilitarian). The term “utilitarian” was first
coined by Jeremy Bentham2 who labored on the notion of happiness. Its simplest
formulation is the popular phrase “the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” It
was his student, J.S. Mill, who refined it by abandoning the strict “calculus of
pleasures and pains as too narrow.”3Most people are motivated to do an artwork for
personal reasons – e.g. source of income, self-expression, escape boredom, etc.
Others would do it because of long-held traditions and beliefs – fiestas, birthdays,
anniversaries, etc. Still, there are those who are engaged in art to maintain balance
of mind and body: “Mens sana in corporesano” (A healthy mind in a healthy body).

Philosophy of Art

A usual tendency when somebody asks, “What is philosophy?,” is to answer:

“Well, based on its etymology, philosophy is the love of wisdom.” This immediate
reply, of course, is based on two Greek words, philo (love) and sophia (wisdom),
which had come down to us by way of Pythagoras, who is credited to be the first
person to have used the term and, by extension, the firstone to have defined it.
Traditionally, art theories date back to the time of the ancient Greeks. For Plato, an
artist’s work is nothing but a copy (a mimesis) of the original object that is to be
found in the world of ideas or forms. As every student of philosophy knows, he was a
true-blue idealist who considered the physical world as just a shadow of the ideal
world. For him, whatever is copied cannot match the prototype. In Book VII of The
Republic, Plato intimates the world of art in the following quote:

“And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of
vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and
various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking,
 others silent.”

The images mentioned above are mere reflections on the wall. Already, Plato
suggests that, just like the prisoners in the cave, most of us do not even see the
actual statues and figures except only their shadows. Furthermore, he seems to
suggest that the prisoners’ conception of the products of art (i.e. those figures made
of wood and stone and other materials) are twice removed from reality. In this
respect, Plato considers the arts as inferior to science and philosophy. Over-all,
however, Plato’s treatment of painting and poetry in The Republic aims at developing
a philosophy of art. Such tendency to believe in the “mysterious”, nevertheless, finds
its nemesis in modern technology as Michael Harris, quoting Harold Innis, suggests:
“We know that the ‘immortal inconclusiveness of Plato was no longer possible’ once
the technology of writing wiped away a certain mystery.” Harris, of course, is
referring to the advent of computers and the internet which, in a way, has made
everything quite open through constant connectivity. Thus, the loss of mystery and,
perhaps, even an interest in reading books or printed material occurs.

His student, Aristotle, however disagrees and considers art as a

representation of reality. By representation here is meant an artist’s unique way of
capturing an image of reality in his own terms. In his Poetics, goes to the extent,
particularly in literature, to consider its effect in the reader or spectator what he calls
catharsis – literally, a purgation of one’s emotions. Thus, for Aristotle, the artist does
not simply copy but recreates reality in a manner that alleviates the audience. In the
opening lines of his famous book, The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle says: “Every
art, art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at
some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at
which all things aim.” Aristotle’s notion of mimesis puts premium on poetry which can
be summarized in the following:

Imitation in poetry is achieved by means of rhythm, language,

and harmony (Poet.1447a13–16, 21–22). While other arts share some
or all these elements—painting imitates visually by the same means, while
dance imitates only through rhythm—poetry is a kind of vocalized music,
in which voice and discursive meaning are combined. Aristotle is interested
primarily in the kinds of poetry that imitate human actions, which fall into
the broad categories of comedy and tragedy.

In saying this, Aristotle is at the same time suggesting that all art in general is
an imitation of human life. Thus, whether he is talking about comedy or tragedy, the
purpose is the same: to mimic how humans live their usual lives:

Comedy is an imitation of worse types of people and actions,

which reflect our lower natures. These imitations are not despicable or
painful, but simply ridiculous or distorted, and observing them gives
 us pleasure (Poet.1449a31–38).

The conflict of ideas between the two pillars of Greek philosophy, Plato and
Aristotle, finds perfect interpretation in the famous painting by Raphael, The School
of Athens. In this particular work, Raphael demonstrates how the thoughts of these
two philosophers clash. As can be seen in the picture below, Plato (the one in the
left) points his finger to the top while his famous student Aristotle (the one in the
right) points his hand to the ground. Simply put, Plato the idealist says that reality is
up there in the world of ideas while Aristotle disagrees by saying that reality is down
here in the world.

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant has his own take of the matter by
saying that art is something that is second nature to man. According to him, there is
no valid reason why people engage in art but the act itself. The expression “art for
art’s sake” thus becomes his famous battle cry. For Kant, art’s purpose is to be
“purposeless”. The artist in his view should not have any justification for his work. In
this sense, Kant proposes for freedom in one’s art. In his work, Groundwork for the
Metaphysics of Morals, he says: “All industries, crafts, and arts, have gained by the
division of labor, viz., one man does not do everything, but each confines himself to
a certain kind of work that is distinguished from all other kinds by the treatment it
requires, so that the work may be done with the highest perfection and with greater
ease.” Clearly, Kant suggests that for one to be successful in any career, he or she
must have some focus. Multi-tasking or doing several things in one instance is out of
his vocabulary. Similarly in art, one finds fulfillment in his craft when he accomplishes
it the way he wanted it to be in the first place. Fame and recognition would only be
secondary to it.

There are basically three philosophical themes in art, namely: 1) Integrity, 2)

Proportion/Consonance, and 3) Radiance/Clarity. Integrity refers to faithfulness to
one’s principles, proportion or consonance implies balance or consistency of the
elements, and radiance or clarity has something to do with the meaning or impact
upon the observer. When a person acts with integrity, his actions adhere to his
values or principles. An artist’s work has integrity if it follows its own truth or values
and is not swayed by other people’s motives. To borrow a statement from Nassim
Nicholas Taleb, “Art is a one-sided conversation with the unobserved.”
Consequently, one may fail to appreciate beauty in artist’s work. But the artist feels
secure in knowing that: “Beauty is enhanced by unashamed irregularities;
magnificence by a façade of blunder.” Artists use proportion for effect – that is, to
emphasize a certain element in the work. For instance, an artist could enlarge a
person’s head and minimize his body in a piece of drawing to drive home a particular
message. It is up to the observer, of course, to interpret it. The third element,
radiance or clarity, is what the term says it is. When a viewer looks at an artwork, for
instance, his attention is caught by the object immediately as he lays his eyes on it.
The attraction is instant due to the fact that the artwork exudes radiance. As the line
from a song suggests, “Can’t take my eyes off you!

To sum it all, art is really part and parcel of being human. As one writer notes:
“We make objects beautiful to understand ourselves. Art, then, must be a part of any
exploration of the good life.”

Activity No. 2

For Both With or Without Internet Acess

What to do?

1. Select at least 3 – 5 members in a group.

2. Make an outline using bullets in terms of the entire chapter 2.
3. If there is the presence of sub-topics, use letters for them.
4. Use key terms only.
5. Each member of the group must have a paragraph that constitutes 5 sentences
only that deals with your own insights of what Chapter 2 is all about.
6. Be sure that the insights will be based on the surname in chronological order.
7. Use MS Word in answering.
8. Only a member of each group must be able to pass the answer sheet next
meeting through Google classroom or FB group chat. Thus the professor in-
charge will be the one to check your work. See the rubrics below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Content All the important Some contents A little of the
facts of the are missing. contents are
content are There are present. Not
present through some phrases following the
the usage of used instead of instruction.
key terms. all key terms. Majority are not
Everything is in Not so order. in order.
order.
2. Creativity Appropriate Appropriate Limited
creative layout creative layout creativity with
of the slide of the slide less appealing
presentation presentation to the class.
that does not that does need
need some
improvement at improvements
all which is very which is a little
appealing to the appealing to
 class. the class.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing a little smooth stormy sailing
of the sailing of the of the
presentation presentation presentation
without oral with some oral with lots of oral
reading of the reading of the reading of the
output, and has output, and has output, and has
the ability to some ability to a little ability to
capture the capture the capture the
class’ attention. class’ attention. class’ attention.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNDER CATEGORY C, NO NEED TO DEAL WITH
NUMBER 3 OF THE RUBRICS. SO YOUR TOTAL SCORE FOR THIS ACTIVITY IS
20 POINTS.

Chapter 3 – Work of Art: Its Subject, Form, and Content

I. Subject

The choices for subjects in the visual arts are endless. An artist can choose
from the list of persons, objects, themes and even ideas, etc. When you are
confronted with an art piece, the image that you can easily identify is the subject of
the art. There are two types of subjects of art, namely, representational, and non-
representational. Representational subjects are those that appear to be very much
like how people see them in the reality. In effect, they are easily and clearly identified
by the viewers and audience of the art. However, artists have the freedom to portray
these subjects in their own terms. Most of the time, they employ abstraction, the
process of simplification or alteration or rearrangement. Abstracted subjects tend to
look less like the object on which they are based, but still discernible. However,
some artists may implement extreme forms of abstraction i.e. the subject is not
anymore, a representation of a physically identifiable subject. In this regard, the
artists rely on the different applications of the elements and principles of art rather
than relying on representing the actual physical image of the subject. In some
references, they are called objective and non-objective images.

In some forms of art, like music, subjects can be representational and non-
representational. There are musicians who choose to produce music without lyrics.
In the absence of lyrics, identifying the subject will be more difficult than those with
lyrics. Sometimes, there may be musical material that still is identifiable when the
sounds produced mimic sounds such as those used in meditation. Some meditation
music uses the sounds of nature like flowing river, birds chirping or leaves dancing in
the air. In course of listening to these types of music, the subject tends to be more
abstract and that feelings or ideas are more emphasized.

As a viewer, you should not only go as far as identifying the subject of the art
but also, you need to examine how the artist represented the subject as well as
evaluating the rigor of expression made to the subject.

Sources and Kinds of Subjects

Just like you and everybody else, artists are also humans who go through the
struggle of knowing what to create as an art. Planning what type of subject they
would choose to recreate or represent is an immensely critical process of the
creative pursuit. Identifying subjects may sound as simple as choosing from a list of
possible subjects but this process entails complex and critical value judgments for
artists to transcend the expression or message they wish to share. In some cases,
they may require deep connections with these subjects to inspire and motivate them.
For starters, there may be a list of sources to choose from. You may read through
the following.

a. Nature

The nature and the environment have been one of the sources of artistic
inspirations. You can derive inspiration from the shapes and forms that the
environment can offer such as the trees, land, desert, animals, etc.9

b. People and World Events

People is one of the most common subjects of art. This can be found in
individual and family portraits. Some artist employs abstraction where human figures
or faces are unclear or distorted. Using people as subjects can also convey emotions
much clearer than other subjects.

World events have been subjects of art as well. Such as when you read the
newspapers, and flip through the editorial page. Editorial cartooning is an art that
may express satirical versions of world events.

c. Myths and Legends

Myths and legends have been one of the sources of art among artists. They
used myths and legends as way of visualizing the story found within them. Most
common arts related to myths and legends are popularized during the Greek
Civilization.

d. Spiritual and Religious Beliefs

 Like myths and legends, art has been an outlet for religion and faith to come
to life. For some, this is part of their culture such as in Buddhist and Islamic nations.

e. Ideas Commissioned by Employers

There are artists hired by employers. Like graphic designers, they create
corporate logos, brochures, restaurant menu designs and other print materials.
Interior designers and architects design homes and buildings according to the
demands of their clients.

II. Form/Composition

As a component of art, form is the overall organization of the artwork. It is an

outcome of the artists’ effort to use the elements of art and arrange them according
to aesthetic principles. In a more specific sense, evaluating the form of an art is
similar to analyzing the processes employed during creation. Through this, you may
tend to unravel the contexts from which the artist is coming from such as with the
choices he made in terms of the material to use or the manner by which they will be
implemented18. The first aspect of form is the elements of art with the aid of
principles of design.

However, the second aspect of form is its “actual and objective form.” This
refers to the outcome and actual output of the creative process which are 2-
dimensional or 3-dimensional. A modern type of form is those that are now produced
by technology or technological media.

Two-Dimensional Art

This type of art begins the work on a flat surface called a plane. For painters,
the blank canvass is a plane. For students who are asked to draw, the sheet of bond
paper is the plane. While the art is 2-dimensional in form, it does not mean that it
could not project a 3-dimensional effect. In this case, there is a need to distinguish
form and conveyance. The art form is the actual appearance of the art. In 2-
dimensional forms, mostly drawings and paintings are on a flat surface. The
conveyance, on the other hand, is the manner the art, its elements and subjects
project an image or impression. Some arts only show a still image of one subject but
some other 2- dimensional arts like paintings may show some sense of distance
such as the mountain and land separated by a river. Artists may manipulate design
principles to produce images that convey not just height and width but also depth or
at least the illusion of such.

Characteristics of Two-Dimensional Art

 A. It has mathematical dimensions of width and height (but no depth).
B. They can be decorative spaces or plastic spaces – it is not the laymen’s
definition of decorative and plastic space. It refers to a spatial condition
when elements of the art cling onto the picture plane. Plastic spaces, on
the other hand, create impressions that the elements of art can weave its
way around you.
C. Plane/Picture Frame – this is the defined boundary of the picture plane.
This can be interpreted as a limitation of two-dimensional artists where
they are only bound to work within the frame. They come in the form of
shapes like squares, rectangles, triangles, or circles.

Three-Dimensional Media

A. Sculpture – A type of three-dimensional art where most of the media used

are clay, glass, plastics, wood, stone ore metals. Sculpting
allows you and the artist to create the intended shapes through
these media. The first type is called free-standing sculpture that
can be viewed all around it. The second type is the relief
sculpture that is projected into a space from a flat surface.
Usually attached to the surface, there is less likelihood to see a
view of the art from the actual back. They are usually
made through the following methods.
.
B. Assembling – It is the process of constructing a sculpture using different
materials. It can be a combination of wood, plastic, metal,
and others.

C. Modeling – it is an additive process where the artist gradually adds more of

the material to build the form.

D. Carving – it is a subtractive process where the sculpture removed, cuts,

chips, or drills parts of the sold mass to create the form.

E. Casting – it comes in the manipulative process where materials like soft

pliable materials are made into shapes using manual hand force
or machine manufactured force.

F. Crafts – these are three-dimensional crafts that have utilitarian intentions.

Usually made crafts with functions are baskets, plates, cups,
vases, jars, kitchen utensils and even jewelry.

Technological Media
 Technological advances have paved the way for arts and the process of
making one to be more accessible for consumers. It also allowed people to tap more
into their artistic side to create their own version of art forms. They are Photography,
Film, Video and Computer Art.

Photography

This is a technique of “capturing optical images on light-sensitive camera.”

Done through the camera, photographic media have improved not only as a method
to capture moment but now done as a method to convey art. The first camera ever
recorded in history was called the daguerreotype in the 19 th century. It uses a copper
plate to create mirror like images. In the 1850‘s, a wet plate replaced the old copper
place to create photographs. It uses a glass coat with the aid of chemicals to record
the image. This was then transferred to a paper or cardboard. In contemporary
photography, wet plates were replaced with films or negatives where a camera
captures reverse image of the object when hit by the flash of light. Today, there are
digital methods to capture photographs such as Digital single lens reflex (DSLR)
camera and even smartphones that capture comparably good images.

Films and Videos

Films are a series of negatives that intend to show motions of pictures.

Filmmaking was a by-product of people’s interests towards still pictures by
transforming them into continuously seamless movements. With each frame of a film
is camera to create successions of images, hence, movements. While still pictures
can be captured now using DSLR’s and smartphones, these recent gadgets can now
also perform the functions to produce films or videos.

But films may be considered obsolete as digital video recordings are now
available. Equipped with audio and visual coding systems, video recording and
editing are now more possible. In the past, videos did not have sounds, and some
had to be dubbed separately. With the appropriate computer software and systems,
more and more videos are being made today. Special video types can even be
uploaded on the World Wide Web (www). On the internet, the YouTube® has
become an online social platform that share videos and can be accessed by its web
visitors. Originally, YouTube® was a video streaming and sharing platform for on-line
gamers. Today, YouTube is now uploaded with billions of videos ranging from
themes of music, content-creation, lifestyle, education, and business, etc.

Computer Arts

Graphic Designers rely on computers and its applications to create art.

Hardware of computers are the physical tools that assist in the creation art such as
keyboard, monitor, CPU, printer, and mouse. Other tools include stylus and graphics
tablets, scanners, and web cameras. Computers now also have a plethora of
software applications to create art such as Adobe® Photoshop, Affinity Designer,
Clip Studio Paint Pro, Art Weaver and Art Rage, etc.

III. Content

Artworks also contain emotional or intellectual messages. They are called

contents. These are statements, moods, or interpretations developed by an artist
through the artwork. Among the three components, this must be the most difficult to
recognize. Without the ability of the viewer to communicate with the artist, it would be
difficult for the former to decipher the thought and emotional processes of the artist.
The rhetoric and narratives of an artist are not always literal in application. They must
breed reinforcement of the deeper collective unconscious for the art to be more
relatable. Occasionally, artist may not always be aware of the choices they make in
the use of elements and principles of design.

However, a system can be devised to discover at least some of the relevant

contents of art. You may research about the artist’s life, time period and culture to
have fuller viewpoints and interpretation of the work. For some, the use of a
technique, color mixture and line movement canindicate an artist’s culture and
background. For example, the Starry Starry Night of Vincent Van Gogh can be best
understood through his letter to his brother Theo.42 That is why artist provide what
they call a “credit line” in their piece of work to assist viewers in understanding the
relevant details of the artist and the work at hand. A credit line consists of (1) Name
of the Artist, (2) Title of the Work, (3) Year/s the work was made, (4) Medium, (5)
Size Dimensions, and (6) Location of work. In some cases, instead of labeling year,
artist provide the “c” to abbreviate the word “circa” which means about or around.

An alternative technique is studying iconography. It is the process of

understanding the meanings of the elements of the art and the symbolisms the
objects convey. Symbolic representation usually occurs when a representation takes
on a meaning that is not necessarily nor naturally related to what it literally depicts.44
In Psychology, art and its content has been instrumental to the assessment and
therapeutic process. Psychologists use artistic materials in assessment procedures
called projective technique. Examples of projective techniques in assessment are the
House-Tree-Person (HTP) Test, Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Apperception
Test. In HTP, the client will be asked to draw a house, a tree, and a person and all of
which will be used to analyze personality traits and mental status. In Rorschach and
Thematic Apperception Test, the client will be asked to share what they perceive
from the set of cards with inkblots or images, respectively. The same verbal
responses will be analyzed as personality and mental health assessments.

Activity No. 3
For Those With Internet Access

What to do?

Since majority of the students nowadays are very techy individuals make a
PHOTO gallery with the following contents:

1. Capture 5 pictures using your mobile phones.

2. Be sure to capture a picture that tells a story.
3. Provide a title for each picture.
4. Create a 5-sentence story for each picture.
5. Use MS Word to place your pictures, titles, and stories.
6. Come up with your group’s general theme for the entire pictures and
discuss the reasons orally next meeting through your group’s
representative.
7. Choose a representative to discuss your output.

HERE IS THE FORMAT OF THE ACTIVITY

List of Names (alphabetical order)

1.
2.
3.
Etc.

Picture

Title

Story_________________________

Note: After the last picture, title, and corresponding story come up with your
Theme.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Story’s All the contents Some contents Majority of
Content mentioned can are missing. contents are
be depicted present.
within the
picture.
2. The Picture Appropriate Appropriate Limited
and Its creative layout creative layout creativity with
Creativity of the picture of the picture less appealing
being presented being to the class.
that does not presented that
need does need
improvement at some
all which is very improvements
appealing to the which is a little
class. appealing to
the class.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing a little smooth stormy sailing
of the sailing of the of the
presentation presentation presentation
without oral with some oral with lots of oral
reading of the reading of the reading of the
slides, and has slides, and has slides, and has
the ability to some ability to a little ability to
capture the capture the capture the
class’ attention. class’ attention. class’ attention.
4. Choosing the Proper title will Proper title will Proper title will
Titles and be given to be given to be given to
General Theme each picture each picture each picture
that does not that does that does
contain bad contain bad contain bad
words, catchy, words, not so words, not that
and unique in catchy, and a catchy, and no
nature. The little bet unique uniqueness in
theme must be in nature. The nature. The
well fit to the theme is a little theme does fit
entire set of the bit fit to the to the entire set
pictures entire set of the of the pictures
presented. pictures presented.
presented.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 40 points)

For Those Without Internet Access

What to do?

1. Within your surroundings, observe through what you see that captures your
attention in which you can create a story out of it.
2. Identify 5 situations that you observe.
3. Write a description and a paragraph for each situation.
4. Among the 5 situations, select the best that represents the best observe the
Filipino Values and explain your group’s unanimous answer.
5. Follow the rubrics that can be seen below.
The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. The Situation All the 5 Some of the 5 Majority of the
situations are situations are a 5 situations are
being described bit described not described
clearly and clearly and clearly and
thoroughly. No thoroughly. thoroughly.
need for Needs a little Needs a lot of
improvement. improvement. improvement.
2. Story’s All the contents Some contents Majority of the
Content mentioned can are missing. contents are
be depicted missing.
within the
situation.
3. Select the The best The best The best
Best selected selected selected
Representation representation representation representation
of Filipino of the Filipino of the Filipino of the Filipino
Values Values is very Values is timely Values is not
timely and must and must be that timely and
be put into put into must need a
practice for practice for major
today’s youth. today’s youth. improvement.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

Chapter 4 – Language of Art: Elements and the Principles of Design

A. ELEMENTS OF ART

1. LINE ELEMENT

The perception of lines is some of the things we do every day. You see lines
in the roadside, corner of your rooms, in the guidelines of your notebook sheets, etc.
Lines are even utilitarian that you use them when you write, when you navigate
through directions, to slice your favorite meat or vegetables, etc. But most
importantly, lines are essential elements to art. Lines create art and it provides the
impression of path and movement along a space.

Nature of Line

Lines create the impression of movement. As such, when you see art works
with lines, your eyes make a movement in following its direction or path. So, when
given a visual image, lines lead your eyes into several directions that allow you to
navigate the general space. Also, lines can be differentiated based on length and
width. Lines can be slim or thick lines depending on your approach. Essentially, lines
provide a one-dimensional theme to the piece of artwork. Dimension, in this regard,
is the amount of space the line takes up in a particular art. To make lines two-
dimensional, it needs to have an impression of height and depth. Lines can also be
drawn using different media like pens or pencil, using sticks or even technological
media. Even solidly perceived objects like threads, wires, spider webs, tree trunks
are configured to provide perceptions of lines. While all of them can be perceived as
lines, they differ in terms of the level of dimension they give to the viewers. Some
lines are even implied in application. When you perceive edges of objects, there are
essentially outlines but not intended to become explicit lines. So, there may be
approaches in the use of lines that intend to stimulate the gestalt in the human mind
by interpreting implied lines as real. For example, when you see a series of dots or
dashes, stitches of sewn dress or a trail of footprints create impressions of implied
lines.

Types of Lines

• Vertical Lines – their movement direction is upward or downward. Common

applications are upright trees or standing body of humans, buildings, or
infrastructures.
• Horizontal Lines – the movement direction is from left to right or vice-versa.
Common applications are body lying down and the horizon. • Diagonal lines – these
are slanted lines. It creates an impression of rising or falling. Leaning Tower of Pisa
convey a diagonal or slanted line
• Zigzag lines – these are connected combinations of diagonal lines. They create
angular perspectives of lines. Common examples are thunders or animated drawings
of stars.
• Curved lines – these are lines that do not appear linear; hence, directions are not
clearly established. Examples of which are the outlines of clouds, leaves and edges
of flowers. 7 Variations of Lines
• Length – Long or short
• Width – Thick or Thin
• Texture – Rough or smooth
• Direction – Vertical, horizontal and/or diagonal
• Degree of Curve – Wavy or Spirals
• The application of these variations can complete an intention of the artwork as you
can combine them to create different levels of expression.

Line and Value

Value is defined as the darkness or lightness of an object. Essentially, the

value of a line or the artwork in general may differ in terms of how much light the
surface absorbs and expresses light. The artwork may have a dark value with little
light reflection or light value with more light reflection. So, applying the line principles
to value, lines may dark value when pencils for example are pressed or rubbed
harder on a sheet of paper. Artists use the technique called Crosshatching to create
darker themes or value. This is a technique using crossed lines to create darker
shades of a line. Different number types of pencils can also be made to create
different line values. Even using a crayon that is stroked a wall surface or sheet of
paper may create broken lines or solid lines, respectively.

Expressions of Lines

You may have known in basic fashion technique that wearing longitudinal
stripes can make you look slimmer than latitudinal ones. Hence, lines have different
capacities in terms of expression an idea or an emotion. Essentially, lines speak a
language that artists can comprehend.

a. Movement of Lines

Vertical and Horizontal Lines convey static and at rest impressions. It

may mean the lack of activity and stability. Artist may use them to show
dignity, formality, or stiffness. Horizontal lines, specifically, show the feelings
of permanence and solid foundation such as that of the ground or floor.
Horizontal lines provide foundation to vertical lines and it may provide artistic
impressions of strength. Sometimes, it portrays the feeling of calmness or
relax such as the horizontal lines created by the sea surface.

Curved lines, on the other hand, may show expression of relative

activity. This may depend on the amount of curve it makes. The less active
curve may indicate more calm or repetitive feelings. Spiral lines require you to
focus on a central point and may have the tendency to be hypnotic.

Diagonal lines are used by artists to express the feelings of instability,

tension, or excitement. Their instability provides feelings of being uneasy or
discomfort. But their expression can be altered when done with symmetry. For
example, two diagonal lines that converge to create the roof of a house may
instead mean stability.

Zigzag lines have been used to create feelings of confusion. Due to

combinations of diagonal lines, they may evoke feelings of too much
excitement or anxiety.

b. Contour Lines
 These are applications of lines to create edges or ridges of an object.
This provides a certain degree of separation from one object to another.

c. Gesture Drawing

Gestures are usually expressive movements which are intended to

capture motion, activity and the feeling found in it. In artworks that emphasize
the lines of the hand touching the face can convey feelings of anxiety or
worrisome. Or hands raising that are emphasized by lines can be done to
manifest feelings of excitement and activity.

d. Calligraphic Drawing

Calligraphy means beautiful handwriting. It is often associated with

writing Asian characters usually with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai
language. In their culture, writing is not just about knowing the alphabet. For
them writing is a process of creating art using lines and different strokes to
represent character languages. In the Philippines, there are different versions
of baybayin with different ethno-linguistic bases. The Philippine Calligraphy
were usually rooted from Indian, Sulawesi and Kawi, Indo, Arabic, and Islamic
writing arts.

2. SHAPE, FORM AND SPACE

The world may be considered as an art piece. It is a piece composed of

several shapes, sizes, forms and even depth that are naturally existing in this space.
With understanding the nature and use of shape, forms and space, an art piece may
have an important meaning to express.

Shape

A shape conveys a defined two-dimensional area. It has an outline around it,

and it is recognizable through its form. In a sense, by just using an outline, shapes
can be formed. But shapes can be created without a boundary line. For example,
they can be created using a blot of yellow paint to create a circle like the imagery of
a sun. They are two-dimensional, as well, because of the flat surface they create.
You can see them in the shapes that are defined by the floor toles, TV screens,
walls, table tops etc.

Geometric Shapes

Shapes can either be geometric or free form. Geometric shapes are

accurately measured shapes, hence, having mathematical bases. The variations are,
squares, rectangle, triangle, circle, oval, trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, etc. They are
used to express feelings of uniformity and organization. In a decorative sense, they
show balance and structure in one's perception. This may be apparent in the shapes
of flat television, long and round tables, room doors, etc. Usually, these are man-
made shapes.
Free-Form Shapes

These are the types of shapes that are irregular in structure. They may be
characterized by some combinations of curves and angles. They are not structural
and man-made, per se. Most of them are organically existing in nature such as
flowers, animals, humans, islands, trees, etc.

Forms

Forms are the three-dimensional aspects of space and shapes. While shapes
have length and width or diameter, a characterizing component of form is its depth.
Example, a box or a cube is a form. However, there is an inherent relationship to
shapes and forms. So, if you are presented with a box, each side of the box is
represented by a square or rectangle shape. Or when you visit the Pyramids in
Egypt, you will still be identifying shapes of triangle along its sides.

Space

Space is an essential element to understanding art as they involve the outer

and inner spaces of an artwork. This refers to a hypothetical area of which the
subject of art and other elements of art are operating in. Like shapes and form, the
impression of space can be two- or three dimensional. For example, with a window
as you subject of an art piece, it can provide a sense of two-dimension as it portrays
a flat representation of such window. But this can become threedimensional when
the window has been cleared and has shown a view of the outside. This may be the
mountains, the river, or the grasslands. In this sense, the space of the art has
expanded as different layers of areas are now included.

In relation to shapes and form, space allows them to exist in space. So, space
is also assumed to be the empty canvass where work and the art can be
accomplished.

Positive and Negative Space

The shapes and forms of art are the positive space of an art. The empty
spaces, on the other hand are the negative space. In gestalt psychology, they are
called figure and ground, respectively. The distinction between figure and ground are
essential as they may dictate certain interpretations of art. One of the common
issues that artist is faced with is the ambiguity of the figure and ground relationship.
There may be instances where it would be difficult to determine which is the figure
and ground in a visual art. This may have happened as artists themselves gave the
same emphasis to figure and ground. In gestalt psychology, they may become visual
and optical illusions that puzzle the viewers interpretation of an artwork.
Creating Shapes and Forms in Space

Shapes and forms can be naturally sourced or manufactured by humans. For

instance, animals, humans, flowers, and mountains are examples of naturally
occurring shapes. But there are shaped that are manufactured by humans through
hand crafts, machine-assisted or clay forms. But the challenge with most artists is
that they must create the shape and form to make it appear as real as possible.
Hence, artists must operate on illusions that provide meaning in a certain amount of
art space.

Illusion of Form by using the Principle of Value

When the meaning of lines can change by changing its value, shapes and
forms can also change its meaning and expression by utilizing altered values. For
example, to magnify an object, certain techniques can be used such as employing
light and dark values. This technique is called chiaroscuro. It is an Italian word that
means bright (chiaro) and dark (oscuro). Given birth during the renaissance period,
this technique magnifies and clearly identifies shapes and forms as the highlighted
figure or positive space of the art piece by shading the negative space darker.

In some basic application of a cube for example, to accurately represent the

cube as its form, there may be a need to vary the shades of the square shapes
surrounding it. Or in some applications, to identify a certainty of a life form in
humans, shadows surrounding him may give a sense of a real human form.

Illusion of Depth using Gestalt Principles of Perception

Depth can be defined as relative distance. With several objects defining the
artwork, it may be necessary to give it some depth to visualize the story behind it.
From the gestalt principles of perception, there are techniques that can be used to
create the impression of depth.

• Overlapping – the first object covers a second object making. In effect, the
first object becomes closer or nearer to the viewer.
• Size – Large objects often are perceived to be nearer than the relatively
smaller ones
• Placement – Objects placed on the lower plane of the space creates
impression of it being nearer. The more distant are those at the
eye or top level of the space.
• Detail – Objects with clearer details are usually nearer while those with finer
and less details seem to be farther.
 • Color – Brightly or vividly colored objects seem nearer than the dull ones
• Converging Lines – As parallel lines move away from your point of view;
they move closer to the horizon which makes a
perception of distance farther away from you. The
farthest convergence can be called the vanishing point.

Expressive Qualities of Shapes, Form and Space

a. Outline and Surface

Outlines and variations in the surfaces may bring different kinds of messages.
For example, using free-form shapes may express the presence of life and fluidity.
These could also symbolize calmness and comfort. Especially, when the objects
defined by the free-form shapes are those coming from nature, the art can convey
that sense of pleasantness and could even invite the viewer to imagine himself or
herself within the story of the art.

Angular shapes, on the other hand, project the sharp and jagged realities of
the world. These could mean pain, anxiety, or tension. For example, you see broken
glasses in a picture, they may translate into vicarious interpretations of pain or hurt.

Geometric shapes may even suggest aspects of mechanical perfection. It

projects a certain sense of order and logic. In effect, they may tend to lack the
emotional accessibility to it. While they express those to viewers, the perceptions
can be more mental and ideal rather than affective.

b. Density

Density refers to the compactness of the object. Dense materials tend to be

solid and heavy looking. In sculptures for example, dense materials may be difficult
to alter in terms of form unless technology or some machines are available. In two-
dimensional art, density can be expressed using different values such as shading
and magnifying contour lines.

c. Openness

Open shape projects invitation. For example, if you draw and empty chair,
most viewers may tend to vicariously imagine sitting on that chair. If you see an art
piece with an open door, it may give you a sense of wonder of what could be inside
or behind the door. Some handcrafted art such as weaving even employ openness in
their cloths. This allows them to look through the fabric and experience the intricate
weaving patterns of it.
 Closed shapes and forms, on the other hand, project more solid and self-
contained field of perception. Closed doors and windows tend to be more restrictive
to interpretation. A person with folded arms tight to his body portrays emotion of
tension, mystery, or privacy. Like Egyptian caskets, called sarcophagus, are usually
defined by arms close or folded onto the body. Death for them should be afforded
with dignity but at the same time must be impressed with privacy and protection like
closed or restricted shapes.

d. Activity and Stability

Active Shapes are those that defy gravity such as slanting or falling or running
shapes. In Feng Shui, eight (8) running horses are lucky in proper placement. To
project running horses, the sculptor or painter projects the variations of movements
by overlapping heads and feet. Some heads should slant upward while some are
moving down to show the movement. Activity can also be shown through the angles
of the feet and the flow of hair and tails among the horses. Essentially, movement in
shapes can be done by portraying them in diagonal positions. Static shapes, on the
other hand, seem to be motionless and stable. The direction going through is
horizontal. They tend to evoke calm and fixated feelings. It projects quietness and
stable peace. This could probably be the reason that houses tend to have paintings
decorated in their homes that evoke peace by using subjects in stable horizontal
positions such as landscapes.

3. COLOR
What makes lines, shapes, forms, and space alive is through their colors.
They are apparent in making more variations to our perceptions such as the colors of
flowers, the sky, paint of walls and even skin tones. Colors have the most powerful
connection to human nature and emotions. In fact, colors are used to describe
emotions such as feeling blue to describe sadness or green minded to describe
thinking of sexual things or green thumb for someone who is good with plants or
sunny personality to describe the bright and fun character of a person. With the
differences in colors around you, the way you appreciate colors may also vary. In
this section, you will learn to understand the different properties and applications of
colors and how to give meaning to them.

Perception of Color

Color is one of the elements of art that is derived from light and the different
reflections of it. In psychophysics, you learned that colors are based on white light.
When such white light passes through a prism, it shall bend and create a prism or
band of colors. These colors are usually the representation of the rainbow. But these
colors are not coloring per se. These colors are waves that activate the color
receptors of your eyes called cones. So ripe mangoes may not be yellow after all,
but the reflection of mangoes activates the yellow receptors of the eyes. The rod
receptors, on the other hand, receive and process information of darkness and
lightness. So, through the rods, it shall facilitate how colors must be perceived
depending on available light. Therefore, the way we perceive colors depends upon
the light that is reflected on each object.

Hence, there are three properties of colors that matter in this section. They
are called hue, value, and intensity. These properties are even present in
photography. If you check your smart phones and its camera settings, these
properties can be altered as soon as you take a photo.

Hue

In the color spectrum, there is such a thing as primary colors namely, red,
blue, and yellow. They are also considered as primary hues. The secondary hues
are made by mixing two primary colors. There are also six intermediate or tertiary
colors by mixing a primary color with secondary color. To organize these colors or
hues, the color spectrum can be bent to create a color wheel that illustrates how the
mixing is employed.

Value

Value describes the lightness and darkness of a color. There will be times that
certain colors will seem to be darker to represent a darker or gloomier theme of the
art piece. Essentially, not all hues should have the same value within a space.
Naturally, yellow seems to be the lightest hue as it reflects the lightest and violet is
the darker hue as it reflects the least light. Black, white, and gray are considered
neutral colors. White light reflects colors while black absorbs all of it. Grey will reflect
light depending on its value. The darker it is, the more it absorbs, the less it reflects
and vice versa.

To alter values, hues may be added with black or white. Tinting is the process
of producing a light value such as creating a bright sunny day with mixing white and
blue to the skies while shading is the process of producing a darker value such as
mixing violet, blue, gray and black to create night skies.

Intensity

Intensity refers to how bright or dull the use of hue is. If a certain surface of an
object reflects yellow light, then the surface projects intense and bright yellow. But if
the surface reflects other colors, yellow will be more subdued. Intensity can be high
or low density such that or bright and dull colors, respectively.

Complementary colors are those that are opposite to each other in the color
wheel. The complement of a hue may absorb all the light waves that the hue reflects.
Example, red and green are complements. In effect, green may absorb red waves
and may reflect the blue and yellow. This explains how some people will have
conditions such as color vision deficiency or color blindness. There may be
tendencies for people to perceive green as red or red as green. In some instances,
those with color vision deficiency may perceive green as blue or yellow due to
distorted absorption and reflection of lights.

Another consequence is when you mix a hue with its complement dulls the
original hue and lowers its intensity. The more complement you add, the duller the
hue will appear. Eventually, the hue will lose its original intensity and appear gray.
But if you use a dominant hue in a mixture, there will be more apparent
manifestations of the dominant hue. Such as coloring a dark violet night sky and
mixing with small hues of blue, the more dominant color will still be violet.

Color Schemes

Organizing colors are part of the planning phase in the creation of art. Making
a cohesive story or song is like identifying a color scheme appropriate to the story of
the art piece. By planning these colors according to a scheme will allow you to create
a cohesive piece of art work.

a. Monochromatic Colors

This a technique where only one color is used. Even the hue, tints and
shade are consistent all through out. With a limited option for colors, this
provides a strong and unifying expression to the art. However, this strategy
may lessen the variation quality of the work.

b. Analogous Colors

In analogous colored artwork, the hues used are usually those that are
side by side in the color wheel and operate in a common hue. Examples are
blue, blue-green, blue-violet, and red have something in common. This can be
limited to three hues to create unity among the common color range.

c. Complementary colors

Complementary colors are used when the theme of art is intended to

create strong expression of contrast. In theory, complementary colors tend to
establish a vibration with each other. These vibrations can translate into
arousal of emotions. Example is that red and green are complementary
colors. When red symbolizes fire and green symbolizes the life attached to
plants and animals, these patterns create a sense of arousal to your
 emotions. However, not all complementary colors provide loud arousal, these
can be mitigated when intensity and values are altered.

d. Color Triads

From the name itself, the art must be focused on three general colors
spaced on equal intervals on the color wheel. Compared to complementing,
triads do not convey strong differentiation of colors. This can cover primary,
secondary, and tertiary hue triads.

e. Split Complements

A split complement is used when you combine a hue with each side of
its exact complement. This now offers more variety and more dynamics to
color range and selection. For example, the complement of red orange is blue
green. The hue next to blue green are blue and green. These can be used to
create the perfect nature art piece with red orange as the sun, blue for the
waters and green for the trees.

f. Warm and Cool Colors

The color wheel can be divided into two groups, namely, the warm and
cool colors. The warm group contains the hues of red, orange, and yellow,
while the cool colors may range from blue, green, and violet. Warm colors
usually convey warm situations such as fire or the sunshine. The cool colors,
on the other, evoke cooler situations such as snow, water, and grass.

Expressive Qualities of Colors

Like other elements, colors convey ideas, emotions, and actual behaviors.
What makes color useful in expression is its ability to represent reality, something
that is more like how our senses see it.

a. Optical Color

The use of optical color is an artist approach to reproduce colors as they are
seemed to be. This approach intends to capture reality as it is and not a version or
impression of it. Optical Colors are usually the approach of most artists with the
attempt to ensure that their art is similarly colored to reality. To illustrate optical color,
artist to check how each hue will appear when influenced by surrounding colors. Like
shopping clothes, you see the clothes' optimal color if you pair it with the color of
jeans that you usually wear. For some, you may evaluate the optical color of your
clothes in the fitting room with your skin color or the lighting from the surroundings.
You may notice that eating in restaurants feels better than eating your order as a
take-away. Eating in restaurants maximize the ability of their environment to ensure
good dining experience by altering optical colors. Food, in Psychology, has been
perceived to be more delectable in orange, red and yellow environments. This is why
most restaurants are themed along these colors.

b. Arbitrary Colors

Because feelings, emotions and some thoughts are abstract, literal portrayal
of colors such as optical colors are mostly inapplicable. Instead, arbitrary application
of colors may give justice to the indefinability of some subject matters in art. In this
sense, color is not only an element or a medium to express art, but it is also the
subject of art per se. When you plan to use dark yet cool colors, these may evoke
feelings of depression and/or mystery. Warm, low intensity colors tend to portray
comfort and relaxation. Blue and green are soothing hues while yellow stimulates
activity and red can evoke extreme arousal or excitement.

c. Space

Together with lines, Positioning colors have also been used to create
impressions of depth. Warm colors are believed to advance towards viewers while
cool colors tend to recede.

d. Movement

Colors can create representations of movement as well. Contrasting values

create movement while values that are close to each other tend create gradual and
calmer flow.

4. TEXTURE

Texture in art refers to how the subjects and objects of the piece feels if
touched. This is an essential component in creating the dynamics in the artwork by
showing that certain surfaces have different feels according to their nature. For
example, you may want to express a smooth texture on a flowing flat river painting
compared to a rough and rocky river painting.

With some artist confronted of different objects and subjects, textures are also
a way of representing them to the viewers. Food in paintings have different textures
to provide vicarious viewing among the audience. An ice cream painting, for
example, must project smooth and silky texture compared to pizza with different
layers of pepperoni, cheese, tomato sauce and crust. In this section, you will learn to
use texture as part of your consideration to the development of artwork and describe
the feelings and meanings that different textures evoke.

Perceiving Texture

Texture is perceived through the senses. Tactile texture is the feeling derived
out of touching a specific object or art. In sculptures, for examples, you can sense
the type of stone or wood that has been used in developing one. In fact, texture is
considered as one of the most useful cues for knowing the quality of a sculpture. But
even visual texture is also possible. Your vision provides you with certain
expectations of what an objects quality is supposed to be. Looking at photographs of
a landscaped grass or garden provide you a sense of texture of how it feels to lie on
them. When you see a photograph of snow and ice, they may provide you a texture
of cold or flat feelings.

Textures can be simulated or invented. In simulated textures, they tend to

imitate the real textures of an object. Like a craftsman or carpenter, he can make
wood feel like solid ground. Such as in-house construction, an engineered wood
flooring can provide the texture of a concrete cemented floor. Or some plastic
counter tops in the kitchen sink can feel look original granite or quartz stones. There
are even technologies that develop massaging chairs that simulate the texture and
feel of a human masseur. Invented textures do not represent naturally existing
surface qualities, but they are usually those that evoke non-objective patterns. More
on this invented texture in the discussion of principles and design.

Texture and Value

Art pieces may maximize the portrayal of texture by using value, that is, when
the artist creates texture through light reflection and shadowing.

a. Rough and Smooth Textures

A crooked and uneven shadow may provide a rough texture than formally
shaded ones. Casting shadows and accepting light provides impression of the shape
and eventually its texture. When you notice how certain objects produce shadows,
the different sizes and shapes determine the textures of your object.

b. Matte and Shiny Textures

A matte surface reflects soft and dull light while the shiny surface tends to
reflect light and project some spark or glow. Matte surfaces are usually apparent in
papers, denim, unfinished wood, or human skin. Shiny textures are usually those
that have highlights such as windows, water surface or some car paints. Usually,
when shiny surfaces are exposed to light, they create glares. These textures can be
matte-rough, matte-smooth, shiny rough or shiny-smooth.

B. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

1. RHYTHM, PATTERN AND MOVEMENT

Rhythm in art is its principle that is defined by the repetition of elements or

objects. This principle is also present other forms of arts such as music and even
poetry. Musical rhythm is the measure of time between musical sounds. Usually
manifested as beats, rhythms are established across the rests and beats alternating
with each other. In poetry, the use of words, sounds or phrases create rhythmic
patterns.

Visual Rhythm

This is the kind of rhythm that is created by the sense of sight rather than the
sense of hearing. This is observed in the repetition of positive spaces or ground and
then separated by negative spaces. In your surroundings, patterns are apparent. In
the library, books are aligned in the shelves. In parking lots, cars are arranged using
visual rhythms. Falling in line in the grocery can be interpreted as visual rhythms.
The spaces in between them can be considered as the negative space. In visual
rhythm, the beat may be just one of the elements or the combination of.81 These
principles stimulate the perception of movement. Like line, this causes the viewer to
follow the beat along its direction. It is important that object action is different from
artistic movement. Considering visual rhythm, the movement refers to the movement
of your perception versus action which conveys the transfer of an object or element
to another field of the space.

Pattern

Rhythm can be applied in the two-dimensional space called patterns. In the

aspect of clothing design, the most common examples of pattern are stripes that
may be vertical or horizontal. Usually referred as motifs, these are the units of
elements that are repeated in a pattern. Patterns observed in 83furniture, clothing,
foot rugs may constitute different elements of the design but repeatedly applied in
the whole art space84 . In some three-dimensional arts such as sculpture and
architecture, their motifs are also called modules. For example, in furniture there are
matching units of motifs called modules.

But these patterns do not only perform decorative functions but also, they
perform functional purposes. For example, looking at tiles on flooring or the
sidewalks are used to ensure ergonomic movement and foundation of human
standing onto it. Though, generally aesthetic in approach, there is an underlying
function of their pattern placement.

Types of Rhythm and Pattern

Arranging the patterns can vary. Each variation may create a different
personality of the artwork.

a. Random

Motifs may be placed randomly across the space. This is characterized by the
lack of regularity in the spaces in between. Photography on fallen leaves may leave
random patterns. Wall cracks can also be randomly assigned across the space.
Buildings in a picture may not necessarily be spaced regularly.

b. Regular

Opposite to random patterns, regular patterns are characterized by having

identical beats, motifs, and intervals of space between them. In effect, you can
observe a steady beat across motifs. This is best used when you intend to project
are more organized pattern. Parking spaces in buildings are classic examples of
patterns that are regular in application. In grocery shopping, the distance between
racks are organized with equal intervals. Looking at a square subdivided in a 3x3
grid is a regular pattern.

c. Alternating

This type of rhythm employs two types of beat or motive. First and second
beats are usually arranged in alternating distances or intervals. Its applications
include flowing rhythms by repeating wavy lines. For example, when you choose to
draw waves of water, alternating rhythms or flowing patterns can be utilized. This
can be done by alternating the swelling of water up and down the space.

d. Progressive

Progressive patterns or rhythms portray change in beat every time it is

repeated. Accordingly, the changes are steady. For each beat, they appear slightly
different with each other. For example, you may try to progressively increase the size
of a shape in from one end of the space to the other (e.g. small square in the left
progressively increasing its size towards the right). It can also be done by gradually
changing a square into forming a circle in the other end.

2. BALANCE
 Arts and its forms must contain a certain type of balance. This is the principle
of art by ensuring that all elements of art are accorded with equal force. Through
balance, arts tend to have a feeling of organization and proper arrangement. The
absence or lack of balance may project feelings of uneasiness and instability. Just
like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, its instability leads it to be considered as a danger
zone and was required to be closed for humans to set foot in. Even if, engineers
corrected this imbalance, this was not still considered safe for people to get near to.

Balance, with relationship to the mathematical sense, is usually measured

with a scale. But scaling in art application does not usually require an object to
measure weight or height. In the past, renaissance was very technical in scaling that
most artists during their time utilized measurement scales to produce art. In the more
artistic sense, balance is usually perceived or vicariously experienced. Hence, each
element of an artwork carries a weight and may create the kind of balance the artist
wants to portray. For paintings and drawings, this balance may be determined by
drawing a hypothetical line in the middle vertical and horizontal axis. You may now
then check how much elements are shared in the left and right sides of the symmetry
or the upper and lower symmetry.

Formal Balance

There is considerable formal balance when elements are shared equally in

both sides of the symmetry. It is the most common type of balance in producing art.
It may not be necessary that there are equal amounts of elements on each side.
Formal balance demonstrates equal rigor, strength, or weight on each side
regardless of the number of elements found each side. Sometimes, formal balance is
characterized by symmetry. There is a sense of balance by creating mirror images of
the left and right or up and down dimensions. Another way of calling this is bilateral
symmetry. In most cases, people have preference over formal balance and
symmetry as they are usually performing functional purposes. For example, the
choice of clothing that you wear may require it to be symmetrical to create a
balanced shape. However, its downfall may include stiffness, formality, and
perfectionism. While it creates stability, art can be predictable and too structured
requiring artists to be more technical rather than creative. Reality is, there may not
be full and perfect symmetry. Rather, this world operates on approximate symmetry.
This can be observed in the sizes or shapes of your eyes and facial structure in
which both sides may not perfectly match as mirror images but only approximations.

Radial Balance

This is a type of balance where the design of the art piece radiates from the
central point and an outward direction. An example of radial balance is the mandala.
Mandala is a representation of personality in the theory of Analytic Psychology of
Carl Jung. For him, a healthy personality is defined by balance of all forces, hence, a
radiating or radial balance. Another example of radial balance are flowers or plants
that follow a radial pattern. Functional designs like wheels of automobiles, gears and
structured based on radial balance.

Informal Balance

There are artists that choose to portray a more casual and less planned art.
Most of the time, their outputs have informal balances. But this is not an indication of
less aesthetic value. Rather, these artists have less conventional approaches by
employing abstracted and complex balance portrayal. In effect, when you perceive
their works, your point of view is not usually drawn towards the middle, but usually in
the irregular positions of the space.

How to Present Informal Balance in Art?

In most cases, these types of art are interpreted to be accidental

arrangements. But learning more on the intent would indicate a deeper meaning to
their informal balance. Artists usually consider the placement of the objects and
elements and put them accordingly to emphasize the imbalance. To this end, artists
do not only use this as an aesthetic but also a part of the story telling and meaning
extraction process.

a. Size and Contour

There may be arts that have competing sizes of elements such as one thick
line over several thin lines, one large circle over small circles, etc. But having the
number of the smaller sizes increase more than the large ones can still create a
balance, more so, an informal one. Contours are also a way of showing informal
balance. Caricatures are examples of how contours can emphasize informal balance
such as having a big head over a small body, or a big nose and eyes on a small
face. These are common in some editorial art pieces. Also, a common Contouring of
informal balance is the cartoon character, Johnny Bravo, with a big body frame on a
relatively small pair of legs.

b. Color

There are artists who intend to magnify some colors within a space. To
activate informal balance, emphasizing a specific color may create this expression.
Such as in book covers, artists, creating them may employ colors to express
imbalance in color emphasis. This is intended for viewers to draw their attention over
the area with the more intense color. Examples of these are the book covers of Fifty
Shades of Grey of E.L. James that seek to emphasize the Grey elements of the book
cover.

c. Value

Contrasting the value of objects and background can create formal imbalance.
For example, when you are tasked to create a certificate employing informal
balance, you may choose to have a blank white sheet of paper with emphasized red
slab on the left side. In this regard, the point of view among the viewers may be
drawn to the left side because of the dark red slab which carries heavier value than
the white sheet.

d. Texture

Creating a rough texture of pattern, highlight, or shadows create informal

balance. This happens because of the details of a rough texture creates. This can be
further formalized by compensating areas of the space that contain smoother
surfaces. In most posters used in advertising, there is a necessity to consider the
kind of font you use to create impression of a rough texture. This is necessary to
draw the point of view on the font or text more than its design.

e. Position

In visual art, a large object near to the dominant area of the work can be
balanced by a smaller object placed farther away from the dominant area. In this
way, a large, positive shape and a small, negative space can be balanced against a
small, positive shape and a large, negative space.

3. PROPORTION

Proportion is the principle of art that is mostly concerned with how the sizes of
objects and some elements relate to each other. The idea of proportion started
during the time of a Greek Philosopher, Pythagoras who believed that the world or
the universe operates on a constant mathematical equation. Amused by these
beliefs, Euclid explored around the mathematical possibilities of explaining the
nature of the universe and discovered that there is such a thing as a perfect ratio.
This ratio is called the Golden mean where a line is “a line divided into two parts so
that the smaller line has the same proportion, or ratio, to the larger line as the larger
line has to the whole line”. It was believed that this was the ideal and most perfect
proportion. This is usually expressed in terms of 1 is to 1.6 or 1:1.6.

The Golden mean has gained so much popularity that this concept has been
applied to human figure. It was also believed that Human figures have the ideal
proportion. When Greece died as a civilization, so is this concept. But in its
rediscovery, it was then called the divine proportion. The art of the past was mostly
influenced by this. In the creation of sculptures among their leaders, the ratio was
used as a basis and always given importance to. These statues they created were
like the real person they made the statue for. However, modern art today started to
reject the restrictions of the golden mean. They believed that following this limits the
ability of artists to explore on possibilities and that there should be no fixed rule on
how to perceive the processes and complexities of artwork.

Scale

A scale refers to the relative size of an object measured from a standard

reference. This is different from proportion in that the latter is a measurement relative
to other elements of the space while the former is based to a standard
measurement. For example, a 6 - foot volleyball player may not look tall when he is
with his team members. This is proportion. But when you see this volleyball player
standing on a measurement scale, our perception may differ from when he is with his
teammates. This is scale.

In designing art, there are two sources of scale. First is the scale that is based
on the work itself and the other is the scale of the objects and elements within the
design. For example, the Pyramids of Egypt are the first type of scale while the art
forms and pieces found within it are the second type of scale. Also, these art pieces
found within have different applications of scale as well such as the painting of Nakht
and wife. Such painting demonstrates scaling as way to emphasize the hierarchical
system that operate in the Ancient Egyptian regime. This was manifested in the
enlarged scale size of Nakht and wife while they observe their smaller scaled
servants in service of them through hunting, fishing, and farming.

With the use of scale, some artworks may provide illusions to perception.
Some objects may appear larger or smaller than they should. If you have tried
checking online shopping platforms like Lazada or Shopee, there may be products
that are scaled to look bigger or smaller but you end up receiving the orders that
have different sizes from what you originally perceive them to be.

But scales must be functional as well. For instance, interior designers and
architects should be able to accurately scale the blueprint of their designs to ensure
that furniture and internal equipment could fit according to the plan.

Sometimes, distorting scales may become necessary as to express a

valuable message. Given as the example above, caricatures are also applications of
proportion as there may be exaggerations to certain parts of the human figure. But
for other cultures, especially West Africa, use exaggerated scales of head in their art
as this represents life and intelligence. This belief was inspired with the enlarged
head of their divine ruler named “Oba” which guarantees them prosperity and
fortune.

4. Variety, Emphasis, Harmony and Unity

Variety is the principle of art that breeds interest to the viewers or audience.
Emphasis, on the other hand, improves the variety by creating different levels of
emphasis to draw areas that may draw audience attention. Usually, the subject is the
focal point of the art, but less emphasis or intensity should not mean less attention.
Rather, they have less emphasis based on the value or importance to the piece of
work. Harmony happens when there is equilibrium in variety and emphasis. But unity
is the wholeness or oneness of the artwork. This is achieved when the elements and
the principles are utilized effectively to convey the wholeness of art.

Variety

To establish effective variety, artist must maximize the application of

differences and contrasting. For instance, if an artist chooses to create an art with
just one shape or color, this may look boring and monotonous, lacking variety. In
effect, attention of the audience may be of short span. But integrating different
elements and applying different principles provide art a sense of variety. This gives
the viewers or audience the perception that the artist is breaking the repetitive cycle.

Emphasis

In specific artworks, there are aspects of it that are given emphasis. Usually,
the subjects are given more intensity in color, more definition in contours and
outlines, etc. This is the process of ensuring that these aspects are the more
important elements of the art form. With different levels of emphasis, it may be
expected that viewers and the audience should spend more time on giving their
attention to the dominant elements and narratives.

The two types of visual emphasis are (1) the element that dominates and (2)
the area on the space that dominates over others.

a. Emphasizing elements

Through this process, the element of art is deemed to be more important

while subordinating the other elements. Some artists do this to separate a specific
element from others and showcase their skill on this aspect. Example is when one
art uses mostly pencil in sketching may signify the artist intention to show his
sketching capabilities. Some artists do not sketch and immediately paint on a canvas
without outlines convey the ability of the artist to draw and create a cohesive image
by subordinating sketching.
b. Emphasizing

Area An artworks focal point is an emphasized area. This specific area may
be considered as the superior to other areas and it is expected for viewers to carry
their attention to that area. However, it is also possible to have more than one focal
point. But doing so may create confusion. If this was the interest at hand, then artist
may free to do so to achieve the ambiguity the artist intended to do. Some artist may
not even have a focal point or emphasized area such that whole space is the full
focal point.

Techniques in Emphasis

a. Contrast – this can be done through contrasting of hues, intensity, and value of
colors. In terms of lines, heavy shading and cross-hatching are ways of emphasizing
the subject or area.

b. Isolation – this is a process of providing a mechanism for the subject to be isolated

from other elements.

c. Location – the center of the space is mostly considered the focal point of most art
works. Most subjects or objects can be placed in the middle to create emphasis.

d. Convergence – this is a more complex technique that utilizes the elements to point
at a direction of a focal point. The process of convergence directs the viewers using
elements to converge at a focal point.

e. Unusual – the most complex of the approaches is the use of unconventional

mechanisms. Bizarre and unexpected approach can be made to emphasize such as
putting a gun on a bed of roses, a girl in a group of boys, yellow chair in a pile of
black chairs etc. the focal point, hence, should be the one odd out.

Harmony

Artistic harmony is the principle that facilitates the process of unity by

recognizing the importance of separate elements and subjects but is somehow
related to each other. In music, harmony happens when notes are combined, and
they create blending tones. The pleasantness produced by the sound is based on
the complementarity of the notes. In visual harmony, these elements or subjects are
made to relate with each other creating pleasant or cohesive visuals.

Colors can harmonize by using the different applications of contrasting such

as complementarity, split complements or analogous colors. Shapes can manifest
harmony when shapes tend to overlap or create the impression of relatedness
among them. Such as in a house a triangular shape roof harmonizes with the square
shaped house. Or in the creation of art rooted from nature, combinations of free-from
shapes create harmony in an art space.

Unity

If you remember the introduction part of this module, it talked about the
Gestalt principle of Unity and Wholeness. Art, in the same regard, is supposed to be
created and perceived than the sum of its parts. Elements and some principles of art
will cease to become meaningful if it does not unite with the rest of the whole art
piece. Lack of unity in art is a Hodge podge art. It does not convey cohesiveness. It
will lack meaning and it will use its artistic value.

To create unity, these are some considerations you can adopt:

a. Simplicity Choosing to employ variety is a critical period in the

planning phase of art. Too many uses of variety can be bad in the art form
because it lacks the economical sense of it. By limiting the variations to
workable variations, you also allow the art to focus on the special properties of
the few elements of principles. Hence, art does not have to use all possible
techniques to implement the elements. Rather, the best approach is edit and
limit the qualities that needs to be shown as only deemed appropriate to the
subject and content you wish to show.

b. Repetition Unity can be achieved when there is repetition. Usually

applied in large scaled art production like architecture of buildings and other
infrastructure, repetition has always been used to create a unified space. For
example, the white house is repeatedly colored white across the whole
building. The building beams are similar across the four structures. Making
sure that the structure is well-blended with the surroundings, repetition are
techniques that does this.
c. Proximity Limiting negative space creates convergence of objects.
Therefore, the converging objects tend to cluster together. This convergence
could mean unity because you limit the ability of negative space to create
distance. For example, if you wish to portray a group of people conversing,
the unifying theme of the art is by putting those people close to each other to
create that impression of relatedness among them.

Activity No. 4

For Both With or Without Internet Access

What to do?
Make your own masterpiece! Apply what you have learned through a painting.

1. This is an individual work.

2. In a white space (either 1/8 illustration board, canvas – as size as a long bond
paper),or long band paper create your painting.
3. The theme is love (any angle of love like, love of God, love of A friend, love of
parents or brother or sister, love of special someone, or even love of your pet, or
falling out of love).
4. Any medium will be used like, crayons, color pencil, watercolor, coffee, charcoal or
the like (as long as it is not nsive).
5. Create a title and a brief story out of that craft.
6. Pass the output next meeting through individual presentation in Google
classroom.
7. Be guided with the use of the rubrics.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Title and The title can be The title is a The title is not
Content of the depicted in the bit related to applicable
brief story painting. All the towards the towards the
contents of the painting. Some painting. It has
brief story are contents are a little
aligned with the missing. presence of the
painting. contents.
2. Creativity of Appropriate There is a bit Limited
the Painting creative layout missing of creativity with
of the painting creativity lots of things to
that goes along towards the improve. Few
with the title and painting as well of the elements
the brief story. as the title and being
With the usage the brief history encountered in
of the majority respectively. this chapter
of the elements Some of the are present
being elements being within the
encountered in encountered in painting.
this chapter are this chapter are
present within present within
the painting. the painting.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing smooth sailing smooth sailing
of the painting of the painting of the painting
presentation presentation presentation
with a very with a good with a good
good command command of command of
 of introducing or
introducing or introducing or
spill from
spill from spill from
showing the
showing the showing the
craft, title, and
craft, title, and craft, title, and
the brief story the brief story the brief story
that is
that is that is
appealing to theappealing to appealing to
class. the class which the class which
needs some needs a lot of
improvements. improvements.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

NOTE: FOR THOUSE STUDENTS WITH INTERNET ACCESS, THE SCORING

SYSTEM WILL BE AS IS. BUT FOR THOUSE STUDENTS WITHOUT INTERNET
ACCESS, THE NUMBER 3 IS NOT INCLUDED. THUS THE SCORING SYSTEM
OF NUMBERS 1 AND 2 OF THE RUBRICS WILL BE GIVEN AS FOLLOWS:

EXCELLENT – 11-15PTS
VERY GOOD – 6-10PTS
GOOD – 1-5 PTS

Chapter 5 – Narratives, Appropriation, Barrowing and Ownership of Art

Narrative Art By its very name alone, one can already tell what narrative art is
all about - the kind of visual art that tells or narrates stories that are done mostly
through painting and sculpture, which are considered as the most common classical
art forms.5 Normally, if a person intends to know the history of a place or the
important events that took place at a given time and space, all he needs to do is to
read a book. Such common practice of knowing history, nevertheless, is tedious,
nay, even boring for those who do not have the luxury of time to pick up a printed
material. In a rather nontraditional manner, Narrative Art allows the observer of an
artwork to pore through the pages of history and even “interact” in a certain way to
the characters presented in a particular event or situation. As one author notes, “Art
is a one-sided conversation with the unobserved.”6For instead of going over a text
word by word, all that the viewer needs to do is to examine the painting before
him/her and right there and then “reading” the image occurs. 7 In Narrative Art,
therefore, a certain kind of perusal takes place in one instance minus the act of
flipping the pages of a book, journal, magazine, and so on. Throughout history, the
tendency to express oneself through art has been quite evident. As the British
philosopher R.G. Collingwood says, ‘the value of art in the good life is captured in
one word: expression.”8 There have been several examples of Narrative Art which
express not only the triumphs or failures of a people, generation, tribe, race, and so
on. A quick look at early art of past ages can reveal the following scenes and
narratives: early hunting practices or battle during the Bronze Age of the Iberian
Mediterranean Basin, intricate designs painted on Egyptian tombs, Greek vase
paintings from the 6th century BCE which explicitly showcase narratives that
describe both mythological and actual events.

Perhaps, the one question that bothers the reader, both figuratively – i.e.
those who read through a painting or sculpture – and realistically – i.e. those who
read any printed material, is this: Why bother telling or narrating stories at all? This
question can be answered by examining the intentions of those who painted or
sculpted the significant events in history. In Da Vinci’s Last Supper, for instance,
what was in the mind of its artist when he created it? Obviously, it is an attempt by
Leonardo to interpret what is chronicled in the Four Gospels of the New
Testament.10 Most of us, of course, are aware of what happened on the night when
Jesus and his disciples gathered for a meal: Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a
kiss, after which the latter told the former that before the cock crows, he (Judas)
would deny him (Jesus) three times (Mt. 26:34). Narrative Art is also used, even
exploited, in politics by those leaders who only wanted to show their “successes” or
“triumphs” to the people both during their time and for future generations as a lasting
remembrance. “For all that we know, our history is only what the winners have aimed
to tell us, much rather than what the objective truth was like.”

It can safely be said, therefore, that some works of art were once used by
greedy rulers “to maintain the power of the ruling class, to instruct and articulate the
masses, but also to inform the future generations.” 12 In some sense, painters were
considered more important, that is to say, more powerful than writers. Aside from
advancing the selfish intentions of the aristocrats, the employment of art was
especially helpful for the illiterate people who were more inclined to appreciate the
power of images and so use it in translating in their own terms what a particular
picture is trying to say. The message, however, depends on the viewer of the
artwork. “The story and the art itself changes depending on who is looking at it.”14
The artist can only go as far as the finished product goes. The final decision on the
work will have to be left in the eyes of the observer who is entitled to interpret it
according to what he sees in it. It is also important to know that narrative art was not
only limited to history painting. Aside from the fact that it was used as a medium to
tell stories of what happened in the past as well as a medium exploited by greedy
tyrants, narrative art also became the venue for narrating the simple yet objective
lives of ordinary people, detailing echoes of their laughter and tears painted in
canvass as a reminder of their being mortal, showing their daily grind to survive in
this oft-hostile world. “It was always modestly uplifting, feeding the spirit of people as
they enjoyed remembering the little things and joyful activities from their day-to-day
lives.”

Appropriation, Borrowing, and Ownership

A central issue concerning originality of art has something to do with the

question, “How far can one copy the work of another artist?” To address such issue,
art historians have come up with a distinction between appropriation and borrowing.
The term Appropriation in art and art history can be interpreted to mean the practice
of using pre-existing objects or images in their art with minor changes when
compared to the original. We can cite as an example the attempts of many painters
in the past to copy Da Vinci”s Last Supper. Perhaps, the most elaborate attempt
came from two Italian names like Giampietrino (fl. 1508-1549) and Giovanni Antonio
Boltraffio (1467 - 1516) who were believed to be both students of Leonardo’s.
Likewise, in photography, one may copy from an original photograph by using
another model while retaining its background. In writing, likewise, one can apply
appropriation by copying an idea from an original essay or novel and changing its
title.

Borrowing in art has more or less the same meaning as appropriation except
that the former happens prior to the latter. To put the matter clearly, no appropriation
takes place without borrowing. While borrowing is the act of copying aspects of an
original work, appropriation is the act of injecting some “fresh” perspective of the
original work.

Copying or borrowing may be as old as time itself and for people in the past, it
was just alright to copy the work of another. There were no so-called copyright laws
yet, much less violations of the same. So, it can be said that copying was not
considered cheating – it can even be considered even as an rt. The closer the
copied work was to the original, the more appreciated it became. Or, so it seems. In
fact, the Roman gods were nothing but copies of the Greek gods. Such practice was,
nevertheless, considered instrumental to our knowledge not only about Greek
mythology but of Greek culture as a whole. “The Romans copied the Greeks, and
thank goodness they did; much of what happened in the age of Socrates, Plato and
Menander is known to us only through Roman facsimiles.” 18 Perhaps, there is no
clearer example of this Roman tendency to imitate than the fact that they were a
great inheritor of what the Greeks treasured as their gods. The chart below
elaborates this by showing the equivalent of each Greek god in Roman mythology.

For Instance:

Greek Roman Role to Portray

Personalities Personalities
Hera Juno Chief Goddess of Mariiage
Aphrodite Venus Goddess of Beauty

As shown in the chart above, not only were the Romans great copycats, they
were also experts in name-switching. Latin, being the official language of the Roman
empire, was more preferred than Greek. With a few exceptions, of course, it is a
wonder that the modern world has retained such Roman names and never
succumbed to the practice of name-switching. Five planets in the solar system, for
instance, still bear the imprint of Roman mythology to this day.

The issue concerning originality of any artwork ultimately leads to ownership.

Just when can one say that some person’s (Artist A) work has infringed the
intellectual right of another (Artist B)? Laws concerning copyright of intellectual work
would differ in each country. The US Copyright of 1976 specifically identifies the
rights a copyright holder receives, the specific mechanisms of enforcement,
remedies for infringements, as well as the means for acquiring copyright protection.
In the Philippines, all original intellectual works are protected under the provisions
stipulated in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IP).

Perhaps, a question of great import regarding originality in art is: If someone

borrows from the work of another and appropriates it to produce something new, can
he be called an original artist? According to one source, “Technically, copyright law
protects exact wording, not an idea.” There are, nevertheless, general rules to
consider which include among others the following: 1) there must be something new
that the artist added — perhaps, an idea, a nuance, a criticism — to the work being
appropriated; 2) when one appropriates or borrows, the intention must not be to
deceive others; 3) and no one should be allowed to borrow if it is aimed at hurting
others.

Activity No. 5

For Those Students with Internet Access

What to do?

Barrowing is everywhere. So, do a creative writing composition out of an existing art.

1. There must be 5 to 8 members in a group.

2. Select an image of sculptured or architectural work from the net.
3. Capture a picture of it.
4. Place it through MS Word.
5. Create a narrative story out of that image.
6. Don’t forget to formulate a catchy title/name for it.
7. Come up with the format – image, below the image is the title, your new title/name
or it, and last the manufactured narrative story.
8. Language used can either be English, Filipino or Cebuano
9. Choose a representative that will present your work to the class.
10. The representative must not do an oral reading instead have a full emotion that
captures the essence of the narrative story.
11. Pass this output next meeting.
12. Be guided with the usage of the rubrics that can be seen below.
The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Title and The title can be The title is a
The title is not
Contents of the depicted in the bit related to
applicable
narrative story sculptured or towards the
towards the
architectural image being
image being
image. All the selected. Some
selected. It has
contents of the contents within
a little
narrative story the narrative
presence of the
are aligned with story are
contents within
the image missing. the narrative
selected. story.
2. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing smooth sailing smooth sailing
of the painting of the painting of the painting
presentation presentation presentation
with a very
with a good with a good
good command command of command of
of introducing orintroducing or introducing or
spill from
spill from spill from
showing the
showing the showing the
craft, title, andcraft, title, and craft, title, and
the brief story the brief story the brief story
that is
that is that is
appealing to the appealing to appealing to
class. the class which the class which
needs some needs a lot of
improvements. improvements.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 20 points)

For Those Students without Internet Access

What to do?

Barrowing is everywhere. So, do a creative writing composition out of an existing art.

1. Select an image of sculptured or architectural work that you have seen here in
Cebu.
2. Create a narrative story out of that image.
3. Don’t forget to formulate a catchy title/name for it.
4. Come up with the format – the original title/name, your new formulated title/name,
and last the manufactured narrative story.
5. Language used can either be English, Filipino or Cebuano
6. Pass this output next meeting.
7. Be guided with the usage of the rubrics that can be seen below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (16- Very Good (11- Good (5-10pts) Total
20pts) 15ts)
Title and The title can be The title is a The title is not
Contents of the depicted in the bit related to applicable
narrative story sculptured or towards the towards the
architectural image being image being
image. All the selected. Some selected. It has
contents of the contents within a little
narrative story the narrative presence of the
are aligned with story are contents within
the image missing. the narrative
selected. story.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 20 points)

Chapter 6 - Music and Its Genres

Music

All men and women in this world are very much hooked-up with music. This
performing art is everywhere. Thus, music constitutes the sounds and silences.

Music existed because of two important reasons – religion and entertainment.

In religion, the praise and worship services were able to accumulate several hours to
finish the entire celebration. The religious authorities thought of adding the presence
of arranged pitches to come up with simple tunes. From then on, music played a vital
role in dealing with religious activities where sacred songs (religious songs) were
utilized. On the other hand, entertainment, in every court or palace gatherings and
events, musical presentations remain its significant part. Since then, music was then
used for social activities such as dancing, stage plays, and other forms of
entertainment. Music is also depicted in secular songs (outside the church using
themes like women, wine, and love) as part of its repertoire.

Purposes

 Praise and Worship

 Competition
 Election
 Wedding
 Fiesta
 Show
  Concert
 Burial
 Birthday
 Tribal
 Theater
 Dance

The Six Major Periods of Music

Based on the Eurocentric view, music is characterized into six periods:

Medieval (450–1400); Renaissance (1400–1600); Baroque (1600–1750); Classical
(1750-1820); Romantic (1820 –1900); and 20th Century and Beyond (1900–
present). Because of political dominance of the West, the Oriental music remains
unknown to the West. It does not mean that Asia, Africa, and the rest of the world do
not have music. Music in these places are associated to Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist,
and tribal traditions associated typically to the cultural orientations and practices of
the people in the East. However, we have to take the Western history of music, in
this chapter, as a particular discussion on how music witnessed the sophistication of
Western civilization.

Medieval (450-1400)

 The trial and error method begun

 Sacred music flourished
 Gregorian Chant founded by Pope Gregory the Great
 Neumes were started to be used
 Monophonic composition were observed
 Simple tunes
 The majority focused on vocal music
 Men dominated the music world then
 Musical instruments – flute, sackbut, lute, fiddle, gittern, dulcimer,
tambourine, and drum
 Famous composers – Pope Gregory the Great, Gillaume de Machaut, and
Hildegard of Bingen

Renaissance (1400 - 1600)

 Polyphonic composition
 Sacred (motet and mass) and Secular music were composed
 Women were started to be recognized in the music scene
 Vocal and instrumental music can be heard
 Musical symbols were started to be formally crafted
  Shawm (ancestral instrument of the clarinet), organ, and Harpsichord
(ancestral instrument of piano)
 Famous Composers – Josquin Des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina,
and Thomas Weelkes

Baroque (1600 - 1750)

 Polyphonic composition still prevails

 Dominant instruments were harpsichord and violin family of instrumentation
(violin, viola, cello, and double bass)
 Basso Continuo or the figured bass composition were composed
 Group performances through concerto begun (consists of soloists and tutti –
group of players)
 Majority of the compositions were secular music
 Opera flourished (a drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment)
 Famous composers – Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, and
Antonio Vivaldi
Classical (1750 - 1820)

 Polyphonic composition still prevails

 Complete sections of musical instruments were used namely – string (harp,
violin, viola, cello, double bass), wind (piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English
horn, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba), and percussion
(timpani, cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, xylophone, tambourine,
glockenspiel, chimes, and piano) sections
 Piano became the popular musical instrument of this period
 Haydn was the piano teacher of Mozart
 Mozart was the piano teacher of Beethoven
 More improved Opera performances were showcased
 Chamber music (designed for an intimate setting of a room (chamber) in a
home or palace that usually involves two – nine players only, and consists of
fast, slow, dance-like, and fast movements) flourished
 Classical symphony (an extended, ambitious composition usually lasting for
20 to 40 minutes in which it includes (1) a vigorous, fast dramatic movement,
(2) a lyrical slow movement, (3) a dance-like movement, and (4) brilliant or
heroic fast movement) was performed
 Compositions for instrumental piano were rampant
 Famous composers – Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig
van Beethoven

Romantic (1820 - 1900)

  Individuality of Style – every composer has its own uniqueness and
trademark.
 Expressive Subjects – the melodic line has a very catchy tune.
 Nationalism – creating music promotes national identity, using folksongs,
dances, legends, history of their homelands, and loving one’s country or
heritage.
 Exoticism – a composition wherein music draws inspiration from foreign
influences.
 Chromatic Harmony – this is the usage of chords not found within a major or
minor scale.
 Expressive Range of Dynamics, Pitch, and Tempo – these are the wide-array
of dynamics from ffff to pppp, wide range of pitches from very low to highest
register of tones, and gradual or sudden change of time signature used
 Musical instrumentation were still the same as the Classical period
 Famous composers – Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, and Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky

20th Century and Beyond (1900 - present)

 Consonance – these are the use of stable chords

 Dissonance – no longer tied down to its former function but has become an
entity itself, and the chords are unstable.
 New Chords – the 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, and other forms of intervals like
the fourths (from DO – FA et al)
 Compound Meters – it’s a combination of 2-time signatures, and creating new
set of meters used in compositions
 Changing of clefs and meters from time to time
 Simple tunes yet unpredictable or catchy tunes, which are easily remembered
 Musical instruments such as saxophone, electric guitar, and synthesizer were
utilized
 Digital generated sounds were consumed
 Famous composers and personalities – Claude Debussy, Leonard Bernstein,
The Beatles, and Michael Jackson

Dying Musical Genres (13)

 Rock
 Progressive Rock
 Hard Rock
 Death Metal
 Blue Grass Music
 Opera
  Swing Music
 Funk
 Country Music
 Heavy Metal
 Folk Music
 Musical Theater
 Jazz

Sustaining Musical Genres (20)

 Pop Music
 New Wave
 Official Sound Track (OST)
 Independent Music
 Ska
 Jazz Fusion
 Trance Music
 Grunge
 Rap Music
 Pop Rock
 Instrumental
 House Music
 Alternative Rock
 Disco
 Reggae
 Electronic Music
 Soul Music
 Punk Rock
 Rhythm and Blues (R&B)
 K-Pop Music

The Philippine Traditional Indigenous Music

This lesson introduces the traditional indigenous music of our Filipino

ancestors in the past. Word of mouth is the medium used to pass on the legacy of
every tribe from one generation to another generation. Chanting is plainly a part of
this tradition. The influence of our neighboring countries of Southeast Asia
determines also the similarities of the musical taste as well as the usage of the
traditional indigenous musical instruments.

Even though there are similarities, still our ancestors make it a point that our
music and musical instruments have distinctive qualities to distinguish our own
masterpiece from our Asian neighbors. Every region in the country contributes a
unique musical piece that we claim our own music. This unique and creative tribal
music is accompanied with tribal musical instruments. Every occasion in the tribe is
celebrated with a corresponding music. Lullaby and songs for courtship, bravery,
birthday, and wedding remain peculiar in every tribal communities. In every tribal
song varies from one tribal community to another in songs’ titles and purpose.

In terms of the musical instruments, there are three classifications. These are
idiophones or chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments),
and membranophones (percussion instruments). Table 2 shows the list of notable
traditional indigenous musical instruments of the Philippines, which are classified into
three sets of instruments. These tribal instruments vary according to size, shape,
and usage.

Classifications of Tribal Musical Instruments

Idiophones

 Buktot is made of a coconut shell with a piece of wood as fingerboard to hold

the strings
 Kudyapi is a 2-stringed boat lute with horse hair *
 Bamboo Biolin is a 3-stringed violin of the Aeta people
 Kolitong is a bamboo zither

Aerophones

 Bansik is a bamboo flute with 3 holes from the Negrito of Zambales

 Ulali is a flute with 6 holes
 Palensag is a lip valley flute of Kalinga *
 Tongali is a nose flute of Kalinga*
 Suling is a vertical flute Tambuli is made from a horn of an animal
 Sahunay is a bamboo flute with a cone-shaped bell

Membranophones

 Dabakan is an hour-glass shaped drum*

 Gansa is a hand-held gong*
 Bunkaka is made of bamboo with slit that produces a buzzing sound*
 Kulintang is a set of 8 embossed gongs placed within a wooden frame*
 Agong is a large gong placed hanging within its frame*
 Kubing is a piece of thin bamboo with a slit at the center*
 To appreciate Philippine music, listen and observe the way each instrument is
being played by watching it in the YouTube or if not finding the pictures of these
instruments. Those with marks (*) do have corresponding videos.

Original Pinoy Music (OPM)

This unit talks about the origin of our own music – the Original Pilipino Music
or otherwise popularly known as Original Pinoy Music (OPM). We begin with the
brief history, and touch the current scenario of the OPM today.

Brief History

Many years had when Western colonizers influenced the Filipinos in terms of
culture and tradition, music was not an exemption to it. In the beginning, no
evidences can be traced because music wasjust handed by word of mouth. In the
1920s, names of Atang Dela Rama, Jovita Fuentes, Sylvia La Torre, and Ruben
Tagalog showcased the beginning of Filipino music through the harana (serenade)
and kundiman (ballad) performances. It can never be avoided that the dominancy of
American influences captured the heart of the masses due to their Rock and Roll
musical genre. There shows a distinct and strong American influence in Filipino
music as well. During the 60s, when the English band call “The Beatles” was known
internationally for their unique music performances, many local artists started to
create their own music similar to it. With this development, the Juan dela Cruz Band
and the Jerks paved their ways in the music industry. There were music themes
touching on political aspect that increased awareness on political issues and matters
with great interest.

Rock Music then soared high in the 70s along with the ballads. Since then,
many names started to dominate like Pilita Corales, Nora Aunor, Jose Mari Chan,
and Rico J. Puno. As the next decade flourished – the 80s, there were three
mainstream bands that included “The Dawn,” “After Image,” and “Introvoys.” In
addition, the music industry opened the gateway to the country’s great balladeers
like Regine Velasquez, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, and Sharon Cuneta. Also,
rap music started to boom the music industry through the performance of Francis
Magalona. The 90s paved the way to underground rock with the influence of NU107
FM radio station that put the bands’ music on air to promote the local artists. This
included the Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Parokya ni Edgar, Sugarfree, and Woflgang,
who made their way in their respective spotlights. Along with them, dance music,
love songs, R&B, and rap music shined to boost up the economy of the music
industry. When the next decade came, specifically the airing of Meteor Garden in
2003, the Filipinos were addicted to the Taiwanese pop music even the presence of
a language barrier.

OPM Today and Onwards

 Towards the end of this era up to the current standing, the aid of social media
as well as the international popularity of Korean Pop Music or K-pop and the
continued patronage of Korean drama in local televisions; Filipinos are hooked-up
with their music. But OPM does not stop to be heard. The music of Sarah Geronimo.,
Gloc-9 Calix and BLKD, December Avenue, Moira Dela Torre, Morisette Amon,
Marcelito Pomoy, Sandwich, Juan Karlos, etc. top the hit cards from time to time
along with the K-pop like Psy, BTS, Super Junio. Blackpink, Wonder Girls, 2NE1,
Girs’ Generation, and many more.

Though the medium of internet websites like Spotify, YouTube, blogs of

artists, fans’ social media, and the like, OPM really soar high not just here in our
country but all-over the world. There are some OPM artists that invaded as well as
captivated the international audience. To name a few, these are Charice Pempengco
(Jake Cyrus), Marcelito Pomoy, and Morisette Amon. Their popularized songs
captured millions of international fans. They started to open opportunities for the
OPM music to be heard world-wide. There are foreign individuals who did there
cover songs of these OPM artists. May this chance will not just stop here but
hopefully it will continue to prosper.

Texture in Music

This lesson determines the element called texture within the realms of music.
The term texture is defined as the horizontal and vertical relationship of a musical
material. In other words, it is the overall quality of the musical piece. This element
determines the balance of the music within the orchestration of the composition.

Kinds of Texture

 Monophony
 Partner Song
 Round Song
 Homophony
 Heterophony
 Polyphony

Music Ensemble

This lesson focuses on group performance. Proper observation of teamwork

so that cooperation, participation, and unity of the group in order to achieved a
successful presentation. Music ensemble is otherwise known as music group or
musical group of people who perform using musical instruments or vocals or both.
The group members comprise at least four (quartet) and above.
Kinds with Examples

Music Ensemble is classified into different kinds such as:

 Band - Metallica
 Chamber Music - South Korea’s Chamber Music in honor of Jeonju
 Chorale - The Philippine Madrigal Singers
 Jazz - The Joe Roberts Jazz Ensemble
 Quartet - String Studio
 Quintet - Axiom Brass Quintet
 Orchestra - Kammerorchester Orchestra
 Symphony - Kansas City Symphony

The Following are the Needed Procedure in Organizing a Music Ensemble:

(1) Decide what kind of musical ensemble you like to come up.
(2) Identify your members – usually there is an audition for this to come up with the
best selection of members.
(3) Be sure to come up with your group’s rules and regulations .
(4) Determine the genre of music you want to perform.
(5) Start to gather the music.
(6) Begin to do rehearsals or practices.
(7) Involve yourselves in making cover recordings or videos, and have your group’s
own identity or trademark.
(8) If you will be discovered, then, you get to perform, get paid, and get famous!

In dealing with ensemble, be reminded that your group must have

cooperation, unity, and teamwork in order to achieve success.

Dance

Music is always be associated with the performing arts like theater and dance.
This lesson deals with dance. It involves with choreography of body actions with the
company of music. Dance is a non-verbal communication art that uses primarily with
body movements with the use of music. Dance is a medium of expression, social
interaction, and presentation in a spiritual or performative setting. A Dance
Competition is an organized event in which dance contestants execute dance
performance before a judge for awards and cash prizes.

Brief History
 From the earliest time of human history, dance was already used for rituals,
spiritual gatherings, festivities, and other social events. Dance can be traced back in
the 3rd millennium in Egypt, wherein they use it as part of the Egyptians’ religious
ceremonies. Transition of dance costumes, from sophisticated full body to seductive
less body cover was already practiced. The 20th century dance involved the use of
technology from digital music on stage performances.

Dance serves several purposes for our culture. Dance is an art expression of
feelings and emotions through body movements. In wedding, anniversary, and other
ceremonies, dances serve as an offering to guests. In tribal rituals, dance pleases
the spirits of the underworld to provide bountiful harvests and better health
conditions. Though it is considered a form of superstitions, dances remain a
symbolic imprint of the people’s culture; people dance for asking nature for abundant
rain; asking the gods and goddesses to grant healing; and offering for abundant farm
harvests. Dance is also used as a form of prayer like the use of interpretative dance
during masses and other special occasions. Providing entertainment is one of the
most important purposes of dance in history. Dance can also provide erotic
expression in drama, theater, and movie presentation. Finally, dance provides
satisfaction for social pleasure to prevent stress, just like Zumba and Ballroom
Dancing.

Elements of Dance

The elements of dance can be easily remembered form the acronym

B.A.S.T.E. (body, action, space, time, and energy). Body is very essential element
that without it there is no possible movement. The action refers to the movement of
the execution of the dance using projection, balance, sway, wiggle, and other
movements depending on the chosen dance genre. The space refers to dance hall
or the stage where the dance is presented. The time element for dance refers to
speed of the execution depending on how slow and how fast the dance genre is to
executed. Dance performance is dependent with the energy of the dancers. Dancers
maintain their physical fit through regular gym activities in order to gain the energy
needed in the actual dance performances.

Classifications of Dances

The three classifications of dances depending on a specific genre are solo,

partner, and group. Solo dances are performed by only one dancer, just like an
interpretative dance in a ballet. Partner Dances require two dancers to pair in the
dance presentation. This is typical among ball dances like rumba, tango, waltz, paso
doble, foxtrot, quickstep, cabaret, tango, chachacha, samba, salsa, swing, and jive.
The group dance requires more than two dancers in the dance presentation. Folk
dance, festival dance, line dance, round dance, square dance, and country dances
are few of the examples of a group dance.
Kinds of Dances

Dance is classified into two: the competitive dances and the dance-sports.
Selected photographs show the different dance genres under each kind of dances.
Competitive Dance include ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. Dance-sport is classified into
three: the international standard, international Latin, and the open competition.

 Dancesport
o International Standard – includes Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot,
and Quickstep
o International Latin – includes Samba, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Paso Doble,
and Jive
o Open Competition – includes the World of Dance, So You Think You Can
Dance

Occupations

• Dancer
• Dance Teacher/Instructor
• Dancesport Coach
• Dance Therapist
• Choreographer
• Zumba Dance Instructor
• Aqua Zumba Dance Instructor
• Festival Dancer

Health Benefits

• Burn Calories
• Strong Bones
• Cardiovascular Conditioning
• Sociability

Activity No. 6

For Those Students with Internet Acess

What to do?

Music Video Making!

1. There must be 5 to 8 members in a group.

2. Select your own choice of song whether English, Filipino, or Cebuano.
3. Be sure to finish the entire song for the music video.
4. Select some members to sing.
5. Select some members to do an interpretative dance.
6. Make a video format out of this activity.
7. Submit the said music video activity next meeting.
8. Please be guided through the rubrics shown below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Excellent (11- Very Good (6- Good (1-5pts) Total

Items 15pts) 10pts)
1. Singing In tune, has There are few Majority is out of
proper diction, out of tunes, has tune, has more
shows the a few diction on diction
highness and issues, shows issues, shows
lowness of the the highness the highness
vocal range, and lowness of and lowness of
facial the vocal range, the vocal range,
expression, and a bit conscious very conscious
video facial facial
appeal/presence expression, and expression, and
are presence video the absence of
within the video.
appeal/presence video
No need of are not so appeal/presence
improvement. present within within the video.
Everything is inthe video. Needs a major
order. Needs a little of improvement.
improvement. Everything is out
Everything is not of order.
so order.
2. The dance steps The dance steps The dance steps
Interpretative or choreography or choreography or choreography
Dance is well executed. is a little bit well is not well
It matches with executed. It has executed. It
the choice of a less match does not match
song used for with the choice with the choice
singing. No of song used for of song used for
need of singing. Some singing. Majority
improvement. areas of of the
Everything is in presentation presentation
order. need needs
improvement. improvement.
Everything is not Everything is out
so order. of order.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

For Those Students without Internet Access

What to do?

My Favorite Filipino Artist Insights

1. There must be 3-5 members in a group.

2. Depending on the number of members, each member must select his/her favorite
Filipino artist who can sing and dance at the same time.
3. Identify the name of the artist and describe thoroughly his/her singing and dancing
talents using a paragraph for each.
4. Explain in another paragraph why you considered him/her as your favorite artist.
5. Please be guided accordingly using the rubrics that can be seen below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Excellent (11- Very Good (6- Good (1-5pts) Total

Items 15pts) 10pts)
1. Singing and The 2 The 2 Majority of the
Dancing paragraphs (1 paragraphs are ideas need to be
Paragraphs for singing and 1 a bit loaded with improved.
for dancing) are ideas. There is
fully loaded with some
ideas. No need improvements
for any form of needed to be
improvement. done.
2. A paragraph All the ideas are Some of the Majority needs
for Choosing thoroughly in ideas are changes.
the Favorite detailed thoroughly in
Artist manner. No detailed
need for manner. Need
changes. some changes.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

Chapter 7 – Soul-Making and the Da Vincian Principles

A. Soul-Making

The word “artist” has often been interpreted to mean someone who is popular,
someone who has contributed much in the field of painting by producing such
masterpieces as the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, the Creation painted on the ceiling
of the Sistine chapel, to name but a few. Likewise, we can think of someone who has
written a great novel or a collection of plays, someone whose literary works have
stood the test of time. Still, we can think further of someone who has written an
original musical composition and performed in front of a captivated audience
numbering, as the song suggests, “ten thousand people watching”. There is also a
chance to speak of someone who, seized by an insatiable zest for self-expression,
chiseled away fragments from a stone and came up with a most wonderful image of
a man or woman. The list of possibilities is endless, even as the mind resists being
imprisoned by established norms or conventions.

Having said the foregoing, a question regarding the real meaning of the term
“artist” is of primary importance. More specifically, a question of great significance
would be to ask: “Is it an exclusive one – that is, limited only to those types of
personalities mentioned above?” Better yet, we can simplify the issue by asking,
“When does one become an artist?” At the outset, our tendency would always be to
look for models whose contributions to our cultural life are beyond doubt. But a
deeper analysis of the term would reveal that such common bias does not contribute
much to the development of one’s authentic personality. Though having idols or
models of any artistic genre is but a natural human inclination, yet unfortunately we
tend to forget that deep within us is a potential artist just waiting to be unleashed.
The sad fact is that only very few of us are willing to unleash such power because
we have always been conditioned to think in terms of our models. But how, we might
ask, shall we start discovering the potential hidden in us? This book is especially
written for such purpose. Perhaps, the title “Art Appreciation” would be lacking if our
main purpose is to awaken greater interest in every student to get involved in any
artistic endeavor. First, we have to acknowledge the fact that we are all potential
artists! This may sound like a sweeping generalization, a fallacy in logic. But such
would be the case for the uninitiated. To support this claim, all we have to do is to
consider a key aspect in our analysis and this leads us to the term “soul-making”. As
already mentioned in the lesson overview, the word “making” in “soul-making” is
derived from the Greek poieo which means “to be the author or maker of something.”
We have to emphasize the phrase “author or maker of something” if only to drive
home our point. From a layman’s point of view, we are all artists for the simple
reason that somehow, we have accomplished something that can be attributed to us
alone. Lest we be misconstrued, a word of caution is to be borne always in mind.
This is not to say, nonetheless, that as long as we have done something, whether
good or bad, then we already deserve the title “artist”.

It is to be noted that a “soul-maker” is someone who has created through his

intelligence something unique and worthwhile. As Aristotle would remind us, the
mind is always directed to the “good.” Nevertheless, hitting the mark of “goodness” is
always a difficult thing to do. In fact, we often use the term “contributions to society”
when we consider the works of an artist. Simply put, “soulmaking” is an exploration
and application of the imagination in an active way – that is to say, in a good or
productive way. Thus, not everything that is done by an individual can be considered
a “work of art”. As examples of soul-making, we can mention crafting stories and
transforming moments into images and symbols, which can either be an innate or
learned skill or a combination of both. But, of course, such activity is only possible if
one makes wise use of his intelligence so much so that nothing happens by chance
or by accident. Inspiration may be a factor in the soulmaking process, but much of it
is possible because of one’s dedication and commitment.
 Soul-making is very much closely related to crafting – that is, the activity of
making decorative objects with one’s hands or of skillfully creating something such
as a story. Crafting could be done in any medium which may be through painting,
sculpting, drawing, writing stories and poetry, dancing, composing or taking notes. In
any crafting activity, there are always steps to follow. As an example, the following
Steps in Crafting stories are laid down here as a guide to budding writers.

Step No. 1. Find Your Key Emotion

What moves someone to write something? This is the main issue or

reason why someone is inspired to put down into words one’s desires or
feelings. In other words, this is the “key emotion” or “the heart of the matter”
which propels one to write a story. It answers the question, “What impression
do I want to leave in the minds of the readers, something that will remain with
them after reading the story?”

It is to be remembered, nevertheless, that the “key emotion” does not

simply mean leaving to the readers a particular emotion like sadness,
loneliness, boredom, happiness, despair, hope, etc. It has to be done within a
particular context or situation. Thus, if sadness be the emotion that the author
wishes to convey, he has to specify it according to a certain focus. Is it, for
instance, sadness about one’s family, one’s friends, one’s environment, one’s
faith, etc.? In addition, it must have a universal effect to it, that is, a situation
where others can relate.

Step No. 2. Start with a Hook

In order to catch the reader’s attention right away, a good writer will
start with something that is intriguing. Perhaps, a writer may start with
something like “It was just one of those ordinary Mondays when I happened to
pay a visit to my late mother.” Here, the reader would be inclined to ask “Why
use the terms “visit” and “late mother” together? Normally, we only visit people
who are still alive either those who are staying in their homes or those who
are confined in hospitals. Thus, the reader would be tempted to continue
reading and know the author’s intention in the whole story.

Step No. 3. Write the Story

A famous Cebuano statement goes, “Daghang sulti, daghang sayop!”

(Literally, “Too many words, too many mistakes!”). Perhaps, the closest
counterpart to this statement in English is the quotation from William
Shakespeare, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” There is also another
Shakespearean line which is even more convincing: “Full of sound and fury
signifying nothing!” Altogether, they mean one thing: Choose your words
wisely. Take note that the reader does not have all the time in the world to
read your story. So, state your point clearly. Also, always bear in mind the
“key emotion” that you want to emphasize among the readers.

Step No. 4. Write a Strong Ending

A basic rule that is applicable not only to writing stories but likewise in
other forms of writing such as speeches, orations, declamations, and the like
is to give a nice ending. The rule of thumb is to “exit gracefully.” By nature,
readers do not like to be left “hanging” and ask several questions after they
have finished reading a novel or a story. Rather, they would either want to be
“ecstatic” or “sad” once the story is done. In other words, there should be no
“unresolved issues” after reading the story.

Step No. 5. Reread Your Story

Writing a story does not end when you already established the ending.
A good practice among writers is to reread the whole story as many times as
applicable. It is important to reread what you have written for three good
reasons. First, try to check the flow of the words. Do they stick together and
point to the same direction? Second, review your key emotion. Have you
successfully impressed upon the minds of the readers the emotion you want
to convey? Third, there must be only one plot in the story. Is the plot
consistent or does the story talks of so many sub-plots?

Step No. 6. Edit Yourself

Sometimes, you might be so carried away with the story you are
writing, thinking that you already have that “it” moment especially when you
have already consumed a lot of space. As a reminder, always go back to your
“key emotion” before declaring that the job is already done. Thus, you need to
reread the work and edit it accordingly to such extent that every word
connects with the others in a cohesive fashion.

Step No. 7. Ask Others for Editing Help

Don’t rely too much on your own capacity. As the saying goes, “Two
heads are better than one.” You might be surprised to know there is still a lot
of improvement you could make after you have consulted someone. All it
takes is a sense of humility by accepting that some people know better than
you do in terms of spelling, grammar, sentence structure, subject-verb
agreement, and many other details which you have probably overlooked.
B. Seven Da Vincian Principles

An interesting book entitled The Book of Genius written by Tony Buzan and
Raymond Keene once ranked the world’s greatest geniuses and came up with the
following list: 10) Albert Einstein, 9) Phidias (architect of Athens), 8) Alexander the
Great, 7) Thomas Jefferson, 6) Sir Isaac Newton, 5) Michelangelo, 4) Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, 3) The Great Pyramid Builders, 2) William Shakespeare, 1)
Leonardo da Vinci.13 Why put Leonardo on top of the list? Perhaps, the easiest
answer we can give is because he was a man of many talents – a polymath – just
like the others included in the list. But one thing that separates him from the rest is
the fact that he was also an inventor of many things. His work-ethic followed seven
principles which he suggested were the key to success. These included:

1. curiosita (inquisitiveness)
2. dimostrazione (learning from experience),
3. sensazione (use of the five senses)
4. sfumato (openness to the mysterious)
5. arte/scienza (balanced learning through the arts and sciences)
6. corporalita (cultivating mental and physical fitness)
7. connessione (combination and connection).

Curiosita

Learning starts with a sense of wonder. When we were still little children, we
always asked questions like “Where does the rain come from?”, Why is there night
and day?”, “Who made the earth?”, “Why do people grow old?”, and so on. Leonardo
da Vinci likewise possessed the same kind of curiosity as a child when he wondered
about the world surrounding him. In fact, he never took yes for an answer and
continued to press further for more answers. A person with such character will have
an opportunity to go far and discover more things. That type of person believes in the
old maxim which goes, “Hitch your wagon to a star!”

In like manner, an artist never stops going over his finished work and is ever
curious in looking for ways to improve it. A painter, for instance, can always change
the colors in the canvass if he thinks it lacks contrast. Likewise, a writer is never tired
of revising his work and even goes to the extent of asking others for their opinions.
Only those who are conceited can live in the ivory tower of their own illusions. As the
Greek philosopher Socrates once said: “I know that I know nothing.”

Dimostrazione
 There are two types of learners – those who simply observe and watch what
is happening before them and those who get involved by immersing themselves to
the nitty-gritty of things surrounding them. As a young boy, Leonardo learned how to
paint when he became an apprentice in the studio of his master Verrochio who first
taught him how to prepare canvases and paints. The term “apprentice” is now used
in several professions, particular among seamen and pilots, to indicate someone
who is just learning the ropes of the trade. Mastering a certain skill or profession,
obviously, requires one to learn first the basics or fundamentals for it is in such
procedure that one is able to grasp the whole process of any job. There are just no
shortcuts to one’s success.

Exposure to the world outside the four walls of the classroom is undeniably a
better way to learn. Unfortunately, due to some untoward incidents as a result of field
trips organized by some schools, outside-the-school activities have temporarily been
suspended. More so in today’s pandemic world, gatherings are being discouraged to
avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Everything is not lost, however, as students
can still do “virtual field trips” by watching documentaries or short films about a
chosen site or place of interest.

Sensazione

For Leonardo, the eye is the window of the soul. He was, of course, giving
special mention to the sense of sight because he was a painter. Nevertheless, he did
not mean to say that the eye is the only way by which we can learn. He likewise
emphasized the importance of the other senses in learning. He lamented on the fact
that the average person “looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches
without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales
without awareness of fragrance, and talks without thinking.” Clearly, true learning
can only take place if we maximize the use of our senses.

Sfumato

Literally, the term sfumato means “turned to mist” or “going up in smoke.”

Both the terms mist and smoke mean one thing: uncertainty. In other words, we do
not see clearly an object that is covered by mist or smoke. By embracing uncertainty,
Leonardo was bent on introducing a theory: the tension of opposites. He emphasized
this kind of tension in his paintings, most notably in such works as The Virgin of the
Rocks and the Mona Lisa, where there is a contrast of light and darkness. The Mona
Lisa itself is a painting that is shrouded in mystery. There are several opinions as to
the true identity of the woman in the painting, including the claim that perhaps it
represents the maestro (Da Vinci) himself. Leonardo wanted to emphasize that in life
one faces uncertainty in almost all of his activities. Only those who are willing to face
uncertainty would be able to succeed.
Arte/Scienza

According to the Nobel-prize winning research of Professor Roger Sperry, the

human brain has two dominant hemispheres: the left brain and the right brain. The
former is more inclined to analytical and logical thinking, which follows a step-by-step
process while the latter is more into imaginative and creative thinking, which is given
to artistic and literary works. If there is anything that Professor Sperry laments about
today’s system of education, it is the fact that most schools would emphasize the left
brain which is evidenced by the abundance of courses majoring in computer studies,
mathematics, nursing, medicine, and the like. In short, there is a dearth of courses
catering to the arts.

Perhaps, it would be quite a biased opinion to put the blame only on the
schools offering science courses. There are actually several factors for such
phenomenon. For instance, parents especially in the Philippines would wish their
children to graduate from, say, nursing or computer science because they perceive it
to be the fastest way for their children to go abroad. Another factor is the fact that
most companies in today’s world would hire those who graduated from science
courses and seldom only those who graduated from an arts degree. The world is
becoming a highly technological environment and so right-brained individuals are
becoming unfit to face such challenge.

Nevertheless, Leonardo emphasized a balanced personality – one which

values not only the scientific mindset but likewise the arts – what is commonly
termed as a Renaissance Man. In today’s parlance, this is what we call holistic
learning.

Corporalita

Usually, when we mention the word genius, what comes to our mind is an
image of a man wearing thick glasses, his shirt and pants swaying almost like a flag
that is blown by the wind and where his thin body frame serves as the flagpole. This
guy seldom goes out of his room (not because he is on home quarantine) but
because he spends most of his time reading books. If there are invitations from his
friends to have some fun outside, he would vehemently turn them down and say, “I’m
too busy. I’ll get along maybe some other time.”

Contrary to our usual impression, Leonardo would have none of those

characteristics of a genius mentioned above. In fact, he was an expert equestrian
who was fond of stopping horses at full gallop by catching their reins. Indeed, he was
not only mentally alert, but also physically fit, one who espouses the ideal Roman
adage “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). To maintain
a healthy lifestyle, he recommends the following rules:
1. Beware of anger and grievous moods.
2. Rest your head and keep your mind cheerful.
3. Be covered well at night.
4. Exercise moderately.
5. Shun wantonness and pay attention to diet.
6. Eat only when you want and sup light.
7. Keep upright when you rise from the dining table.
8. Do not be with the belly upwards or the head lowered.
9. Let your wine be mixed with water, take a little at a time, not between an empty
stomach.
10. Eat simple (i.e. vegetarian) food.
11. Chew well.
12. Go to the toilet regularly.

Connessione

A familiar joke goes, “If America sneezes, the whole world catches colds.” The
pun is, of course, intended to emphasize the fact that America, as the most powerful
nation in the world, has a great influence in the lives of people around the world.
Whatever is the latest trend in the U.S. concerning, say, high-tech gadgets or fashion
will surely have a great impact to the rest of the inhabitants in this planet. Likewise,
whatever developments are happening in China will also affect other countries.
Another joke goes, “God made the world. The rest is made in China.” Just imagine
anything from electronic devices to branded shoes and pants and you will see the
familiar mark attached to the label: Made in China. A bombing incident in Indonesia
or in any other territory regardless of its size will surely send shockwaves to visiting
tourists and to the countries where they belong. Nevertheless, it would be a biased
position if we only think in terms of big countries affecting smaller ones. For even
smaller countries could affect bigger ones. For instance, what is happening in the
disputed Spratlys islands has become a major concern among world leaders.

It may sound rather strange but for Leonardo, “The earth is moved from its
position by the weight of a tiny bird resting upon it.” Each creature, no matter how
small it is, has an influence on others in one way or another. A school janitor may be
the lowest-ranking individual in the entire organization of workers, but it does not
take away the fact that without him, the campus will be dirty, which will put the lives
of both students and employees in a precarious situation, especially since they are
now prone to acquiring any dreaded virus that has affected many. Thus, each one
must learn to value the role of others in the community.

Activity No. 7

For Both With or Without Internet Access

What to do?

Create a Concept Map

1. Create a creative Concept Map out of Chapter 7.

2. Just use key words for the concept map.
3. Explain what the concept map is all about in a paragraph form.
4. Pass the output next meeting through MS Word whether in Google classroom or
FB group chat.
5. Be sure there will be a division of labor but only a member is assigned to send the
output and another member will serve as a representative to present the output to
the class.
6. See the example below on how to answer.

Sub- Central Sub-

topics Topic topics

And so on and so forth…

Then explain what your concept map is all about through a paragraph.

7. The rubrics can be viewed in next page.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (1-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Creative There should be There is a little There is no
Concept Map creativity that creativity used creativity and
must be done alongside with connectivity
attributed to the the key terms with the key
key terms being shown within terms used that
used within the the concept is shown within
concept map. map. The key the concept
See to it that terms are a map.
the key terms little bit
are very much connected with
aligned or the chosen
connected with creativity.
each other.
2. Paragraph There is There is very There is good
formulation excellent choice good choice of choice of words
 of words to words to create to create a
create a a paragraph. paragraph.
paragraph. Some Majority of the
Everything is important facts facts are
done very well. are missing. missing.
3. Speaking Confidence, A little of No confidence,
Skills character, and confidence, character, and
smooth sailing character, and smooth sailing
of the concept a bit of smooth of the concept
map sailing of the map
presentation concept map presentation
with a very presentation with a good
good command with a good command of
of introduction command of introduction or
or the spill from introduction or spill from
showing the the spill from showing the
group’s output, showing the group’s output
as well as there group’s output, with oral
is no oral as well as there reading of the
reading of the is no oral entire
paragraph reading of the paragraph.
written below paragraph Majority of the
the concept written below work need
map. Everything the concept improvement.
is very map. There are
organized and some points to
well done. be improved.

The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

NOTE: FOR THOUSE STUDENTS WITH INTERNET ACCESS, THE SCORING

SYSTEM WILL BE AS IS. BUT FOR THOUSE STUDENTS WITHOUT INTERNET
ACCESS, THE NUMBER 3 IS NOT INCLUDED. THUS THE SCORING SYSTEM
OF NUMBERS 1 AND 2 OF THE RUBRICS WILL BE GIVEN AS FOLLOWS:

EXCELLENT – 11-15PTS
VERY GOOD – 6-10PTS
GOOD – 0-5 PTS

Chapter 8 – Textile Art and the Art of Weaving

The Textile Art

Textile Art is a creative art and craft that uses fibers taken from plant, animal,
or synthetic material to create practical or decorative objects (What Is Textile Art?,
2016). This art is one of the oldest forms of art in human civilization to provide
covering of the body from harsh environment and bad weather conditions. In
different geographical locations, textile weavers pay a major role in providing
protection of the human bodies, by providing thick clothes in middle and high latitude
countries; and thin and loose fabric in equatorial regions. Across the deserts,
savannahs, and tropics, textile art is invariably inspired by the beauty of nature,
ranging from the geometric and naturalistic to foliar, floral, and animal motifs. Hence,
textiles have been a functional part of human life since the beginning of time to serve
its primary functions for clothes and blankets to keep the bodies warm during
evening time as well as in colder places and seasons. Anthropologists estimate the
earliest accounts of this art between 100,000 to 500,000 years ago during the
prehistoric times, when our ancestors used fabric from animal skins and fur. The
product creation of these fibers is called textile or a fabric. A cloth is a fabric being
produced by weaving using cotton, nylon, wool, silk, and any kind of thread. A fabric
is a piece of cloth or any material produced by weaving together with the use of
cotton, nylon, wool, silk, or other products of threads. A thread or yarn is a long, thin
strand of cotton, nylon, or other fibers used in the craft of sewing or weaving. Textile
design is a creative and technical process by which threads or yarn fibers are woven
or interlaced to form a flexible, functional, and decorative cloth, which is
subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned by individuals.

Before, textile designs were products of women’s human hands using the
needlework skills. Women, in the past, weaved quilts, pillows, blankets, and table
covers using the manual hands as part of home industries. Today, the old textile art
is overtaken with the aid of technology and machines to produce greater volumes in
responding to the human population’s greater demand for domestic and office use
fabric. The evolution of time affects the imagination and styles of textile art; but it
does not mean to discard the old. The products of the old textile art are greatly
valued and are priceless because these are kept in museums as a symbol of our
cultural identity. Efforts by the school and other institutions are recognized in reviving
the old textile art of our ancestors, in paying tribute to them and in instilling the value
of cultural gratitude. Hence, many contemporary designers find inspiration from
ancient and traditional patterns for the 21st designs (Youngs, 2013).

Common Techniques in Textile Art

It is impossible to produce a textile without the use of thread or yarn. Threads

are produced from fibrous materials ranging from wool, silk, and cotton. In the
Philippines, hemp a fiber from abaca, pineapple leaves, and grass are processed to
produce a fabric. The most expensive Barong Tagalog, a National Costume for men
in the Philippines, is made from the finest pineapple fiber. The Mestiza or Balintawak
Gown is also made from abaca fiber or other indigenous materials. After the fiber is
processed, it undergoes a spinning process to produce a thread, before it used for
crochet, embroidery, knitting, and weaving processes as shown in Table 1.

Table1. Techniques in Textile Art

Terms Descriptions
Crocheting It is using a single hook to hook the loops together directly on the piece
of fabric
Embroider It is using a thread to stitch the decorative designs onto the fabric
y
Knitting
It is using a pair of long needles to form the loops, moving a set of
loops from one after the other, the stitches are held on the needle
Weaving It is creating or producing fabric by interlacing threads

These techniques in Table 1 are centuries old traditions of textile art as part of
folk art and needlecraft. The three techniques knitting, crocheting, and embroidering
use needle by the hand; while weaving uses backstrap loom. The art of embroidery
takes its ancient roots from myths and folklore relating to religious and the spirit
world, depicting the surrounding flora and fauna – plants and animals that shape the
cultural identities of every country in the world (Youngs, 2013). The Yakan weavers
of Basilan are known for their tennun (woven cloth) to be used for suwah pendan
(embroidery-like embellishment) (Pasilan, 2018). Like embroidery, crochet becomes
a hobby among many, engaging in different patterns and techniques using the
needle hook and the yarn to create lovely clothing, pouches, hats, bags, furniture
covers, table runners, draperies (Watson, 2013), 10 place mats, dollies, (wall décor)
and other personal and home accessories.

Embroidering and crocheting become a common hobby among individuals who

want to paint their lives red at home while watching televisions, sitting on a rocking
chair, and resting on the bed waiting to slumber. Knitting is a popular technique in
the production of sweaters, hand gloves, scarves, beanie, and bonnets. These are
personal accessories to be worn in places with winter seasons, and places with
higher elevations. Across different locations and seasons, weaving is a common
spinning of thread to produce a fabric. Tribal groups in the Philippines weave their
fabric with the use of traditional weaving practices and naturalistic worldviews. Abaca
fiber and natural and organic dyes were used by the T’boli to produce a t’nalak; by
the Mandaya to produce a dagmay; and by the B’laan to produce an ikat. Hablon
weavers of Argao, Cebu revive the use of tangkal for their hablon using the
traditional weaving practices by the Community Extension Project of the Cebu
Technological University in Argao Campus.

The Textile Process

The seven steps in the textile process that someone who wishes to engage in
this art will be properly guided.

Step 1 – Fiber production

Step 2 – Yarn production
Step 3 – Fabric production
 Step 4 – Pre-treatment
Step 5 – Dyeing and printing
Step 6 – Finishing treatments
Step 7 – Manufacturing, transport, sales and retail

Textile Art Process

• Exploring, Finding, and Collecting

It involves into the set of guidelines for picking plants that can be a good
source of generating raw materials in making thread fibers. Usually, it utilizes trial
and error method anchored with experimental process to distinguish a good quality
of thread fibers in creating beautiful fabrics for textile art.

• Natural Color

The world of textile art focuses in searching the best raw materials from plants
that can be the sources for natural colors of dying method of the thread fibers that
can be consumed fully of the weaving craft. In creating textile art, it is also necessary
to plan ahead the design that can be used in order to know the thread fiber colors
that can take part in creating a masterpiece.

• Rust Marks

In making rust prints (it is a kind of textile art that looks like a light-brownish
result of fabrics), it is like producing an olden art in which ideally, it is made of the
textile process with the presence of salt water.

• Foraged Fibers

These are raw materials that can be used for manufacturing the thread fibers
for textile art. Locally, the usage of plants like pineapple, abaca, and water lily are
great sources of found thread fibers than the conventional one. After all, to be
environmentally friendly, the less consumption of chemicals in producing textile art is
ideal.

• Combining Techniques

Nowadays, combining techniques dealing with textile art takes the latest trend
in this fastgrowing industry worldwide. This includes the mix-and-match of
techniques that can be utilized in textile crafts. The layering of fabrics and designs
can be of great usage to create textile art masterpieces.

• A Sense of Place
 There will always be a market for textile art industry across the globe. In fact,
every country, there will be the presence of trademark that is distinctive to one
another. There might 9 be similarities but there will always be a special place of
uniqueness, and individual ownership and identity to recognize. Museums and
galleries that showcase wonderful masterpieces of textile art are flooded among
different races.

T’nalak: A Product of Soul Dreams and Imagination

The t’nalak is a textile art of weaving hand-crafted by the T’boli weavers in the
province of South Cotabato in Mindanao. This magnificent work is made from abaca
fibers dyed with organic juices from fermented roots, leaves and bark of local flora
made available in the natural environment. Its intricate designs originated from the
weavers’ dreams — hence, t’nalak weavers earned the title as “dream weavers.”
Wonderful t’nalak designs are products of soul dreamers; they used red, black, and
natural white of the abaca fiber. There is no chemical-based procedure used in the
dying of the abaca fibers. Every dream depicts a unique and brilliant conceptualized
design under the guidance of Fu dalu.

Through the calling of the abaca spirit – Fu dalu (guardians of the t’nalak
designs), in the process of a dream, then the starting point of making the t’nalak
(Beuno, 2017). 16 In dealing with this craft, it takes up to 3 weeks to do the dying
process of the abaca fibers to achieve its desired hues. In addition, it reaches up to
two weeks to finish a t’nalak from the weaving part up to the finish product. During
the actual weaving, there is no pattern of design being followed and used in which it
is purely mental image of the figures. After it is woven, the fabric is thoroughly
washed in a river so that the entire piece can be stretched following the waves and
flow of the river. After washing and air drying, the t’nalak is beaten repeatedly with a
hard and round wooden stick in order to flatten and smoothen the knots of the fabric.
As much as possible all the members of the community take their respective part to
do this masterpiece. In this case, men are in-charge to do the farming, harvesting,
and putting the t’nalak in a glossy state, using a cowrie shell as finish product. On
the other hand, women are in-charge fully of the weaving process.

One interesting factual trivia in this art that there are certain designs which
require the weaver not to engage in an intimate marital activity in the entire duration
of the weaving process, in order to protect the purity of the design. Moreover, not
every t’nalak weaver knows every design. Some of the designs are well-kept within
the family of those who originally dreamed it and woven these across generations.
 Lang Dulay

As seen above is the most notable persona of the T’boli. This woman is no
other than Lang Dulay. She led the preservation of tradition of the T’boli group in
which earned her the various national recognitions to herself that includes NCCA
National Artist – Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (the highest given award by the
Philippine government to a national artist). Further, she opened the Manlilikha ng
Bayan Center to train other women to become dream weavers in order to continue
the legacy of this T’boli’s pride – the t’nalak. Moreover, Lang Dulay started to
become a dream weaver at the age of 12. She was born in 1928 and died in 2015.

Pis-yabit or Seputangan

True of being a Muslim, the Tausug in Sulu, Philippines are loyal to their
geometric motifs and designs in their art of weaving known as the pis-yabit. The art
is derived from a Tausug word pis (headcloth) and yabit (geometric) which is
commonly worn among Tausug men (Vestribia, 2019). For the Yakans in Basilan
calls pisyabit as seputangan (Bueno, 2017). Pisyabit or Seputangan is a prized
handwoven fabric, which is worn in special occasions like weddings. The fabric is a
symbol of rank and status among the Tausug. As part of promotion, this fabric is
used now as frames, tokens, and home draperies.

Dagmay and Ikat

The Mandaya weavers of Davao Oriental are known for their ikat (a weaving
pattern) made basically with abaca fiber (Bueno, 2017). Not only the Mandaya is
known with ikat, but this is also prominent among the Bagobo, B’laan, T’boli, Yakan,
Tausug, and the rest of the tribes of Mindanao. Dagmay is a popular textile of the
Mandaya exhibiting patterns of man and a crocodile (Bueno, 2017).

Inaul Textile Art

The Maranao in Maguindanao are known for the heirloom piece called inaul,
as a technique in the making of malong – wraparound skirts commonly worn by both
genders. Literally, inaul means woven, using silk and gold threads infused with
cotton threads depicting intricate designs. Inaul is a cultural emblem of
Maguindanao.

Banig

The tropical regions of the Philippines offer several varieties of plant

resources for the weaving of banig (mats). Banig (mats) are plaited from straws
extracted from palms such as buri (Corypha elata), pandan (Pandanus spp), and
sedges like tikug (Scirpusgrous, S. erectus, S. lacustris; Fimristylis utilis) (Alvina,
2017). Banig is crafted because of its several uses. The fundamental purpose of
banig is used for sleeping to provide a cozy sleep in a very humid tropical climate.
Among the indigenous peoples in the country, banig is used to as gift for a newlywed
couple and foreign guests. While almost everybody now is sleeping on their comfy
mattress, the use of banig for sleeping is no longer fashionable. Its use is shifted to
the creation of accessories like bags, table runners, dollies, wallets, purses, and wall
plasters. The Bontoc of the Cordilleras of Luzon use a mat for ritual purpose outside
of the house (Alvina, 2017).

Like in textile art, the straws used for weaving of banig are dyed with the use
of colors extracted from the juice of selected plants and herbs. Table 2 presents
different varieties of plants from the three major geographical islands in the
Philippines where organic colors are made to enhance beauty of the textile and
weaving art. Map weaving brings women together in the community, more especially
among the indigenous communities.

Activity No. 8

For Those Students with Internet Access

What to do?

Our Reflection

2. Among the 5 Philippine Textile Arts from T’nalak to Banig, select 1 and search for
3 pictures of designs that your group likes the most.
3. In each picture of design, state te following:
a. the picture of the design
b. the name or label of the design
c. brief description of the design
d. Your explanation of why you like that design
4. Use power point presentation for this.
5. The format – 1 slide for the huge picture, 1 slide for the name of the design and
description, and 1 slide for the reflection of each picture. A total of 9 slides plus a
 cover page for the list of names as well as the creative choice of the title for your
presentation. Note: Light background of the slides is highly appreciated so that
the pictures and contents can be seen clearly.
6. Select a representative to present through a comprehensive discussion of your
output.
7. Please be guided accordingly through the aid of the given rubrics below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (1-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Content All the contents Some contents Majority of the
mentioned are are missing. contents are
present from Needs a bit of present.
picture, design’s improvement. Majority needs
name, Very good job! improvement.
description, and Good job!
reflection.
Excellently
done!
2. Creativity Appropriate Appropriate Limited
creative layout creative layout creativity with
of the slide in a
of the slide less appealing
light presentation to the class.
background using dark Majority of the
presentation colors of presentation
that does not background needs
need that does need improvement.
improvement at some
all which is very
improvements
appealing to thewhich is a little
class. appealing to
the class.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing a little smooth stormy sailing
of the sailing of the of the
presentation presentation presentation
without oral with some oral with lots of oral
reading of the reading of the reading of the
slides, and has slides, and has slides, and has
the ability to some ability to a little ability to
capture the capture the capture the
class’ attention. class’ attention. class’ attention.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

For Those Students without Internet Access

What to do?

What If…

1. This is an individual work.

2. If given the chance to be Lang Dulay, are you still going to do what she has done?
How will you promote our textile art to the world? Supposing that he CNU Income
Generating Project (IGP) Store tapped you to help them discover another product
to be launched in which you are task to select one (1) out of 4 techniques of textile
art what would it be, its name, and the cost per piece for it? Explain thoroughly
your answer.
3. Answer each question using a paragraph.
4. Use short bond papers for this activity.
5. See the rubrics below for more details.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (11- Very Good (6- Good (1-5pts) Total
15pts) 10pts)
1. The Idea The ideas Some ideas Majority of the
presented are are missing. ideas are
complete. No Needs a bit of missing.
need for improvement. Majority needs
improvement. Very good job! improvement.
Excellent job! Good job!
2. The There must be There is more Only a
Paragraph 8 sentences or less than 8 sentence is
used per sentences used.
paragraph only. used in a
No more, no paragraph.
less.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

Chapter 9 – Visual Elements in the Philippine Traditional Motifs and Crafts

Visual Elements

One can identify the race of a country based on its distinct arts, motifs,
symbols and crafts. When the arts and designs: “vinta sailboat, jeepney, kalesa and
kimona” are talked about, we can feel the sense of belongingness and allude to the
very idea that it is our own country. The designs, patterns, and colors that constitute
these typical Filipino symbols are called visual elements. In narrower sense, let us
go through the elements of visual arts and principles of design to give us general
idea of the entirety of how arts communicate messages and reflect cultural identity.
Art is like science. Its elements are like atoms that serve as "building blocks" for
creating something new (Topper & Holloway, 1980). On a parallel fashion, this
implies that art is made clear as science (US National Library of Medicine National
Institutes of Health reviewed by Barbara Sibbald)5 because a similar activity
happens when the elements of art are combined like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and
carbon in scientific view.

Knowing the elements of arts, as introduced in Chapters 1 and 4, enables us

to: describe what is done by the artist; analyze what happens in a particular art
piece; and communicate our thoughts and sentiments using a common language.

The Elements

 Line
 Balance
 Emphasis and Dominance
 Proportion
 Movement and Rhythm
 Variety
 Repetition and Pattern
 Unity and Harmony

Decorative Methods

` Have you tried to ask yourself these queries: Is everything I see a product of
arts? What makes it an art? Why are arts done in different manner? What does each
art symbolize? How do arts reflect that culture we have? Art is an expression of a
particular person, or group of people (Caruso 2005). It can have a large effect on
cultural heritage and identity for it can be symbolic of traits, morals, and religious
characteristics. The intricacies of Philippines arts are rooted from their rich diverse
cultures. As such, diverse arts are expressed in different manner and methods.

Philippine Decorative Methods

Philippine decorative methods consist of the traditional and the non-traditional

methods. The traditional methods of decorative art use localized, or indigenous m
resources found in the environment like leaves and strips for baskets; wood,
bamboos, and vines for houses; shells, stones wood, and dried seeds for
accessories; clay for potteries; natural dyes for tattoos; and wood for carving.

Traditional Methods of Philippine Art

 Folk Architecture
  Marine Architecture
 Weaving
 Carving
 Folk Graphic Art
 Ornament Art
 Pottery

Practical Presentation of Non-Traditional Method of Philippine Art

 Non-Folk Sculpture
 Print-Making
 Photography
 Installation Art
 Mixed Media
 Graphic Art
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging
 Topiary

Philippine Houses: The Blending of Space and Soul

How it does it feel being quarantined in more than hundred days now? It looks
as though it were like a prisoner, a detainee or even a monk who lives in an ascetic
life in a secluded monastery. However, have you come to imagine life without a
house to live in this quarantine period? Can you imagine those mendicants who live
in the streets during this pandemic outbreak? This is one big thing that we must be
grateful for because we have a place which is not only called a house but also a
home (PJ Harvey). As such, a home creates a space for our living soul; a place
where our soul feels comfortable first, comfortable last, and comfortable always
(Timothy Corrigan, Interior Designer). Our diverse culture creates diverse houses
which we call our very own typical Filipino homes. In fact, the artistic design of our
houses does not only reflect the sociocultural community we have but also shelter
the identity of how our soul lives to its fullest. Thus, we can be able to witness the list
of typical houses in the Philippines that serve as the space and soul of our heritage
and identity that can be found below.

These are the Typical Houses of the Philippines

 Torogan
 Ifugao Bale
 Bahay Kubo
 Bahay Na Bato
 Tree House
  T’boli House
 Ivatan House
 Bajao Boat House
 Stilt House Above Sea Water
 Multi-Story House
 Philippine Urban Housing Community
 Condo Unit

Symmetry Art of Okir/Ukill

Are you familiar with sarimanok? What does it remind you of? How about the
colorful vinta sailboat in Zamboanga City? These are a few of the common objects
that can be alluded to our Filipino symbolism. These colorful exquisite figures are
greatly influenced by the unique craft called okir. The origins of okir can be traced
back before Islam flourished in Mindanao (National Museum of Anthropology). They
are believed to have originated from the much earlier okil or okil-okil decorative
carving traditions of the Sama Badjao people, which are often highly individualistic
and geometric. The Sama are master carvers and they made lavish decorations on
ritual animistic objects, grave markers (both in wood and stone), and their
houseboats. These precursor forms of the okir designs can still be found in the art
traditions of the Maranao in the basak (lowland) regions of Lake Lanao, and they
contrast markedly from the later flowing okir designs.

Okir Motifs of the Philippines

 Okil Motif
 Okil Inspired Costume
 Vinta
 Sarimanok

The older Sama carving traditions (okil or okil-okil, sometimes spelled ukkil
among Malaysian Sama differ markedly from the okir of the Maranao. Athough
elements of the okir were incorporated into later Sama carvings. Sama okil are not
bound to rules like the okir, and thus tend to be highly variable. Maranao okir motifs
are so stylized that it is often easy to tell whether a carving is Maranao or not. Other
ethnic groups usually introduce other elements or motifs that are non-traditional to
the original Maranao okir designs. In the past, okir designs, particularly for textiles,
are distinctive enough that a Maranao can usually distinguish which region someone
is from based only on the patterns of their malong and their woven decorative strips.

Other Okir Designs

 Okir Sarimanok
  Okir Wall Plaster
 Okir on Fabric
 Okir Malong

Table 1 shows the most common individual elements of okir according to gender
orientation reflecting naturalistic objects, shapes, fruits, animals, and flowers. The
male okir displays masculine strength as represented by a serpent, bladed tool, and
a knife. While the female okir represents more of geometrical shapes and a precious
stone. These terminologies represent a profound between human beings and nature.

Table 1. Gender Contrasting Okir Terminologies

Male (okir-a-dato) Female (okir-a-bai)

1. Dapal or raon - a leaf 1. Olan-olan - a circle or moon
2. Dianawi - a pattern resembling a nawi, 2. Biangon - rectangle
a bladed carpenter's tool
3. Gaglat - a pattern resembling a glat, a 3. Pialang - square
small kitchen knife
4. Kianoko - fingernail-like patterns 4. Katimbuang - diamond
5. Matilak - a circle
6. Naga - a sea serpent in the shape of
an 'S'
7. Onga – fruit
8. Pako - a fern frond or a spiral
9. Pako lawi - a fern frond resembling a
rooster feather
10. Pako longat - a fern frond with a cut
at one edge
11. Pako nai - a fern frond with two or
more cuts on one edge
12. Piowas - betel nut seed
13. Potyok - a bud
14. Todi - a flower

Philippine Indigenous Arts

Look around and see some objects at home like baskets, earthen jars, pots,
malong, paintings or any decorative materials. Don’t you know some of them are
crafted and made by our fellow indigenous people? It’s worth bragging that even
most of their arts-and-crafts products are manufactured and exported across the
globe. Indigenous communities can be found in various regions in the Philippines.
These communities have their own unique arts and crafts. Whether it be visual arts,
song and dance, handicrafts, tapestries and clothing or pottery, each region boasts
of exceptional talent, skill and creativity. Unfortunately, these masterpieces have
been “downgraded” by outsiders to merely crafts or handicrafts that are only worthy
of being sold in tourist shops. This is also known as the art vs. crafts controversy
(Racette and Robertson, 2009). It is sad to note that indigenous artists are not
recognized or appreciated. Indigenous visual arts provide a means of cultural
expression and are a vehicle for the maintenance and transmission of culture. The
visual arts are used to promote health and well-being. They improve the lives of
indigenous women and provide self-esteem to young indigenous people.

Indigenous People of the Philippines

The Arts of the Aeta

A traditional form of visual art is body scarification. The Aetas intentionally

wound the skin on their back, arms, breast, legs, hands, calves and abdomen, and
then they irritate the wounds with fire, lime and other means to form scars. Other
"decorative disfigurements" include the chipping of the teeth. With the use of a file,
the Dumagat, a sub-group of the Aetas, modify their teeth during late puberty. The
teeth are dyed black a few years afterwards. The Aetas generally use ornaments
typical of people living in subsistence economies. Flowers and leaves are used as
earplugs for certain occasions. Girdles, necklaces, and neckbands of braided rattan
incorporated with wild pig bristles are frequently worn.

The Arts of the Bagobo

The Bagobo wear distinct ceremonial attire made of ikat textiles, which are
likely worn as either a costume or a dress. For the Bagóbo, however, whichever
word is used made a difference. For example, they tend to use kóstyom (costume)
when speaking to non-Bagóbo; amongst themselves, they use ompák (garment or
clothing). Kóstyom is not just “costume” pronounced with a local accent, it referred to
something more exact.

The Arts of the Badjau

The most commonly used material is the pandanus plant which grows
abundantly in the limestone-based island of Tawi-Tawi. The pandanus grow wild and
untended in the shores and sandy beaches. The techniques for preparing the
pandan and weaving the mats are generally similar throughout Sulu. They excel in
making dream catchers and fashion accessories.

The Arts of the Bontoc

The Bontoc have a tradition of cloth weaving. The background colors are
dark, the favorite being blue. Geometric designs are diamonds, triangles, hexagons
and zigzags. Representational designs are the dancing man or woman, stars,
leaves, and rice paddies. They love to make baskets and necklaces.
The Arts of the Gaddang

The Gaddang are a tribal group to the north-east of Manila, in the provinces of
Isabella and Cagayan. This is a modern reproduction of the traditional striped
Gaddang textiles embroidered with small white beads.

The Arts of the Ibanag

Textiles are embellished with knotted selvages and seams, floating warps and
complimentary wefts. They are good in making baskets and hand fans.

The Arts of the Ifugao

Textiles are embellished with knotted selvages and seams, floating warps and
complimentary wefts. They crafted fabrics, accessories, and wood carvings.

The Arts of the Ilongot

A headdress made of horn bill, shell, wire, rattan and hairs. They are the
makers of earrings and other accessories.

The Arts of the Ivatan

A vakul is a headgear designed to protect the wearer from sun and rain. It is
made from vuyavuy palm fiber. They do have a wide-array of accessories created.

The Arts of the Mangyan

The embroidered pakudos is always of two colors. On a white blouse, it is

predominantly red and is highlighted by a fine black or dark blue outline. On a blue
blouse, it is also predominantly red, but the outline stitchery is white. The design is
started from the center with only hand measurements and the warp and weft threads
as guide.

The Arts of the Manobo

Traditional fabric for clothes was made of abaca fiber or hemp, woven by the
ikat process. But now it is made of cotton cloth obtained through trade. Dyes were
acquired from plants and trees: the tagum plant and the bark of the lamud tree
produced lack, the turmeric root yellow, and the keleluza plant, red. Ginuwatan are
woven representational designs such as flowers. If cotton trade cloth is bought, big
floral designs are preferred. Typical colors are red, black, yellow, green, blue and
white.
The Arts of the Maranao

We have several stylized decorative motifs in Muslim art. Sarimanok is one of

these, a stylized representation of an open-winged legendary bird whose claws
clutch a fish. It is a bird-form symbol of the Maranao. A sarimanok can be seen on
top of bamboo poles placed at the center of Muslim villages. The Maranaos are also
known for their gold and purple malong. Malong is the traditional tube garment,
which are commonly colored into combinations of green, yellow, red, violet, and blue.

The Arts of the T’boli

The T'boli are famous for their dream-inspired and spirit infused T'nalak
weavings, but also for their embroidery, brass casting and other crafts. T'nalak
weaving is an artform perfected over decades of practice by T'boli women, and only
a handful of master weavers can be considered true 'dream weavers', the works of
whom are highly valued. Moreover, they are the makers of hand-crafted wide variety
of dresses, head dresses, and necklaces.

The Arts of the Tingguian

The Tingguian or Isneg, are engaged in bamboo crafts production. This is the
reason why Abra is positioning itself as the “Bamboo Capital of the Philippines”.
They excel in making mats and fabrics.

The Muslim Arts

Do you remember the different artworks mentioned earlier or even in the

previous chapters such as okir, torogan, sarimanok, and more? These are
apparently a few of the many artworks produced by our Muslim brothers and sisters.
In fact, almost half of the vast milieu of the Philippine archipelago is occupied by
them densely. Thus, they have influenced the Philippine culture utterly most
especially in the realm of craft. It is worth bragging that they add colors to our Filipino
identity and heritage because of their colorfully exquisite motifs in arts and crafts.
Besides they also somehow help uplift the economic stability of the country because
most of their handicrafts are exported (courses.lumenlearning.com). Muslim art is
often characterized by recurrent motifs, such as the use of geometrical floral or
organic vegetative designs in a repetitive fashion known as Arabesque. As such is
an Islamic art often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature
of God. With this monotheistic group of believers, they emphasize the omnipotent
presence of Allah in their multifarious art forms.

The Christian Arts

 Do you go to mass every Saturday or Sunday? How often do you pray? What
is your manner and practices of praying and worshiping? This is what makes us
naturally diverse in some respects. We may have one faith but we have different
practices of such one faith. This topic, however, does not talk about religion per se
but a view of emphasis how religion affects the daily living to all Filipinos as well as
their view towards their lives and others. As a nation with more or less 90 percent
Christians, Filipinos have diverse practices of belief with one God. Our country is
marked by a majority of people being adherents of the Christian faith (Miller, 2020).

Our faith is expressed in different art forms. It can be seen in a various visual
in the church: altars, bell towers, minaret, dome, facade, retablo, ceilings, floors and
windows. The motifs of Christian churches are influenced basically by the Spanish
and western architectures while some are influenced by Americans. There are
interior and exterior designs that also depict the common story taken from the bible
(Wisley, 2006). Let us see how our faith is manifested differently as regards the
different types of churches we have. In fact, the variation of church designs in the
Philippines manifest the various cultural traditions that have marked and carves our
history and heritage.

Born Again Christian

It is a phrase used by many Protestants to describe the phenomenon of

gaining faith in Jesus Christ. This is composed of many sects and sub-sects
originated from the USA. Its architectural designs usually contain emphasis on
illumination that mimic the natural lighting that add in different layers of lighting with
different wattages. Some lights are for boisterous events and calmer lighting for
worship. There is usually a cross in the middle and musical instruments on the
platform for worship purposes.

Iglesia Ni Cristo Church

Another monotheist religion which is an independent nontrinitarian Christian

church is the Iglesia Ni Cristo. It is founded and registered by Felix Y. Manalo in
1914 as a unipersonal religious corporation. Its church buildings (chapels) serve as
places of worship and other religious functions, as “vehicles for glorifying God.”
These are described by Culture and customs of the Philippines, (Greenwood
Publishing Group), as structures “which employ exterior neo-Gothic vertical support
columns with tall narrow windows between, interlocking trapezoids, and rosette
motifs, as well as tower and spires.”

The Church of the Mormons

 The first contact the church had with the Philippines was in 1898 during the
Spanish-American War. It was led by Willard Call and George Seaman, who were
part of the United States artillery battery, were set apart as missionaries and began
to proselytize after being deployed to the Philippines. Its church structural design
doesn’t boast any medieval mosaics or Renaissance frescoes. But it’s sumptuous by
21st century standards, with high, curved walls of white granite, two tall spires, inlaid
marble floors, and a grand staircase surmounted by a huge crystal chandelier
(Hurley 2019).

The Roman Catholic Church

Since the colonial period, Catholicism has been the cornerstone of Filipino
identity for millions in the Philippines. It rapidly spread during the Spanish era, in part
due to a lack of otherwise centralized religious institutions (Harvard Divinity School).
Though its architectural design varies from time to time and place to place, the most
significant objects of transformation for Christian architecture and design were the
great churches of Byzantium, the Romanesque, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance
basilicas with its emphasis on harmony. These large, often ornate and architecturally
prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns and countryside in which
they stood.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church

After the Philippine American War, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church sent its
first mission to the Philippines in 1905. The following year Adventists J. L. McElhany
and his wife arrived and worked among the American soldiers, businessmen, and
teachers who were sent to Manila (Asia Pacific: Perspectives, volume II number 1,
2002). The motif of its church design is based on the foundation of the bible. Its
design elements underscore the bible as the focal point; the cross, which is also a
central feature of its encapsulated motif; and the burning flame that represents the
Holy Spirit and the truth.
Practice and Movement of Philippine Visual Arts

As quoted from one of the Filipino artists, Vilroy Gudoy Culzon, “Kung ano
ang pinanggalingan mo, ilagay mo sa canvass.” This implies that the evolution and
dynamics of how Philippine arts change are brought by the time affected by history.
Every stage of history creates typical artwork reflected in its significant event. As we
are about to end this chapter, let us get the synthesis of Filipino Visual Art and how it
evolves from generation to generation. This matrix below shows how Philippine
artwork is described every period.

Key Movements in Philippine Arts

 The motif and craft of visual arts are affected by the time (Church 2010).
Thus, the Philippine visuals have their motifs reflected from the new generation. In
aesthetic parlance, the styles of arts as they change brought about by the time are
called Key Movements. As such are styles in arts shaped by artists with a common
philosophy or goal. These movements can be borne out of the social climates that
they become popular in or be made as responses to previous movements. Most of
the key art movements found in the Philippines have western origin. The trails of
American and Spanish tints are embedded in the core of Filipino arts.

Arts can be classified according to the key movements they portray. Let us
refresh them and spot the difference based on the visuals interspersed.

1. Baroque is a grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, dynamism, movement,

tension, emotional exuberance that gives off a tendency to blur distinctions between
the various arts.

2. Neoclassicism is characterized by the use of straight lines, a smooth paint

surface, the depiction of light, a minimal use of color, and the clear, crisp definition of
forms.

3. Romanticism is focused primarily on emotions, feelings, and moods of all sorts

including spirituality, imagination, mystery, and fervor. The subject matter is varied
widely including landscapes, revolution, and tranquil beauty and the the brushwork
for romantic art became looser and less precise.

4. Realism is the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of

contemporary life. It rejects imaginative idealization in favor of a close observation of
outward appearances.

5. Expressionism from the word itself conveys emotion and meaning rather than
reality. However, each artist under this movement has his/her own unique way of
"expressing" emotions. In order to express emotion, the subjects are often distorted
or exaggerated.

6. Cubism objects and figures are broken down into distinct planes and
reassembled into abstracted forms. Rather than creating the illusion of depth, these
dynamic arrangements merge foreground and background to emphasize the flatness
of the artist's canvas.

7. Impressionism is 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small,

thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of
light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time),
ordinary subject matter, and inclusion of movement as a crucial portrayal of its
entirety.
8. Surrealism is an artwork that uses juxtaposition or surprising shifts in scale to
question the nature of reality, perception, and language in absurdist fashions and
scenes.

9. Abstract Expressionism is an expression of reality portrayed in a non-

representational statement with line, color and size as well as the aggressive
mingling of colors, shapes and forms creating a painting of pure thought and
emotion.
10. Social Realism is an artwork that gives accurate portrayal of the scene and
characters without embellishments. This points out political and economic corruption
that shows candid portraits. It actually assertively shows flaws in human nature--
underscoring nature as powerful tool.

11. Figurativism is dependent artwork that includes line, shape, color, light and
dark, mass, volume, texture, and perspective in harmonious synergy. The elements
of design could also play a role in creating other types of imagery.

12. Conceptualism is all about "ideas and meanings" rather than "works of art"
(paintings, sculptures, other precious objects). It is characterized by its use of text,
as well as imagery, along with a variety of ephemeral, typically everyday materials
and "found objects".

13. Pop Surrealism/Lowbrow Art often emphasizes a sense of humor – something

that is gleeful, impish, and sarcastic. Most lowbrow artworks are paintings, but there
are also toys, digital art, and sculpture.

Naturalistic Arts

Any forms of visual arts are products of nature and environment (York, 2014)
and their theme on canvas praises the value of nature. The Philippines has been
truly blessed with most diverse environmental thrives. Thus, most Filipino artists
utilize the essence of nature as their penchant in creating subjective arts. Do you
have some gardens, aquarium or aviary? Do we consider them as visual arts? The
arrangement and setup of plants, pots and tilled soil, beautified landscape and
arrangement of florals and trimmed plants are considered visual arts. Apart from they
are apparently perceived visually, their aesthetics subjectively give off meanings and
ideas and even stories--truly an art. So, let us value the importance of nature and
how they add colors to our lives by knowing the common naturalistic arts.

1. Aquarium Theseman-made aquatic landscapes can mimic the coral reefs of

tropical oceans or underwater freshwater jungles. The practice of creating realistic
nature aquariums is known as aquascaping.
2. Terrarium It is usually a sealable glass container containing soil and plants, and
can be opened for maintenance to access the plants inside.

3. Herbarium This artwork design is characterized by a place where collections of

dried plant pressed specimens and plant material are preserved and stored for
mainly research purposes by botanists and scientists.

4. Aviary It is basically a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike birdcages,

aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also
sometimes known as flight cages.
5. Herbary This is a horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the
foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly
defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. One of the common examples is
topiary.

6. Orchidarium It is vivarium, specifically for the cultivation of orchids. This is usually

set up in an area in a park, home landscaped garden or botanical garden in various
artistic motifs.

Activity No. 9

For Those Students with Internet Access

What to do?

Poster Making!

1. There must be 4-7 members of each group.

2. Create a poster with a theme that promotes Philippines’ pride and joy in terms of
assorted varieties of arts being mentioned in this chapter.
3. Use MS Word with a long size bond paper.
4. Appoint a representative to discuss your output.
5. Select a member to send your output in Google classroom.
6. Be sure to use your creativity for this activity.
7. Pass this output next week.
8. Please be guided using the rubrics that can be seen below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (1-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Theme The theme is The theme is a The theme is
very catchy that bit catchy that not that catchy
hits the general hits a little which does not
 idea of aspect of the achieves the
promoting the general idea of general idea of
Philippine Arts promoting the promoting the
in international Philippine Arts Philippine Art in
arena. in international international
Excellently arena. Very arena. Good
done! Good! job!
2. Creativity Appropriate Appropriate Limited
creative layout creative layout creativity with
of the poster in of the poster less appealing
a light presentation to the class.
background using dark Majority of the
presentation colors of presentation
that does not background needs
need that does need improvement.
improvement at some
all which is very improvements
appealing to the which is a little
class. appealing to
the class.
3. Speaking Confidence, Confidence, Confidence,
Skills character, and character, and character, and
smooth sailing a little smooth stormy sailing
of the poster sailing of the of the
presentation poster presentation
and has the presentation with lots of oral
ability to and has some reading of the
capture the ability to slides, and has
class’ attention. capture the a little ability to
class’ attention. capture the
class’ attention.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 30 points)

For Those Students with Internet Access

What to do?

Poster Making!

1. There must be 4-7 members of each group.

2. Create a poster with a theme that promotes Philippines’ pride and joy in terms of
assorted varieties of arts being mentioned in this chapter.
3. Use a long size bond paper.
4. Be sure to use your creativity for this activity.
5. Please be guided using the rubrics that can be seen below.

The Rubrics
Weighing Items Excellent (16- Very Good (11- Good (1-10pts) Total
20pts) 15pts)
1. Theme The theme is The theme is a The theme is
very catchy that bit catchy that not that catchy
hits the general hits a little which does not
idea of aspect of the achieves the
promoting the general idea of general idea of
Philippine Arts promoting the promoting the
in international Philippine Arts Philippine Art in
arena. in international international
Excellently arena. Very arena. Good
done! Good! job!
2. Creativity A very Appropriate It has limited
appropriate creative layout creativity.
creative layout of the poster in Majority of the
of the poster in a light presentation
a light background needs
background presentation improvement.
presentation that does need
that does not some
need improvements
improvement at which is a little
all which is very appealing. Be
appealing. Be sure that the
sure that the theme and
theme and creativity are a
creativity are bit aligned with
aligned with each other.
each other.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 40 points)

Chapter 10 – Improvisation in Different Art Forms

Improvisation

Have you ever tried answering a question at hand without any preparation at
all? What does it feel? How did you come up with your thoughts under pressure?
Some may stumble that their nerves wrack them off. Some also are able to
orchestrate their ideas, if not coherent, but in creative manner. On a parallel fashion,
an actor/actress who is given a script and overview of the story is asked to act out
the scene without much preparation. In most cases, he/she can make ad-lib in
creative manner and free to perform it inasmuch as it beautifies the story and
conveys the message clearly. This is what we call improvisation when you act
creatively and perform spontaneously without much preparation (Merriam-Webster’s
Dictionary). Improvisation (also known as improv, impro or impromptu) has been a
component of performance since the beginnings of Ancient Greek theatre with the
improvisations by the leaders of the dithyrambs (Brockett, 13 in Scott, 2014).
Possibly, improvisation found its way into earlier ritual dramas as in the case of
Ancient Egypt, where sacred texts were incorporated into such performances while
still relying on myths that “were quite flexible and could easily be related to many
different situations” (Nielsen, 2014).

Improvisation Techniques

Akin to those of stage play and any theatrical presentations, improvisation is

categorized into music, dance, theater and problem solving. But this chapter does
not require you to perform such categories separately. Rather you are tasked to
perform all of these in synchrony like different artforms in wrought-fusion theater.

1. Improvised Music

Music in theater can be voice, music or sound effects. In most cases, sound in
theater operates as an auxiliary that heightens the effect or emphasizes this
message of the story as John A. Leonard points out in his book Theatre Sound
(Leonard, 2001).

2. Improvised Dance

It is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of

movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including
body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema.

3. Improvised Design

It has something to do with the visual arts used as background of the entire
milieu of the presentation: lighting, backdrop, props and costumes. It may be mock-
ups, or realias depending on how the story wants to convey its tangibility and
concreteness.

4. Improvised Theater/Drama

It involves the spot of role-playing and exchanging dialog in which most or all
of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the
performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created
collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without
use of an already prepared, written script (Hainseline et al., 2018).

5. Improvised Problem Solving

 This challenges a performer to provide on-the-spot dialog and conversation as
the situation and interaction gap arises leaving it a silent lull. This might be the failure
of one performer to do the task on stage and you find a way how to cover it up
before the audience. This Provides an interactive, fun-filled environment than can
spark creativity, smoothness and spontaneity (Gerardi 2001).

Genres of Improvisational Theater

Most of the things happening in our real lives are not scripted; they are
impromptu or improvised. It holds true in theater. Life is like a theater as mentioned
by Bill Prickett in his poem. Shakespeare also creates a strong analogy of life that is
like a stage with entrance and exit assuming different roles in a story. Therefore,
whatever types of experience we have in our lives are also tantamount to the types
of theater. Table 1 juxtaposes theater’s types, properties and examples as
improvisation reference. There are five genres presented in the table such as
comedy, non-comedy, experimental, dramatic, and narrative-based.

List of Theater’s Genres

 Comedy – full of laughter and amusement

 Non-Comedy – sad at the beginning but it has a happy ending
 Experimental – altered traditional conventions of space (black box theater),
theme, movement, mood, tension, language, symbolism,
conventional rules and other elements
 Drama – a largely standard set of characters fitting stock roles - villains, good
guys, damsels in distress, sidekicks and a handful of others
 Narrative-Based – accompanied with orchestra or band with spoken dialogues
which at times there are solo, duet, chorus or ensemble
that has the occurrence of dance sequel

Contact Body Improvisation

Contact body movement improvisation is in presenting a theatrical play in any

forms. It involves the exploration of one's body in relationship to others by using the
fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, and movement awareness (Banes, 1987).
Moreover, it follows a pattern of rhythm. The 5 rhythms are lowing, staccato, chaos,
lyrical, and stillness. Daniel Struyf, a Swiss rhythmic enthusiast explains that each of
the five rhythms is interpreted by individuals in a uniquely opening up a new sense of
freedom and possibilities. Struyf plainly gives the definitions of the five rhythms in the
context of body movement improvisation such as flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical,
and stillness.

1. Flowing. We physically practice the art of being fluid in our bodies. It is the
impulse to follow the flow of one’s energy, to be true to oneself, listen and
attend to one’s needs, be receptive to one’s inner and outer world. When
we open up to the flow of our physical beings, all other possibilities open.
2. Staccato. We physically practice the power of masculine energy. It is
percussive and strong and promotes connection with the rest of the world.
Staccato is the gateway to the heart. It shows us how to step out into the
world connected to our feet and feelings. It is the part of us that stands up
for what we care about and who / what we love.
3. Chaos. We physically practice releasing our bodies. We let go of the head,
spine, hips, feet, and move faster than we can think. Chaos breaks us free
from our illusions. It takes us on a journey from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I will’. The
simple practices of Chaos immediately bring us back to our bodies, to the
moment. This rhythm liberates us from all ideas about who we are and gives
us a real experience of being total, free, intuitive, and creative.
4. Lyrical. We practice how to break out of destructive patterns and surrender
to the depths of the fluid, creative repetitions of our soulful selves. Lyrical is
expansive and connects us to our humanity, timeless rhythms, repetitions,
patterns, and cycles. Lyrical is more of a state of being than a rhythm.
5. Stillness. Being still and doing nothing are different. Stillness moves, both
within and all around us. The dance is our vehicle, our destination is the
Rhythm of Stillness; our challenge is to be a vessel that keeps moving and
changing. Each time we dance into stillness, we practice the art of making
humble and mindful endings. This carries through to all of our endings in
life - the end of this dance, this day, this relationship, or this life cycle. Good
endings mean taking responsibility for the whole journey, distilling wisdom
from our experience so that we may begin the next wave or cycle clean of
carrying the past with us.

The 5 rhythms are very important to remind us that dancing and any forms of
body movement should indulge into the genuine feelings and emotions. It is not
simply dancing and moving on stage but dancing and moving with a desired purpose
and feeling.

Music Improvisation

Musical/Sound improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the

creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which
combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique
as well as spontaneous response to other musicians (The Free Dictionary.Com).
Michael Gallant (2012) suggested 11 tips on sound/ music improvisation can help
you make music in the moment:

(1) Believe that you can improvise and you have the ability to make music in
your own creative way,
(2) Play along with records,
(3) Mess with the melody to come up with your own,
(4) Mess with the rhythm to emphasize uniqueness and distinction,
(5) Learn Music Theory,
(6)Try reacting and responding what’s around you,
(7) Embrace the accidental moment when it happens,
(8) Don’t judge yourself in the moment,
(9) Review after the fact and make self-evaluation,
(10) Say something which you think contributing,
(11) Keep learning.

Theater Improvisation

We have already mastered improvised body contact and music. These two
skills, dancing and singing or playing instrument in plain term, being developed are
very essential in presenting theatrical play in any sort. If there is an improvised body
movement and improvised music, they can form together to come up with improvised
theater.

Improvisational theater first started its influence during the 16, 17, and 18th
centuries in Italy. Many scholars have debated over the origin of audience
suggestions incorporated into improvisational performances. Some credit Dudley
Riggs, while others attribute this characteristic of improve to the theater games of
Viola Spolin during the 1940s. Historically. Improvisational theater, a unique form of
stage performance derived from various global traditions, festivals, ancient rituals,
children’s games, cabaret, vaudeville, commedia del arte, and simple celebration.

Improvisational theater, or improve, consists of a comedic, poignant, or

dramatic stage performance, usually with a wide cast of actors and actresses. These
actors and actresses will use spontaneous acting techniques, including audience
suggestions to contribute to the performance’s content and direction. In other words,
the cast erratically formulates the dialogue, setting, and plot without a formal
rehearsal. The players must incorporate a wide array of skills, including listening and
maintaining conscious awareness of other actors and actresses on stage. It requires
a sense of spontaneity, instinctive, and social comprehension to improvise without a
script.

Improvisational performers work together to define the rules of the scene.

Different props, uniforms, and settings are used to co-create the storyline.
Depending on the nature of the performance, various character names and roles will
be assigned to each actor and actress. Each of the improvisers must work together
in accordance to the offers proposed by the group, otherwise it may entail the
process of blocking, negating, or denying the scene from developing. Karen Erickson
in 2015 offers five approaches to improvisation to support our theater skills.

Brief History of Theater

The development of theater can be traced back 2,500 years ago among the
early Greeks and Romans and in some parts of the globe, using performative
elements. Every society varies their distinctive presentation based on tradition and
culture. There were works that focus on religious themes but majority were
concentrated on entertainment aspects. The 20th century theater utilized the aids of
technology in theater. Using improvisation principles, play is presented on stage
artistically. Acting is well-emoted and blended with the use of verbal and non-verbal
techniques to captivate an audience.
The Theater Elements

1. The Script

There must be a good material for a script. It involves with the overall flow of
the production from the narration, dialogues of the characters/casts, background
music, and the like.

2. The Director

The director is the leader of the entire production. He must have possessed a
good leadership, knows to talk and listen, sets the rules and regulations of the entire
production, leads in the selection of the members of the cast, teaches the stage
business, schedules rehearsals, discusses the characterization, plans out the things
within the production, and draws up committees to compose the stage crew.

3. Casts

The members of the cast comprise the mix of antagonists and protagonists of
the stage performance, who give life on what is written in the script. They meet to
discuss a characterization and the actual scene, most especially on workshops and
rehearsals.

4. Characterization
 Characterization is also known as story conference, a gathering or meeting
that deals with the discussion of each character on how it should be properly
executed so that a member of the cast who portrays it must internalize the given
role.

5. Rehearsals

The rehearsals are the scheduled dates given for practice. The director, the
casts, and the crew observe the proper implementation of the rehearsals to produce
a good recording or taping.

6. Stage Business

It is execution of the set of the production and the business side of it. Hence, it
is classified into two types: the stage execution and the business side of production.
The Stage Execution includes the different areas of the stage, location of the casts,
the cues where they enter and exit, the placement of the props, and the like. There
nine different areas of the stage as shown in three layered matrices: the lowest cells,
the center cells, and upper cells. Be reminded that the lowest cells are considered
the frontal part of the stage. These cells serve as a guide during execution and
rehearsals.

Down Right Down Center Down Left

Right Center Center Left Center
Upper Right Upper Center Upper Left

The Business Side of the Production includes the marketing aspect of the
production, publicity and advertisement of the theatrical show, selling of the tickets,
financial management, and the management of logistics in the entire production.

7. Scenery

Scenery refers to the backdrop on stage. This is the proper stage decoration
dependent on the required scenes needed in the story.

8. Properties or props

These refer to all the needed logistics which include furniture and items or
objects needed during the final act, to make the story more realistic as possible.

9. Costumes

Costumes refer to the collection of clothes in style that the casts wear during
the stage performance.
10. Theatrical Makeups

These are beauty enhancers used to provide aesthetic appearance of the

characters that actors portray during the stage production.

11. Curtain Call

This refers to the appearance of one or more performers on stage after a

performance to acknowledge the audience’s applause during the finale part of the
show.

Stage Performers

The stage performers include the antagonists, persons who actively oppose in
the story; the protagonists, the leading character or one of the major characters in a
drama, movie, novel, or other fictional literary works; dancers – individuals who
engaged in dancing (it might be optional depending upon the script).

Who are behind the Scenes in a Theater?

1. Director

He or she is known as the ‘captain of the ship’ in the entire theatrical

production, and must be situated facing the stage so that he or she knows the actual
scenario on the stage – there are some productions that the presence of a director’s
box is visible for the prompters, light’s men, and music and sound effects personnel
can be located.

2. Stage Manager

The stage manager is the assistant director who deals with the traffic control
of the back stage, who always communicate with the director.

3. Music and Sound Effects Person

The person in-charge with the background music and the different effects
needed in the stage performance. He or she is in control of these effects on when to
play and when stop it.

4. Musicians (optional)
 They are persons (optional) who provide music in a huge and expensive
theatrical production like the official sound track (OST) and other music used for the
entire show with a symphony or an orchestra by musicians hired in the project.

5. Prompters

They are persons who are usually located below the stage or situated near
the director who provide prompts or cues to the performers if ever they forget their
line or guide them where they are supposedly situated in the scene.

6. Prop and Scenery Committee

This committee consists of men and women who are responsible in the
production of props, and the backdrop, and the stage’s set.

7. Light Committee

This committee is responsible for the lightings of the production. This unit is
located within the director’s box, responsible the spot-light directed towards the
scene of the lead character.
8. Make-up Artists

They are the beauticians who are responsible to do the entire theatrical
makeups of the members of the cast in the production.

9. Wardrobe Mistress

She is usually a female stage crew, who is in charge of the construction and
organization of the entire costumes in a theatrical company, ensuring the quality of
the costume’s condition.

Important Reminders

In theater production the following are the important reminders for the success
of the show:

1. There should be cooperation, unity, and teamwork within the group;

2. Dress rehearsals should be done before the final performance;
3. Character look test should be administered;
4. Strict implementation of the rehearsal dates, and the rules and regulations of the
entire production; and
5. The final and actual performance with make-ups, costumes and props.

Activity No. 10
For Those Students with Internet Access

What to do?

1. Make a 10-minute mini play through a video that has the theme either friendship,
family or love.
2. Be sure that there must only a limited number of characters from 3-5 only. For
those who are not a part of the characters, be sure you will have your contribution
for this activity. Thus, there must be division of labor.
3. Use background music (OST) for it.
4. Right costumes for each character must be used.
5. No need to pass the script.
6. Select a member to pass this activity next meeting.
7. Please be guided accordingly with the aid of the rubircs.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Theme The theme is The theme is a The theme is
very catchy that
bit catchy that not that catchy
hits the general
hits a little which does not
idea of the aspect of the achieves the
entire story for
general idea of general idea of
the creation ofthe entire story of the entire
the script. for the creation story for the
Excellently of the entire creation of the
done! script. Very script. Good
Good! job!
2. Delivery of Appropriate Appropriate but Appropriate but
the Dialogues clear content of not so clear no clear
the dialogues content of the content of the
that are dialogues that dialogues that
smoothly are a little bet are not
connected to smoothly smoothly
create the entire connected to connected to
story without create the create the
any vulgar entire story entire story
terms used. No with few vulgar with many
need for terms used. vulgar terms
improvement. Needs some used. Majority
improvement. needs
improvement.
3. Acting Confident, in Confident, in Not so
Skills character, and character, and Confident, in
the acting skills the acting skills character, and
 are very are realistic the acting skills
realistic that that captures are a bit
captures the the class’ realistic that
class’ attention. attention. does a little
Everything is Everything is capturing effect
very systematic not so of the class’
and orderly systematic and attention.
done. orderly done. Everything is
not systematic
and with no
orderly done
for the entire
presentation.
4. The Video The entire video The entire The entire
and its Editing is exactly like video is like video is exactly
Ability watching a watching a like average in
movie. movie. A bit ok watching a
Excellently for the totality movie. Not ok
done for the of the editing for the totality
totality of the ability. of the entire
editing ability. Everything is a editing ability.
Everything is in little smooth Everything is
smooth sailing. sailing. not smooth
sailing.
5. Props and All the props A few props Some props
Music (OST) used are very used are used are not
realistic in realistic in realistic in
nature. The nature. The nature. The
music used is music used is a music used is
very much little aligned to not aligned to
aligned to the the theme and the theme and
theme and the the entire story. the entire story.
entire story. It It can a bit It cannot really
can really capture the capture the
captures the heart of the heart of the
heart of the class. class.
class.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 50 points)

For Those Students without Internet Access

What to do?

1. Write a script that is good for 15-minute play that has the theme either friendship,
family, or love.
2. Do brainstorming of ideas in making the flow of the story.
4. Use long bond papers for this in a written format.
4. Observe division of labor to each group in which each of the members must have
 duties and responsibilities to deal with.
5. Follow the sequence of facts: title of the play, members (beside each member
write the duties and responsibilities done for the activity), the characters with
descriptions for each, introduction – brief description, setting – description, plot of
the story, title of the Official Sound Track (OST). And the full length of the script.
6. Pass this next meeting.
7. Please be guided accordingly with the aid of the rubrics that can be seen below.

The Rubrics

Weighing Items Excellent (8- Very Good (5- Good (0-4pts) Total
10pts) 7pts)
1. Theme The theme is The theme is a The theme is
very catchy that bit catchy that not that catchy
hits the general hits a little which does not
idea of the aspect of the achieves the
entire story for general idea of general idea of
the creation of the entire story of the entire
the script. for the creation story for the
Excellently of the entire creation of the
done! script. Very script. Good
Good! job!
2. The Appropriate Appropriate but Appropriate but
Dialogues clear content of not so clear no clear
the dialogues content of the content of the
that are dialogues that dialogues that
smoothly are a little bet are not
connected to smoothly smoothly
create the entire connected to connected to
story without create the create the
any vulgar entire story entire story
terms used. No with few vulgar with many
need for terms used. vulgar terms
improvement. Needs some used. Majority
improvement. needs
improvement.
3. The Script All the acts of Some acts of Majority of the
the entire the entire acts for the
scenes are so scenes are entire scenes
smoothly smoothly are not
connected with connected with smoothly
each other. No each other. connected with
need for Needs a few each other.
improvements. improvements. Needs a
general
improvement.
4. Writing The person in- The person in- The person in-
Skills charge of charge of charge of
 writing the writing the writing the
entire script entire script entire script
must write must write a bit must write in
legibly with few legibly with not legibly with
errors some errors Majority of
committed. committed. errors
Everything is Everything is committed.
very systematic not so Everything is
and orderly systematic and not systematic
done. Very neat orderly done. and orderly
and clean work. Not so neat done. Dirty and
and clean unclean work.
work.
5. Music (OST) The title of the The title of the The title of the
music used is music used is a music used is
very much little aligned tonot aligned to
aligned to the the theme and the theme and
theme and the the entire story.the entire story.
entire story. It It can a bit It cannot really
can really capture the capture the
capture the heart of the heart of the
heart of the reader. reader.
reader.
The Group’s Total Score Earned (Note: the total score is 50 points)

-Good Luck and God bless!- 