ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

Overview

The most important element and creator in any work of art, the artist or the
artisan. Artists and Artisans are the pillars of our society. We need artists as much
as we need artisans. They both serve people for a long time by providing us
directly functional and indirectly functional arts.

Pre-test: Define the following terms according to your own understanding:

1. curators
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2. medium
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3. combined arts
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4. technique in arts
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5. dimensional arts
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Definition of Terms:

➢ Artist – generally defined as an art practitioner such as a painter,

sculptor, choreographer, dancer, writer, poet etc. who produces or
creates indirectly-functional arts with
aesthetic value using imagination.
➢ Artisan – is a craftsman, such as carpenter, carver, plumber, blacksmith,
weaver, and the like, who produces directly functional and/ or decorative arts.

Discussion: Key Components of the Art Market

The art market is an economic ecosystem that relies not only on supply and demand but also on
the fabrication of a work’s predicted future monetary and/or cultural value.

• Important Players in the Art Market

✓ Curator – a manager or overseer or keeper of a cultural heritage institution such as
gallery, museum, library, or archive. He is a content specialist charged with an
institution’s collections, selecting art to be displayed, researching artists, and involved
with the interpretation of heritage.
 ✓ Art Buyer – is a professional who is knowledgeable in art, who may scout
talent for advertising agency seeking to employ an art director, or who may
look for an art for a collector or a company.
✓ Art Dealer – is a person or a company that buys and sells works of art.
They keep up the trends in the market and are knowledgeable about the style
of art that people want to buy. They figure out how much they should pay for
a piece and then estimate the resale price. To determine the artwork’s value,
dealers inspect the objects or painting closely and compare the fine details
with similar pieces.
✓ Private Collection – This is a personal owned collection of works, usually
a collection of art. In a museum or art-gallery environment, the term signifies
that a certain work is not owned by the institution, but is on loan from an
individual or organization, either for temporary exhibition or for the long term.
• The Creative Process
• Three Stages in the Creative Process (by Robert Fritz)

✓ Germination (Idea) – it is the initial moment when you conceive a new project in your
life. It is a powerful time you will have to use wisely for providing the right steps to move
forward. The most difficult and important in this stage is choosing. You need to be more
specific about what you want to do.
✓ Assimilation – it is a crucial step in the creative process. During this phase you will
internalize and assimilate or incorporate the idea you want to create. Plan, analyze it,
and cultivate it with all the available resources.
✓ Completion – it is the time to finish your project, to give it the final shape before you
present it to the audience. It is a difficult time because your energy will be small and
likely dispersed with a new vision. Put a deadline to your projects and do not get
entangled in small and never-ending details.
• Three Stages in Art Making
Art making can be associated with art exploration, concept
development, and art
production. The artist undergoes three stages of experience
namely:
✓ Pre-production or subject development – involves the
conceptualization of the theme, writing the script, making
auditions for cast selection, casting or assigning of roles and
workshops. Set rehearsals and press releases should be
given priority during this phase to ensure quality
performance and reach all potential target audience.
✓ Production or medium manipulation – proper presentation of performing arts. When
more than one production is set, directors must observe and evaluate the production to
improve the performance of the casts in the next set.
✓ Post production or exhibition – evaluation, critiquing, ‘success’ press release, sending
thank you messages and letters are done.
• Medium and Technique
• Medium refers to the material used by the artist. It is the thing that objectifies an idea.
Without the medium, an idea remains a concept or it would just reside in the walls of your
imagination. Manipulation of medium requires technique.
• Technique – refers to the artist’s ability and knowledge or technical know-how in
manipulating the medium. The technique applied by the artist in the medium is the profound
influence in defining and identifying artist’s work, name, and originality.
In art making, the artist not only studies the characteristics of a particular medium but develops a
relationship that will define both, skill, passion, and work itself.
• Recognition and Award for Artist and Artisan
• Gawad sa Manlilikhang Bayan (GAMABA) National Living
treasures Award – was institutionalized in 1992 through Republic Act
7335. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) was
tasked with the implementation.
• National Artists – National Artists of
the Philippines – The Order of the National
Artists is considered to be the highest
national recognition for individuals who
contributed to the development of the
Philippine arts. This began in 1972 when Presidential
Proclamation No. 1001, s. 1972 was enacted to recognize
Filipinos who made exceptional contributions to Philippine arts
and letters.
• Art Exhibits – An exhibition is a planned arrangement and display of a
collection of items. The word “exhibition” is usually, but not always, the
word used for a collection of items made available to an audience. The
term “exhibit” generally refers to a single item being shown within
exhibition. In most cases, exhibits are considered temporary and usually scheduled to open and close
on specific dates. While many exhibitions are shown in just one venue, some exhibitions are shown in
multiple locations and are called traveling exhibitions, and some are online exhibitions. Organizing
and holding exhibitions also requires effective event planning, management, and logistics.

Additional Reading Links

• https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-gatekeepers-tastemakers-decide-call-art
• http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/lists/national-artists-of-the-philippines/