Art Appreciation

LESSON 5
ARTISTS
AND ARTISANS
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Outline the history of the emergence of artists and artisans;
2. Recognize and critically discuss the function of state sponsorship
in the field of arts and culture through the National Artists Award
and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA);
3. Identify and define the different individuals and groups who take
on varied roles in the world of art and culture; and
4. Classify the practices of artists in terms of form, medium, and
technique.
 In the advent of technology, it is remarkable what has
now been made possible.

This notion is contested by what are arguably the most

resilient qualities of man, which is his creativity and
imagination.
Let’s Get Down to Business
In Peter Drucker's seminal book Post-Capitalist
Society (1993), he stated that “the real controlling
resource and the absolutely decisive factor of production
is neither capital not land nor labor. It is knowledge.
Instead of capitalists and proletarians, the classes of the
post capitalist society are the knowledge workers and the
service workers.”
 Artists even created places and spaces where
communities may gather. There are numerous monuments
and memorials that are plotted over the world such as the
infamous Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC.
There are others like the cave paintings that have an aura
of mystery like the Pyramids of Giza, or have alluded
comprehension like the Stonehenge.
 Stonehenge
(Wiltshire, England)
The Artisan and the Guilds
Museums are packed with numerous artifacts and
interesting objects from all over the world that have
survived centuries for us all to see.
Magnificent structures that are often appreciated not
only for their historical significance but more so for their
aesthetic characteristics that render them unique, become
tourist destinations for those who wish to explore and see
the remarkable facade, interior, and even the minutest of
details up close.
 Consider the Gothic cathedrals and other
megastructures that were built all over Europe during the
Middle Ages. Craftsmen and builders in the past did not
have sophisticated terminologies and principles that
architects and engineers abide by today. Yet, they fulfilled
overlapping roles such as the draftsman, architect,
engineer, and even as the builder.
Cologne Cathedral in Germany
Detail of the
stained glass
windows of
Cologne
Cathedral
 These guilds were prevalent during the Middle Ages
particularly during the thirteenth to fifteenth century,
where towns had formalized groups of artisans or
craftsmen who took on a particular specialization or trade:
shoemakers, textile and glass workers, carpenters, carvers,
masons, armorers, and weapon-makers, among others.

Guilds were a type of social fellowship, an association

structured with rules, customs, rights, and responsibilities.
 A master artisan or craftsman would then be open to
hiring apprentices who would be under his tutelage and
instruction. In these guilds, artistry and technology
flourished under one roof. In the context of the cathedral
construction site, the master mason oversaw the work by
numerous men of varying artistic proclivities and skills,
from the smiths (metal work), carpenters, carriers, and
glaziers (stained glass artists). among others.
 In the visual arts, an example of an artist strongly
influenced by this was Albrecht Dürer. Born in 1471, his
father was a goldsmith; that is why he also apprenticed as
such. Later on, he shifted to the visual arts. During that
time, it was customary to travel after completing an
apprenticeship to gather more experience and knowledge
elsewhere. His life was ripe with travels, fame, and
fortune. One of the biggest credits to his practice was his
dedication and interest in scholarship with his attendance
to a close friend's meetings of artists and scholars.
 Although the timeline is a bit skewed, the culture of
artisans became prevalent in the Philippines as well,
particularly during the Spanish colonial period.

Project Kisame is a collective endeavor amongst

enthusiasts and advocates who aimed to promote this art
form through documentation, engagement, and
appreciation of surviving ceiling paintings in more than
60 churches in the Philippines. Technology and heritage
conservation occupied a substantial part of this project.
 One example of a Spanish architecture that has been
documented is the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in
Loay, Bohol. Built in 1822, the ceiling paintings were
rendered trompe l'oeil style depicting biblical scenes. In
2003, it became a National Historical Landmark.

It was therefore unfortunate that this church was one of

those heavily damaged during the devastating earthquake
that rattled Bohol in 2013.
The Church of
the Most Holy
Trinity
in Loay, Bohol.
The Artist and His Studio
Moving back to Europe, the big shift that propelled the
evolution of the pivotal role of the artist in the arts started
during the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance period.
Most pivotal developments included the transformation of
the craftsman to an artist or an independent artist; the
widespread patronization of secular art (alongside the
continuous production of works with religious subjects);
and the assertion of cognition, the will, and individuality.
 Artist’s Studio
(from sketchbook)
By
James Abbott
McNeill Whistler
 Today, artist studios have been a place of interest for
the public. It is interesting where creativity manifests
itself, especially since an artist’s studio is an extension of
the artist himself.

There were those whose work stations were segmented

into two, the studiolo and the bottega; the latter is where
the work usually happened.
Other Players in the World of Art

In the last century, some of the roles that have been

existent since the beginning of art history have been
properly dealt with-ascribed with a name and legitimized
into a sophisticated network of relationships and
exchanges. This network is what we call the art world.
Prominent Roles
in the Art World
with Their
Mandatory
Relationships.
 An example of a multi-level platform, where different
players in what we call an art world can engage, interact,
and flex their art muscles, is the international art fair like
the Art Basel in Hong Kong.
 Art Basel
in Hong Kong
(2015)
 It is important to note that with the complexity of the
art world, players are no longer limited to those who
undertook formal instruction in either (or both)
production and/or study of art. Take for instance
administrative or managerial roles, both of which can
exist in either institutional or non-institutional scenarios.
These roles may be broken down to working boards
(board of trustees); directors and assistant directors;
managing curators; and other posts whose interest is the
management and operations of museums, galleries and
other art spaces.
 For independent artists, those outside the wing of a
gallery as a "stable artist," sometimes require the
assistance of an artist manager in order to manage their
career and sometimes to help them in promoting
themselves to the art world as well.
 A curator, on the other hand, is one of the most elusive
of roles to pin down. Institutional curators are typically
affiliated with museums and galleries, while independent
or freelance curators have the leeway to move around
various projects, platforms, and art spaces in a
multiplicity of terms.
 If curators are the hardest to define, it is buyers and
collectors who are probably the easiest to qualify. Often
they are construed as one and the same, but separately
taken, buyers are those who initially assess and survey the
artwork that collectors are interested in.

In addition, art dealers are those whose direct hand is

in the distribution and circulation of the artworks through
a variety of means, such as direct sales, through galleries,
and the more recent player in the Philippines, auction
houses.
 As the art world is seen as a socio-economic network,
it is important to note the major difference between
museums and galleries.

The most substantial demarcation that separates one

from the other is the ethics that admonishes museums
from entering into the more market aspect of the art
world.
Production Process
The process of creating an artwork does not
necessarily follow a linear progression. One of the things
that one must accept is the fact that the arts have an
anarchic dimension to it, allowing it to fully harness its
creative potential.

The process is essentially tripartite:

(1) preproduction, (2) production, and (3) postproduction.
 The artist always begins with an idea that he wants to
express or communicate with his audience. It may not
necessarily be fully formulated, and so some form of
exposure, research, and other approaches may be explored
to get the idea long before actually making the artwork.
This process is of course the preproduction stage.
 Gathering and sourcing the materials needed for the
creation of the artwork is either subsumed under
preproduction or the production stage. Either way,
materials form one of the most crucial aspects that inform
the direction, quality, and the final output itself.
 The last stage is the most drawn-out, the
postproduction. Once an artwork is finished, it will then
be decided on how it will be circulated not only in the art
world, but the many publics.

There are many aspects that go into postproduction.

These may include allowing the artwork to set, tweaking
the artwork, preparing the artwork for transport and
display, and even the promotion and inclusion of the
artwork in publications or discussions.
Medium and Technique
Medium is one of the aspects of art that directly
correlates with its composition and presumed finality of
the artwork. Medium is the mode of expression in which
the concept, idea, or message is conveyed. It may be
concrete or tangible, such as paintings, sculptures,
monuments, and structures; or it may be ephemeral or
something transient, such as a track (recording of sound),
a film, or a performance.
 A chosen medium must not be expected to yield the
same results. Giving two different artists the same exact
material and the general qualifier of “painting”, the end
product will still vary minimally or in an exponential
scale. This is where technique comes in, as it is the reason
why art history is described by a seemingly limitless
example of works of art.
Engagement with Art
In Anna Cline's The Evolving Role of the Exhibition and Its
Impact on Art and Culture (2012), she wrote that “exhibitions act as
the catalyst of art and ideas to the public: they represent a way of
displaying and contextualizing art that makes it relevant and
accessible to contemporary audiences. The art exhibition, by its
nature, holds a mirror up to society, reflecting its interests and
concerns while at the same time challenging its ideologies and
preconceptions. Keeping art relevant to society and to a diverse
audience at any given point in history is one of the main goals of
the art exhibition and one of the reasons it is so important to the
history of art.”
 In Paula Marincola's What Makes a Great Exhibition?
(2006), it reads that “exhibitions are strategically located
at the nexus where artists, their work, the arts institution,
and many different publics intersect.”
 One of the most common platforms to engage with the
art is through exhibitions either at museums or galleries.
Nowadays, there are other exhibition spaces that have
opened up for artists to showcase their works.

Exhibitions may be long-term or permanent hangs, or

it may be temporary or periodically changing. An artist
may have a solo exhibition or may be included in a two-
person showing or even a group exhibition.
 Aside from exhibitions, other opportunities for art
engagement transpire in the classroom (instruction);
studio visits; lectures, workshops, and other events that
augment the exhibitions (programs); auction sales; art
fairs, biennials, and triennials; and other larger showings
of not only artworks but also where art personalities can
flex their influence and authority. Publications are also a
good way to introduce the artwork and opens it up for
appreciation, critique, and analysis.
Awards and Citations

In history, support for the arts and culture is not limited

to the allocation of funding or patronship. One of the most
common measures in which artists and other creative
producers are given incentives and honor for their work is
through state-initiated and given awards and citations.
 The two major awards given to artists in the
Philippines are the Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng
Sining (Order of National Artists) and Gawad sa
Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasures Award).
 The conferment of the Order of National Artists is the
“highest national recognition” given to Filipino
individuals who have made significant contributions to
the development of Philippine arts; namely, music, dance,
theater, visual arts, literature, film, broadcast arts, and
architecture and allied arts.
The very first recipient of this award was painter
Fernando Amorsolo, who was touted as the "Grand Old
Man of Philippine Art." He was the sole awardee in the
year 1972, a National Artist for Visual Arts.
 Emblem of the Medallion given to the
Order of National Artists National Artists
of the Philippines
 At present, there are 66 awardees of this prestigious honor
across different art forms. Some of the honors and privileges that a
national artist awardee receives are the following: (1) the rank and
title, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines; (2) a
medallion or insignia and a citation that will be read during the
conferment; (3) cash awards and a host of benefits (monthly life
pension, medical, and hospitalization benefits, life insurance
coverage); (4) a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng Mga
Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery); and (5) a place of honor or designated
area during national state functions, along with recognition or
acknowledgment at cultural events. The most recent conferment
was in 2016.
Conferment of the
2009 and 2014
Order of National
Artists Award
 The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the National
Living Treasures Award was created in 1992 under the
Republic Act No. 7355.

It was first conferred to three outstanding artists in

music and poetry back in 1993. They are Ginaw Bilog, a
master of the Ambahan poetry; Masino Intaray, a master
of various traditional musical instruments of the Palawan
people; and Samaon Sulaiman, a master of the kutyapi
and other instruments.
Ginaw Bilog Masino Intaray Sumaon Sulaiman
 The medal given
to the recipients of
the distinction
Gawad sa
Manlilikha ng
Bayan
(GAMABA)
 This artists’ practice may fall under the following
categories: folk, architecture, maritime transport, weaving,
carving, performing arts, literature, graphic and plastic arts,
ornament, textile or fiber art, pottery and other artistic
expressions of traditional culture.
Some of the incentives accorded to the awardee are the
following: (1) a specially designed gold medallion; (2) an
initial grant of P100,000 and a $10.000 monthly stipend for
life (this was later increased to P14,000); (3) benefits such
as a maximum Cumulative amount of $750,000 medical and
hospitalization benefits; and (4) funeral assistance or tribute
fit for a National Living Treasure
GROUP MEMBERS:
LLADONET, Rodolf Aaron T.
DAYAGRO, Laurence
VALMORIA, Nelia
CAHILIG, Clifford
ABADIANO, Charles

THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING!