ACTIVITY

Before learning about this topic, I thought that the Sunduk was a fascinating work of art in
history because of the amazing and precise wood carving, I assumed it was a sort of water transportation
because I inspected it attentively and it appeared to be based on a form of a ship or an item from a
Monarch-type of government or tribes in the past. The seemingly fine curves and swirls inspired me to
investigate the piece further. Aesthetically, it appears to be a cross between a ship and a tower. As a
result, communicate an obvious image of a ship that is also a beacon for navigation help, like a
lighthouse.

After reading Topic 1, which is the viewpoint in art and society, now I know that it is a wood-
carved grave marker or an artefact that indicates the burial place of a deceased member of the Badjao
ethnolinguistic group in Sulu. I understood it was not an artwork, but rather an anthropological item from
the Badjao. It reminded me of Alice G. Guillermo's introduction to art and society, which claims that art
studies entail the promotion of aesthetic and cultural viewpoints in terms of disparities in class, gender,
ethnicity, and race. The introduction helped me recognize the significance of studying art culture and
history, as well as art interpretation. Traditional art has styles and materials that each have their own
meaning potential and are founded on personal experiences and culture. Sunduk is a good example of a
human psychophysical experience with cultural codes that is exclusively shared with a certain culture or
community, the ethnolinguistic group, Badjao. I assumed that this was their way of remembering the
departed. However, I still have questions similar to what is asked in the subject module. The issue is,
"What effect does such interruption have on their artistic life?". However, I do uncover a solution to this.
The history of art maintains what fact-based records cannot, which means that when disagreements
arise, there may be changes in the records as to what Sunduk's goal is, but art can exhibit and have its
own voice to communicate to viewers, "this is what I am made of." Conflicts may arise, but principles will
be instilled, and experiences will be translated across distance and time. My last subject module question
is, "How did this artifact from a graveyard end up in a museum abroad?".

As an artist, I think this topic emphasizes that studying Philippine culture and art does not
guarantee a Filipino orientation because we acquired it through colonists until we examine and learn
more about our own culture. In my view, even though these are colonial pieces, Philippine culture and art
are easily identifiable. Filipinos should likewise take use of this opportunity to make it our own, since we
have no option but to live with it. Given that our country's peasants shed light on our culture and history
by identifying their items as ethnographic objects. In my opinion, artifacts should not be shown in art
museums since they are part of a distinct society that has struggled and has to be cared for in order to
show respect to its culture and way of life.

For an instance, there are two students having lunch at school. The first student has a hotdog
and the other one is having a Sinigang. Both is prepared by their parents with time and effort. The one
with Sinigang showed to the whole class that their classmate is having a hotdog for his/her lunch. Others
may laugh, others may feel embarrassed or no reaction at all. What I mean by this is people have
reasons why they have this or that and other should show respect. Thus, in culture, art and history, we
have different kinds of society, and each may contain own concepts, values, worldviews and ideologies.
Every art in society that conveys values include human interaction that may show positive to negative
(vice versa) of thoughts and emotions and all should show respect despite the differences.