MODULE 4

LESSON 5

ARTIST AND ARTISAN

Learning Outcomes

Identify the medium in various forms of art, viz., visual, auditory, and combined arts
Define an artist or an artisan’s medium and technique
Define the role of managers, curators, buyers, collectors, art dealers in the art world.
Differentiate between artists’ and artisans’ approach/technique toward a particular
medium
Identify national and GAMABA artists’ notable works and their contribution to society

Time Frame: Two Weeks

Introduction:

In this Chapter, you’ll get familiar with the different mediums of art and get to know with the
roles of managers, curators, buyers, collectors, art dealers in the art world. You will also
introduce artist who have dedicated their lives to the cultivation of arts and culture, wherein
other key players and movers are testament to how the production, consumption and
distribution of arts have changed profoundly.

Let’s Get Started

Activity 5.1

1. What art form you can most relate to and appreciate? It may be architecture, sculpture,
painting, music, literature, film, dance, performance/ theater, and living traditions.

2. Name an artist whose works you really like.

3. Is there a particular work of art created by him or her tat you relate to and appreciate? What
is it and why?
 Analysis:

1. Based on what you wrote on Activity 5.1 in question number one, make an
assumption about your chosen art form.

Abstraction:

The art is one of the most significant ways in which we try to grapple with how the
present unfolds. In Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit (1923), he stated that “ Art when really
understood is the province of every human being. It is simply a question of doing things,
anything, well. It is an outside, extra thing. When the artist is alive in any person, whatever
his kinds of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing
creature.
Artist have traded a long history. Their roots can likewise be traced in one of the
mojor milestone in human civilization. In the first episode of the vide series “New Ways of
Seeing”, a project of The New York Times’ T Brand Studio and jewelry giant Tiffany & Co.,
art critic Jeety Saltz (2016) underscored the significance of not only the discovery of the
cave paintings, but also the paintings themselves. He asserted that “these first invented a
way to get three-dimensional world
into two dimensions and attach
value to their own ideas. And all of
the history of art flows forth from this
invention”. He is apparently referring
to the drawings and painted images
of animals, hunting scenes, and a
variety of symbolic figures created Stonehenge (Wilstshire, England) of the Neolithic Era

during the Stone Age.

It was in this light that artist worked and most of the time, the products were considered not as
artworks at all but rather as craft or places under some other category.

ARTIST AND THE GUILDS

Have you ever wondered why some examples of artistic and creative production have survived
to this day?Museums are packed with numerous artifacts and interesting objects from all over
the world that have survived centuries for us all to see.

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. What they have is a sense on how the
materials behaved, how the environment, light, and weather patterns affected structures, and
other intuitive principles of creation.
What is meant here is a kind of formalization of craft education in which regulation was set in
place. Here, skills qualification was needed for an apprentice to register under a particular
guild. 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
 Glass workers
 Carpenters
 Carvers
 Masons
 Armors
 Weapon-makers
Guilds were a type of social fellowship, an association structured with rules, customs, rights
and responsibilities. With a lifetime commitment to a particular trade, an artisan develops
immense skill and expertise in his craft.

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 varying artistic proclivities and skills, from the smiths (metal work), carpenters,
carriers and glaziers (stained glass artist), among others.

In the Philippines, the culture of artisan became prevalent during the time of Spanish colonial
period. This was both the case for religious and secular art, wherein the existence of artisans
proved to be of immense use. It was through mimesis or copying that artisans fist learned to
depict religious images and scenes. Friars being non- artist themselves, provided the
references that artists could use. During the propagation of the faith, Spanish friars
commissioned a lot of artisans to carve, paint, and engrave images for churches and public
sites. Each locality had a characterizing style or feature in the way their depictions were made;
the manner in which Boholano artists would paint saints and scenes were different from those
of Rizal or in Laguna. Like other Baroque churches that benefited from talents of artists,
Spanish colonial churches were also lined the frescos and ceiling paintings with a number of
them undergoing restoration in the early 1900s.
ARTIST AND HIS STUDIO

Today, artist studios have been a place of interest for the public. It is interesting to see and
learn where creativity manifest itself, especially since an artist’s studio is an extension of the
artist himself. The studio model dates back from the Renaissance. Therein, artist flexed their
relationship with their patron as a site where negotiations and works were made. There those
whose work stations were segmented into two, the studiolo and the bottega; the latter is where
the work usually happened. Apprentices studied under masters, assisting with menial tasks or
the preparation of the painting surfaces. In the seventeenth century, these demarcations
became lose, eventually merging together.

Other Players in the World of Art

Source:
https://www.google.com/search?q=other+players+in+the+world+of+art&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijy5zl04rsAhXpx
YsBHVHSBuMQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1536&bih=754#imgrc=u_XDM2I2-TXixM
The terrain in which the artist traverses is becoming increasingly complex. 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.
In Howard S. Becker’s Art Worlds (1982), he asserted that “all artistic work, like all human
activity, involves the joint activity of a number,often a large number, of people. Through their
cooperation, the artwork we eventually see or hear comes to be and continues to be. The work
always shows signs of that cooperation. The forms of cooperation may be ephemeral, but often
become more or less routine; producing patterns of collective activity we can call an art world.
The existence of art worlds, as well as the way their existence affects both the production and
consumption of artworks, suggests a sociological approach to the arts. It is an approach that
produces aesthetic judgments; although that is a task many sociologists of art have set for
themselves.”
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 working boards ( board of
trustees); directors and assistant directors; manager curators; and other posts whose interest is
the management and operations of museums, galleries, and other spaces.

The role of curator is more of the interpretation and development of the artwork (s) or the
collection(s) through establishing the significance, relationship, and relevance of these
materials in isolation and/ or as part of a wider narrative.
There are many aspects that go into post-production. 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.

Engagement with Art

In Cline’s The Evolving Role of Exhibitions and its Impact on Art and Culture (2012), she wrote
that “exhibitions act as a 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 exhibitions, by its nature, holds a mirror up to society, reflecting its interests
and concerns while at the same time challenging its ideologies and preconceptions.
Moreover, in Paula Marncola’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 may
different publics intersect.” This opportunity is singular, as most interactions in the art world are
limited to two players at a time. Exhibitions create an opportunity in which the different roles in
the art world get to meet, interact, and even enter into a discussion.

One of the most common platforms to engage with the art is trough exhibitions either at
museums or galleries. Nowadays, there are other exhibition spaces that have opened up for
artist to showcase their works.

AWARDS AND CITATION

As with any organized
endeavor, the arts and
culture have entered into a
phase in which another
aspect of its practice can
be realized. In history,
support for the arts and
culture is not limited to the
allocation of funding or
partnership. One of the most common measures in which artist and other creative producers
are given incentives and honor for their work is trough state- initiated and given awards and
citations. The two major wards given to artist in the Philippines are the Orden ng Pambansang
Alagad ng Sining (Order of Nation Artist) and Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living
Treasures Award).

The conferment of the Order of Nation Artist is the “highest nationa recognition given to Filipino
individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippines arts;
namely music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, film, broadcast arts,for d architecture and
allied arts. The order is jointly administered by the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCAA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred by the President of
the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions” (NCCA, 2015). The very first
recipient of this award was painter Fernando Amorsolo, who was touted as the Grand Old Man
of the Philippine Art.”
 SUMMARY

The evolution of the artist throughout the history is one of the most interesting progressions in
the affairs of man. From the banalities of the works he created to assist and inform the every
day, he was caught in the midst of prevailing and shifting ideologies, and utilized the power of
the creativity and imagination in attempt to grapple with the world around him. There is much
responsibility and expectation ascribed to artist. As Woodrow Wilson (1913 relates, “ You are
not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply,
with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope of achievement. You are here to enrich the world,
and you impoverish yourself if you forge that errand.”

Application

1. How relevant still are the awards National Artist and GAMABA, not only to the art
world, but also to the Filipino society as a whole?
 2. Analyze and critique state-sponsored recognition for artists and cultural workers.
What do you think are some of the considerations that must be addressed with regard
to these?

3. Identify and selct one artist. He or she may be a Filipino or foreign; and may be
identified with any art form: architecture, sculpture, painting, music, literature, film,
dance, performance/ theater, and living traditions among others.

A. Research on him or her and select five aspects of his or her life (events, ideas,
works, awards, citations) that you think have a substantial contribution not only to the
local or foreign art scene, but also to human history.

References:
Capistrano-Baker, Florina. (2006). Pioneers of Philippine Art. Makati: Ayala Museum and
Dreampulse Production, video, 32.25 min.
Caslib, Bernardo Nicolas Jr., Dorothea C. Garing, Jezreel Anne R. Casaul. (2018). Art
Appreciation. 1st ed. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Corre, Fruto and Nancy Pe-Rodrigo. (1999). Hinabing Panaginip (Dream Weavers), Bookmark
video, 45 min.