CHAPTER III

ARTIST AND ARTISAN

LESSON 2

KEY COMPONENTS OF THE ART MARKET

The art market is an economic system that relies not only on supply and
demand but also on the fabrication of a work’s predicted future monetary and/or
cultural value. The art market can appear somewhat unclear since artists do not
make art with the sole intention of selling it, and buyers often have no idea of the
value of their purchase.

The following are the important players in the art market:

Curator. A curator, who is a manager or overseer, and usually a curator or

keeper of a cultural heritage institution (i.e., gallery, museum library, or
archive), is a content specialist charged with an institution’s collections,
selecting art to be displayed in a museum, organizing art exhibitions in
galleries or public places, researching artists, and writing catalogs and
involved with the interpretation of heritage.
To be successful, a curator should be organized, passionate, knowledgeable,
adept at multi-tasking, and proficient at writing.

Art Buyer. An art buyer is a professional who is knowledgeable of art, who

may scout talents for an advertising agency seeking to employ an art director,
or who may look for an art for a collector or a company.

Art Dealer. An art dealer is a person or a company that buys and sells work
of art. Art dealers often study the history of art before starting their careers.
They have to understand the business side of the art world. They keep up
with 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 paintings closely and compare the fine details with
similar pieces.

Private Collection. This is 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 or temporary exhibition or for the long term.
The source is usually from an Art Collector, although it could be from a school,
church organization, from bank or from other private company or any
institution.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Robert Fritz, based on his book, enumerated the steps in the creative process,
and said that creating is a skill that can be learned and developed. Like any other
skill, we learn by practice and hands-on experience – we can learn to create by

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creating. There are, however, some steps we can follow, not as a formula to adopt,
but as indications to guide our actions.

1. Conceive the result you want to create. We need to have an idea of what
we want to create, of what we want to have and manifest. We need a
vision – individual or collective – that we want to realize.
2. Know what currently exists. It is difficult to create something novel in any
area of knowledge without being aware of what is being done in that area.
3. Take actions. Having a wonderful idea or vision is not enough: you have to
do something to make it real, to manifest it although sometimes you have
to do things that might generate criticisms, sometimes you will make
serious mistakes and you will have to start again.
4. Develop your creativity. Every new creation gives you fresh thoughts and
knowledge of your own creative process. You will then increase your
ability to picture what you want and your capacity to bring those outcomes
into real-life situations.
5. Learn the rhythms of the creative process. There are three fundamental
stages in every creative process: germination, assimilation, and
completion.

Three Stages in the Creative Process

1. Germination (Idea)
It is the initial moment when you conceive a new project in your life. It
is a moment with a lot of energy coming out of the future you envision. It is a
powerful time you will have to use wisely for providing the right steps to move
forward. In the germination stage, you are planting the seeds of your creation.
The most important and difficult thing in this stage is choosing. You need to
be more specific about what you want to do. You have to give to your vision a
first shape, from which you decide your next steps. Being more specific
means choosing some things and leaving some other things out. It may be a
painful process, but it is necessary in any case. You have to learn to choose
well, to make good decisions. It is also important to choose what you want to
do instead of avoiding what you do not want to do. You will have to take in
your own power and not to give it to circumstances. However difficult it seems
to be, you should always choose what you want.

2. 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.
In this stage, your project, which initially was something external to you
or to your group, comes into your own being, becomes one with you. In this
way, your creation grows from inside and begins to manifest in everything you
do, consciously or unconsciously. Every idea you have, every new connection
you establish acts in your vision, making it more tangible, giving it life.
The assimilation stage of the creative process follows an organic path,
with its own rhythms and needs. Sometimes it will look like everything is
working, in order and harmony. Sometimes it will look chaotic and difficult to
manage. Do not try to intervene to change this process or adapt it to your

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 convenience. You will likely be unsuccessful and put the whole project in
danger.

3. Completion
Completion 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.
A beautiful way to conclude your projects is by celebrating them.
Celebrating is a great opportunity to share with other people your happiness
for what you have done. Afterwards, you will be ready to start again.

THREE STAGES IN ART MAKING

Art making can be associated with art exploration, concept development, and
art production. In the creative process, the artist undergoes three stages of
experience, which are popularly known as Pre-production, Production, and Post
Production.

1. Pre-production or subject development – this ends when the planning

ends, and the content starts being produced.
2. Production or medium manipulation – this is a method of joining diverse
material inputs and unimportant inputs (plans, know-how) to make
something for consumption (the output). It is the act of creating output, a
good or service that has significance and contributes to the utility of
individuals.
3. Post Production (completion) or exhibition – once an artwork is
finished, it will be displayed, circulated, and performed for the audience
and public to see or watch.

MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE

Medium
It refers to the materials that are used by an artist to create a work of art.
Without the medium, an idea remains a concept, or it would just dwell in the walls of
the artist’s imagination. It is challenging to manipulate medium and transform it from
its raw state.

Technique
It refers to the artist’s ability and knowledge or technical know-how in
manipulating the medium. It is the manner by which the artist controls the medium to
achieve the desired effect; thus, it is in the technique that artists differ from one
another.
Making an artwork requires technical competence. The ability to manipulate is
the driving force in the birthing of a new form or idea.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (STORY MAP)

This is a visual and graphic display that depicts the relationships among facts,
terms, and/or ideas within a learning task. It is also sometimes referred to as

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knowledge map, concept map, story map, cognitive organizer, advance organizer, or
concept diagram.

Graphic Organizer of Apo Whang-od Oggay, a Filipino tattoo artist from

Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga. She is often described as the “last” and oldest
mambabatok and is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group. She
was awarded Dangal ng Haraya Award in 2018, equivalent to National Artist.

PROCESS
Tapping into the skin
thru a thorn end of a
calamnsi or pomelo tree

MEDIUM TECHNIQUE
Ink mixture of charcoal - Batok (ancient
and water term)
Body as human canvas - Hand tapping

PERSONS INVOLVED
- Whang-od and Whang-
od’s grand niece
(Grace Palicas)
- Tourists, Pilgrims,
Trekkers

Strength Weakness
Medium - There is universal - Accessibility and
appeal supply of the
- Uses material within the
organic/indigenous community
materials
Process - Indigenous - Passion for the art
- Uniqueness (successor)
- Might diminish
through times
Technique - Traditional/indigenous - Tedious
- Culture - Time consuming
preservation/empower - Effort (clientele)
ment - Proximity of the
- Aesthetic appeal location
Persons involved - Unique design of the - Clientele’s
artist preference in
- Stronger popularity and terms of design

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 support from local and
international clients
- Awarded Dangal ng
Haraya Award in 2018,
equivalent to National
Artist.
- Exclusivity
- Consequences of
removing/changin
g the tattoo design

RECOGNITION AND AWARD FOR ARTIST AND ARTISAN

I. Gawad sa Manlilikhang Bayan (GAMABA) National Living Treasures

Award
The award was institutionalized in 1992 through Republic Act No. 7335.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which is the
highest policy-making and coordinating body of the Philippines for culture and
the arts, was tasked with the implementation.
The award is conferred upon a Filipino citizen or group of Filipino
citizens engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino, whose distinctive skills
have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have
been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generations in his/her
community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.

How Does One Become a Manlilikha ng Bayan?

To become a Manlilikha ng Bayan, the candidate must possess the
following qualifications:

a) He/she is an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community

anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs,
beliefs, rituals, and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external
elements that have influenced it.
b) He/she must have engaged in a folk-art tradition that has been in
existence and documented for at least fifty (50) years.
c) He/she must have consistently performed or produced over a
significant period, works of superior and distinctive quality.
d) He/she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the
art, and must have an established reputation in the art as master and
maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.
e) He/she must have passed on and/or will pass on to the other members
of the community their skills in the folk art for which the community is
traditionally known.

A traditional artist, who possesses all the qualities of a Manlilikha ng

Bayan candidate but because of age or infirmity has left him/her incapable
of teaching further his/her craft, may still be recognized if:

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 a) He/she had created a significant body of works and/or has consistently
displayed excellence in the practice of his/her art, thus achieving
important contributions for its development.
b) He/she has been instrumental in the revitalization of his/her
community's artistic tradition.
c) He/she has passed on to the other members of the community skills in
the folk art for which the community is traditionally known.
d) His/her community has recognized him/her as master and teacher of
his/her craft.

Duties and Responsibilities of Awardees

The Manlilikha ng Bayan is a link between the past, in which his/her
traditional folk art found fertile soil for growth, and the future, during which
he/she seeks his/her art to be permanently sustained. It becomes his/her
responsibility, therefore, to undertake the following: (a) to transfer the skills of
his/her traditional folk art to the younger generation through apprenticeship and
such other training methods as are found to be effective; (b) to cooperate with
the implementing agency, as provided for in Section 7 of this Act, in the
promotion and propagation of his/her traditional folk arts; and (c) donate to the
National Museum a sample to his/her work.

Below are the recipients of the GAMABA Award:

1. Ginaw Bilog (d. 2003), artist and poet, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro
Poetry (Ambahan), 1993
2. Masino Intaray (d. 2013), musician and epic chanter, Brookes Point,
Palawan, Poetry (Kulilal and Bagit) Music (Basal/Gong), 1993
3. Samaon Sulaiman (d. 2011), Musician, Mama sa Pano, Maguindanao
Music (Kutyapi), 1993
4. Lang Dulay, (d. 2015) textile weaver, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato,
Weaving (T’nalak), 1998
5. Salinta Monon (d. 2009), weaver, Bansalan, Davao del Sur, Weaving
(Abaca-ikat/Inabal), 1998
6. Alonzo Saclag, musician and dancer, Lubugan, Kalinga Province,
Music and Dance (Kalinga), 2000
7. Frederico Caballero, epic chanter, Sulod-Bukidnon, Iloilo, Poetry/Epic
Chant (Sugidanon), 2000
8. Uwang Ahadas, musician, Lamitan, Basilan, music (Yakan specifically
Kulintang, kwitangan kayu, gabbang, agung, and tuntungan), 2000
9. Darhata Sawabi (d. 2005), weaver, Parang, Sulu, weaving (Pis Syabit),
2004
10. Eduardo Mutuc, metalsmith/metal sculptor, Apalit, Pampanga,
Metalwork (Bronze and Silver), 2004

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 11. Haja Amina Appi (d. 2013), weaver, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, Weaving
(Mat), 2004
12. Teofilo Garcia, casque maker, San Quintin, Abra, Casque Making
(Tabungaw), 2012
13. Magdalena Gamayo, master weaver, Pinili, Ilocos Norte, weaving
(Inabel), 2012
14. Ambalang Ausalin, master weaver, Lamitan, Basilan, Weaving (Yakan
tennun), 2016
15. Estelita Tumandan Bantilan, master weaver, Malapatan, Sarangani,
weaving (B’laan igem), 2016
16. Yabing Masalon Dulo, master weaver, Polomolok, South Cotabato,
weaving (Ikat), 2016

II. National Artists

The Order of the National Artists is considered to be the highest national

recognition for individuals who contributed to the development of Philippine arts.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Cultural Center of the
Philippines together administer this award. The President of the Philippines
grants this award to an artist after both institutions give recommendations for this
particular artist. 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. Painter Fernando Amorsolo was awarded the same
year, making him the first National Artist.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Cultural Center
of the Philippines have set criteria for the Order of National Artists. These criteria
are as follows:

1. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as
those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were
Filipino citizens at the time of their death;
2. Artists who, through the content and form of their works, have contributed in
building a Filipino sense of nationhood;
3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus,
earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of
artists;
4. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of work and/or
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form, thus,
enriching artistic expression or style; and
5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:
a. prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as Gawad
CCP Para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award, and NCCA Alab ng
Haraya;

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 b. critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works; and
c. respect and esteem from peers.

ART EXHIBITS

In general, an exhibition is a planned arrangement and display of a collection of

items. Actually, exhibitions usually take place within museums, galleries, and
exhibition halls, and World’s fairs. Exhibitions include many things, such as art in
both major museums and smaller galleries, interpretive exhibitions, natural history
museums and history museums, and also varieties, such as more commercially
focused exhibitions and trade fairs.

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 an 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 just one venue, some exhibitions are shown in
multiple locations and are called traveling exhibitions, and some are online
exhibitions.

Even if exhibitions are frequent events, the concept of an exhibition is quite

wide and covers many variables. Exhibitions range from an extraordinary large event,
such as World’s fair exposition to small one-artist solo shows or a display of just one
item. Curators are sometime as concerned as the people who select the items in an
exhibition. Writers and editors are sometimes needed to write texts, labels and
accompanying printed materials, such as catalogs and books. Architects, exhibition
designers, graphic designers, and any other designers may be required to shape the
exhibition space and give form to the editorial content. Organizing and holding
exhibitions also requires effective event planning, management, and logistics.