ART APPRECIATION REVIEWER

Module No. 3.1

What is Art Appropriation?

 Art appropriation is the practice of using pre-existing objects and images in an artwork without
really altering the original.
 In the modern times of art history, renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and
Marcel Duchamp were able to produce art pieces from appropriation. While in the
contemporary times, Sherrie Levine and Jeff Koons are the brave ones who faced controversies
and lawsuits over their appropriation artworks.
 According to Khan Academy (2015), art before is just a mere tool of expression and showcase of
thoughts, experiences and even emotions; but nowadays, instead of just looking at the meaning
and aesthetic value of one’s work, the question between inspiration and appropriation crop up.
 “Appropriation can be confusing, because the line between borrowing, appropriating, and
copying it often quite blurry...
 Appropriation art raises questions of originality, authenticity and authorship, and because of this
it is a useful tool for exploring these concepts.”

Cultural Appropriation

 Everything that surrounds us, material or non-material, is all part our culture.
 To be exact, culture has been defined as the values, beliefs, behavior, and the material objects
that together form a people’s way of life.
 Cultural appropriation nowadays has been the talk of the town. This maybe reasoned out how
other scholars tried to combine the two into – cultural appropriation of arts.
 Cultural appropriation according to Dreher (2019), it occurs when a person from one culture
adopts the fashion, iconography, trends, or styles from another culture.
 The appropriation can be called misappropriation if the culture being appropriated is one of a
historically oppressed group, she added. In every end of cultural appropriation is the idea that
appropriation may really not exist because no culture is completely original and uninfluenced.

According to James O. Young (2007) in his study entitled “Cultural Appropriation and the Arts” the
following are the types of cultural appropriation:

 Object appropriation – this happens when a tangible artwork is transferred by one member of
culture to members of other culture. Simple example would this is when a traveler purchase a
piece of souvenir, maybe a vase or a painting, and bring it to home.
 Content appropriation – in here, the artist reuses an idea firstly expressed in an artwork from
another culture. This usually happens in musical compositions, story or poem.
 Style appropriation – can be seen when an artist produces works using styles and its elements
which are usually done by another culture. A visual artist may use this appropriation; adopting
the style of other artists from other cultures.
 Motif appropriation - occurs when artists are influenced by the art of a culture other than their
own without creating works in the same style. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907 and
 Henry Matisse’s The Green Stripe in 1095 were some famous appropriation artworks of this
type.
 Subject appropriation – subject matter is being appropriated; it is when artist (outsider)
represents the subject matter (lives of another culture for instance) in the first person point of
view. Some fictional writers like Joseph Conrad, Kipling and Puccini are linked to this sense of
appropriation.

Avins and Quartz (2015) provided some cautions on borrowing from other cultures in their article
“The Do’s and Don’ts of Cultural Appropriation.”

1. “Someone else’s culture or race, or an offensive idea of it should never be a costume or the butt of a
joke.”
2. “It’s important to pay homage to artistry and ideas, and acknowledge their origins.”
3. “Don’t adopt sacred artifacts as accessories.”
4. “Remember that culture is fluid.”
5. “Don’t forget that appropriation is no substitute for diversity,”
6. “Engage with other cultures on more than an aesthetic level.”
7. “Treat a cultural exchange like any other creative collaboration; give credit, and consider royalties.”

Module No. 3.2: PHILIPPINE TRADITIONAL MOTIFS AND CRAFTS

Potteries
 Clay-made stone or ‘kalan’, ‘palayok’, ‘banga’ and ‘tapayan’ are the Tagalog names we are
familiar; these are potteries being used daily such as in cooking and liquid storage.
 Filipinos make pots of different shapes, designs and even sizes which are in reliance to a
particular chosen motif.
 One good example of this is in Ilocos Sur, ‘burnay’ pottery as they called it (Martin, 2016).
 Used as a coffin, the Manunggul Jar has wave designs in its upper outer body and at its lid. In
addition to motif of death, there is also a design of two figures sailing into the afterlife.
 As tradition in almost all parts of our land, pottery making continues to be functional without
compromising the details of telling one’s culture and portraying the earth’s makeup.
Weaving
 Weaving, as stated by Solmerano (2019), is one of the most precious traditional livelihoods that
are still kept until today.
 From its origin in the pre-colonial times, weaving is still inevitable for Cordillera people in spite
of the call of a more practical mass production of cloth. Still, they use back strap loom to
produce blankets and articles of clothing.
 From the Visayas, in Antique specifically, piña cloth production is one of its traditional livelihood
scheme.
 Piña cloth is made using hands, weaving the fibers obtained from the leaves of pineapple plants.
 Barong Tagalog is our formal wear that uses piña cloth. The combination of quality materials and
the in exquisite design made the Barong Tagalog known in other parts of the world.
 Aside from piña cloth, our natural weavers are fond of using abaca fiber come from the abaca
plant. Mostly, ‘sinamay’ fabric and tea bags, carpets and clothing are conventional products
which uses abaca fiber.
 Baskets play a major role in domestic routine of early Filipino ancestors.
  Cordillera tribe use baskets as storage for food when they need to go to mountain terraces to
raise crops, serve for carrying grains, for hunting animals, and for fishing in the streams.
 Bamboo baskets are used as fish traps; the shape and size of baskets determine the kind of fish
to be caught (Solmerano, 2019).
Woven textiles
 Woven textiles are another vital products made from natural fibers of cotton, abaca, pineapple.
 It may come in variety of colors from natural dyes of flowers, tree roots, and berries. Indigenous
groups in our country have this tradition up to this day.
 Blankets and other clothing articles were being produce by the people of Cordillera because at
some point those are functional in nature and divine.
 T’bolis in Cotabato weave abaca cloth and dye them in the process with motifs of birds, frogs
and dancing man in harmonious resemblance. Their weaving process produce t’nalak cloth
which is primarily used in various occasions such as birth, marriage, and death; embroideries are
designed to narrate story of their relationship with nature and spirits.
 People of Maguindanao are known for making and using silk malongs which are significant in
infants’ hair cutting ceremonies, weddings and circumcision rituals. The Maranao induced in
their woven fabric the color yellow which is related to royalty.
 Woven mats from Sulu show vivid colors and geometric patterns.
Ifugao’s symbols present in their traditional textiles
 Ifugao woodworks portray their deities and were used in rituals done from planting to
harvesting of rice.
 Meanwhile, representations of floral and animal forms are seen in Maranao and Tausug groups’
woodcarvings; figures of animals and handcrafted masks are portrayed in the artworks from
tribes settling in Palawan.
Personal Ornamentation
 Jewelry making in the Philippines is considered to be influenced by Asian neighbors particularly
the Chinese in the early 16th century.
 It is described too as traditional home-based industry which has been supported by our
government for they know the importance of our exquisite gold jewelries.
 Rings, earrings, bracelets, brooches, pendants, necklaces, tie, pins, and cuff links made from
precious metals and silver too became common.
 Let us not forget that pearls and semi-precious stones are also abundant in our land (Solmerano,
2019).
 Another product of long history and delightful culture of our ancestors is tattooing.
 Aside from having tattoos as personal ornaments, those serve also as markings to show status,
power, and skill in headhunting.
 The T’bolis, who are fond of this, feature tattooed in zigzag lines, geometric shapes, and animal
figures mostly done in their forearms and chests.
 Kalinga tattoos portray objects seen in daily life, such as rice terraces, ladders, and centipedes,
and the like. In the end, not only men had tattoos because women perhaps have those as
display for their own social status in the community.

Module No. 4.1: PHILIPPINE MUSIC

Philippine Music, a Historical Overview
By CORAZON CANAVE-DIOQUINO
 The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands, is made up of 77 provinces grouped into 16
regions. The main groups include Luzon, the Visayan islands, and the Mindanao islands.
  Based on religion, the population may be grouped into three broad categories: Christian groups,
indigenous religion groups, and Muslim groups.
 The Christian groups are the largest and are concentrated in the lowlands of Luzon and the
Visayan islands.
 Indigenous religion groups are found in upland northern Luzon, Mindanao and Palawan.
 Muslim groups are concentrated in Mindanao, the Sulu islands and southern Palawan.
 Philippines belongs to the East, its music has been heavily influenced by the West owing to 333
years of Spanish rule and 45 years of American domination.
 Music in the highland and lowland hamlets where indigenous culture continues to thrive has
strong Asian elements.
 Spanish and
 American influences are highly evident in the music of the urban areas.
 Philippine music, three main divisions are apparent: (1) an old Asian influenced music referred
to as the indigenous; (2) a religious and secular music influenced by Spanish and European
forms; and (3) an American/European inspired classical, semi- classical, and popular music.
The Indigenous Traditions
 The indigenous traditions are practiced by about 10% of the population. Eight percent of this
minority comprises some 50 language groups of people who live in the mountains of northern
Luzon and the islands of Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, and Mindoro in southern and western
Philippines. The remaining 2% of these groups are the Muslims from Mindanao and Sulu.
 Philippines before the arrival of Magellan in 1521, subsequent reports made by friars, civil
servants and travelers include descriptions of instrumental and vocal music–sometimes
mentioned in passing, other times in greater detail.
 From these documents, various kinds of interments made of bronze, bamboo, or wood are
cited. These include gongs of various kinds of size and shapes, drums, flutes of different types,
zithers, lutes, clappers, and buzzers.
 Vocal genres include epics relating genealogies and exploits of heroes and gods; work songs
related to planting, harvesting, fishing
 ritual songs to drive away evil spirits or to invoke blessings from the good spirits;
 songs to celebrate festive occasions particularly marriage, birth, victory at war, or the settling of
tribal disputes; mourning songs for the dead;
 courting songs; and children’s game songs. It is this type of music that is still practiced today by
the indigenous groups.
The Spanish-European Influenced Traditions
 With the coming of the Spaniards the Filipino’s music underwent a transformation with the
influx of western influences, particularly the Spanish- European culture prevalent during the
17th to the 19th centuries.
 The Hispanization during the succeeding three centuries after 1521 was tied up with religious
conversion. It effected a change in the people’s musical thinking and what emerged was a hybrid
expression tinged with Hispanic flavor.
The American Influenced Traditions
 The American regime lasted from 1898 to 1946 during which time Philippine music underwent
another process of transformation.
 In the newly established public school system, music was included in the curriculum at the
elementary and later at the high school levels. Music conservatories and colleges were
established at the tertiary level.
  Graduates from these institutions included the first generation of Filipino composers whose
works were written in western idioms and forms.
 Their works and those of the succeeding generations of
 Filipino composers represent the classical art music tradition which continues to flourish today.
 This semi-classical repertoire includes stylized folk songs, theater music, and instrumental music.
 The sarswela tradition produced a large body of music consisting of songs patterned after opera
arias of the day as well as short instrumental overtures and interludes.
 The strong band tradition in the Philippines, which began during the previous Spanish period
and which continues to this day, produced outstanding musicians, composers and performers.
 Another popular instrumental ensemble was the rondalla which superceded an earlier type of
ensemble called the cumparsa.
 The latter was an adaptation of similar instrumental groups, the murza of Mexico and the
estudiantina of Spain.
 American lifestyle and pop culture gave rise to music created by Filipinos using western pop
forms. Referred to as Pinoy pop it includes a wide range of forms: folk songs, dance tunes,
ballads, Broadway type songs, rock’ n’ roll, disco, jazz, and rap.
 These three main streams of Philippine music– indigenous, Spanish influenced religious and
secular music, American/European influenced classical, semi-classical, and popular music
comprise what we refer to today as Philippine music

Module No. 4.2: ART IMPROVISATIONS

ART IMPROVISATIONS
Romans and Greeks believed that art should be a planned activity.
Defining Art Improvisation:
 Spontaneous, unplanned or free-ranging are the three words that best describe improvisation.
 Exactly what we mean by improvisation is that, it is the art of acting and reacting in the moment
to one’s surroundings (New World Encyclopedia, 2018).
 Art improvisation occurs when certain performances or products of artistic activity like in visual,
performing and even in literary arts produced in a spontaneous, originative way (Bresnahan,
2015).
 Art improvisation can be done by solo or by group.
 Visual arts alongside with experimental music, literature and film can use solo art improvisation.
Meanwhile, performing arts particularly theatre, dance and jazz music are being improvised by
group format.
The following are the specifics of art improvisation:
Art Form Description of Improvisation
Musical understand one or more music styles and then express it with creativity and
originality; can be done in solo performance, or interdependently in
ensembles with other players
Singing an ancient art form; mixture of musical improvisation and improvisational
theatre; the singer makes up the words and melody to a song
Theatre an actor must use his own instincts to define a character's
response to internal and external stimuli; actors must be capable
of keeping their concentration throughout, even in difficult and
stressful circumstances
Dance used as a choreographic tool in dance composition; experimenting with the
 concepts of shape, space, time and energy; allows the choreographer to
connect to their deepest creative self, which in turn clears the way for pure
invention
Film improvisations developed were to build characters and storylines for such
films
Poetry the reciter flattered the audience or substituted forgotten passages to the
delight of the listeners; there were societies that value improvised poetry as a
genre, often as a debate or "poetic joust," where improvisators compete for
public approval

 New World Encyclopedia (2018) added, “other terms that improvisation is known by are Improv,
which is often used as the noun form of improvisation.
 Another is Extemporize—which is to vamp, ad lib, and riff—all have basically the same meaning
as improvisation.
 Colloquial terms such as ‘let’s play it by ear,’ ‘take it as it comes, and ‘make it up as we go along’
are all used to describe improvisation.”
Third World Improv: Art Improvisation in the Philippines
 SPIT is the longest running performing improv in our land; 16 years to be exact. This group of
educators and actors are described to produce theatre scenes which are unscripted,
unrehearsed, and unpredictable. No guidebook to look upon when in the live plays. Characters
and the line dialogues are unexpected yet comedic and sensible.
 TWI on the other hand, is an organization which came from the people behind SPIT. The former
introduces and offers the public audience big improv festivals. But not only that, they have come
up with programs that one can enrol with and learn improvisation. Lastly, companies and other
groups may appeal to TWI in helping them with their unusual but effective form of team
building activities.