Republic of the Philippines

NORTHERN NEGROS STATE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Old Sagay, Sagay City, Negros Occidental
(034)722-4120, www.nonescost.edu.ph

COURSE READING VISUAL ARTS (MIDTERM)

Lesson II Methods in Reading Art

MODULE 3(6HOURS) Role of the Viewer
The Contemporary Times
COURSE
Mark A. Labrador, LPT, MEd
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I. INTRODUCTION

Many of us like entertainment and social media. It is flamboyant,noisy and easily catches our attention. We
often just take in the information and news they provide without shifting through them and realigning what we
have heard or seen with our values as a person.

What is the pulse of art today?

The “now” is what critics call contemporary, orpost-modern, which is the product of artistic sensibilities and
attitude following the modernist period. If we look at the world events against its background, we can take into
consideration one very important achievement; technology. Critics were at first uncertain of how they should
described the movements following the modern period, but later on, contemporary art formed its shape and
convinced us that it is an era of its own.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Learn about art history, art criticism, and art theories (methodologies).
 Construct proper art criticism by asking appropriate and relevant questions.
 Analyze and critic artworks.
 Identify the role of the viewer in art.
 Critique the works of contemporary artists.
 Have more comprehensive understanding of the implications of technological advancements to our
art scene.
 Develop a broader understanding of the application and connection of art to different areas of
knowledge.

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III. MOTIVATION
Discover the facts behind a mysterious artwork. Fill in the following chart to find out.

What do you see?

Does this piece of art remind you of anything?

What questions do you have about this piece of

art?

PRESENTATION
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 Art Criticism as mentioned by James Elkins in the essay, What Happened to Art Criticism, is a discipline of
the arts that seems to be both healthy and dying? If you live in a city wherethere are art galleries and museum,
you will notice that these institutions produce exhibit notes and pamphlets that give a little bit of informative and
elaborative writing about the artworks on display. However, this is not widely practiced in the academe,
especially in terms of General Education. Do you think this is an important skill to learn? Why or why Not?

IV. TEACHING POINTS

METHODS IN READING ART

What is a method?
Think of methods as filters that can help you appreciate aspects of art in different lenses. There are some
“filters” that are more effective than others, especially when we talk about context and content.

Have you encountered philosophy as a required subject to study? Philosophy has been man’s attempt to
make sense of why we do what we do. If we want to become more diverse in our approach it learning, art
methodologist is one of the means and these are mainly hinged on long- held philosophies .Depending on what
the art is talking about and where it is form , we can read it in a non- based way through these approaches:

1. Formalism and Style -- Basically gives importance to the formal qualities (art elements, materials, and
design principles) as basis for the meaning of art. Roger Fry is a major purveyor of this thinking. The form is the
content per se and does not take history and context into account.

2. Iconography – Focuses on the subject matter primarily over form. When using this method you will answer
questions like; who is this person the artist painted and what does it represent? Why did the artist choose this
image and what for?

3. Contextual Approaches – From the term itself, context become an important factor in criticizing artworks
here. We can take many approaches to contexts like Marxism, Orientalism, Colonialism, Racial Iconography,
Feminism and Gender. As you can observe, these are mainly schools of thought and philosophical movements
which place an artwork within a certain parameter. For example, Marxism is about art in relation to economics.
On the other hand, Feminism is bent toward the societal context of art wherein gender becomes a strong factor
in the forces behind an artistic creation.

4. Biography and Autobiography – Considers the life and context of the artist. This approach is based on the
assumption that the artist’s life, beliefs, choices, and personality are directly connected to the works that he or
she creates.

5. Semiotics – From the Greek word “sema,” which means sign. Hence, an artwork or art form is assumed to
be composed of a set of signs that may have significant cultural and contextual meanings beyond itself.

6. Psychoanalysis – Freud is probably a familiar name in the field of psychology and he is one of the basis of
his theory. In psychoanalysis, one is concerned about the unconscious mind in relation to the artist, the viewer,
and the cultural context it is involved in.

7. Aesthetics and Psychoanalysis – Individual notion of what is considered acceptable, beautiful, or attractive
in works of art are in part influenced by psychological factors. This approach the connects psychology to one’s
constructed philosophy of art

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THE ROLE OF THE VIEWER IN ART

Imagine a mouth without a tongue. Bear with me…

Now take that image and understand that this is the equivalence of art without a viewer. It’s just a big
gaping hole with no interest or definition of taste. Taste being also in the sense of what is good and bad art,
which is what the audience decides along with the value of the piece. Value that is present when someone
connects with the artwork as well as how much they are willing to pay for it. All this is determined by the
audience; the viewer; the buyer. If the viewer is not present, the creation of art is simply self-expression that no
one sees. Pretty boring, right?
There are four parts to making real art: the idea, the creation of it, the meaning behind it, and finally the
audience.
Now, the idea is interesting because there are two kinds of art that are defined solely on how prominent
the idea is. There is conceptual and non-conceptual (perceptual) art. The audience either defines this outright or
are there to be the stand in and determine how it is identified. Meaning, if someone were to look at your art,
would they have even a small chance of understanding it without context?
There really is no significance to the meaning of your art without the audience stating it so. You could
spit your food out onto a plate to express your inner frustrations, but if no one leans over to say it looks like a
giraffe, it’s never going to be art. At the same time, if you were to create a picture by spitting said food and no
one cares, well, no one cares. If someone finds this interesting, watches and encourages you to continue on,
-boom- successful artist. If someone eventually finds this plate and wishes to see more of this similar idea after
you’re dead, -boom- you’re the Van Gogh of spit-plate art. The audience is so important in the definition of your
art.
Art is a big part of human culture. Past and current art shows and defines how we see things at different
points in our history. Obviously, you need people to have a culture. As well, you need the people in that culture
to see your work because whether they like it or not, they are the ones that complete the process of making real
art. Without the audience, there is little to no significance to the idea or the creation.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather receive an audience/viewers' negative feedback and have that
horrible taste in my mouth than nothing at all. As artists, we need our tongues and our audiences.

THE CONTEMPORARY TIMES

Precursors of postmodern art in the Philippines can be dated back to the EDSA 1 revolution. During the
Aquino government, many reforms in the once Marcos-controlled institutions like the CCP, National Museum and
Metropolitan of Manila were implemented . There was a move toward the decentralization of arts institutions.
The three primary reform thrust of the CCP were Filipinization , democratization, decentralization and artistic
excellence. Because of this , some marginalized artists and art groups during the Marcos regime were given
opportunities to display their works to the public. Filipino masses also had more access to the art collections and
grants were given to those who aspired to produce and exhibit original works from local areas.

For a long time, art served as an instrument to promote agendas of individual politicians, curbing the
emerging national identity of Philippine art .Hence, when we finally set ourselves free of the entanglements of
such political powers, many independent artist organizations were formed in the country such as Concerned
Artist of the Philippines. Printmakers Association of the Philippine ,Salingpusa ,Ugatlahi and many others.
To give more recognition to artist and folk artists who are important pillars of the society’s notion of patriotism,
the government re-established awarding systems through the National Artist award, Gawad CCP para
sasining,GawadsaManlilikha ng Bayan for Pjilippine traditional arts, and the revived CCP Thirteen Artist Awards.
Private bodies also developed their own awards systems and have helped in discovering, promoting and
supporting emerging artists of the archipelago .These include the Ateneo Art Awards. Philippine Art Awards of
the Philip Morris Group of Companies ,Metrobank’s M.A.D.E. competition and others.

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 Let us now study the implications of contemporary issues for some artist whose works echo the issues
you have discussed and debated previously.

1. BenCab – National Artist for Visual Arts- Benedicto Cabrera has work which span a lot of important periods in
our history, especially the postwar period. One of his work series entitled “Sabel’’ depicts the disorientation that
Filipinos experienced during the postwar period.

2. David Medalla -- “The avatar in Europe in performance art’’, as described by art critic Leo Banesa .
Performance art is one of the new artistic expressions of the contemporary period where the artist himself is the
artwork.

3. Pacita Abad – One of the women artists in the country that has produce a strong voice and identity when it
comes to women’s art. Born in Batanes, her works are characterized by bold and bright colors. She has travelled
to more than 50 countries with work exhibited to more than 200 galleries .

4. Elmer Borlongan– Painter of Filipino nuances which he depicted with much dignity in his masterful works.
His paintings are mostly figurative with subject matters that tackle mostly the daily and mundane activities and
interactions of Filipinos. He is one of the most exceptional in the aspect of painting in our country.

5. Mark Salvatus – Salvatus has created much discourse and narratives in his works on the notions of
urbanization, Internet, and technological age, with political, social, and economic grounding. His works are
considered intemedia ,combining mark-making ,sounds ,videos ,and found objects in his works.

6. Leroy New – One of the youngest recipients of Thirteen Artists Awards, Leroy is an artist of his own, known
mostly for his installation art that are often other- worldly with an alien feel. He pioneered the “Aliens of Manila’’,
which are created photographs of people wearing his creations of bodysuits and headgear.

7. Archie Oclos – He has always been active in the public sphere, painting murals depicting social realities of
both the present and the memories of the past governments. He recently awarded one of the Thirteen Artists of
CCP.

8. Mars Bugaoan – A young and emerging artist whose works echo the displacement that we often experience
because of the demands of works and globalization. His works have evolved from printmaking to being sit
-responsive , incorporating the landscape of the site into the installation of the art piece.

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V. ASSESSMENT

ACTIVITY 1

The growth of art scene after modernism has become fast paced, propelled more by the effects of
globalization. Given the changes that happened after the revolution together will the decentralization,
Fillipinization , and diversification of modes and media in the arts , while a short essay about your option about
these events in our contemporary art scene.

Guide Questions:
1. How has the Internet age affected the works of artists?
2. What are the factors taken into consideration in the life of an artist? What do you think are the implications of
these in their lives?
3. What can you say about artist validation systems? (awards and competitions)
4. How was diaspora and displacement affected and modified artistic expressions?
5. How do you think individual art bodies or organizations are shaping our attitudes toward the arts?

Write you’re essay here:

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ACTIVITY 2

After learning approaches on reading art, analyze this artwork using three of methodologies discussed.

“The Fall of Man” by Cornelisz van Haarlem

Method 1:

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Method 2:

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Method 3:

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References:

Dellosa, Chloe P., Roldan, Albert Napoleon J. A Course Module for Art Appreciation, First Edition.
ISBN 978-621-04-126-4

Palencia, Marjueve M. et al. Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions, Second Edition.
ISBN 978-6219560924

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