Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lesson 6
Lesson 6
Figure 5.4. Film Still from Genghis Khan played and directed by Manuel Conde, set and costume
design by Carlos Francisco
In 2009, we might recall from news reports that artists marched on the streets
to protest the insertion of four additional names and removal of one name from
the roster of National Artists conveyed to Malacañang by the Cultural Center of
the Philippines. National Artist Ramon P. Santos (awarded in 2014) was initially
removed from the 2009 list despite having gone through the proper selection
process. The Palace exercised its controversial “presidential prerogative” over the
final list of awardees. That the adding of names exempted from the supposedly
rigid selection process caused such furor suggests the presence of an engaged or
critical public. Even though the NAA rests on the elite authority of the award-giving
bodies, we note how the public questioned and demanded a judicious selection
process in order to uphold dignity in the award. The case went all the way up to
the Supreme Court and the cooperative effort between past awardees and cultural
workers in an act of resistance to the 2009 proclamation demonstrates how the
public can wield power as stakeholders of culture and the arts. In 2013, the SC
issued its decision to invalidate the questionable conferment of the NAA to Carlo J.
Caparas and three other awardees. Moreover, the SC has ruled against any further
exercise of presidential prerogative in relation to awardees who did not undergo
the appropriate vetting process.
For a complete list of National Artists (until 2014), you may visit
http://www.gov.ph/lists/national-artists-of-the-philippines/.
Since its establishment in 1972, the NAA has institutionalized awards in the
areas of architecture, design, and allied arts, film and broadcast arts, visual arts,
literature, dance, music, and theater. We learned about artists whose practice
peaked during the so-called Modern period and we looked at their works that
have a greater public dimension, such as those produced collaboratively or in
TMLSS the context of a campus. While the government and institutions retain the power
to “validate” or name an individual as a “National Artist”, we have also seen how
power can be negotiated, as exemplified in the series of movements by the public
that approached the issue of the award system in 2009.
Much like in the last lesson, imagine yourself collaborating on your Creation
Story with a National Artist or National Artists in the various mediums—film, visual
arts, music, theater, dance, etc. What artworks or projects of the artist do you have
in mind? What are your reasons for selecting the artist? What do you like the most
about his/her works? How do you incorporate this artwork into your developing
D-I-Y version? Are you going to modify the work? Create another version of the art piece
i. How do works of National Artists alter one’s impression of place? How does
a location that features the works of one or several national artists affect the
way we value that place?
ii. What other disciplines or forms do you think should be addressed by the
PIN IT NAA? List them down and explain why you think these should be added.
iii. With your group, think about a National Artist who you would like to work
with on an art project on. Research about the life and works of the artist that
the group selected. Discuss the following:
a. What does it take to be a National Artist?
b. What qualities should he or she possess?
v. With a partner, think about how you can represent an “ideal” artist. You may:
a. create a drawing/painting/soft sculpture (using commercial clay,
textiles, and cotton, paper, etc.);
b. make an avatar using a computer program or application (app); or
c. perform a monologue/skit in class.
FLAG
patronage
CHAT ROOM
art market
media
schools and universities
state-sponsored institutions and platforms
artist collectives
artist-initiated residencies
museums
alternative spaces
curation
festival
FAQ What are the different types of institutions, organizations, and platforms?
Support systems can be government-initiated, community or municipality-
based, privately supported, university oriented, artist-run, or Internet-based.
They can also be combinations of these. Collectives and artist organizations are
composed of individuals who share similar or related practices. They are committed
to experiment and develop their particular forms. The Anino Shadowplay
Collective and the Sipat Lawin Ensemble are groups that challenge our concepts
of theatre productions by mixing up performative media and even trying out new
modes of public engagement. Organizations can also emphasize their regional
affiliation, as in the Black Artists of Asia which, at its height were made up of artists
from Negros. Groups like the Southern Tagalog Exposure find a common thread in
the members’shared ideology. Pursuing progressive as well as digital media, their
material is configured toward promoting the rights of “marginalized sectors and
their struggle for social justice,” according to the statement from their website.
Think about the exhibition you last visited. What do you think it was trying to tell you?
The state-body National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) provides
the infrastructure for either wholly or partially government-funded projects on
Philippine art and culture. Aside from granting awards and enabling exhibition
or performance venues, another official responsibility of the NCCA is ensuring
the nationwide representation and support to regions not normally perceived as
centers of artistic practice. One of the projects it supported is Sungdu-an, a series
of cross-regional efforts that began in 1996 comprising of traveling exhibitions,
consultations, and curatorial workshops. It spans the areas of Luzon, Visayas,
Mindanao, and NCR (National Capital Region). Derived from the Waray term meaning
“confluence,” Sungdu-an stimulated a spirit of exchange and collaboration among
a good number of artists and practitioners coming from various places. The title of
the 2005 exhibition for example, is Current, signifying recentness on the one hand,
the passage of knowledge, on the other. It also refers to the force or inspiration
that continues to propel artists in their respective practices. Among many other
works, soil paintings by Talaandig artists from Bukidnon were exhibited. Their
canvases illustrate the plight of the Talaandig communities and their rootedness
to their land, the latter reinforced by the medium that they employ. Another work
exhibited is the cracked and dismembered terracotta figures of rallyists crouching
in defense of truncheons by Kiri Dalena. She translated these into an installation of
wood pieces referencing the clay figures as carved by sculptors from Pakil, Laguna.
Contemporary art exhibitions need not be confined within the “white cube”
(referring to white-walled closed spaces of galleries in common art world usage)
environment of galleries and museums. Exhibitions can take place in alternative
spaces, or the outdoors, in public spaces within a limited period of time. An
alternative space is an independent and/or artist-run initiative that deviates from
rigid institutional models where exhibition parameters are usually less flexible. As
UNIT I: ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING
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an independent undertaking, such spaces thrive from the realization of organic
programs like small exhibitions or discussions undertaken through joint efforts
of its members, and with support from peers. With a paltry budget and a loose
form of management, the projects imbibe a “do-it-yourself” attitude, and as such,
their physical life span as a sustainable space tends to be always at risk. One of the
most noted artist-run spaces and collectives is the erstwhile Surrounded by Water,
established in Angono, and later relocated in Ortigas and Cubao, Metro Manila. The
members self-published their zines, conducted informal workshops and talks, and
put up exhibitions on their own. Another example is Project Space Pilipinas (PSP) a
collective formed by Quezon-based artist Leslie de Chavez. It recently established
a small structure in Lucban to be able to host artist residencies and exhibitions.
As a collective, they also aim to draw attention to the contemporary art scene in
Lucban, a place more well-known for its exuberant Pahiyas Festival held every 15th
of May in honor of San Isidro Labrador.
Figure 6.4. Neo-Angono Sign Intervention by Michael De Guzman and Art Sanchez, Jr.