CONTEXT OF ART

• Context of art


  • Setting, conditions, circumstances, and occurrences affecting production and reception or audience response to an artwork
  • A set of background information
  • Social, political, economic, religious, and historical factors
• By recognizing context, we acknowledge art’s interaction with active forces in society: social, political, economic, religious, and historical
• Contains elements of sculpture but is not regarded as such by its maker
• Example


  • Bulul
• A remarkable bulul collection can be viewed in storage at Hiwang Village, Banaue, Ifugao. Locals can see the said collection at H. Otley Beyer Museum located in the vicinity. The Bencab Museum in Baguio City also has a big collection of bululs
• The bulul, though ancient in origin, continues to be contemporary
• Artist’s background


  Age, gender, culture, economic conditions, social environment, and disposition
• Betis Pampanga sculpture is learned through “apprenticeship” with a matekanan mandukit/master sculptor
• Red paper MÂCHÉ sculpture of horse/"Taka" in Paete Laguna is for export or local sale
• In the Gallery and Museum setting, uniqueness and individual expression are given much importance
• Some artists deliberately foreground their cultural identity in their works
• The Tausug National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao (awarded 2006) integrates the culture of Mindanao like the mythical Sarimanok
• The “Talaandig” artists from Bukidnon express their affinities with the land by using soil instead of pigments and painting about their present concerns
• Julie Lluch from Iligan City emphasizes her female identity and personal experiences in many of her terracotta works. In “Cutting Onions Always Makes Me Cry”, 1988, her self-portrait presents cooking—a role associated with women in the home—as oppressive and unpleasant
• Travels, training, and professional development broaden the artist’s horizons. Migration provides the artist with a different set of material conditions
• Nature is a source of inspiration and a wellspring of materials for art production
• Nelfa Querubin-Tompkins has experimented with iron-rich San Dionisio Clay sourced from her native Iloilo
• Black Pottery by Nelfa Querubin
• Nature is also the environmental conditions
• The traditional Ivatan houses in Batanes are built using stones and fango for its walls, a kind of mortar formed by combining cogon and mud bits
• Junyee made an ephemeral installation at the grounds of the CCP titled “Angud, a forest once” (2000)
• Veejay Villafranca is one of the photographers who warned the public about the alarming effects of climate change, and how it forces people to become “refugees in their own land”. Photos by Veejay Villafranca
• Fernando Amorsolo painted landscapes as a romantic pic
• Veejay Villafranca: 'one of the photographers who warned the public about the alarming effects of climate change, and how it forces people to become “refugees in their own land”'
• Fernando Amorsolo painted landscapes as a romantic picture
• Ricarte Puruganan depicted nature as an “uncontrollable force” in his "Toilers of the Sea", 1980
• Philippine traditional art has always been an integral part of daily life
• The significance of Philippine traditional art lies not only in its aesthetic appearance but also in its functionality and value to the society where it’s produced
• Lirio Salvador, a Cavite-based artist, fuses easily accessible objects like machine discards, bicycle parts, and implements to form an assemblage
• Lirio Salvador’s “Sandata ni Shiva”
• MM YU: 'captured interesting patterns and forms often overlooked in the city'
• Although art is a form of expression, throughout its history, the works are not always created out of the artist’s own volition
• Factors affecting art production and reception

  • Society, Politics, Economy, and History
• Photography became accessible to local photographers as “Kodak” set up shop in the Philippines


  1928
• Photography fulfilled documentary and artistic functions
• Factors affecting art reception

  • Mode of Reception
• Mideo Cruz: '"I never go out of my way to offend; but I do like to provoke debates and critical thinking. Art is a way of expressing one’s views about the world, culture and history, and this is what I do in my work. The audience is free to make their own conclusions and interpretations about the images I create, but I must confess I didn’t expect for anyone to react so violently against ‘Poleteismo.’ The worse that I would’ve expected is for no one to come to the CCP and see my work or those of my colleagues in this exhibition"'