The Contexts of Art

SILENCE
Different
Types of Art
Animation
Architecture
Assemblage
Calligraphy
Ceramics
Conceptual Design
Drawing
Folk Graffiti
Graphic Design
Illuminated Manuscript
Illustration
Mosaic Art
Paintings
Performance
Photography
Sculpture
Stained-Glass Art
Tapestry
Video
 CONTEXT
• It refers to the
settings, condition,
circumstances, and
occurrences
affecting production
and reception or
audience response
to an artwork.
What does it
try to convey
to us?
• The need to focus on the entire setting in
which art is created and received.
What is with
the setting
itself?
• Web of complex
circumstances which an
artist work in relation to
his/her:
• Physical Environment
• Historical Trends and
Traditions
• Social Movements
• Cultural Values
• Intellectual Perspectives
• Personal Commitments
 CONTEXT

• Is a set of background
information that
enables us to
formulate meanings
about works of art and
note how it (context)
affects forms.
How do we distinguish art from
other kinds of art
 Craft
The skill and style distinguishing art from other
kinds of human making.
 • The “story” as
it expresses or
participates in
by means of
paint, melody,
structure,
movement,
language and
other artistic
Content mediums.
In what way
can the viewer
relate to the
output of the
artist?
 • Because it
gives rise to a
whole history
of art
reception, and
plays a part in
explaining the
phenomenon
of the “classic”
Through realization of in a given
context and context- genre of art.
transcending qualities
Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
• This 500-year-old
Renaissance
masterpiece has
long been steeped
in mystery, and
even today the
identity of the
woman with the
alluring smile still far
from certain.
‘The hidden code’
“To the naked eye
the symbols are not
visible but with a
magnifying glass they
can clearly be seen”

- Silvano Vinceti
President of Italian
National Committee for
Cultural Heritage
In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which
could well stand for his name Leonardo Da Vinci
while in the left eye there are also symbols but
they are not as defined.
 I
" t is very difficult to
make them out clearly,
but they appear to be
the letters C.E or it
could be the letter B -
you have to remember
the picture is almost
500 years old so it is
not as sharp and clear
as when first painted.”
- Silvano Vinceti
President of Italian
National Committee for
Cultural Heritage
The Secret behind Mona Lisa’s smile
• He was said to have
employed
the sfumato effect a
seamless blend of
shading together and to
blur outlines.
The Controversy
of the Artwork

• Doubts on the exact

techniques used to
achieve this work,
have long fascinated
and intrigued art
experts.
Spoliarium (1884) by Juan Luna
Description of this
artwork
• Artist: Juan Luna
• Subject: Gladiator
• Period: Romanticism
• Medium: Oil Paint
 Let us interpret this work using
the 19th century Philippine context
Peninsulares
Insulares

Filipinos

Now, what impression does

the lines give?
Bulul
Description of this
figure

•Granary God
•Contains elements
of sculpture
So what makes this
figure, a trend in
Cordillera?
It is situated in the domain of everyday life
Different Context of Art
1. Artist Background
The artist’s profile affect the
art production.
Artist’s Background

• Because the mode of

production, which includes
the materials accessible
to the artists as well as
the conditions
surrounding the labor, also
reflects the work being
produced by the artist.
Mr. Willy Layug, a
UST Fine Arts
Graduate and a
sculptor from Betis,
Pampanga putting
finishing touch in
the life- sized
wooden sculpture
of Virgin Mary on
October 2014.
(A photo taken by
Ruston Banal of
GMA News Online)
Betis, Pampanga,
haven of wood
carvers and sculptors
• Even before the Spaniards
came, Betis, Pampanga is
already known as home of
artisans.
• In Betis, a master wood sculptor
or Matecanan Mandudukit,
maintains workshop there to
train young people
Where does the
artist live?
• The trademark that is
directly associated to
the community where
he/she belong.
Red Papier Mache
Sculpture of Horses
or Taka production
Paete, Laguna
 • The Paeteños believe that
the idea (Taka) originated
in Mexico with a significant
difference to what we have
Paete’s Taka in Paete. While the Mexican
according to “pinata” is decorated with
Mailah cut-off colored paper, the
Baldemor Paete’s takas are hand-
painted and are sometimes
small enough for little girls
to use as dolls. (Baldemor,
2018)
What group does the artist belong?

•Is he/she a member of an Indigenous

Group or not?
Some artists deliberately
provided an impression
of their cultural identity
Dr. Abdulmari
Asia Imao
A Tausug National
Artist (2006)
Dr. Abdulmari
Asia Imao
Integrated motifs (design
patterns) from the culture of
Mindanao.
Dr. Abdulmari Asia Imao
• Like for instance the
Sarimanok, a rooster
carrying a fish on its beak;
and other okir designs
(flowing Maranao design) in
his paintings and sculptures
using modernist styles of
figuration.
 S- Shaped
Brass
Sculpture of
Dr. Imao
displayed in
front of the
Vargas
Museum, UP
Diliman
 Is a source of inspiration
2. Nature and a wellspring of
materials for art production.
 T’nalak

• It expresses
support on the
belief that
spirits reside
with people in
the natural
environment
 T’nalak

• It has different
stylized forms
• Kleng (Crab)
• Gmayaw (bird
in flight)
• Tofi (Frog)
• Sawo (Snak)
Tinikling
 Tikling (Local Bird)
It tries to escape the field traps set by farmers.
 Nelfa Querubin and
the San Dionisio Clay

• The coarse clay is

prepared by mixing it
with river sand and
lead glaze to create
Picture taken by elegant black pottery
Philippine Daily
Inquirer
 Traditional Ivatan Houses in Batanes
Pictures owned by Dr. Augusto V. De Viana, Ph.D (Right,
wearing Yellow shirt) and the late Dr. Florentino Ph.D (Left,
wearing Blue polo)
 Traditional Ivatan Houses in Batanes
The roof is a pyramidal construction comprised
of a thick cogon thatched fastened by reeds
and rattan reinforced with a net as protection
against from harsh winds

Built using stones and Fango for its walls

Fango (kind of mortar mixing mud bits with
cogon)
Traditional Ivatan
Houses in Batanes

The stone, lime and

cogon construction
protect the
dwellers from
strong typhoons
and earthquakes.
3. Everyday Life
Philippine
Traditional art has
always been an
integral part of
daily life.
Everyday Life
Meaning its
significance lies not
only in terms of its
aesthetic
appearance but also
its functionality
and its value to the
community.
Pabalat (Pastillas
Wrappers)
The sense of touch, taste and smell are all
engaged along with the visual sense
4. Society, Politics,
Economy and
History
• Changes in the society,
politics and economy
affect artists, the work
they do, and the
structures that support
their production.
Julie Lluch’s,
Cutting Onions
Always Makes
me Cry
Cooking- A role associated
to women as a form of
oppression
 Appropriation

• A technique of transforming existing

materials through juxtaposition of
elements taken from one context and
placing another to present alternative
meanings, structure and composition.
Two things are
being seen or
placed together
with contrasting
effect.
Juxtaposition
The Given Order
by Galo Ocampo
Mode of Reception

• Reception is very much

affected by our level of
exposure to art forms
that may be unfamiliar
or have startling or
shocking images
Poloteismo by Mideo Cruz
Mode of
Reception

•It refers to the way

a text was received
both visually and
aurally.
Mode of Reception

• To distinguish between
various levels of a
text, to signify an
abstract entity.
“Version” or “variant”
refers to each
manifestation of a
“text” in a manuscript.
Mode of Reception

• The artist’s age,

gender, culture,
economic conditions,
social environment,
and disposition affect
production as well as
reception.