Art and Society by Alice Guillermo 1-4

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1RT -ij.rD so,atiI.tTl' B"' Al:'i:+ G. G,-:illerrno

\lrhiie art

res;lsts a universa-r and fixed definition and that the most that n'e can sa)'by way of a definition is that an is a and process of signification or conveying nreaning, rvhat is indisputable is ihat art is prociuced in specific se'ttin5:, in p:::rticular sociel.es and historical periods. As Janet Wolffperspectival, errranating from an artist rvho is part of a soci*-*'and who siiuates h:mself within the different productive fcrces of his socie\'. cogni-.-ive rno,Ce

The sanle is true f':;r aesthetics which is the philosophr. of art or horo' one thinks about afi. 'I|ere is no set of aesthe:ic prir,ciples rlhich :--e good ior all n-ren and for all time. That rvas the assumptiop of Western classical art rshich laiii c":'*'n th' canons of be;.utv which rvere advanced as universal, but it concealed tLe many different social conterts of rrrt. i.-':reb-r' '-:p!:':i:ir :ss',:: .ir;g the hegemony of the Western artistic tradition even over non-westei.n societies.,r.ith their ,,rvn:...aditior....

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Affir,ming the cont=xtuaiist position, we thus view art, rvhether as visual arts, architecture, the traditional arts, , "nrusic- litera.i:-,rre, theater, film, and dance, within its social and historicai contert ro u, io be able to giasp its full meaning. , Arl dc:-ives iL;-mat_erials, sui,rjects, therrng5, conventions, concerns, issues, r'alues, ideolcgies, influeices, and ilspirations fi'ont :-;s soci;al and nafural environnrent. The images and productions of r.rt represent, recreate, or reconstmcl their surro'=:tding reaiitl aad th::.s the1, proffer various ways of seeing ourseives and ihe rvorld around ds aud b1' doing sc prolic': a coi,gnitive veiricle for better knowing ourselves and the rrorld. Opposite to the contextualist posiiion is the forrrralist one in which the r+'ork of art is viewed in as a separate and self-contained entity or text whiie blocking its reiati,:rship i'o the reai rvorld. In this tbrmalist vie'ar, only the elements of the text and their reiationships to cach othei are broug:t into {ocus; +-}rey are not made to interact with their referents in the rtjal world. The problem with this approach is that it trut.t.:;tes the meanirg of art; it precludes drawing out its full meaning b1, not viewing the work within lts social conditions of production al.d by not gi\ing valne to allusions, references, or stmbols since these are dismissed as "extraartisi':" and :herefore outside the realm of consideration. It completely breaks off the relationship of the rtork anri tlie artist ,,r'ho is a mernber of society and \"fio represents, wittingly or unwittingly, padicular social, class or group interests. Needl=ss to sa;,r, such an approach to art is not humanly fulfilling because it does not lead to a well-rounded knoivledge arrd under=tandinrg of the w-ork o{ art.

!lode ofProduction 'iiir: ie-ifieu an:ii .trrlirorrr-rrelri nf art

In a broarl -sen.se- !$e stridv philippine art as Droduced within the context of national conclitions, soclal, ecolromic. and ;,.ditical irr a particular period of history, as for instance, the second hirlf of the 19rh cer-liutJ, tl:e Dosir;ar" period to iire 6o's, o,;- the }llarcos regime- In a specific sense, we study Philippine art as produced by a particulal social group, whether by }falila ulban artists with a "fine arts" background, by artists in the regions as in Bacolod, Davao, or Cebu, or b1' indigexous a.irtists belonging to a specific cultural community whicir has presen'ed its artistic tradiiions from precoloniii

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Art

class

;rtist

irs pr'rducod under ciifferent conditions even within the >ame society rluring the same time. The urban midclle o*trull;- iniported frorn Europe and the United States. When he finishes a series or body of work, he usuall-v

lovers and perrons. Con'f,1'.i6nr are quite different tbr a traditional artist, such as a weaver, a potter, a woodcarver or basket maker. For a -iong tir:ne, the traditional arts were produced to meet a local corirmunity's ritual and functional needs. 1'hey were circuis-Ied within the members of the community at the same time that the locai ciatus alrd sultans were the first big patro,:s. It is only in the past few decades that local entrepreneurs and tourist agents realized tl:eir commercial vaiue and brougit thesr: local artistic productions tc the urban areas. The producers rvho live in renrote barrlos do not or cannot bdr:g -]eir.nrr:rks Cire ctly to the urhan nrarket but the entrepreneurs and their agents bring thesc to Manila, package tlem into more sal,eable commodities and sell them in cornmercial centers and boutiques. While the prodr.rcers sell the works irt a rela:ively Low price. thel' are sold much higher in the urban malls. Likewise, not to be ignored are the parlicularlldifficdt rvorhng conditions of wear.ers and othertraditional artists. Victims of neglectr\nd prejudice, they'are caught up in the daily stmggle for surrival ancl are continually threateneti wth eviction from the ancestral lands by' speculators, subdir-ision oevelopers and industrial capitalists who want to build factories usually highly pollutirrg to the imrnediate t'nvirc"nment: they arc a'lso aasy prey to exploitations and abuse. As for lhe producers of folk art, rvho are nrostly farntt'rs irnd i hermca in the couni;-, side, nruch of their w,ork is seasonal, associated u'ith torvn fiestas and produced in relation to the a;a:icuitrral cvcies. Thu-;. it is importarrt that the works of traditional and fblk art be viewed within its social sctting to be abi,: to knr:,r.,,and undersi.anci the difficulties and problems that involved in their pr-oduction.

Historical cnntc.fls of a-rt

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1'hrr--,ughout art history, art has been produced within different r:rodes of production or social fornrations. Arts rr'hic;: answered the needs of the local group were produced in prinritive cornnrunal societies, as in clans and kinship groupi rtitht-rut a strong political organization. In warrior societies, arlists specialized in designing weapons, such as thc k:is. -'l:itir c:ombined the e.esthetic and functioual aspects. In plutocratic societies aitd sultanates led by rvealth-v elite

far:rii:,:s or gn-oups, artists catercrd to their need for status symbols and outstanding ritual objects. In the Cordilleras, the hogaSi or ceremonial bench carved from a single tree tmnk signifies social prorninerlce. Among the Maranao in the South, an or:a;;ti:nt?l st1'le of brassware developed to meet the neecl for lavish gitts and dowries among the eiites. The okir

likexiie supplied the ornanrerrtation

of the datLr houses, as well as nrarry articles of everyday use.

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rrt'ith Sr:,anish colonization, a feu