CHAPTER 3

ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

Artist The word “artist” is commonly defined as a creative art practitioner –
painter, sculptor, choreographer, dancer, writer, poet, musicians, and the
like, who makes or performs indirectly functional art with aesthetic value
using their creative imagination. Hence, artists give us art as their avenue
for inciting our thoughts and feelings that are important in discovering our
creative being. The artists express themselves into many forms of arts
using mediums or materials for the fine arts to have more aesthetic appeal.
Likewise, they perceive themselves as creative persons and built up their
mastery either through expert people or professional programs or through
self-study on account of their enthusiasm to a specific type of art.
The artist is somebody who is dedicated to innovative and creative part,
making visually pleasant and wonderful work just for the delight and
valuation for the viewer but with no or less practical value.
 Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972)

Labelled the country’s first National

Artist in 1972 by then President
Marcos, Fernando Amorsolo is often
known as the ‘Grand Old Man of
Philippine Art’.
José Joya (1931-1995)

A Filipino pioneer of Abstract expressionism, multi-media painter José Joya uses bold and
vibrant colours with a variety of painting techniques, layering, loose impasto strokes and
controlled drips.
 Pacita Abad (1946-2004)
 Her paintings consist of
vibrant colors and a constant
change of patterns and
materials. Earlier work dealt
with socio-political depictions
of people, indigenous masks,
tropical flowers, and
underwater scenes. Pacita
created a unique technique
called ‘trapunto’, where she
stitches and stuffs her vibrant
canvases with a wide range of
materials such as cloth, metal,
beads, buttons, shells, glass and
ceramics, to give her work a
three-dimensional look.
Napoleon Abueva (1930-2018)

Noted as the Father of Modern

Filipino sculpture, Abueva attended
the University of the Philippines
with Joya and was mentored by
noted sculptor Guillermo Tolentino,
at the College of Fine Arts.
Job responsibilities of an Artist include:

•Developing ideas for a canvas or product

•Selecting a medium for a final work, including
texture, size, or area
•Collecting work for a portfolio
•Applying for grants for financial support
Artisan
Also known as crafter or craftsman. A craftsman is a skilled worker, for example,
woodworker, carver, handyman, smithy, weaver, and such, who produces, directly useful
as well as decorative crafts. Craftsmans help in meeting our essential needs, for
example, food, garments, staying, furniture, and kitchen utensils; they create all that
makes our life simple. The craftsman's works are valuable, significant, and basic on our
regular daily existence. They serve us for a very long time, providing us legitimately
useful arts.
 
Craftsman’s abilities were created through the influence of their family or in their
community too. Craftsmen see themselves as business people on the grounds that their
items are engaged with the business market or toward the start, in the enterprise world.
The artisans, are essentially a physical worker who make objects with their hands, and
who through expertise, experience, and capacity, they can deliver things of
Job responsibilities of an Artisan include:

•Using and mixing mediums like paint, metal, glass, or

fabric
•Shaping, gluing, sewing, testing and producing products
•Displaying work at various sites including auctions, craft
shows or online markets
•Estimating costs and material needs
People Involved in Art Market
Artist and artisan cannot rely on themselves alone if it will involve
purchasing and or promotion of their creative works or products. Art world need
professionals who have expertise in their fields like curators, managers and the
like. Thus, there is a need for a deep cooperation within these people for the
continuous cycle of art production. The art market is a financial economic
system that depends not only on artworks supply and demand but as well as on
creation of work’s anticipated future monetary and cultural and social worth.
The art market can show up to some degree since craftsmen don’t make art
with the sole goal for selling it, and purchasers regularly have no clue about the
estimation of their art procurement. People involved in the market includes the
managers, curators, buyers, collectors, and art dealers. Each person plays
important role in the art market.
Managers – artists and artisans have their own managers. Managers
control the activities, promotions and business dealings. Art managers
could be the owner of the whole production process and the products.
Curators – curator is derived from the Latin word “curare” which means
“to take care or care for specific number of object or items.” An art
curator is the overseer or manager of cultural heritage institution like
museums, galleries, archives and even libraries. A curator is also a
content specialist charged with an institution’s collections, selecting art
to be displayed in a museum, art organization in exhibits, researching
artists, and writing catalogs and also involved in the interpretation of
heritage.
Art Buyers/Collectors – a professional who is knowledgeable in art. They
focus on collecting pieces of artwork by acquiring or purchasing. An art
collector or buyer buys artworks with some reasons like: for others to know
his lifestyle or high status in life, for love and deeper appreciation for the arts
and or for investment. Thus, art collectors support the career of every artist
and their success.
Art Dealers – are those who involve themselves in buying and selling
creative works of art. They are responsible in the cycle or circulation in the art
market. They are professionals who sponsor and support some art
exhibitions and auctions. They survey the online trends and equips
themselves with knowledge about the style of art that people want to buy.
Art Engagement and Exhibits
Arts enthusiasts travel from one place to another in order to satisfy their
need for aesthetics and their socio-cultural curiosity of a certain
community. They also attend different art fairs and exhibits to enjoy
masterpieces of various artists.
At present, audiences, especially the young arts enthusiasts, need an
extensive experience to art. One of the most common platforms for the
audiences to engage in the art is through art fair or art exhibition.
Generally speaking, an exhibition is a planned arrangement and display of
various collection of items. In fact, art displays generally take place in
museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and sometimes in World’s fairs.
Exhibitions can comprise numerous things such as art both in major
museums and smaller galleries, interpretive exhibitions, natural history
museums and sometimes commercially focused exhibitions and trade
fairs. Furthermore, exhibitions require long period of planning, curators’
coordination with various artists and passion and commitment.
On the other hand, there are also other art engagements for the
audiences aside from attending art exhibits: art talks form any artist,
studio or artist visit, art workshops, auctions, art fairs, art lecture and art
book launching. Publication can also be utilized to introduce artworks
such as books, newspapers and write-ups for magazines.
The Creative Process
Art creation process is one of the essential perspectives that prompts a
more profound information on art. As per Frederick Spratt as cited by
Punzalan et. Al. (2019), art production makes an essential commitment to
the understanding of art in light of the fact that the genuine encounter of
creating art prompts another perception with respect to numerous features
of the meaning of art. Thus, art production uncovers the whole art making
and the unique way of artists’ imaginativeness as well as how he controls
mediums and tools, how he incorporates skills both mental and physical.
Similarly, based from Robert Fritz book, Panisan et.al (2018) states that
art production process comprises several steps in the process.
Furthermore, creating is a skill that can be learned and be developed. Like
any other skill, we learn by practice and hands-on experience – we can
learn to create by creating. There are, however, some steps we can follow
as indications to guide our actions. Fritz, presented three stages in the
creative process.
1. Germination (Idea) – it is the initial moment when you conceive a new
project in your life. It is the stage where you plant the seeds of your
creation. You need to be specific about what you want to do.

2. Assimilation – during this phase you will internalize and adapt or

incorporate the idea you want to create. Plan, analyze it, and cultivate it
with all the available resources.

3. Completion – is the stage to finish your project, to give it the final shape
before presenting it to the audience.
Stages in Production Process
The process follows the three stages or phases: preproduction, production,
and post-production.
1. Pre-production or subject development – artist always starts with an
idea on his mind. Conceptualizing all the ideas does not necessarily sum
up the process. The artist basically prepares materials in his mind fitted
for the idea to become an artwork.
2. Production or the manipulation of materials – this stage involves the
gathering and manipulation of materials using the artists’ skills and
mastery. Coming up with various ideas of the artist wouldn’t be
impossible without materials.
3. Post-Production or the completion of the stage – once an artwork is
finished it will be out in the market, it will be exposed for public display, or
it will be performed for the audience.
Awards and Recognition for Artist and Artisan
The NCCA established the honors and citation for Filipino artists
who made an outstanding and significant contribution to the art and
culture. The two major awards given to the artist in the Philippines are
the Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng SIning (Order of National Artist)
and Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasures Award.)
1. Order of The National Artist
The order of the National Artist is the highest national recognition for
creative Filipino artist who have made significant contribution to the
development of the Philippine arts in the discipline of painting, sculpture,
architecture, music, dance, literature, film, broadcast arts, and allied arts.
Together with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Commission for
culture and arts administered the award. The President of the Philippines
grants the awards for any Filipino artist after the joint recommendation of
the two institutions. The very first award for the Order of National Artist was
awarded to Fernando Amorsolo in the year 1972, a National Artist for
Visual Arts.
At present, there were 66 awardees for the Order of the National Artist
for different art forms. Others received their awards while still living and
enjoying the privileges while some of them were given the award
posthumously, the awardees receive the following privileges;
1. The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the
Philippines;
2. The insignia of a National Artist and a citation;
3. A lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in
value to those received by the highest officers of the land such as:
a) a cash award of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) net of
taxes, for living awardees;
b) a cash award of Seventy Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) net of taxes,
for posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s;
c) a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits;
d) life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;
e) a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani;
f) a place of honor, in line with protocular precedence, at national state
functions, and recognition at cultural events.
 Both institutions have set criteria for the Order of National Artis. These criteria
are as follows:
1. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as those
who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at
the time of their death;
2. Artists who, through the content and form of their works, have contributed in
building a Filipino sense of nationhood;
3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus
earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists;
4. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of work and/or
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching
artistic expression or style; and
5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:
a. prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as the Gawad CCP
Para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award and NCCA Alab ng Haraya;
b. critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works;
The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA)
The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayad or the National Living Treasure
Award was established in 1992 under the RA 7355. Tasked with the
administration and implementation of the Award is the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the highest policy-making and coordinating
body for culture and the arts of the State. The NCCA, through the Gawad sa
Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and an Ad Hoc Panel of Experts, conducts
the search for the finest traditional artists of the land, adopts a program that
will ensure the transfer of their skills to others and undertakes measures to
promote a genuine appreciation of and instill
pride among our people about the genius of the Manlilikha ng Bayan.
The Manlilikha ng Bayan must possess the following qualifications:
1. He/she is an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community
anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs,
beliefs, rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external
elements that have influenced it.
2. He/she must have engaged in a folk-art tradition that has been in
existence and documented for at least fifty (50) years.
3. He/she must have consistently performed or produced over a significant
period, works of superior and distinctive quality.
4. He/she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the
art, and must have an established reputation in the art as master and
maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.
5. He/she must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of
the community their skills in the folk art for which the community is
traditionally known.
Thank you!!!