CONTEMPORARY ARTS PRODUCTION Contemporary Arts Production Welcome to the thirteenth module of the course on Philippine Contemporary Art from the Regions. For this chapter, you will learn about making your own work of art. In this chapter you will learn to conceptualize your own work of art and be able to hone and apply your artistic skills and techniques. Characteristics of Contemporary Art We will do a brief review of the characteristics of contemporary art so you may keep them in mind as you conceptualize and make your own work. Below are the points we have discussed in previous chapters about contemporary art: Contemporary art is experimental and veered away from traditional art They try different materials, shapes and forms They are not confined in museums Artists may manage their own careers or galleries can manage artists and help them in promoting and selling their works Because of technology, artists can post their works online for a wider reach of audience and market Contemporary artists can be self-taught They can employ the help of others for their skills, like fabricators, carpenters, electricians or welders Originality is not a big issue for them It is rooted in our cultural identity Some contemporary artists have been consciously exerting effort to rediscover and use pre-colonial imagery, motifs and non-western belief systems as a means toward crafting identity in the midst of rapidly changing environments and cultural displacement. Contemporary art is a cross of tradition and modernity Philippine contemporary art operates within a culture that is dynamic, hybridized and thus resistant to being put in a single category. What is essential is the art-making process Contemporary art is a statement that an artist makes and shares about life, thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and many other things that define human life. Philippine Contemporary Art in the Regions 1 13.0 Contemporary Arts Production Art Processes The possibilities in art are numerous, but there are common artistic processes that artists and performing artists undergo. You have done some artistic work in earlier chapters, and now, we will highlight the processes. The processes that you will learn about are meant to be taken as guides. As we have established in earlier chapters, contemporary artists are experimental and may think and work out of the box, and they may undergo a slightly different process. The processes we will discuss share common ways of thinking and doing things. You have learned the different art forms, their elements, styles, techniques, materials, etc., and so you may appreciate and evaluate art better because you know how to look at it and what to consider. Additionally, in creating your own work of art and knowing the processes that artists go through, you will be able to become educated viewers of the arts. Below are the creative processes for visual and performance arts: Visual Art Conceptualizing Developing the idea/s (concepts, ideas, feelings). Here you will think about what message you want to communicate across through your artwork Making, Evaluating, Refining Applying understandings and skills/techniques to bring the idea/s to life through the artistic work. Performance Arts Conceptualizing / Selecting Developing the idea/s (concepts, ideas, feelings). Here you may also think about what message you want to communicate across through your work. Or you may select an artistic work to perform. Planning/ Analyzing Experimenting, researching and designing ways of presenting the idea/s through artistic performance materials (props, instruments, costume, etc). Or analyzing the structure of your selected performance work and researching the background of the performance Interpreting Developing a personal interpretation of the performance work you selected Rehearsing, Evaluating, Refining Applying understandings and skills/ techniques to bring personal interpretation to life through the performance Evaluating quality and refining successive versions (drafts) of the work Presenting Presenting the completed work to others Evaluating quality and refining successive versions of the performance Presenting Performing the work for others Planning Experimenting, researching and designing ways of presenting the idea/s through artistic materials. You can make artistic studies (sketches, notes, etc) 2 CONTEMPORARY ARTS PRODUCTION Glossary artistic study a literary or artistic production intended as a preliminary outline, an experimental interpretation, or an exploratory analysis of specific features or characteristics References Ramirez, Veronica E. Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions. Manila: Vibal Group, Inc., 2016. Print. “Steps in the Three Artistic Processes”. Connecticut State Department of Education. Web. July 2016. <http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/Curriculum/artsgde/2228.pdf> Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary Philippine Contemporary Art in the Regions 3
