LESSON 5 IS ART FOR EVERYBODY?

ART AND THE SOCIETY

Overview
Does art really have a direct impact on society?

A message from a Fine Arts graduate

“One of the crucial questions I had when I was a graduating student of a Fine Arts program was the possible contribution
of my thesis work: first to the art scene and then to our society.

Hence, it has been one of my life questions as I finished my degree. My work was not a social realist work. Hence, how
would it help to my fellow countrymen? Time and experience have taught me that we must first understand who we are
and, in this case, our citizenship. With that, we must gain a sense of responsibility. A good artist must be a good citizen
first and everything else you do must hinge on what you believe is good, true, and beautiful for your country and
society.”

As part of the society, sometimes, what hinders us from appreciating art is poverty. Not in terms of money, but in
awareness of the things that are more valuable than money. Art is a powerful tool, as we have seen in the seven
functions presented at the beginning of the chapter. Society as recipient of the arts and what are they trying to engage
us in are also part of what circulates around in our art scene. What we consume also dictates what is circulated. Hence,
we are an important player in the kind of artistic culture that we have. What we consume has an impact on what we
value as a society.

This signifies the importance of education, and in our case, art education.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, you are expected to:

1. Realize the importance of art critics when it comes to educating ourselves with taste
2. Compose for oneself a set of standards for individual taste
3. Adjust one’s mindset to the idealistic qualities of art and the practical reality of economics

Learning Experiences and self-Assessment Activities (SAA)

For whom should art be made?

For a more holistic study of art, it is important to question and to ponder on the forces that influence the creation,
circulation, and consumption of art. If you encounter a person with full body tattoo in Kalinga province of the North,
how would you react?

When we are trying to critique artwork, a lot of things should be taken into consideration; and in this regard, the reason
why it is made. Finding an answer to this can give more value and meaning to a work of art. We will not just easily
dismiss it as boring or grotesque.

In understanding the forces behind the creation and production of art, we may consider these factors: personal belief or
values (be it as institution, a community, or an individual), practical needs (it could be survival or developmental), and
the audience level of consumption. These forces can be academic institutions, galleries, museums, ruling classes or
people, media, church, and even a small group of indigenous people with sets of belief and traditions.

ACTIVITY

To aid us further in understanding how we, as recipients of art forms, influence its production, fill out this simple
exercise on taste, but under time pressure for only 5 minutes. Afterward, you will share your answers with the class by
posting a recorded audio at the Group Chat.
What kind of gadget would you need
How much are you willing
inside your bag?
to spend for a gadget?
_______________________________
_____________________
_______________________________

simple
What is your most important What should be the brand
accessory? of this accessory?
_______________________________ _____________________
_____________________________
Test your

TASTE
How would a multi-functioning pen
serve you? Name 3 functions: How much are you willing
________________________________ to pay for this pen?
________________________________ _____________________
________________________________
sophisticated

If you will travel 12 hours straight in a

Who are the singers would
bus, what kind of music would you
you like to hear?
like to listen?
_______________________
______________________________
_______________________
______________________________

ANALYSIS:

After doing the activity, let us now assess your answers:

1. What do you think are the bases of your responses? How did you find the activity: easy, unsure, or just a bit
challenging?

2. If it was hard to decide what answers to write, then what makes it difficult to gauge what you like?

3. If you did the activity in less than 2 or 3 minutes, what or who were your main influences in your answers? Explain
how such influences helped you in constructing your taste as a person.

4. How do you think having a good taste can influence the way we live our lives? Does it always entail expensive things?

Educating for Taste

What is taste? We Filipinos often associate this with dating. When we see a friend of ours with a girlfriend or boyfriend
who has good looks and even good background, we can easily mutter, “You have good taste” But this is not the kind of
taste we are interested in. Yes, it can be applied to that, but taste is more concerned with our choices of consumption:
what we spend our time, money, and efforts.
In our taste, what do we value? The things we value, do they make the quality of our lives better—mentally,
emotionally, physically, economically, and even spiritually? When you graduate in college and start earning money, you
will instantly become a market of so many things. Wise expenditure, or spending our money wisely is quite rare these
days. Reflect on these words by author Alain de Boton:

“When money is allied with taste—that is sensitivity to what is good and beautiful as well as true to our rather
inarticulate need—very good results can follow in areas from food to housing to media.”

Quick Fact:

What is an art connoisseur?

Someone who has broad knowledge and rich understanding of the current art scene, of relative art history, and artistic
philosophies. They are experts who can be trusted in having the eye and taste for good art.

But how should we know which to value, and in this sense, how to value art works and products of our culture? Here we
can start to understand the role of Art Critics. These people who use writing as a means of communication are trained in
seeing and looking at works of art and judging their value based on good set of premises. Sometimes they are also called
art connoisseurs. Art Critics help us understand and supplement our knowledge of rt forms. With their indispensable
role, we can better evaluate our tastes and even be wiser in what we consume, not only in art but life in general.

“This is one of his very early pieces”

End of Module Assessment

Let us say you have 10 million pesos to spend. Now you have the chance to buy some artworks and hang them on your imaginary wall. What kind
of artworks would you buy and put on this wall? Suggested site for you to gather some works https://useum.org
You can use below link to add artworks to the image above. After adding artworks, right click and save as image (.jpg,
.png) and upload at the google classroom.

https://app.ziteboard.com/team/51b08bf5-1f70-43aa-ba01-a745229f4233