Developh Camp

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFm6EId2Tyc

1. Our work is undervalued
   1. All we do is make things pretty or “aesthetic”
2. Sometimes, it’s hard to feel your Filipino-ness in your work
   1. We usually use foreign styles, elements, and languages
   2. We measure our excellence in terms of being “world class”, or the ability to gain recognition abroad
   3. What happens to our self-worth?
3. If Pinoy creatives tend to borrow or copy, how can you truly support their work?
   1. Happens to not just creators, but consumers too
   2. How do we appreciate works that don’t seem “Filipino”?

• The language we use has a huge impact on how we see and understand the world
• We may be able to appreciate art & design more if we can find more fitting words for them
• Meanings have nuances; they hint at our relationships with different traditions
  • Examples:
    • Malikhain: creative, innovative
    • Maarte: fancy, extravagant
    • Masining: well-crafted, refined
    • Madisenyo: ornate; highly embellished
• Deep historical roots
  • Etymology really shows superficiality
  • Air of elitism since art academies were from colonizers
  • seen as frivolous to the masses
• ==“Paglikha”== hits deeper: our broader and deeper culture of creating
• We need to reclaim the ==integrity of creation==, and its ==natural affinity== to our everyday lives
• Our culture of creation is…
  • resilient in nature; not bastardized, but enriched by various traditions
  • not rigid; continuously shifts based on context

• Schools instill in us a formalist perspective, or distinguishing form from content
  • Kaanyuan (Form)
    • Elements of Art
    • Principles of Design
  • Hiwatig (Content)
    • subject matter
    • meanings
    • functions
    • interpretations
    • contexts
• This is problematic because ==a work’s form is insperable from its content==; “The medium is the message”
  • Technology is not neutral
• How do we understand creative work? 3 insperable concepts that reveal a ==person’s relationship to their universe:==
  • Ugat (roots): work’s form and immediate context
    • Creative work is rooted in its ==material conditions==
    • You cn start by being sensitive to movement, gestures, etc.
    • You can also examine its form (e.g. material, knowledge, and technologies )
      • can also grasp climate, ecology, and sensibility of the time and environment from which the work emerged
      • Who contributed to its creation, an where are they rooted?
    • refers to the past
    • Questions
      • What are the physical characteristics of a work?
      • What environment, climate, and period did it come from?
  • Ugnayan (relations): work in the context of a larger network of relations of production
    • Creative work emerges from ==relations==
    • Some of these were actively chosen (e.g. studying under mentor or tradition, participating in organizations/formations)
    • Some aren’t of the maker’s choosing (e.g. class origins, ruling regimes, dominant perceptions on gender, taste, and other prevailing attitudes)
    • In which affinities/conflicts can we situate a work?
    • In what ways does a work reveal the culture, community, and traditions from which it sprang?
    • refers to the present
    • Questions
      • From what kind of societal relationships did the work emerge?
      • What was the creator’s social standing within their circles, and how did they engage with their community?
  • Udyok (impulses):
    • Creative work is also borne out of personal and collective ==dreams==
    • Everyone has the potential ability to create beyond the limitation of their current means
    • All creative works have an “inner boiling”
    • Questions
      • What values can you glean from their work?
      • What kind of future does it appear to envision?
  • E.G. Mocha Girls
    • Ugat
      • girl group concept
      • variety show format
      • latin(ized) dance hit
    • Ugnayan
      • female objectification
      • globalized media culture
      • colonial experience
    • Udyok
      • “kakanyahang Filipina”; being “sexy” as a form of self-care
      • Mocha Uson’s personal ambitions -> support for President Duterte
  • We may think of a person as embodied within their universe, or the universe as embodied within a person.
  • In creative work, ==human and humanity are one.==

• All works, like people, live in a specific time.
• As time passes, so evolves the dynamics of roots, relations, and impulses.
• This is why our understanding is hard to distill into a single conclusion
  • The plebian can become elite; What’s elite can be messed around by ordinary folk
  • What was illegal can be good, and vice versa
• Time is not the only context of a work; also consider the POV from which we appreciate it
  • Meaning and vlaue shifts depending on the vantage point
  • E.G. class, race
• We should ask: Who really benefits from this work? And how?
• Be aware of ==time, perspective, and larger context==