UNIVERSITY OF CALOOCAN CITY

Biglang Awa St., Corner Catleya St., EDSA, Caloocan City

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ART APPRECIATION
SUBJECT CODE: GEC 006
TOPIC OR LESSON: Soul and Space; Local Arts; Improvisations
WEEK: 16/17
SUB-TOPIC/S: Symmetry Art

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

Throughout Philippine history, spanning from the precolonial period to the

contemporary periods, different art forms have emerged in the Philippine art scene.
Before the colonizers came to the Philippines, ethnic minorities have used art not
only for daily activities but also for religious rituals and practices. Most art forms
used by ethnic communities include pottery, weaving, carving, and the use of
metalwork and jewelry.

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

At the end of this module, the students are expected to appreciate better the history and
development of Philippines arts, and strengthen students’ initiative and artistic
sensibilities.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S)

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to

1. Determine the implication of soul and space for our society;
2. Characterize how Filipinos utilize space to determine its implications for their
identities, history, religion, and philosophy;
3. Describe the symmetry art of Okir/Ukkil;
4. Differentiate improvisations in various art forms

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 ENGAGE

Double Jeopardy Game: Ask a question with the right answer given below.
1. Grand Hyatt Manila
2. Banaue Rice Terraces
3. Manila
4. National Museum
5. Bahay Kubo

EXPLORE

It is undeniable that almost every place in the Philippines has its own unique festivity
or celebration. Cebu has Sinulog as Aklan has Ati-atihan, while Bukidnon has
Kaamulan and Baguio has Panagbenga. These activities and festivities gather not only
local spectators and business alike but also flourishing arts, crafts, and cultures.
When there is a festival, one would expect to see and hear dances, music, and even
share sumptuous food, and people gather to celebrate this merriment.

Sinulog Festival (Cebu) Ati-atihan Festival (Aklan)

Kaamulan Festival (Bukidnon) Panagbenga Festival (Baguio)

We are a thriving nation not only of beliefs but of ethnic and festive activities
embedded in colorful gathering of people. This concept is more popularly known as
local arts. Whether it is a call for celebration and or for any religious gathering or
embellishment, art persists and exists all around us.

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 EXPLAIN

Aside from festivals, there are many other places where we can view local arts. Our
houses and homes are one of them. As such, a home creates a space for our living
soul; a place where our soul feels comfortable first, comfortable last, and comfortable
always. Our diverse culture creates diverse houses which we call our very own typical
Filipino homes. In fact, the artistic design of our house does not only reflect the
sociocultural community we have but also shelter the identity of how our soul lives to
its fullest. The following are some of the typical Filipino homes.

First is the Torogan of the Maranao

people in Mindanao with traditional
intricate design built in Lanao. Torogan
is a wing-like house beam with fern and
serpent as motifs which symbolize high
social status of the Maranao.

Second is the Ifugao Bale which is an

indigenous architectural design
harmoniously located within the contour
of the rice terraces, but its design differ
in every place.

Third is the Bahay Kubo which is

considered as the “Icon of the
Philippines”. It is a type of silt house
commonly indigenous to the cultures of
the Philippines. Its name varies from
province to province as payag or
kamalig.

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 Fourth is the Bahay na Bato which is
literally translated to stonehouse. It is a
type of simple miniature building which
was popular during the Spanish Era.

Fifth is the Tree House which is typically

a pre-colonial platform or building
constructed around, next to or among
the trunk or branches of durable and
mature trees while above ground level.

Sixth is the T’boli House which a akin to

nipa hut but is larger, wider and more
spacious that can accommodate several
people to sleep over. Some of these are
built on highland areas in south western
Mindanao, centering on Lake Sebu.

Seventh is the Ivatan House which is a

typical representation of the Ivatan,
indigenous people of Batanes island. The
Ivatans construct this type of house to
protect them from coming tropical
storms or typhoons. This heritage house
is made of stone, lime, and wood with a
thatch roof made of local grass called
cogon. These structures resembling
houses are inspired by European
hinterlands.

Eighth is the Badjao Boat House. It is a

lepa boat that serves as the humble
abode of Bajau (sea gypsies) located in
Sitangkai, Tawi-tawi, and Bongao. This
type of house reflects the fishing way of
life of the Badjaos.

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 Ninth is the stilt house which are raised
on stilts over the surface of the body of
water. They are built primarily as a
protection against flooding. They also
keep out vermin.

Tenth is a multi-story house – a building

that has multiple stories which typically
contains vertical circulation in the form
of ramps, stairs, and lifts.

Eleventh is a townhouse or townhome –

a single family home that share one or
more walls with other independently
owned units.

Twelfth is a condominium unit. It is a

housing manner for which the owner
holds the sole title of the unit but the
land and common properties (elevators,
halls, roofs, stairs, etc.) are jointly owned
with other owners. The upkeep expenses
on the common property are likewise
shared with other unit owners.

In addition, there are other arts which are indigenous to the Philippines. One of the
examples is the symmetry art of Okir/Ukil. The origins of okir can be traced back before
Islam flourished in Mindanao. They are believed to have originated from the much earlier
okil or okil-okil decorative carving traditions of the Sama Badjao people, which are often
high individualistic and geometric. The Sama are master carvers and they made lavish
decorations in ritual animistic objects, grave markers (both in wood and stone) and their
houseboats. These precursor forms of the okir designs can still be found in the art
traditions of the Maranao in the basak (lowland) regions of Lake Lanao, and they
contrast markedly from the later flowing okir designs.
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 The older Sama carving traditions (okil or okil-okil, sometimes
spelled as ukkil among Malaysian Sama) differ markedly from the
okir of the Maranao, although elements of the okir were
incorporated into later Sama carvings. Sama okil are not bound
to rules like the okir and thus tend to be highly variable.
Maranao okil motifs are so stylized that it is often easy to tell
whether a carving is Maranao or not. Other ethnic groups
usually introduce other elements or motifs that are non-
traditional to the original Maranao okir designs. In the past, okir
designs, particularly for textiles, are distinctive enough that a Maranao can usually
distinguish which region someone is from based only on the patterns of their malong
and their woven decorative strips.

The male okir displays masculine strength as represented by a serpent, bladed tool
and a knife while the female okir represents more of geometrical shapes and a precious
stone.

The Arts of the Mangyan. The embroidered pakudos is always of two

colors. On a white blouse, it is predominantly red and is highlighted
by a fine black or dark blue outline. On a blue blouse, it is also
predominantly red, but the outline stitchery is white. The design is
started from the center with only hand measurements and the warp
and weft threads as guide.

The Arts of the Maranaos. We have several stylized decorative motifs in

Muslim art. Sarimanok is one of these which is a stylized representation
of an open-winged legendary bird whose claws clutch a fish. It is a bird-
form symbol of the Maranao. A sarimanok can be seen on top of bamboo
poles placed at the center of Muslim villages. The Maranaos are also
known for their gold and purple malong. Malong is the traditional tube
garment, which is commonly colored into combinations of green, yellow,
red, violet, and blue.

The Arts of the Ivatan. A vakul is a headgear designed to protect the wearer from sun
and rain. It is made from vuyayuy palm fiber.

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 ELABORATE

Have you ever tried answering a question at hand without any preparation at all? How
does it feel? How did you come up with your thoughts under pressure? Some may
stumble that their nerves wrack them off. Some also are able to orchestrate their ideas,
if not coherent, but in creative manner. On a parallel fashion, an actor/actress who is
given a script and overview of the story is asked to act out the scene without much
preparation. In most cases, he/she can make ad-lib and free to perform it to convey the
message clearly. This is what we call improvisation. You improvise when you act
creatively and perform spontaneously without much preparation. Improvisation (also
known as improv, impro, or impromptu) has been a component of performance since
the beginnings of Ancient Greek theatre with the improvisations by the leaders of the
dithyrambs. Possibly, improvisations found its way into earlier ritual dramas as in the
case of ancient Egypt, where sacred texts were incorporated into such performances
while still relying on myths that “were quite flexible and could easily be related to many
different situations.

Improvisation Techniques

Akin to those of stage play and any theatrical presentations, improvisation is categorized
into music, dance, theater, and problem solving.

Improvised Music. Music theater can be voice, music, or sound effects. In most cases,
sound in theater operates as an auxiliary that heightens the effect.

Improvised Dance. It is the process of spontaneously creating a movement. Development

of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including
body mapping through levels, shape, and dynamics schema.

Improvised Design. It has something to do with the visual arts used a background of
the entire milieu of the presentation: lighting, backdrop, props, and costumes. It may
be mock-ups, or realias depending on how the story wants to convey its tangibility and
concreteness.

Improvised Theater/Drama. It involves the spot of role-playing and exchanging dialog

in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created
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spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and
characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in
present time, without using a prepared, written script.

Improvised Problem Solving. This challenges a performer to provide on-the-dialog dialog

and conversation as the situation and interaction gap arise leaving it a silent lull. This
might be the failure of one performer to do the task on stage and you find a way to cover
it up before the audience. This provides an interactive, fun-filled environment that can
spark creativity, smoothness, and spontaneity.

Types of Improvisational Theater

Most of the things happening in our real lives are not scripted: they are impromptu or
improvised. It holds true in theater. Life is like a theater as mentioned by Bill Prickett
in his poem. Shakespeare also creates a strong analogy of life that is like a stage with
entrance and exit assuming different roles in a story. Therefore, whatever types of
experience we have in our lives are also tantamount to the types of theater.

Types/Genres Properties Examples

Comedy - A kind of catharsis 1. Home, I’m Darling by
through laughter and Laura Wade in 2018
amusement; helps us 2. Fat Pig by Neil Labute in
remind us of our frailties 2014
and helps keep us sane 3. Lobby Hero by Kenneth
- A way of looking at the Lonergan in 2001
world in which basic
values are asserted but
natural laws are
suspended
- To underscore human
follies and foolishness –
sometimes awry, rueful,
and hilarious
Non-comedy - Sad at the onset but 1. Enron by Lucy Prebble
suggests a happy ending in 2009
- Serious with some 2. Love and Money by
elements of humor Dennis Kelly (2006)
emerging throughout the 3. Wasted by Kate Tempest
whole play in 2012
Experimental - Altered traditional 1. The White Whore and
conventions of space (black the Bit Player by Brad
box theater), theme, Mays
movement, mood, tension, 2. Faustus: Incident 375
language, symbolism, by Dominik Pagacz in 2013
conventional rules and 3. The Coming Storm by
other elements Tim Etchells in 2012
Dramatic - Simplified characters, 1. Who’s Afraid of Virginia
drawn without Wolf by Edward Ablee
psychological depth, and 2. Dear Eva Hansen by
larger than life Adam Feldman
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 - A largely standard set of 3. Hamilton by David Cote
characters, fitting stock
roles – villains, good guys,
damsels in distress,
sidekicks and a handful of
others
- Implausible plots and
coups de theatre (sudden,
obviously contrived turns
of events)
- Tension and relief
Narrative-based - Catchy music in popular 1. Ang Huling El Bimbo by
style Ely Buendia
- Solo songs, duets, 2. American Utopia by
choruses, and ensembles David Byrne
- Orchestra or band 3. Slay Play by Jeremy
accompaniment Harris
- Spoken dialogue
- Dance sequences, stage
spectacles, and
magnificent costumes

EVALUATE

Identify whether each statement is true or false.

1. The famous festival in Cebu is Sinulog Festival. True
2. The Ivatan house is raised over the surface of the body of water for protection. False
3. The male okir represents more of geometrical shapes and a precious stone. False
4. The Bahay Kubo is much larger than the T’boli house. False
5. Comedy is a kind of catharsis through laughter and amusement. True

REFERENCE(S)

Inocian, R. B. et. al. (2021). Modular Approach to Art Appreciation. Lorimar Publishing, Inc. Quezon
City
Caslib Jr., Bernardo N., Dorothea Garing, and Jezreel Anne R. Casaul (2018). Art Appreciation. 1 st ed.
Manila: Rex Book Store

Prepared by:

BINGO L. ALIGO

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