notkrystynelyz-blog

[notkrystynelyz-blog]

Leaves are falling

Sunset is calling

The photos show

The beauty of letting go and endings

[notkrystynelyz-blog]

“Y. That perfect letter. The wishbone, fork in the road, empty wineglass. The question we ask over and over.”

— Marjorie Celona, Y. 

[notkrystynelyz-blog]

Review of "Role of Tradition" in Philippine Contemporary Aesthetics

By: Alice G. Guillermo

For the Philippine contemporary aesthetics’ development and our country’s national identity regarding arts, we must consider the roles of our traditions. We must recall and analyze our cultural traditions as our traditions are what separates and gives us our own essence, identity, and uniqueness indifferent to other countries.

Per history, the Philippines, together with other third-world countries, was colonized by colonial or imperialist countries such as Spain, Japan, and United States. This series of colonization and occupation degraded our culture and tradition and made us ignorant of our identities. It keeps us from our origins. The colonial mentality and values integrated in us by our colonizers, throughout the years, is hard to remove as it was practiced in years. In order to bring us closer to our origins and understand them, we need reeducation.

Though the Philippines had undergone a series of colonization and occupation, there are still untouched cultural traditions in some provinces. Their textiles, pottery, basketry, oral literature, music, and folk songs express their art. These ethnic groups, specifically the Mangyans, T’bolis, and Ifugaos have withstood the colonization by isolating themselves and resisted the tradition our colonizers prompted to them. Sadly, a nation’s culture is influenced by its economic and political state. Consequently, it is not enough that our traditional and indigenous culture’s products and artworks are displayed without studying its history. We need to help them and provide basic necessities and future for them, equal opportunities in terms of education and occupation without disrespecting their respective cultures.

Our culture is a pluralist with a diverse character. It is influenced by the culture of those in the urban, rural, and the religion in our country. As our country varies with these rich culture and tradition, we must respect and appreciate each culture, its uniqueness, and its respective cultural communities as these reflect the social conditions and interests inside a country. It is important that the government presiding a city is unbiased towards the culture and their ethnocentric views. As our culture is influenced by our everyday lives, and our religion and rituals, it is different from the western countries.

There are artists that paint using indigenous art because it is the way to give us a national identity in arts. It is appealing to the folks and to the larger population but it has its limitations. It is impossible to make the Philippine contemporary art into a single entity. They may breathe ingenious and beautiful artworks but there will be uninspired works alongside it.

The traditional art is composed of our national popular culture which is still in the making in rural areas and cultural communities as they say, these are the living traditions which must be continued to be practiced. It is dynamic as it adapts to the societal changes and it allows itself to transform by the hammers of historical process.