Through the Spectacles

Dada or Dadaism, is quite a topic to be discussed especially in an art or design class. In all honesty, the notion and concepts surrounding the Dada movement are still, by far, one of the most interesting art-related topics for me because it questions the way we are being introduced to art, beauty, society, and even power itself. It is also a tool not just to show the critiques of their time; I mean, the first world war, but the works linked to Dada also show the progression of the Western art scene into modernity. The movement can also be considered a part of the many art movements during the Avant-garde period. To answer the question of whether Dada is an art or a design movement, let us define the term first - for us to have a better understanding of the subject matter. According to the MoMA Learning website, Dada emerged amid the brutality of World War I (1914–18)—a conflict that claimed the lives of eight million military personnel and an estimated equal number of civilians. ...

This journal is all about the Filipino identity of graphic design, especially in contemporary times. Graphic design has been in our global landscape since the advent of modern advertising and creative movements to support businesses and other sectors. The Philippines has always been into graphic design, we can experience it in our daily lives, we see designs, signages in the jeepneys, sari-sari stores, old cinemas, and even in our sorbetes cart. This paper aims to determine the Filipino identity of graphic design and how it affects our culture, people, and the creative industry as a whole. The methodology of gathering data will be based on the available resources online and other academic journals in the same spectrum of study. What is Graphic Design? Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to communicate messages. By applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques, designers use typography and pictures to meet users’ specific needs and focus on ...

    Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a critical theory analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of (usually European) imperial power. Postcolonialism encompasses a wide variety of approaches, and theoreticians may not always agree on a common set of definitions. Raja, Masood (2019). "What is Postcolonial Studies?". Postcolonial Space. Masood Raja. Retrieved 16 July 2019. Postcolonialism states that universal claims are mistaken since they assume that a certain white, Western identity or position is the template for all people and that cultural differences are ignored. It is more of a set of interests or viewpoints than a single theory. Postcolonial theory is related to political struggles in various parts of the world – the fight for racial and ethnic equality a...

Graphic design is a very interesting topic for me because of its impact in my personal and professional life. This is my practice and my main discipline in the creative industry and I am glad that there is a topic for it, and it helped me quite a lot because of the new learnings from the reading. I would like to start with the gist of the reading edited by Helen Armstrong entitled: Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field. In this book, Armstrong compiled and edited the most important documents in line with the theories and concepts encircling the field and discipline of graphic design in a scholarly and academic manner. The book discussed the timeline of the development of graphic design, cited key personalities that contributed to the development and movements of the field, and gave some examples of the important design era. It has been said in the book that during the early 1900s, the avant-garde in graphic design emerges. The designers of the old world turned their backs on ...

  'El Asasinato del Gobernador Bustamante' by Felix R. Hidalgo. Photo source: wikimedia commons. This massive painting hung in the ‘hall of the masters’ at the national museum depicts the scene of the assassination of Governor Bustamante, who was the governor-general of the Philippine islands from 1717 to 1719, and the mob of Dominican friars storming the ‘Palacio del Gobernador’ in rage and anger to kill the governor-general who was seen being dragged in chains by the friars. Soldiers can be seen on the steps of the staircase encircling the religious. We can also see religious banners, crosses and the ‘ceriales’ (processional candle and processional cross) depicting the Virgin Mary and the Eucharist and interestingly, an altar boy near the foreground carrying the processional cross, wearing a Spanish red cassock and laced surplice watching the fiasco as in happens right in front of his very eyes. Hidalgo's depiction of the scene is quite straightforward if you will, b...

       I would like to share our community theater experience. In my own opinion, I can relate and consider that endeavor as postmodern art. My main aim of our community theater company is to teach, inform, and involve the young people in our area in the art of drama and performance art. We conduct workshops, seminars, and free stageplay for the residents in our community for them to appreciate art and the theater arts as well. The workshops are being conducted during the summer because this is the time when our participants are mostly free from their academic obligations – we also welcome out-of-school youth to save them from the harm of the challenging communal norms of Manila.       In teaching them, we are using a combination of talks and practicums, and since the pedagogical nature of the entire undertaking is a workshop, we are training them most of the time in the dramatic arts using staple pieces and some materials that I’ve written...

    2020 is almost over and yet we are still in the middle of our uncertain battle with this COVID-19 pandemic. Being in this kind of situation, we are forced to revamp our norms and rethink about the best possible ways to adapt to this extraordinary time. Our company for one has decided to adopt the 'work-from-home' setup for health reasons and we are now in the 7th month of this kind of working scheme. The company also decided to reduce the workdays from 5 to 3, this is to secure the financial stability of the business since there are no tourists yet, hence, our income has also reduced to almost less than half of what we are receiving before this pandemic came to us.      Given the situation, I am still thankful that despite the cut in our salaries, I am still receiving an ample amount to sustain my financial obligations, may it be personal or for the family.     In these times, I would like to point out and argue about a certain concern with regard ...