Group self portrait exhibit

I, together with my group mates formed an exhibit in a hallway of San Beda. We randomly chose people to pick one of our self portraits and say something about it. Here are my group mates and our self portraits:

Me with passer-by critique:

She said that it was more colorful than the others.

Pamanang Bedista art display

Essay 2
We were given the freedom to choose an artwork in the current art display in the "Pamanang Bedista". For me the one that astonished me was this one:

This is "House of Stilts 5" by Francisco Verano. It is a oil on canvas painting painted in 2012. What astonished me in this painting is that the stilt houses seem to bulge out of the painting which made it seem very realistic, also it looked very good.

House of stilts on semiotic planes
a)basic semiotic plane - i see the stilt houses are built together as if forming some sort of community, probably fishermen. Painting is mostly brown making the wood apparent and the brown water must be a reflection of the sky in an afternoon time.

b)Iconic plane -  the choice of subject is the stilt houses, the focus is definitely on the stilt houses. As depicted by the title the painting is all about stilt houses, and it is the icon of this painting. Also the houses are positioned together suggesting it being inhabited by several people.

c) Contextual plane - stilt houses are common in the rainy parts of the Philippines, it is built both on land and on water. Stilt houses are used in areas prone to flooding, on beaches, and also by fishermen. The painting is very relevant because stilt houses are already instilled in the Filipino culture. This is an example of a stilt house built on water:

d) evaluation - I think the painting is good art, otherwise it wouldn't be on display. I think the painting is a reflection of a side of the Filipino culture. The art looks very good, so I think it is good.
sources: http://www.vmemecontemporary.com/#!house-on-stilts-5-(2012)/zoom/cvh5/image15ow
             http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-stilt-house.htm

1st blog entry:
Essay 1

This is "the starry night" by Vincent Van Gogh. It is a painting, oil on canvas. Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889. He was a very religious person so it is said that the eleven stars reflected in Genesis 37:9 which stated: "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me."

According to John Bergners 5 premises of art, I will give my opinion whether this painting should be considered art.
1st premise - figurative representation
this painting represents stars in the night sky
2nd premise - choice of subject
the artwork is about a starry night
3rd premise - materials used
the painting is oil on canvas
4th premise - formal unity and economy
I think this painting has unity, and the number of stars may have religious inspiration as stated above
5th premise - astonishment
I was astonished by this painting, it looks very good. There is something about it that calms me.

Satisfying all of the 5 premises, I believe "the starry night" really should be considered art.

sources:http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html