Day 121: Is a Paete Carving Art?
In his workshop in Paete, Laguna, master woodcarver Allan (A) hears from Carmela (B), a young curator from a Manila museum, how his carvings will be shown in a major exhibition.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day
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A
Pasok, iha, ingat sa kusot. Ano'ng balita, tuloy ba ang exhibit?
Come in, iha, mind the sawdust. What's the news, is the exhibit going ahead?
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B
Tuloy po, labindalawang piyesa po ninyo. Nasa "Folk Craft" po kayo, katabi ng mga banig at palayok.
It's on, with twelve of your pieces. You're in "Folk Craft," next to the sleeping mats and clay pots.
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A
Folk craft. Kung ganoon, karpintero lang pala si Michelangelo; pait din naman ang hawak niya.
Folk craft. In that case, Michelangelo was just a carpenter; he held a chisel too.
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B
Ako po ang pumili ng salitang iyon, at hindi po iyon insulto: sa komunidad po galing ang husay ninyo, hindi sa akademya.
I'm the one who chose that word, and it isn't an insult: your skill comes from a community, not from an academy.
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A
Tama, sa tatay ko ako natutong humasa ng pait, hindi sa Florence. Kaya pala "folk" ako.
Right, I learned to sharpen a chisel from my father, not in Florence. So that's why I'm "folk."
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B
Hindi po paaralan ang batayan. "Contemporary" po ang may sariling pananaw ng artist; ang sa inyo po, tradisyong buhay pa.
It's not about schooling. "Contemporary" means work with the artist's own vision; yours is a tradition that's still alive.
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A
Sariling pananaw? Ang unang lilok na nabenta ng tatay ko, kalabaw na nakahiga at nakangiti, dahil ganoon daw ang kalabaw namin pagkatapos mag-araro.
The artist's own vision? The first carving my father ever sold was a carabao lying down and smiling, because he said that's how ours looked after plowing.
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B
Ang ganda po. Nasaan na po iyon?
That's lovely. Where is it now?
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A
Nakita ko sa auction sa Makati: "Anonymous, Philippine Folk Art." Kumpleto ang provenance, pero walang pangalan ang tatay ko.
I saw it at an auction in Makati: "Anonymous, Philippine Folk Art." The provenance was complete, but my father had no name.
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B
Hindi po iyan mangyayari sa exhibit ko. "Folk Craft" pa rin po ang section, pero nasa bawat label ang pangalan ninyong mag-ama.
That won't happen in my exhibit. The section stays "Folk Craft," but your name and your father's will be on every label.
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A
Matigas ka rin palang kahoy: narra, hindi batikuling. Pero tandaan mo, iha, ang kahoy na liko't baluktot, hutukin habang malambot.
So you're hardwood too: narra, not soft batikuling. But remember, iha: bend the crooked tree while the wood is still soft.
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