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Meaning-Making Exercise Using Images and Soundscape: The Case of San Pedro Street, Davao City, Philippines:

Meaning-Making Exercise Using Images and Soundscape: The Case of San Pedro Street, Davao City,... This article explored the capacity of mixed media to elicit meanings from their lookers. A multisensory exhibition of photographs and soundscape was utilized to achieve the objective. The photographs provided the visual stimulus while soundscape accompanied the images to provide an aural map of the area being documented. Both media helped in the meaning-making process. The area documented was the center of Davao City, Philippines—San Pedro Street—as it cradles the center of faith, the seats of power, and the center of commerce. But, with urban decay, this place seemed to lose its former glory. With the visual and aural stimuli, these stories (memories) embedded in the mind of the lookers are culled. This is the meaning-making process. Keywords visual communication, street photography, visual rhetoric, soundscape, multimodal meaning-making, urban planning, heritage site conservation Aside from that, San Pedro Street is full of irony. Despite Introduction the glaring presence of religion and government in the area, With the continuous expansion of urban areas in the it has become a melting pot for illegal trade and some Philippines, it is undeniable that what used to be the original immoral acts. Businesses are sprawling away from this area heart of the city, the former central business district, gets and infrastructures looked old as well. The younger genera- neglected (Alabado, 2005). Such is the case of Davao City, tion somehow forgot what the historical relevance of this Philippines. With the various infrastructural developments area is. The adults seemed to accept the fact that what remains and plans, it can be observed that the overall development of relevant in this area is purely trade while its other landmarks, the city is moving away from its center. those that either carries the seat of power or religion, are becoming less relevant. What Is the City’s Center? Given this scenario, a creative work project was mounted to know the relevance of San Pedro Street to the community. Local historians and other residents consider San Pedro It showcased several photographs with accompanying Street as the city’s center for several reasons. According to soundscape to recreate the area. Together with the lookers of Delgado (2005), the street is home to several social land- the exhibition, the photographer conducted a simultaneous marks in the city aside from it being the central business dis- meaning-making activity. trict. These are the San Pedro Cathedral, Davao City Hall, Qualitative meaning-making or reception studies, as and several parks that provided a busy atmosphere. The opposed to quantitative reception studies that aim to predict, design of the whole area was patterned after Spanish Town are considered relevant as this will aid in planning as the Plazas as most of the sociocivic institutions were built in this meanings lookers give can provide planners and policy mak- area (Delgado, 2005). ers the areas’ relevance to cultural identity. Today, San Pedro Street still has San Pedro Cathedral as the center of Catholic faith, the Sangguniang Panlungsod and the Davao City Hall as seats of power, the commercial estab- 1 University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines lishments owned by old and new families residing in the city, Corresponding Author: the Osmeña Park, and the Rizal Park. The Museo Dabawenyo, Dennis John Sumaylo, Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines a government-managed venue for art exhibitions for local Mindanao, Bago-Oshiro, Mintal, Davao City, Davao del Sur 8022, and visiting artists, is also located near San Pedro Street Philippines. (Figure 1). Email: dsumaylo@gmail.com Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open Figure 1. Google Map photo of the area covered by the exhibition. shapes, and so on, while suggested elements are concepts, Theoretical Underpinnings ideas, themes, and allusions. The function of the image is to The theoretical underpinning for this production includes communicate the action and that the perceptions of the Visual Narrative Theory of Gretchen Barbatsis guided by lookers are independent from its creator. Foss believes that Aldous Huxley’s The Art of Seeing. image should be treated as a form of language and that is According to Aldous Huxley, the general visual process the language visual communicators use to be understood. involves four stages. These are Sense, Select, Perceive, and Remember. Sensing is defined as the detection of any visual stimuli while selecting is the process of focusing on one Creative Methodology/Process aspect of the entire visual stimuli detected. Perceiving, on the A multisensory exhibit was conducted to document the contrary, is the stage when a looker tries to make sense of the changes in what is used to be the heart of Davao City—San selected visual stimuli. This can be done by retrieving past Pedro Street. It was an exhibit that let the looker See, Hear, experiences or knowledge about the selected visual stimuli. and Feel San Pedro Street as they walk through it. After perceiving comes remembering as the perceived mean- One of the goals of this exhibit was to highlight the street ing of the visual stimuli can be stored and retrieved for future in Davao City that cradles several landmarks—the San Pedro use. This, in general, is the main objective of a visual com- Street. By capturing it in still photographs, lookers may be municator. It is not merely the creation of images that matters able to reexamine the details of the place and experience it in but the creation of powerful images that would make the a different perspective. By using visual images, this exhibit looker remember its contents (Lester, 2006). showed the culture of the people of Davao City and further The creation of powerful images is grounded on the story defined San Pedro Street with the help of the lookers. it tells. Ideally, when we talk of stories, it always has a begin- Defining San Pedro Street through meaning-making ning, middle, and end arranged in a manner that one action activity was the second goal of this exhibition. It was done will trigger a reaction that would lead to its climax and then because almost always the photographer has the tendency to eventually to its rightful end. In the context of visual narra- present a subject according to the photographer’s point of tive, what is important is the balance between pictorial con- view, moral judgments, and experience forgetting that the tent and pictorial syntax or its descriptive and literal structures. Simplified, the descriptive structure will tell the looker what lookers carry their own point of view, moral judgments, and the story is. It describes what is in the picture. The descriptive experiences as they view an image. With these goals in mind and with the nature of the exhi- structure is the subject matter of the photograph. On the con- trary, literal structure includes the rules and conventions of bition being multisensorial, the photographer planned sev- visual elements. This includes spatial relations such as angle eral memory triggers to help in the meaning-making process. and depth of field. Simplified, the literal structure is providing These are images, sounds, and the celebration of Araw ng how the story is being told (Barbatsis, 2005). Dabaw, an annual festival, that commemorates the city’s The theory of Visual Rhetoric of Sonja K. Foss almost charterhood. posits the same thing. Foss (2005) said that the nature of Finally, the exhibition billed Urban Sights and Sounds: visual rhetoric has two components: presented and sug- The Stories of San Pedro Street (USAS) was held inside a gested elements. Presented elements include space, media, shopping mall. Escano and Sumaylo 3 Table 1. Shot List and Photo Description. Category Photograph type Number of photos Characteristics Landmarks Descriptive photographs 3 The photos were taken at low-angle to show implied height of landmarks. Moreover, as lines as a visual element have expressive values, vertical, horizontal, and oblique lines were utilized to show strength, balance, power, and stability. The photos in this category showcased the San Pedro Cathedral, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and the City Hall of Davao. Trade Interpretive photographs 11 Pictures in this category were depicted both with and without human subjects. An empty space was important to highlight a certain kind of human interaction. It also showed the unusual way of peddling products. In these photographs, one will see both the product and the way sellers peddled these products. (Nagar, 2012) The photos in this category included food vendors, outdoor flower shops, religious products, second hand stores, and even those who sell shade for their motorcycles, the iconic jeepney, and illegal items such as knock-off movies and music, and other items. People Descriptive–interpretive 8 This category also showed the kinds of people who frequented the photographs area which included local government officials during work, kids at the park, and passersby. The photographer utilized both close- up and long shots, balanced and asymmetrical subject matters, in mostly high-key lighting to define the spatial relationship between the looker and the subject matter. We tend to stand closer to children therefore close-up shots were used while we stay far from people who hold position, therefore long shots were utilized for the city officials. the former center of the city. This part of the multisensorial On Photography exhibition provided the seeing component of USAS. Photography has been used in documenting many aspects of Furthermore, the photographs used in USAS also coincides our life. As Sontag (1973-1977) posited, families with chil- with Nagar’s (2012) argument that “street is a unique genre dren almost always own a camera. of photography” that looks for “expression, beauty, and Today, the same methodology has been used to document social interaction in seemingly banal surroundings.” (p. 10) the life in the city. Naegele and Baur (2004) documented big Szarkowski’s five characteristics were considered. and small cities’ public spaces, which are often thought of as Szarkowski as mentioned in Barrett (1990) considered the mundane and often neglected. This “pictorial archive” tried thing itself, the detail, the frame, time, and vantage point that to capture the “elusive smells and flavours in order to hand make photography unique. To achieve this, 22 descriptive– them back to the people of the cities and their world.” Kugler interpretive photographs were used depicting the landmarks, (2009), who documented New York City as part of the people, and trade of the street. Descriptive photographs, as Megapolis Tour series, presented New York’s “landscape— defined by Barrett, offers “descriptive, visual information, its architecture, its youth, its feel, its trends and movement” with greater or lesser detail and clarity,” while interpretive from his own perspective, personal view, and style including photographs try to explain phenomenon in a “personal and blurry images of the Upper and Lower East Side, Grand subjective” manner (Barrett, 1990, pp. 53, 59). Central Station, and West Broadway to name a few while With these characteristics, photograph type, and categori- Coughlin (1998) documented the same city using sepia- zation, the table below summarizes the shot list and actual toned images for elegance. Baechtold (2006) took on a new number of photographs used in USAS, and its general concept of creating a completely visual travel guide of characteristics. Afghanistan by using maps and photographs. Baechtold’s This process of categorization of photographs followed the creative premise lay on his idea that “one good photograph tenets of visual narrative theory posited by Gretchen Barbatsis and an address are enough to point the intrepid traveller in (2005). According to Barbatsis, a visual narrative follows two the right direction.” (blurb) structures. These are descriptive and literal or discursive struc- The same idea was used to document San Pedro Street of Davao City, Philippines. The project tried to document the tures. Under the descriptive structure, the visual narrative then center of the city as Davao continues to grow outward. introduces the characters, settings, and actions of the images It tried to use visual cues (photographs) as stimulus to cap- made whereas the literal structure is more focused on the com- ture the lookers’ experiences, their personal stories in positional patterns of spatial relations or the rules and 4 SAGE Open Figure 2. Trade. conventions of making images that dictates how an image can In the context of USAS, the soundscape created to accom- be used as a language to communicate. pany the photographs tried to stay true to the sound of the old Using the shower–showee dichotomy of the theory, the city center without major alterations except adding fade-in shower organizes different visual and pictorial elements (lit- and fade-out and a little manipulation on the volume per sec- eral structure) into a coherent story so that the showee would tion. The increase and decrease of volume levels of certain be able to come up with a meaning similar or related to the parts in the soundscape can act as a way to attract lookers and original intention of the shower. One way to achieve this is to at the same time be an unobtrusive background as lookers use a certain pictorial point of view. scan the photographs. In Table 1, landmarks and trade were taken with an In the creation of the accompanying soundscape of USAS, observing point of view. The composition of each scene indi- the goal was to gather different actual soundscapes and then cated that the shower is “somewhat omniscient” looking at mix them together to create aural chaos during the exhibi- the subject from the outside. The category on people used “a tion. The recreation of the actual chaos followed a careful participating point of view” as the shower was already part planned recording that allowed the lookers to retrace their of the world of the story. It means that there was a shift of steps as they walked around the exhibition area as if they position from “looking at” to “looking into” (Barbatsis, were actually walking along San Pedro Street. 2005). The shift of position was very literal as most of the To achieve this, certain sounds were removed and high- photographs under the category people were tightly com- lighted through varying lengths and volume to give an aural posed trying to decrease the distance between the shower and cue to the looker where he or she was at that moment in San the subject leading to a certain level of visual intimacy Pedro Street. The noise of traffic was also reduced in the between the two (see Figures 2 and 3). soundscape as it is the most obvious auditory signal you get when you are in the area. Moreover, the curved design of the panel boards representing the street and the low ceiling of the On Soundscape exhibition area also functioned as external resonators of the Using two of Schafer’s terminologies, the soundscape of soundscape. These external resonators amplified the sound- USAS featured both sound signals and soundmarks. Sound scape, which functioned both as sound signals and sound- signals are “foreground sounds intended to attack attention” marks. The sound system used was an assembled speaker while the term soundmark is used as an analogy for landmark sold in the area and it was placed near the panel board (Wrightson, 2000). intended for the stories gathered. This literal reproduction of Wrightson (2000) further discussed that the terminologies existing urban sounds provided the aural context of USAS. coined by Schafer express the identity of a certain commu- This aural context can be described using Mermoz’s nity. It does not only showcase its architecture, people, and (2004) concept of sonic layering. In Mermoz’s Istanbul Sound culture. These three are also packaged in the form of sound- Diary, sonic layering was accidental of his own “dialogue scapes. Therefore, soundscapes, as described by Truax cited with an interviewee with that of other voices, street sounds, in Wrightson (2000), acts as “mediator between listener and and call to prayer.” (pp. 23-25) However, in USAS, its sonic the environment.” layering was intentional. The actual recording happened on Escano and Sumaylo 5 Figure 3. Landmarks and people. Table 2. Content of Soundscape Used in USAS. Duration Landmark in San Pedro street described through aural cues Minutes Seconds Intention Sangguniang Panlungsod 00:00 09:28 Soundmark Catholic mass celebration 09:29 11:23 Soundmark Food stalls and other vendors 11:24 59:59 Soundmark and sound signals Note. USAS = Urban Sights and Sounds: The Stories of San Pedro Street. the street and within the halls of the landmarks mentioned. Muslim Prayer 02:18-02:35 Conversations with people and clips of conversation of other Lumad Prayer (Indigenous Peoples) 02:36-03:40 people were included. A council session of the local officials Singing of City Hymn 03:41-05:42 and a celebration of a Catholic mass were also part of the Call to Order 05:43-06:34 soundscape. Details of the content of the soundscape are pre- Task Force Davao Exit Call 06:35-09:28 sented in Table 2 and the succeeding discussions. The intention of the first 9 minutes was to introduce the These were given importance as these are the things that city aurally through the voice of then Vice Mayor of Davao make Davao City one of the safest places to live in the world. City and now President of the Republic of the Philippines, The City also protects its culture and its tri-people making Rodrigo R. Duterte. Several details of the City Council ses- sure that they are represented in the highest governing body sion were included in this part of the soundscape. After the of the city. usual pleasantries of the Vice Mayor, the session started with After the first 9 min, a recording of an ongoing celebra- a prayer. In the soundscape, three different types of prayers tion of Catholic mass immediately followed. The duration of were included. These are ecumenical prayer, Muslim prayer, the introduction of the second landmark—San Pedro and Lumad (Indigenous Peoples) prayer. The singing of the Cathedral—was within the time frame 09:29-11:21. After City Hymn immediately followed and the presiding officer which, the soundscape started introducing the vendors out- of the city council called the session to order after the secre- side the church to “show” through aural cues the trade aspect tary announced that there was a quorum. After the call to of the area. Recordings of conversations between vendors order, the Official Exit Call of the head of Task Force Davao and customers were also included. However, in this part of followed. The breakdown of the first 9 min is as follows: the soundscape, the volume for the Catholic mass and the volume of the vendors were made sure to be at the same level Pleasantries of the Vice Mayor 00:00-00:17 to “show” how close they were to each other. Prayer Also included in the soundscape were sounds of foot- Ecumenical Prayer 00:18-02:17 steps and the increasing and decreasing volume of certain 6 SAGE Open elements to “show” movement. For instance, in 21:55, the sound of the Catholic mass acted as bed music in low vol- ume while the conversation of food and Ukay-ukay (sur- plus) vendors was presented in high volume. Then, another series of footsteps were introduced further diminishing the sound of the Catholic mass and the food and ukay-ukay (surplus) vendors but introducing a new product in the area—massage, pedicure, and manicure. With these high- lighted soundscape, it brought the lookers to another area in San Pedro Street, which is Rizal Park. Going deeper into the park, the previous sounds then became bed for another product of San Pedro Street—bamboo flute. This time, the sound of the bamboo flute was used as sound signals to get the attention of possible lookers in the exhibit area. This was intentionally done at the high notes of each excerpt of a music piece played. Furthermore, the photographer’s movement, signified by the sound of footsteps and by decreasing the volume of all previously described soundscapes, introduced a new recre- ation. At the farthest area of Rizal Park was a kiosk with chessboards. This new sound was introduced at 55:15 up to the end of the entire soundscape. Finally, another relevant information the sonic layering of soundscapes intended to convey was the varying age bracket Figure 4. Panel board for posting of stories with sound system of the speakers presented in the audio material. From the San used to recreate the atmosphere of San Pedro Street. Pedro Cathedral up to the entrance of Rizal Park, you could hear voices of millennials. When you go deeper into the park, lookers decided to post their stories directly on the photos you could listen to voices of retirees and senior citizens. (see Figures 6 and 7). In general, the soundscape used in USAS gave further characterization of San Pedro Street initially provided by the photographs. Results and Discussion With men as visual thinkers and women as aural thinkers, the On Meaning-Making following stories were gathered during the USAS multisen- sorial exhibition. A total of 281 stories (responses) were The feel part of the exhibition started with how the photos gathered during the exhibition. The stories were categorized were arranged, the shape of the panel boards used, the ambi- into three—positive and humor, tragedy, and drama (love)— ance provided by street vendors, the various noises heard, the and all are within the photo categories: trade, landmark, and provision of an actual street sign, and the celebration of the people. city’s charterhood which elevated the sense of pride of the Out of the 281 stories, 193 did not answer the guide ques- lookers during the exhibition. tion provided or approximately 68.68% of the responses Meaning-making was done by making the exhibition while 88 or approximately 31.32% of the responses were interactive. Two panel boards were used for this purpose in loyal to the guide question provided. the exhibit area. Lookers were encouraged to post their expe- From the 88 stories, 19 (6.76%) were categorized under riences on the walls provided. Pens, colored papers, pins, and negative or tragedy, 18 (6.41%) are categorized under drama a writing table were also provided for this purpose. Colored and love, while 51 (18.15%) covers positive and humor. papers were intentionally used to make the exhibition visible The stories gathered in Table 3 were varied, but there from afar, aside from the soundscape that captures attention were certain overlaps between trade, landmark, and people. of lookers. The guide question, Ano ang kwento mo sa daang San For the purpose of categorization, all stories focusing on the Pedro? [What is your story in San Pedro Street?], was also storyteller fall under people while stories focusing on the provided for the lookers to answer (see Figure 4). place rather than the doer of the action fall under landmark. In the process of gathering stories, lookers were able to Stories under trade talked about the business rather than the read other lookers’ stories that somehow brought back mem- landmark. ories and urged them to participate in the story sharing as Moreover, positive and humorous stories talk more on the shown in Figure 5. Before the closing date of the exhibition, positive things San Pedro Street offered them while the Escano and Sumaylo 7 Figure 5. Panel board intended for gathering stories from lookers of the exhibition. Figure 6. Example of posted stories on the photograph. negative or tragic stories range from funny embarrassing moments, buying of knock-off goods and pirated movies, to life threatening situations. Drama and love talk about inter- Figure 7. Size of photographs. personal relationships that started and developed within the area. Furthermore, if you look at the gathered stories, you can In this whole exercise of meaning-making through images also see that the interpretations of the lookers are almost the and sound, San Pedro Street was used as a common setting. It same as those of the photographer. That said, we can say that becomes the connection of all plots—happy, hopeful, and sad. the images can be treated as a language aside from being an These are stories often told from the point of view of the law- expressive art form. Like symbols, image needs interpreta- makers and those who disobey the law, the merchants who tion and reinterpretation from the looker resulting to an peddle their goods, and the lost who turn to religion for guid- inductive exploration of the images focusing on its features, ance. In the case of USAS, what is relevant in the meaning- feelings, knowledge, and function. By interpreting and rein- making process is the place where these stories took place terpreting the content of the images, the lookers were able to rather than focusing only on what narrative theories dictate as essential in storytelling—beginning, middle, and end. dissect the presented elements, that is, space, shapes, and so 8 Table 3. Selected Stories Gathered from the Lookers of USAS. Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love Trade UNITOP (n.)—budget store sa San Pedro. Didto namo nakita ang prom dress (gown) sa akong classmate. [UNITOP Diri mi gapalit ug DVD sa akong Maraming beses na akong nakapunta (n.)—budget store at San Pedro where we bought my classmate’s prom dress.] pinsan. Diri sab mi nakapalit ug sa UNITOP at di ko malilimutan yung What I love in San Pedro Street is the Pink Cloud Inn. DVD player ug labaw sa tanan, sandaling nakita ko ang childhood I love UNITOP. Daghan barato. [I love UNITOP]. (They sell) a lot of cheap items. diri natagakan ug til-as ni Lenin. crush ko. [I have been to UNITOP San Pedro main attraction—UNITOP. [This is where I buy (pirated) several times already but I will Ilang beses na akong napadpad sa San Pedro para lang kumain ng kwek-kwek at saging. [I’ve been to San Pedro DVD with my cousin. This is never forget the time I saw my several times just to eat kwek-kwek (hard boiled egg covered in flour) and (fried) banana.] also where I bought a DVD childhood crush.] Diri mi nagpaayog sapatos sa akong lolo. [This is where lolo and I went to have my shoes fixed.] player. And most important is, This is where my boyfriend and I Dula arcade sa taas sa Datu Complex. 90s rule! [Play games at the arcade of Datu Complex. 90s Rule!] this is where a worm’s larva go for a date eating street foods Lugawan sa Datu Complex. [Porridge store at Datu Complex.] from a tree fell on Lenin.] and attend mass at San Pedro Mag grocery sa MANTEX dayon diretso sa COCO COLLECTION palit ug soft ice cream. Pag Sabado night, MADMAX Cathedral. dayun. San Pedro Street dekada 90! Yahoo!!! [We buy grocery at MANTEX then go to COCO COLLECTION for Sa San Pedro mi nakapalit atung some soft ice cream. During Saturday night, we go to MADMAX. (Decade) 90s! Yahoo!!!] bracelet na tag P20 na gihatag nako Ang akong anak na si Janzen sige buy ice cream sa COCO COLLECTION sa San Pedro St. atbang sa sinehan. Dinha mi sa akong uyab. [I bought a P20 pirmi nagasuroy year 1998. [My child Janzen always buys ice cream at COCO COLLECTION in San Pedro St. in bracelet here at San Pedro and front of the movie house. We frequent this place in 1998.] gave it to my lover.] Naging parte ng aming buhay estudyante ang San Pedro St. Dito kami kumukuha ng mga photographs at videos para sa Sa San Pedro nasakpan nako ang aming proyekto. [San Pedro St. has become part of our students’ life. We shoot our videos and photos for our among yaya nakipagdate. [I once project here.] saw my nanny on a date at San Diri ko nakapalit ug TV kay barato ra. [I bought my TV here because it’s cheaper (here).] Pedro.] Ang mamaligya ug haplas na nay mugawas na bitin. [(The memorable person in San Pedro is) the liniment vendor Sa San Pedro ako unang na inlove sa who bring with him his snake.] bakla. [I fell in love with a gay man Sa San Pedro ko nagbaktas paadto KWORLD. [I pass by San Pedro every time I go to KWORLD.] in San Pedro.] Sa San Pedro mi nagakaon ug durian sa akong friends. [My friends and I eat durian in San Pedro.] Nakabuy ug bestfriends watch during New Year’s eve. [(This is where) I bought (a set of) best friends watch during New Year’s eve.] Dito ako kain barbeque sa may San Pedro pag mignight. [I usually eat barbeque in San Pedro at midnight.] KUSINA DAVAO (name of restaurant) FOREVER! Agfa Color—Dito kami nagpapicture for yearbook noong elementary kami. Miss those days. [Agfa Color—We had our picture taken here for our yearbook when I was in elementary. (I) miss those days.] KER SHOE anyone? (continued) 9 Table 3. (continued) Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love Landmarks Sa San Pedro mi naga-rally paghuman lupad dayon sa UKAY-UKAYAN. [We attend mass mobilization (rally) in San Sa San Pedro church hapit mi Pedro then go to a second hand store after.] nasabugan ug Granada in the Ang San Pedro St. ang Abreeza naming noong 19 . . . (He! He! He!) Ito ang shopping area dati. [San Pedro St. was our year 1996 Dec. 26. [It was at Abreeza in 19 . . . (hehehe) This was the shopping area before.] San Pedro church where we San Pedro circa ochenta: simba sa San Pedro Cathedral, family dinner sa Kusina Dabaw, ug pa-piktyur sa Cesar’s almost got hit by a grenade Portraits. [(Activities at) San Pedro in the 1980s: attend mass at San Pedro Cathedral, family dinner at Kusina December 26, 1996.] Davao, and have our photos taken at Cesar’s Portraits.] Traffic taga ulian. [Traffic is Magsimba sa Cathedral ug panahon sa exam. [Attends mass at the Cathedral during exam period.] always heavy during rush Sa SP ang una kong assignment as intern ng The Mindanao Times. [Sangguniang Panlungsod was my first assignment hours.] as intern of The Mindanao Times.] Sa may Chowking banda ako Diri mi nagpahula sa among kapalaran. [This is where we had our fortune told.] na stranded noong bumaha Dito kami namasyal ng aking Papa noong siya ay umuwi. [This is where we went (to shop and relax) when my father ng sobra sa Davao at walang went home.] masakyan. [I was stranded near Masarap makakita ng artista kagaya ni Juris at Sarah. [(This is where) I see local celebrities like Juris and Sarah Chowking when it rained hard (during Kadayawan).] and the streets were flooded, San Pedro: ang kalye na walang tulog. [San Pedro: the street that never sleeps.] there was no public transport Diri mi nagasimba with my officemates then kaon sa Kusina Davao. The BEST bonding EVER! [My officemates and I available.] attend mass here then we eat at Kusina Davao. The BEST bonding EVER!] Dira ko nakatuon ug disco sa Lami kaayo ang simoy ng hangin sa San Pedro. Hayahay kaayo. [The air in San Pedro is very refreshing.] MADMAX. Human ug sayaw Sa dalang San Pedro naluwas akong kalag. [My soul was saved in San Pedro.] kay nay RIOT. Kulata nasad. Simbang gabi sa church. [Misa de Gallo (dawn mass) at (San Pedro) church.] [I learned how to disco at Sa San Pedro kay dako ang simbahan tapos maki alimuot ug daghan tao musimba gihapon mi. [San Pedro Cathedral is MADMAX. After dancing, huge but even if it is crowded and humid, we still attend mass here.] there was a riot outside and I Sunday is family day at San Pedro. was beaten.] San Pedro. Diri mi nagatan-aw ug Araw ng Dabaw ug Kadayawan. [San Pedro. This is where we watch the Araw ng San Pedro St. Diri pirmi traffic mao Davao and Kadayawan (parades).] pirmi ko ma late sa klase. [San San Pedro Street akong topic sa paper para sa Philippine History class nako. [San Pedro Street was my topic for my Pedro St. traffic is always heavy Philippine History class (paper).] which causes all my tardiness in class.] Nasakpan mi sa Jeep wala mi namayad at San Pedro. [We were caught not paying for our jeepney ride here at San Pedro.] Kada adto nako diri kay mag-ulan. [Everytime I go here, it rains.] Alingasa ang UNITOP. [UNITOP is crowded and humid.] (continued) 10 Table 3. (continued) Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love People After the result of November 2009 PNLE, my friends and I went to San Pedro Church to pray. Didto ko kakita ug riot. [This Sa San Pedro Cathedral mi nagkaila I attended mass in San Pedro Church when I got my job and when I received my first salary in 1974. is where I witnessed a riot sa akong hubby ug nagpakasal. [My Nakasimba na ko sa San Pedro church. Okay akong nafeel pagkatapos ng mass. [I have attended mass at San Pedro (between gangs).] hubby and I met and got married church and I felt okay after.] Doon ako nawawala tuwing at San Pedro Cathedral.] Diri mi nag fancy drill sa rover scouts. [This is where we had our fancy drill for rover scouts.] merong events like Kadayawan Didto mi gikasal sa San Pedro Church. Sa San Pedro ko church ko nag-ampo para makapasa sa board exam and geh kaluy-an nakapasa! [I prayed at San at Araw ng Davao noong bata [We were married at San Pedro Pedro church for guidance when I took the board exam and God took pity, I passed.] pa ako. [This is where I always Church.] Sa San Pedro ako nag pray para sa board exam ni Yang Mark. [I prayed at San Pedro for Yang Mark’s board exam.] get lost during city events Didto ko gibunyagan sa San Pedro Doon kami nagsisimba ng pamilya ko. [My family attends mass (in San Pedro).] like Kadayawan and Araw ng church. [I was baptized in San Nagcelebrate kami sa San Pedro kasama kapatid ko at kaibigan. Ang saya-saya ng gabing yon kahit puyat sa trabaho. Davao when I was still a child.] Pedro church.] Maligayang kaarawan! [We celebrated my sibling’s birthday at San Pedro with some friends. It was a happy night Sa may Lachmi sa atubangan Diri mi nag celebrate ug 1st even if we were all tired from work. Happy Birthday!] sa may Jollibee diha ko dapit anniversary sa akong uyab. [This Sa San Pedro hapit nakuyapan. Nakalimot ko is where we celebrated our first Bata: Ate, akoa ma lang ng coke. ug pamahaw. Maayo na lang anniversary.] Me: Dara oh. nikuyog akong uyab. Dili jud nako Sa San Pedro Cathedral mi first nag Bata: Ate apila akong mg aka”kumpanya” ni makalimtan na lugar. [It was meet ni GIGI. [I first met GIGI at [At San Pedro at Lachmi near Jollibee when San Pedro Cathedral.] Kid: Miss, can I have your coke? I almost collapsed. I forgot to Flowers for Sale! Every Valentine’s Me: Here. It’s yours. eat breakfast. Good thing my day I always stop by one of the Kid: Miss, can you include my other friends?] boyfriend was with me. I will flower shops to buy long stem never forget this place.] rose for my dearest mother. Sa daang San Pedro gigukod akong Gigokod nako ang akong uyab kay tita ug iro. [My aunt was chased nanluod. Pakyas kaayo. [I chased by a dog in San Pedro Street.] my girlfriend around San Pedro because she was sulking. It was a failure.] Diri nako ginadate akong uyab na si Rica Dela Cerna. [This is where I take my girlfriend Rica Dela Cerna for a date.] Dinhi mi nag meet sa akong ka text mate. [This is where my text mate and I met.] Sinagot ako ni Jackie sa San Pedro. [This is where Jackie said “yes.”] Sa Rizal Park mi nagdate sa akong uyab. [I took my girlfriend on a date here (at San Pedro).] Sa San Pedro church nako na realize na gusto ko pala si Kae. [I realized that I like Kae when I was at San Pedro church.] Note. USAS = Urban Sights and Sounds: The Stories of San Pedro Street; PNLE = Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam. Escano and Sumaylo 11 on, from suggested elements, that is, concepts, themes, allu- He further posits that “urban decline can be understood as a sions, and so on (Foss, 2005). lack of adaptation to new conditions . . . as old spatial and Take for example the openness of the lookers in sharing a social structures have been unable to be transformed and negative story (including buying knock-off goods and pirated adjusted to new modes of production.” (p. 4) Urban decay, in DVDs) in public can be used as an allusion to the blatant retrospect, is an evidence of memory loss (Agueda, 2010). presence of vendors selling knock-off goods and pirated In urban planning, urban decay creates a notion of for- DVDs within the presence of the City Hall, the Sangguniang gotten realities that might lead to forgotten cultural identi- Panlungsod, and the church. These three institutions defined ties, hence creating the relevance of meaning-making or piracy as stealing and that stealing is against the law of man reception studies. As defined by Pernia (2004), reception and God. Yet, it is present. This use of visual imagery, in the studies are concerned with “viewer’s interpretations, context of visual rhetoric, as a way of illustrating, explain- decodings, readings, meaning productions, and percep- ing, and investigating the stories told in San Pedro Street, tions or comprehensions of communication and media again, does not complete the beginning, middle, and end pos- messages.”(p. 47) Its significance to urban planning will ited by Barbatsis (2005). Instead, it only provides the be in the context of heritage conservation as this is an setting. important element in the discussions on “cultural identity In general, the visual and aural messages served as “fun- and preservation of the past” (Matero, n.d.). Agueda (2010) damental carrier of sense” as what sense-making structure or also reiterated that “urban decay makes memory retrieval a narrative structure posits. The visual and aural messages much more urgent issue.” even made the lookers act as if they are really in San Pedro According to Matero (n.d.), the primary objective of con- Street. It is evident in the number of stories (responses) that servation is cultural heritage protection before an area is did not answer the guide question provided by the photogra- totally destroyed by urban decay and the lack of cultural and historical relevance to its people. To establish such relevance, pher. It can also be seen in the way the lookers interacted planners and policy makers should know the relevance of with the photographs. The actual damage caused by pinning these areas through meaning-making exercises. the stories directly in the photo is an example of an act that The same argument was raised by Agueda (2009) saying defies both laws of man and God as seen in the trade and that urban decay is closely linked to “productive reorganiza- activities in the featured street. tion, economic transformations, and changing shifts.” She The visual–aural overlap then became a channel that is further posits that to reverse urban decay, “reinstitution of important in the process of storytelling. As the Theory of value and lost status” to the area suffering from decay should Visual Rhetoric points out, the perspective of the lookers will be made. This is where urban planning and even tourism can always be independent from its creator. Even if it reaches the come in as these can help in memory retrieval and cultural same interpretation, the process of interpreting it will be dif- heritage conservation. ferent. Simply put, Jordan et al. as cited in Hochmair (2004) Until today, the focal area for local festivities such as said, “To capture the meaning of a place, the place must, Kadayawan Festival (August) and Araw ng Davao (March) besides its location, also be seen in the context of human is still the San Pedro Street. Public transport routes from action and sensing” (pp. 26-27). the northern and southern parts of the city converge in San With this, can we infer that more and more people lose Pedro Street. Therefore, the implication of this meaning- interest in this area of the city as implied by the number of making exercise in planning will be in infrastructural con- stories (responses) gathered that are not related to the topic? servation by restoring original building designs around Does this also mean that through the years, people define San San Pedro Street highlighting its economic value as evi- Pedro Street as an area for cheap knock-off goods? denced by the stories gathered in this article. In one of the Furthermore, does this mean that the relevance of this area stories, a looker emphasized that San Pedro Street was being the center of government and religion, being the their Abreeza (a high-end mall) during their time. Planning, assumed meaning of the place, is slowly fading? Finally, can then, should capitalize on this. San Pedro Street is still we infer that, just like its dilapidated buildings, its public considered the central point for all routes of public trans- relevance is also dwindling? port as evidenced by the stories gathered. Therefore, pedestrian movement should be taken into consideration Implications when planning for this area. Moreover, another consider- ation that planning should look into is to ascertain that no A city in decay is defined by Kevin Lynch, as cited in Agueda further degradation will happen to San Pedro Street. (2010, p. 3), as Recently, improvement of the City Hall façade was observed as beautification projects that include placing one that boomed in the past due to a single economic activity’s electrical and other cables underground. growth, in which it was specialized. That is why when the mode of production changed and the industry moved, urban and social With these, the implications of this article in heritage con- structures were not fit to new circumstance. servation can be summarized in the following points: 12 SAGE Open •• that infrastructural development should be consistent Recommendations with how this area will be developed as a heritage site Other stories do not necessarily fall under the three types of after several meaning-making exercises; stories mentioned but these are worth mentioning as it tack- •• that this area of Davao City, Philippines, should be les comments on specific photos and at the same time com- protected by the local government because of its his- ments on the whole exhibition which the photographer torical value; and believes to be a call from the lookers to relook at the city and •• that this area be treated as tourist attraction by the City its expansion. The photographer also considers this as rec- Tourism Authority patterned after the old Georgetown ommendation for future creative work exploring other iconic Streets in Penang, Malaysia. areas of Davao City, Philippines. Declaration of Conflicting Interests Hochmair, H. (2004). Vienna soundwalk: A soundscape informa- tion system. Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect 5(1), 26-27. to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Kugler, P. (2009). The megapolis: New York City. Berlin, Germany: Gestalten. Funding Lester, P. M. (2006). Visual communication: Images with mes- The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author- sages. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ship, and/or publication of this article. Matero, F. (n.d.). Heritage, conservation, and archeology: An intro- duction. Archeological Institute of America Site Preservation References Program. Retrieved from https://www.archaeological.org/pdfs/ Agueda, B. (2009). Urban planning in industrial cities: The revers- Matero.pdf ibility of decay. Retrieved from http://oa.upm.es/5976/1/ Mermoz, G. (2004). Istanbul sound diary. Soundscape: The Journal FernandezAgueda_ponencia_2009.pdf of Acoustic Ecology, 5(1), 23-25. Agueda, B. (2010). Shaping the futures for industrial cities in decay: Naegele, I., & Baur, R. (2004). Scents of the city. Baden, Urban planning and memory retrieval. Retrieved from http:// Switzerland: Lars Muller. oa.upm.es/5978/1/FernandezAgueda_ponencia_2010_02.pdf Nagar, T. (2012). The new street photographer’s manifesto. New Alabado, R. P., III. (2005). Managing vacant lands within central busi- York, NY: Pixiq. ness districts: Implications of implementing idle land taxation. Pernia, E. (2004). Communication research in the Philippines. Banwa: The Academic Journal of UP Mindanao, 2(1), 63-83. Quezon City: The University of the Philippines Press. Baechtold, C. (2006). Baechtold’s best Afghanistan: The ultimate Sontag, S. (1973-1977). On photography. New York, NY: Picador. visual travel guide. New York, NY: Abrams Image. Barbatsis, G. (2005). Narrative theory. In K. Smith, S. Moriarty, Wrightson, K. (2000). An introduction to acoustic ecology. G. Barbatsis, & K. Kenney (Eds.), Handbook of visual Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, 1(1), 10-13. communication: Theory, methods, and media (pp. 329-349). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Author Biographies Barrett, T. (1990). Criticizing photographs: An introduction to Ma. Teresa Escano is assistant professor under the BA understanding images. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Mayfield. Communication Arts program of the University of the Philippines Coughlin, P. (1998). Timeless New York: A literary and photo- Mindanao. Her research interest includes visual communication, graphic tribute. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. integrated marketing communication, advertising and public rela- Delgado, R. S. (2005). Architectural landmarks in Davao City: tions, and science communication. Value-based approach to the history of architecture. Banwa: The Academic Journal of UP Mindanao, 2(1), 38-62. Dennis John Sumaylo is assistant professor under the Foss, S. K. (2005). Theory of visual rhetoric. In K. Smith, S. BA Communication Arts program of the University of the Moriarty, G. Barbatsis, & K. Kenney (Eds.), Handbook of Philippines Mindanao. His research interest includes aural stud- visual communication: Theory, methods, and media (pp. 141- ies, digital technology, visual communication, and disaster 152). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. communication. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png SAGE Open SAGE

Meaning-Making Exercise Using Images and Soundscape: The Case of San Pedro Street, Davao City, Philippines:

SAGE Open , Volume 7 (4): 1 – Oct 27, 2017

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Abstract

This article explored the capacity of mixed media to elicit meanings from their lookers. A multisensory exhibition of photographs and soundscape was utilized to achieve the objective. The photographs provided the visual stimulus while soundscape accompanied the images to provide an aural map of the area being documented. Both media helped in the meaning-making process. The area documented was the center of Davao City, Philippines—San Pedro Street—as it cradles the center of faith, the seats of power, and the center of commerce. But, with urban decay, this place seemed to lose its former glory. With the visual and aural stimuli, these stories (memories) embedded in the mind of the lookers are culled. This is the meaning-making process. Keywords visual communication, street photography, visual rhetoric, soundscape, multimodal meaning-making, urban planning, heritage site conservation Aside from that, San Pedro Street is full of irony. Despite Introduction the glaring presence of religion and government in the area, With the continuous expansion of urban areas in the it has become a melting pot for illegal trade and some Philippines, it is undeniable that what used to be the original immoral acts. Businesses are sprawling away from this area heart of the city, the former central business district, gets and infrastructures looked old as well. The younger genera- neglected (Alabado, 2005). Such is the case of Davao City, tion somehow forgot what the historical relevance of this Philippines. With the various infrastructural developments area is. The adults seemed to accept the fact that what remains and plans, it can be observed that the overall development of relevant in this area is purely trade while its other landmarks, the city is moving away from its center. those that either carries the seat of power or religion, are becoming less relevant. What Is the City’s Center? Given this scenario, a creative work project was mounted to know the relevance of San Pedro Street to the community. Local historians and other residents consider San Pedro It showcased several photographs with accompanying Street as the city’s center for several reasons. According to soundscape to recreate the area. Together with the lookers of Delgado (2005), the street is home to several social land- the exhibition, the photographer conducted a simultaneous marks in the city aside from it being the central business dis- meaning-making activity. trict. These are the San Pedro Cathedral, Davao City Hall, Qualitative meaning-making or reception studies, as and several parks that provided a busy atmosphere. The opposed to quantitative reception studies that aim to predict, design of the whole area was patterned after Spanish Town are considered relevant as this will aid in planning as the Plazas as most of the sociocivic institutions were built in this meanings lookers give can provide planners and policy mak- area (Delgado, 2005). ers the areas’ relevance to cultural identity. Today, San Pedro Street still has San Pedro Cathedral as the center of Catholic faith, the Sangguniang Panlungsod and the Davao City Hall as seats of power, the commercial estab- 1 University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines lishments owned by old and new families residing in the city, Corresponding Author: the Osmeña Park, and the Rizal Park. The Museo Dabawenyo, Dennis John Sumaylo, Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines a government-managed venue for art exhibitions for local Mindanao, Bago-Oshiro, Mintal, Davao City, Davao del Sur 8022, and visiting artists, is also located near San Pedro Street Philippines. (Figure 1). Email: dsumaylo@gmail.com Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open Figure 1. Google Map photo of the area covered by the exhibition. shapes, and so on, while suggested elements are concepts, Theoretical Underpinnings ideas, themes, and allusions. The function of the image is to The theoretical underpinning for this production includes communicate the action and that the perceptions of the Visual Narrative Theory of Gretchen Barbatsis guided by lookers are independent from its creator. Foss believes that Aldous Huxley’s The Art of Seeing. image should be treated as a form of language and that is According to Aldous Huxley, the general visual process the language visual communicators use to be understood. involves four stages. These are Sense, Select, Perceive, and Remember. Sensing is defined as the detection of any visual stimuli while selecting is the process of focusing on one Creative Methodology/Process aspect of the entire visual stimuli detected. Perceiving, on the A multisensory exhibit was conducted to document the contrary, is the stage when a looker tries to make sense of the changes in what is used to be the heart of Davao City—San selected visual stimuli. This can be done by retrieving past Pedro Street. It was an exhibit that let the looker See, Hear, experiences or knowledge about the selected visual stimuli. and Feel San Pedro Street as they walk through it. After perceiving comes remembering as the perceived mean- One of the goals of this exhibit was to highlight the street ing of the visual stimuli can be stored and retrieved for future in Davao City that cradles several landmarks—the San Pedro use. This, in general, is the main objective of a visual com- Street. By capturing it in still photographs, lookers may be municator. It is not merely the creation of images that matters able to reexamine the details of the place and experience it in but the creation of powerful images that would make the a different perspective. By using visual images, this exhibit looker remember its contents (Lester, 2006). showed the culture of the people of Davao City and further The creation of powerful images is grounded on the story defined San Pedro Street with the help of the lookers. it tells. Ideally, when we talk of stories, it always has a begin- Defining San Pedro Street through meaning-making ning, middle, and end arranged in a manner that one action activity was the second goal of this exhibition. It was done will trigger a reaction that would lead to its climax and then because almost always the photographer has the tendency to eventually to its rightful end. In the context of visual narra- present a subject according to the photographer’s point of tive, what is important is the balance between pictorial con- view, moral judgments, and experience forgetting that the tent and pictorial syntax or its descriptive and literal structures. Simplified, the descriptive structure will tell the looker what lookers carry their own point of view, moral judgments, and the story is. It describes what is in the picture. The descriptive experiences as they view an image. With these goals in mind and with the nature of the exhi- structure is the subject matter of the photograph. On the con- trary, literal structure includes the rules and conventions of bition being multisensorial, the photographer planned sev- visual elements. This includes spatial relations such as angle eral memory triggers to help in the meaning-making process. and depth of field. Simplified, the literal structure is providing These are images, sounds, and the celebration of Araw ng how the story is being told (Barbatsis, 2005). Dabaw, an annual festival, that commemorates the city’s The theory of Visual Rhetoric of Sonja K. Foss almost charterhood. posits the same thing. Foss (2005) said that the nature of Finally, the exhibition billed Urban Sights and Sounds: visual rhetoric has two components: presented and sug- The Stories of San Pedro Street (USAS) was held inside a gested elements. Presented elements include space, media, shopping mall. Escano and Sumaylo 3 Table 1. Shot List and Photo Description. Category Photograph type Number of photos Characteristics Landmarks Descriptive photographs 3 The photos were taken at low-angle to show implied height of landmarks. Moreover, as lines as a visual element have expressive values, vertical, horizontal, and oblique lines were utilized to show strength, balance, power, and stability. The photos in this category showcased the San Pedro Cathedral, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and the City Hall of Davao. Trade Interpretive photographs 11 Pictures in this category were depicted both with and without human subjects. An empty space was important to highlight a certain kind of human interaction. It also showed the unusual way of peddling products. In these photographs, one will see both the product and the way sellers peddled these products. (Nagar, 2012) The photos in this category included food vendors, outdoor flower shops, religious products, second hand stores, and even those who sell shade for their motorcycles, the iconic jeepney, and illegal items such as knock-off movies and music, and other items. People Descriptive–interpretive 8 This category also showed the kinds of people who frequented the photographs area which included local government officials during work, kids at the park, and passersby. The photographer utilized both close- up and long shots, balanced and asymmetrical subject matters, in mostly high-key lighting to define the spatial relationship between the looker and the subject matter. We tend to stand closer to children therefore close-up shots were used while we stay far from people who hold position, therefore long shots were utilized for the city officials. the former center of the city. This part of the multisensorial On Photography exhibition provided the seeing component of USAS. Photography has been used in documenting many aspects of Furthermore, the photographs used in USAS also coincides our life. As Sontag (1973-1977) posited, families with chil- with Nagar’s (2012) argument that “street is a unique genre dren almost always own a camera. of photography” that looks for “expression, beauty, and Today, the same methodology has been used to document social interaction in seemingly banal surroundings.” (p. 10) the life in the city. Naegele and Baur (2004) documented big Szarkowski’s five characteristics were considered. and small cities’ public spaces, which are often thought of as Szarkowski as mentioned in Barrett (1990) considered the mundane and often neglected. This “pictorial archive” tried thing itself, the detail, the frame, time, and vantage point that to capture the “elusive smells and flavours in order to hand make photography unique. To achieve this, 22 descriptive– them back to the people of the cities and their world.” Kugler interpretive photographs were used depicting the landmarks, (2009), who documented New York City as part of the people, and trade of the street. Descriptive photographs, as Megapolis Tour series, presented New York’s “landscape— defined by Barrett, offers “descriptive, visual information, its architecture, its youth, its feel, its trends and movement” with greater or lesser detail and clarity,” while interpretive from his own perspective, personal view, and style including photographs try to explain phenomenon in a “personal and blurry images of the Upper and Lower East Side, Grand subjective” manner (Barrett, 1990, pp. 53, 59). Central Station, and West Broadway to name a few while With these characteristics, photograph type, and categori- Coughlin (1998) documented the same city using sepia- zation, the table below summarizes the shot list and actual toned images for elegance. Baechtold (2006) took on a new number of photographs used in USAS, and its general concept of creating a completely visual travel guide of characteristics. Afghanistan by using maps and photographs. Baechtold’s This process of categorization of photographs followed the creative premise lay on his idea that “one good photograph tenets of visual narrative theory posited by Gretchen Barbatsis and an address are enough to point the intrepid traveller in (2005). According to Barbatsis, a visual narrative follows two the right direction.” (blurb) structures. These are descriptive and literal or discursive struc- The same idea was used to document San Pedro Street of Davao City, Philippines. The project tried to document the tures. Under the descriptive structure, the visual narrative then center of the city as Davao continues to grow outward. introduces the characters, settings, and actions of the images It tried to use visual cues (photographs) as stimulus to cap- made whereas the literal structure is more focused on the com- ture the lookers’ experiences, their personal stories in positional patterns of spatial relations or the rules and 4 SAGE Open Figure 2. Trade. conventions of making images that dictates how an image can In the context of USAS, the soundscape created to accom- be used as a language to communicate. pany the photographs tried to stay true to the sound of the old Using the shower–showee dichotomy of the theory, the city center without major alterations except adding fade-in shower organizes different visual and pictorial elements (lit- and fade-out and a little manipulation on the volume per sec- eral structure) into a coherent story so that the showee would tion. The increase and decrease of volume levels of certain be able to come up with a meaning similar or related to the parts in the soundscape can act as a way to attract lookers and original intention of the shower. One way to achieve this is to at the same time be an unobtrusive background as lookers use a certain pictorial point of view. scan the photographs. In Table 1, landmarks and trade were taken with an In the creation of the accompanying soundscape of USAS, observing point of view. The composition of each scene indi- the goal was to gather different actual soundscapes and then cated that the shower is “somewhat omniscient” looking at mix them together to create aural chaos during the exhibi- the subject from the outside. The category on people used “a tion. The recreation of the actual chaos followed a careful participating point of view” as the shower was already part planned recording that allowed the lookers to retrace their of the world of the story. It means that there was a shift of steps as they walked around the exhibition area as if they position from “looking at” to “looking into” (Barbatsis, were actually walking along San Pedro Street. 2005). The shift of position was very literal as most of the To achieve this, certain sounds were removed and high- photographs under the category people were tightly com- lighted through varying lengths and volume to give an aural posed trying to decrease the distance between the shower and cue to the looker where he or she was at that moment in San the subject leading to a certain level of visual intimacy Pedro Street. The noise of traffic was also reduced in the between the two (see Figures 2 and 3). soundscape as it is the most obvious auditory signal you get when you are in the area. Moreover, the curved design of the panel boards representing the street and the low ceiling of the On Soundscape exhibition area also functioned as external resonators of the Using two of Schafer’s terminologies, the soundscape of soundscape. These external resonators amplified the sound- USAS featured both sound signals and soundmarks. Sound scape, which functioned both as sound signals and sound- signals are “foreground sounds intended to attack attention” marks. The sound system used was an assembled speaker while the term soundmark is used as an analogy for landmark sold in the area and it was placed near the panel board (Wrightson, 2000). intended for the stories gathered. This literal reproduction of Wrightson (2000) further discussed that the terminologies existing urban sounds provided the aural context of USAS. coined by Schafer express the identity of a certain commu- This aural context can be described using Mermoz’s nity. It does not only showcase its architecture, people, and (2004) concept of sonic layering. In Mermoz’s Istanbul Sound culture. These three are also packaged in the form of sound- Diary, sonic layering was accidental of his own “dialogue scapes. Therefore, soundscapes, as described by Truax cited with an interviewee with that of other voices, street sounds, in Wrightson (2000), acts as “mediator between listener and and call to prayer.” (pp. 23-25) However, in USAS, its sonic the environment.” layering was intentional. The actual recording happened on Escano and Sumaylo 5 Figure 3. Landmarks and people. Table 2. Content of Soundscape Used in USAS. Duration Landmark in San Pedro street described through aural cues Minutes Seconds Intention Sangguniang Panlungsod 00:00 09:28 Soundmark Catholic mass celebration 09:29 11:23 Soundmark Food stalls and other vendors 11:24 59:59 Soundmark and sound signals Note. USAS = Urban Sights and Sounds: The Stories of San Pedro Street. the street and within the halls of the landmarks mentioned. Muslim Prayer 02:18-02:35 Conversations with people and clips of conversation of other Lumad Prayer (Indigenous Peoples) 02:36-03:40 people were included. A council session of the local officials Singing of City Hymn 03:41-05:42 and a celebration of a Catholic mass were also part of the Call to Order 05:43-06:34 soundscape. Details of the content of the soundscape are pre- Task Force Davao Exit Call 06:35-09:28 sented in Table 2 and the succeeding discussions. The intention of the first 9 minutes was to introduce the These were given importance as these are the things that city aurally through the voice of then Vice Mayor of Davao make Davao City one of the safest places to live in the world. City and now President of the Republic of the Philippines, The City also protects its culture and its tri-people making Rodrigo R. Duterte. Several details of the City Council ses- sure that they are represented in the highest governing body sion were included in this part of the soundscape. After the of the city. usual pleasantries of the Vice Mayor, the session started with After the first 9 min, a recording of an ongoing celebra- a prayer. In the soundscape, three different types of prayers tion of Catholic mass immediately followed. The duration of were included. These are ecumenical prayer, Muslim prayer, the introduction of the second landmark—San Pedro and Lumad (Indigenous Peoples) prayer. The singing of the Cathedral—was within the time frame 09:29-11:21. After City Hymn immediately followed and the presiding officer which, the soundscape started introducing the vendors out- of the city council called the session to order after the secre- side the church to “show” through aural cues the trade aspect tary announced that there was a quorum. After the call to of the area. Recordings of conversations between vendors order, the Official Exit Call of the head of Task Force Davao and customers were also included. However, in this part of followed. The breakdown of the first 9 min is as follows: the soundscape, the volume for the Catholic mass and the volume of the vendors were made sure to be at the same level Pleasantries of the Vice Mayor 00:00-00:17 to “show” how close they were to each other. Prayer Also included in the soundscape were sounds of foot- Ecumenical Prayer 00:18-02:17 steps and the increasing and decreasing volume of certain 6 SAGE Open elements to “show” movement. For instance, in 21:55, the sound of the Catholic mass acted as bed music in low vol- ume while the conversation of food and Ukay-ukay (sur- plus) vendors was presented in high volume. Then, another series of footsteps were introduced further diminishing the sound of the Catholic mass and the food and ukay-ukay (surplus) vendors but introducing a new product in the area—massage, pedicure, and manicure. With these high- lighted soundscape, it brought the lookers to another area in San Pedro Street, which is Rizal Park. Going deeper into the park, the previous sounds then became bed for another product of San Pedro Street—bamboo flute. This time, the sound of the bamboo flute was used as sound signals to get the attention of possible lookers in the exhibit area. This was intentionally done at the high notes of each excerpt of a music piece played. Furthermore, the photographer’s movement, signified by the sound of footsteps and by decreasing the volume of all previously described soundscapes, introduced a new recre- ation. At the farthest area of Rizal Park was a kiosk with chessboards. This new sound was introduced at 55:15 up to the end of the entire soundscape. Finally, another relevant information the sonic layering of soundscapes intended to convey was the varying age bracket Figure 4. Panel board for posting of stories with sound system of the speakers presented in the audio material. From the San used to recreate the atmosphere of San Pedro Street. Pedro Cathedral up to the entrance of Rizal Park, you could hear voices of millennials. When you go deeper into the park, lookers decided to post their stories directly on the photos you could listen to voices of retirees and senior citizens. (see Figures 6 and 7). In general, the soundscape used in USAS gave further characterization of San Pedro Street initially provided by the photographs. Results and Discussion With men as visual thinkers and women as aural thinkers, the On Meaning-Making following stories were gathered during the USAS multisen- sorial exhibition. A total of 281 stories (responses) were The feel part of the exhibition started with how the photos gathered during the exhibition. The stories were categorized were arranged, the shape of the panel boards used, the ambi- into three—positive and humor, tragedy, and drama (love)— ance provided by street vendors, the various noises heard, the and all are within the photo categories: trade, landmark, and provision of an actual street sign, and the celebration of the people. city’s charterhood which elevated the sense of pride of the Out of the 281 stories, 193 did not answer the guide ques- lookers during the exhibition. tion provided or approximately 68.68% of the responses Meaning-making was done by making the exhibition while 88 or approximately 31.32% of the responses were interactive. Two panel boards were used for this purpose in loyal to the guide question provided. the exhibit area. Lookers were encouraged to post their expe- From the 88 stories, 19 (6.76%) were categorized under riences on the walls provided. Pens, colored papers, pins, and negative or tragedy, 18 (6.41%) are categorized under drama a writing table were also provided for this purpose. Colored and love, while 51 (18.15%) covers positive and humor. papers were intentionally used to make the exhibition visible The stories gathered in Table 3 were varied, but there from afar, aside from the soundscape that captures attention were certain overlaps between trade, landmark, and people. of lookers. The guide question, Ano ang kwento mo sa daang San For the purpose of categorization, all stories focusing on the Pedro? [What is your story in San Pedro Street?], was also storyteller fall under people while stories focusing on the provided for the lookers to answer (see Figure 4). place rather than the doer of the action fall under landmark. In the process of gathering stories, lookers were able to Stories under trade talked about the business rather than the read other lookers’ stories that somehow brought back mem- landmark. ories and urged them to participate in the story sharing as Moreover, positive and humorous stories talk more on the shown in Figure 5. Before the closing date of the exhibition, positive things San Pedro Street offered them while the Escano and Sumaylo 7 Figure 5. Panel board intended for gathering stories from lookers of the exhibition. Figure 6. Example of posted stories on the photograph. negative or tragic stories range from funny embarrassing moments, buying of knock-off goods and pirated movies, to life threatening situations. Drama and love talk about inter- Figure 7. Size of photographs. personal relationships that started and developed within the area. Furthermore, if you look at the gathered stories, you can In this whole exercise of meaning-making through images also see that the interpretations of the lookers are almost the and sound, San Pedro Street was used as a common setting. It same as those of the photographer. That said, we can say that becomes the connection of all plots—happy, hopeful, and sad. the images can be treated as a language aside from being an These are stories often told from the point of view of the law- expressive art form. Like symbols, image needs interpreta- makers and those who disobey the law, the merchants who tion and reinterpretation from the looker resulting to an peddle their goods, and the lost who turn to religion for guid- inductive exploration of the images focusing on its features, ance. In the case of USAS, what is relevant in the meaning- feelings, knowledge, and function. By interpreting and rein- making process is the place where these stories took place terpreting the content of the images, the lookers were able to rather than focusing only on what narrative theories dictate as essential in storytelling—beginning, middle, and end. dissect the presented elements, that is, space, shapes, and so 8 Table 3. Selected Stories Gathered from the Lookers of USAS. Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love Trade UNITOP (n.)—budget store sa San Pedro. Didto namo nakita ang prom dress (gown) sa akong classmate. [UNITOP Diri mi gapalit ug DVD sa akong Maraming beses na akong nakapunta (n.)—budget store at San Pedro where we bought my classmate’s prom dress.] pinsan. Diri sab mi nakapalit ug sa UNITOP at di ko malilimutan yung What I love in San Pedro Street is the Pink Cloud Inn. DVD player ug labaw sa tanan, sandaling nakita ko ang childhood I love UNITOP. Daghan barato. [I love UNITOP]. (They sell) a lot of cheap items. diri natagakan ug til-as ni Lenin. crush ko. [I have been to UNITOP San Pedro main attraction—UNITOP. [This is where I buy (pirated) several times already but I will Ilang beses na akong napadpad sa San Pedro para lang kumain ng kwek-kwek at saging. [I’ve been to San Pedro DVD with my cousin. This is never forget the time I saw my several times just to eat kwek-kwek (hard boiled egg covered in flour) and (fried) banana.] also where I bought a DVD childhood crush.] Diri mi nagpaayog sapatos sa akong lolo. [This is where lolo and I went to have my shoes fixed.] player. And most important is, This is where my boyfriend and I Dula arcade sa taas sa Datu Complex. 90s rule! [Play games at the arcade of Datu Complex. 90s Rule!] this is where a worm’s larva go for a date eating street foods Lugawan sa Datu Complex. [Porridge store at Datu Complex.] from a tree fell on Lenin.] and attend mass at San Pedro Mag grocery sa MANTEX dayon diretso sa COCO COLLECTION palit ug soft ice cream. Pag Sabado night, MADMAX Cathedral. dayun. San Pedro Street dekada 90! Yahoo!!! [We buy grocery at MANTEX then go to COCO COLLECTION for Sa San Pedro mi nakapalit atung some soft ice cream. During Saturday night, we go to MADMAX. (Decade) 90s! Yahoo!!!] bracelet na tag P20 na gihatag nako Ang akong anak na si Janzen sige buy ice cream sa COCO COLLECTION sa San Pedro St. atbang sa sinehan. Dinha mi sa akong uyab. [I bought a P20 pirmi nagasuroy year 1998. [My child Janzen always buys ice cream at COCO COLLECTION in San Pedro St. in bracelet here at San Pedro and front of the movie house. We frequent this place in 1998.] gave it to my lover.] Naging parte ng aming buhay estudyante ang San Pedro St. Dito kami kumukuha ng mga photographs at videos para sa Sa San Pedro nasakpan nako ang aming proyekto. [San Pedro St. has become part of our students’ life. We shoot our videos and photos for our among yaya nakipagdate. [I once project here.] saw my nanny on a date at San Diri ko nakapalit ug TV kay barato ra. [I bought my TV here because it’s cheaper (here).] Pedro.] Ang mamaligya ug haplas na nay mugawas na bitin. [(The memorable person in San Pedro is) the liniment vendor Sa San Pedro ako unang na inlove sa who bring with him his snake.] bakla. [I fell in love with a gay man Sa San Pedro ko nagbaktas paadto KWORLD. [I pass by San Pedro every time I go to KWORLD.] in San Pedro.] Sa San Pedro mi nagakaon ug durian sa akong friends. [My friends and I eat durian in San Pedro.] Nakabuy ug bestfriends watch during New Year’s eve. [(This is where) I bought (a set of) best friends watch during New Year’s eve.] Dito ako kain barbeque sa may San Pedro pag mignight. [I usually eat barbeque in San Pedro at midnight.] KUSINA DAVAO (name of restaurant) FOREVER! Agfa Color—Dito kami nagpapicture for yearbook noong elementary kami. Miss those days. [Agfa Color—We had our picture taken here for our yearbook when I was in elementary. (I) miss those days.] KER SHOE anyone? (continued) 9 Table 3. (continued) Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love Landmarks Sa San Pedro mi naga-rally paghuman lupad dayon sa UKAY-UKAYAN. [We attend mass mobilization (rally) in San Sa San Pedro church hapit mi Pedro then go to a second hand store after.] nasabugan ug Granada in the Ang San Pedro St. ang Abreeza naming noong 19 . . . (He! He! He!) Ito ang shopping area dati. [San Pedro St. was our year 1996 Dec. 26. [It was at Abreeza in 19 . . . (hehehe) This was the shopping area before.] San Pedro church where we San Pedro circa ochenta: simba sa San Pedro Cathedral, family dinner sa Kusina Dabaw, ug pa-piktyur sa Cesar’s almost got hit by a grenade Portraits. [(Activities at) San Pedro in the 1980s: attend mass at San Pedro Cathedral, family dinner at Kusina December 26, 1996.] Davao, and have our photos taken at Cesar’s Portraits.] Traffic taga ulian. [Traffic is Magsimba sa Cathedral ug panahon sa exam. [Attends mass at the Cathedral during exam period.] always heavy during rush Sa SP ang una kong assignment as intern ng The Mindanao Times. [Sangguniang Panlungsod was my first assignment hours.] as intern of The Mindanao Times.] Sa may Chowking banda ako Diri mi nagpahula sa among kapalaran. [This is where we had our fortune told.] na stranded noong bumaha Dito kami namasyal ng aking Papa noong siya ay umuwi. [This is where we went (to shop and relax) when my father ng sobra sa Davao at walang went home.] masakyan. [I was stranded near Masarap makakita ng artista kagaya ni Juris at Sarah. [(This is where) I see local celebrities like Juris and Sarah Chowking when it rained hard (during Kadayawan).] and the streets were flooded, San Pedro: ang kalye na walang tulog. [San Pedro: the street that never sleeps.] there was no public transport Diri mi nagasimba with my officemates then kaon sa Kusina Davao. The BEST bonding EVER! [My officemates and I available.] attend mass here then we eat at Kusina Davao. The BEST bonding EVER!] Dira ko nakatuon ug disco sa Lami kaayo ang simoy ng hangin sa San Pedro. Hayahay kaayo. [The air in San Pedro is very refreshing.] MADMAX. Human ug sayaw Sa dalang San Pedro naluwas akong kalag. [My soul was saved in San Pedro.] kay nay RIOT. Kulata nasad. Simbang gabi sa church. [Misa de Gallo (dawn mass) at (San Pedro) church.] [I learned how to disco at Sa San Pedro kay dako ang simbahan tapos maki alimuot ug daghan tao musimba gihapon mi. [San Pedro Cathedral is MADMAX. After dancing, huge but even if it is crowded and humid, we still attend mass here.] there was a riot outside and I Sunday is family day at San Pedro. was beaten.] San Pedro. Diri mi nagatan-aw ug Araw ng Dabaw ug Kadayawan. [San Pedro. This is where we watch the Araw ng San Pedro St. Diri pirmi traffic mao Davao and Kadayawan (parades).] pirmi ko ma late sa klase. [San San Pedro Street akong topic sa paper para sa Philippine History class nako. [San Pedro Street was my topic for my Pedro St. traffic is always heavy Philippine History class (paper).] which causes all my tardiness in class.] Nasakpan mi sa Jeep wala mi namayad at San Pedro. [We were caught not paying for our jeepney ride here at San Pedro.] Kada adto nako diri kay mag-ulan. [Everytime I go here, it rains.] Alingasa ang UNITOP. [UNITOP is crowded and humid.] (continued) 10 Table 3. (continued) Type of stories Category Positive and humor Negative or tragedy Drama and love People After the result of November 2009 PNLE, my friends and I went to San Pedro Church to pray. Didto ko kakita ug riot. [This Sa San Pedro Cathedral mi nagkaila I attended mass in San Pedro Church when I got my job and when I received my first salary in 1974. is where I witnessed a riot sa akong hubby ug nagpakasal. [My Nakasimba na ko sa San Pedro church. Okay akong nafeel pagkatapos ng mass. [I have attended mass at San Pedro (between gangs).] hubby and I met and got married church and I felt okay after.] Doon ako nawawala tuwing at San Pedro Cathedral.] Diri mi nag fancy drill sa rover scouts. [This is where we had our fancy drill for rover scouts.] merong events like Kadayawan Didto mi gikasal sa San Pedro Church. Sa San Pedro ko church ko nag-ampo para makapasa sa board exam and geh kaluy-an nakapasa! [I prayed at San at Araw ng Davao noong bata [We were married at San Pedro Pedro church for guidance when I took the board exam and God took pity, I passed.] pa ako. [This is where I always Church.] Sa San Pedro ako nag pray para sa board exam ni Yang Mark. [I prayed at San Pedro for Yang Mark’s board exam.] get lost during city events Didto ko gibunyagan sa San Pedro Doon kami nagsisimba ng pamilya ko. [My family attends mass (in San Pedro).] like Kadayawan and Araw ng church. [I was baptized in San Nagcelebrate kami sa San Pedro kasama kapatid ko at kaibigan. Ang saya-saya ng gabing yon kahit puyat sa trabaho. Davao when I was still a child.] Pedro church.] Maligayang kaarawan! [We celebrated my sibling’s birthday at San Pedro with some friends. It was a happy night Sa may Lachmi sa atubangan Diri mi nag celebrate ug 1st even if we were all tired from work. Happy Birthday!] sa may Jollibee diha ko dapit anniversary sa akong uyab. [This Sa San Pedro hapit nakuyapan. Nakalimot ko is where we celebrated our first Bata: Ate, akoa ma lang ng coke. ug pamahaw. Maayo na lang anniversary.] Me: Dara oh. nikuyog akong uyab. Dili jud nako Sa San Pedro Cathedral mi first nag Bata: Ate apila akong mg aka”kumpanya” ni makalimtan na lugar. [It was meet ni GIGI. [I first met GIGI at [At San Pedro at Lachmi near Jollibee when San Pedro Cathedral.] Kid: Miss, can I have your coke? I almost collapsed. I forgot to Flowers for Sale! Every Valentine’s Me: Here. It’s yours. eat breakfast. Good thing my day I always stop by one of the Kid: Miss, can you include my other friends?] boyfriend was with me. I will flower shops to buy long stem never forget this place.] rose for my dearest mother. Sa daang San Pedro gigukod akong Gigokod nako ang akong uyab kay tita ug iro. [My aunt was chased nanluod. Pakyas kaayo. [I chased by a dog in San Pedro Street.] my girlfriend around San Pedro because she was sulking. It was a failure.] Diri nako ginadate akong uyab na si Rica Dela Cerna. [This is where I take my girlfriend Rica Dela Cerna for a date.] Dinhi mi nag meet sa akong ka text mate. [This is where my text mate and I met.] Sinagot ako ni Jackie sa San Pedro. [This is where Jackie said “yes.”] Sa Rizal Park mi nagdate sa akong uyab. [I took my girlfriend on a date here (at San Pedro).] Sa San Pedro church nako na realize na gusto ko pala si Kae. [I realized that I like Kae when I was at San Pedro church.] Note. USAS = Urban Sights and Sounds: The Stories of San Pedro Street; PNLE = Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam. Escano and Sumaylo 11 on, from suggested elements, that is, concepts, themes, allu- He further posits that “urban decline can be understood as a sions, and so on (Foss, 2005). lack of adaptation to new conditions . . . as old spatial and Take for example the openness of the lookers in sharing a social structures have been unable to be transformed and negative story (including buying knock-off goods and pirated adjusted to new modes of production.” (p. 4) Urban decay, in DVDs) in public can be used as an allusion to the blatant retrospect, is an evidence of memory loss (Agueda, 2010). presence of vendors selling knock-off goods and pirated In urban planning, urban decay creates a notion of for- DVDs within the presence of the City Hall, the Sangguniang gotten realities that might lead to forgotten cultural identi- Panlungsod, and the church. These three institutions defined ties, hence creating the relevance of meaning-making or piracy as stealing and that stealing is against the law of man reception studies. As defined by Pernia (2004), reception and God. Yet, it is present. This use of visual imagery, in the studies are concerned with “viewer’s interpretations, context of visual rhetoric, as a way of illustrating, explain- decodings, readings, meaning productions, and percep- ing, and investigating the stories told in San Pedro Street, tions or comprehensions of communication and media again, does not complete the beginning, middle, and end pos- messages.”(p. 47) Its significance to urban planning will ited by Barbatsis (2005). Instead, it only provides the be in the context of heritage conservation as this is an setting. important element in the discussions on “cultural identity In general, the visual and aural messages served as “fun- and preservation of the past” (Matero, n.d.). Agueda (2010) damental carrier of sense” as what sense-making structure or also reiterated that “urban decay makes memory retrieval a narrative structure posits. The visual and aural messages much more urgent issue.” even made the lookers act as if they are really in San Pedro According to Matero (n.d.), the primary objective of con- Street. It is evident in the number of stories (responses) that servation is cultural heritage protection before an area is did not answer the guide question provided by the photogra- totally destroyed by urban decay and the lack of cultural and historical relevance to its people. To establish such relevance, pher. It can also be seen in the way the lookers interacted planners and policy makers should know the relevance of with the photographs. The actual damage caused by pinning these areas through meaning-making exercises. the stories directly in the photo is an example of an act that The same argument was raised by Agueda (2009) saying defies both laws of man and God as seen in the trade and that urban decay is closely linked to “productive reorganiza- activities in the featured street. tion, economic transformations, and changing shifts.” She The visual–aural overlap then became a channel that is further posits that to reverse urban decay, “reinstitution of important in the process of storytelling. As the Theory of value and lost status” to the area suffering from decay should Visual Rhetoric points out, the perspective of the lookers will be made. This is where urban planning and even tourism can always be independent from its creator. Even if it reaches the come in as these can help in memory retrieval and cultural same interpretation, the process of interpreting it will be dif- heritage conservation. ferent. Simply put, Jordan et al. as cited in Hochmair (2004) Until today, the focal area for local festivities such as said, “To capture the meaning of a place, the place must, Kadayawan Festival (August) and Araw ng Davao (March) besides its location, also be seen in the context of human is still the San Pedro Street. Public transport routes from action and sensing” (pp. 26-27). the northern and southern parts of the city converge in San With this, can we infer that more and more people lose Pedro Street. Therefore, the implication of this meaning- interest in this area of the city as implied by the number of making exercise in planning will be in infrastructural con- stories (responses) gathered that are not related to the topic? servation by restoring original building designs around Does this also mean that through the years, people define San San Pedro Street highlighting its economic value as evi- Pedro Street as an area for cheap knock-off goods? denced by the stories gathered in this article. In one of the Furthermore, does this mean that the relevance of this area stories, a looker emphasized that San Pedro Street was being the center of government and religion, being the their Abreeza (a high-end mall) during their time. Planning, assumed meaning of the place, is slowly fading? Finally, can then, should capitalize on this. San Pedro Street is still we infer that, just like its dilapidated buildings, its public considered the central point for all routes of public trans- relevance is also dwindling? port as evidenced by the stories gathered. Therefore, pedestrian movement should be taken into consideration Implications when planning for this area. Moreover, another consider- ation that planning should look into is to ascertain that no A city in decay is defined by Kevin Lynch, as cited in Agueda further degradation will happen to San Pedro Street. (2010, p. 3), as Recently, improvement of the City Hall façade was observed as beautification projects that include placing one that boomed in the past due to a single economic activity’s electrical and other cables underground. growth, in which it was specialized. That is why when the mode of production changed and the industry moved, urban and social With these, the implications of this article in heritage con- structures were not fit to new circumstance. servation can be summarized in the following points: 12 SAGE Open •• that infrastructural development should be consistent Recommendations with how this area will be developed as a heritage site Other stories do not necessarily fall under the three types of after several meaning-making exercises; stories mentioned but these are worth mentioning as it tack- •• that this area of Davao City, Philippines, should be les comments on specific photos and at the same time com- protected by the local government because of its his- ments on the whole exhibition which the photographer torical value; and believes to be a call from the lookers to relook at the city and •• that this area be treated as tourist attraction by the City its expansion. The photographer also considers this as rec- Tourism Authority patterned after the old Georgetown ommendation for future creative work exploring other iconic Streets in Penang, Malaysia. areas of Davao City, Philippines. Declaration of Conflicting Interests Hochmair, H. (2004). Vienna soundwalk: A soundscape informa- tion system. Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect 5(1), 26-27. to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Kugler, P. (2009). The megapolis: New York City. Berlin, Germany: Gestalten. Funding Lester, P. M. (2006). Visual communication: Images with mes- The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author- sages. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ship, and/or publication of this article. Matero, F. (n.d.). Heritage, conservation, and archeology: An intro- duction. Archeological Institute of America Site Preservation References Program. Retrieved from https://www.archaeological.org/pdfs/ Agueda, B. (2009). Urban planning in industrial cities: The revers- Matero.pdf ibility of decay. Retrieved from http://oa.upm.es/5976/1/ Mermoz, G. (2004). Istanbul sound diary. Soundscape: The Journal FernandezAgueda_ponencia_2009.pdf of Acoustic Ecology, 5(1), 23-25. Agueda, B. (2010). Shaping the futures for industrial cities in decay: Naegele, I., & Baur, R. (2004). Scents of the city. Baden, Urban planning and memory retrieval. Retrieved from http:// Switzerland: Lars Muller. oa.upm.es/5978/1/FernandezAgueda_ponencia_2010_02.pdf Nagar, T. (2012). The new street photographer’s manifesto. New Alabado, R. P., III. (2005). Managing vacant lands within central busi- York, NY: Pixiq. ness districts: Implications of implementing idle land taxation. Pernia, E. (2004). Communication research in the Philippines. Banwa: The Academic Journal of UP Mindanao, 2(1), 63-83. Quezon City: The University of the Philippines Press. Baechtold, C. (2006). Baechtold’s best Afghanistan: The ultimate Sontag, S. (1973-1977). On photography. New York, NY: Picador. visual travel guide. New York, NY: Abrams Image. Barbatsis, G. (2005). Narrative theory. In K. Smith, S. Moriarty, Wrightson, K. (2000). An introduction to acoustic ecology. G. Barbatsis, & K. Kenney (Eds.), Handbook of visual Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, 1(1), 10-13. communication: Theory, methods, and media (pp. 329-349). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Author Biographies Barrett, T. (1990). Criticizing photographs: An introduction to Ma. Teresa Escano is assistant professor under the BA understanding images. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Mayfield. Communication Arts program of the University of the Philippines Coughlin, P. (1998). Timeless New York: A literary and photo- Mindanao. Her research interest includes visual communication, graphic tribute. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. integrated marketing communication, advertising and public rela- Delgado, R. S. (2005). Architectural landmarks in Davao City: tions, and science communication. Value-based approach to the history of architecture. Banwa: The Academic Journal of UP Mindanao, 2(1), 38-62. Dennis John Sumaylo is assistant professor under the Foss, S. K. (2005). Theory of visual rhetoric. In K. Smith, S. BA Communication Arts program of the University of the Moriarty, G. Barbatsis, & K. Kenney (Eds.), Handbook of Philippines Mindanao. His research interest includes aural stud- visual communication: Theory, methods, and media (pp. 141- ies, digital technology, visual communication, and disaster 152). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. communication.

Journal

SAGE OpenSAGE

Published: Oct 27, 2017

Keywords: visual communication; street photography; visual rhetoric; soundscape; multimodal meaning-making; urban planning; heritage site conservation

There are no references for this article.