An Approach to Filipino

Art and Design

The “BORLOLOY” Concept

 The Filipino Culture
 What is Culture?
 Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of
knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,
attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion,
notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts
of the universe, and material objects and
possessions acquired by a group of people in
the course of generations through individual and
group striving.
 How does culture define the personality of
the society?
 A culture is a way of life of a group of
people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and
symbols that they accept, generally
without thinking about them, and that are
passed along by communication and
imitation from one generation to the next.
 How does it affect the articulation of arts and
design traditions of certain groups?

 Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit,

of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by
symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement
of human groups, including their embodiments in
artifacts;
 the essential core of culture consists of
traditional ideas and especially their attached
values;
 The concept of “Borloloy” in the
Filipino society
 How do we define the word “borloloy” in
the modern and traditional context of
Filipino culture?
 The Etymology of the word
“Borloloy”
 Coined during the 60’s according to Nick
Joaquin
 Originally came from Tagalog word
“BORLAS”- “mga palamuting nakalawit at
nakasabit”
 “Borlas” was derived from the Spanish
word “Borla” which means “tussel”.
 The characteristics of “Borloloy” as an
approach in Filipino art and design

 1. Highly-colorful
 2. “Paulit-ulit” (rhythmic elements)
 3. Profusion of elements
 4. Kulturang “Uslawit” (mga naka-usli at
nakalawit”
 5. Transparency
 6. Maximalism
 “Borloloy” characteristics as
manifested in different Filipino art
and design traditions
1. Highly colorful
2. “Paulit-ulit” (rhythmic elements)
3. Profusion of elements
4. Kulturang “Uslawit” (mga naka-
usli at nakalawit”
5. Transparency
6. Maximalism
Assignment no. 1 (Reaction paper)
 Read the article “Art vs. Design” by Craig
Elimeliah
 Write a one-page reaction paper about the
article relating it to Philippine setting/
context.
 Times New Roman, short bond, font 12,
single space
 Deadline: June 2, 2009