GE 6222 / Philippine Popular Culture

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Philippine Pop Culture: Art

Module 8: Philippine Pop Culture: Art

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. Define Philippine art.

2. Identify the branches of the Philippine art.
3. Identify the categories of the Philippine art under each branch.
4. Identify the features of integral art in the Philippines as perceived by
senses and feelings.

Art of the Philippines

Philippine art refers to the works of art that have evolved and accumulated in the Philippines from the
beginning of the country's civilization up to the present period. Philippine art reflects the wide variety of
cultural influences on the culture of the country and its society and non-Filipinos, and how those influences
refined the arts of the country. The Philippine art can be divided into two different parts, traditional arts
and non-traditional arts. Each branch of subcategories is further broken down into different categories.

Branches:

A. Traditional arts

Traditional arts bearers may be called Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), equivalent to the National
Artist.

 Folk architecture – Like, though not limited to, stilt homes, country houses and aerial buildings.
 Maritime transport - Boat-making homes, and maritime activities.
 Weaving - Include, though not limited to, basket weaving, weaving of back-strap looms, weaving of
headgear, weaving of fishnet and other weaving types.
 Carving - Including, though not restricted to, woodcarving and non-argile folk sculpture.
 Folk performing arts - Including but not limited to, dances, plays, and dramas.
 Folk (oral) literature - including, but not limited to, epics, songs, and myths.
 Folk graphic and plastic arts - Including calligraphy, tattoos, folk art, folk drawing and folk painting.
 Ornament, textile, or fiber art - Hat-making, masking, shoes, ornamental metalwork.

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Philippine Pop Culture: Art

 Pottery - Like, though not limited to, ceramics, potted clay and folk art sculpture.
 Other artistic expressions of traditional culture - Including, but not limited to, non-ornamental
metal crafts, martial arts, mystical healing arts, herbal arts and ancient constellations

B. Non-traditional arts - bearers of non-traditional arts can be nominated as National Artist, equal to
Gawad Manlilika ng Bayan

 Dance - Dance choreography, dance direction and dance performance.

 Music - Including but not limited to, composition, musical direction, and musical production.
 Theater - including, but not limited to, theatrical direction, theatrical performance, theatrical
production design, theatrical light and sound design, and theatrical playwriting.
 Visual arts - including, but not limited to painting, non-folk sculpture, printmaking, photography,
installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art, and imaging.
 Literature - including, but not limited to, poetry, fiction, essay, and literary/art criticism.
 Film and broadcast arts - Include, but not limited to, film and broadcast direction, film and
broadcast writing, film and broadcast production design, cinematography and broadcasting,
film and broadcast editing, film and broadcast animation, film and broadcast performance, and
film and new media broadcasting.
 Architecture and allied arts - including, but not limited to, non-folk architecture, interior design,
landscape architecture, and urban design.
 Design - including, but not limited to, industrial design, and fashion design.

A collective perception of the world makes us sociable, in search of peace and unitive. It fosters a devotional
attitude towards the highest ranking being in the celestial social order because being one with this entity
unites us with the universe as a whole. The traditional Filipino culture, which is primarily Southeast Asian,
views the cosmos as the universal embodiments of a complex, imaginative living spirit whose holy nature
is often symbolized as a supernatural hero or divine being and whose physical images are thought to be
permeated by the mystical force of this being.

Therefore, in all traditional Filipino life, particularly in the villages, images of these divine beings attract so
much devotional fervor. A deeply mutual commitment creates an enlarged sense of self, an outlook that is
more relational than individualistic, intuitive and holistic than rational and empirical and favors
interdependence and relationships over self-assertion and privacy.

The Filipinos are people of high connection. We are hardly lonely, very content to be together – whether
feeding, sleeping, working, traveling, studying, making or celebrating. They have a limited sense of privacy
and are socially available, comfortable and easily accessible. Instead of a meticulous concern for safeguarding
their private sphere, as in the case of Western peoples, many Filipinos actively seek a convergence of their lives
with the lives of others. For example, a sharing of concern is seen in a common form of greeting in the region
such as, “Where are you going?” or “Where have you been?” In family and society sharing of roles and
obligations is a way of life. They therefore become highly qualified and innovative in interpersonal relations
and contact with society. Ability to socially integrate is one of the hallmarks of maturity.
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Philippine Pop Culture: Art

Throughout all facets of traditional Filipino village life, and to a large degree, even in urban environments,
the communal focus is manifest.

Integral Art features

This communal orientation is expressed most sensitively in traditional arts. Being the clearest and most
articulate representations of the ideals of a culture, the arts are the strongest instruments of inquiry into a
culture's basic character. It is undeniable that the following basic concepts and attributes of art and the
contexts of artistic development, expression and experience could have arisen only in Filipino cultural
settings in popular or integral form:

 Arts combining with other principles and functions - Not respected for their own sakes. The
esthetics are not removed from practical, economic, legal, financial, social, and environmental
concerns. This ensures a healthy growth and development of human faculties-both physical and
internal.
 The Arts harmony - The incorporation of creative tastes is compatible with the incorporation of
the faculties. No sensory mode and aesthetic knowledge should be cultivated to the detriment of
others. While focus may be given – literary, visual, spatial, musical, kineaesthetic, gustatory, and
olfactory senses need to be harnessed and fostered together for full aesthetic wellness.
 Art is incorporated into everyday life and not treated as a separate practice - It does not
become a specialism (a narrow-minded specialty or at the detriment of anything else, according to
Jacques Barzun). It is not only for the professional but for everyone. This means that there would
be no unique places or spaces for art, since it happens essentially wherever and wherever human
activity occurs.
 Equal opportunities for involvement in the creative and artistic process - There are relatively
no superstars, for a person who is only a conduit of divine inspiration or imagination is not the
source of power. The author or designer, instead, is often anonymous.
 The artist is not detached from the public or culture - Communal participation is the norm.
Unlike in the West, artist and culture are not dichotomized, because art is not the concern of the
specialists alone. All are required to be an artist and take part in artistic, expressive practices.
 Content, technological and formal flexibility requisites - No rigid or fixed standards dictate the
choice of materials, techniques and forms for artistic creation and expression, e.g. there is no such
thing as an arbitrary, fixed tuning system as in the European equally tempered system although
definite principles underlie the tuning of musical instruments such as lutes, flutes and gong. Such
versatility ensures greater people's engagement in creative practice.
 The use of the resources available for artistic creation - Art is not associated with large
production costs because it is artistic creativity or the original concept that matters, as well as
making art part of everyday living. Thus the least expensive mediums, e.g. kites paper, are highly
regarded and not considered inferior to the more expensive ones. And even the most common items
such as a coconut grater, a jar, a knife handle, a tree stump, a mat or a hat can become a medium for
fine art.

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Philippine Pop Culture: Art

 Focus on the creative process and not the end product - The endowment of extemporaneous,
improvisational or spontaneous forms of imagination with a higher value than deliberate, mostly
solitary, conceptualization and formal composition. The value of the method rather than the product
nurtures artistic health and can prevent pure idolatry of masterpieces and permanent obsession.
 Conception and accomplishment simultaneous - Affirmation of creative imagination through the
practice of instant mirroring or biofeedback which, along with focus on the creative process,
provides an excellent condition for community participation.

References and Supplementary Materials

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_the_Philippines; April 1, 2020
2. NCCA; http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/in-
focus/philippine-arts-in-context/; April 1, 2020