Module 8: Appreciating Philippine Art Today

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this topic, you will be able to:

a. ain familiarity on the different indigenous art forms, materials and sources in the country;

b. create written outputs highlighting the characteristics and uses of the indigenous artworks from the
locality; and

c. show appreciation of the indigenous art of the Filipinos by creating artworks using the designs or
motifs of the Filipino indigenous art.

Philippine Indigenous Art, Uncovered

As Filipinos, how well do we know about our indigenous art? Do we still see traces of our
indigenous designs and motifs in our contemporary arts?

The Philippine’s unique topography and diverse cultural environment with the distribution of
mixed and indigenous groups resulted to cultural heterogeneity. The climate (wet or dry), location (sitio,
barrio, or poblacion, cities), topography (mountains, plains, riverbanks, coast) religion of various beliefs
and sects, and membership to cultural groups from all over the country, all of these have influences in
the material culture that are produced including art. Philippine material culture consists of wide array of
utilitarian and ceremonial objects (Dela Cruz, 1988). Many forms combine aesthetic concerns with
utilitarian purposes (Baesa-Pagay, et al.,2003) including pottery, basketry, mat-making, jewelry, metal
works, textile weaving and carving. These are the indigenous art of the Filipinos which are surviving up
to this time.

Indigenous arts are created by the people in the community which often uses materials found in
the locality. These are art forms are still created in the community and have survived as industries for
the locals.

In the succeeding part of this module, let us rediscover the Philippine indigenous arts that are
still surviving today and try to see where these can fit in our daily lives as Filipinos living in the
contemporary world.

POTTERY
Pottery is one of the oldest arts which combine design and function (Guillermo, 1989). The
Manunggul Jar, a burial jar, excavated in Palawan is an artwork having its design of two men rowing a
boat expressing the beliefs of Filipinos that spirits of the dead travel to the afterlife which is also
expressed in the Filipino expression “sumakabilang buhay”. More of these burial jars were also
excavated in Cagayan Valley and other parts of the country.

Clay pots for Filipinos have many uses in the home and in other daily activities.
 Clay pots and jars in different shapes and sizes are used for food preparation and storage while
plates and bowls are used for serving food.

Samples of pots crafted by Filipinos

https://www.slideshare.net/danshiernans/art-
of-luzonhighlands?nextslideshow=1

BASKETRY AND MAT-MAKING

Basketry is known to be older that pottery tradition
but because it is highly perishable, most of artifacts cannot
be found in museum displays. With the abundance of
materials such as bamboo, rattan, pandanus, nito and other
materials in the country, this is done in almost all parts of the
country. Mats

While baskets of different shapes and sizes are used

for activities in the household and in the economic activities
of the Filipinos. This artform has survived even today and
designs, colors and uses vary from one place to another.
 Mat weaving has been a source of income for
Filipino women. Woven mats are used to create other
products such as purse, bags, and decors. The finest
products of our weavers are exported around the world
introduced by our Filipino artists abroad. Today, weaving as
an indigenous art continues to flourish and create its mark
not only in the country but in the international market as
well.

CARVING
The carving tradition in wood and metal has existed a long time ago when our ancestors learned
to use small hand tools to engrave and carve details in wood and metal. The earliest pieces of materials
with carvings are found in on the boat-shaped coffins in Palawan. Later, carvings were found in gold,
wood, and ivory in the highlands and lowlands of Luzon and Mindanao. Even boats used by our
ancestors were decorated with intricate carvings.

Carvings has utilitarian, ornamental and even ritualistic functions in the Philippine society. The
carvers of Paete, Laguna carried on this long tradition of wood carving in the country and they are
known for their masterpieces which include religious icons and others. This tradition exists today and
displays the skills and love for work and diligence of our Filipino carvers.

Wood Carvings from Palawan also depict animals like birds, which are representations of their
religous beliefs. According to local stories, the birds serve as the messengers of the people to
the heavens and vise versa. In Mindanao, the Tausug and Maranao people are known for their
okir, which are designs applied to their woodcarvings. Their common subjects include the
sarimanok, naga and the pako rabong. Each subject is a representation for a certain theme or
motif but generally, these symbols depict their belief’s as a people. The sarimanok is a stylized
design of a mythical bird either standing on a fish holding a piece of fish on its beak. The story
of the sarimanok was a central figure to a number of legends. One narrative tells the origin of
the word sarimanok. A ssultan of Lanao once threw a party for his daughter named Sari who
was beautiful but seemed unhappy with her situation. On the day of her party, a rooster
crashed and the princess ran off with the rooster. She was never found. In memory of Sari, the
sultan carved a rooster. The Sultan’s act paved the way for the term sarimanok. Initially, jewelry
as ornaments integrated in their clothing. The naga formsan S-shape, depicting an elaborate
figure of a mythical dragon or serpent. The numerous curved lines serving as detail for the
figure depicts the scales. The fern gracefully stems and tapers upward. The sarimanok and naga
are usually used as ornamental designs for the houses of the sultans.

WEAVING
Textile weaving is one of the indigenous arts that Filipinos have grown up with. Different
indigenous group all over the country produce their piece of textile embellished with intricate geometric
design, symbols and color. Tapis, malong, abel are some pieces of textile which shows that this
indigenous art is still surviving. Colorful, vibrant and varied designs show how refined and skilled the
Filipinos are. Geometric designs are commonly used by indigenous groups in weaving textile.

JEWELRY
Jewelry is example of an indigenous art made only for adornment. In the Filipino culture it also
reveals the status of the wearer in the community. In Mindanao, the datu and his family wear various
jewelry with intricate design made of beads and even precious metals that symbolizes their high stature
in the community. Even warriors and women members of the community create their own jewelry for
adornment which actually symbolizes their activities and accomplishments in the community. Hunters
and warriors may use beads, animal bones, wood and metal for making their jewelry.
When the Spaniards discovered the Philippines during the sixteenth century, they introduced their
religion to the local people. Aside from acquiring resourcces, they had a goal to replace the existing
indiggenous cultural practices and beliefs of the early Filipinos. Art was used by the Spaniardds to
propagate their Christian faith while at the same time, subtly establishing their foothold in the century.
The Church, just like in Western Europe at one point, became the sole patron of the arts. This can be
evidently seen through the construction of churches. These churches culture and ideals in the Philippine
setting. Eing under colonial rule, it is not surpricing for Filipinos to express their indignation and desire
for libeeration. Art became one of the avenues for Filipino nationalism and stood against the colorizers
would be juan Luna’s “Spoliarium.” This large-scale academic painting garnered a gold medal and
signified that the reformists could come at par with their European counterparts. At the same time,
Luna’s win signaled the start of the Filipino’s call for equality.

When the Philippines was liberated from the Spanish rule, the Americans took over to establish
a colonial government. They also propagated their culture and beliefs through the implementation of
public school systems. Art had a new role in advertising American-controlled markets. After World War
II, the Philippines saw itself as an independent state transitioning into the formation of its national
identity. Artists focused on modern takes when it comes to content, form, and subject matter. In
addition, a debateemerged on weather art should be done as “ proletarian art” or “ art for art’s sake.”
As modern paintings started to emergeg, a triumvirate of artists was formed- Carlos Francisco, Galo B.
Ocampo, and Edades.

The 1960s proved to be a period of modernism and dynamism with a lot of styles, techniques,a
nd methods emerging. Most artworks were reflections of the political, social, and economic situation of
the Philippines during the Marcos administration. It was a period wherein people embodied and
advocated for nationalist ideals. This is the reason why there was a paradism shift of objects in the
artworks. Beautiful and idealistic imagery was replaced with aggressive undertones. The works were
reflections of the general feel of the people based on the political situation during that time. When
former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law, social realism became the norm. Most
artwork were forms of protest against the government’s suppression of freedom of speech and
expression. In addition, some of the works reflected issues like economic problems, land ferformes,
gender rights, worker’s right, and cultural minirities plaguing the Filipino people brought about by the
Martial Law. Eventually, photography has envolved into an art form, which highlights various artistic
expressions evident in variety of events, scenes, and activities.

Filipino identity was born at the same time as its creation, Mainly from its Pre-Colonial/Pre-Philippines
Cultures that merged with the influenced of the Colonizers and Chinese traders that melted and evolved
to its own unique Classical Filipino Identity. Before the Philippines was born, It was a divided set of
nations, islands and tribes being ruled by their own specific Social Kings, Chieftains, Lakans, Datus,
Rajahs and Sultans. Every nation has its own identity and some are even part of a larger Empire outside
of the modern day map of what is now the Philippines, for example; Manila was once part of the
Bruneian Empire. Another example is many parts of the modern day Mindanao is theorized to be part of
the Majapahit Empire with its capital being located in East Java in the modern day Indonesia. The
Advent of the Colonial arrival to the islands started The modern day Philippines, as it was during that
time that what is now a united islands of today now known as the Philippines was created. The Chinese
influenced has been felt throughout Southeast Asia through trade, even before the Colonization of the
region specifically Ming dynasty and other earlier dynasties as early as the 9th century. But it was during
the Spanish colonization that modern day Chinese Filipino signature-mark on what is now the
Philippines was developed. These cultures the melted from pre-colonial internal and external influence
is very evident in the Pre-modern arts and tradition of the Philippines. Paintings of José Honorato
Lozano has clear indication of East and West influence.

Kut-kut art is another technique of combining ancient Oriental and European art process. It is
considered a lost art and highly collectible art form. Very few known art pieces existed today. The
technique was practiced by the indigenous people of Samar Island between early 1600 and late 1800
A.D. Kut-kut is an exotic Philippine art form based on early century techniques—sgraffito, encaustic and
layering. The merging of these ancient styles produces a unique artwork characterized by delicate
swirling interwoven lines, multi-layered texture and an illusion of three-dimensional space. The Filipino
signature is also very evident in architecture. One famous examples of this is how the Philippines
intentionally adapted the Baroque style of architecture which is famous in Europe at that time to the
earthquake-prone environment of the Philippines with ornamentation portraying Philippine culture,
environment and everyday life incorporating local motifs, for example; using things such as Banana
leaves which is very common in the Philippines. This became known as the Filipino Baroque with the
Earthquake Baroque being its famous variant that is present in the famous churches of the Philippines.
Some Pre-Colonial art has made its way to the modern Filipino society especially in the Mindanao and
other uncolonized parts of the Philippines one example of this is the Sarimanok symbolism on art.

Modern Sculptures.
Of all the new art forms introduced, the Filipinos took to sculpture from the Spanish instantly. The
carving of anito was transformed into sculpture of the saints. These santos were used primarily for the
church altars and retablos. It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives homes. The earliest
known sculptor in the Philippines is the 17th century sacristan, sculptor and silversmith Juan de los
Santos (ca. 1590 ca. 1660) of San Pablo, Laguna. A few of his extant works may be found at the San
Agustin Convent museum. Filipino sculptors came to be known in the middle of the 19th century.
Classical Philippine sculpture reached its peak in the works of Guillermo Tolentino (1890-1976). His best
known masterpiece is the Bonifacio Monument , which is a group sculpture composed of numerous
figures massed around a central obelisk. The principal figure is Andres Bonifacio, leader of the revolution
against Spain in 1896. Napoleon Abueva (born 1930), one of Tolentino's pupils, is one of the pioneering
modernists in sculpture. He used various media. Abueva's most famous work is Fredesvinda, which was
included in the First ASEAN Sculpture Symposium held in Fort Canning Hill, Singapore, from March 27 to
April 26, 1981shows the vitality of primitive forms.

Architecture

Ancient Filipinos lived in big settlements along sheltered bays, coastal areas, and mouths of rivers.
Interior settlements were established at the headwaters and banks of rivers and their tributaries. The
houses were usually constructed side by side along the river banks or seashores. Philippine architecture
responds to the climate. Although there are many variations, generally the roof of the first Philippine
houses, nipa huts, or bahay kubo, were high pitched and usually open gabled to allow for ventilation.
The steeply sloping pitch also protected from the wind and rain in the typhoon season. These houses
were elevated three to four meters of the ground, supported by wood or bamboo. The structure was
usually four-walled with tukod windows. The Bagobos and Kalingas people used this type of house for
protection from enemies and wild animals on the ground. In the southern islands of the Philippines
archipelago, the Moros of Mindanao had distinct architecture of their own. It was brought with them
along with the Muslim religion.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

FAMOUS PHILIPPINE ARTIST AND COMPOSERS

Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo (1855-1913)

Hidalgo won a silver medal for his entry in large canvas, Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace (Las
Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho) at the Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts. Shortly after the 1984
Madrid Exposition, he set up residence in Paris to serve a quieter life. In this place, he painted Charon’s
Boat and Oedipus and Antigone. His Sunrise (1985) revealed his ingenuity in painting landscape and
seascapes.

The Artist’s Mother (1888) was one of the two potraits he did for his mother in Paris. Hidalgo returned
to Manila in 1912 for a visit but returned to Paris despite the pleas of his ailing mother.

Juan Luna (1857-1899)

After he won a gold medal in the 1984 Madrid Exposition, Juan Luna moved to Paris and stayed in an
apartment close to the Hidalgo’s. Shortly before his marriage to Maria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera he
visited The Hague and the seacost of Scheveningen. In this place, he wrote two masterpieces. The
Dream of Love, a sensuous portrait of his sleeping wife Paz, whom he suspected of infidelity and shot to
death in a jealous rage in 1872, and the celebrated Tampuhan, which he painted on his return to the
Philippines.

The lady with guitar was painted shortly after he was granted pardon by Alfonso XIII for his involvement
in the Philippine Revolution. Upon his return to the Philippines 1894, after an absence of 17 years, he
painted Houses by a Narrow Road, one of the several views of Marikina. He died in Hong Kong at the of
41.

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972)

Fernando Amorsolo was a National Artist Awardee. In his golden years (1920-1945), he reaped various
honors. He went to Madrid in 1917 to study museum classics after receiving a scholarship grant from a
rich businessman named Enriquez Zobel. His first portrait upon return to Manila was that of his wife
salud. He exhibited 40 of his genres and landscape at the Art Center of New York World’s Fair where he
was acclaimed the best popular vote. Armorsolo was also appointed Director of the School of Fine Arts
of the University of the Philippines. He also did splendid illustration work in Graphics, Liwayway, Sunday
Tribune, Tagalog novels such as Madaling Araw and Parusa ng Bayan, and posters and brochures. He
painted acclaimed masterpieces like The Blind Man, The Burning of Manila, Antipolo, and Dalagang
Bukid, among others.

Vicente Manansala (1910-1981)

Vicente Manansala was one of the most popular progressive artists in the county. He was former
student of Cubist Ferdinand Leger and was respected by his peers because of the intellectual
underpinnings of his art. Before his death, he painted Give Me This Diary, a glimpse of his kind of
cubism, in which some sides of objects are sharply cut into curved or angular form to catch the light
vibrantly. He was given a posthumous recognition as a National Artist 1982.

Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco (1912-1969)

Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco was one of the best mural artist the country was ever had. In his paintings,
he featured Filipinos living in provincial towns and barrios. He showed them working on the field. Going
about their daily chores, eating, relaxing, worshipping, and enjoying fiestas. He also painted vital events
in Philippine History. The mural paintings he did were not only on Christian lowlanders but on Muslims
and other cultural communities as well.

The turning point of Botong;s painting career was winning the first prize at the first competition of the
Art Association of the Philippines in 1948 for his entry Kaingin. Filipino Struggle Through History, a mural
gracing the walls of Manila City Hall, was one of his major works.

He stayed permanently in Angono where he became the first major regional artist. In Angono, he refined
the style he had made his own, his personal version of Post-Impressionism grafted into the Philippine
context.

Mauro Malang Santos (1928)

Maura Malang Santos was an illustrator-cartoonist for the Manila Chronicle and creator of comic strip,
Kosme the Cop (Retired) and Chain Gang Charlie. In the 1960’s, he emerged as a serious artist with a
knack in abstract painting. His illustration of Ang Kiukok formed the basis of a style in its enumeration of
images, range of warm colors, and evocation of joyous parochialism.

Jose Joya (1931-1995)

Jose Jaya graduated as a Magna Cum Laude at the University of the Philippines in 1953. He was also a
recipient of the fullbright Scholarship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1957. By the late 1950s, he
had immerses himself on new idioms of contemporary art through the print media and regular
exhibitions at the Philippine Art Gallery.

As his style evolved, he waslater identified as a serious artist. After his return from the Venice Biennale,
Joya painted a few vibrant works with dramatic contrast of color and dynamic lines. In the 1960s, he
started to apply paint more thinly on canvas; the form grew increasingly geometric with circles as the
main motifs.

Cadmium Red Square and Binhi, both created in 1971, represented Joya’s shift to decorative painting-
more dramatic in style and the visual tensions visible.

Famous Filipino Composers

Col. Antonio Buenaventura (1904-1996)

Col. Antonio Buenaventura obtained a Teacher’s Diploma in Composition and Coducting from the
University of the Philippines and later on became a faculty member of the UP Conservatory of Music.

In 1937, he was commissioned into the military service and later became music instructor and band
conductor of the PMA in Baguio City. He later on reorganized the world famous Philippine Constabulary
Band and appointed as assistant conductor of Manila Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the UP
President’s Committee on Folk Songs and Dances.

Col. Buenaventura composed short piano pieces, hymns and songs, pieces, and theater music.

Lucrecia R. Kasilag (1917-2008)

Lucrecia R. Kasilag obtained a Music Teacher’s Diploma major in Piano from St. Scholastica’s University
in 1949. She was scholarship grantee of the Fullbright Foundation at the Eastman School of Music
degree major in theory and minor in composition. She later became the administrator of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines.

Felipe Padilla (1912-1992)

Felipe Padilla de Leon was a composer, conductor and a former student of Col. Buenaventura at the UP
Conservatory of Music. After Graduation in 1939, he was appointed assistant instructor at the UP
Department of Science and Composition where he taught history and music subjects.

He became a technical assistant on cultural affairs in the Office of the President of the Philippines. He
was President of the Filipino Society of composers, Authors, and Publishers; President of the
Pambansang Samahan ng mga Banda sa Pilipinas and the Diwa ng Nuweba Esiha; trustee of the Music
Promotion Foundation of the Philippines; and director of the SONGFEST Philippines and the Felin
Institute of the Philippines.

Antonio Molina (1894- 1980)

Antonio Molina, born in 1894, was a faculty member of the UP Conservatory of Music where he taught
harmony, compositions, and music history as well as violoncello. He was a conductor in the concert
stage of various schools, church, choirs, orchestra, bands, and rondallas. He composed the zarzuela Ate
Maria and hatinggabi. Molina was member of the UP President’s Committee on Filipino Folksongs and
Dances and Secretary of the Conservatory of Music.

Aside from a being soloist and composer, he also received honors as a conductor of the Monserrat
Philharmonic Band, the Yellow Taxi Orchestra, and Yellow Taxi Rondalla and the operas Madame
Butterfly, La Giaconda, La Fuerza del Destino, and Cavalleria Rusticana.

Lucio D. San Pedro (1912-2002)

Lucio D. San Pedro was born in 1913. He married Gertudes Diaz with whom he had 5 children. During his
graduation in Grade VII, he played the Poet and Peasant Overture on the banjo. He started composing
songs in college and conducted the UP ROTC Band. He was assistant conductor and later, conductor and
later, conductor of the Musical Philippines Philharmonic Orchestra and a musical presented at the
Metropolitan Theatre. He won many prizes for his works. He was connected with major conservatories
in the country and wrote sacred and secular vocal music, overtures, tones, poems, symphonic poems,
and quartets.