Lesson 6

Philippine Indigenous
Arts and GAMABA
Artists

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward

appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
- Aristotle
 Creativity through
Philippine craftsmanship is what
Filipinos are also known.
Indigenous Many artisans across the
country showcase different
Arts unique crafts and arts
that will surely catch your
interest.
 Cloth Weaving

One of the most valuable living

traditions that are still preserved until
this day is the cloth weaving. Threads
or strands of material are passed under
and over each other. Beginning in the
pre-colonial era, the art of cloth
weaving, particularly of the Cordillera
tribes in the North, still lives
notwithstanding the threat of the more
practical production of fabrics today.
The natives practice blackstrap loom to
create blankets and pieces of clothing.
 Piña cloth is also created through looms
everywhere in the province of Antique. It is a fine
and elegant handwoven fabric that is produced
from the fibers of pineapple plants. It is commonly
used in Barong Tagalog, the traditional Philippine
clothes for men. With its airy and organic textile,
it is growing more popular today and also around
the world.
Another is the abaca fiber which comes from the
abaca plant. Abaca is endemic and grown in the
Philippines. It is woven mainly to produce sinamay
fabric. Abaca is famous in manufacturing rope,
specialty papers like the currency, vacuum bags,
and tea bags. There are also handicrafts like
furniture, carpets, bags, and clothing specially
made out of abaca.
 Basket
Weaving The Cordilleras mainly use baskets
for their occupation. They utilize them
for food storage too when they have
to go to the mountain terraces and
farm their lands. A basket is a must
have for carrying hunting animals,
grains, and fishing in the waters. The
baskets are made of bamboo to
become as their fish traps; the size
and the shape of the baskets are
based on the variety of fish they wish
to catch.
Jewelry Making
Since the 16th century, it is presumed
that jewelry making in the country
already existed. It is known that the
skills of the early Filipinos in creating
jewelry are parented from our Asian
neighbors like the Chinese people.
There are two largest product classes of fine
jewelry production in the Philippines:
Metal Jewelry
This jewelry is made of gold and
silver which are in the forms of
earrings, bracelets, rings, brooches,
necklaces, tie pins, pendants, and cuff
links.
Pearls
Pearls are considered precious stones
and as semi-precious stones. These
are either unworked or worked types
of pearls.
 Pottery
Pottery are made from wet clay, then hardened by
baking. Pottery includes both decorative and practical
items such as bowls, dishes, vases and lamps. Pots in
the country have various shapes, sizes, and designs.
Their designs are typically geometric with embellished
nature motifs.
A model of this is the “palayok,” which is utilized
for cooking. The “Banga” and “Tapayan” are also
used for depositing liquids. There is also the stove
or “kalan” which is made out of clay. The
production of “Burnay” pottery in the Ilocos Sur is
yet a spirited tradition that remains up to the
today.
Woodcarving
The Philippine sculpture is the
most well-known art form of
the Filipinos. The most famous
woodcarving in the Philippines
is the carvings of the
“Anitos” or the nature gods,
“Santos” or saints, and
figures of Christ and the
Blessed Mother Mary.
Accordingly, Paete in Laguna
is considered wood carving
capital of the Philippines since
2005.
 GAMABA Artists
In April 1992, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the National Living Treasures Award was institutionalized through
Republic Act No. 7355. Tasked with the administration and implementation of the Award is the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the highest policy-making and coordinating body for culture and the arts of the
State. The NCCA, through the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and an Ad Hoc Panel of Experts, conducts the
search for the finest traditional artists of the land, adopts a program that will ensure the transfer of their skills to
others and undertakes measures to promote a genuine appreciation of and instill pride among our people about the
genius of the Manlilikha ng Bayan.

First awarded in 1993 to three outstanding artists in music and poetry, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan has its
roots in the 1988 National Folk Artists Award organized by the Rotary Club of Makati-Ayala. As a group, these folk
and traditional artists reflect the diverse heritage and cultural traditions that transcend their beginnings to
become part of our national character. As Filipinos, they bring age-old customs, crafts and ways of living to the
attention and appreciation of Filipino life. They provide us with a vision of ourselves and of our nation, a vision we
might be able to realize someday, once we are given the opportunity to be true to ourselves as these artists have
remained truthful to their art.

As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen engaged in any traditional art
uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence
and have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her community with the
same degree of technical and artistic competence.
 GAMABA Artists
Ginaw Bilog
Poet, 1993
Hanunuo Mangyan
Panaytayan, Orinetal Mindoro
(Died in 2003)
He helped preserved the Mangyan literary
tradition by documenting the pieces of
ambahan recorded not only on bamboo tubes
but also on notebooks passed on to him. The
ambahan is a poetic literary form composed
of seven-syllables. The Filipinos are grateful
and justifiably proud of Ginaw Bilog for
vigorously promoting the elegantly poetic art
of the surat Mangyan and the ambahan.
Masino Intaray
Musician and Storyteller, 1993
Palawan
(Died in 2013)
He has mastered the traditions of his
people, the Palawan, Batak and Tagbanwa
in the highlands of Southern Palawan. He
is skillful in basal (gong music ensemble),
kulial (lyrical poem expressing passionate
love song with the accompaniment of the
kudyapi, and bagit (instrumental music
depicting nature.)
Samaon Sulaiman
Musician, 1993
Magindanao Mama sa Pano,
Magindanao
(Died in 2011)
A master in the use of the kulintang and
kudyapi (of the magindanaos) His
extensive repertoire of dinalayday,
linapu, minuna, and binalig has
demonstrated not only his own skills but
their culture.
 GAMABA Artists

Salinta Monon Alonzo Saclag

Lang Dulay
Textile Weaver, 1998
T’boli
(+ 2015)
T’bolis are known for their use of abaca
fibers in textile weaving. Lang Dulay
continued this tradition and preserved
the culture of their community through
patterns of crocodiles, butterflies,
flowers, mountains, and streams of Lake
Sebu in her works.
Textile Weaver, 1998
Tagabawa Bagobo Bansalan,
Davao del Sur
(+ 2009)
Salinta Monon had watched her mother’s
nimble hands glide over the loom, weaving
traditional Bagobo textiles. She developed a
keen eye for the traditional designs, and now,
at the age of 65, she can identify the design as
well as the author of a woven piece just by a
glance. Salinta has built a solid reputation
for the quality of her work and the
intricacies of her designs. There is a
continuing demand for her fabrics.
Musician and Dancer,
2000
Lubugan, Kalinga
Worked for the preservation of Kalinga
culture. He lobbied that the abandoned
Capitol Building be turned into a museum,
that schools implement the practice of
donning the Kalinga costume for important
events and that traditional Kalinga music
should be broadcasted alongside
contemporary music in the local radio
station. He formed the Kalinga Budong
Dance Troupe
 GAMABA Artists
Francisco Caballero
Epic Chanter, 2000
Sulod-Bukidnon
Calinog, Iloilo
A Panay-Bukidnon from the mountains of
Central Panay to ceaselessly work for the
documentation of the oral literature,
particularly the epics, of his people. These ten
epics, rendered in a language that, although
related to Kiniray-a, is no longer spoken,
constitute an encyclopedic folklore one only
the most persevering and the most gifted of
disciples can learn. Together with scholars,
artists, and advocates of culture, he
painstakingly pieces together the elements of
this oral tradition nearly lost.
Uwang Ahadas
Musician, 2000
Yakan
Lamitan, Basilan
His life’s work is to preserve and
promote Yakan’ culture through the
traditional music and instruments
of his tribe.He has mastered the
gabbang, the agung, the kwintagan
and others.
Eduardo Mutuc
Metalsmith, 2004
Kapampangan
Apalit, Pampanga
He dedicated his life in sculpting
retablos, mirrors, altars and carosas
from bronze, and wood. Some of his
works can exceed 40 feet tall while the
others feature smaller sizes and
dedicate craftsmanship.
 GAMABA Artists
Haja Amina Appi
Mat Weaver, 2004
Sama Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
(+ 2013)
Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata,
Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, is recognized as the
master mat weaver among the Sama
indigenous community of Ungos Matata. Her
colorful mats with their complex geometric
patterns exhibit her precise sense of design,
proportion and symmetry and sensitivity to
color. Her unique multi-colored mats are
protected by a plain white outer mat that
serves as the mat’s backing. Her functional
and artistic creations take up to three
months to make. .
Darhata Sawabi
Textile Weaver, 2004
Tausug
Parang, Sulu
Her remarkable proficiency with the art and
the intricacy of her designs allows her to
price her creations a little higher than
others. Her own community of weavers
recognizes her expertise in the craft, her bold
contrasting colors, evenness of her weave
and her faithfulness to traditional designs.
Pis syabit weaving is a difficult art. She
remains faithful to the art of pis syabit
weaving. Her strokes are firm and sure, her
color sensitivity acute, and her dedication to
the quality of her products unwavering.
Teofilo Garcia
Casque Maker, 2012
Ilocano
San Quintin, Abra
He learned how to make gourd casques
and weave baskets from his
grandfather at the ag of 16. He never
stopped experimenting with other
designs. He previously used nito to
decorate the headgear and then used
with other materials such as bamboo
after his supplier from Cagayan passed
away
 GAMABA Artists
Magdalena Gamayo
Textile Weaver, 2012
Ilocano
Pinili, Ilocos Norte
Magdalena’s handiworks are finer than most abel –her
blankets have a very high thread count and her designs are
the most intricate and can sometimes take up to five colors.
Making sure the right colored threads are spaced evenly and
keeping accurate count is a challenge that Magdalena has
always unerringly met. The beauty of her designs lies in how
delicate the patterns are, and yet how uniform the weave.
Magdalena’s calloused hands breathe life to her work and
her unique products are testament to how machines can
never hope to equal the human art.
Ambalang Ausalin
Textile Weaver, 2016
(born 4 March 1943)
Apuh Ambalang's skill is deemed incomparable: she is able to bring forth
all designs and actualize all textile categories typical to the Yakan. She can
execute the suwah bekkat (cross-stitch-like embellishment) and suwah
pendan (embroidery-like embellishment) techniques of the bunga sama
category. She possesses the complex knowledge of the entire weaving
process, aware at the same time of the cultural significance of each textile
design or category.She practiced the sinalu’an and the seputangan, two of
the most intricate categories in Yakan weaving. They are the most intricate
since the former requires the use of the minutest details of diamond or
rhomboid designs, and the latter demands balance and the filling up of all
the spaces on the warp with pussuk labung and dinglu or mata-mata
patterns.
 GAMABA Artists

Estelita Bantilan
Mat Weaver, 2016 Yabing Masalon Dulo
(born 17 October 1940)
Born as Labnai Tumdan was already precocious in mat weaving, Ikat Weaver, 2016
took on the name Estelita in the 1950s. She kept to her mat (born 8 August 1914)
weaving. She persisted where other women could not because
her. Estelita also carried on because mats were her gifts of She carries on with an exquisite tradition of her gift:
choice to people she cherished. She was never wont to monetize the expert making of fine warp ikat textiles. That focus
her mats. She carved out considerable time from domestic and brings to greater clarity a person whose ikat-dyed
farming responsibilities to accomplish some of the biggest, most
subtly beautiful mats to be seen anywhere in Southeast Asia fabrics bear stunning similarity with museum-held
today. And, from the evidence of the mats she makes today, Blaan pieces created more than a century ago.
Estelita has continued to cultivate a personal aesthetic through
half a century.
 UNIT 6

ART IN TODAY'S SOCIETY

Lesson 1 - Soul-Making, Art Fusion, and
Transcreation

"Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations."- Faith Baldwin

 SOUL-MAKING
In the language that refers to all activities
concerning individual expression through
the arts, is the deeper process known as
"soul- making." The soul here refers to the
individual's psyche.
"It is this activity of working through disintegration
that I consider to be at the core of the creative and
therapeutic processes. I call this act "poesis"
(following Heidegger's use of the Greek word for
poetry), and consider it to be at the center of
human existence. These creative activities can be
best described as a death and rebirth of the soul
or what James Hillman calls "soul-making."
ART FUSION
Art fusion is a product of industry
and commercialism. It occurs
when an artist of any art form
collaborates with a
brand/company (a product,
service, fashion, charity) to create
a product that will benefit the
artist, the company and society as
a whole.
TRANSCREATION
Transcreation is a type of translation that also includes
creation, or recreation. It means going a step further than
simply adapting the text. It is a term used in advertising and
marketing and refers to the process of adapting a message
from one language to another, while maintaining its intent,
tone and context

A great example is the transcreation of Spider-Man in India.

Peter Parker of New York is transformed into the dhoti-
wearing Pavitr Prabhakar in Mumbai who fights evil monster in
emblematic places like the Taj Mahal. The setting and the
names of the main characters, with the exception of Doctor
Octopus, have been changed so that the target audience
identifies with them more readily.
Lesson 2 - Hybrid Art Forms and Appropriation
“Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.”
– Leon Trotsky
 Hybrid Art Forms

Hybrid is defined as having mixed origin that adds variety or complexity to a system

Hybrid Art Forms in the contemporary arts explore the various media and techniques for
innovation and experimentation in art creation. It may involve cross-breeding the art-making
process with other disciplines like with the natural and physical sciences, industrial and etc.
Contemporary artist are now free to create art with whatever material or technique they could
think of. This freedom from rules paved way the way for new opportunities to express ideas,
beliefs ad emotions.

In art forms,For hybridity

more assets and could mean
information, scan the blurring of traditional distinct boundaries between artistic
here. Generate a QR code by browsing
media suchthrough
as painting, sculpture,
the 'More' option on the left- film, performance, architecture, and dance. It also can 159
side object panel.
mean cross-breeding art-making with other disciplines, such as natural and physical science,
industry, technology, literature, popular culture, or philosophy. Hybrid art forms expand the
possibilities for experimentation and innovation in contemporary art.
According to Levinson (1984), hybrid art forms are not purely structural; they are primarily historical.
Hybrid art forms are art forms arising from the actual combination of interpretation of earlier art
forms. Its form must be understood in light of their components.

Levinson identifies three important categories of hybrid art forms which are classified according to
their method of combining different artistic disciplines:

1. Juxtaposition (or addition) – simply joining two or more different products to present a larger,
more complicated one; each component maintains its original identity; involves arts that explicitly
use accompaniment and most multi- or mixed-media arts; examples: mime accompanied by flute
b. symphony plus light show

2. Synthesis (or fusion) – all components modify each other so that each one loses some of its
original identity; employs a certain amount of parity or symmetry of fusion; examples: Wagnerian
opera = symphonic sung drama (or dramatic song) Concrete poetry = poem-picture (partly poetry,
partly graphics)

3. Transformation (or alteration) – one art is transformed is the direction of another; an unequal
mixture of components so that the resulting hybrid maintains the identity of the dominant art
form; example: kinetic sculpture (sculpture with movement related to dance)
Two overall effects that Hybrid works of art
achieve:

1. Integrative: the image of richness and

complexity; parts cooperate towards common end
(e.g. Wagnerian Opera)
2. Disintegrative: rampant lack of coordination;
cognitive overload (e.g. Einstein on the Beach)

In these sculptures, Italian artist

Alessandro Gallo depicts everyday
people as human animal hybrids.
Gulls sit patiently on a bench.
 APPROPRIATION

Appropriation is borrowing. It is the practice of creating a new work by taking a preexisting image or
material from another source like book and combines it with new ones, thus completely transforming the
original. A found object is an existing object given a new identity as an artwork or part of an artwork. Artist
can re-create an object in many ways like repainting it, altering its style, they can also layer images and
redefining the images in a new context.

To is to take possession of something. Appropriation artists deliberately copy images to take possession of
them in their art. They are not stealing or plagiarizing, nor are they passing off these images as their very
own. This artistic approach does stir up controversy because some people view appropriation as unoriginal
or theft. This is why it's important to understand why artists appropriate the artwork of others.

Appropriation artists want the viewer to recognize the images they copy. They hope that the viewer will
bring all of his original associations with the image to the artist's new context, be it a painting, a
sculpture, a collage, a combine, or an entire installation. The deliberate borrowing of an image for this
new context is called recontextualization. Recontextualization helps the artist comment on the image's
original meaning and the viewer's association with either the original image or the real thing.
Appropriation
Lesson 3 - Improvisation in Various Art Forms
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
Improvisation in Various Art Forms

Improvisation is creating or performing something spontaneously or without

preparation, or making something functional from whatever is available. The
skill to improvise can apply to many different areas, across all artistic,
scientific, physical, cognitive, academic and non- academic disciplines. There
are things that no matter what people do, is just unpredictable and cannot
be controlled, the best that the person can do is adapt and make use of
whatever is available to survive. Murphy’s Law states that in any field of
endeavor, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Photorealism
Photorealism is a term that was invented
to refer to artist whose works depended
for the most part on photographs. These
artists would often project onto the
canvas the images which would be
replicated with precision and accuracy.
The movement began in the same period as
Conceptual art, Pop Art, and Minimalism.
Photorealism expressed a strong interest
in realism in art, over that of idealism
and abstraction. Photorealism complicates
realism by combining that which is real
and which is not. Photorealism emphasizes
the value of the tradition techniques of
academic art again after years of
spontaneous, accidental, and
improvisational art techniques.
Installation Art

Installation art is a modern movement characterized

by immersive, larger-than-life works of art. Usually,
installation artists create these pieces for specific
locations, enabling them to expertly transform any
space into a customized, interactive environment.
Installation art is different from sculpture and other
traditional art in a sense that its focus is on its
effect on the viewer. Installation artist usually
create this pieces for specific location, enabling
them to transform the space into a customized,
interactive environment.
Installation art is characterized into three major characteristics:
immersive, large-scale and site specific

Immersive. This unique characteristics entices the viewers’

senses and invites them to experience the art from new and
different perspectives. Chuck Close is a stalwart of
photorealism (Image credit: Chuck Close) 163

Large-Scale. Most works are massive or large in scale. Their

size engulfs the viewers and enables them to become
completely immersed in this environment.

Site-Specific. Before artists create their massive installations,

they usually plan it with certain sites already in mind. These
areas may be rooms in galleries, museums or outdoor spaces.
Like many modern and contemporary genres, the installation
art is influenced by different art
movements, like Conceptualism, Dadaism, and Performance
Arts. The innovation of installations has become a major
component in modern art since 1960.
Applied Arts
Applied Arts refers to the application of artistic designs and decorations
to everyday utilitarian objects to make them aesthetically pleasing. This
includes, industrial design, fashion design, furniture design, and
commercial art.

Industrial design is a process of design

applied to products that are to be
manufactured through techniques of mass
production. A key characteristic is that
design precedes manufacture: the creative
act of determining and defining a product's
form and features takes place in advance
of the physical act of making a product,
which consists purely of repeated, often
automated, replication.
Fashion. It is defined as popular way of dressing
at a particular time and place, and among a
particular group of people. It is the art of
applying design and aesthetics or natural beauty
to clothing and accessories. Fashions designs
are influenced by culture and social attitudes
which has varied over time and place. Designers
are tasked to come up with works that are
original, flattering, and comfortable. They also
consider who is likely to wear the garment and
situations in which it will be worn.

Furniture Design. A specialized field

where function and aesthetics are brought
together. Interior designers believe that
furniture is one of the most important
aspects of an interior space. Furniture not
only add function and space, but they also
add style and personality. Chair, table and
couch should be more than just functional,
it should be aesthetic and decorative.
GR0UP 6

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