Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (Reviewer)

Art- primarily the expressions of feelings or intentions of the artist.

Tolstoy- Art is the contagion of feeling.
“Art is interpreted or judged by the quality of feelings it expresses and infects” with us.”

Croce- Art is the expression of emotion.

Collingwood- The original intention of the artist is the actual art.
Plato- Art is an imitation of an imitation.

In his Republic, he uses the example of a bed. The painting of a bed is a copy of a concrete bed, which is ideal
form of a bed.

Aristotle- He claimed that human have instinct for imitation and harmony.
“A human pursuit to imitate life and the world into something pleasing or beautiful.”

DRAWING, PAINTING, PRINTMAKING, AND PHOTOGRAPHY- Two-dimensional image of various subjects ranging
from real life images to the visually abstract.

Sculpture- Three-dimensional artwork.

Architecture- meant to be used as shelter.
Music- art form that appeals to the sense of hearing. It is composed by combining notes into harmony.
Literature- This is the art form of language through the combined use of words, creating meaning and experience.
Theater- art form of performance.
Cinema- art form is a technological translation of theater.
Dance- art form of the human form.
Leo Benesa- a Filipino poet, essayist, and art critic
“The idea was that the depiction of scenes of everyday life and the surroundings without idealizing them was
closest in spirit to the Filipino soul and native soul.”

Subject and Medium- dictate the authenticity of the artworks produced by Filipino artists.
Fernando Amorsolo- his work are described as the “most expressive of the ethos of the race and the predominantly
agricultural countryside.”
Most of his paintings depict life in the fields.
Men and women are portrayed in hard work but with smiles in their faces.
The landscape in his painting features the rural lands of the Philippines, where the scene is
mostly covered by vegetation and nature.
Contemporary Art Today- not restricted to the individual experience of the artist but is reflective of the world that we
live in.
NEW ELEMENTS AND/OR PRINCIPLE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
Appropriation- Existing artworks are appropriated to produce another artwork.
Usage of prints images, and icons to produce another art form is a feature of contemporary art that
combines the past with the present.
 The contemporary arts revives interest to existing forms of art.

Performance- Performance evolved to “emphasize spontaneous elements of chance”. (Walker art center)
Interpreting various human activities such as chores, routines and rituals, to socially relevant themes
such as poverty, commercialism and war.

Space- Arts transforming space. For example, flash mobs, sculpture installations in malls and parks.
These are site specific art forms wherein the art form is performed and positioned in specific spots, especially in
public areas.

Hybridity- Usage of unconventional materials, mixing of unlikely materials to produce an artwork.

Technology- Usage of technology in the creation and dissemination of the art works.

THE VALUES OF ARTS

1. Aesthetic Value- It refers to the value which causes an object to be “a work of art”.
2. Intellectual Value- An artwork stimulates thought.
3. Suggestiveness- the quality associated with the emotional power of art.
4. Spiritual Value- Art elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which make us a better person.
5. Permanence- A great work of art endures.
6. Universality- Great art is timeless and timely.
7. Style- an artist sees his subject, forms his ideas, and expresses them.
8. Form- the organization, arrangement, or framework of an artwork
STEPS ON HOW TO CRITIQUE ARTWORKS
1. Describe what you see
2. Analyze the artwork
3. Interpret the artwork
4. Evaluate the artwork
5. Use art vocabulary in your art
National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) -“overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving
agency for the preservation, development, and promotion of the Philippines arts and culture.”

SIX ARTS AND CULTURAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES UNDER NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CULTURE AND THE
ARTS
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) - It has hosted numerous shows and exhibitions on both performance and
visual arts.
CCP Complex- a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings designed by him —
1. Cultural Center of the Philippines,
2. Folk Arts Theater,
3. Philippine International Convention Center,
4. Philcite; and
5. The Westin Hotel (now Sofitel Philippine Plaza)
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) - promoting “Philippine history and cultural heritage
through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management, and heraldry works.”
-Created with a vision of “a Filipino society with citizens informed of their history, who
love their country and are proud of their cultural heritage.
National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) - It is the country’s repository of archeological artifacts, national
treasures, and rare specimens found and produced in the country.
-The main task of this institution is to solicit, document, preserve, exhibit, and promote the natural and
artificial wonders of the Philippines.
National Library of the Philippines (NLP) - established in 1901, which was then called the American Circulating Library to
serve as “memorial to American servicemen who died in the Philippine soil.”
-It is home to rare books and documents such as Acta de la Proclamacion de la Independencia del Pieblo
Filipino and the manuscript of the trial of Andres Bonifacio.
The National Archives of the Philippines - The history of the National Archives goes back to the Treaty of Paris in
1898 “which stipulated the relinquishment or cession of documents from Spanish to American authorities and provided
for the preservation of documents”.
Guardian to over 400 documents from the Spanish era dating 1552-1900 and various records from the
American period to the Republic.
Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino(KWF) - created via Republic Act No. 7104: “Congress shall establish a national language
commission composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate and
promote researches for the development, propagation, and preservation of Filipino and other Philippine languages.”