ART APPRECIATION

JHONNY PET TOPASI, LPT,CSE, MAIE

WHAT IS ART?

-Art can be 2-dimensional, like paintings, drawings, and prints.

-Art can be 3-dimensional, like sculptures and ceramics.

-Art can be 4-dimensional, utilizing time as an intrinsic element, such as in performance art, kinetic art,
video art, and sound art.

-We find it in museums and galleries.

-But we find it, also, in the streets.

-and in fields,

-and in caves.

What images come to mind when you think of an artist?

-Many of our ideas about artists come from the modernism of the 20th century, when artists began
working more independently, creating works of art that were personal or expressive in nature.

-But at other moments in history, artists have been considered much more as craftsmen, skilled with
their hands.

What is the purpose of art?

Art may be a classical masterpiece showing heroic, ideal beauty.

Art may be an object, chosen by an artist, and placed in a new context.

Art may be sat upon.

It may be up.

It may be down.

Art expresses the culture in which it is produced.

It demonstrates the ways that our ideals of beauty change over time.

And art helps define our ideals of beauty within our own time.

Art helps us to see the world around us.

And art expresses our deepest beliefs.

Art tells our story.

And so, now let us begin to look and appreciate.

 ART

ASSUMPTIONS AND NATURE OF ARTS

CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION

ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

1. ART IS UNIVERSAL
2. ART IS NOT NATURE
3. ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

ART IS UNIVERSAL

Art has always been timeless and universal, spanning generations and continents through and
through MISCONCEPTION, Art is not a factor in determining art.

Artists are not expected to duplicate nature just as even scientists cannot make nature with their
elaborate studies.

ART IS NOT NATURE

Art is man’s expression of his perception of nature. Art, not directed by representation of reality, is a
perception of reality.

ART INVOLVES EXPERIENCE

All art depends on experience, and if one knows art, he must know it is not a fact or information, but

EXPERIENCE = EMOTIONS

❑ It takes an artist to make art. One may perceive beauty on a daily basis. However, not every
beautiful thing that can be seen or experienced may truly be called a work of art.

❑ Art is a product of man’s creativity, imagination, and expression.

❑ Not everyone can be considered an artist, but all are spectators of art.

❑ We are able to distinguish what is fine and beautiful from what is not and what good quality is
and from poor.

❑ This gives us a role in the field of art appreciation.

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

Creativity comes from the Latin term creō", "to create, make."

Something is

creative when…

⮚ We haven’t seen anything like it

⮚ It is out of ordinary.
 ⮚ Original

Art starts in the Human Mind

It all begins with Imagination.

ART APPRECIATION AS A WAY OF LIFE

“The role of art as a creative work is to depict the world in a completely different light and perspective.”

– Jean-Paul Sartre

Art Appreciation as a Way of Life

❖ Each artwork beholds beauty in its own kind, the kind that the artist sees and wants the viewers
to perceive.

❖ More often than not, people are blind to this beauty and only those who have developed a fine
sense of appreciation can experience and see art the way the artist did.

❖ Hence, refining one’s ability to appreciate arts allows him to deeply understand the purpose of
an artwork and recognize the beauty it possesses.

 In cultivating an appreciation of art, one should also exercise and develop his taste for things
that are fine and beautiful.

 This allows individuals to make intelligent choices and decisions in acquiring necessities and
luxuries, knowing what gives better value for time or money while taking into consideration the
aesthetic and practical value.

 Learning to appreciate art no matter what vocation or profession you have, will lead to a fuller
and more meaningful life.

THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY IN ART MAKING

Creativity requires thinking outside the box.

In art, creativity is what sets apart one artwork from another.

When can we say that something is creative?

✔ When we have not seen anything like it

✔ When it is out of the ordinary

✔ When it is not just a copy or imitation of someone’s work

(ORIGINALITY)

Nowadays, being creative can be quite challenging.

Creativity should be backed with careful research on related art to avoid conflicts.…
ART AS A PRODUCT OF IMAGINATION, IMAGINATION AS A PRODUCT OF ART

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and
understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and
understand.”

– Albert Einstein

❖ Imagination is not constrained by the walls of the norm but goes beyond that.

❖ Through imagination, one is able to craft something bold, something new, and something better
in the hopes of creating something that will stimulate change.

❖ In artist’s mind sits a vast gallery of artworks

❖ An artwork does not need to be a real thing but can be something that is imaginary.

❖ However, something imaginary does not necessarily mean it cannot be called art. Artists use
their imagination that gives birth to reality through creation.

❖ Imagination allows endless possibilities.

❖ In the same way that imagination produces art, art also inspires imagination.

ART AS EXPRESSION

“What an artist does to an emotion is not to induce it but express it. Through expression, he is able to
explore his own emotions and at the same time, create something beautiful out of them.”

– Robin George Collingwood

❖ Expressing emotions is different from describing emotions.

❖ This makes people’s art not a reflection of what is outside or external to them,

❖ but a reflection of their inner selves.

❖ Description actually destroys the idea of expression, as it classifies the

❖ emotion, making it ordinary and predictable. Expression on the other hand,

❖ individualizes.

❖ An emotion will remain unknown to a man until he expresses it.

VISUAL ARTS

❑ Creations that fall under this category are those that appeal to the sense of sight and are mainly
visual in nature.

❑ Artists produce visual arts driven by their desire to reproduce things that they have seen in the
way that they perceived them.
❑ There are also other artistic disciplines that also involve a visual aspect, such as performance
arts, theater, and applied arts.

❑ Some mediums of visual arts include paintings, drawings, letterings, printing, sculpture, digital
imaging.

FILM

❑ Film refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create an illusion
of movement.

❑ Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value and is considered both an art and
an industry.

❑ Techniques in film-making process:

– Motion-picture camera (also known

as movie camera)

– Animation techniques

– Computer-generated imagery (CGI)

❑ Filmmaking simulates experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope of our imagination as
it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewers.

PERFORMANCE ART

Performance art is a live art and the artist’s medium is mainly the human body which he or she uses
to perform, but also employs other kind of art such as visual art, props, or sound.

 Elements of performance arts:

o Time

o Where the performance took place

o The performer’s body

o Relationship between the audience and the performer(s)

 The fact that performance art is live makes it intangible, which means it cannot be bought or
traded as a commodity.

POETRY PERFORMANCE

Poetry is an art form where the artist expresses his emotions not by using paint, charcoal, or camera,
but expresses them through words.

❑ These words are carefully selected to exhibit clarity and beauty and to stimulate strong emotions
of joy, anger, love, and sorrow among others.
❑ It uses a word’s emotional, musical, and spatial values that go beyond its literal meaning to
narrate emphasize, argue, or convince.

❑ These words combined with movements, tone, volume, and intensity of the delivery add to the
artistic, value of the poem.

ARCHITECTURE

❑ Art is the pursuit and creation of beautiful things while architecture is the making of beautiful
buildings.

❑ However, not all building are beautiful because some only embody the functionality they need,
but the structure, lines, forms, and colors are not beautifully expressed.

❑ Important elements:

o Plan

o Construction

o Design

❑ Buildings should embody these three important elements if they wish to merit the title
architecture.

DANCE

Dance is series of movements that follows the rhythm of the music accompaniment.

Dancing is a creative art form that allows people to freely express themselves.

IT HAS NO RULES.

Choreography may seem not to allow this, but in art expression, dancers are not confined to set
steps and rules but are free to create and invent their own movements as longs as they deem them
graceful and beautiful.

LITERARY ART

❑ Artists who practice literary arts use words to express themselves and communicate emotions to
the readers.

❑ Simply becoming a writer does not make one a literary artist.

❑ Literary art goes beyond the usual professional, academic, journalistic and other technical forms
of writing.

❑ It focuses on writing using a unique style, not following a specific format or norm.

❑ It may include both fiction and non-fiction such as novels, biographies, and poems.

o Romeo and Juliet – William

 Shakespeare

o The Little Prince – Antoine

de Saint-Exupery

THEATER

Theater uses live performers to present accounts or imaginary events before a live audience.

Theater art performance usually follows follow a script, though they should not be confused with
literary arts.

Like in filmmaking, theater also considers several elements such as acting, gesture, lighting, sound
effects, musical score, scenery and props.

Like performance art, theater also is a live performance.

Genres: drama, musical, tragedy, comedy and improvisation.

APPLIED ARTS

❑ Applied arts is incorporating elements of style and design to everyday items

❑ with the aim of increasing their aesthetic value.

❑ Artists in this field bring beauty, charm, and comfort into many things that

❑ were useful in everyday life.

❑ Industrial design, interior design, fashion design, graphic design

FUNCTIONS & PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

ON ART

Aristotelian “telos”

• Every particular substance in the world has an end, or telos in Greek, which translates into
“purpose”.

• Telos is intricately linked with function: For a thing to reach its purpose, it also has to fulfill its
function.

• The telos and function of a thing are both related to a thing’s identity. What makes a human
being a human being is his capacity for thinking.

• The telos, the function and the “whatness” of a thing are all interconnected.

FUNCTIONS OF ART

When one speaks of function, one is practically talking about the use of the object whose function is
in question.

An inquiry on the function of art is an inquiry on what art is for.

What is the Rizal monument for?

Why was it erected in Rizal Park or what then was called Luneta or Bagumbayan?

Is it for pure sentimental value?

Is it for aesthetic value?

Or does it send a message to those who witness it?

When it comes to function, different art forms come with distinctive functions. There is no one-to-
one correspondence between an art and its function. Some art forms are more functional than
others.

The Taj Mahal, a massive mausoleum of white marble built in Agra was constructed in memory of
the favorite wife of the emperor, Shah Jahan.

On the other hand, jewelry-making as an art is known by its product

They are considered to be

arts where the value of the art in question lies in the practical benefits one gains from it.

What about the practical function of painting and literature?

▪ Even if painting and literature are not focusing on the practical benefits, it can never be the case
that they do not have any function.

▪ Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo

▪ They go beyond their literary worth. They are functional “in so far as they are designed to
accomplish some definite end” (Dudley et al. 1960)

Art can be generally classified into two: Directly Functional and Indirectly Functional

▪ a) Directly Functional Art – Art that we use in a daily basis and serves a literal or tangible
function in our lives. (e.g. Clothes, Architectural and Engineering, Structures, Money, Furniture)

▪ b) Indirectly Functional Art – Art that are ‘perceived through the senses.” Not used literally to
live but accompanies life (e.g. Painting, Theatre, Literature)

▪ Both Directly Functional and Indirectly Functional Arts tend to cross each other’s paths and
change roles or even fuse purposes.

▪ Some Directly Functional Art have a sole purpose which is for functionality, but the designs
incorporated made the decorative art transcend from its basic form to a highly artistic form of
art.

Artistic Functions can be classified into 4:

. 1.Aesthetic 3. Social

2. Utilitarian 4. Cultural
 1.Aesthetic Function

▪ An artwork functions aesthetically when it becomes an instrument for mankind to be cognizant

of its beauty where feelings of joy and appreciation are manifested.

2. Utilitarian Function

▪ Art serves this function when it is used to give comfort, convenience, and happiness to human
beings. It served basic functions such as clothing, food, and shelter, and other things that make
humans live with happiness and ease.

3.Social Function

▪ Art serves this purpose when it bridges connection among people. Also when it encourages
unity and good relationship among people. With this, people become more understanding and
could somehow create a better society

4.Cultural Function

• Art serves as an aperture towards skills, knowledge, attitudes, customs, and traditions of
different people. The art helps preserve, share and transmit culture of people from one
generation to another

Classifications of the
Functions of Art

1. Personal functions of art

▪ The personal functions of art are varied and highly subjective.

▪ An artist may create an art out of the need for self-expression.

▪ It can also be mere entertainment for his intended audience.

▪ An art may also be therapeutic.

2. Social functions of art

▪ Art is considered to have a social function if and when it addresses a particular collective interest
as opposed to a personal interest.

▪ Art may convey message of protest, contestation, or whatever message the artist intends his
work to carry.

▪ Art can also depict social conditions.

▪ Pictures of poverty; performance art like plays or satires.

3. Physical functions of art

▪ The physical functions of art are the easiest to spot and understand.
▪ They are crafted in order to serve some physical purpose.

▪ Architecture, jewelry-making and even interior design are all forms of arts that have physical
function.

Other functions of art

▪ Music in its original form was principally functional because it was used for dance and religion.
The ancient world saw music only as an instrument to facilitate worship and invocation to gods.

▪ Today, music has expanded its function and coverage. It can be used for self-expression. It is also
used as a wonderful accompaniment to stage plays and motion pictures.

▪ Music can mean a multitude of meanings to different people.

▪ Like music, sculptures have been made by man most particularly for religion from the early days
of humanity.

▪ The employment of sculptures for religious purposes has remained vital, relevant and symbolic.

▪ Sculptures were also made in order to commemorate important figures in history.

▪ Coins are also manifestations of sculpting’s functions.

▪ They feature a relief of a famous hero or personality.

▪ Architecture might be the most prominent functional art form because buildings are huge,
expensive and are not easily constructed and replaced.

▪ Connection between Function and Form: consideration of the natural conditions and the social
conditions.
▪ Spanish colonial houses in the Philippine
Does art always have to be functional?

• While it has been shown that most arts are functional, still there are some which are not. The
value of a work of art does not depend on function but the work itself.

• Meanwhile, those whose functions are ascertained have a different story. A functional object
cannot be claimed to be beautiful unless it can perform its function sufficiently.

• Art demands so much more than mere efficiency. Efficiency cannot be mistaken as beauty

Philosophical Perspectives on Art

1. Art as an imitation
▪ Plato’s The Republic
▪ It paints a picture of artists as imitators and art as mere imitation. In order for the state
to be ideal, Plato advised against the inclusion of art as a subject in the curriculum and
the banning of artists in the Republic.
▪ He was convinced that artists merely reinforce the belief in copies and discourage men
to reach for the real entities in the World of Forms.
Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for

two reasons:

1. They appeal to the emotion rather to the rational

faculty of men

2. They imitate rather than lead one to reality

► Poetry rouses emotions and feelings and thus, clouds rationality of people. • Art is just an imitation of
imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also just an imitation of reality in the World of
Forms.

► For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty replacement for the real entities than can only
be attained through reason.

Plato’s Theory of Mimesis

In his theory if Mimesis, Plato says that all art is Mimetic by nature; art is an imitation of life.

He believed that ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality. Art imitates idea and so it is imitation of reality.

2. ART AS A PRESENTATION
Aristotle: Art is a form of imitation but it is considered as an aid to philosophy in revealing the
truth.
The kind of imitation that art does is not antithetical
to the reaching of fundamental truths in the world.
What art endeavors to do is to provide a vision of what might be or the myriad possibilities in
reality
• Purposes of Art: (1) art allows for the experience of pleasure for the experience of pleasure
(horrible experience can be made an object of humor) (2) art also has an ability to be
instructive and teach its audience things about life. (cognitive)

Aristotle’s Theory of REPRESENTATION

All the Arts have their own techniques and rational principles, and it is through mastery of these
that the artist/ craftsman brings his conceptions to life. Yes, the arts of copy nature but their
representations are fuller and more meaningful than nature gives us in the raw. That is their
strength. We do not therefore need to insist on some moral purpose for art, which is thus free to
represent all manner of things present, past, imagined or institutionally-required.

3. Art as a disinterested judgment

▪ Immanuel Kant considered the judgment of beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something
that can be universal despite its subjectivity.
▪ He recognized that judgment of beauty is subjective but he advanced the proposition that even
subjective judgments are based on some
universal criterion for the said judgment.
• Every human being, after perception and the free play of his faculties, should recognize the
beauty that is inherent in a work of art.
 How and in what sense can a judgment of beauty, which ordinarily is considered to be a
subjective feeling, be considered objective or universal?

HOW ARE THESE TWO

STATEMENTS DIFFERENT?

1. “I like this painting.”

2. “This painting is beautiful.”

• The first is clearly a judgment of taste (subjective), while the second is an aesthetic judgment
(objective).

• Making an aesthetic judgment requires us to be disinterested. In other words, we should try to

go beyond our individual tastes and preferences so that we can appreciate art from a universal
standpoint.

Kant’s “L’Art por L’Art (Art for Art’s Sake)

• Kant argued the purpose of art is to be ‘purposeless’. It should not have justify any reason of
existing and being valued other than the fact that it is art. Our experience of art -the ways we
appreciate and criticize work – is therefore wholly commanded by aesthetic pleasure and
delight, separate to the rest of the world.

• Practically speaking, it usually meant that art should avoid social, political, and moral themes
and concentrate instead on creating beauty, so it really meant “art for the sake of beauty and
its elevating effects.

4. Art as a communication of emotion

▪ According to Leo Tolstoy, art plays a huge role in communication to its audience’s emotions
that the artist previously experienced. In the same that language communicates information
to other people, art communicates emotions.
▪ Leo Tolstoy defended the production of the sometimes truly extravagant art, like operas,
despite extremely poverty in the world.
• Art serves as a language, a communication device that articulates feelings and emotions that
are otherwise unavailable to the audience.
• As a purveyor of man’s innermost feelings and thoughts, art is
given a unique opportunity to serve as a mechanism for social unity.
• Art serves as a mechanism of cohesion for everyone.
• Art is central to man’s existence because it makes
accessible feelings and emotions of people
from the past and present.
Art as an escape

• “ The ceremony of art touches the deepest realms of he psyche and he sacred dimension of
the artistic creative process. The sacred level of art not only transforms something into art, but
 also transforms the artist at the very core of his or her being. This way of doing and relating to
art makes the process and context of art-making infinitely more important than the product.”
• It’s an escape from the hustle and bustle of a long active day of work and meetings. It’s an
escape from the chaos that our uncertain thoughts cause within us. It’s an escape our
unrelating running footsteps that we focus on more intensely than reminding ourselves to take
magical depths of deep breaths.

ARTISTIC INTEGRITY
Never settle for anything but your
absolute best effort – an effort that may be exhausting and frustrating but that will ultimately
serve you in good stead as an artist and as a human being

CONSONANCE and DISSONANCE

The impression of stability and repose (consonance) in relation to the impression of tension or
clash (dissonance) experienced by a listener when certain combinations of tones or notes are
sounded together
SCALE and PROPORTION
• Scale refers to the size of an object (as a whole in relationship to another object (as another
whole). In art the size relationship between an object and the human body is significant.
• Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object). We often
think of proportions in terms of size relationships within the human body.
• CLARITY and RADIANCE
• A clear design values clarity over novelty. (Clear instead of clever.) Novel for novel’s sake is for
designers who create solutions for themselves. Solutions that don’t value goals or problems.
• Radiance is a type of glowing: either from a light source like the sun or a healthy, beaming
person.
• THE REPRESENTIONAL THEORY
• States that the fundamental, definitive quality of art is the ability to capture some aspect of
reality.

THE SUBJECT

• The Subject of art refers to any person, object, scene or event described or represented in a
work of art.

• Representational (e.g. Paintings, Sculptures, etc.)

• Non-Representational (e.g. Architectural Structures)

• Many contemporary painters have turned away from representational to non-objective

painting. They have shifted their attention to the work of art as an object in itself, an exciting
combination of shapes and colors that fulfills an aesthetic need without having to represent
images or tell a story.

• Many modern paintings are like this making them more difficult to comprehend
 WAYS OF REPRESENTING SUBJECTS

REALISM/ NATURALISM

Generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding
artistic conventions, or implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements.

ABSTRACTION

• The artist selects and renders the objects with their shapes, colors and positions altered.

• In others, the original objects have been reduced to simple geometric shapes and they can be
rarely identified unless the artist named in in title.

• Artist’s concern is the rendering of the essence of the subjects rather than the natural form
itself.

DISTORTION

• Could mean twisting, stretching or deforming the natural shape of the object.

• It is usually done to dramatize the shape of a figure or to create an emotional effect.

SURREALISM

• It is a method where the artist in giving expression to what it is in the subconscious composes
dreamlike scenes that show an irrational arrangement of objects.

• The images are recognizable, sometimes drawn from the nature but they are so combined in
utterly fantastic and unnatural relationships.

KINDS & SOURCES OF SUBJECTS

• Nature

• Animals

• Portrait or Human Figures

• History and Legends

• Still Life

• Religion and Mythology

• Dreams and Fantasies

• Cityscapes

• Seascapes

• “Beauty is in the Phi of the Beholder.”

• Dr. Stephen Marquardt has studies human beauty for years in his practice of oral and
maxillofacial surgery. Dr. Marquardt performed cross-cultural surveys on beauty and found
that all groups had the same perceptions of facial beauty.

• 1.618:1

• This particular relationship is the Golden Ratio. It is a mathematical ratio that seems to appear
recurrently in beautiful things in nature as well as in other things that are seen as “Beautiful”

THE UGLY AND THE TRAGIC IN ART

• There is nothing that may be considered as in improper subject when it comes to art.

• The grotesque the ugly, and the tragic are all legitimate subjects as the pleasurable and the
beautiful are.

• Many, in fact, have often deviated away from the stereotyped and beautiful subjects.

• The greatest play, movies, and musicals are invariably tragedies.

• And many our songs speak about love denied or lost.

CONTENT
(Levels of Meaning)

Factual Meaning

The literal statement or the narrative content in the work which can be directly apprehended
because the objects presented are easily recognized.

Conventional Meaning

Refers to the special meaning that a certain object or color has a particular culture or group of
people.

Subjective Meaning

Any personal meaning consciously or unconsciously conveyed by the artist using a private
symbolism which stems from his own association of certain objects, actions or colors with past
experiences

ARTIST AND ARTISANS;PRODUCTION PROCESS, MEDIUM, TECHNIQUE, CURATION

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARTIST AND ARTISAN?

ARTIST VS. ARTISAN

AN ARTIST IS A PERSON WHO PERFORMS ALL FORMS OF CREATIVE ARTS. THE WORD " ARTIST" IS
GENERALLY DEFINED AS AN ART PRACTITIONER, SUCH AS A PAINTER, SCULPTOR,
CHOREOGRAPHER, DANCER, WRITER, POET, MUSICIANS, AND THE LIKE, WHO PRODUCES OR
CREATES INDIRECTLY FUNCTIONAL ARTS WITH AESTHETIC VALUE USING IMAGINATION.
ARE CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS WHO USE THEIR IMAGINATION AND SKILLS TO COMMUNICATE IN AN
ART FORM.

-LOOK TO MANY SOURCES FOR INSPIRATION

-EXHIBIT THE COURAGE TO TAKE RISK

-THEY ARE ABLE TO SEE THEIR SURROUNDINGS IN NEW AND UNUSUAL WAYS.

-SOME ARTISTS AE SELF-TAUGHT AD HE BEEN CALLED FOLK -ARTIST BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT
EDUCATED IN TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC METHODS

ARE CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS WHO USE THEIR IMAGINATION AND SKILLS TO COMMUNICATE IN AN
ART FORM.

-LOOK TO MANY SOURCES FOR INSPIRATION

-EXHIBIT THE COURAGE TO TAKE RISK

-THEY ARE ABLE TO SEE THEIR SURROUNDINGS IN NEW AND UNUSUAL WAYS.

-SOME ARTISTS AE SELF-TAUGHT AD HE BEEN CALLED FOLK -ARTIST BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT
EDUCATED IN TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC METHODS

ARTISAN

AN ARTIST IS A CRAFTSMAN SUCH AS CARPENTER, CARVER. PLUMBER, BLACKSMITH, WEAVER.

EMBROIDERER,AND THE LIKE WHO PRODUCES DIRECTLY FUNCTIONAL AND/OR DECORATIVE ARTS

-HELP US IN MEETING OUR BASIC NEEDS, SUCH AS FOOD, SHELTER, CLOTHING, DWELLING,
FURNITURE; THEY CRAFT EVERYTHING THAT MAKES OUR LIFE EASIER

AN ARTIST IS A CRAFTSMAN SUCH AS CARPENTER, CARVER. PLUMBER, BLACKSMITH, WEAVER.

EMBROIDERER,AND THE LIKE WHO PRODUCES DIRECTLY FUNCTIONAL AND/OR DECORATIVE ARTS

-HELP US IN MEETING OUR BASIC NEEDS, SUCH AS FOOD, SHELTER, CLOTHING, DWELLING,
FURNITURE; THEY CRAFT EVERYTHING THAT MAKES OUR LIFE EASIER

IS BASICALLY A PHYSICAL WORKER WHO OBJECTS WITH HIS OR HER HANDS, AND WHO THROUGH
SKILL, EXPERIENCE, AND ABILITY CAN PRODUCE THINGS OF GREAT BEAUTY, AS WELL AS
USEFULLNESS.

CURATOR

CURATOR, WHO IS A MANAGER OR OVERSEER, AND USUALLY A CURATOR OR KEEPER OF

CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTION IS A CONTENT SPECIALIST CHARGED WITH AN INSTITUTIONS
COLLECTIONS

-TOBE SUCCESSFUL, A CURATOR SHOULD BE ORGANIZED, PASSIONATE, KNOWLEDGEABLE, ADEPT

AT MULTI-TASKING, AND PROFICIENT AT WRITING
ART BUYER

IS A PROFESSIONAL WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE IN ART WHO MAY SCOUT TALENTS FOR AN

ADVERTISING AGENCY SEEKING TO EMPLOY AN ART DIRECTOR, WHO MAY LOOK FOR AN ART FOR
A COLLECTOR OR A COMPANY

ART DEALER

A PERSON OR A COMPANY THAT BUYS AND SELLS WORKS OF ART. IT OFTEN STUDY THE HISTORY
OF ART BEFORE STARTING THEIR CAREER.

3 STAGES IN ART MAKING

PRE- PRODUCTION OR SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT

-THIS ENDS WHEN THE PLANNING ENDS, AND THE CONTENT STARTS BEING PRODUCED

.PRODUCTION OR MEDIUM MANIPULATION

-A METHOD OF JOINING DIVERSE MATERIAL INPUTS AND UNIMPORTANT INPUTS

-ACT OF CREATING OUTPUT, A GOOD OR SERVICE THAT HAS SIGNIFICANCE AND CONTRIBUTES TO
THE UTILITY OF INDIVIDUALS.

POST PRODUCTION (COMPLETION) OR EXHIBITION

-ONCE AN ARTWORK IS FINISHED, IT WILL BE DISPLAYED CIRCULATED, AND PERFORMED FOR THE
AUDIENCE AND PUBLIC TO SEE OR WATCH

MEDIUM VS TECHNIQUE

REFERS TO THE MATERIALS THAT ARE USED BY AN ARTIST TO CREATE A WORK OF AR. THE PLURAL
FOR OF MEDIUM IS MEDIA. WITHOUT THE MEDIUM, AN IDEA REMAINS A CONCEPT OR IT WOULD
JUST DWELL IN THE WALLS OF THE ARTISTS IMAGINATION.

- REFERS TO THE ARTISTS ABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE OR TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW IN

MANIPULATING THE MEDIUM. IT IS THE MANNER BY WHICH THE ARTIST CONTROL THE MEDIUM
TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED EFFECTS;THUS, IT IS IN THE TECHNIQUE THAT ARTIST DIFFER FROM ONE
ANOTHER.

ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES

OF

ARTS

- THE VISUAL ART TERMS SEPARATE INTO THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ART. THE ELEMENTS
OF ART ARE COLOR, FORM, LINE, SHAPE, SPACE AND TEXTURE. THE PRINCIPLES OF ARTS ARE
SCALE, PROPORTION UNITY, VARIETY,RHYTHM, MASS, SHAPE SPACE BALANCE, VOLUME,
PERSPECTIVE AND DEPTH.

ELEMENTS OF ARTS
COLOR

COLOR IS THE VISUAL PERCEPTION SEEN BY THE HUMAN EYE.THIS CONVEYS FEELINGS AND
MOODS WITHIN THE PAINTING OR ANY ARTS. COLOR CONTAINS CHARACTERISTICES LIKE HUE,
VALUE AND SATURATION

FORM

- GIVES SHAPE TO A PIECE OF ART, WHETHER IT IS THE CONSTRAINTS OF A LINE IN A PAINTING OR

THE EDGE OF THE SCULPTURE. IT IS ALSO THE EXPRESSION OF ALL THE FORMAL ELEMENTS OF ART
IN A PIECE OF WORK

LINE

- PRIMARILY A DOT OR SERIES OF DOTS. THE DOTS FORM A LINE, WHICH CAN VARY IN THICKNESS
COLOR AND SHAPE. A LINE IS A TWO DIMENSIONAL SHAPE UNLESS THE ARTIST GIVES IT VOLUME
OR MASS. MULTIPLE LINES DEVELOPS INTO A DRAWING MORE RECOGNIZABLE THAN A LINE
CREATING A FORM RESEMBLING THE OUTSIDE OF IT'S SHAPE.

SHAPE

DEFINES AS HAVING SOME SORT OF OUTLINE OR BOUNDARY, WHETHER THE SHAPE IS TWO OR
THREE DIMENSIONAL. THE SHAPE CAN BE GEOMETRIC (KNOWN SHAPE) OR ORGANIC (FREE FORM
SHAPE)

SPACE

- IS THE AREA AROUND THE FOCAL POINT OF THE ART PIECE AND MIGHT BE POSITIVE OR
NEGATIVE, SHALLOW OR DEEP, OPEN. OR CLOSED. SPACE IS THE AREA AROUND THE ART FORM; IN
THE CASE OF A BUILDING, IT IS THE AREA BEHIND, OVER. INSIDE, OR NEXT TO THE STRUCTURE

TEXTURE

CAN BE ROUGH OR SMOOTH TO THE TOUCH, IMITATING A PARTICULAR FEEL OR SENSATION. THE
TEXTURE IS ALSO HOW YOUR EYE PERCEIVES A SURFACE, WHETHER IT IS FLAT WITH LITTLE
TEXTURE OR DISPLAYS VARIATIONS ON THE SURFACE, IMITATING ROCK, WOOD, STONEZ FABRIC.

BALANCE

- REFERS TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT IN THE APPARENT WEIGHT OF THE PIECE. ARCHES ARE
BUILT FOR STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND TO HOLD THE ROOF IN PLACE, ALLOWING FOR PASSAGE OF
PEOPLE BELOW THE ARCH AND CREATING BALANCE VISUALLY AND STRUCTURALLY.

CONTRAST

- DEFINED AS THE DIFFERENCE IN COLORS TO CREATE A PIECE OF VISUAL ART. CAN ALSO BE
SUBTLE WHEN USING MONOCHROMATIC COLORS, GIVING VARIETY AND UNITY THE FINAL PIECE
OF ART.

EMPHASIS
CAN BE COLOR, UNITY, BALANCE, OR ANY OTHER PRINCIPLE OR ELEMENT OF ART USED TO CREATE
A FOCAL POINT.

RHYTM/MOVEMENT

RHYTHM IN A PIECE OF ART DENOTES A TYPE OF REPETITION USED TO EITHER DEMONSTRATE

MOVEMENT OR EXPANSE. FOR INSTANCE, IN A PAINTING OF WAVES CRASHING, A VIEWER WILL
AUTOMATICALLY SEE THE MOVEMENT AS THE WAVE FINISHES. THE USE OF BOLD AND
DIRECTIONAL BRUSHWORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE MOVEMENT IN A PAINTING.

PROPORTION/SCALE

PROPORTION IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ITEMS IN A PAINTING, FOR EXAMPLE, BETWEEN THE
SKY AND MOUNTAINS. IF THE SKY IS MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE PAINTING, IT LOOKS OUT
OF PROPORTION. THE SCALE IN ART IS SIMILAR TO PROPORTION, AND IF SOMETHING IS NOT TO
SCALE, IT CAN LOOK ODD. IF THERE IS A PERSON IN THE PICTURE AND THEIR HANDS ARE TOO
LARGE FOR THEIR BODY, THEN IT WILL LOOK OUT OF SCALE. ARTISTS CAN ALSO USE SCALE AND
PROPORTION TO EXAGGERATE PEOPLE OR LANDSCAPES TO THEIR ADVANTAGE

UNITY/VARIETY

- IN ART, UNITY CONVEYS A SENSE OF COMPLETENESS, PLEASURE WHEN VIEWING THE ART, AND
COHESIVENESS TO THE ART, AND HOW THE PATTERNS WORK TOGETHER BRINGS UNITY TO THE
PICTURE OR OBJECT. AS THE OPPOSITE OF UNITY, VARIETY SHOULD PROVOKE CHANGES AND
AWARENESS IN THE ART PIECE. COLORS CAN PROVIDE UNITY WHEN THEY ARE IN THE SAME
COLOR GROUPS, AND A SPLASH OF RED CAN PROVIDE VARIETY.

PATTERN

- PATTERN IS THE WAY SOMETHING IS ORGANIZED AND REPEATED IN ITS SHAPE OR FORM AND
CAN FLOW WITHOUT MUCH STRUCTURE IN SOME RANDOM REPETITION. PATTERNS MIGHT
BRANCH OUT SIMILAR TO FLOWERS ON A PLANT OR FORM SPIRALS AND CIRCLES AS A GROUP OF
SOAP BUBBLES OR SEEM IRREGULAR IN THE CRACKED, DRY MUD. ALL WORKS OF ART HAVE SOME
SORT OF PATTERN EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE HARD TO DISCERN; THE PATTERN WILL FORM BY THE
COLORS, THE ILLUSTRATIONS, THE SHAPE, OR NUMEROUS OTHER ART METHODS.

ART HISTORY

(Asian, Western, Philippines)

CAVE ART

– The art of paleolithic humans represented by drawings and painting on the walls of cave.

EGYPTIAN – Egyptian art has order and continuity. Death and afterlife were common themes. The
purpose of this art is religious and to impose order.

• Art produce in Egypt includes paintings, sculptures, drawing on papyrus, faience,

jewelry, ivories, architecture and other art media.

GREEK
- Includes idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were
generally the focus of innovation and also the Architecture and buildings.

- ROMAN – Roman art refers to the visual arts made in Ancient Rome and in the territories of
the roman empire. Roman art includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work.

- MEDIAVAL – MEDIEVAL ART — Which includes A wide variety of art and architecture—refers
to A period also known as the middle ages, which roughly spanned from the fall of the roman
empire in 476 A.D. To the early stages of the renaissance in the 14th century. Work produced
during this era emerged from the artistic heritage of the roman empire and the iconographic
style of the Early Christian Church, fused with the “barbarian” culture of Northern Europe.

- CHINESE PRINTING – The process of printing starts in China. Because of this process a variety
of items like calendars and religious texts are produced. Chinese woodblock were first used to
print designs in silk or cloth. Then the creation of paper came. Paper was made by creating a
mix of bark and rags that would float on water. Before the invention of printing everything had
to be written by hand. This took a long time and meant that books and other written materials
were very rare and expensive. Around 220 ad the Chinese began printing pictures on silk and
other fabrics. Then around 650 ad they began printing on paper using wooden blocks.
However, woodblock prints were not regarded as an art form of its own. They were rather
meant as a means to make a precise reproduction of existing paintings.

- JAPANESE PRINTING – is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e Artistic genre of
single sheets, but it was also used for printing books in the same period. The Japanese water-
based inks provide a wide range of Vivid colors, glazes, and transparency.

- WOODBLOCK PRINTING – A technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely
throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles
and later paper.

RENNAISSEAN AND MANNERISM, BAROQUE AND ROCOCO

• RENAISSANCE – Move away from purely spiritual concerns to more human and classical.

• MANNERISM – Mannerism is a style that emerged in 1530 and lasted until the end of the
century. It is named after Maniera, an Italian term for “style” or “Manner,” and refers to a
stylized, exaggerated approach to painting and sculpture.

• BAROQUE – Response to reformation more theatrical and dramatic scenes and depictions to
attract commoners.

ROCOCO – Appealed to wealthy class or nobility

NEO-CLASSICISM AND ROMANTIC AND REALISM

• NEO-CLASSICISM – as a western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts,

literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of
classical antiquity.
 • It is a revivalist aesthetic movement, meaning that it rehashes or
Reconstructs the visual patterns and styles of a bygone era. In
neoclassicism these are characterized by nude or semi-nude figures in
melodramatic poses

• And scenes with draperies, references to ancient Greco-Roman polytheism and Mythology,
references to Greco-Roman sculpture and architecture, and lots of ornate floral and botanical
motifs.

• ROMANTICISM – embraced emotion, exotic, “aesthetic experience”, “The Sublime”, originality

and imagination

• REALISM

• – describe things

• represent figures

• and exactly how

• they look like in

• real life.

• - The artists portrays the subject as ease.

• - The artist portrays subjects coming from nature, with the exact replica of what the
objects are.

• IMPRESSIONISM AND POST-IMPRESSIONISM

• IMPRESSIONISM – the artist depicts what stimulates the eye. They are more concerned with
the effects of lights that would get the attention of the audience.

• POST-IMPRESSIONISM – It is characterized by a subjective approach to painting, as artists

opted to evoke emotion rather than realism in their work.

• NEO-IMPRESSIONISM – refers to a pictorial technique where color pigments are no longer

mixed either on the palette or directly on canvas, but instead placed as small dots side by side.

• SYMBOLISM AND ART NAVEAU

• SYMBOLISM – the visible sign of something invisible such as ideas or quality.

- symbolism possesses some difficulty at understanding.

• ART NOUVEAU – is characterized by its use of a long sinuous, organic line and was employed
most often in architecture, interior design, jewelry and glass design, posters and illustrations.

FAUVISM AND EMPRESSIONISM

FAUVISM – it employs colors to express the emotions of the artist.

- the artist uses bright and extreme colors in order to assume positive characters.
EXPRESSIONISM – artistic style in which the artist tried to describe not the objective reality but
the subjective emotions objects and events that are out of him.

CUBISM AND FUTURISM

• CUBISM – artists used geometric figures like cones, sphere and cylinders.

- it shows the flatness of the picture and rejects traditional perspective.

• FUTURISM – characterized by technology, modernity, youth, and speed. It Includes objects in

an urbanized cities.

ABSTRACT OR NON-OBJECTIVE

• ABSTRACT – there is no subject but only his feelings and ideas. you cannot figure out the
subject/object.

- refers to visual works that move beyond reality as contrasted to realism.

PHOTO-REALISM INSTALLATION ARTS

PHOTO-REALISM

– a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist
studies photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in
another medium.

INSTALLATION ARTS

– it is the term for works, room-sized or larger, in which the whole space is considered a single
unified artwork.

SOULMAKING (SOUL, SOUND, & STRUCTURE)

WHAT IS A “SOUL”?
(Hillman, 1997)

“ By soul I mean, first of all, a perspective rather than a substance, a viewpoint toward things
rather than a thing itself.

This perspective is reflective; it mediates events and makes differences between ourselves and
everything that happens.”

“Between us and events, between the doer and the deed, there is a reflective moment – and
soulmaking means differentiating this middle ground.’’

WHAT IS
SOULMAKING?

Noy Narcisso applied the psychological concept of soulmaking in his art practice.

It is about crafting images derived from a person’s experience expressed through any form art.
 It puts importance in nourishing particular experiencees to allow us to understand our humanity
by being more considerate and have an appreciation of life.

WHO WAS LEONARDO DA VINCI?

(Gelb, 1999)

Leonardo da Vinci is considered the renaissance man who excelled in art, mathematics,
architecture, philosophy, military planning, etc.

What are the Da

Vincian Principles?

These were characteristic traits of Da Vinci based from studies of his archives.

These were believed to be the practice of Da Vinci in approaching his world during the time of the
renaissance.

These encompass both humanities and science.

DA VINCIAN PRINCIPLES

▪ Curiosita
▪ Dimostrazione
▪ Sensazione
▪ Sfumato
▪ Arte/Scienza
▪ Corporalita
▪ Connessione

CURIOSITA

Curiosita is an insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.

DEMOSTRAZIONE

Demostrazione is a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and willingness

to learn from mistakes

Sensazione

Sensazione is the continual refinement of senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.

SFUMATO

Sfumato is the willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.

Arte/ Scienza

Arte/scienza is the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination.

CORPORALITA
Corporalita is the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise.

Connessione

Connessione is a recognition and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and
phenomena.

DA VINCIAN PRINCIPLES
What are the Da
Vincian Principles?

These principles are what we can apply when we are approaching our contemporary times of turmoil
and struggle.

Through these principles, we can become reflective of how we live through the contemporary digital
age.

WORKSHOPS on IMPROVISATIONS , INSTALLATION, TRANSCREATION

IMPROVISATION

What is improvisation? (Bresnahan, 2015)

Improvisation highlights creativity, immediacy, innovation, and spontaneity as a part of its product and
activity. Improvisation exists not only in the arts but in many other fields.

Philippines and Improvisation

The Culture of Improvisation in the Philippines

Since the Philippines is situated in the "typhoon belt" and the “Pacific Ring of Fire," natural calamities
are a common occurrence. Filipinos have learned to be resilient, resourceful, and innovative.

A house that was built for years can be easily destroyed in one night, thus our early ancestors never
erected permanent residential structures.

The structures constructed were adaptable, something that could be built and rebuilt in a short period
of time.

An example of this cultural improvisation is the bahay kubo (nipa hut).

Geography and climate, available natural building materials, and local construction skills influenced
the design and construction of the bahay kubo.

However, in contemporary times, bahay kubo is known to be the dwelling of the peasants. When
peasants move to the city, they bring with them their ability to make use of whatever is available. In
the urban setting, the bahay kubo evolves into a barong-barong.

Like the bahay kubo, the barong- barong is built with speed not only to avoid unfavorable weather, but
also to evade landowners and authorities.

Rebuilding of the barong-barong is just as easy once it is damaged by natural calamities, or in most
cases, destroyed by demolition drives.
Improvisation

in the Arts

How is improvisation applied in the arts?

What is improvisation?

(Bresnahan, 2015)

In a general sense, improvisation is spontaneous, unplanned or otherwise free-ranging creativity.

Certain performances or products of artistic activity are referred to as improvisations when they have
been produced in a spontaneous originative way.

Dance Improvisation

Body as the center of experience

(Khulmann, 2004)

All experiences are made through our bodies.

The body is the focus of experience and perception.

mprovisational performance examines the body as the medium of art in the form of dance.

It puts into question what are the boundaries of dance performance.

As a postmodern art form that developed in the 1950's, it is reflective of itself.

It questions not just its form, but also its limits.

Sound Improvisation

The extemporaneous composition or free performance of a musical passage, usually in a manner

conforming to certain stylistic norms but unfettered by the prescriptive features of a specific musical
text.

“the creation of music in the course of performance

Music that is created by the performer during the moment of performance

Theater

Improvisation

What is improv theater?

(Rappler, 2017)

Improv is a form of theatre and performance where everything is unrehearsed and unscripted.

All the scenes and stories are created on the spot

LOCAL ARTS
Crafting Images – refers to imaging or representing in any form which may be through painting,
sculpting, drawing, storytelling, poetry, dancing, composing, or taking notes.

Crafting Stories – the way we write, engrave and inscribed our own thoughts, ideas, comments,
criticisms and positive and negative emotions.

Crafting Instruments Performance – transforming any found or used object into musical instrument
that allows one to discover harmony and balance to produce a sound that is entertaining and magical.

INDIGENOUS ARTS

Philippine archipelago has, it offers unique places and cultures where all forms of arts and crafts can
flourish, some can be considered spectacular by the outsider, such as the Ifugao rice terraces that
native Ifugaos built by hand, our own version of the Great Pyramids. Philippine arts may not be as
popular as other Asian arts such as Japanese and Chinese, but it doesn’t mean that it is any less
spectacular, or diminishes the variety, originality, and creativity of the Filipinos.

ARCHITECTURE
INDIGENOUS ART

Wander over the world heritage site, Banaue Rice Terraces, Eighth Wonder of the World, carved from
the high Cordilleras over 2,000 years ago. These rice terraces were carved out of the mountains by the
native Ifugao people. The Ifugaos made the walls out of hardened mud and clay while they flattened
the slopes it could hold water essential for rice growth. It had been the way of life of the Ifugao
mountain tribes for the past 2,000 years, kept alive up to this day.

SCULPTURE
INDIGENOUS ART

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials, typically

stone such as marble, metal, glass, or wood, or plastic materials such as clay, textiles,polymers and
softer metals. Carving is one of the techniques used in sculpture.

In the north, the indigenous tradition of sculpture survived the zealous proselytizing of the Roman
Catholic Church only among the mountain peoples.

The most important type of sculpture, in its quality, quantity and continuing use, are the wooden bulul
or bulol carved by Ifugao craftsmen of Mountain Province, Luzon. Often made in pairs, male and
female, bulul represent guardian dieties and are placed in rice granaries to ensure beautiful rice.

WEAVING
INDIGENOUS ART

Weaving means to make cloth and other objects. Threads or strands of material are passed under and
over each other.

Weaving in the Philippines has different forms, functions and materials. They also vary in design and
techniques used. Most of the common forms of weaving in the Philippines are in the form of hats,
mats, bags, baskets and textiles (clothes and blankets).
Ilocano of Northwestern Philippines is well-known for their hand weaving while the people of Aklan
are known for basket weaving. Most weaving industry is found in Mindanao regions. One of the
common materials in this region is called malong which is historically used as a skirt and sometimes as
a blanket.

POTTERY
INDIGENOUS ART

Filipino potters make pots of different sizes, shapes, and designs, which are usually geometric with
stylized nature-themed motifs. Functional pieces are made as the need arise. An example of this is the
“palayok”, which is used for cooking, “banga” and “tapayan” are used for storing liquids. There is also
the clay-made stove or “kalan”. The “burnay” pottery in Ilocos Sur is still a lively tradition that
continues to the present.

BODY ORNAMENT
INDIGENOUS ART

Physical ornamentation can be categorized into three areas specifically the use of traditional costumes
(textile), jewelries and tattoos. The designs vary depending on the location, users and function of the
ornaments. Since the early 16th century, jewelry making in the country has been practiced in the
country. It is believed that the skills of the early Filipino jewelry-makers are adopted from their Asian
neighbors like the Chinese.

BODY ORNAMENT
INDIGENOUS ART

Non-Muslim people in Mindanao decorate their colorful and distinctive costumes with glass beads,
shells and metal bells and chains. Their jewelry materials include coral and fibers; forms of jewelry
include earplugs as well as earrings. Old beads are highly prized, especially agate beads before
Kalingas, and Igorot girls are given a head ornament of agate beads before they reach puberty. Ifugao
men wear tooth necklaces, believed to impart good luck, and the Ubus wear etched shell amulets to
protect them. Necklaces made from roots and bark are worn by them to ward off sickness.

MUSLIM ARTSIslamic art is characterized by designs of flowers, plant forms and geometric designs. It
is used in calligraphy, architecture painting, clothing and other forms of fine art. As Islam spread
around the world, this distinct form of art has become an integral part of the identity of its followers,
including the Philippines

CHARACTERISTICS OF ISLAMIC ART

1. It is characterized by designs of flowers, plant forms and geometric designs. These Muslim designs
are used in calligraphy, architecture painting, clothing and other forms of fine art.

2.Mosques in the Philippines have a common architectural feature that is similar with its Southeast
Asian neighbors. Most mosques are structurally patterned after the design of its Middle eastern
counterparts.

3. The only reminders of Filipino Muslim art inside mosques is the traditional art form known as
Okkir. This art form is believed to be of Hindu and Chinese influences
4. The Sarimanok is a legendary bird of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao, an island
in the Philippines. It comes from the words “sari” and “manok.” “Sari” means cloth or garment, which
is generally of assorted colors.

5. Philippine Muslim homes represent their identity therefore Islamic art is seen in their houses.
These houses usually contain framed calligraphy of Qu’ran passages in its walls.

6. Clothing reflects the style and colors of their ethnic background. A design related to Islam that is
used in the Philippines is the batik cloth design. The kind of design traces its influence from Indonesia.
It contains abstract themes with geometric and floral design. However, human and animal depiction is
a rare motif in batik.

PAINTING

CHRISTIAN ART

The Spanish friars introduced Western painting in the Philippines to artisans who learned to copy on
two-dimensional form from the religious icons that the friars brought from Spain. For the first
centuries of Spanish colonization, painting was limited to religious icons. Portraits of saints and of the
Holy Family became a familiar sight in churches. Other subject matters include the passion of Christ,
the Via Crucis, the crucifixion, portrayal of heaven and hell.

Several Filipino painters had the chance to study and work abroad. Among them were Juan Novicio
Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo who became the first International Artists when they won the gold
and silver medals in the 1884 Madrid Exposition. Luna’s academic painting Spoliarium won gold
medal. It showed the dead and dying Roman Gladiators being dragged into the basement of the
Coliseum. It is often interpreted as an allusion to Imperial Spain’s oppression of the natives. Though
winning the gold medal , Luna was not awarded the Medal of Excellence, the top award for the
competition, because he was a Filipino.

ARCHITECTURE

CHRISTIAN ART

Most of the architectural formation that is influenced by Christianity is profound on the Churches.
Next structure would be on schools that are originally founded by Catholic missionaries that preached
Catholicism. Later on, the influences entered on Filipino houses that mixed up with the knowledge of
Chinese feng shui.

The early houses that were built during the Spanish eras include a place of worship called the altar. It
is also common that these houses contain statues of different saints, images of Mary, Christ and other
religious items.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction confronted the country after World War II. From this period onto the
70s, Philippine architecture was dominated by the American style. The independent Philippines
expressed its identity implementing Modernism through the utilization of reinforced concrete, steel
and glass, the predominance of cubic forms, geometric shapes and Cartesian grids, and the absence of
applied decoration.

CONTEMPORARY ART
Contemporary art is the art of the present, which is continuously in process and in flux. A statement
that an artist makes about life, thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and many other things that define human life.
Art is the expression of one’s feelings through creating something out of their imagination.
Contemporary art is art produced at the present period in time.

Contemporary art includes and develops from Postmodern art, which is itself successor to Modern Art.

With the advent of modernism, many Philippine arts were developing particularly in the field of
sculpture where there is a shift in sculptural process which led to an almost complete freedom of
materials and process. A wide variety of materials may be worked by removal such as carving,
assembled by welding or modeling, or molded, or cast. Foremost of which is Solomon Saprid, a
modern Philippine sculptor who became known for his works in bronze which he created by welding
scraps of metal, producing a characteristic jagged effect.

ARCHITECTURE

CONTEMPORARY ART

Architect Francisco Mañosa, designer of the Coconut Palace, built his own two-storey bahay kubo
mansion in Ayala Alabang Village, a wealthy suburb south of Manila. With only 3 posts or “haligi” , it
has five one-inch coconut shell doors, a “silong”, Muslim room, sala, and master’s bedroom with a fish
pond therein.

The turning point in the development of contemporary art in the Philippines was the establishment of
the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The CCP is located on a reclaimed land along Roxas
Boulevard. It was designed by Leandro V. Locsin and it is also considered as one of his most
recognizable works.

OTHER CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO ARTISTS AND THEIR WORKS

Ernest Concepcion (1977-present)

Concepcion is a studio artist whose work experiments with intense emotion, deconstructing images in
his paintings, sculptures, and installations. He creates art like recording a music album, where each
painting is from a series of nine. Concepcion describes it as producing an old favorite, a classic, sleeper
hit and one piece he doesn’t really like but keeps

Ronald Ventura

(1973-present)

Ventura’s work is known to consist of multiple layers, using imagery that focuses on the human form.
His paintings are a dramatic union of comic sketches, reality, and graffiti. He draws inspiration from
Asian mythology, Catholicism, science fiction and comic book characters

Leeroy New

(1986-present)
Initially trained as a sculptor, Leeroy’s work blends theatre, fashion, film, production design, and
public art. He graduated from the prestigious Philippine High School for the Arts, before continuing his
Fine Arts degree at the University of the Philippines. He has received artist residences in Singapore
and Australia and was awarded the 13 Artists Award by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2014.
His large-scale public art uses common objects and materials found in everyday environments.

Neil Pasilan

(1971-present)

Brother to artist Diokno Pasilan, Neil is a Bacolod-born artist from a family of craftsmen and boat
builders. He is a self-taught visual artist who displayed creativity as a child. Pasilan has moulded clay
figures for most of his life and continues to use this in his work.

Kawayan de Guia

(1979-present)

Kawayan’s art contemplates the Philippines’ changing urban culture. He illogically arranges texts and
icons to compose a painting, depicting the human form in new ways. His work draws from popular
culture, the media and mass consumerism. He also creates sculptures and massive art installations.

Martha Atienza

(1981-present)

Her video art reflects snapshots of reality and the environment drawn from her Filipino and Dutch
roots. She is currently interested in using contemporary art as an aid to bring about social change. In
2017, she won the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel International Fair for her video installation Our
Islands, 11°16`58.4” 123°45`07.0”E., which shows a traditional Catholic procession from the
Philippines under water.