CONTEMPORARY ART

Art – the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination

Art as A Form Of

• Self-expression (paintings, music, poetry, fashion, etc)

• Therapy
• Aesthetic
• Inspiration
• Motivation
• Awareness

Modern – being up to date and technologically advanced

Art that is current and new is also referred to modern as opposed to ”traditional” or “conservative”; today1880 –
1960 “Traditional”

Contemporary – 1960; still emerging produced by artists living today

• The Contrast – HR Ocampo; 1960's

• Man in Stairs – Xyca Bacani; 2000's

Arturo Luz – produced paintings in 90's and well into 21st; hard-edged and abstract minimalist style

Artist in Modern Art Style

Victorio Edades – Father of Philippine Modern Art; initiating the Modern Art movement that challenged the
Neoclassic style, which was dominant that time

Neoclassic Style Modern Art

− creates illusions of depthness, nearness and − they change colors and flatten the picture
farness instead of new looking and shocking
− familiar and comfortable

Comparison and Contrast of Contemporary Art and Modern Art

Social Realist/Neo-Realist

Man and Carabao Morning Dance

(H.Ocampo) (Cesar Legaspi)

− Contemporary art is influenced by Social Realism

Imelda Cajipe-Endaya – is a social realist but the style and medium of installation is markedly different

Characteristics of Contemporary Art

Site-specific – they cannot be experienced in the same way if removed from their original places of exhibit
whether in the gallery, out on the streets, in the forest, on the internet, etc.

Process-based – integrate various medium and art forms

Collaborative and Interactive – the art is never complete without the audience’s active input.
History of Philippine Art

Pre-conquest

− In art historical terms, “pre-conquest”

− In stylistic terms, “indigenious”
− In cultural terms, “pre-colonial”

Art Before

Are everyday expressions and were all integrated within rituals

Earliest forms of Theater/Rituals

1. Mayvanuvanua (Batanes) – ritual that opens the fishing season of dibang (flying fish)
2. Cañao or Kanyaw (Cordillera Administrative Region) – officiated by a shaman or mumbaki; animal
sacrifice where the entrails are read through a process of divination
3. Kashawing (Lake Lanao of Mindanao) – ritual to ensure abundance during rice planting and harvesting.
4. Tagbanwa (Palawan) – shamans go into a trance amidst ritual chanting and dancing and are believed
to be taken over the goddesses themselves.

Ethnic Musical Instruments

1. Kudyapi – a three stringed guitar

2. Kulintang – an array of bossed gongs
3. Gansa – flat gong
4. Agong – a large bossed gong

Native Dance Forms

1. Pangalay (Sulu) – mimetic dance of seabirds

2. Kinabua of Mandaya – performs swooping movements imitating the movements of eagle
3. Banog-banog of the Higaonon and B'laan – courtship dance that portrays the flight of the birds
4. Man-manok (Bagobos) – imitate the movements of predatory birds
5. Talip (Ifugaos) – courtship dance mimetic of the movements of wild fowls
6. Inamong of Matigsalugs and Kadaliwas (T’boli) – represent the comedic movements of monkey
7. Tinikling (Tagalog) – evocative of the movements of the crane

Carving

1. Bulul (Cordillera) – granary god that plays important role in rituals

2. Hagabi (Ifugao) – wooden bench that marks the socio-economic status of the owner

− On the other hand, Christianized communities in Paete Laguna and Betis Pampanga are known for
carving santos.
− In the Southern Philippines curvilinear decorations called the okir are employed in woodcarving
− Sarimanok is the stylized design of a bird holding a fish in its beak and/or standing on a base in the
shape of a fish.
− Naga has the form of an elaborate mythical serpent or dragon with a vigorous S-curve and numerous
curvilinear motifs to suggest its scales.
− The sarimanok and naga are found in thepanolong, the extended floor beam, and the interior beams
and posts of the large sultan’s house called torogan.
− Pako rabong is a stylized growing fern with a broad base gracefully tapering upwards.
− The Manunggul Jar, excavated in Manunggul Cave Lipunan Point Palawan is dated to the late Neolithic
Period (890-710). It has two andromorphic or human forms a top the lid.
− Palayok (clay pot) for cooking
− Banga and Tapayan (clay pot) for storing liquids.

Woven Textiles

1. Pis syabit – a headpiece woven by Tausug of Sulu

2. Malong – it has exquisite tapestry panels called langkit woven by the Maranao of Lanao Del Sur

Weaving

1. Tepo Mat – a colorful double layered mat of Sama of Tawi-Tawi made of pandan leaves.
2. Ovaloid Baskets – made of nito and bamboo are used as a head sling to carry harvest
3. Bubo – fish traps made of sturdy bamboo strips in the Ilocos region.
 1. Tattoos
− Visayas “Islas de los Pintados”
− shared by Southeast Asia and New Zealand other ethnolinguistic groups
2. Jewelry – the T'boli in particular are known for wearing brass chains bells and colorful beads

1. Lotoans – betel nut boxes of various shapes

2. Functional Containers – textured design of rhombuses, spirals, cricles, and tendrils swarm over the
exteriors
3. Brass Kendi and Gadur – used in ceremonies and are cherished as status symbols or as heirloom
pieces

Islamic Colonial (13th Century to the Present)

− Gained significant grounding in Sulu as early as 13th century.

− Sayyid Abubakar of Arabia married Princess Piramisuli, daughter of Rajah Baguinda. Abubakar
succeeded the throne and established the Sultanate of Sulu

1. Interior of mosques are covered with elaborate patterning in the form of reliefs.
2. Abstract forms and patterns
3. Parts of the Mosque like the mihrab or niche and the Qibla wall are oriented toward the west
4. Bulbous Dome expresses all levels of comic existence
5. Octagonal base symbolizes the spirit; four-sided main base refers to the earth or material world
6. The courtyard or Ka'bah a black shrine believed to be built by Prophet Muhammad himself
7. The area of water supply serves as the function of ablution or cleansing
8. The gardens within the Mosque compound or even outside homes
9. Islamic forms are incline to project, grow or have an upward orientation
10. Burraq, a horse with the head of a woman, is also an important figure

Spanish Colonial (1521-1898)

Architecture

1. Plaza Complex – designed as the town center and consisted of the municipio or local government office
and church
2. Cruciform Churches – shape of the Latin cross churches was built
3. Baroque Style – characterized by grandeur, drama, elaborate details that purposely appealed to the
emotions

Sculpting

1. Santos – Western model to Chinese features and techniques with Greek and Roman classical influence
2. Retablo – Integrates architecture and sculpture and is often embellished with rosettes, scrolls,
pediments and solomonic columns which may be gilded or polychromed

Engraving

1. Via Crucis – series of 14 paintings or relief structures depicting Christ's crucifixion resurrection
2. Trompe l'oeila – French word meaning “fooling the eye” it refers to painting that give a heightened
illusion of three-dimensionality
3. Relleves – carved figurative protrusions
4. Plateria – organic designs of hammered silver

Music

1. Western Musical Instruments – pipe, organ, violin, guitar, piano

2. Catholic Lithurgical Music – Introduced in 1742 by the the Archbishop of Manila Juan Rodriguez Angel
− The Santo Domingo and San Agustin convents taught choral music to young boys including Filipino
composers like Marcelo Ardonay (1848-1928)
3. Pasyon or Pabasa – biblical narration of Christ's passion chanted in improvised melody
4. Awit and Corrido – musical forms were chanted stories based on European Literature and history
5. Balitao – sentimental love songs
6. Kundiman – usually spoke of resignation and fatalism became a vehicle for resistance
Literature

− In Ticao Leyte a huge stone was discovered that contained baybayin

1. Cathecism and Prayer books

Theater

1. Processions – earliest forms of theater were replaced by the pomp and pageantry
2. Zarzuela –19th century; opera which features singing and dancing interspersed with prose dialogue
− Severino Reyes and Hermogenes Ilagan are the most distinguished playwrights of their day and
Honorata “Atang” dela Rama
3. Senakulo – written in 1704 by Gaspar Aquino de Belen; Christ's passion and death on the cross

Komedya

− Depicts the conflict between the Muslims and Christians.

1. Komedya de Santo or Religious Komedya
2. Secular Komedya – Moro-moro

Folk Music and Dance

1. Cariñosa, pandango, polka, dansa, riodon

Secular Art

1. Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas – first scientific map of the Philippines
− Jesuit Priest Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde collaborated with artists Francisco Suarez and engraver
Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay, 1734
2. Flora de Filipinas – extensive compilation of Philippine plants; Augustinian botanist Fr. Manuel Blanco

Visual Arts

1. Heaven, Earth, and Hell (1850) a mural by Jose Dans in Paete Church Laguna
2. Two versions of San Cristobal
3. Basi Revolt Esteban Villanueva

Religious art persisted like:

1. Music development inside the church through Marcelo Adonay and his compositions based on the
Western tradition.
2. Viriñaa bell shaped glass where santos are placed
3. Urna a humble domestic version of retablo often attributed to the artists of Visayan region

The rise of new elite in art

1. Bahay na bato
2. Paintings

Paintings

1. Miniaturist Style – meticulous details that signify the wealth and refinement of the sitter
− Other known painters of the same style are Antonio Malantic, Isidro Arceo, Dionisio De Castro, and
Justiniano Asuncion
2. Letras y Figurascombining names of individuals and vignettes of everyday life
3. Academic Paintings championed European academic styles

• In 1821 Damian Domingo established the first art school in the country right at his studio in Binondo
Manila, Academia de Dibujo, which eventually became absorbed by Real Sociedad Economica Filipina
de Amigos del Pais where he serves as director
• Juan Luna won gold for Spoliarium; Felix Hidalgo won silver for Virgenes Christianas Expuestas Al
Populacho in Madrid Exposition.

4. Genre Paintings – painting of scenes from everyday life, of ordinary people in work or recreation
American Colonial to the Postwar Republic

− Sedition law which banned the writing, printing and publication of materials advocating Philippine
Independence

Literature

1. Drama Simbolico – one-act play came to represent a deep and profound yearning from freedom
ex. Tanikalang Guinto or Golden Chain Juan Abad
1902 Hindi Ako Patay or I am not Dead Juan Matapang Cruz
1903 Kahapon Ngayon at Bukas Aurelio Tolentino
2. A Modern Filipina – first English play written in 1915 by Liastillejo and Jesus Araullo
3. Vaudeville – a motley collection of slapstick, songs, dances, etc.; script

Architecture

1. New Urban Design – Neoclassic architecture

ex. Legislative Building now National Museum
Post Office

Famous Archi

− Tomas Mapua, Juan Arellano, Andres Luna de San Pedro, and Antonio Toledo

Paintings

1. Landscape – became cherished travel souvenirs

Famous Painters

− Fabian Dela Rosa – naturalist painting characterized by restraint and formality in brushwork, choice
of somber colors, and subject matter; Planting Rice 1921; El Kundiman 1930
− Fernando Amorsolo – 1972 National Artist known for his romantic paintings; Ginebra logo design
− Amorsolo School – Irineo Miranda, Toribio Herrera, Cesar Buenavantura and Dominador
Castaneda
− Victorio Edades – National Artist; influenced by United States' modern art movement; The Builders
− Guillermo Tolentino – 1973 National Artist; sculptor studied Fine Arts in Rom and was influenced by
classical tradition; Oblation; Bonifacio Monument 1933
− Napoleon Abueva – National Artist Napoleon Abueva is a modern artist who has worked with a
variety of mediums from hardwood to precious alabaster

Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)

1. KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod ng Bagong Pilipinas) sponsored art competitions

2. Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere – a propaganda movement that sought to create a Pan-Asia
identity that rejected Western traditions.
3. Slogans like “Asia for Asia” made its way to the public through posters, ephemera, comics, and
Japanese sponsored publications such as Shin-Seki, Liwayway and Tribune
4. Amorsolo Paintings – Harvest Scene 1942 and Rice Planting 1942 continued to flourish because his
arts showed little or no indication of war's atrocities which is continued to be favored.
5. Sa Kabukiran – Sylvia La Torre's hit song written in tagalog in the 1940
6. His Excellency, Jorge B. Vargas, Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission 1943
7. “Independence this Year” said His Excellency, Premier Tojo 1943

Paintings

1. Genre Paintings
2. Showed indigenous and pre-colonial traditions
3. Portraits of ethnolinguistic groups (Crispin Lopez's Study of An Aeta 1943)
4. Scenes of war that remained neutral focusing on the aesthetic qualities of ruin and disaster (Amorsolo's
Bombing of the Intendencia 1942 and Ruins of the Manila Cathedral 1945)
70's Contemporary

− Many cultural projects ensued during the helm of the Marcoses

Under Martial Marcos envisioned a New Society or Bagong Lipunan

1. Rebirth of a long-lost civilization

2. Aspiration to modernization and development

CCP Shrine for the Arts Cultural Center of the Philippines is the premier bureaucratic entity through which art
acquisition, exhibition making, workshops, grants and awards were implemented

− Folk Arts Theater (1974 Miss Universe Pageant)

− Philippine International Concention Center (1976 IMF-World Bank Conference)
− Tahanang Filipino or Coconut Palace (Papal Visit)
− Manila Film Center (Manila International Film Festival)

Reviving Filipino Tradition

− National Arts Center in Mt. Makiling was designed by Architect Leandro Locsin is appropriated the style
of vernacular houses like the Ifugao fale
− Coconut Palace was designed by Architect Francisco Manosca utilized indigenous building materials
and fashioned the roof to look like a salakot

CONTEXT OF ART

Context – may basis, evidence, research, proof

Concept – main idea and meaning

by recognizing context, we acknowledge art’s interaction with active forces in the society: social, political,
economic, religious, and historical to name a few.

Gaston Damag
CONTEXT: Exhibition system
DOMAIN: Contemporary Art in Fine Arts

What happens to an object (art) when it is removed from its original context and changes in function?
CONFUSION

Abdulmari Asia Imao – Tausug National Artist (awarded 2006) integrate culture of Mindanao like the mythical
Sarimanok.

What are the different contexts of art?

a. Artist’s background – age, gender, culture, economic conditions, social environment, and disposition.
• Betis Pampanga: “apprenticeship” with a master sculptor
• Paper Mache of horse/”Taka”
• The Tausug National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao (awarded 2006), Sarimanok
• The “Talaandig” artists from Bukidnon, express their affinities with the land by using soil instead
of pigments and painting about their present concerns
• Julie Lluch from Iligan City, Cutting Onions Always Makes Me Cry, a role associated with
women in the home--as oppresive and unpleasant.

b. Nature – source of inspiration and a wellspring of materials for art production.

• T’nalak – uses abaca fibers; weaving; producing forms inspired by nature: crab, bird in fight,
frog, and snake skin; spirits reside with people in the natural environment
• Nelfa Querubin-Tompkins – expiremented with iron-rich San Dionisio Clay
• The traditional Ivatan houses in Batanes are built using stones and fango for its walls, a kind of
mortar formed by combining cogon and mud bits.
• Junyee – made an ephemeral installation at the grounds of the CCP titled “Angud, a forest once
(2007)”.
• Veejay Villafranca – photographers; “refugees in their own land”.
• Fernando Amorsolo – painted landscapes as a romantic picture
• Ricarte Puruganan – depicted nature as an “uncontrollable force” in his Toilers of The Sea,
1980
 c. Everyday Life
• Jeepney
• Pabalat of the Bulacan
• Lirio Salvador – Cavite; “Sandata ni Shira”, fuses easily accessible objects like machine
discards, bicycle parts, and implements to form an assemblage.
• MM Yu – photographer; captured interesting patterns and forms often overlooked in the city.

d. Society, Politics, Economy, and History

− Although art is a form of expression, we discern that throughout its history, the works are not
always created out of the artist’s own volition
• Photography – 20th century; became accessible to local photographers as “Kodak” set up shop
in the Philippines in 1928.
• Dalagang Bukid – basis of the first film to be directed by a Filipino; by Hermogenes Ilagan and
Leon Ignacio, Directed by Jose Nepomuceno (1919)
• Benedicto Cabrera – “Brown Brother’s Burden” 1970; mas nakakaangat ang ibang lahi

Appropriation – technique of transforming existing materials through the juxtaposition of elements taken from
context and replacing these in another to present alternative meanings, structure, and composition.

e. Mode of Reception – when, where, and how art is encountered.

• “Museum’s power lies in its ability to construct knowledge for us”
• “Reception is very much affected by our level of exposure to art forms”
• Mideo Cruz – “Poleteismo” at the exhibit entitled “Kulo”