7FILIPINO

ARTISTS Contemporary
Philippine
Arts

7 Filipino Artists I The Art Reveal

“Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many
useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets.
Imagination without skill gives us modern art.”

― Tom Stoppard

Seven AESTHETICS

Artist Profile,
Contributions,
and Artworks

Art
7 Filipino Artists: The Art Reveal

 
 CONTENTS
Greetings, readers!

September 24, 2021 Michaela Jane De Leon 7 FILIPINO ARTISTS The Art Reveal
To get you up to speed, I will share my project
task in Contemporary Philippine Arts subject that
turned into what I’m thrilled about will become a
memorable magazine. 01 Introduction to Artists
in Modern Art 13 Hernando Ocampo

Any information that you learned from another

source including facts, opinions, photos, blogs
were not mine. Thank you.
03 Victorio Edades
15 Female Artists

As always, enjoy this contemporary art magazine!

05 Carlos Francisco
17 Vicente Manansala

07 Originality in Art
19 Cesar Legaspi

09 21
Galo Ocampo Facts About Art

11 23
Romeo Tabuena David Hockney
 Every artist plays a different and necessary part in contributing to the overall health, devel-
Art Period opment, and well-being of our society. Creative thinkers and makers provide their commu-
INTRODUCTION nities with joy, interaction, and inspiration, but they also give thoughtful critique to our
political, economic and social systems, pushing communities to engage thoughtfully and
make steps toward social progress. From documenting human history to expressing collec-
Contemporary Arts tive emotions, artists from around the world tell us how they view their role as a creative
contributor.

The Importance of Being an Artist

in Today's Modern World
Art has been said to be ‘an ex-
pression of both hope and des-
pair’, which embodies all facets of
the human condition. The awe
inspiring cathedrals of Europe
rose from the ashes of plague, cru-
elty and despair. After which, the What Is the
forward thinking artists of the Re-
naissance era emerged in times of
ART records the
Artist’s Role
religious persecution and political
chaos.
footprint of all
peoples, cultures
in Society?
and the world
around us:

D i d y o u k n o w ? Asking artists around the world:

Art in all its forms, is the universal
language. It is the great equalizer
and thinking agent. Art reaches
across borders and connects the
world. Great Art stirs the imagina-
tion, causing us to pause, think
and reflect. Art allows our minds
to escape into childlike wonder.
Paintings are windows to the im-
agination.
The act of drawing and creating
Art can help us relieve stress?
Also, Art improves students in their
personal, intellectual, and social
development. It can be especially
beneficial for children from eco-
nomically disadvantaged conditions
or those who
struggle to
succeed in
school.
“What is your role as an artist in
society, your local community,
and the world at large?”
An artist has the ability to ‘feel strongly’ to be ‘sensitive’ to things and ex-
press this in the paint, gesture, or color. The artist ‘absorbs’ the atmosphere
of a place or the memory of a feeling. Sometimes, it’s a burden for the artist
to carry all this emotion to be so sensitive.
An Artist once said, “Everybody hurts. Everybody loves. Everybody hopes.
And, everybody dies. Mainly, art is about our own sense of mortality.”

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 “The Sketch”
Some of his
artworks

Victorio Edades Victorio Edades,

Born: 23 December 1895, Dagupan "Mora Girl”
Year 1950

A Filipino painter. He led the revolution-

ary Thirteen Moderns, who engaged their
classical compatriots in heated debate Oil on canvas,
over the nature and function of art. He 95.5x75.5 cm
was named a National Artist in 1976.

“The Builders” Year 1928 A finished product that rediscovered the

complexities of the human body and the This were figures and images done in
struggle for recognition. The nude builders muddy earth colors - yellow ochres and Victorio Edades,
and blocks against a dark background un- raw sienna accented by bold black dis- "Market Scene"
earthed an interesting note towards pro- torted contours whose proportions defy Year 1920
gress, that in spite of having peers around, classical measure. Edades choice of sub-
you are on your own in your work. ject caused quite a stir among his view- Oil on wood,
ers and critics. All these figures and im- 59.5x85 cm
"The Wrestlers" (1927) ages done in muddy earth colors - yel-
low ochres and raw sienna accented by
bold black distorted contours whose
proportions defy classical measure.
The Builders reconnect the viewers to Edades choice of subject caused quite a
their own emotions, their own flaws, stir among his viewers and critics. Victorio Edades,
their own wounds, and turned them to "Japanese Girl"
face their current society. This work of Back in Seattle, Washington in 1925, Year 1928
art brought the audience back to the Edades competed at the Annual Exhibi-
ground, back into their bodies, allowing tion of North American Artists where
them to fully experience his work without his entry,"The Sketch" won second prize
abandoning their own thoughts and feel- in 1927. This painting now hangs on Oil on canvas,
ings. The Builders exemplified the dark display at the Philippine National Muse- 46x38.5 cm
side of progress and industrialization that um in Manila.
would be built on the backs of anony-
mous men who will never receive gratifi-
cation, much less see or enter the palaces
"I learned techniques in painting, but my heart was with Filipinos.
they build. I saw nothing in America that aroused my emotions, I always
thought of the Philippines" - Victorio Edades

3 4

Carlos Francisco
Born: 4 November 1912, Angono
“First Mass at Limasawa” (1965)
Carlos V. Francisco popularly known as
Botong, was a muralist from Angono,
Rizal. He was a most distinguished practi-
tioner of mural painting for many decades
and best known for his historical pieces.
He was one of the first Filipino modern-
ists along with Galo Ocampo and Victorio
C. Edades who broke away from Fernan-
do Amorsolo's romanticism of Philippine
scenes.
“The Fiesta of Angono” (1960)
“Bayanihan” (1962)
Back in hundred years ago, this is how
people or neighborhood help a family if
they were going to move location. People
will gathered and start to help the family
who will going to move in other location
because as you can see, it is indeed beauti-
ful and; Universal, because even if you are
not Filipino, if you took a glance on this,
you could see the concept of “supporting/
helping”.
5 6
“Filipino Struggles Through
History” (1964)
“Progress through
Education” (1964) Some of his
artworks
“Camote Diggers “(1969)
This work was created as mural for a
Manila textbook publishing firm and it
depicts the arrival and spread of educa-
tion in the Philippines, dramatizing the “The Progress of Medicine in
importance of education. The lower left the Philippines“ (1953)
part of the part of the painting shows the
Malay people who came to the islands in
antiquity, and their sultan points to a
Catholic priest from the period of Span-
ish occupation who is shown blessing a
couple. The upper left depicts Christian
missionaries sent during the American
occupation of the islands.
In the center of the canvas, the father of
the modern Philippine independence
movement, Jose Rizal, is shown with his
mother, learning how to read and write. “Gethsemane” (1958)
The layering of this teaching of this
teaching scene with a large background
figure resembling Christ on the Cross
suggests the tragic fate of this national
hero. The edges of the canvas are filled
with the spirits of the dead, images of
ignorance and faithlessness, all being
banished by the spread of education.
“And to live we must go back to a bigger audience. For this it must have the power
to communicate and not repel. That is why I love to paint big murals for like a com-
poser, I can create a symphony from a history of our country or our own way of life.”
- Carlos Francisco

DEBATE
Is Originality in art overrated?
By Martin Gayford and Richard Cork
Martin Gayford is an art critic, art
"Yes".
historian, and author who has
written articles for a variety of
publications like The Spectator
and The Telegraph to name a few.
The cult of originality in He has written many books, in-
art neglects the fact
that much great art has
cluding A History of Pictures:

been made from working His Epic Life, and

within a tradition, argues The
House:
Yellow
Van
Martin Gayford. Gogh, Gauguin. If
you’re interested
Should artists bow to in art, travel, and
art history, his
tradition, or should they books are worth
Martin Gayford checking out.
break all the rules ?
Martin Gayford and Richard Cork
go head to head.

Richard Cork is an award-winning art

critic, historian, broadcaster and exhi- “No”.
bition curator.

His most recent show was Wild Thing:

Epstein, Gaudier-Brzeska and Gill, If art is to be life-changing,
held at the Royal Academy 2009-10. it must break the rules,
even if we find that unset-
Four volumes of his
critical writings on tling, says Richard Cork.
modern art were pub-
lished by Yale in 2003.
If you're interested in
art, travel, and art his-
tory, bis books are
worth
Richard Cork

7 8
 “River of Life” (1954)
Some of his
artworks

“Pounding rice” 1974)

Galo Ocampo
Born: 16 October 1913, Santa Rita

He was a Philippine artist and also the
first Filipino to study heraldry and was a
member of the International Institute of
Genealogy and Heraldry in Madrid.
Ocampo was born in Santa Rita, Pampan-
ga. In 1929, he studied Fine Arts at the
University of the Philippines in Manila.
“Brown Madonna” (1938)
Not content with a darker skin tone,
Ocampo pushed nationalism further by
having the Virgin Mary wear a tapis and
a baro instead of the flowing blue and
white garments of medieval cut usually
used on Western Madonnas.
The background of the “Brown Madon-
na” has Philippine plants like the ana-
haw adding rays to the Virgin’s halo. A
nipa hut and rice fields are suggested in
the background. The only foreign object
in the composition is a cactus in the
foreground. “Binabati kita, Maria” (the
Filipino translation of the Latin “Ave
Maria”) is inscribed on the Virgin’s
waist.
In the Philippines, yellow is a colour of
political power, and of hope as well as its
failures. This part of the exhibition
grounds the show to the country's current
socio-political climate, with works ad-
dressing working class struggles and issues
from the time of martial law under Mar-
cos and after his removal from power.
The picture depicts the inequality and
sacrifices at play. Here the colour yellow is
not glorious gold but bile, signifying hun-
ger and poverty. “Mindanao Dance”
(1913 - 1985)
“Prayer” (1975)

“Igorot Dance” (1953)

Galo B. Ocampo is best remembered for
the “Brown Madonna,” a historically im-
portant painting, but not his masterpiece.
He should be taken out of the dustbin of
Philippine art history and given his due as
a pioneering visual artist. “I painted the
‘Brown Madonna’ myself,” Ocampo said
in an interview, “getting the idea from DID YOU KNOW?
such classical artists like Raphael who used
local maidens as his model for the Madon- The 134 modern stained glass windows or known as the glass
na. So why not the Filipina for the Ma- windows at the Manila Cathedral were made by Galo Ocampo.
donna?”

9 10

Romeo Tabuena
Born: 22 August 1921, Iloilo City
Romeo Villalva Tabuena was a Filipino
painter and printmaker who was born in
Iloilo City. He studied architecture at the
Mapúa Institute of Technology in Manila
and painting at the University of the Phil-
ippines. He also studied at the Art Stu-
dents League of New York and at the
Académie de la Grande Chaumière in
Paris.
What is the main subject used
by R omeo Ta buena i n
his paintings?
Most of Tabuena's works were acrylics,
oils, and watercolors that featured a com-
bination of Filipino and Mexican cultural
themes, such as the everyday working
people, traditional housing, and native
plants.
Working with a wide range of subject
matter and materials, his work primarily
features figures pieced together from mut-
ed, monochromatic shapes. His aesthetic
is often one inspired by Cubism, with a
fractal-like geometric patterning imposed
on recognizable forms.
11
"Shepherd Riding a Carabao" (1964) Some of his
artworks
"Hombres De Mar” (1969)
"The Leyte Landing” (1948)
"Ruinas" (1956)
"Three villagers" (1960)
This artwork represents the battle of Phil-
ippines from against the imperial Japanese
army. The battle was launched to get a
liberation of the entire Philippine archipela- "Landscape with Nipa Huts" (1960) "Mexican Toys” (1959 )
go to end the Japanese occupation. This
painting for me shows the bravery of the
Filipino peoples to fight for on what they
deserve.
"Mujer Sentada" (1956)
FACTS ABOUT ROMEO TABUENA
1. He is Known for using luminous, elongated figure, genre and still-life
painting
2. His birthplace is from Southeast Asia and soon became a resident in
Mexico.
3. He stated that Cubism and Chinese vertical format painting greatly
influenced him.
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 Hernando Ocampo's art can be described
as humanist and oftentimes, Christian Some of his
elements such as nativities, crucifixions
and pentecosts are present in it.
artworks
"Tatlong Larawan" (1952)
"Abstract in Green" (1974)
Hernando Ocampo
Born: 22 August 1921, Iloilo City

A Filipino National Artist in the visual "Ina at Anak" (1951)

arts. He is also fictionist, a playwright and
editor. It has been said that he made the This presents Jesus Christ dying on the
most original Filipino paintings because cross in between the two sinners, and also
he was self taught. the piece where Fernando Amorsolo told
Hernando Ocampo that he is already a
painter . Untitled Artwork (1973)
He taught himself how to paint through
study and experiment, looking at the best As an Abstractionist
of the world's art through books and
magazines, exchanging views with friends
who had the edge of a formal line arts
training. During the 60s and 70s, his works show-
cases a paradoxical order.
His works are in subtlety gradating in
colors and the shapes are irregular.
He ramined fixated to human figures from
50s until the 70s.
"Plantsadora" (1945)
"A Sonata for September" (1973)
Untitled Artwork (1971)
"Break of Day" (1948)

This presents the hardwork of a Filipina

ironing men's top clothing and how hard
ifs was considering the material of the
clothing and the type of iron she was us-
ing. “The strongest influence on my paintings are the things
that I see around me everyday”
- Hernando Ocampo

13 14
 Presenting FEMALE ARTISTS
Issay Rodriguez
Issay Rodriguez’s
in Philippine Contemporary Art body of works re-
leases the artist
The anonymous group of feminist artists called the Guerilla Girls had declared that from the burden of
"Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art Sections are women, but 85% of the loyalty to materiality
nudes are female." The statement was released in a poster published by the group in and medium.
1989 as a critique to the lack of gender diversity among artists presented in museums
and galleries. Working with textile,
printmaking, painting,
Today, the works of women are more visible in art spaces as artists and audience alike and installation, the
become more conscious and critical in challenging the male gaze and gender biases. foundation of Ro-
Here’s a compilation of women artists in the Philippines whose works you should check driguez’s practice
out. rests on research,
communities, and
events that take
place in the concep-
tion of a project. Kate Grow
Krista Nogueras
Recently, the artist has been
identifying comparisons of
value through studying the
A young visual artist
life cycle of bees. Her work,
most known for her
“Doon”, featured augmented
watercolor works,
Krista Nogueras’ and virtual realities that allow
Kat Grow graduated
wrestles with the humans to simulate the strug-
from the University
paradoxical binaries that are heavily pre- gles of a bee.
of the Philippines majoring in Painting,
sent among the narratives of her works and has joined group exhibitions at Kai-
(suffering and redemption; misery and da Contemporary, Artery Art Space, and
pleasure; life and decay). Sining Kamalig, as well as displayed
works at the NCCA Gallery and the
Primarily working with clay, Nogueras Erehwon Art Center.
explores themes that thrive on feminini-
ty, sensuality, sexuality, and mental A multidisciplinary artist, Kat has taught
health. various workshops on charcoal, pastel,
ink, watercolor, and oil painting, and has
Her bewildering installation, “Lake Pre- won the Sculpture Category Grand Prize
dicament” (Artinformal, 2019) created Winner in the 46th Shell National Student
an environment that reflects how objects Art Competition. In 2014 she was award-
and images affect our pneuma; how the ed the Artery artist-run space Mentorship
human mind recognizes and, then, later Program. “Terraforming Rituals” is her
dissociates the body from our supposed first solo exhibition.
realities.

15 16
 "Juan Luna's Blood Compact"
Some of his
(1962)
artworks

“Mother and Child" (1967)

Vicente Manansala
Born: 22 January 1910, Macabebe

Having studied in Canada and Paris, the

Vicente Silva Manansala was a Filipino artist took up cubism and wove it into his
"Luksong Tinik" (1973) own style. Against a backdrop of Philip-
cubist painter and illustrator. He was a
pine society setting out on a new course
member of the prominent Cruz, Man-
as a modern nation, this piece can be seen
ansala, Lopez family clan. He is consid-
ered one of the 13 Moderns, a group of as an attempt to take a fresh look at histo-
modernists associated with Victorio ry through modernist painting.
Edades. "Tsismis" (1977)
"Madonna of the Slums" (1950)

"The Bird Seller" (1976)

"Man, Girl and Cock" (1953) "Ang Magbabayo" (1979)

This expresses sadness. The subject both

The Bird Seller depicts a scene of a Filipi-
no vendor of tropical birds, hunched un-
der the weight of a pole across his shoul-
ders. Birds that symbolize love and life
The work of Manansala was focused on
the betterment. The Bird Selleris an oil on
canvas painting that utilizes an artistic
style pioneered by Manansala himself-
transparent cubism. This art style involves
the superimposition of shapes and colors.
looking away implies that they were both
thinking maybe what to eat, where to go
or what to do next. It also portrays the
truth about all these people, they live in
poverty. Madonna wears ragged clothes
and her child having no clothes at all..
“So beauty for ms is absolute. Because there is really sn essence of
beauty, and the time does not matter”
- Vicente Manansala

17 18
 "Gadgets" (1947) Some of his
artworks

"Barinstorm" (1991)
Cesar Legaspi
Born: 2 April 1917, Tondo

A Filipino National Artist in painting. "Miners" (1979)

He was also an art director prior to going
full-time in his visual art practice in the
1960s. His early works, alongside those of
peer, Hernando Ocampo’s artworks are
Another important work, done in two
described as depictions of anguish and
versions reflects the increasing importance
dehumanization of beggars and laborers in
of machines in the post-war industrializa-
the city.
tion period, as well as what he perceived
was the insidious threat of human meta-
morphosing into machine. "Tree planting" (1949)
"The Guitarist" (1946)

"Workers" (1979)

A general symbolic meaning of a tree can

be interpreted as protection. Trees will
prevent erosion, provide oxygen, prevent
green house effect, and even a place of
business for the shade tree mechanic.

Workers is reflective of Legaspi's maturation as an artist, with these now favoured aesthet- “ I always wanted to keep on learning, and that’s one of the things
ics and principles, evident throughout the artist's oeuvre. The painting Workers is an ex-
ceptional piece by the artist, and establishes his role as a key figure in the emergence of he want young people to know.”
modern art in the Philippines. - Cesar legaspi

19 20
 #4
Artist Willard Wigan
once inhaled his own
work

5
#1
What’s that, you say? He inhaled a painting??
FACTS ABOUT ART The man must be enormous! Not quite. Wigan’s works
THAT WILL IMPRESS are ‘micro-sculptures’, so tiny they must be viewed
through a microscope. In creating his art, Wigan has
YOUR FRIENDS to slow his heartbeat and work between pulses. The
work he inhaled was Alice, from Alice in Wonderland,
but apparently she was even better when remade.

#2 #5
Art used to be an
Olympic event

#3 The Olympics wasn’t al-

ways about abs and dop-
ing scandals. The found-
er of the modern Games, the Baron Pierre de Couber-
tin, was enamoured with the idea of the true Olympi-
an being a talented artist and sportsperson. Thanks
Painting the Mona Lisa’s lips took to him, between 1912 and 1948 medals were given out
Leonardo da Vinci 12 years! Only for sporting-inspired masterpieces of architecture,
the lips! music, painting, sculpture and literature.

21 22
 THE ARTIST THE ART

Who is Pop Artist,

David Hockney?
David Hockney, an English paint-
er, draftsman, printmaker, stage
designer, and photographer. As an
important contributor to the pop
art movement of the 1960s, he is
considered one of the most influ-
ential British artists of the 20th
century.

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