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Different Contemporary Art Techniques and
Performance Practices
I. Local materials used as applied to contemporary art
A. for two-dimensional media
i. Paper
Paper is the most popular surface used for 2D
artwork. It is an organic material from the pulp of wood
or other fibrous substances
(en.oxforddictionaries.com).
It is manufactured in sheets of various sizes,
thickness, textures, and colors. There are different
types of paper for drawing and painting.
ii. Canvas
It is a firm closely woven cloth usually of linen,
hemp, or cotton backed or framed as a surface of
painting (www.merriam-webster.com).
iii. Wood
This support is known as hardboard which is a board
or panel that is made from wood. It offers a more rigid
surface that results in less cracking in the paint.
Masonite, plywood, and laminated boards are ideal for
support in the two-dimensional art (Panisan, et. al.,
2017).
iv. Charcoal
It is an organic drawing material made from burnt
wood. There are two (2) types of charcoals used in
drawing that is available in the market: vine charcoal
and compressed charcoal.
Vine charcoals come in sticks and are easy to blend
and erase. Compressed charcoal is made up of lose
charcoal pressed into a stick. It creates much darker
black than vine charcoal and comes in square sticks or
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in pencil form.
v. Pigments and Binders
Pigment refers to any of a group of compounds that
are intensely colored and are used to color other
materials (Britannica.com). It may be organic
(plants), natural (vegetables, insects, minerals, clay),
inorganic (rocks, metallic oxides), and synthetic
(derived from coal tars and petrochemicals).
Binder is the material that holds together the grains
of pigment and allows it to stick to the painting
surface. Egg yolks mixed with water, linseed oil, and
wax, are some examples of it.
B. for three-dimensional media
i. Wood
a. Molave – It is a medium-size tree that is classified
as a hardwood. Aside from its wood, Molave has
medicinal purpose. Being one of the hardest of
Philippine woods, it is resistant to fungal, termite,
and beetle attacks.
b. Acacia – It is a hardwood found in abundance in
the Philippines. Its dense and durable wood that has
a high oil content is resistant to the elements,
rotting, and insects.
c. Langka wood – It is a hardwood from the jackfruit
tree. It is found locally and is best known for its
fruit.
d. Ipil – It is a fast-growing hardwood that grows up
to six (6) meters high. Its shiny black-brown
colored wood is durable for furniture and other
architectural construction.
e. Kamagong – It is a tall tree that reaches from about
25-32 meters high. Locally known as Mabolo tree,
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its dark wood is highly suitable for carvings and is
in demand for furniture, cabinets, tool handles,
violins, and drawing instruments.
f. Palmwood – It is a hardwood substitute known as
“coconut lumber.” It has a fibrous grain and known
for its resilience. The color tones of the wood range
from dark brown to light gold. The coconut shell
from its fruit can also be used to create beautiful
and functional artworks.
g. Bamboo – It is a giant, fast-growing grass that has
woody stems. The use of bamboo is particularly
dependent on its age: a 6 to 9-month-old bamboo is
ideal for making baskets; 2 to 3 years is for making
baskets, and the 3 to 6-year-old bamboo is best for
construction.
ii. Metal
a. Steel – It is an alloy of iron and 1% carbon. Inox
steel or commonly “stainless steel” is popular in
contemporary art works because it is corrosion
resistant and doesn’t rust or stain in water.
b. Bronze – It is an alloy consisting primarily of
copper with about 12% tin and often with the
addition of other metals such as aluminum,
manganese, nickel, or zinc.
c. Brass – It is an alloy made of copper and zinc. It is
more malleable than bronze and has a lower
melting point.
iii. Stone
a. Marble – It is a hard, crystalline, metamorphic
form of limestone with color that is capable of
being polished. The Romblon province is abundant
in marble. There are at least two dozen varieties
and approximately 158 different shades of this
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stone in that place.
b. Alabaster – It is a fine-grained, translucent form of
gypsum, used for carving beautiful artworks. The
Alabaster is generally white and delicately shaded
and translucent.
iv. Clay
It is an earthly material that is composed of minerals
rich in alumina, silica, and water. A type of it, the
terracotta clay, is normally used for sculpture, and pots,
and is unique for its brownish orange color.
v. Cement
It is a powdery substance made with calcite lime and
clay. It is mixed with water to form mortar or mixed
with sand, gravel, and water to make concrete.
Sculptures using cement can be made using more than
one technique or a combination of techniques. This
medium can be poured into a cast or can be modeled
onto wires and metal rods.
vi. Glass
It is a hard brittle substance that is transparent and
translucent. Glass is made by fusing sand, soda lime,
and other ingredients and then slowly cooled.
vii. Sand
It is composed of very tine, loose particles of rock
that cover beaches, deserts, etc., and is used in mortar,
glass, abrasive, foundry molds and sand sculptures
(www.merriam-webster.com).
viii. Food
In contemporary art, the media can also be edible.
In fast-growing world of culinary arts, local fruits, and
vegetables are used as means of artistic expression.
Melons, watermelons, pineapples, cucumber, carrots,
and potato are only some of the locally favorite items
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for carving (Panisan, et. al., 2017).
ix. Shell
a. Capiz – It is a whitish, translucent shell found in
the coastal waters of the Philippines. Once
harvested, the shells are processed through
cleaning, polishing, and cutting into shapes. It is
made into wind chimes, tiles, lamp shades, picture
frames, jewelry boxes, and Christmas lanterns.
b. Puka – It came from cone shells that have been
tossed, tumbled in the surf and sand over time until
all that remains is the cupped top. The natural color
ranges from white to beige and tan.
c. Paua – It comes from a large abalone whose shell
is used to make jewelry.
d. Blacklip – It comes from various marine creatures
whose shell have a black lip edge.
e. Sigay – It is a popular shell harvested to make
necklaces, bracelets, and curtains.
f. Troca- It is a spiral or conical shells used for fancy
accessories. The exterior may be smooth, glossy,
or sculptured. These shells have pearly interiors.
x. Fiber
It is used for making textiles or fabrics. In the
Philippines, fibers for making textile usually comes
from plants such as pinya, abaca, banana, cotton, and
buri. In basket, bag, or hat weaving, pandan (screw
pine), nito, coconut, and buri leaves are used.
II. Traditional techniques, styles, and practices applied to
contemporary creation
A. Contemporary Painting
1. The Style of Objective accuracy
In this style, the artist can do art by being a
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detached observer or by employing a selective eye.
As a detached observer, the artwork is presented as
if it is made by a reporter who is observing the
subject. The artist presents himself/herself as
somebody who selects, arranges, and represents
reality without his/her identity being revealed
On the other hand, an artist must know the subject
as well as see its surface characteristics while
employing a selective eye (Ramirez, 2017).
2. The Style of Formal order
There are two (2) qualities of formal order that
should be kept in mind in doing an artwork:
intellectual order, and biomorphic order. In cubism,
a painter uses an intellectual order in analyzing and
presenting the geometric forms. Vicente
Manansala’s “The Bird Seller” painting exhibits this
through transparent cubism – a technique where parts
of the figures intertwine and overlap in creative
ways.
Source: http://www.artnet.com/artists/vicente-silva-manansala/the-bird-seller-
2sNVI08ysANwsvQuerd5bA2
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The second quality is more applicable to sculpture
and architecture. Biomorphism is present when the
patterns and shapes in an artwork is reminiscent of
nature and living organisms (tate.org.uk). It can be
seen in National Artist Jose Maria Zaragoza’s design
of Union Church that has a roof patterned to anahaw
fan.
Source: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/226058/tale-of-2-zaragoza-buildings/
3. The Style of Emotion
Themes of emotion, feeling, and romance are
common in painting. In an artwork, darkness and
chaos represents anxiety and despair, movement of
energy and visual representation of sun, sky, air, and
water represents joy and celebration, and
romanticism is used when the artist wishes to
disclose a personal feeling in relation to love
(Feldman 1981 cited by Ramirez 2017).
4. The Style of Fantasy
Fantastic art manipulates illusion and reality
(Feldman 1981 cited by Ramirez 2017). These works
may be objectively accurate or subjectively distorted
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and originates in both logical and irrational mental
process. The National Artist Abdulmari Imao’s
Sarimamok is an example of fantastic art. It is the
legendary bird of the Maranao people in Mindanao.
It is done in abstraction of geometric forms and its
movement is apparent in the flowing lines and
geometric colors.
Source: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-and-culture/78793-
abdulmari-imao-national-artist-death-farewell-tribute
B. Contemporary Sculpture
1. Modeling
Modeled sculptures are created when a soft or
malleable material is built using an armature and then
shaped to create a form.
2. Carving
It involves cutting or chipping away a shape from
a mass of stone, wood, or other hard material. The
carver subtracts non-essential material to form an
image from a block of stone, wood, or metal.
3. Casting
It is made through a material that is poured and
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hardened in a mold, which contains a hollow cavity
of the desired shape.
4. Assembling
It is the process of gathering and putting together
different materials including found objects to create
an assembled sculpture. It uses adhesive, welding,
and other chemicals for adhesion. An example is
Lirio Salvador’s “Sandata ng Espasyo 4” – a guitar
assemblage made of objects such as bicycle gear,
spoon, and other kitchen utensils.
D. Contemporary Performing Arts
Source: http://drawingroomgallery.com/artist/lirio-salvador/
C. Installation Art
It uses the combination of techniques in painting, and
sculpture and different mediums like ready-mades, text,
found objects, assemblage, and drawing assembled
together to interact with space or art objects formed by
the artist.
Installation art is usually dismantled after the
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exhibition. It is temporary and most of the time, cannot
be stored. Shown below is the book installation art of
Miler Lagos titled “Discarded Romance.”
Source: http://m.inquirer.net/lifestyle/167219
1. Film
The new wave of Filipino directors “tended
towards exposing relevant social topics or
hybridizing Filipino topics with Western techniques
(David, 1995).” Lino Brocka, Peque Gallaga,
Ishmael Bernal, Celso Ad Castillo, and Marilou Diaz
Abaya, directed films that portrayed revolt, labor
unionism, social ostracism, and class division.
Aside from that, alternative or independent
filmmakers such as Raymond Red, Manny Reyes,
and Nick Deocampo joined the scene. Alternative
filmmakers are products of film schools where
students are exposed to art films without the
compromises of commercial filmmaking. They
turned into joining international festivals because
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their films were seen as too unconventional by local
industries.
2. Performance Art
Artists in performance art used the basic elements
of time, space, the performer’s body, and the
audience who will randomly witness their
performance. This type of art is not restricted in the
four corners of a theater, it can take place anytime
and anywhere.
Its purpose is to convey the message through
action, spoken words, or sounds imitating something
that is essential to the idea they are communicating
(Ramirez 2017).
Shown below is an image of Nicolas Aca’s street
performance, together with volunteer students from
Capitol University Dance Troupe and Cagayan de
Oro Arts Guild, dedicated to the second anniversary
of typhoon Yolanda.
Source:
http://madpandanews.blogspot.com/2014/10/sa-pagbabalik-tanaw-kay-
yolanda.html
3. Contemporary Dance
It is a performing art that involves rhythmic body
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movement within given space, choreographed based
on musical beat. The contemporary dance styles that
have been popular in the Philippines were disco and
hip-hop.
a. Contemporary Dancing Styles
i. Disco dancing
It is a dance style popularized during the
1970s. It is characterized by hip and pelvic
movement and raising of arms to the beat of
the music.
ii. Hip-hop
It refers to street dance styles performed to
hip-hop music. It includes dance styles such
as breaking, locking, and popping.
4. Contemporary Philippine Music
Contemporary Philippine Music is characterized
by its use of new genres such as OPM, Pop, Emo,
Post-hardcore, and Post-rock. It is characterized by
improvisation, and its content can vary from
philosophical, social commentary, personal, or
propaganda (Ramirez, 2017).
References:
Biomorphic. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/b/biomorphic
on August 4, 2017.
Panisan, W., Gazzingan, L., Samar, G., & Boongaling, C (2017). Contemporary
Philippine Arts from the Regions. Malabon: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
Paper. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/paper on
August 3, 2017.
Perez, A. (2016). Philippine Contemporary Arts. Quezon City: Brilliant Creations
Publishing Inc.
Pigment. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/technology/pigment on
August 3, 2017.
Ramirez, V. (2016). Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions. Quezon City:
Vibal Group Inc.
Sand. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sand on
August 3, 2017.
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