CHAPTER 3: PHILIPPINE

CONTEMPORARY ART
 3.1 THE FILIPINO ARTIST
The present approach to the arts raises new
questions about the role of the artist in
Philippine society. In the past, the artist was very
much part of community life. Through time, the
artist’s role has come to mean creating--- to
create something that uplift the spirit,
something aesthetically pleasing and
entertaining.
• The painter Fernando Amorsolo romanticized
life, reminding Filipinos of tranquil rural
landscapes. Carlos “Botong” Francisco drew
and pained genre paintings inspired by the life
of his own, Angono, in Rizal.
 As a rule, the Filipino artist's role is four-fold: the
personal, the social, the physical, and the
immaterial
• First, the artist's expresses what he or she
feels. Then, the artist expresses what he or
she sees around him or her. Also, the artist
finds a need to create something useful but
also pleasing to look at. Examples are the
burnay or clay poetry of the Ilocos region and
the banig or woven mas of the Visayas and
Mindanao regions.
• Finally, he artist gives form to the immaterial,
the hidden truths of the universe and the
spiritual force that inhabitants the world.
Because of these roles, the artist is able to
refine us and to elevate our sense of what is
beautiful and sublime.
• The late Nick Joaquin, a Manileno novelist,
playwright, journalist, historian and essayist is
a good example. He started writing under the
pen name of Quijano de Manila for he
Philippine Free Press Magazine, chronicled the
diverse heritage of the Philippines, and gave
his opinion about the culture of his time for
decades
• The artist is a crusader, attempting to sway the
viewer op his or her side. In he pas decades, here
has been a rise in national fervor. The Filipino
artist has become a social critic, exposing the
inequalities of life, the effects of urbanization,
globalization, and neocolonialism, evident in
most contemporary works today. The artist has
also become an advocate for what he or she
believes in. He or she creates an artistic
controversy, thereby becoming an agent of
change.
• The Filipino artist is versatile. He or she
creates, not only to realize his or her personal
fulfillment, but also to express a point of view.
He or she is a storyteller, narrating everyday
life or extraordinary events; presenting
cultures in different lights; and recording and
preserving history for future generations to
see.