CONTEMPORARY

PHILIPPINE ARTS
LESSON 3
CONCEPT MAP: IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING ART

ART
 WHY STUDY ART?
• Studying art teaches you to distinguish and understand the
individual differences we all have that in part make us unique. It
makes us sensitive to others.

• Studying and creating art help us realize that there are many ways
of dealing and solving an obstacle.

• This is an important skill in real world because it teaches us to look

for creative ways to solve a difficulty. It nurtures imagination and
in turn, promotes originality and innovativeness which are skills
valued in almost all business today.

Studying and creating art help develop our decision and problem-solving skills.
WHY DO ARTIST CREATE ART?
✔RECOGNITION
Create art in hopes of gaining fame and fortune
✔WORKSHIP
Glorify their creator
✔IMPULSE
Driven by impulse. It is their passion, and nothing makes happier
than doing their chosen art.
✔SELF-EXPRESSION
They express ideas and emotions that might not be adequately
expressed through words.
Reflection of each individual artist’s personality and experiences,
making each artwork unique.
ART AND
THE
PILIPINO
FILIPINO INTEGRAL PART HAS THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES:
• Art is INGRAINED WITH BEAUTY AND FUNCTION. Art is not made for art's sake
but is instead made with considerations with other factors such as use, beliefs, ethics,
social, spiritual and environmental concerns.
• It is HOLISTIC IN NATURE. A balance should be made between all other disciplines
to achieve the ultimate expression.
• Art is PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. It is considered as a separate activity. Arts exist
whenever there is human activity.
• Everybody is an ARTIST, and everybody is given an equal chance to contribute and
participate.
• FREEDOM in the technique and the use of mediums, which gives flexibility and
opportunity to join in the artistic expression.
• Art makes use of the available resources; it should not be limited by budget constraints.
• The creative process is given more importance rather than the finished work. It is
because more people are in participation during the process rather than the finished work
FILIPINO ART
TENDENCIES
• BROADEST ASPECT TECHNIQUE
• MULTIPLE FOCAL POINTS
• HIGHLY EXPRESSIVE
• POLYCHROMATIC
• MAXIMALISM
• MULTIFUNCTIONAL
• PHYTHMIC PATTERNS
 BROADEST
ASPECT
TECHNIQUE
• Filipino artworks often try to show the many
sides of an object, depicting how Filipinos
think it looks like rather than how it is actually
seen.
• This is why artist often objects showing the
biggest and the most familiar angle of an object
for grater recognition.
 MULTIPLE
FOCAL POINTS
• Related with the first tendency, many artist
use multiple focal points in their
composition in efforts to try to represent the
sentiments of the different member of
society.

• Example; Late cartoonist Larry Acala,

whose works show multiple scenes and
events at one point in time.
 HIGHLY
EXPRESSIVE
• Being born in a very societal
environment, Filipino are more
emphatic spontaneous, and
emotional.

• This tendency holds especially true

for the performing arts, where
Filipino excel. In the visual arts this
is carried over through the colorful
artworks
POLYCHROMA
TIC
Filipino love color, decorative arts
and crafts. This is why costumes
and festivals are bathed in rich,
vibrant spectrum of colors
MAXIMALISM
• Filipino art has an inclination to fill up space
with forms and ornamentation.
• This is said to be rooted in the
expressiveness of the Filipinos.
• A good example of the Filipinos proclivity to
decorate can be seen in the public transport
vehicle, the jeepney. Decoration that range
from airbrushed portraits to scenic
landscapes fill up the inside and the exterior
of the "dyip"
MULTIFUNCTIONAL
• Creating works that has various uses strengthen
the sense of community with people of different
fascination and requirements.

• This is one of the given reasons as to the

popularity of mixed media and installation art
with many contemporary Filipino artists. These
installations and mediums are often combined
with indigenous materials and local objects.
RHYTHMIC PATTERNS
• One of the most recognizable tendencies in
Filipino art is the stylized and measured
organization of patterns and forms.

• It is almost like the physical manifestation of

the Filipino artists' psyche, individually
present and different but in harmonious
movement with the rest of the forms.
 ACTIVITY
• Choose an artwork and
analyze the art tendencies that
can be seen in that particular
work
CONTEMPORARY
VISUAL ARTS
FINE ARTS
 PAINTINGS AND
•
ILLUSTRATIONS
Two-dimensional form of art that showcases artistic
expression created on a flat surface.
• Images are made by applying pigment on a prepared
surface using typically one or a combination of the
following tools; brush, palette knife, spray, finger etc
• media used for painting: oil, acrylic, watercolor, poster
color, pastel, ink, etc.
PAINTINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE
PHILIPPINES
• result of the Spanish colonization
• were used to evangelize and spread Christianity
throughout the archipelago
• as time passed, painters and illustrators started to take on
more secular subjects and themes
• contemporary forms of paintings and illustrations in the
Philippines generally stem from our interaction with the
Americans
Painting themes
✔ Religious Themes
✔ Historical Themes
✔ Portraiture painting
✔ Still life
✔ Landscape
✔ Nude
✔ Genres
Religious themes
• Primary subject for the artwork during the
Spanish colonial times.
• now mostly seen in church murals and in
paintings with social commentaries like that of
Joey Velasco and Renato Habulan
Historical themes
• It can be seen in the works of Angono, Rizal native
Carlos “ Butong” V. Francisco (1912-1969) whose
masterpiece Filipino Struggles though History
depict Manila historical events.

• Other Historical Theme works include Blood

Compact, First Mass at Limasawa etc
Portraiture
• Paintings are used to commemorate personalities and are seen in
many formal institutions such as government offices.
• started with the rise of Ilustrados during the Spanish colonial times
• was and has been a symbolism of one's rise to power and wealth
• some artists who started off with portraiture are: Antipas Delotavo
and Rafael del Casal
• Official portraitures of the Philippine President
Still life
• Work of art that portrays inanimate object.
• It was traditionally composed of a basket or bowl of fruits
and flowers in vases on a table.
• One of the most notable and earliest still life artists was
Paz Paterno
• contemporary still life artists: Ang Kiukok and Vicente
Manansala
Landscape
• Depict the beauty of the outdoor. It can be that of the natural environment such as of the
countryside and other rural scenery, including seascape which focuses on the imaginary
of bodies of water.
• Some landscape highlight the hustle and bustle of the city streets and scenes through
urban landscape.
• many early landscape artists made use of the academic style under the guidance of
Fernando Amorsolo (e.g. Martino Abellana who became a mentor to generations of
Visayan artists and is referred to as the “Dean of Cebuano Painters”)
• Diosdado M. Lorenzo veered away from the realistic scenery depictions to a more
modernist take on landscape paintings.
• Manuel Valdemor, transformed his hometown into simple geometric forms and imbibed
it with a festive vibe
• Prudencio Lamarrosa was inspired by the Amburayan River to create his surreal
landscape
Nude
• As subject of paintings in the Philippines, was rare
before the 20th Century but has since been an
accepted and popular subject in the Philippine
contemporary visual arts.
• Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) and his
characteristics Dalagang Bukid.
• almost all contemporary artists have dabbled in
nudes including Ben Cabrera, Cesar Legaspi,
Romulo Olazo, and Vicente Manansala
Genres
• Are paintings whose themes showcase people doing everyday activities and
chores.
• Example Philippine History is the Boxer Codex (1950), which Illustrate the
different social classes and attires of the different inhabitants of the country
at that time.
• 19th Century, miniature genre painting were very popular as souvenir to
tourist.
• Some genre contemporary Artist includes:
1. The Manila-born Mauro Malang Santos known for his collection for fiesta-
inspired paintings.
2. The artist from Nueva Ecija, Mario Parial is praised for his colorful genre
paintings that features his distinct figurative style.
ACTIVITY
• Pick a partner.
• in an oslo paper/any media of the same size, create a
portrait of your partner
• you may use pens, charcoal pencils, paint, water
color, oil pastel or any other tool to your liking
• you may also use any technique of your choosing so
long as the idea of the portrait remains (except
graphic art)