PHILIPPINE ARTS IN THE ASPECT OF LIFE

1. Art and Environment – the varied topography of the Philippines continue to influence the form of art
Filipinos create.
Examples:
A. Bahay Kubo – vernacular architect adapted to the Philippine climate
B. Torogan – a huge, stately, towering house with a single large room
– it is where the Muslim chief resides
– built by the community and the slaves for the King in 17th Century
– for sleeping and official meetings, social gatherings and religious rituals
C. Bahay na Bato – is a type of building originated during the Spanish Colonial Period
(ex. Intramorous)
D. Ifugao’s Payo (Rice Terrace) – basis of their cultural identity
– was built with minimal equipment, largely done bare hands
E. The Hagabi of the Ifugaos – long wooden (stone) bench placed under the eaves in the stone-
paved yard that surrounds the house
F. Badjao Houseboat – sea gypsies of the Philippines cruise along the islands in the Sulu
archipelago
G. Ivatan House – is a unique vernacular architecture developed in the province of Batanes
– built to protect them (Ivatans) against typhoon

2. Art and Spirituality – arts produced from the 16th to the 19th centuries were predominantly religious in
nature
Examples:
 Retablos and Bell Castling
 Furniture, wall painting, priestly vestments
 Flagellants and Crucifixion Rites
 Palm Sunday
 Pahiyas Festival, Quezon Province
 Black Nazarene Festival
 Islamic faith predisposed Muslim art toward ornament designs since the Koran forbids
anthropomorphic figures, only allowed Sarimanok and Misteri NAGA
 Ukkil – technique used in Mindanao, Sulu Peninsula
– decorative design used in carving, basketing, etc.
 Bul-ul – carved wooden figure used to guard the rice crops (male and female)
 Philippine Mythology – mangkukulam, aswang, tiyanak, matanda sa punso

3. Art and Everyday Life – clothing and accessories, everyday transportation(kalesa), ice cream cart
4. Art and Technology – images for digital art context, website
Examples:
 Period Movies – history (ex. Heneral Luna)
 Animation, Vlogging – RPG Metanoia
5. Art and Politics – political issues which government does not address fond expression in various
medium to protest.
Examples:
 Color Red – widely used in protest art to signify resilience and the need for societal change
 Effigy – representation of a specific person in the form of sculpture or other 3D medium.

CONTEMPORARY ART
- the art of today, artist lining in the 21st Century
- provides and opportunity to reflect on a contemporary society, and the issues relevant to
ourselves and the world around us

Today’s artists work in and respond to a global environment

- culturally diverse
- technologically advancing
- multifaceted
Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenge traditional
boundaries and defy easy definition.
CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ART
- art produced by Filipino artists from different regions in the Philippines in the 21st Century
- reflect cultural diversity
- technological advancement
- make use of a wide range of mediums

ELEMENTS OF CONTEMPORARY ART

1. Appropriation – artists creates new work of art by faking pre-existing images from other sources and
modifies and or incorporates those images with a new one.
2. Performance – refers to an artwork created by or presented to an audience
– interpreting various ordinary human activities to socially relevant themes like poverty
and war.
3. Hybridity – blending of new/unusual materials with traditional mediums
– usage of unconventional materials
Examples:
 Junk art
 Miniature sculptures using crayons
 Coffee for painting (Sunshine Plata)
4. Space – use space for creating the illusion of space or depth upon a flat surface
– use the effects of one-point perspective and/or light and shadow to create this illusion
Examples:
 flash mobs
 art installation in malls and parks
5. Technology – usage of technology for creating and disseminating art

SUBJECT MATTER
- the topic or subject represented in a debate, exposition or work of art
- not confined to representation of human figures and landscapes
- if an artwork is an experiment on techniques, then the subject matter is the technique itself
For conceptual art, the viewer has to engage in thinking and exploring the meaning of art
o Example: Roberto “Bobby” Rodriguez Chabet (Father of Philippine Conceptual Arts)
– “Creatures of Memory”
- the viewers are guided by written explanation
o Leslie De Chaves – “Buntong Hininga”
o Plet Bolipata – “Cat Dolls” (human figure, cat head), “Cain and Abel”
Common Subjects in Contemporary Arts:
 Children
 Woman
 Environment

CONTEMPORARY ART MOVEMENTS AND STYLES

1. Abstract Expressionism – depends on the emotion of the artist
– figures maybe heavy in lines and colors without solid mass
Example: “Whatever Lingers” – Fredrick Agustin
2. Kinetic Art – sculptures that moves with the wind or is powered by a machine or electricity
Example: “Mammal Species” – Arnel Borja
3. Optical Art (Op Art) – uses lines or images repeatedly to create an optical illusion
Examples:
o “Prism” – Jaime Roque
o Interactive 3D Art Museum (Art in the Island, Cubao, Quezon City)
4. Environmental Art – earthworks, art using nature
– involves the artistic creation, manipulation of space that may enclose its audience
5. Feminist Art – emerged from concerns of female artists expressed through art
– tackles issues of identity, sexuality, gender roles equality, and the ways females are
treated in the society
Example: “Tres Marias” – Lydia Velasco
6. Minimalism – seeks to take away what’s unnecessary and leaving only what’s essential
Example: “Wildflower Series II” – Constancio Bernardo
7. Video Art – images that are recorded through a video and viewed through television, computer, etc
 8. Graffiti Aer – drawing, inscription or sketch done hastily (sometimes illicily) on a wall or other surface
made to be seen by the public.
– may express underlying social and political messages
9. Found Objects – taking something that people view as useless and using it in a unique way to make an
artwork
10. Large Scale Arts – one of the most important movements within the contemporary art
– artworks larger in sizes and proportions, found in buildings etc

It is possible to combine all the art styles and movements in one artwork because contemporary
art can be anything.

PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ART STYLES AND MOVEMENTS

1. Abstraction
Example: “Architectural Abstract” – Aris Bagtas
2. Expressionism – can use elements of abstraction or weak abstraction to create emotional effect
– does not necessarily abandon all figural or representational elements, creates
emotional effects
Example: “Day Dreaming” – Jun Martinez
3. Social Realism
Examples:
o “Agimat” – Emmanuel Borlogan
o “Upong Hari” – Neil Defeo
4. Mix Media Art – an artwork more than one medium has been employed
Example: “The Philippine Flag” – Yvette Co
5. Community and Environmental Art
Examples:
o La Trinidad Benguet
o Mandala making – used by advocates to help the community heal from calamities
INTERACTIVE ART MAKING
o Visual Art and Performance Art
o Film
o Theater Performances
o Music

ART MEDIUMS AND TECHNIQUES

“Kwadra” – Ohm David Installation Art

MEDIUM – material or the substance out of which work is made

Nature of Art Forms as follows:
o Sculptor – uses metal, wood, stone, clay, and glass
o Architect – wood, bamboo, bricks, stone, concrete, and various building materials
o Painter – uses pigments (e.g. watercolor, oil, tempera, etc.) on a usually flat ground (wood, canvas,
paper, stone wall)
o Printmaker – uses ink painted or transferred on a surface (wood, metal plates, or silk screen) that is in
keeping with a duplicating or reproducing process
o Dancer – body and its movements
o Musician – uses sound and instruments including the human voice
o Theater Artist – integrates all arts and uses the stage, production design, performance elements, and
script to enable the visual, musical, dance
o Photographer and Film maker – use the camera to record the outside world (uses cinematographic
camera)
o Writer of a novel, poetry, nonfiction and fiction – uses words
o Designer, Performance Artist, and Installation Artist Combine – use of the range of materials above

TECHNIQUE – manner in which artists use and manipulate materials to achieve the desired formal effect, and
communicate the desired concept
– involves tools and technology ranging from the most traditional to the most contemporary

1. Collage – piece of art made by sticking various different materials (photographs, pieces of paper/fabric)
2. Decollage – opposite of collage; created by cutting, treating away or removing pieces of an original
image
 3. Digital Arts – artistic work of practices that uses digital technology
– placed under new art media
4. Print Making – process of making artworks by painting, normally in the paper then transfer
– uses metal plates, usually copper or zinc or polymer plates for engraving or etching
5. Decalcomania – process of applying gouache to paper or glass then transferring a reversal of that image
onto canvas or other flat materials
6. Decoupage – adhering cut-outs of paper and the coating these with one or more coats or transparent
7. Frottage – rubbing with crayon on a piece of paper which has been placed over an object (leaves,
woods, coin, etc.)
8. Montage – pictorial image is juxtaposed or placed overlapping to make another picture or design
9. Trapunto – canvasses are padded, sewn, and often filled with sequins, beads, buttons, shells and other
things.
Example: Pacita Abad – uses the mirrors, bit of glass, swatches precious textile and other things

MEDIUMS AND TECHNIQUES THE FILIPINO WAY

1. Adelaida Paterno; Human Hair; “Rural Scene with Child”
2. Julian Jumalon; Butterfly Wings; “Sabungero”
3. Waty Garcia Lozano; Print-ad tear sheet; “House is on stilts”
4. Zorro David; Match Sticks
5. Edd Aragon; Invisible paint, light
6. Alvaro Jimenz; Dried leaves (commonly Bauhinia plant)
7. Elito Circa Villaflor; Human Blood
8. Jay Dalupang; The Human Body (body painting)
9. Gregory Raymond Halili; Shells
10. Sunshine Plata; Coffee
11. Ralvin C. Dizon; Ballpoint Pen
12. Environmental Watercolorists; Dirty water pigments
13. Andre Manguba; Pasta, Ketchup (food art)