Module 1Q1

CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ARTS FROM THE

REGIONS
Philippine Artist and their Contributions to Contemporary Arts
Part 2

Module overview
This section will introduce and show the Philippine artist both modern/contemporary and traditional, who
are recipients of the order of the National Artist of the Philippines and the National Living Treasure
Award, and this will discuss their significant contributions of each artist in the enrichment and
preservation of the Philippine Art

TOPIC LESSON 3:National Artist and their contributions to Particulars Areas

This lesson will discuss the National Artists of the Philippines and their noteworthy
OVERVIEW contributions to their area of specializations

MELC Week 4- Explains Filipino Artist’s roles and identify their contribution to
contemporary arts.

LESSON LEARINGS After the lesson, the students should be Able to :

OBJECTIVES  Understand order of the National Artist
 Identify National Artists and their specific contributions in the Philippine Art,
 Understand the roles of the artist in the development, preservation , and
promotion of the Philippine Arts,
 Familiarize themselves with the different art forms, elements and principles
employed by the different artist

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Engaging with Arts
Focus Questions (Formative assessment)
1. Do you know any of the Filipino artist?
2. Are you familiar with their artworks?

Pre-test (Formative assessment)

Reminder: This is to test your background knowledge about the National Artist from the
different fields of Arts. If you are enrolled in the online modality you can submit it online by
sending the copy of your activity in my Gmail account riveraneric@mseuf.edu.ph but if your
enrolled in the Modular Learning Modality you can print the activity you have and your
parents wll be submitting it here in school, but if you are enrolled in flexible learning you can
choose between the two options.
Direction: Write the term on the blank that is being defined/described in each sentences.
Choose your answer from the terms listed inside the box.

Fernando Amorsolo
National Artist Award
Levi Celerio
National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA)
200,000.00
150, 000.00

_____________________1. It was created by virtue of President Proclamation No. 001 dated

April 27, 1972 to give appropriate recognition and prestige to
Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding
contributions to Philippine arts and letters.
_____________________2. They are task to gives awards to those notable contemporary artist
and the most prestigious recognition of is the Order of the National
Artist Award (Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining)
______________________3. He was tagged as the very first awardee of Naational Artist Title
______________________4. He was known as the National Artist for music and recipient of
Guinness World of Records because aside from being a good
musician using violin he is proficient also play leaf.
_____________________5. It is the minimum cash award receive for living awardees of
National Artist award.
5.

4.

3.
2.

1.
150,00.00
CELERIO
LEVI
AMORSOLO
FERNANDO
NCCA
Artist Award
National

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 Philippine Artists and their Contributions to Contemporary Arts
Many exceptional Filipino artist emerge as the arts in the country progresses. These artist aid in
promoting arts in and out of the Philippines through their artworks and their contribution to their
specific fields. The government recognizes this remarkable inputs in the development of the
Philippine Art. Through the national commission for culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) it gives awards to those notable contemporary artist and
the most prestigious recognition of is the Order of the National Artist Award (Orden ng
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) (Magalona, Zoleta,&Arlos, 2017)
ORDER OF NATIONAL ARTIST
This order of National Artist is the highest national honor and recognition conferred to a selected
artist who has contributed much to the development and promotion of Philippine Arts, whether
in the fields of Music, Dance Theater, Visual Arts, Literature Film and Architecture. This is one
of the highest Honors in the country which implicates the ideals in humanism and artistic
expression in the Philippines.( Magalona, Zoleta,&Arlos, 2017)
On Becoming a National Artist
The order of national Artist also known as Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, was
created by virtue of President Proclamation No. 001 dated April 27, 1972 to give appropriate
recognition and prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding
contributions to Philippine arts and letters the first award was conferred posthumously later that
year on Fernando Amorsolo.
The deserving individual should be recommended by the (CCP) as well as the (NCCA). Acting
as the order of National Artist Award Secretariat (ONAA) shall plan, organize and implement
the order of National Artist Award. It shall enlist the support and cooperation of private sector
experts from the various field of art to ensure that the awards are implemented in a successful
and impartial manner. The proclaimed National Artists are awarded a Grand Collar as a symbol
of their title. (Magalona, Zoleta,&Arlos, 2017)

Figure 13. Grand

collar, Source: http://patef-update.org/resources/NC2016/Part4/2-ArtsDesign2.Perez.pdf
The honor is given during a ceremony at the Malacañang Palace and granted by the Philippine President
who gives symbol of the request as this acknowledgment depends on the innovativeness, creative mind,
specialized capability with the furthest extent remarkably communicating Filipino culture, customs just
as their goals

The symbol of the request for the National Artists is involved a Grand neckline made of silver blame and
bronze demonstrating round connections introducing expressions of the human experience, and an
eight-pointed conventionalized sunburst suspended from a sampaguita wreath in green and white
veneer. An emblem in the inside is shaded, red, white, and blue, like the Philippine banner. Found in it
also is the "KKK which uncovers the CCP's witticism: "Katotohanan, Kabutihan, at Kagandahan"

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(Magalona, Zoleta,&Arlos, 2017)
As reiterated by the Commission, the Order of National Artist aims to recognize the
following:
1. The Filipino artist who made significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the
country.
2. Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest level and to promote creative expression as
a significant to the development of a national cultural identity.
3. Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives to their words to forge new paths and
directions for future generations of Filipino artists.
The rewards of being conferred as a National Artist:
1. The rank and the title of national artist, as proclaimed by the president of the Philippines
2. The National Artist gold-plated medallion minted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and
citation.
3. Lifetime emolument, material and physical benefits such as minimum cash award of
(200,000.00) for living awardees; minimum cash award of (150,000.00), for posthumous
awardees; life insurance coverage for awardees who are still insurable; a state funeral
benefit not exceeding (P500, 000.00)
The criteria for the Selection of a National Artist.
1. Living artists who are natural-born Filipino Citizens at the time of nomination, as well as
those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at
the time of their death. Filipinos who have lost and re-acquired Filipino citizenship,
through dual citizenship status for at least the minimum period of five years shall be
eligible for nomination.
2. Artist who through the content form of their works have contributed in building a Filipino
sense of nationhood.
3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus, earning
distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists.
4. Artist who have made a generous and big impact collection of works and additionally
reliably showed greatness in the act of their specialty from hence improving aesthetic
articulation or style.
5. Artist who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious national and/or international
recognition; critical acclaim and/or review of their works and finally respect and esteem
from peers.
The Procedure in being nominated as a Candidate for National Artist.
1. Candidates may be nominated under one or more of the following categories:
a. Dance – choreography, direction and/or performance.
b. Music – composition, direction, and/or performance.
c. Theatre- direction, performance and/or production design.
d. Visual arts- painting, sculpture printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed
media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging.

2. Nominations for the order of National Artists may be submitted by government and non-
government cultural organization and educational institutions, as well as private
foundations and councils.
3. Members of the special Research Groups, as well as agencies attached to the NCCA and
CCP shall not submit nominations.

4. NCCA and CCP board members and consultants and NCCA and CCP officers and staff
and NCCA committee members are automatically disqualified from being nominated.

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 5. Nominations shall be accepted only when these are submitted in writing and with proper
supporting documentation which includes a cover letter; a duly accomplished nomination
form; a detailed curriculum vitae of the nominees; a list of the nominee’s significant
works; portfolio of the nominees’ art works and copies of published reviews.
National Artist for Dance
1. Francisca Reyes Aquino

Early in 1920’s Aquino researched about the different

folk dances in the Philippines and it made her the “Folk
Dance Pioneer” of the country. The tittle of her research
was Philippine Dances and Games. It contains the
Philippines unrecorded celebrations, Folk Dances,
rituals and games. Way back 1940’s, the Bureau of
Education where she served as the supervisor of physical education, she is kind enough because
her works distributed for the teaching of folk dances in the schools as mean to promote our
cultural heritage to the Filipino Students. She also published numerous books about Philippine
dances. Sayseng Sandagan (2016)
2. Ramon Obusan

Obusan promoted the Philippine Ethic Dances and

performed them with respect and aunthenticity. He made
a researched about the different Philippine Ethnic Groups
throughout the country to perfectly perform their dances.
His presentations tries to demonstrate the ethnic dances
and its original routine and harmony. Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, outreach works, and tours
and inspired many Filipinos to embrace the Filipino culture. Some of Obusan’s presentation
Kayaw’68, Kayaw’74, Vamos a Belen Series, Noon sa Amin, Kasaysayan ng Lahi, Maynila, and
the Rare and Unpublished Dances. Sayseng Sandagan (2016)
3. Alice Reyes

The name Alice Reyes has become a significant part of

Philippine dance parlance. As a dancer, choreographer,
teacher and director, she has made a lasting impact on the
development and promotion of contemporary dance in the
Philippines. Her dance legacy is evident in the dance companies, teachers,
choreographers and the exciting Filipino modern dance repertoire of our country today.
Reyes’ dance training started at an early age with classical ballet under the tutelage of Rosalia
Merino Santos. She subsequently trained in folk dance under the Bayanihan Philippine National
Dance Company and pursued modern dance and jazz education and training in the United States.
Since then, during a professional dance career that spanned over two decades, her innovative
artistic vision, firm leadership and passion for dance have made a lasting mark on Philippine
dance.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of Alice Reyes to Philippine dance is the development of a
distinctly Filipino modern dance idiom. Utilizing inherently Filipino materials and subject
matters expressed through a combination of movements and styles from Philippine indigenous
dance, modern dance and classical ballet she has successfully created a contemporary dance
language that is uniquely Filipino. From her early masterpiece Amada to the modern dance
classic Itim-Asu, to her last major work Bayanihan Remembered which she staged for Ballet

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Philippines, she utilized this idiom to promote unique facets of Philippine arts, culture and
heritage. Alice Reyes National Artist for dance (n.d) retrieved from http://gwhs-
stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-
philippines/alice-reyes/

4. LEONOR OROSA GOQUINGCO

Also known as the “Trailblazer Mothern of
Philippine Theater Dance” and she was hail as
the “Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics”
she contributred to the progress of the Philippine
dance by developing the distinct productions
using balletic Folkloric and Asia styles. For over
50 years, she proficiently produced numerous
unique and original choreographies. Sayseng
Sandagan (2016)

5. LUCRECIA REYES-URTULA

She studied the country’s folk and ethic dances for

four decades and developed ethnic choreographies
applying her findings. She is also the dance director
of Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company for three
decades who choreographed various dances for the
group. These dances harvested overwhelming
praises and good review from critics from different
parts of the world. Among her major works are cultural dances namely singkil, vinta, tgabili, pag
diwata, and salisid. . Sayseng Sandagan (2016)

Her orchtral music include Love Songs, Legend of the Sarimanok, Ang Pamana, Philippine
Scenes, Her Son, Jose, Sisa and chamber music like Awit ng mga Awit Psalms, Fantaisie on a 4-
Note Theme, and East Meets Jazz Ethnika. Lucresia R. Kasilag National Artist for dance (n.d)

National Artist for Theater

6. DAISY H. AVELLANA

She was called the First Lady of the Philippine

Theater because of her amazingly magnificent
performances in numerous classic Filipino and
International theatre productions and plays. These
are some of her most significant were she became a
part also: Othello, Macbeth in BLACK, Tatarin, portrait of the artist as Filipino, Diego silang,
walang sugat, etc. she also made popularized the Philippine theatre and dramatic arts by
founding the Baranggay Theater Guild with her husband which is also a National Artist
Lamberto Avellana. They utilize the radio and television to make theatre and dramatic arts are
known to the Filipinos. (Sandangan, 2006)

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7. ROLANDO S. TINIO

Rolando S. Tinio, playwright, thespian, poet, teacher,

critic, and translator marked his career with prolific artistic
productions. He was an outstanding stage director because
of his numerous and remarkable productions and notable
scripts. He drama. established and became the
administrator of the Ateneo experimental Theater. He also
Handled Teatro Pilipino where he revived the sarswela and other traditional Filipino drama and
introduced contemporary western, aside from being a National Artist fir Theater he was hailed
also as National Artist for Literature. (Sandangan, 2006)
Aside from his collections of poetry (Sitsit sa Kuliglig, Dunung – Dunungan, Kristal na
Uniberso, A Trick of Mirrors) among his works were the following: film scripts for Now and
Forever, Gamitin Mo Ako, Bayad Puri and Milagros; sarswelas Ang Mestisa, Ako, Ang Kiri,
Ana Maria; the komedya Orosman at Zafira; and Larawan, the musical.
Rolando S.. Tinio National Artist for Theater (n.d

8. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero

Aside from being a theatre teacher and artist, he

mentored and trained many performing artist for 35
years. He also made introduced and popularized
Philippine theatre to different parts of the country by
establishing the most known UP mobile theatre, this
theatre has delivered a thousands of performances for almost 19 years to many campuses in the
Philippines. His major works include wanted: A chaperon, Condemned, perhaps, in Unity, Three
rats, the Forsaken House, Frustrations, etc. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)

9. HONORATA “ATANG” DELA RAMA

She started her theatrical career in early age. At the age

of seven she already became a part of different Spanish
zarzuelas. And from then on she played many roles in
numerous productions and she became popular and
hailed as the Queen of Kundiman. She always
performed kundiman and Filipino songs for indigenous
communities all over the country. She believes that
kundiman and sarswelas mirrors he Filipino people. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)

10. Salvador F. Bernal

He was an exceptional Theater Designer who designed

hundreds of theatre productions for a span of four
decades. The superior quality of his designs made him in
comparable to other designers. He used local materials in
producing creative and unique sets and costumes.
Bernal is also a professor at the University of the

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 Philippines Diliman and Ateneo De Manila, he established the Philippine Association of Theatre
Designers and Technicians. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)

11. Severino Montano

Hailed as the Titan of the Philippine Theater, he took

the lead in promoting Legitimate Theater in the
country. Montano as the top calibre playwright, theatre
artist, and director who took up degrees in and outside
the country to master theatre arts and later on to share
his learnings and competencies to the younger Filipino generation. Montano became the dean of
the Philippine Normal College where he established and founded the Arena Theater year 1953.
The arena theatre served the grassroots and promoted drama to the masses through the school
community theaters. He developed graduate programs for the theatre arts in PNC, and oit
produced equally talented artist like National Artist Lino Broka and Rolando Tinio. (Sayseng &
Sandangan, 2016)

National Artist for Visual Arts

12. Fernando Amorsolo

The Grand old Man of the Philippine Art.

Amorsolo was the first National Artist of the
country. Lighting is the most prominent element of
Amorsolo’s Painting. His knownk for his
trademark which is backlighting technique it made
the subjects of his painting seem to glow. Also
aside from the application of light pieces, his works of art were also notable for reflecting the
artistoic and natural Heritage of the Philippines. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)
Among others, his major works include the following: Maiden in a Stream(1921)-GSIS
collection; El Ciego (1928)-Central Bank of the Philippines collection; Dalagang Bukid (1936) –
Club Filipino collection; The Mestiza (1943) – National Museum of the Philippines
collection; Planting Rice (1946)-UCPB collection; Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958)-
Ayala Museum Collection.
Fernando Amorsolo The country had its First National Artist (n.d)
13. Hernando R. Ocampo

Hernando R. Ocampo, a self-taught painter, was a

leading member of the pre-war Thirteen Moderns, the
group that charted the course of modern art in the
Philippines. His works provided an understanding and
awareness of the harsh social realities in the country
immediately after the Second World War and
contributed significantly to the rise of the nationalist spirit in the post-war era. It was,
however, his abstract works that left an indelible mark on Philippine modern art. His
canvases evoked the lush Philippine landscape, its flora and fauna, under the sun and rain
in fierce and bold colors. He also played a pivotal role in sustaining the Philippine Art
Gallery, the country’s first. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)

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Ocampo’s acknowledged masterpiece Genesis served as the basis of the curtain design of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater. His other major works include Ina ng
Balon, Calvary, Slum Dwellers, Nude with Candle and Flower, Man and Carabao, Angel’s
Kiss, Palayok at Kalan, Ancestors,Isda at Mangga, The Resurrection, Fifty-three
“Q”, Backdrop, Fiesta.

Hernando Ocampo National Artist for Visual Arts (n.d)

14. BENEDICTO ‘BENCAB’ CABRERA

Benedicto R. Cabrera, *who signs his
paintings “Bencab,” upheld the primacy of
drawing over the decorative color. Bencab
started his career in the mid-sixties as a lyrical
expressionist. His solitary figures of
scavengers emerging from a dark landscape
were piercing stabs at the social conscience of
a people long inured to poverty and
dereliction. Bencab, who was born in Malabon, has christened the emblematic scavenger
figure “Sabel.” For Bencab, Sabel is a melancholic symbol of dislocation, despair and
isolation–the personification of human dignity threatened by life’s vicissitudes, and the vast
inequities of Philippine society.
Bencab’s exploration of form, finding his way out of the late neo-realism and high abstraction of
the sixties to be able to reconsider the potency of figurative expression had held out vital options
for Philippine art in the Martial Law years in the seventies through the contemporary era.
Benedicto ‘BenCab’ Cabrera National Artist for Visual Arts (n.d)

15. Carlos “Botong” Francisco,

A muralist who lives in Angono Rizal, for about three

decades, Francisco painted different Murals showing the
historical past of the Philippines. Most of his Subject
defines the life in his hometown and highlight the lives
of those farmers and Fishermen. The significant
elements in Francisco’s painting were their lines and
shapes that seem like cut-outs and their lush tropical
colores.

His other major works include the following: Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of
Limahong, Serenade, Muslim Betrothal, Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The
Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo.
Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco National Artist for Visual Arts (n.d)
16. Cesar Legaspi

One of the members of Thirteen Moderns, who

promoted and introduced modern arts in the
country. These artists pioneered Philippine
Modernism, he was a neo-realist whose
important contribution to art was refinement of
cubism in the Philippine context, especially he
indigenized cubism and produced artworks showing local temperaments.

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Among his works are Gadgets I, Gadgets II, Diggers, Idols of the Third
Eye, Facade, Ovary, Flora and Fauna, Triptych, Flight, Bayanihan, Struggle,Avenging
Figure, Turning Point, Peace, The Survivor, The Ritual.
Cesar Legaspi National Artist for Visual Arts (n.d)
17. Abdul Asia Imao

A visual artist from Sulu who proficiently articulated

the Muslim Culture and Art in the country. He also
preserved and promoted the Philippine Indigenous
art. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016) Through his
works, the indigenous ukkil, sarimanok and naga
motifs have been popularized and instilled in the
consciousness of the Filipino nation and other peoples as original Filipino creations.
His U.P. art education introduced him to Filipino masters like Guillermo Tolentino and
Napoleon Abueva, who were among his mentors. With his large-scale sculptures and monuments
of Muslim and regional heroes and leaders gracing selected sites from Batanes to Tawi-tawi,
Imao has helped develop among cultural groups trust and confidence necessary for the building
of a more just and humane society.
Selected works:
Industry Brass Mural, Philippine National Bank, San Fernando, La Union
Mural Relief on Filmmaking, Manila City Hall
Industrial Mural, Central Bank of the Philippines, San Fernando, La Union
Sulu Warriors (statues of Panglima Unaid and Captain Abdurahim Imao), 6 ft., Sulu Provincial
Capitol
Abdulmari Asia Imao Artist for Visual Arts (n.d)

18. Guillermo Estrella Tolentino

A master sculptor who introduced classical sculpture

in the country. His classical style, are still
identifiable Filipino. He was best known for
creating monuments and bust figures of Philippine
Heroes. He was also the one who created the UP
Oblation which became the representation of the
academic freedom of the university (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016). His works include the bronze
figures of President Quezon at Quezon Memorial, life-size busts of Jose Rizal at UP and UE,
marble statue of Ramon Magsaysay in GSIS Building; granolithics of heroic statues representing
education, medicine, forestry, veterinary science, fine arts and music at UP.
He also designed the gold and bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award and did the seal
of the Republic of the Philippines.
Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (2015, June 2).

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19. Arturo Luz,

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An abstractionist known for his minimalist paintings and sculptures which exude sophisticated
simplicity. He then started doing his art at the age of 17 without prior training. He also studied
abroad in US and Europe, to further improve his skills in art making. (Sayseng & Sandangan,
2016)
Among his other significant paintings are Bagong Taon, Vendador de Flores, Skipping
Rope, Candle Vendors, Procession, Self-Portrait, Night Glows,Grand Finale, Cities of the
Past, Imaginary Landscapes. His mural painting Black and White is displayed in the lobby of the
CCP’s Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater). His sculpture of a stainless steel cube is
located in front of the Benguet Mining Corporation Building in Pasig.
Arturo Luz National artist for Visual arts(2015, June 2)

20. Federico Aguilar Alcuaz

Federico Aguilar y Alcuaz, who signed his

works as Aguilar Alcuaz was an artist of
voluminous output. He is known mainly for his
gestural paintings in acrylic and oil, as well as
sketches in ink, watercolor and pencil. He was
also a sculptor of note and has rendered
abstract and figurative works in ceramics, tapestries and even in relief sculptures made of paper
and mixed media, which he simply calls “Alcuazaics.” The preference to use his maternal name
was more for practical reasons; Alcuaz was rarer than the name Aguilar, and thus ensured better
recall; it was also simpler to drop the customary y between the two names.
His works are highly favored, not only for its studied refinement and European flair, but also for
the ease and pleasure conveyed by his choice of light, color and composition; all of which add up
to scenes which are always quite playful but never cluttered. His love for classical music is also
apparent in this constant fluidity.
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (2015, June 2).

21. Napoleon Abueva

He is known for being the father of Modern

Philippine Scupture, who made use of wide
range of materials in his works. He uses
hand-wood, stones and metals. He is also the
sculptor who started the trend in mixing
different materials, like metal and stone n
making sculpture. (Sayseng & Sandangan,
2016)
In the 80’s, Abueva put up a one-man show at the Philippine Center, New York. His works have
been installed in different museums here and abroad, such as The Sculpture at the United Nations
headquarters in New York City.
Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of Judas (1955),Thirty Pieces of
Silver, The Transfiguration (1979), Eternal Garden Memorial Park, UP Gateway (1967), Nine
Muses (1994), UP Faculty Center, Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila Hotel, the bronze figure
of Teodoro M. Kalaw in front of National Library, and murals in marble at the National Heroes
Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.
Napoleon Abueva (2015, June 2).

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22. Jeremias Elizalde Navarro

He was a painter and sculptor who created

both abstract and figure paintings using
oil and water color. The prominent
elements in his abstract woks were its
geometric froms spontaneous storkes,
his works are insired by Balinese art and
culture. He is also popular for his
masks, carved in hardwood, with
combine features of human and animal. J. Elizalde Navarro sampler includes his ’50s and ’60s
fiction illustrations for This Week of the Manila Chronicle, and the rotund, India-ink figurative
drawings for Lydia Arguilla’s storybook, Juan Tamad. Three of his major mixed media works
are I’m Sorry Jesus, I Can’t Attend Christmas This
Year (1965), and his Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969: Ateneo Art Gallery collection), and A
Flying Contraption for Mr. Icarus (1984: Lopez Museum).
J. Elizalde Navarro (2015, June 2).

23. Francisco Conching

Francisco Coching, acknowledged as

the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators” and son
of noted Tagalog novelist and comics
illustrator Gregorio Coching, was a
master storyteller – in images and in
print. His illustrations and novels were
products of that happy combination of fertile imagination, a love of storytelling, and fine
draftsmanship. He synthesized images and stories informing Philippine folk and popular
imagination of culture. His career spanned four decades.Starting his career in 1934, he was a
central force in the formation of the popular art form of comics. He was a part of the golden age
of the Filipino comics in the 50’s and 60’s. Until his early retirement in 1973, Coching
mesmerized the comics-reading public as well as his fellow artists, cartoonists and writers.
The source of his imagery can be traced to the Philippine culture from the 19th century to the
1960s. His works reflected the dynamics brought about by the racial and class conflict in
Philippine colonial society in the 19th century, a theme that continued to be dealt with for a long
time in Philippine cinema. He valorized the indigenous, untrammeled Filipino in Lapu-
Lapu and Sagisag ng Lahing Pilipino, and created the types that affirm the native sense of self in
his Malay heroes of stunning physique. His women are beautiful and gentle, but at the same time
can be warrior-like, as in Marabini (Marahas na Binibini) or the strong seductive, modern
women of his comics in the 50s and 60s.
There is myth and fantasy, too, featuring the grotesque characters, vampire bats, shriveled
witches, as in Haring Ulopong. Yet, Coching grounded his works too in the experience of war
during the Japanese occupation, he was a guerilla of the Kamagong Unit, Las Pinas branch of the
ROTC hunters in the Philippines. He also drew from the popular post-war culture of the 50s, as
seen in Movie Fan. At this point, his settings and characters became more urbane, and the
narratives he weaved scanned the changing times and mores, as in Pusakal, Talipandas, Gigolo,
and Maldita.
Francisco Coching (2015, June 2).
24. Victorio Edades

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 “Father of Modern Philippine Painting”.
And also he is one of the “Triumvirate”
who introduced modernism in Philippine
Visual Art. Edades shocked many
Filipinos upon his arrival after studying
from abroad because of his exhibit due to
non-conventional style of painting. He
used dark and sad hues in his painting instead. (Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016) It was during this
time that he introduced a liberal arts program that offers subjects as art history and foreign
languages that will lead to a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. This development brought about a
first in Philippine education since art schools then were vocational schools.
It was also the time that Edades invited Carlos “Botong” Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo to
become professor artists for the university. The three, who would later be known as the
formidable “Triumvirate”, led the growth of mural painting in the country. Finally retiring from
teaching at age 70, the university conferred on Edades the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris
causa, for being an outstanding “visionary, teacher and artist.”
mong his works are The Sketch, The Artist and the Model, Portrait of the Professor, Japanese
Girl, Mother and Daughter, The Wrestlers, and Poinsettia Girl.
Victorio Edades (2015, June 2).

25. Ang Kiukok

He was known for his highly
expressionistic works which contains
powerful meanings. Angst, anguish and
anger are the glaring emotions contained
and content in his cubistic works as these
were created in the time of Martial Law.
(Sayseng & Sandangan, 2016)
He crystallized in vivid, cubistic figures
the terror and angst of the times. Shaped in the furnace of the political turmoil of those times,
Ang Kiukok pursued an expression imbued with nationalist fervor and sociological agenda.
Some of his works include Geometric Landscape (1969); Pieta, which won for him the bronze
medal in the 1st International Art Exhibition held in Saigon (1962); and the Seated
Figure (1979), auctioned at Sotheby’s in Singapore.
His works can be found in many major art collections, among them the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, National Historical Museum of Taipei, and the National Museum in Singapore.
Ang Kiukok died on May 9, 2005
Ang Kiukok (2015, June 2)

26. Jose Joya

An abstractionist known for his “gestural

paintings” the prominent elements of
his artworks include their color harmony
inspired by the country’s landscapes.
He espoused the value of kinetic energy
and spontaneity in painting which

Contemporary Philippine Arts Quarter 1Neric Rivera

became significant artistic values in Philippine art. His paintings clearly show his mastery of
‘gestural paintings’ where paint is applied intuitively and spontaneously, in broad brush strokes,
using brushes or spatula or is directly squeezed from the tube and splashed across the canvas.
His 1958 landmark painting Granadean Arabesque,a work on canvas big enough to be called a
mural, features swipes and gobs of impasto and sand. The choice of Joya to represent the
Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennial itself represents a high peak in the rise of the modern art
in the country.
Joya also led the way for younger artists in bringing out the potentials of multimedia. He
designed and painted on ceramic vessels, plates and tiles, and stimulated regional workshops. He
also did work in the graphic arts, particularly in printmaking.
His legacy is undeniably a large body of work of consistent excellence which has won the
admiration of artists both in the local and international scene. Among them are his
compositions Beethoven Listening to the Blues, and Space Transfiguration, and other works
like Hills of Nikko, Abstraction, Dimension of Fear, Naiad, Torogan, Cityscape.
Jose Joya (2015, June 2)

27. Vicente Manansala

A cubist and painter who painted with a wide

range of subject matters from the happy and
bountiful rural to poverty-stricken urban set-
ups. He contributed modernism in Philippine
Visual arts by his style transparent cubism.

He trained at Paris and at Otis School of

Drawing in Los Angeles. Manansala
believes that the beauty of art is in the
process, in the moment of doing a particular painting, closely associating it with the act of
making love. “The climax is just when it’s really finished.”
Manansala’s works include A Cluster of Nipa Hut, San Francisco Del Monte,Banaklaot, I
Believe in God, Market Venders, Madonna of the Slums, Still Life with Green Guitar, Via
Crucis, Whirr, Nude.
Vicenete Manansala (2015, June 2)

Here are video’s for you to know more about the different National Artist from different fields.
The first video is a vlog about national artist for music you can click the link below for you to
watch the video or visit my youtube channel Neric Kineme Rivera.
(Reminder if you are enrolled in Modular Modality, I have prepared you a soft copy of all the
videos below)

Contemporary Philippine Arts Quarter 1Neric Rivera

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iXsXOPXuuY&t=314s

Here’s the link were you can find National Artist for Literature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC7JSkpYZjg

National Artist in Film and Broadcasting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjnHZSSEgQY&t=7s

National Artist in Architecture and Allied Arts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUNMHeOBJqU&t=59s

Contemporary Philippine Arts Quarter 1Neric Rivera

Contemporary Philippine Arts Quarter 1Neric Rivera