B/G#

St. Matthew College Score :

High School Department
philippine CONTEMPORARY
ARTS expressions and experimentations
Name : ____________________________________ Grade & Section :___________________________
Date : _____________________________________ Prepared By : Ms. Susana D. Caranto

Learning Outcomes

1. Define art;
2. Identify the elements of art and principles of design in an artwork; and
3. Critique an artwork based on form, content, and context in which it was produced.

CONTEMPORARY ART
Contemporary Art
• It is the art that springs out of the present-day events and passions of the society.
• It is the newest form of art, amusing people from the middle to the late 20th century up to
this very minute.
Modernism

Postmodernism

Contemporary Art

Contemporary Art
• Contemporary art is produced by the 21st century artists living in the postmodern age.
• It functions in a global society that is culturally diverse and technology-oriented.
• For one thing, it provides instances for people to reflect and respond to contemporary social
concerns and issues pertinent to themselves and to the world.
• For another thing, it is a combination of mixed styles, materials, and techniques, and concepts
that challenges tradition. It has gone into the mainstream and into the communities.
• It has become a collaborative process and the audience plays an active role in reacting and
constructing meaning about the work of art.
Why do we have to study contemporary arts?
• It is good to study contemporary arts, because you are surrounded by art in our everyday life, in
mass media, and even in social media.
• You have to understand what they mean and how they affect your life.
• Contemporary art is essential to you not only because it belongs to your time, but it also serves
as a form of expression of the people's present feelings and longings.
 • Contemporary works of art are the means through which the artists of today communicate their
sentiments.

Contemporary Art vs. Modern Art

• We have learned about the movements, the artists, and the other by-products of the late 1800s
up to the mid-20th century. We discovered that breaking away from the traditional art styles
started in this period.
• The divergence of the modern art from the norms of its former periods is similar to the
unorthodox movement of contemporary art. In fact, the two periods are similar in so many ways
that people oftentimes have mistakenly interchanged them.

• This is understandable; after all, the definition of the words "contemporary" and "modern" is
even the same. In this regard, what makes modern art and contemporary art different from
each other?
• Perhaps the main distinction between modern art and contemporary art is the time period in
which they have existed. Modern art emerged in the late 1800s and continued to grow for more
or less a century. It slowly waned in the middle to late 20th century when postmodernism came
to light.
• Postmodernism then gave birth to what we know now as contemporary art. This art exists up to
this day, and no one knows when a new period will arrive to veil contemporary art in its shadow
• Modern art developed as styles and techniques, whereas contemporary means "with the times"
(con tempo). Thus, contemporary art refers to the art of the present time.
• However, many believe that contemporary art is more socially conscious than modern art,
because more social issues have even realized in the recent decades. Examples of the most
popular contemporary subjects are feminism, globalization, migration, and environmental
concerns.

Diaspora by Antipas Delotavo. 2007. Oil on canvas

The Philippines is a gold mine of art.
 When the rest of the world opened up to the idea of postmodernism in the late 1900s,
Philippines also welcomed the birth of contemporary art. Its first appearance happened after the second
world war and again during the martial law era in the 1970s. Writers broke the laws by writing screams
of protest against the government. Filmmakers used their expertise in joining the bandwagon of
nationalistic artists.
In the late 1980s, postmodernism appeared in the Philippines. The postmodernists sought to
contradict several aspects and ideas of modernism that had emerged earlier. They believed that artists
should no longer try to create something "new." All they needed to do was to "borrow, combine,
explore" what is already existing to produce something new.

FEATURES OF POSTMODERNISM

PASTICHE

Postmodernism has several features. The most common feature is pastiche, which refers to
the blurring of division between fine art and commercial art, high culture and low culture, and highbrow
and lowbrow. It also means artistic, musical, and literary works that come from diverse sources -- a
mixture, a medley of different ideas.

There is a sense of fragmentation -- for instance, a narrative does not have to be complete; it
can be open-ended. There is also an interweaving web of stories which creates paradoxes. However,
note that pastiche celebrates the artwork from which it derives inspiration and does not mock it.

Pastiche of Leanardo da Vinci's

Vitruvian Man
 BRICOLAGE

Another feature of postmodernism is bricolage or assemblage popularly used in visual arts. It

refers to a creation or construction that uses a diverse range of materials -- from mass-produced to
recovered objects. A simplification of collage, bricolage can also pertain to the use of words as the
central artistic element. In the literary arts, it is the use of varied sources of writing.

The use of words as the central artistic element. In the literary arts, it is the use of varied
sources of writing.

Educated by Rocky Cajigan. 2015. Box Construction (Photo courtesy of Blanc Gallery)

INSTALLATION

Another popular feature includes installation art. It is an art made indoors or outdoors where a
particular space is transformed into a three-dimensional artwork. It is made of diverse materials, using
realistic or abstract style. It is a conceptual art that presents diverse themes, but it is usually temporary.

Shoal by Jose Tence Ruiz, in collaboration with Danilo Ilag-ilag and Jeremy Guiab et al. 2015.
Other features of postmodernism are the recycling of past styles and themes, putting them in a modern-
day context; breaking up barriers between low and pop cultures, fine and high arts, highbrow and
lowbrow. New themes in all the art forms consist of certain socially conscious issues which have arisen
with this period: feminism, consumerism, multiculturalism, globalization, health awareness, migration,
and so on.

BIG IDEA

Philippine contemporary art is a part of culture. As a reader, listener, and viewer, you gain a deeper
knowledge about what the contemporary Filipino artists do or did, and why and how they do or have
done it. In doing so, you get to develop appreciation and gratitude for their artistic endeavors.

References:

Perez, A. (2016) Philippine Contemporary Arts: Expressions and Experimentations. Quezon City. Brilliant
Creations Publishing, Inc.Joya, J. (2018, June 9). Abstract. Mutualart.com; Jose Joya | Abstract (1976) |
MutualArt. https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Abstract/622089DD4536FED2Pastiche Practices.
(2015, April 14). Nicole Stevens; Nicole Stevens.
https://nkscomm265.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/pastiche-practices/Museumified - Blanc Gallery.
(2015, September 8). Blanc Gallery. http://blanc.ph/exhibits/gallery-1/museumified-2/Franz Sorilla IV.
(2015). The Philippines Ties A String Around the World. Tatler Asia.
https://www.tatlerasia.com/culture/arts/the-philippines-ties-a-string-around-the-world