MODULE 11: ASIAN ART
process of printmaking that involves a wooden
GEC 006 | CE22S4
Art in Asia
Asian art is diverse and rich, spanning
thousands of years and dozens of countries. It
is known for its ritual bronzes, beautiful
ceramics, jades, textiles, poetic painted
landscapes, garden design, elaborate goldwork,
extraordinary temples, shrines, pagodas and
stupas, woodblock prints, shadow puppets, and
the highest art form in East Asian art—
calligraphy.
Today the impact of Asia on contemporary art is
immense. Since the 1990s, Asian contemporary
art has grown exponentially due to a
mushrooming of regional biennials and
triennials, new contemporary art museums, and
the international recognition of artists. Some of
the notable Asian artists are from China. India,
Japan, and the Philippines.
Japan
Japanese art includes a wide range of styles
and means of expression, including ceramics,
sculpture, painting, and calligraphy on silk and
paper, the ukiyo-e woodblock prints, origami,
and, more recently, manga with a myriad of
other types of artwork. Historically, Japan has
been subject to sudden invasions of new ideas
followed by long periods of contact minimized
with the outside world. Over time the Japanese
have developed the ability to absorb, imitate,
and finally assimilate those elements of foreign
culture that complemented their aesthetic
preferences.
Haniwa
➔ (“clay cylinder” or “circle of clay” in
Japanese) are large hollow, earthenware
funerary objects found in Japan. Massive
quantities of haniwa—many nearly life
sized—were carefully placed on top of
colossal, mounded tombs, known as kofun
(“old tomb” in Japanese).
➔ Japanese ceramics are influenced by the
Koreans and the Chinese. One of these
ceramic figures and ornaments is the
Haniwa. Haniwa is designed using clay,
and it is commonly placed on burial spots.
Ukiyo-e
Japanese Art "Woodblock printing" is the
slab where ink is placed. The principle of
movement is shown in most creations.
Woodblock prints begin a rich history that
eventually lead up to the current anime we see
today. “The Floating World” was a series based
on the lives of Kabuki actors, and celebrities.
Cultural traditions and beliefs help create the
Anime characters we see.
The ancient legend of Moon Rabbit was the
inspiration for the modern anime star, Mina
Tsukishiro, the powerful leader of the lunar-
based Rabbit force.
Other Facts About Japanese Art (Caslib et
al., 2018)
● It is one of the first forms of Japanese art
that found its way across the seas to
Europe an America; its influence is known
as Japonism, which profoundly influenced
many Western artists and movements such
as Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and
Modernism.
● Shintoism, a native religion of Japan that
adheres to beliefs like being one with nature
and embracing the idea of polytheism, did
not use art to communicate its belief. When
Buddhism was integral to Japanese culture,
art like sculptures of Buddha was created
and structures such as Buddhist temples
were erected on key places. Thus, art
became an expression of worship among
the Japanese.
● Japan’s isolation at the end of the 14th
century led to the thriving of its culture.
Painting styles leaned towards abstract and
naturalistic handling. As depicted in their
artworks, artists had more opportunity to
showcase their spontaneity and
individuality; lots of artists concentrated on
individual portraits, elements of nature, and
scene from everyday life as their subjects.
● Ukiyo-e is one of the first forms of Japanese
art that found its way across the seas to
Europe and America; its influence is known
as Japonism, which profoundly influenced
many Western artists and movements such
as Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and
Modernism.
Philippines
Even before the colonizers came, indigenous
Filipinos already had their art, literature, and
architecture. It includes their cultures and
rituals.
Their literature has two forms, which are:
● (1) oral [e.g. chants, stories, and songs]
and
● (2) written [e.g. cave drawings and
writings].
They also have two kinds of visual arts:
● (1) paintings
● (2) sculptures. Examples of their
sculptures are pots, figures, and pieces of
jewelry.
Philippine Art Period Timeline.
➔ Pre-colonial art period
Believed to be the age of the
Horticulture/Neolithic period (6185 to 4400 BC),
local communities are being established and art
starts to go beyond mere craft such as stone
weapons and jewelry but starts to have
decorative elements, meaning, and context.
Pre-colonial traditional art has religious
symbols, everyday activities such as fishing,
farming, etc., or a specific decorative art pattern
to the community which has either the influence
of the local region (animistic) or Islamic. There
is also an exchange of art aesthetics and art
processes with the Chinese and other Asians
who frequent as traders with our indigenous
groups to which they acquire pottery, weaving,
tattoo, jewelry, carving, and metal craft.
➔ Spanish Colonial Art Period (1521-1898)
The Filipinos were introduced to formal
painting, sculpture, and architecture which was
inspired by Byzantine, Gothic, Baroque, and
Rococo art. Most artworks are
religious(Catholic). Spanish colonialism lived on
with the Filipino “antique” furniture and carving
designs. In the formation of the elite Filipino
class who studied abroad had been in contact
with the “Western” and had borrowed Neo-
Classicism, Romanticism, and even a hint of
impressionism.
➔ American Colonial Art Period (1898-1946)
The Americans brought in Education
and Value Formation, with both following the
“American way of life”(Allice Guillermo, Sining
Biswal,1994,p.4). Art illustration, advertising,
and commercial design gained popularity and
were incorporated into Fine Arts. Painting
themes favored genre paintings, landscapes,
and still life; portraits are reserved for high-
ranking officials with a more academic
approach to making the subject more formal.
➔ Post-Colonial Art Period (1946-1986)
This was the art after the War, which
grew and expanded. There were even two
periods of art during this time: [1] the Philippine
Modern Art (1946 to 1970), and [2] the
Philippine Post-Modern Art (1970-the1980s).
Pop Art, Installation Art, and Performance Art
were dominating the post-modern period of the
Philippine Art
➔ Philippine Contemporary Art (the 1980s to
Present)
The onset of the sudden rise of personal
computers and new technology created a new
art medium for the arts and human expression.
But there were also countless revivals of old
style being done. This started a new direction
for art.
Other Facts About Philippine Art (Caslib et
al., 2018)
● Prior to colonization, several ethnic minority
groups had created several art forms like
pottery, weaving, carving. They designed a
jar called the Manunggul jar which
represented their religious beliefs and
practices. This classic example of pottery
was also used by the early Filipinos as a
burial jar. Later on, the value of this pottery
became practical, through pottery the early
Filipinos produced cooking pots and storing
jars.
● T’nalak which has been the trademark of
the T’boli people in Mindanao. T’nalak is
woven through the use of abaca. This cloth
is used as ornaments and it represents their
beliefs.
● The Tausug and the Maranao are known for
their okir, designs applied to their
● woodcarvings. The common subjects of okir
are sarimanok, naga, and the pako
rabong.”Sarimanok is a stylized design of a
mythical bird either standing on a fish or
holding a piece of fish on its beak...The
naga forms an S-shape, depicting an
 elaborate figure of a mythical dragon or
serpent...The pako rabong is like a growing
fern with a broad base. The fern gracefully
stems and tapers upward”
MODULE 13: MODERN
AND CONTEMPORARY
ART
GEC 006 | CE22S4
Abstract Expressionism
➔ There are two divisions of this art movement
namely action painting and color fields.
Action painters use expressive brush
strokes in their canvases, while color field
painters fill their canvases with large areas
of a single color. Two of the famous artists
who advocated abstract expressionism are
Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.
➔ Abstract expressionism's common
characteristics are gestural techniques,
mark-making, and spontaneity. “Gestural
technique refers to rather than applying
paint to a surface in a controlled,
premeditated way, gestural painters apply
paint intuitively, physically, by dripping,
pouring, splattering, wiping, dumping,
spraying, or whatever.” “Mark making is a
term used to describe the different lines,
patterns, and textures we create in a piece
of art. It applies to any material on any
surface, not only paint on canvas or pencil
on paper…”
Pop Art
➔ It drew inspiration, sources, and even
materials from commercial culture.
➔ It began as an uprising against the leading
approaches to art and culture and traditional
views on what art should be.
➔ One of the most critical statements against
pop art was its use of very banal and low
objects and subject matter.
Optical Art
➔ Op art depends on creating an illusion to
inform the experience of the artwork using
color, pattern, and other perspective tricks.
Photorealism
➔ Painstaking attention to detail is aimed,
without asserting an artist’s style.
➔ The artists projected photographs onto a
canvas to be captured with precision and
accuracy with the aid of an airbrush.
➔ Some of the major artists who embody the
ideals of Photorealism are Chuck Close and
Gerhard Richter.
Conceptual Art
➔ It places emphasis on ideas and ignores the
actual physical appearance.
➔ Many considered it a “prank”.
Installation Art
➔ It involves the use of a room or warehouse.
➔ It allows the viewers to enter and move
around the arranged space and interact with
its elements.
Earth Art
➔ It is a spin-off of installation art.
➔ It is concerned with the landscape
manipulation and the materials used, taken
directly from the ground or vegetation.
Street Art
➔ It is a product of graffiti in the 1980s.
➔ Artworks are not traditional in format but are
informed by illustrative, painterly, and print
techniques and even a variety of media
➔ It needs space.
➔ There are no governing rules in its
production and interaction.
➔ Some examples are the following: murals,
stenciled images, stickers, installations, or
installative/sculptural objects usually out of
common objects and techniques.
MODULE 14: ART
CONCEPTS
GEC 006 | CE22S4
Soul-making, improvisation, and appropriation
are alternative venues for knowing ourselves
and looking into the depths and real meaning of
what we are creating for everyday life. It
develops our inner artist and it helps us to
communicate with people, understand the
culture and embody tolerance and peace. They
provide avenues for multiple intelligences and
expressions
Soulmaking
 “Art has been called a visual dialogue,
for through the object itself is mute, it expresses
its creator’s intention just as surely as if the
artist were speaking to us. For there to be
dialogue, however, our active participation is
required. If we cannot literally talk to our work of
art, we can learn how to respond to it and
question it in order to fathom its meaning.
Finding the right answers usually involves
asking the right questions. Even if we aren’t
sure which question to ask, we can always start
with, “What would happen if the artist had done
it another way?” And when we are through, we
must question our explanation according to the
same test of adequate proof that applies to any
investigation: "Have we taken into account all
the available evidence, and arranged it logically
and coherently?" There is, alas, no step-by-step
method to guide us, but this does not mean the
process is entirely mysterious” (Janson &
Janson, 1992, p. 25).
According to Panisan et al. (2018), "one
intention of soulmaking is to develop the artist
in us, awakening the art in us that has been
stagnant or underdeveloped for numerous
years. It is to unite us with our primal selves,
developing our skills and providing new
techniques in imagining and nurturing moments
of art production" (p. 101)
For the human to make sense of language and
derive meanings from words, semantic, and
grammatical rules are important elements to be
considered.
For people to make sense of the work, it
requires understanding the visual elements,
which art was grounded on, especially the
principle of design.
For the audience to say something about the
artwork, it must have a certain level of
awareness of the style, artwork, form, and
content, where the form is the total of the
artwork, which includes the textures, colors,
and shapes utilized by the artist, and content
includes not only form but also its subject
matter and its underlying meanings or themes
Appropriation
According to Tate Organization,
appropriation in art and art history refers to the
practice of artists using pre-existing objects or
images in their art with little transformation of
the original.
There are two approaches to appropriate
artworks: artists can be appropriate artistic
content, and appropriation of art can also be
done by individuals who adopt items that they
consider artworks (Panisan, et al., 2018).
Artists who appropriate existing artworks may
encounter several issues and problems.
Traditionally, forgery can be classified into two
forms: outright copies of existing works and
pastiches, which are works that bring together
elements from a work and infuse them into a
new work
This notion paved the way for the emergence of
appropriation artists who seem to promote the
idea that authorship relies on the viewer.
Improvisation
can be defined as doing something
without prior preparation. There is a decision to
act upon something that may not necessarily be
planned. within the present context,
improvisation has become an integral part of
the arts.
Some would say that it is a reaction against the
stiffness in the arts during the 20th century
because it blurs reality and it originates only
from imagination.
There is a call for liberation from the monotony
that aims to rekindle the creative spirits of
people in the arts. It allows the artist to explore
and think about how the audience can be a part
of the work in itself.
Infusing spontaneity and improvisation add up
to the totality of the work of art.
MODULE 15: CREATIVE
PROCESS
GEC 006 | CE22S4
The Production Process/Creative
Process
The process of creating an artwork (Caslib et
al., 2018) "does not necessarily follow a linear
progression. One of the things that one must
accept is the fact that the arts have an anarchic
dimension to it, allowing it to fully harness its
creative potential. The very reason why
different art styles, periods, and movements
were made possible, is because there was a
form of flexibility given to artists in terms of how
to conceptualize and execute their ideas into
reality. But this does not mean there is no
guiding principle and that governs the general
process of art production" (p. 69)

Preproduction

➔ Artists always begin with an idea that they

want to express or communicate with his
viewers. It may not be necessarily be fully
formulated, and so some form of exposure,
research, and other approaches may be
explored to get the idea long before actually
making the artwork" (p.69)

Production

➔ This refers to the "a method of joining

diverse material inputs and unimportant
input (e.g. plans, know-how) to make
something for consumption (the output). It is
the act of creating output, a good or service
that has significance and contributes to the
utility of individuals" (Panisan et al. p. 23).

Postproduction

➔ "Once an artwork is finished, it will then be

decided on how it will be circulated not only
in the art world, but the many publics...most
of the time, if not always, the creation of the
object requires that it be seen, heard,
touched, and/or experienced in a variety of
ways. Often, it enters into a new sphere,
inside the domain of museums, galleries,
performance halls, theaters, and other art
spaces where interaction can take
place...There are many aspects that go into
postproduction. These may include allowing
the artwork to set, tweaking the artwork,
preparing the artwork for transport and
display, and even the promotion and
inclusion of the artwork in the publications
or discussions" (Caslib et al., 2018, pp. 69-
70).

In summary, artists undergo three

stages in the the art production process or the
creative process. These are preproduction
which refers to subject development, production
which is medium manipulation, and
postproduction that refers to completion or
exhibition (Panisan et al., 2018).