PHILART NOTES

UNIT 1: INTEGRATED ART AS APPLIED TO CONTEMPORARY ARTS

Integrative Art

- Silverstein and Laine 2010 – an approach in which students or participants of this process
construct and demonstrate an understanding through an art form.
- from the word integrate meaning bring together or incorporate into a whole.
- A process that mix or bring together various types of knowledge, skills and understanding and
making the products of integration visible or seen.

Contemporary

- From the Latin word tempus or time, means existing occurring or living at the same time.

In integrative art, participants can engage in:

1. Constructing and demonstrating understanding through an art form

2. Creating something original as opposed to copying
3. Revising their products
4. Conceptualizing ideas to achieve evolved objectives

LESSON 1: DEFINITION AND NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Elements of Art

1. Line
- a continuous mark made on some surface by a moving point (Mittler, 2006).
- As an element of art, it usually leads a viewer’s eye around a composition and
convey/communicate message through their perceptible qualities.
- E.g.: Napoleon Abueva

2. Shape
- Create movement within a piece.
- Lead the eye from one design element to the next.
- Considered flat or two-dimensional that are limited to length and width
- E.g.: Benedicto Cabrera
3. Form
- Three-dimensional
- Artists can make some parts of a flat image look/appear three-dimensional.
- Length, width and height
- E.g.: Bulul God with pamahan cup (15th century)

4. Space
- Distance or are between, around, above, or within things (Mittler, 2006)
- Artists can make two-dimensional surface look three-dimensional by giving the illusion of the
work being far away, close, or overlapping one another.
- E.g.: The Fishermen (1981) by Ang Kiukok

5. Texture
- The surface quality or feel of an object.
- As an element, it talks about or deals with the way objects feel or the way it looks like they
would feel.
- Impasto – an artist applies a thick paint to create a lot of actual texture to the painting.
- E.g.: Granadean Arabesque (1958) by Joya

6. Value
- Refers to tone.
- The lightness or darkness of a color or shape in relation to another.
- Described in varying contrasts.
- Lightest value – white
- Darkest value – black
- E.g.: Ballerina in Repose by Dr. Elden Lumaniog

7. Color
- Basic and fundamental to many forms of art
- The use, relevance and function in a work of art depend on the medium of that given work.
- Made up of three properties:
a. Hue – name of a color
b. Value – lightness or darkness
c. Intensity – boldness or dullness
Principles of Art

1. Harmony
- One of the important principles of art
- The sense of cohesiveness between elements in a composition
- How well all the visual elements in a piece of artwork together.
- A way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent their similarities (Mittler, 2006)
- Achieved through the use of repetition of certain colors, values, lines, and shapes.
- Brings unity in a design or work of art.
- E.g.: Onethingafteranother by Roberto Chabet (at the mission House, Manila Biennale 2018)

2. Rhythm
- Created by the careful placement of repeated elements in a work of art to cause a visual tempo
or beat (Mittler, 2006).
- Artists produces rhythm by repeating art elements as well as creating patterns.
- Gives a feeling of organized movement.
- E.g.: Tres Marias Series (2015) by Dr. Elden Lumaniog

3. Balance
- A feeling of weighted clarity in a composition
- A feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various elements (Ortiz et al., 2018)
- A way of combining elements to add a feeling of equilibrium or stability to a work of art (Mitter,
2006)
- To create a balanced work, artists want the visual weight of the elements used to be distributed
across the design.
- Understand balance and its importance can help improve the ability to appreciate and interpret
a certain work of art.
- Can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.
- E.g.: Gary Ross Pastrana

4. Emphasis
- Or contrast
- A way of combining elements to stress the differences between those elements (Mittler, 2006).
- Often used to direct and focus viewers’ attention on the most important part of a design or
composition.
- Makes a part of a composition stand out.
- Focal point – main subject of an artwork made obvious by using color, value, texture, size, tone,
placement, or depth to demonstrate emphasis.
- E.g.: Yasmin-Sison Ching
MODERN ART VS CONTEMPORARY ART

A. PERIOD OF EVOLUTION
1880-1970 – modern art existed
1970-present – contemporary art runs
1860s (during Industrial Revolution period) – modern art movement began
1970s – the cut-off period or the end of modern art and with the birth of the term postmodern
End of 20th century – development of technology and rise of the video art and performance art

B. PURPOSE/INTENTION

Modern Art

- Focuses on the expression of one’s individuality

- Presenting art independently without regard to the subject, whether or not it presents meaning
to the onlooker.
- Does not attempt to present any relevance to the social, political, or any subject that matter to
people, hence the phrase “art for art’s sake”.

Contemporary Art

- Addresses both current events and historical ideas.

- Made art as a whole to reflect the current issues that hound our world today.
- Shifted from aesthetic beauty to underlying concept of work, meaning the process is more
important than the end result.
- Shows dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that experiment
with the conventional and resist common views and beliefs.
- Considered the process as more important than the outcome or result
- Contemporary art forms:
 Choreography
 Musical instrument
 Literary and music composition
 Visual design
 Theatrical performance

Choreography

- Uses the body as medium to express ideas

- Defined as dance writing – the art of designing sequence of movements of physical bodies
- An artistic opportunity to express one’s personality through the creation of dance.

Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo

 - Dances are performed by groups of performers acting as either the aborigines or the Spaniards
or even animals.
- Commemorates the feast of Sto. Niño (holy child) in Panay Island where the history of how the
aborigines of Panay became Christians is depicted through dancing, chanting, and a theatrical
performance.

Ati-atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan

- Mother of all ati-atihan festival in the Philippines

- Depicts the way of life of Aklan aborigines and the exchange of golden salakot and pearl
necklace (known as the barter of Panay) between Datu Puti from Borneo and Marikudo, Ati
Chieftain.

Dinagyang and ati-atihan are performed to portray important events in the life of the Aetas or Atis.

Sinulog Festival in Cebu

- Ritual prayer-dance honoring Señor Sto. Niño or the Child Jesus.

Shadow play

- Translates movements into a theatrical performance.

- Uses shadows thrown by puppets or actors onto a lighted screen
- E.g.: El Gamma Penumbra shadow play (grand winner of Asia’s Got Talent 2015)

Weaving

- Combines the artisanship of local artists and the creation of an original product.
- Considers all the processes involved in art production and the skill employed by the maker or
the artist as works of art.
- Hablon – contemporary art form that speaks of Ilonggo ancestry and is given life by Ilonggo
artists and craftsmen.
- Hand weaving – considered a decorative art

LESSON 2: INTEGRATED ART IN MODERN TIMES

The Benefits of Learning Through the Arts

1. Critical Thinking
2. Collaboration
3. Communication
4. Creativity – the heart of artworks

Functions of Contemporary Art

1. Art for Pleasure

 2. Art for Profession
3. Art for Creative Industries
4. Art for Information
5. Art for Spirituality
6. Art as History

Arts as Integrated into other Disciplines

A. Arts and Medicine

Cathy Malchiodi PhD
- A writer and an international practitioner in the healing arts, uses art in health care.

Expressive therapies are called integrative when various arts are purposively combined in the
treatment process.

Sandplay Therapy – a creative form of psychotherapy that uses a sandbox and a large collection
of miniatures to allow a client to explore the deeper layers of his or her psyche in a totally new
format by constructing a series of sand pictures to illustrate his/her psychological condition.

Bibliotherapy – systematic use of books to help people cope with their mental, physical,
emotional, developmental, or social problems. It is the value of literature that will motivate and
encourage a therapeutic response from the participant of the process.

B. Arts and Sports

Dance Sport
- Requires physical strength, agility, coordination, stamina, high level of fitness, discipline,
teamwork, grace, style, and musical interpretation in order to be successful in this field.
- Glamour of this kind of dance is seen through the costumes worn by the dancers as well as the
choreography.

LESSON 3: CLASSIFICATION OF THE DIFFERENT ART FORMS FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS

VISUAL ARTS

Modern or Contemporary art – considered as a phenomenon of the post-war period in the Philippines,
even though the term has been around far longer in the Western culture (Benesa, 2015).

Thirteen Moderns

1. GALO B. OCAMPO
2. CARLOS V. FRANCISCO (national artist 1973)
3. VICENTE MANANSALA (national artist 1981)
4. HERNANDO R. OCAMPO (national artist 1991)
- His canvases recalled the verdant Philippine landscape
- He played a crucial role in maintaining the Philippine Art Gallery, the nation’s first
5. CESAR LEGASPI (national artist 1990)
6. DEMETRIO DIEGO
7. DIOSDADO LORENZO
8. JOSE PARDO
9. RICARTE PURUGGANAN
10. BONIFACIO CRISTOBAL
11. ARSENIO CAPILI
12. ANITA MAGSAYSAY-HO
13. VICTORIO EDADES

National Commission on Culture and the Arts Committee on Visual Arts (NCCA-VCA)

- One of the most important platforms for the development of modern acts in the Philippines.
- When PCCA was established in 1987, this committee was one of the most active and vibrant
under the NCCA.

Martin Genodepa

- Specializes in coral-stone sculpture.

- Resides in Guimbal, Iloilo
- Purchases coral stone fragments that have hardened off the coast instead of harvesting from the
ocean floor.

Nelfa Querubin-Tompkins

- Her love for the arts started when she began forming clay in 1973 in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

Danny Sillada

- A Davao Oriental-born Filipino surrealist painter, poet, etc.

 - He received “Pasidungog Centennial Award” for literary and visual arts in 2003.

LITERATURE

Ginto sa Makiling

- Novel by Macario Pineda

- Published in 1946
- First notable work to appear after World War II.

Amado Hernandez

- Poet and social activist

- Also wrote novels advocating for social change

Wth dudamo (page 32-35)

MUSIC

Contemporary music – compositions that have adopted concepts and elements from 20 th century
western art music and the most recent trend s and musical styles in the entertainment industry.

1970s and 1980s

- Coritha, new society, heber Bartolome, and apo hiking society were the most influential
musicians of this era.
- Joey “pepe” smith and Freddie Aguilar wrote the songs ang himig natin and bayan kou

1990s

- Gave birth to a new musical genre: Philippine hiphop

- Francis Magalona established the standard for his genre with songs like “Mga Kababayan Ko”.
- OPM has always been headquartered in Manila, where tagalog and English are the predominant
languages.

DANCE
Contemporary dance emerged in the Philippines provides a space within which the nation’s story can be
told.

Alice Reyes

- Founder of Ballet Philippines, the premier ballet and the contemporary dance company in the
country.
- Effectively developed and promoted dance arts on a national scale
- Pioneer of contemporary dance in the Philippines

THEATER

Bodabil

- among Philippines’ earliest form of contemporary theater.

- Term derived from vaudeville – the first significant American theatrical influence visible to the
world
- Include song-and-dance numbers, magic and musical acts, skits and stand-up comedy, chorus
girls, and comedians.

FILM

1950s – The First Golden Age

1970s-early 1980s – The Second Golden Age

2000s to present – The Third Golden Age

Decade of 1950s – referred as one of “reconstruction and expansion”.

Anak Dalita – by Lamberto Avellana, set in Intramuros in 1956, an example of this stark tragedy of post-
WWII survival.

Big Four – sampaguita, LVN, premiere, lebran

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture of the Philippines reflects the country’s rich history and culture.

Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex – best example of contemporary architecture

UNIT 2: CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Kristina Subido

- Notes in her comprehensive art history timeline of the Philippines that early modern Philippine
works were often assumed to have been profoundly influenced by western art.
- Mentioned that Filipino artists in the 19th century became increasingly stylized as a result of
their education and exposure to western art.

1950s

- Modern art in the Philippines began to move away from its European roots.

Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco

- A famed muralist known for blending native expressions with formal components of European
painting
- Came into popularity during the same decade.
- This even was a watershed in developing a distinct Filipino creative identity.

LESSON 1: NATIONAL ARTISTS

Order of National Artist

- Order ng pambansang alagad ng sining

- Highest national recognition given to a Filipino who has made significant contributions to the
development of Philippine arts.
- The artist has promoted Filipino cultural identity and dignity.
- This honorific title was made possible through Proclamation No. 1001 dated April 2, 1972 by
then Pres. Marcos, and is jointly administered by NCCA and CCP and conferred by the president
of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.

NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE (2006)

Ildefonso P. Santos Jr

- Popularly known as IP Santos

- Introduced landscape architecture to the Philippines after nine years of learning and doing it in
the USA.
 - Landscape Architecture – art of designing spaces and land spots by incorporating natural
elements into the design.
- Born on Sept. 5, 1929
- Father of Landscape Architecture in the Philippines

NATIONAL ARTIST FOR ARCHITECTURE (2014)

Jose Maria Zaragoza

- A pillar of modern architecture in the Philippines buttressed by a half-century career that

produced ecclesiastical edifices and structures of modernity in the service of God and humanity.
- Born on Dec. 6, 1912
- His works include the Meralco building in Pasig City, the National Library, and the sci-fi inspired
Vira Mall.
- Designed the largest catholic churches in the Philippines
- According to Lito Zulueta, Zaragoza played a key role in the reconstruction of postwar
Philippines.

NATIONAL ARTIST FOR CINEMA (2001)