THE CONTEXT OF

CONTEMPORARY
ART

LESSON 2
Presented by: Mr. Venilo M. Bayog, LPT
 WHAT IS
CONTEXT?
• refers to factors that surround a work of
art.
• It includes a host of conditions such as
historical events, economic trends,
contemporary cultural developments,
religious attitudes, social norms, other
artworks of the time, among others.
 PRIMARY SECONDARY
CONTEXT CONTEXT
• Pertains to the artist: His/ beliefs her • Addresses the external the external

conditions in which the work was

attitudes, interest and values; education
produced: the apparent function of the
and training; and biography (including
work; religious and philosophical
psychology). This includes artist’s
convictions; socio-political and economic
intentions and purposes for making
structure; and even climate and
his/her art.
geography.
 CONTEMPORARY ART
• produced and received, therefore, in different ways
by people situated in specific social environments.
To fully grasp the complexity of this process of
definition, art must not be viewed as product, but
as product and its processes: That is how it is
produced in society, culture, and history.

CONTEMPORARY
ART
CULTURE
It involves how people in society make sense of the
world around them by making meanings and sharing
these meanings with others in the context of
common but oftentimes contradictory and changing
fields of exchange. Cultural context is more
subjective, it allows students to examine the
influences on that artist’s work as a result of their
environment.
SOCIETY
-Refers not only to systems of regulation
and control but, also to social relations
based on class, gender, race, sexuality,
ethnicity, spiritual persuasion, political
commitment and social norm.
HISTORY
Is the process by which society and culture
are created by people because they are active
human agents, transforming nature into form
in the constant remaking of everyday life.
Historical context is factual in nature as it
refers to a specific movement or moment in
history.
A THING BECOMES ART WHEN IT IS
CHARGED WITH MEANING AND
VALUE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING
CRITERIA:
Aesthetic Experience
Cultural practice and shared meaning

Consensus of the art world

THE STUDY OF ART IN
THE NATIONAL
CONTEXT
• The study of art must begin in one’s locality, in the
regional sense. It is within this regional location that
the idea of homeland is anchored. It is the place where
personal and group identities are nurtured as
individual experiences are accumulated and collective
memories are commemorated. The region is view as
identity key maker. Regionalism in art celebrates local
tradition and pride of place.
FUNDAMENTAL
COMPONENTS OF ART
• Contemporary art-making is a creative and transformative
process. The source of all art is human imagination or
creative thinking. Art is similar to a language or a text
which can be read by anyone, establishing a dialogue
between the artist and the viewer. Art becomes an object of
Interpretation by the viewer, who deciphers and decodes
the meaning of the work based on previous experience or
according to codes of culture and social consensus.
CONTEMPORARY ART OR ANY
ARTWORK IS MADE UP OF
THREE FUNDAMENTAL
COMPONENTS AND THEIR
CORRESPONDING PROCESSES
OF ANALYSIS.
Fundamental Components of Art Object of Analysis Process of Analysis

Form Technique Imagination

Language Meaning Interpretation

Mode of Production Political Idealogy

Economy
 DESCIPLINES OF ART
ART PRODUCTION 🡪 The techniques and processes
of making art.
ART CRITICISM- 🡪 Describing, analyzing,
interpreting and judging
ART HISTORY- 🡪 Context of art and the artist that
created it
AESTHETICS🡪 Context of art and the artist that
created it.
 3 AESTHETIC
THEORIES OF ART
CRITICISM
Imitationalism and Literal Qualities
*This establishes that art imitates life. There is one-to-one correspondence between art and subject it
seek to represent. It focuses on realistic representation. E.g. Fernando Amorsolo.
*Formalism and Formal Qualities
Places emphasis on the formal qualities and the arrangement of the elements of art using the
principles of art.
*Emotionalism and Expressive Qualities
The theory focuses on the content of the work of art. It requires that the work of art must arouse the
feelings, mood, or emotion of the viewer.
THE ART WORLD Core Activities
The art world as an organizational
structure can be defined in terms of the a. Production of art
core activities of art production and
exhibition and aiding the dissemination b. Exhibition of art
of art and art discourse.
galleries

Collateral Activities
a. Facilitation of production
GOVERNMENT
and exhibition AGENCIES
b. Dissemination of art AND INSTITUTIONS
and art discourse
 NATIONAL COMMISSION
FOR CULTURE AND THE
ARTS (NCCA)
*The government’s support for art and cultural development is
particularly highlighted by the passage of R.A 7356.

*The NCCA is responsible for culture and the arts in the

Philippines and considered by default as the government’s
“Department of Culture”.
*The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP or Sentrong
Pangkultura ng Pilipinas) is the national center for the performing
arts.
*The National Museum (NM) is tasked with the preservation,
conservation, and protection of movable and immovable cultural
properties for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

*The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) -is

responsible for the conservation and preservation of the country’s historical
legacies.
EXHIBITION,
DISPLAY, AND
DISSEMINATION OF
ART
The first government museum in the Philippines was established under the
American colonial policy of public education. Under this condition of
American benevolent assimilation, the early patent for a National Museum
was drawn. The National Museum started in 1901 as the Insular Museum of
Ethnology, Natural History, and Commerce under the Department of Public
Instruction by Virtue of Act 284 passed by the Philippine Commission.
 SUPPORT FOR THE
ARTS
*Section 15 of Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
establishes the role of the Philippine government in supporting the arts
and creative practices of the nation: “Arts and letter shall enjoy the
patronage of the State. The State shall conserve. Promote, and popularize
the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as
artistic creations.” Apart from institutional support set up by the
government, other entities provide financial support to ensure that artist
produce their art.
 PRIVATE AND CORPORATE PATRONAGE
The word patron, in Latin, means father; hence, a patron of the art is
one who “begets” and protects the art. Religious groups have funded
the creation of a great artworks and monumental cathedrals that
serve their beliefs. Art is sometimes funded by private donations and
corporate sponsorship. Corporations have been major patrons of the
arts. They initiate national art competitions to discover emerging
artists and expose them to a larger audience.
STATE GRANTS AND TAX-SUPPORTED ART

Taxes support art either as direct payments to artist or

as funding for major projects in the form of grants. A
grant is a sum of money awarded to an artist by a
government agency or private corporation to enable
him/her to produce art.
 The National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA)
established by Sec. 20 of Republic Act. No. 7356 to support Philippine art
and culture programs and project, allocates a portion of public funds for
artwork, subventions to art institutions, the organization of art events
locally, regionally or nationally, and the establishment of funds for the
arts.

The NCCA is a grant-giving government agency which administers the

NEFCA. The NCCA, through the NEFCA, provides the financial
assistance to qualified individual artist and art organizations and local
government units in their artistic or cultural pursuits.
OVERVIEW
Contemporary art revolves around a number of factors
and conditions that form the context in which it is created
by the artist and perceived by the audience. Forces such as
people, institutions, the physical environment, and
availability of materials affect the artist’s production
process. Prevailing Ideologies, events, and social
conditions make an artist create a work in a certain way,
and through it, can make a statement in how his/her work
is to be seen and absorbed by the audience.
Contemporary Philippine Art had a strong sense of
regionalism and localization, such that the contexts of
works are more anchored in events and ideologies that
are closer to home for most people. Audiences come
with their own contexts through which they view a
work. A work may hold different interpretations and
may be perceived differently by viewers based on
social conditions, institutional interventions, events,
and individual backgrounds.
 THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING
Don't hesitate to ask any questions!