INTRODUCTION…
The Philippine Contemporary Art can be classified
into seven major art forms. These are painting, sculpture,
architecture, film, literature, music and theater, and
dance. Knowing these classifications will guide us in
identifying and exploring different contemporary art
forms from the regions of the Philippines.
PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ARTS
Philippine contemporary arts can be described
into visual arts, literary arts and performing arts.
Visual art is an expression of artistic ideas through
images, structures, and tactile work. Some visual
artworks are integrated which means it combines
several mediums to create new and unique artwork.
Drawing, painting, sculpture, calligraphy,
architecture, and film are examples of visual arts.
• Drawing
• Painting
Painting the expression of ideas and emotions, with the
creation of certain aesthetic qualities, in a two-dimensional visual
language. The elements of this language – its shapes, lines, colors,
tones, and textures – are used in various ways to produce
sensations of volume, space, movement, and light on a flat surface.
The first paintings here in the Philippines are commissioned
works during Spanish colonization.
The Sketch / The Artist and the Model
This painting was one of Edades works
shown in his 1928 exhibit at the
Philippine Columbian Club,
which marked the introduction of
modernism in the country.
Magellan’s Cross
Rajah Humabon, his wife and
hundreds of his native warriors
agreed to accept Christianity and
were consequently baptized.
Magellan planted a cross to
signify this important event about
the propagation of the Roman
Catholic faith in what is now
Cebu, in central Philippines.
Salaam (Peace) is an elegant and
beautifully constructed series in
which color and letter forms are
combined in a lively embrace.
Helen's artworks are a fusion of
tradition and modern abstract
painting which utilize both digital
and applied arts.
• Sculpture
The sculpture is an art form in which hard or plastic materials
are worked into three-dimensional art objects. Filipino sculptors came
to be known in the middle of the 19th century. These are some of the
sculptures in the Philippines.
The Bonifacio Monument recalls
the Philippine Revolution which
was spearheaded by Andrés
Bonifacio who had urged his men
to raise against the colonial rule of
Spain. His call to take arms against
the Spanish rule was given on
August 23, 1896, which is widely
known as "Cry of Pugad Lawin."
THE BOHOL BLOOD COMPACT
sculpture was made by the National
Artist, Napoleon Abueva, a Boholano
himself. This Sikatuna-Legaspi blood
compact is considered as the First
Treaty of Friendship between two
different races, religions, cultures and
civilizations. It was a treaty of
friendship based on respect and
equality and this event is commonly
known as “Sandugo”.
SIX LADIES IN DURIAN
Consistent with the body of work
of the artist, this piece of public
art towers over the surrounding
landscape. The concrete
sculpture shows a halved durian
fruit with six people nestled
inside it, in lieu of seeds.
• Calligraphy
• Architecture
Architecture is the art and practice of designing and
constructing buildings. In relation to that, Philippine architecture was
characterized as simple, rational, and functional. In the 20th century,
the young Filipino who studied in American colleges and institutes
introduced the neoclassic style in building structures. However, after
World War II, real estate development started to take place. To
illustrate these architectural designs, these are some examples from
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines
is a government owned and controlled
corporation established to preserve,
develop and promote arts and culture
in the Philippines. It provides
performance and exhibition venues
for various local and international
productions and programs.
The Saint Andrew the Apostle Church
is a Roman Catholic Church in Bel-Air
Village, Makati, Philippines. It is one of
the known Modern Edifices designed
by Leandro V. Locsin in Makati. It is
dedicated to Andrew the Apostle, the
patron saint of Metro Manila and Bel-
Air Village. He is known for being the
first follower of Jesus.
Pearl Farm Beach Resort
All waterfront bungalows were
designed by world-renowned
Architect Francisco “Bobby”
Mañosa, inspired by the stilt
houses of the Sulu Sea using
strictly native materials such as
bamboo, coconut and yakal.
Himala (1982) is the story of
Elsa, a barrio lass whose
supposed visions of the Virgin
Mary change her life, turning
her into an overnight sensation
and causing mass hysteria in a
poor, isolated northern
Philippine village suffering from
a drought.
Muro-Ami (1999)
It was a stark depiction of child labor
in the high seas wrought by the illegal
fishing system referred to in the title.
It starred Cesar Montano as Fredo,
the ruthless captain of 150 muro-ami
divers who swim into the depths to
pound and crush corals to scare fish
and drive them towards the nets.
Mindanao (2019) tells the story of
Muslim woman Saima Datupalo (Judy
Ann Santos). While she is taking care of
her cancer-stricken daughter Aisa
Datupalo (Yuna Tangog) in a temporary
home for children with cancer called the
House of Hope in Davao, her soldier
husband Malang Datupalo (Allen
Dizon), a combat medic, is on an
offensive operation in Maguindanao.
Literary arts are an expression of ideas through
writing. Literary arts can be categorized as poetry,
prose, and drama. In the Philippines, literary arts are
greatly encountered in literature.
• Literature according to Lombardi (2020), literature
is a term used to describe the body of written works
and sometimes spoken material.
Prose is a form of literary art that is described by using
language that is free and tends not to be bound by rhythm,
diction, rhyme, soundness or rules and other literary
guidelines. This type of prose writing is usually used to
describe a fact or idea.
Prose can be used for newspapers, magazines, novels,
encyclopedias, letters, and various other types of media.
Poetry is a literary work that is described using diction
or words of choice, characterized by a dense but
beautiful discussion, usually poetry works can
indirectly cause a tendency of someone to sharpen
their awareness through language that has a rhythm
and special meaning.
Examples: poems, epic, rhymes, ballads, sonnets
Drama is a form of literature that is described using
language that is free and long, and is presented
using dialogue or monologue. Drama has two
meanings, namely drama in the form of script or
drama that is staged.
Furthermore, there are also Philippine
contemporary art forms that can be described as
performance arts. A person doing certain actions and
movements in front of an audience that go along with
sound in a space and time is called Performing Arts.
• Music
Music is a collection of coordinated sound or
sounds. According to Ramon P. Santos in his article entitles
Contemporary Music, Contemporary music in the
Philippines usually refers to compositions that have
adopted ideas and elements from twentieth-century art
music in the West, as well as the latest trends and musical
styles in the entertainment industry.
• Music
Filipino Music had already a rich and unique
musical tradition long before westerners set foot on our
native land. Music was present in every stage of our
ancestors’ lives - from birth to death, in blissful or
tragic times.
• Theatre or Theater
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses
live performers to present the experience of a real or
imagined event before a live audience in a specific place.
The performers may communicate this experience to the
audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song,
music, or dance.
In the Philippines, the American introduced the “bodabil” or
stage show, however during that time it was composed mainly of
songs, dances and skits. It was only during the Japanese period
when “bodabil” included short melodrama.
Tanikalang Ginto is a three-act
drama written by Juan Abad in
1902. It is an allegory hidden in the
love story of ‘Liwanag’ and
‘K’Ulayaw’
Moro-Moro is a form of theater premised on battles between
Christians and Moors performed in village fiestas in the
Philippines from the Spanish colonial period to the present.
• Dance
Dance is the movement of the body in a rhythmic
way, usually to music and within a given space, for the
purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing
energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself.
Dances in the Philippines vary from region to region
and below are some dances of the different regions.
Banga Dance or Pot Dance is
performed with Kalinga women
showing their agility in
balancing the bangas on top of
their heads while toddling
through rice paddies and
mountain paths; a daily routine
to fetch water from the
mountain springs.
Kuratsa is a dance of flirtation and courtship, designed to be
danced with a partner. Its movements mimic the mating
ritual of a rooster and hen.
Singkil is a folk dance of the Philippines that has its origins in
the Maranao people of Lake Lanao, a Mindanao Muslim
ethnolinguistic group. The dance is widely recognized today as
the royal dance of a prince and a princess weaving in and out of
crisscrossed bamboo poles clapped in syncopated rhythm.
