Contemporary Arts in

the Philippines
Prepared by: ERWIN O. BRIZ
Objectives:
After going through this lesson, you are expected to:
1. define Contemporary Arts,
2. explain integrative Art,
3. infer Integrative Art in Contemporary Art, and
4. identify and classify the contemporary art forms
from the Philippine Regions
1.Defined as something “happening,
existing, living, or coming into being during
the same period of time”

ONMETPORYRAC

CONTEMPORARY
2. It refers to art of any form and genre that
produced in our contemporary time, simply
put as “art created today.”

ONMETPORYRAC TRA
CONTEMPORARY ART
Let’s imagine that you will
be going out of your
house and come across
the following pictures.
Give the questions some
thought and answer them
truthfully.
1. What do you
see in the picture?
2.Did they catch our
attention?

3.Cite its significance or

importance.
1. What do you see in
the picture?
2. Are their colors
and font styles
appealing? Why or
why not?
3. Cite their
significance or
importance.
1.What do you see in
the picture?
2. Are they inspiring
or distracting? Why
or why not?
3.Cite its significance
or importance.
• What do you see in
the picture?
• Do you find it
appealing? Why or
why not?
• Cite its
significance or
importance.
• What do you see in
the picture?
• Are they worth
watching? Why or
why not?
• Cite its
significance or
importance.
Processing:
1. Identify the pictures in Column A by matching them with Column B, choose
from the letters in Column B.
____ Picture 1
A. Contemporary Philippine sculpture
____ Picture 2
____ Picture 3
____ Picture 4
____ Picture 5
B. Contemporary Philippine street art
C. Commercial Billboard art
D. Street Dance
E. Destination signage art
2. What do the pictures express or reveal? Explain briefly.
3. In a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the presentation, significance and
viewers’ impact for each picture? Explain each rating.
4. Why do young people fail to recognize or pay attention to these works of art
these days?
 Contemporary Art
• is influenced by the economic,
social, political and environmental
context where the artist is immersed
in. It can be said that Contemporary
Art is the artist’s expression of his
perception and comprehension of
these contexts.

defined as something “ happening, existing,

living, or coming into being during the same period of time”
(Merriam-Webster).
Contemporary Art
• refers to art of any form and genre that
produced in our contemporary time, simply put as
“ art created today.”
• defined as something “ happening, existing, living, or
coming into being during the same period of time”
(Merriam-Webster).
• It should not be confused with Modern Art which ranges
from the end of the 19th Century until the 1970’ s
or 1980’ s or the late 20th Century.
 Contemporary Art
• Contemporary Philippine Art is not
confined to the usual genres of the
four main art forms, namely,
• Visual
• literary
• applied
• performing arts.
Genres are categories of artistic creation
and are characterized by similarities in form, style, or
subject matter.
 These artworks are expressions of the artist’ s
thoughts and feelings based on their experience of
the here and now. These include current events,
issues and social concerns affecting the society
where the artist lives in.
Contemporary Philippine artists hail from the different
regions of the country. They use a wide variety of art
media in their creations, some of the media are
materials that are readily available in the locality
where the artist resides.
- These artists create, work and make art in their personal context.
Viewers can appreciate contemporary Philippine art more by
employing all of their senses. Viewing art is not just a detached
experienced but a deep personal experience.
-Expressions of Contemporary Philippine Art are influenced by social,
historical, geographical, ideational, personal and technical factors.
These factors are imbibed by the artist and are combined to get
immersed in the heart, to get molded in the mind and to be propelled
in the hands to create an expressive reality of dwelling into the artist’
s mind and heart.
Elements of
Contemporary Art

• 1. Appropriation
• 2. Hybridity
• 3. Technology
• 4. Performance
• 5. Space
 Appropriation

• this relates to the

modifications made
by the artist.
Hybridity
this refers in the use of
different art mediums that
are put together.
- The use of unusual
materials to produce an
artwork.
- It implies
the mixing
of two or
more
elements to
create a
third.
 Technology
its application
highlights the
creativity of the
artist.
Is the use of mass
production and the
manipulation of the
virtual world, its
tools and programs.
 Technology Art involves the application of computer
technology as an essential part of the creative process
and production.
 Performance
• carried out for
viewers to
experience.
Performance Art usually interprets different human activities ranging
from simple ordinary chores, routines, and rituals, to larger-scale site-
Performance Art taken specific environments and public projects,
multimedia productions, and autobiographical cabaret-style solo work
depicting socially relevant themes such as poverty,
commercialism, and war.
 Space
• intricate use
of space
• Positive Space refers
• Negative Space refers to the
to the subject of the
empty spaces the artist has
piece itself. This is
created around, between and
depicted as the
within the subjects.
flower vase on the left
of the example photo.
 • Space refers to the distances or areas surrounding
within, and within the components of an item.
Other examples of Space are flash mobs and art installations in malls
and parks
These elements are combined in different
ways to come up with Integrative Art.
Integrative Art employs the use of different
art elements used together in distinct
different expressions. Thus, it becomes a
combination of different art forms for
specific groups of viewers.
INTEGRATIVE ART

• employs the use of different art elements used

together in distinct different expressions .

• It also a fusion of different art disciplines using

different styles and media in creating art. It can be
found in different places of the country, usually in
urban areas where artists have ready access to
different art forms and media.
INTEGRATIVE ART

• Example:
• the use of computer applications combined
with other media, the use of non-traditional art
materials in creating artworks usually done with
mixed art forms.
 Contemporary Art Forms from the Philippine Regions
With modern technology and easy access to far-flung areas of the country,
many artworks have become known and many more are being created by
present day artists from the different regions.
All forms of art can be found throughout the country. Artworks coming
from the seventeen regions of the three main island groups of Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao, have been exhibited in different exhibition halls
and museums. Viewers have come to know and, more importantly, to
understand the present-day art expressions of artists who want their
culture, situation and issues be known through their artworks.
The distinct features of Contemporary
Philippine Art include:

Communal nature
as it reflects the relationships build
around the bonds of community and society.
Intuitive
as Filipinos are immersed in their
consciousness of themselves, their
community and their culture.
Creative process
as the artist puts more emphasis on now
their artwork was made than on the artwork
itself.
Multi-focal
as it considers everything and everyone,
the wide perspective of the artwork as well
as both artist and viewer.
• Holistic, as individuals, groups of people
and events are perceived in their entirety as
well as the unitive use of art materials and
forms.

• Integrative, as it encompasses religious,

moral, spiritual, social, and environmental
concerns.
Activity 1.1 Analyzing Contemporary Philippine Arts

Contemporary Philippine Art considers not only the artist but

also the participation of the community through the viewers.
The experience is not solely confined to the creator of the
artwork but also to its viewer. Being member of the
community and a viewer, you can also take part in creating art.
There is no established or fixed standard in creating
contemporary art. The artist is free to render his artwork with
the use of various materials, traditional or non-traditional, any
combination of style
and technique, and choice of form either singly or in
combination.
Observing Art: Understanding the Form, Media and Style
Art comes in different sizes and shapes, forms and
styles. This art can be observed in Junk Art. Junk Art is a
sculptural rendition using discarded or used materials
usually scrap plastic, cartons, paper, metal or glass. Observe
and analyze this artwork and answer the questions:
Processing:
1. What kind of media or materials were used in this kind of art?
2. What other media or materials can be used aside from those identified in the
picture?
3. If you will be given the chance to create this kind of art, what would you create?
4. What media or materials would you use in creating your artwork?
5. Cite the possible obstacles or difficulties you might encounter in creating this
artwork.
Give your understanding of the following terms with reference to creating art:
1. Para-paraan
2. Diskarte
3. Galing
4. Bihasa
5. Sanay
 Activity#2:
Enhancing Capability: Selecting Materials
and Creation
It is about time for you to put your resourcefulness into good use.
Make your experience as a jump-off point in appreciating the Arts. In
this activity, you need to go into your mind in order to come up with a
realistic idea of the kind of artwork that you would want to have.
Write your answer for each column based on the locations found in
the first column of the table:
Processing:
1. Which among the five locations were you able to get the
greatest number of kinds of materials?
2. Among the locations, which one has the least
availability of materials? Why?
3. Among the possible artworks that you can create, which
one do you think is the
most feasible or doable? Why?