Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

Contemporary Visual Arts In the Philippines

✓ Drawing

✓Printmaking

✓ Photography

✓ Painting

✓ Sculpture

✓ Architecture

✓ Other Visual Arts Forms

The term “visual arts” encompasses a wide range of forms

created by Filipinos. It ranges from Western – influenced visual art

forms include painting, sculpture, and architecture. However, there

are other functional visual art forms in the country that need to be

appreciated as well.

Each visual art form not only exhibits the skills of the artist,

but also showcases the ideas coming from the mind of that artist.

Drawing

It is one of the oldest forms of human expression within the visual arts. It is generally concerned with the
marking of lines and areas of tone onto paper/other material, where the accurate representation of the visual
world is expressed upon a plane surface. Traditional drawings were monochrome, or at least had little colour,
while modern colored-pencil drawings may approach or cross a boundary between drawing and painting.

Printmaking

It is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the
process of creating prints that have an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction
of a painting.

Tirada features 173 prints, Made by 140 artists listed in its Brochure, including catalogues, posters, And
photographs through the years. It is Created by Patrick D. Flores, professor Of art studies at the University of
the Philippines and recently appointed as The artistic director of Singapore Biennale 2019, Asia’s largest
Contemporary art show

Photography

It is the art, application, and practice Of creating durable images by recording light, Either electronically by
means of an image Sensor, or chemically by means of A light Sensitive material such as photographic film. It Is
employed in many fields of science, Manufacturing (e.G., photolithography), and Business, as well as its more
direct uses for Art, film and video production, recreational Purposes, hobby, and mass communication.

Painting

This refers to the proves of applying color on a flat surface. Forms can be created using a wide variety of
materials such as watercolor, acrylic, ink oil, pastel, and charcoal. Surfaces for painting include wood, canvas,
cardboard, and paper. Painting is considered two –dimensional, meaning it only has height and width
Forms of Painting

Easel Painting – It is perhaps the Most common form of painting. As the name implies, this involves Applying
color to a board or Canvas that is fixed on an upright Support called an easel. Easel Paintings are meant to be
framed And hanged on a wall after Creating them

Murals – It is described as a huge wall – sized painting. During the 1980’s some artists believed that the mural
should be used to impart messages to increase social awareness especially to issues at that time. However, a new
form of mural, a portable mural, was developed in order to prevent the mural from being erased from the wall

Telon Painting – A telon is described as a backdrop or background for the stage. These backdrops are used for
komedya, sarswela, and sinakulo which are popular forms of theater in the country. Later, even though the
popularity of the sarswela decreased, the telon is still used in presentations during carnivals, fiestas, and
religious celebrations. The telon was later reduced as a backdrop in a photography studio.

Jeepney and Calesa Painting

The calesa is typically painted using one color. The Borders of the calesa are decorated with geometric patterns,
Repetitive patterns, and/or thin lines.

Jeepney painting evolved from calesa painting. In a Typical jeepney, a logo, number, or painting is covered near
The driver’s seat, as well as near the seats adjacent to it. Typical subject matter of jeepney pain

Collage – This refers to a form Of painting that involves Combine images in a single Artwork. This entails
cutting and Pasting materials such as Paper, fabric, tin foil and other Relatively flat materials onto a Board or
canvas.

Themes of painting

Genre Painting – It portrays people in Daily activities. Subjects include planting And harvesting rice, a young
woman Singing in front of guests, barong – Barong, vendors, and fiestas. During the Contemporary period,
genre painting tool Several directions. One of these new Approaches is folk genre, which mainly Focuses on the
everyday activities of the Folk.

Historical Painting – This depicts a scene from the past. It often has a lesson concerning national values.

Interiors – This refers to painting of the space inside of a part of a house or a building. This usually reveals the
social class of the people living in it.

Landscapes – These paintings portray natural scenery or urban scenes. Mixed media is now used in creating
landscape paintings. Closely related to landscapes are seascapes, which focus on large bodies of water,
particularly the ocean or the sea.

Portraits – This refers to a painting portraying one or more Specific individuals. This usually portrays the
physical Characteristics of the subject and seeks to show an Understanding of the person’s character. Nudes –
These portrays the unclothed human figure. Nowadays, a wide variety of materials and styles can be used In
painting nudes. Nude painting sessions are conducted in Galleries.

Religious Painting – Common subjects of religious painting Include a lone religious image, lives of the saints,
and scenes Based from the Scriptures like the Nativity scene, and the Stations of the Cross.

Still Life – This refers to a painting that depicts natural or man Made objects that form a composition in a
natural setting

Sculpture
In contrast to painting, sculpture has three dimensions –height, width, and depth. It is created by either carving,
modeling, or assembling parts together.

General Kinds of Sculpture

Free – standing – This is a Kind of sculpture that can Independently stand in Space. It has a flat horizontal Base.
All its sides contribute To the overall form of the Sculpture.

Relief – This kind of sculpture does not have a flat horizontal base. The form is projected from a flat surface.
There are two types of relief: low relief or base relief, and

high relief. The form of a low relief projects slightly from the flat surface, in contrast to the high relief

New Types of Sculpture in The Contemporary Setting

Assemblage – This sculpture Is formed by putting together Materials such as found Objects, pieces of paper,
Sponges, wood scraps, and Other materials.

Kinetic Sculpture – This is considered as a sculpture in motion because the entire sculpture or some parts of the
sculpture are moving with the wind or are vibrating with the surrounding air.

Welded Sculptures – Creating these sculptures Involve the process of Connecting sheets of metal Together by
using an acetylene Or electric torch

Use of Glass – Ramon Orlina and Imelda Pilapil started the use of Glass in sculpture. Orlina used glass In table
pieces, murals, and Sculptures which are usually unified Into a framework. On the other hand, Pilapil used glass
planes with Irregular shapes and linear patterns. Times of Refreshing – Ramon Orlina

Symbolic Sculpture – A good Example of symbolic sculpture is The interpretation of Abdulmari Imao on okir
design, which is a Maranao design tradition that is Typically used in woodcarving.

Other Visual Art Forms

Advertising Art - This refers to using paid space or time in any of the media to inform and influence the public.
This is used to encourage the public to patronize certain goods and services, or to support policies or persons.

Bamboo Art – This refers to works made of bamboo that may be used for everyday purposes or for decorations
or ornaments.

Basketry – This refers to the art of creating containers by weaving, plaiting, or braiding materials into hollow
three –dimensional shapes that can either be used for carrying, storage, and trapping animals.

Book Design – It involves structuring and reproduction of bound Pages that are filled with text and/or images,
and are protected by Hard or soft covers.

Costumes – These are garments, hairstyles, and accessories That are worn by individual members or groups in a
particular Society.

Embroidery – This refers to the art of stitching ornaments on Cloth by hand.

Food Art – This involves packaging and/or presentation of food in An artistic way

Furniture – These are decorative and functional objects which Are typically found in a public or private dwelling
or building.

Komiks and Editorial Cartoon – It involves illustrations of stories Or events. However, and editorial cartoon is a
single – frame Illustration that may either makes fun of political leaders or Institutions, or comments on current
events. The komiks, on the Other hand, may use single or multiple frames with conversations Of people or
animals palced inside “balloons.”
Leaf Art – It is used in religious rituals, food wrapping, and even As a form of modern artistic expression

Mat Weaving – This refers to the art of “plaiting strips of organic fibers into mats.”

Metalcraft – This includes all objects made from metal using the processes of brass casting and blacksmithing,
tinsmithing, or goldsmithing and silversmithing.

– Brass casting and blacksmithing – This process involves casting and forging pieces of brass or bronze.
Tools, containers, weapons, and other items can be created using this process.
– Goldsmithing and silversmithing – These processes Involves the use of gold and silver in creating
objects And ornaments.
– Tinsmithing – It can be easily seen in creating Jeepneys, kalesas, and cariton or ice cream cart.

Multimedia – This consists of works that involve the use of other Senses in appreciating those works aside from
the sense of Vision.

– ❖ Conceptual Art – In this type of multimedia, a visual artist “ideates or sets up a situation, palcing
philosophical value in the process itself, while negating the importance of craftsmanship in arriving at a
finished art object.
– ❖ Installation Art – In this type of multimedia, the artist puts together materials and objects in an
exhibition space to cast a new experience or idea.
– ❖ Performance Art - In this type of multimedia, an artist converts himself or herself into an art object
in motion and sound.

Paper Art – This involves the processes of cutting, pasting, Recycling, and/or constructing of objects from paper.
Paper art Used to be limited with folk paper art such as taka and higante From Angono, parol, pastillas
wrappings, and kites.

Personal Ornaments – These are objects that are worn on the Human body.

Photography – This refers to the process of producing images Using a light-sensitive chemical palte or film.
Pottery – It is general term for decorative and useful objects Made from clay and set off at high temperatures.

Printmaking – This refers to transferring images from a firm Surface, such as metal or wood, to a pliable
surface, such as cloth Or paper, using pressure.

Tattoo Art – This refers to a body adornment permanently Engraved on the skin using sharp instrument and plant
dyes or Inks.

Textile Weaving – This refers to the process of creating cloth by Interweaving a series of parallel vertical threads
with another Series of horizontal threads at right angles.