FILAMER CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

College of Teacher Education

Accredited Level IV– ACSCU-ACI
Roxas Avenue, Roxas City, Capiz 5800

GE10 PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE

Lesson 7: Philippine Popular Culture: Art

Art of the Philippine
A study of the early beginnings of art in the country shows relation
of the arts to the life and time out of which they sprung. By tracing
the pathways of the arts in this country, we can acquire a richer
and fuller understanding of the spirit and inner life of the people
as reflected in their works of art (Estolas, et al., 2008) PRE-
COLONIAL Art in the Philippines During the pre-colonial period,
there was a lively cultural interchange between the Philippines
and the other Asian countries through migration and trade.
Country or People of Origin/ Period Early Neolithic -Found in the
graves of pre-Spanish Filipinos, as well as in the homes of
mountain people and cultural minorities. Late Neolithic -The
Duyong cave and the Tabon caves in Palawan (two burial sites
with charcoal in grave fill dated roughly 2680 B.C) -Bato cave in
sorsogon -The Manunggul burial jar Early Metal Age -various
archeological sites: palawan and calatagan excavation sites. Late
Metal Age -The sophistication of gold work can be seen in the
gold beads in Guri Cave. Metal Age this period shows the
development of glass technology and art of weaving in the
Philippines as the Filipinos strove for better control over their
environment influences from neighboring countries were made
themselves felt during this Age primarily through trading Pottery
The most convenient approach to the study of thousand of pre-
Hispanic pottery is to classify them by shape, method of
decoration, and type of design used in the surface. Houses during
16th century Spanish Influences Spanish rule in the Philippines
has left profound changes in the life of the Filipinos and the
natives experienced the process of adjustment and acculturation.
Paintings influence by spaniards Architectures Theater, rizal
family house, miag-ao church, barasoain church, cenaculo,
zarzuela, Comedias, Music and Dance, seguidilla, kumintang.
Literature Art During the American Regime Up to the Japanese
Occupation For four decades of American colonization in the
Philippines, they, one way or the other, had somehow influence
Philippine arts. Architecture traditional architects still held on to
neoclassicism or to eclecticism, some architects who are
knowledgeable in the architectural developments in Europe and
US, began to introduce modern elements in design. Sculpture for
examples HOUSES like BUNGALOWS and CHALETS Guillermo
Tolentino finished hi Andres Bonifacio monument in 1933. Ramon
Martinez made his sculptural portrayal of Bonifacio in 1905.
Painting Painting activity during the Japanese occupation was at
a standstill. Japanese money called Kura or Mickey Mouse
Money. One form of painted art during the period. It is used as a
currency in 1940's Literature During the Japanese occupation,
Filipinos were encouraged to write on a condition that they would
use Tagalog as a medium. However, the writers did not fully enjoy
the freedom of expressions due to several restrictions.
Entertainment was in a form of stage play. Music and Dances the
first opera written by a filipino under the American regime was
Sandugong Panaginip (Dream Alliance) written by Pedro Paterno.
The opera reflects the thinking of Paterno and the attitude of
collaboration with the Americans, that is, Filipino acceptance of
America sovereignty and cooperation with the new rulers. Present
Philippine Art Architecture There are a good number of well-
known architects in the Philippines. Foremost among the
country's modern architects are: Leonardo Lacson (CCP), Jose
Manosa (SMC) and his Coconut Palace where its structure
explored the creative uses of coconut. Sculpture Napoleon
Abueva, who is considered as the first modern Filipino sculptor,
regard national identity in sculpture as unnecessary, believing
instead that "pure form and design" alone should be the
consideration in appraising their works. Some of his sculpture
works are Baby Moses (1951) and Ring of the Gods (1971)
Paintings Juan Luna translated into canvass his deplorable
thoughts and feelings about war and destruction in Spoliarium
and E. Aguilar Cruz are considered as expressionists. Arturo Luz
Lao Ocampo Joya, Mauro Santos, Manuel Soriano
Early Beginnings of Art in the Philippines
 The first expression of art can be traced from prehistoric
times which dates 500,000 years ago.
 However, these indigenous art forms and national treasures
pertain more to archeology rather than art.
Southeastern Philippine Art
 Foreign traders played major role in the development of art
in the Philippines.
 A great no. of potteries, porcelain and stone wares have
been recovered in the Philippines which provide evidence of
trade during the proto historic period.
 Some Chinese potteries found in the Philippines are from the
late Tang and Northern Sung dynasties in the 10th century
A.D., Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming dynasty.
 Samples of early art works are potteries, porcelain and
stone wares.
 Such artworks have also been found in the graves of Pre-
Spanish Filipinos, as well as in the homes of mountain
people.
 Most common finds made by Chinese ceramic artist and
technicians are figurines, ceramics, dishes, bowls, vases
and boxes.
 The Duyong cave in Palawan and the Tabon cave complex
(two burial sites with charcoal in grave fill dated roughly
2,680 B.C.) yielded shell ear pendants and a polished stone
adze and shell axe-adze, representing a typical Early
Neolithic site.
 Meanwhile, the excavation of Bato cave in Sorsogon
province in Southern Luzon shows the Neolithic jar-burial
tradition, associated with stone ornaments, pottery, and
stone tools.
 The pottery assemblage from the Late Neolithic site which
date roughly 710 B.C showed a mastery of intricate design
that the Metal Age in the Philippines covers the period from
500 B.C and possibly earlier to the 10th century A.D.
 This period shows the development of glass technology and
art of weaving in the Philippines as the Filipinos strove for
better control over their environment.
 The typical artifacts in the Early Metal Age were beads and
bracelets made of glass
 Beads made of agate, carnelian, amethyst, rock, crystal,
and sapphire are believed to have originated in mainland
Southeast Asia.
 Pottery making which already existed during the Neolithic
period, became a highly developed technology.
 Some pottery forms were footed trays elaborate jars with
the boat of the dead on its covers.
 In the archeological area in the coasted strip of Calatagan
peninsula in Batangas province south of Manila were found
500 Filipino graves which yielded porcelain and stone wares
 from China and Annam or Vietnam, along with glass jewelry,
stone beads, iron tools and weapons.
 Foreign archeologists in the Philippines, in published
literature from Janse, Sullivan, Beyer and Fox cited that
tens-of-thousands of Oriental trade wares in the country
which originated from South China.
Southwestern Philippine Art
 Islamic influence has been absorbed in Southwestern
Philippine Art.
 Among the people who have absorbed the Islamic cultural
specializations in varying degrees are the Maranaw,
Tausug, Maguindanao and Sama-Badjao.
 Masculine decorative compositions are usually devised from
few basic motifs like circle, bird, leaf and fern, and flower.
 Some of the basic motifs in the feminine form or their
ornamental art include the circle, artificial moon, square,
rectangle, diamond and zigzag.
 Before the advent of commercial paints, earth and
vegetable dyes were used.
 The common animate representations are the serpent and
artificial cock.
 The depiction of Human and animal figures in art inhibited
by Islam
 It is said that when a Badjaw dies, the grave marker used
consists of parts of his boat frames.
 Distinct part of the marker is the abstracted form of the sea
cow with a stylish form of a person riding its back.
 The female figures are identified with combs, while the
males are provided with turbans.
 It is said that when a Badjaw dies, the grave marker used
consists of parts of his boat frames.
  Distinct part of the marker is the abstracted form of the sea
cow with a stylish form of a person riding its back.
 The female figures are identified with combs, while the
males are provided with turbans.
 It is said that when a Badjaw dies, the grave marker used
consists of parts of his boat frames.
 Distinct part of the marker is the abstracted form of the sea
cow with a stylish form of a person riding its back.
 The female figures are identified with combs, while the
males are provided with turbans.
 It is said that when a Badjaw dies, the grave marker used
consists of parts of his boat frames.
 Distinct part of the marker is the abstracted form of the sea
cow with a stylish form of a person riding its back.
 The female figures are identified with combs, while the
males are provided with turbans.

Branches of Philippine Art

Arts in the Philippines refer to all the various forms of the arts that
have developed and accumulated in the Philippines from the
beginning of civilization in the country up to the present era. They
reflect the range of artistic influences on the country's culture,
including indigenous forms of the arts, and how these influences
have honed the country's arts. These arts are divided into two
distinct branches, namely, traditional arts and non-traditional arts.

Traditional Arts
 Traditional Art is a kind of art that forms part of a culture.
 It includes group of people, skills and knowledge which are
transformed from one generation to another.
  Traditional art includes using old techniques usually refers to
a style of art which follows a regional, folk, or historical
tradition in the use of colors, the positioning of subjects,
styles used or employed, or so on.

Folk Architechture
Bahay Kubo
The Bahay kubo, or nipa hut, is a
type of stilt house indigenous to the
cultures of the Philippines.It is also
known as payag or kamalig in other
languages of the Philippines. It often
serves as an icon of Philippine
culture. Its architectural principles
gave way to many of Filipino
traditional houses and buildings that rose after the pre-colonial
era. These include the Colonial era "bahay na bato", which is a
noble version of bahay kubo with Spanish and some Chinese
main architectural influence and has become the dominant urban
architecture in the past.
Nipa huts were the native houses of the indigenous people of the
Philippines before the Spaniard arrived. They were designed to
endure the climate and environment of the Philippines. These
structures were temporary, made from plant materials like
bamboo. The accessibility of the materials made it easier to
rebuild nipa huts when damaged from a storm or earthquake.

Weaving
Binakol Weaving
Binakael (binakel, binakol, binakul) (transliterated,
"to do a sphere") is a type of weaving pattern
traditional in the Philippines. Patterns consisting
entirely of straight lines are woven so as to create the illusion of
curves and volumes. A sense of motion is also sought.
Binakol weaving is the 'Op Art' of the Philippines. They believed
that evil spirits that hovered overhead and preyed on sleeping
souls. The blankets in the dizzying designs, they believed, would
confuse and distract the evil spirits.

Maritime Transport
Balangay
Balangay, also spelled barangay, is a
type of lashed-lug boat built by joining
planks edge-to-edge using pins,
dowels, and fiber lashings. They are
found throughout the Philippines and
were used largely as trading ships up
until the colonial era.

The balangay was the first wooden boat that was excavated in
Southeast Asia. These boats were instrumental in the settlement
of Austronesian peoples in the Philippines and the Malay
archipelago. It was used for cargo and trading, in which Butuan,
Agusan de Norte, Philippines was a central trading port.

Basketry
Pasiking
The pasiking is the indigenous basket-
backpack found among the various
ethno-linguistic groups of Northern Luzon
in the Philippines. Pasiking designs have
sacred allusions, although most are
purely aesthetic.

Traditionally worn in the Mountain

Province of the Philippines, the Pasiking is used to carry goods
and equipment and also, even if carrying nothing, as just a rain
coat. The entire bag portion is woven rattan. The water-proof
covering is made from the extracted fibers of a very long-leafed
pineapple plant.

Carving
Bulul
Bulul, also known as bul-ul or tinagtaggu,
is a carved wooden figure used to guard
the rice crop by the Ifugao (and their sub-
tribe Kalanguya) peoples of northern
Luzon. The sculptures are highly stylized
representations of ancestors and are
thought to gain power and wealth from the
presence of the ancestral spirit. The
Ifugao are particularly noted for their skill
in carving bulul.

Bul'uls are used in ceremonies associated with rice production

and with healing. The creation of a bulul involves alwen bulul
ritual by a priest to ensure that the statue gains power. The bul'ul
is treated with care and respect to avoid the risk of the spirits of
the ancestors bringing sickness.

Pottery
Manunggul Jar
The Manunggul Jar shows that the Filipinos'
maritime culture is paramount that it reflected
its ancestors' religious beliefs. Many epics
around the Philippines would tell how souls go
to the next life, aboard boats, pass through
the rivers and seas. This belief is connected with the
Austronesian belief of the anito.

The Manunggul Jar is a unique Neolithic secondary burial jar with

an incised running scroll and impressed decorations. It is painted
with hematite. On top of the cover is a boat with two human
figures that represent souls on a journey to the afterlife.

Martial Arts
Arnis
Arnis, also known as Kali or
Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of
the Philippines. The three are roughly
interchangeable umbrella terms for the
traditional martial arts of the Philippines
("Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which
emphasize weapon-bassed fighting with
sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various
improvised weapons, as well as "open hand"
techniques without weapons.

Arnis comes from arnés, Old Spanish for "armor―. Arnis was
developed by the indigenous populations of the Philippines, who
used an assorted range of weaponry for combat and self-defense.
Encompassing both simple impact and edged weapons, arnis
traditionally involved rattan, swords, daggers and spears.

Culinary Art
Adobo
History of Adobo
The adobo was traditionally cooked
in clay pots but today is made in
more common metal pots or woks.
When the Spanish invaded and settled in the Philippines during
the 16th century, they witnessed this traditional Filipino cooking
method and called it adobo, which is the Spanish word for
marinade.

The term adobo is derived from the Spanish word adobar,

meaning marinade. The practice of marinating meat in a flavorful
mixture made from vinegar, salt, garlic, paprika, and oregano was
common to Spanish cooking.

Hat making, mask-making, and related arts

Kwaresma Mask
Lent or kwaresma in Filipino is the season
wherein Filipino people recall Christ’s
passion, his suffering, death and
resurrection. Philippines is known to be the
only primarily Christian country in the
whole of Asia and its population is made
up of a big number of devout Catholics,
which is the reason why Lent Season or
Holy Week traditions are commonly
practiced in a very unique way.

It is referred as Mahal na Araw or Semana

Santa in the Philippines, it starts from Palm Sunday, followed by
Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday and concludes on Black Saturday and the
Easter Sunday.
In the Philippines, Maunday Thursday and Good Friday are
considered as public holidays.

Folk drawing and painting

Bontoc Tattoo
Tattoos worn by the Bontoc Igorot men
symbolized the number of human heads taken
during a headhunting raid. The Kalinga Igorot
would tattoo their warriors on the back of the
hands and wrist after their first kill. The designs
and placement would get more elaborate
depending on the number of trophy heads they
acquired.

The primary purpose of tattooing amongst the

Ifugao, Kalinga, and Bontoc ethnic groups are related to
headhunting; tattoos signify a man's transition from being a
recognized headhunter to a fearsome warrior.

Non-Traditional Arts
The non-traditional arts in the Philippines encompass dance,
music, theater, visual arts, literature, film and broadcast arts,
architecture and allied arts, and design. There are numerous
Filipino specialists or experts on the various fields of
nontraditional arts, with those garnering the highest distinctions
declared as National Artist, equal to Gawad Manlilika ng Bayan
(GAMABA).

Dance

Dancers during the Pamulinawen Dancers performing Tboli dances in an

international stage
Music
 Choir Music University of the Philippines Madrigal
Singers

Theater

Promotion for the opera, Sandugong Tanghalang Pamabansa (National

Panaguinip (1902) Theater)

Visual Arts
The visual arts under the nontraditional arts include
painting, non-folk sculpture, printmaking,
photography, installation art, mixed media works,
illustration, graphic arts, performance art, and
imaging.

Painting

The progress of Medicine in the Philippines (1953),

Women Working on a rice fields a National Cultural Treasure
(1902)
 Non- folk Sculpture

Bonifacio Monument (1933), a

Mother and Child National Cultural Treasure)

Literature

Florante at Laura, originally published Noli Me Tangere, 1887

Film and Broadcast Art

A postcard for the film, Zamboanga A cinema inside a Filipino mall

a (1936)
 Architecture and allied arts

Baroque Manila Cathedral (C. 1571, Earthquake baroque Paoay Church (C. 1694), world
rebuilt 1954) Heritage site and a National Cultural Treasure

Design

Earth-tone bags Various jewelries

Functional Art

Occupying that tenuous space between fine art and the everyday,
functional art refers to aesthetic objects that serve utilitarian
purposes.

Functional art is a piece of art that serves another purpose other

than just to be looked at. It’s art that you can use or wear.
 The Tumpong (Traditional Musical Instrument from the
Philippines)

The tumpong (also inci by the

Maranao) is a type of Philippine
bamboo flute used by the
Maguindanaon, half the size of
the largest bamboo flute, the
palendag. A lipvalley flute like
the palendag, the tumpong
makes a sound when players
blow through İNCİ GELDİ a
bamboo reed placed on top of
the instrument and the air stream produced is passed over an air
hole atop the instrument. This masculine instrument is usually
played during family gatherings in the evening and is presently
the most common flute played by the Maguindanaon.

Sulibaw (a hollow Igorot drum, topped with pig skin or lizard

skin.)

A solibao is a conical tenor

drum played by the Bontoc and
Ibaloi people of the Philippines.
It is played with the palms of
both hands. It usually appears
as part of an ensemble along
with the kimbal, pinsak, kalsa
and palas. Sulibao is made from
a hollowed out log covered with
deer skin or pig skin.
Both types of drums are made of cylindrical pieces of wood. The
solibao is used together with the gangsa in ritual performances
and dances.

Rice Basket (Brooms of the Philippines)

There are two main types of native

brooms used in the Philippines —
the walis tingting for outdoors and
the walis tambo for smooth floors
indoors and perhaps on the patio.
Walis-tingting is a broom made from
the thin midribs of palm leaves. The
stiff ribs are tied up on one end.
A walis tambo is a gadget that is
used by Filipinos in cleaning floors.
It is very effective in sweeping dust and dirt or any other trashes
from cemented or wooden floors inside the house.

Salakot

Salakót is a traditional lightweight

headgear from the Philippines used for
protection against the sun and rain. They
are usually dome-shaped or cone-shaped
and can range in size from having very
wide brims to being almost helmet-like.
They are made from various materials
including bamboo, rattan, nito ferns, and
bottle gourd. The tip of the crown
commonly has a spiked or knobbed finial
made of metal or wood. It is held in place
by an inner headband and a chinstrap. Salakot is also spelled as
salacot in Spanish and salacco in French. It is the direct precursor
to the pith helmet (also called salacot in Spanish and French)
widely used by European military forces in the colonial era.

Integral art Features

Top 10 Philippine Artist and their works that have greatly

influenced the Philippine Culture and Society

 Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972)

The Fruit Gatherer’, 1950

 Jose Joya (1931-1995)

‘Granadean Arabesque’, 1958

 Pacita Abad (!946-2004)

Alkaf bridge by Pacita Abad

 Ang Kiukok (1935-2005)

The Fishermen’, 1981

 Benedicto Cabrera (1942-present)

Sabel in Blue, 2006

 Kidlat Tahimik (1942-present)

Murtaa Vali on the art of Kidlat Rahimik- Artforum Intenrational

 Eduardo Masferre (1909-1995)

‘Sagada’, 1952

 Agnes Arellano

Carcass- Cornucopia’, 1987

 Roberto Chabet (1937-2013)

Onethingafteranother, at the Mission House, Manila

Biennale 2018

 Napoleon Abueva (1930-2018)

The Cross at Mt. Samat, Bataan completed in 1970

REFERRENCES:

Art of The Philippines | PDF | Sculpture | Paintings

(scribd.com)
Arts in The Philippines | PDF | Philippines (scribd.com)