HISTORY OF

CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN
THE PHILIPPINES
GROUP 4
PRE-COLONIAL ART ISLAMIC ERA SPANISH COLONIAL
PERIOD ART PERIOD
(13TH CENTURY- PRESENT)
(6185 BC – 1520 AD) (1521 – 1898)

POST COLONIAL ART AMERICAN COLONIAL

JAPANESE ERA ART PERIOD
PERIOD
(1941-1945) (1898-1940) TO POST WAR
(1946-1986) REPULIC (1946-1969)

CONTEMPORARY
PERIOD
(1986-PRESENT)
PRE-COLONIAL
ART PERIOD
(6185 BC – 1520 AD)
BY DUCO
 Pre-colonial art period
• Age of Horticulture/Neolithic Period (6185 to 4400 BC)
• Metal Age (3190 to 190 BC)
• Iron Age (200 BC to 1000 BC)

During the Old Stone

Age (Paleolithic) in the 16000-
800 BC, the proof of earliest
man’s presence was recovered
from the Espinosa Ranch Site
in Cagayan Province
NOTABLE ART PIECES/ART WORKS
SHELL BRACELETS AND PENDANTS
(NEOLITHIC)
Cagayan, Palawan, and Sorsogon 4854 BC
Shells were formed into tools,
as well as ornaments. The oldest
known ornaments made from
cone shells were found in the early
1960’s in the grave of an adult
male in Duyong Cave in Palawan.
`IMPORTANT ART WORKS DURING THE PRE-
COLONIAL PERIOD:
• LINGLING-O (2000 BC-1000
AD) Duyong Cave, Palawan
is a kind of ear pendant
fashioned from green nephrite
(jade) is the characteristic trait
of the Early Metal Age.
• MANUNGGUL JAR
A burial jar excavated
from a Neolithic burial site in
mununggul cave of Tabon Caves
at Lipuup point at Palawan
dating from 890-710 B.C.
 • MAITUM JAR (Metal Age: 190 BC to 500 AD)
In 1991, the National Museum archaeological
team discovered anthropomorphic secondary burial
Jars in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Mattum,
Sarangani Province, Mindanao, Philippines.
OTHER FORMS OF ARTWORKS DURING THE
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
1. CARVING
• BULUL of Cordillera is a granary God that plays a important role in rituals.
• HAGABI of Ifugao is a wooden bench
• SANTOS or SCULPTURE OF SAINTS are famous in Laguna and Pampangga
• OKIR of the Tausug, Samal and Badjao is the mythical Sarimanok, also known
as the Naga or Serpent.
2. WEAVING
a. Textile Weaving
• Pis Siyabit of the Tausug of Sulu is a woven headpiece
• Malong is from the maranas of Lanao Del Sur
b. Mat and Basket Weaving
• Tepo Mat of the Sama of Tawi-Tawi is a double-layered mat
made from Pandan leaves.
• Ovaloid Basket of the Itbayat of Batanes is a head sling made
of nito or bamboo used to carry the harvests.
• Bubo of the Ilocos Region is a sturdy bamboo strips used to
trap the fish.
3. ORNAMENTATION serves as representations
of various ethnolinguistic groups
• Wearing of gold jewelry is common among
the upper class tagalogs.
• Tattooing is common among the visayans,
which is believed to be a protection from evil.

Baybayin is the most famous pre-colonial

art form in the country. It is a Tagalog ancient
script also known in Visayan as badlit.

Other pre-colonial art are pottery, weaving,

tattoo, jewelry, carving, and metal crafts.
ISLAMIC ERA
(13th century-present)
BY DUCO
Islamic era
The Islam have had influenced the Philippine Art even
before the Spaniards came to colonize the country. With
their geometric designs and patterns, Islam believers learned
to select their focus. Among the Southern people of the
Philippines, the Filipino Muslims recognized that they belong
to an Ummah or a community of believers.
SIGNIFICANT ARTWORKS DURING THE
ISLAMIC ERA
1. Sultanate of Sulu 3. Madrasah
2. Qura or the Holy Text 4. Islam
SPANISH COLONIAL
ART PERIOD
(1521-1898)
BY OBLIGADO
Spanish colonial art period
• When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in 1521, the
colonizers used art as a tool to propagate the Catholic faith
through beautiful images.
• Formal Painting, Sculpture and Architecture inspired by the
Byzantine, Gothic, baroque, and Rococo Art styles were
introduced in this period.
• Most art are religious (Catholic Based)
 ART AESTHETICS AS ADOPTED BY FILIPINO
ARTISTS
• Byzantine Art are artistic products of the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, as
well as the nations and states that
inherited culturally from the empire.
These are more Christian-based art.
• The Baroque
exaggerated motion and clear, easily
interpreted detail to produce drama, tension,
exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting,
architecture, literature, dance, theater, and
music.
• Rococo Art, characterized by whimsical,
curvy lines and elaborately decorative
style of art, whose name derives from the
French word ‘rocaille’ meaning, rock-work
after the forms of sea shells.

• Gothic Art, typically rooted in religious

devotion, it is especially known for the
distinctive arched design of its churches, its
stained glass, and its illuminated
manuscripts.
 IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS RELATED TO ART DURING
THE SPANISH ERA
• Chinese artisans were engaged in making icons or saints made of
wood or ivory.
• Colonial churches
• Western musical instruments like the pipe organ, violin, guitar and
piano
• Catholic liturgical music
• Choral music among boys
• Musical form based on Catholic faith emerged through the Pasyon.
• Secular music, the awit and the korido
• Kundiman an expression of unrequited love for a
beautiful woman.
• Zarzuela, an opera that features singing and
dancing with prosed dialogue Komedya was also
introduced.
• Folk dances such as the carinosa, pandanggo,
polka, dansa and rigodon, habanera, and tango.
• Visual Arts and paintings about Catholic devotion
like the heaven, earth and hell became popular.
UPRISING OF THE PHILIPPINE
ARTISTS
In the formation of the elite Filipino
class, the Ilustrados, paved the way for
the rich locals to study abroad to acquire
a more “academic” and “western”
approach of learning. As a result, the
Filipino Classicism was formed as
influenced by the Neo-Classicism,
Romanticism and even a hint of
Impressionism.
 AMONG THE FILIPINO ARTISTS THAT EMERGED
DURING THIS PERIOD:
1. Damian Domingo
• Recognized as the first Filipino to paint his
face
• He created the first Self-Portrait in the
Philippines.
• He is the founder of the Academia de Dibujo
y Pintura, the first school of drawing in the
Philippines (1821).
2. Juan Luna
• is the first of the two Internationally renowned
artist in the country.
• He was a Filipino painter, sculpture and a
political activist of the Philippine Revolution
during the late 19th century.
• His Spoliarium won the gold medal in the 1884
Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts.

3. Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo

• is one of the greatest Filipino painters along
with fellow painter Juan Luna in the 19th
century.
• His work has a touch of Romanticism and
aesthetics of the Neoclassicism.
TWO FILIPINO ART STYLES DEVELOPED DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
1. MINIATURISMO art 2. LETRAS y FIGURAS art style fuses
style pays attention to letters with figures in everyday activity
the embroidery and amidst a common background. This is
usually used in painting a patron’s full
texture of the costume. name.
AMERICAN COLONIAL
ART PERIOD
(1898-1940) TO POST-WAR REPUBLIC
(1946-1969)

BY OBLIGADO
• The Americans brought in Education and Value
Formation, with both following the“American
way of life” to the Philppines.
POPULAR ART STYLE DURING THE PHILIPPINE
COLONIAL AMERICAN PERIOD
• ART NOUVEAU is a style of decorative art,
architecture, and design prominent in Western
Europe.
Among the notable artists of this period are:
1. Fabian Dela Rosa
He is the brightest name in Philippine
painting.
2. Fernando Amorsolo
He is a portraitist and a painter of rural
landscapes. He is best known for his craftsmanship
and mastery in the use of light.
3. Guillermo Tolentino
He is the recipient of the National Artist Award for Sculpture in 1973. He
is considered as the "Father of Philippine Arts“.

The Triumvirate of Philippine Modern Art emerged, which paved the

way to the Philippine Pre-Modern Art. They are Victorio Edades, Carlos
“Botong” Francisco and Galo B. Ocampos. The latter introduced the
Modern Art styles in such as pop art, maximalism, minimalism,
abstraction, expressionism, constructivism, magic realism, and
environmental art before the World War II.
JAPANESE ERA
(1941-1945)

BY SAUCEJO
 JAPANESE ERA
The Japanese are known to have advocated the culture
of the East Asia, giving importance to the indigenous art and
traditions of the Philippines.
FAMOUS ARTISTS AND ARTWORKS DURING THE JAPANESE
ERA
1. Felipe de Leon’s Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas is a
music composition by National Artist Felipe de Leon that was
declared as the anthem for the said period.
2. Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings entitled Harvest Scene,
Rice Planting, Bombing of the Intendencia, and Ruins of
Manila Cathedral.
3. Sylvia La Torre’s song entitled Sa Kabukiran.
4. Levi Celerio’s composition of Sa Kabukiran.
5. Crispin Lopez’s painting of Study of an Aeta.
6. Diosdado Lorenzo’s painting of Atrocities in
Paco.
7. Dominador Castaneda’s painting of the
Doomed Family.
Post-colonial art
period
(1970-1986)

BY SAUCEJO
PHILIPPINE MODERN ART (1946 – 1970)
• Some Philippine art historians/critics have always
been a follower of the Western Art Style and its
trends. Hence, it was suggested that this was actually
the point where Philippine Modern Art Period started
but went only full swing only after the war.
• Writers and artists of the Modern Era in the Philippine
Art started posing questions of national identity as the
main theme of various art forms during this period.
 PHILIPPINE POST MODERN ART
(1970 – 1980s)
• gave a venue for all artists to experiment and
explore different medium of art.
• content, subject matter, form, techniques and
themese that were at that time considered as
“new”.
• Modern artists did not aim to copy and idealize
reality.
• Abstraction that consists of simplified forms
became popular as well during this period.
SOME OF THE MODERN ARTISTS AND THEIR
ARTWORKS
1. Neo-Realists
• Manansala’s paintings of The Beggars, and Tuba Drinkers
• Legaspi’s Gadgets II, and Bad Girls
• Ocampo’s The Contrast, and Genesis
2. Abstract Artists
• Luz’s Street Musicians
• Saguil’s Cargadores
 MODERN ARCHITECTURE STRUCTURE

1. Church of 3. Chapel of Saint

Holy Sacrifice Joseph the Worker

2. Church of the
Risen Lord
CONTEMPORARY
PERIOD
(1986-PRESENT)

BY AMOIN
• was on the onset of the sudden rise of personal
computers and new technology.
• which created a new art medium for the arts and
human expression.
• Characterized by the artist’s intent to portray a
subject as it exists in the world.
Modern Art Aesthetics
During this period
were accoridng to the
artist’s unique
perspective and are
typified by a rejection of
accepted or traditional
styles and values.
Post-Modern Art
Aesthetics
is a body of art movements that sought
to contradict some aspects of modernism.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY ART

• Work of art of artists living in the 21st century
• Collaborative and interactive
• Current ideas
• Combination of materials, methods, concepts and subjects that
are beyond the traditional boundaries
• Depiction of social and current issues
 Functions of Contemporary Art
BY GUSTILLO

FOR PLEASURE AS PROFESSION AS COMMENTARY

AS SELF- AS
EXPRESSION REMEMBRANCE IN SPIRITUALITY
 Summary
The history of contemporary art provided a means by
which we can understand our human past and its
relationship to our present, because the act of making art is
one of humanity’s most ubiquitous activities. A reference to
Contemporary Art meaning “the art of today”, more broadly
includes artwork produced during the late 20th and early 21st
centuries. It generally defines art produced after the
Modern Art movement to the present day. However,
modern artwork is not just art produced during a specific
time-frame.
conclusion
Knowing the history of Contemporary Art
provides opportunities to reflect on society and the
issues that are important to us and the world.
Looking at art from the past by studying art history
can contribute to who we are as a people today. We
can look at what has been done before us, and are
able to view the world today with more complete
perspective and better understanding. It is part of
cultural dialogue that concerns longer contextual
frameworks such as identity, family, community, and
nationality.