Contemporary: Present

Key Characteristics of Contemporary Art: It transgresses the norm.

Social Realism (1970):
 To oppose the regime.
 It is an art movement making a voyage to expose the real condition of the Philippines.
 EDSA People Power Revolution
Contemporary Art is Radically Interdisciplinary: Combines various art forms and disciplines.
Appropriation: Creating a new work by taking a pre-existing image and combining the borrowed
image with new ones.
Contemporary Art and Local Heritage: Observed.
Contemporary Art for Pleasure: Visual/delight. Definition of beautiful, defined as pleasing to
the eye.
Contemporary Art for Self-Expression: Commercialization
Contemporary Art as Commentary: Communication. Artists convey information about issues,
subjects, and perspectives.
Contemporary Art in Spirituality: Express spiritual beliefs and practices.
Contemporary Art in Remembrance: To commemorate important events/people.
Contemporary Art and Self-Hyperrealism: Artists convey information about their feelings.
Personal and intimate.

National Artists for Visual Arts:

Fernando Amorsolo
 First National Artist in the country.
 Known for using backlighting technique.
Carlos “Botong” Francisco
 Revived the art of mural.
 Known for using historical events as subjects.
Guillermo Tolentino
 National Artist for Sculpture in 1973.
 Seal of the Republic of the Philippines' UP Oblation.
Napoleon V. Abueva
 Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture.
 Known for creating sandpoint sculpture.
Victorio C. Edades (December 23, 1895 – March 7, 1985) Recognized as the Father of Modern
Philippine Painting and was known for using dark somber colors in his paintings. His works
focused on factory workers, laborers or other simple townspeople.
Vicente Manansala (January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981) He was known for his paintings
depicting realistic themes using an abstract or a cubist style. He believed that “the beauty of art
is in the process, in the moment of. doing a particular painting, closely associating it with the act
of making love.
Hernando R. Ocampo (April 28, 1911 – December 28, 1978) Ocampo was largely known for his
abstract paintings. His works featured shapes bounded with curved lines painted in intense
colors. His masterpiece “Genesis” was used as the basis of the design of the curtain of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater.
Cesar Legaspi (April 2, 1917 – April 7, 1994) Legaspi was known for utilizing and refining
cubism, a style involving breaking parts into geometric shapes, in his paintings.
Elizalde Navarro (May 22, 1924 – June 10, 1999) He was known for his hardwood masks
reflecting the human and the animal, abstract paintings in oil and watercolor, and assemblages.
He was also known for his fiction works for This Week of the Manila Chronicle, and for his
figurative drawings for Lydia Arguilla’s Juan tamad.
Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005) He was known for his paintings expressing
nationalism and sociological agenda during the 60’s through vivid cubistic figures. His works
include “Geometric landscape,” “Pieta,” and the “Seated Figure.”
Benedicto Cabrera (April 10, 1942) Known as “Bencab,” Cabrera was noted as the bestselling
painter of his generation of Filipino artists and also known for his sketches of a scavenger
named “Sabel, a symbol of dislocation, despair and isolation-the personification of human
dignity threatened by life’s circumstance.”
Abdulmari Asia Imao (January 14, 1936 – December 16, 2014) Imao was instrumental in
popularizing the ukil, sarimanok and naga motifs in the country as original Filipino creations. He
helped in developing trust and confidence among cultural groups, which is needed in building a
more humane community and society.
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (June 6, 1932 – February 2, 2011) Alcuaz was mainly known for his oil
and acrylic paintings, and sketches in ink, pencil, and watercolor.
Francisco Coching (January 29, 1919 – September 1, 1998) Tagged as the “Dean of Filipino
Illustrators,” Coching is best known for his work on comics and illustrations which lead to its
recognition as popular art. He has influenced cartoonists such as Larry Alcala, Ben Infante and
Nestor Redondo.
Jose T. Joya (June 3, 1931 – 1995) Joya is known for pioneering abstract expressionism in the
Philippines. His most notable work is the Granadean Arabesque (1958). He also represented the
Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennale. 11

NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR ARCHITECHTURE:

Pablo S. Antonio (January 25, 1902 – June 14, 1975) He was considered a pioneer in modern
Philippine architecture. A prominent feature of his designs is the use of natural light and cross
ventilation. According to Antonio, buildings should be planned with austerity in mind and its
stability forever as the aim of true architecture; that buildings must be progressive, simple in
design but dignified, true to a purpose without resorting to an applied set of aesthetics and
should eternally recreate truth.
Leandro V. Locsin (August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994) His designs usually features themes
of floating volume and a mix of both eastern and western aesthetics.
Ildefonso P. Santos (September 5, 1929 – January 29, 2014) Santos pioneered landscape
architecture in the Philippines. His work in the Makati Commercial Center incorporated
fountains, sculptures and landscapes to a shopping area.

NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR LITERATURE:

Historical Literature
Carlos Quirino (November 4, 1910 – May 20, 1999) He is the first and so far the only National
Artist for Historical Literature and was also known for writing “The Great Malayan,” which
considered to be one of the earliest biographies of Jose Rizal.
Literature
Francisco Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002) Arcellana is a writer, poet, essayist,
critic, journalist and teacher, who is recognized as one of the pioneers in writing modern Filipino
short stories in English. He also originated the lyrical prose-poetic form in writing short stories.
N.V.M Gonzales (September 8, 1915 – November 28, 1999) Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales is a
fictionist, essayist, poet and teacher. He earned numerous recognitions including the First
Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940, the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1960 and the
Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990.
Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) He is considered as the most distinguished Filipino
writer in English writing. His body of work extends from short stories to poems to essays which
includes journalism and reportage. He used the name Guerre Quijano de Manila as journalist.
F. Sionil Jose (December 3, 1924) F. Sionil Jose is one of the most widely read Filipino writers
founded the Philippine chapter of the international organization PEN.
Alejandro Roces (July 13, 1924 – May 23, 2011) Roces is known for his comic short stories
which includes “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken.” He also led the campaign to change the
country’s Independence Day from July 4 to June 12.
Edith L. Tiempo (April 22, 1919 – August 21, 2011) Tiempo is a poet, fictionist, teacher and
literary critic who founded the Siliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City with her
late husband Edilberto K. Tiempo.
Virgilio S. Almario (March 9, 1944) Also known as Rio Alma, who is among the notable
modernist poets. He reinvented the traditional Filipino poetry forms.
Amado V. Hernandez (September 13, 1903 – May 24, 1970) Hernandez is known for his
contribution in the development of the Tagalog prose through the use of colloquial style.
Carlos P. Romulo (January 14, 1899 – December 15, 1985) Romulo is noted as a diplomat and
an awarded journalist. He is the first Asian President of the United Nations General Assembly,
and the only Asian to win the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for his articles on the World War II.
Bienvenido Lumbera (April 11, 1932) Lumbera is a multi-awarded poet, critic and librettist. His
works includes Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in Filipino and English), 1993; Balaybay, Mga
Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002; Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na Dulang May Musila, 2004; Tales of
the Manuvu and Rama Hari.
Cirilo F. Bautista (July 9, 1941) Bautista is a poet, fictionist and essayist. He founded Philippine
Literary Arts Council in 1981, the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio
Writers Group.
Lazaro Francisco (February 22, 1898 – June 17, 1980) Francisco is among the prominent writers
in the Tagalog language. He established the Kapatiran Ng Mga Alagad Ng Wikang Pilipino
(KAWIKA) in 1958 to support Tagalog as national language.
Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908 – July 7, 1997) Villa is recognized as one of the best
contemporary poets. He is best known for introducing the reversed consonance rhyme scheme
and his use of punctuation, especially commas.

NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR DANCE, MUSIC, FILM, AND THEATER:

Cinema/Film
Lamberto V. Avellana (February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991) Avellana was tagged as the “The Boy
Wonder of Philippine Movies” as early as 1939. Kalderong Pilak was the first film by a Filipino
filmmaker shown in Cannes International Film Festival.
Manuel Conde (October 9, 1915 – August 11, 1985) Conde is known for producing and directing
films based on old Filipino tales such as Siete Infantes de Lara (1950), Si Juan Tamad (1974), Ang
Ibong Adarna (1941). He also brought to the silver screen stories from the other parts of the
worlds like Genghis Khan (1950).
Eddie S. Romero (July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013) He is a screenwriter, film director and producer
who is behind the Filipino classics such as “Ganito Kami Noon...Paano Kayo Ngayon?”, “Banta ng
Kahapon” and “Aguila” as well as the 13-part series “Noli Me Tangere”.
Lino Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) Catalino “Lino” Ortiz Brocka is recognized for his
films which explores the lives of people in the marginalized sectors. Brocka also directed for
theater organizations such as the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the
Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP).
Gerardo de Leon (September 12, 1913 – July 25, 1981) De Leon is a prominent film maker in
the 50’s and 60’s producing classics such as “Daigdig ng Mga Api,” “Noli Me Tangere,” “El
Filibusterismo,” “dyesebel” and “Sisa.”
Ishmael Bernal (September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996) Bernal, who was hailed by the critics as
“The Genius of the Philippine Cinema,” is known for directing films that projects the realities of
the Filipinos. He was hailed as Director of the Decade of the 1970s by the Catholic Mass Media
Awards; four-time Best Director by the Urian Awards (1989, 1985, 1983 and 1977); and given
the ASEAN Cultural Award in Communication Arts in 1993.
Ronald Alan K. Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004) More known as Fernando Poe, Jr.
He is an icon in film industry as an actor, director, writer and producer. He starred in films like
“Mga Alabok sa Lupa” (1967), “Partida”. (1985), “Ang Probinsyano” (1996), and among others.
Dance
Francisca Reyes Aquino (March 9, 1899 – November 21, 1983) She was known for her research
on Philippine folk dances, which later resulted to a thesis entitled “Philippine Folk Dances and
Games.” It was distributed to public and private schools.
Leonor Orosa Goquingco (July 24, 1917 – July 15, 2005) She was known as the “Mother of
Philippine Theater Dance,” Goquingco blended folkloric and Asian styles in ballet choreography.
She was a founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theater and the Honorary Chair of the
Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines.
Ramon Obusan (June 16, 1938 – December 21, 2006) A dancer, choreographer, artistic director,
researcher, and documentary filmmaker. He was able to promote Filipino culture in other
countries using the art of dance through the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group.
Lucrecia Reyes – Urtula (June 29, 1929 – August 24, 1999) Reyes-Urtula was the dance director
of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company, for which she choreographed different Philippine
folk, ethnic dances, pageants and festivals.
Alice Reyes (October 14, 1942) Reyes is known in blending styles and movements from
Philippine indigenous dance, classical ballet, and modern dance in expressing Filipino subject
matters. This is said to be the “contemporary dance language that is uniquely Filipino.”
Music
Antonino Buenaventura (May 4, 1904 – January 25, 1996) He was known for his marches
including the “Triumphal March,” “History Fantasy,” “Echoes from the Philippines,” and “Ode to
Freedom.” He was a conductor of.the Philippine Army Band. He wrote compositions for solo
instruments, symphonic and orchestral works, which are based on Philippine folksongs.
Ernani Cuenco (May 10, 1936 – June 11, 1988) He was known for the following songs: “Bato sa
Buhangin,” “Gaano Kita Kamahal,” “Inang Bayan,” “Isang Dalangin,” “Kalesa,” and “Pilipinas.”
These works brought contemporary Filipino music to a higher level. The song, “Gaano Kita
Kamahal”, he added elements of Kundiman. He played with the Filipino Youth Symphony
Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1968.
Francisco Feliciano (February 19, 1941 – September 19, 2014) His major works include “Ashen
Wings,” “Sikhay sa Kabila ng Paalam,” and “Pamugun.” He was known for the use of modal
scales in his operas and orchestral works. He used indigenous music in his compositions.
Jovita Fuentes (February 15, 1895 – August 7, 1978) She was best known for her portrayal of
Cio-cio San in Giacamo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in Italy in April 1925. When she returned to
the Philippines, she established the Artists’ Guild of the Philippines in an effort to instill love for
opera in her countrymen.
Jose Maceda (January 31, 1917 – May 5, 2004) He conducted researches and fieldwork to
explore Filipino traditional music further and to understand the nature of Philippine ethnic and
traditional music. His efforts gave birth to a huge number of recorded Philippine ethnic and
traditional music.
Lucio San Pedro (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002) Best known for his compositions “Sa
Ugoy ng Duyan,” “Sa Mahal Kong Bayan,” “Dance of the Fairies,” “Triumphal March,” and
“Lahing Kayumanggi,” Lucio San Pedro was the conductor of the Peng Kong Grand Mason
Concert Band, the San Pedro Band of Angono, and the Benda Angono Numero Uno. Working
with these bands and other town bands helped in the development of a civic culture among
Filipino communities.
Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) Celerio is most known for his recognition as the only
man who could play music with a leaf in the Guinness Book of World Records. He also earned
Lifetime Achievement Award of the Film Academy of the Philippines for writing songs for local
movies. He was also known as the dean of Filipino lyricists.
Felipe Padilla de Leon (May 1, 1912 – December 5, 1992) He was known for Filipinizing western
music forms. His works, which include “Mariang Maikling Overture,” “Maynila Overture,”
“Payapang Daigdig,” and “Ako’y Pilipino,” expressed sentiments and aspirations of the Filipino in
times of strife and peace.
Lucrecia R. Kasilag (August 31, 1918 – August 16, 2008) She was known for fusing Filipino
ethnic music with Western musical influences. She was also known for incorporating Filipino
indigenous musical instruments in orchestral works.
Antonio J. Molina (December 16, 1894 – January 29, 1980) Molina was known for introducing
the pentatonic scale, whole tone scale, linear counterpoints and the use of dominant ninths and
eleventh chords in Philippine music.
Ramon P. Santos (February 25, 1941) Santos is a Filipino composer, musicologist and
ethnomusicologist who was made a Chevalier de I’Orde des Arts et Lettres in 1987. He helped in
advocating modern Philippine music that is still based on early Asian practices and way of life.
Andrea Veneracion (July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013) She was the founder of the world-renowned
University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, or simply the Philippine Madrigal Singers, which
is the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing twice.
Veneracion is also recognized as an important authority in the development of Philippine choral
music.
Theater
Daisy Avellana (January 26, 1917 – May 12, 2013) She co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild,
together with her husband, National Artist Lamberto Avellana, in 1939. This move made theatre
and dramatic arts popular in the country. She was known as director of films “Diego Silang”
(1968) and “Walang Sugat” (1971).
Honorata “Atang” dela Rama (January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991) She was named National Artist
for Theater and Music in 1987. She was known as the Queen of Kundiman, and the first actress
to portray a 15-year-old in the very first Tagalog film, which was the film version of the Sarsuela
“Dalagang Bukid.”
Salvador F. Bernal (January 7, 1945 – October 26, 2011) Honored as National Artist for Theater
Design in 2003, Bernal used local materials including bamboo, abaca, hemp twine, and rattan in
theater design for local productions.
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (January 22, 1910 – May 1, 1995) He served as the director of UP
Dramatic Club for 16 years since 1947. He founded the UP Mobile Theater, which started the
concept of theater campus tour.
Severino Montano (January 3, 1915 – December 12, 1980) He organized the Arena Theater
Playwriting Contest which became the initial ground for playwrights to showcase their talents in
writing while serving as Dean of Instruction of the Philippine Normal College.
GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN (GAMABA):
Eduardo Mutuc (2005 awardee) He dedicated his life in creating religious and secular art in
silver, bronze and wood. According to him, craftsmanship begins with respect for one’s tools and
the medium, and the only way to improve one’s skills is to immerse oneself, learn the
technique, and to practice.
Darhata Sawabi (2005 awardee) She is a Tausug weaver of pis syabit – the traditional cloth
tapestry worn as a head cover. Women in Sulu province have grown up learning in weaving the
pis syabit and she is one of those who took the art of pis syabit making to heart.
Haja Amina Appi (2005 awardee) She is recognized as a master mat weaver among the Sama
indigenous community for her unique designs, straightness of her edging (tabig), and fineness
of her sasa and kima-kima.
Lang Dulay (1998 awardee) She is a T’boli traditional weaver of “tinalak” or T’boli cloth made of
colorful abaca fabrics. She used abaca fibers as fine as hair which speaks more eloquently than
words can.
Salinta Monon (1998 awardee) She is a Tagabanwa-Bagobo traditional weaver of distinct abaca
fabrics called inabal. She developed a keen eye for the traditional designs and can identify the
designs as well as the author of a woven piece just by a glance.
Alonzo Saclag (2000 awardee) He is a Kalinga master of dance and the performing arts who
mastered not only the Kalinga musical instruments but also the dance patterns and movements
associated with his people’s ritual.
Federico Caballero He is a Sulod-Bukidnon epic chanter who works for the documentation of
the oral literature. He is considered as bantugan which means a person who has attained
distinction. He strikes to dispense justice in the community through his work as a manughusay
which is an arbiter of conflicts.
Masino Intaray (1993 awardee) He is a prolific and pre-eminent epic canter and story teller
recognized for his outstanding mastery of various traditional musical instruments of the
Palaw’an people, such as basal, kulilal and bagit. He is an outstanding master of the basal, kulilal
(musical ensemble) and bagit; a gifted pot, bard artist, and musician.
Samon Sulaiman (1993 awardee) He is Magindanaon, who is highly sophisticated in weaving,
okir designs, jewelry, metalwork and brassware which art is Southeast Asian yet distinct in
character.
Uwang Ahadas (2000 awardee) His near-blindness eyesight made music his constant
companion. He is a Yakan, a people to whom instrumental music is of much significance,
connected as it is with both the agricultural cycle and the social realm.
Ginaw Bilog (1993 awardee) He is a Hanunoo Mangyan who is considered as a master of the
ambahan poetry. He shares old and new ambahans with his fellow Mangyans and promotes this
poetic form in every occasion. A common cultural aspect among cultural communities
nationwide is the oral tradition characterized by poetic verses which are either sung or chanted.
Magdalena Gamayo (2012 awardee) She is a master weaver who makes “inabel”, an Ilokano
handwoven cloth. She was awarded for her wide array skills in textile weaving. Her handiworks
are finer than most abel. Her blankets have a very high thread count and her deigns are the
most intricate that sometimes take up to five colors.