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Subject Code: CORE 14 Subject Title: CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ARTS FROM THE
REGIONS
Module No: 01 Topic: Contemporary Arts and Modern Arts
Teacher: Kenneth Y. Nebria

I. OVERVIEW

Contemporary art includes, and develops from, postmodern art, which is itself a successor
to modern art. Manila speak the many things I learned at the dayaw lowlands of Luzon arts
and crafts lowlands Bulacan s best arts and crafts amaia land affordable.

A. Learning Competency

The learners will be able to:

(1) describes various contemporary art forms and their practices from the various regions.

(2) Specific Learning Objectives

The learners will be able to:

(1) Identify the major periods, artists, and artworks of the Philippine art history;
(2) Illustrate local examples of contemporary arts through videos from online websites.
(3) Distinguish conservative, modern, and contemporary styles in the visual arts and be able to
interpret these by creating a self- portrait.

II. LET’S BEGIN

Art produced at the present period in time. Contemporary art includes, and develops from, Postmodern art, which is
itself a successor to Modern art. In vernacular English, “modern” and “contemporary” are synonyms, resulting in
some conflation of the terms “modern art” and “contemporary art” by non-specialists.

Please watch this short video to get an overview of what this module and course all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIJ3TTe2u8 - YouTube

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III. LET’S DIG DEEPER

This module will help you clarify the Contemporary Art Forms from Luzon. In order to meet this goal,
we will go through the following discussion points 1) Contemporary or Modern Arts; 2) General
Characteristics of Contemporary and Modern Arts.

Note: Make sure that you understand what is presented in this section because you will need it in the
exercise that will follow.

Contemporary Art and Modern Art, differs from one another?

It is common tendency to describe the present as “Modern Art.” Being modern means
being up to date and technologically advance. Often, being modern is equated with being
contemporary. Art that is new or current is also often referred to as “modern” as opposed to
“traditional” or “consecutive.” In other words, in everyday parlance, the terms are
interchangeable.

Modern and contemporary art are vastly different periods, although they could share
some characteristics, sources, and influences. The first difference between the contemporary
and modern is historical and chronological. Below shows a summary of the periods of Philippine
art from Pre- Conquest to the contemporary. Please take note that this table includes painting,
sculpture, and architecture only. As you learn more in succeeding lessons, you can add on your
own data on the other arts like music, dance, literature, and theater.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: PHLIPPINE ART

FORM PRE- SPANISH AMERICA JAPANESE POSRWAR 70S-
CONQUE PERIOD N PERIOD PERIOD REPUBLIC CONTEMPOR
ST (1521- 1898) (1898- (1941- (1946- ARY
1940) 1945) 1969)
PAINTING Potter: Religious ( Landscap War time Modern, Figurative,
body icons and e scene ( conservati non-
adornme ecclesiastica portraitu aggressio ve, figurative, art
nt, l secular) re, genre, n, abstract, for art sake,
ornamen interior, nationalis experimen multimedia,
t still life m, tal, public mixed media,
atrocities, art. trans media.
symbolic,
protest,

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 aspiration
for peace)
SCULPTURE Pottery, Santos, Free Modern, Figurative,
carving furniture, standing, conservati non-
and reliefs, altar relief, ve, figurative, art
wood pieces, public. abstract, for art sake,
work, jewelry, experimen multimedia,
metal metalwork, tal, public mixed media,
work and fiesta, art. trans media.
expressio ornamentati
n. on,
ARCHITECT Dwellings Church, City Real Real estate,
URE and plaza planning, estate, safe safe housing,
houses, complex, parks, housing, accessories,
shelters, town waterfro accessories tenements,
worship planning, nt, Public , squatters,
areas, fortification, civic/gov works tenements convention
official civic t., , squatters, arch,
residence buildings structure convention commercial/
s, and s, public arch, business,
mosque, installations, works, commercia condos, malls,
masjid, private apartme l/ business, subdivisions,
state residences, nt, condos, development,
edifices. commercial residenc malls, low cost
structures, es, subdivision housing.
cemeteries, offices, s,
bridges, health developme
lighthouse and nt, low cost
public housing.
educatio
n,
business
chalet.
Figure 1.1 (Professors Fajardo and Flores)
What is Contemporary Art? What is Modern Art?

According to art history (from the table above) Contemporary art can be defined
as art produced by artists living today.

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Figure 1.2. Zyza Bacani(2013) Figure 1.3. The Contrast by HR Ocampo

The picture on figure 1.2 and the painting by HR Ocampo on figure 1.3 have the same
subject matter: The poor and ordinary people on the street.

Figure 1.2 was taken around 2013, in Hong Kong, where the photographer, Zyza Bacani,
who hails from Nueva Vizcaya, worked as domestic helper, and now is based on New York on a
scholarship. On her days off, she shot with her digicamera. Her first camera was bought from
money loaned by her employer.
HR Ocampo’s painting (figure 1.3) was painted early 1960’s. At that time, the painting was
considered contemporary. Today, we refer to these works as example of Modern Art, produced
between the American colonial period to the post- war period. Some modern artists continue to
produce work till today. In that sense, their works can be described as contemporary, by virtue
of being “of the present.” For example, the National Artist Arturo Luz continued to produce
paintings in his 90s and well into the 21st. However as seen in figure 1.1 the table of “Historical
Overview” his paintings’ hard edged and minimalist abstract style is associated with the Modern
style of the late 20th century. The “contemporary” is therefore a fluid term, and its use can change
depending on the con-texts, in this case historical and stylistic. At times, the Modern and
Contemporary can be used simultaneously or interchangeable; however, there is also danger of
using them carelessly or loosely. Thus, it is important to know the historical and stylistic contexts
of the terms.
There are a number of artist---young and senior, alike—who paint in styles associated
with Modern art. Victorio Edades is credited for initiating the Modern Art movement that
challenged the neoclassic style, which was dominant at the time he came home from studying in
America before the war. The Neoclassic style depicts reality as closely as possible and idealizes
it. The modern artist led by Edades challenged what were described as “conservative” art seen
in the works of National Artists Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino. Modern Artist Do
not aim to idealize reality; instead, they change the colors and flatten the picture instead of
creating illusions of Depth, Nearness, and farness. Instead of the beautiful and pastoral, they
depict what might be thought of as “ugly” and unpleasant.

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 Today, Modern Art is referred to as “traditional” compared to Contemporary Art.
Contemporary Art is the Art of the present, which is continuously in process and in flux. What is
contemporary today may become “academic” or “traditional” at some point. The styles of
Modern Art for example are now part of art school curricula and have become academic. Thus,
the distinction between Modern Art and Contemporary art could also be a matter of perception
and reception depending on the contexts, which will be discussed in detail in the succeeding
lessons. For now, it is important that we are aware of the distinction between Modern Art and
Contemporary Art, their differences as well as the similarities. Social realism continues to
influence artists. For example, Imelda Cajipe- Endaya’s Filipina DH, 1995 is social realists, but the
style and medium of the installation is markedly different.

Similarities and Differences between Modern Art and Contemporary Art.

Figure 1.4. Carlos Francisco, Magpupukot

Figure1.5 Fernando Amorsolo, Fishing Scene

Figure 1.6 Victorio Edades, The Builders

Figure 1.4 shows Carlos Francisco’s depiction of fishing as a difficult process, while Amorsolo’s
rendition emphasizes calm and placidity. Like Francisco’s Magpupukot(1957), HR Ocampo’s The
Contrast(1940). Edades’ The Builders (1928) in figure 1.7 shows the oppressive condition of the
underprivileged classes. Modern Artists like Romeo Tabuena, Hernando Ocampo, Vicente
Manansala, Victor Oteyza Ramon Estella, and Cesar Legaspi were actively depicting the social
conditions in the aftermath of World war II. Called Neo- Realist by critic Aguilar Cruz, these artist
depicted society’s problem and challenged the neoclassic rural- pastoral style associated with
Amorsolo and Tolentino. The Social Realists of the seventies are considered heirs of this tradition.

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 Stylistic Overview
Form Pre-colonial Spanish/ American Modern Postmodern/
Islamic Colonial Colonial Contemporary
Religious/ Classical Incipient Collaborative,
Painting Religious Devotional Idylitic Triumvirate hyper- relist,
(animist or secular nostalgic 13 moderns, new painting
Islamic) Formal abstract,
Community- Naturalistic neorealist,
based Inter- (homegrown, surreal,
ethnic miniaturismo, expressionist
relations guild)
Collective Academic
history Abstract Junk/scarp,
Sculpture Expressionism
duchampian,
ate covera,
neo
indigenous,
site specific,
performance
art, hybrid
Worship- Neoclassic, International Filipino
Architecture related and art deco ( Industrializing, architecture,
residential Juan eclectic, urban
Earthquake Arellano, planning,
baroque Juan economic
Hispanic Nakpil zone,
revivalist Pablo neovernacular,
(neogothic, Antonio) prefab,
neormanesque, Art regionalist,
Islamic) Nouveau, cosmopolitan
California
Mission
Style
Figure 1.7

Aside from style, it is also very useful to know where the artists are coming from circumstances
of making and disseminating their art.

CULTURAL OVERVIEW
FORM Indigenous Islamic Folk or Low Fine or World- Popular or
Southeast Philippine Land based Urban and
Asian Muslim mass Based

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 Ritual and Governance Colonial and Museum- Mass
Painting Postcolonial circulated, produced,
artist market
centered oriented.
gallery-
distributed.
Sculpture Ritual and Governance Colonial and Museum- Mass
Postcolonial circulated, produced,
Architect artist market
centered oriented.
gallery-
distributed.
Figure 1.8
Ibn Saud Salipyasin Ahmad from Zamboanga, Mindanao comes from a hybrid mixture of
the local Subanen and traditional Maguindanao Muslim cultures. He is a contemporary artist but
his cultural con-text is indeigenous Southeast Asian and Philippine Muslim. His Style can be
considered as traditional as it draws on the tradition and intricacy of drafting technique, which
he learned in a trade school on Zamboanga. His medium is water color. His subject matter is the
people of his locality. His depictions invite us to witness his culture and its tradition is the context
of today’s changing times.

General Characteristics of Contemporary Art

and Modern Art

➢ A lot of contemporary art maybe collaborative/ participative, interactive and

process- oriented, meaning that there is less emphasis on the finished product and
a single “author” or creator. This is not always the case for other works, however
there is a wide range of strategies, media and techniques under the term
“contemporary”
➢ Contemporary art distinguishable from Modern Art in historical, stylistic, and
cultural terms. The most common characteristics of Contemporary Art revolve
around being site- specific, process- based, collaborative, and interactive.
➢ We also realized that contemporary art is never fixed, but open to many
possibilities.
➢ Contemporary Art focuses on social, political, and cultural reformations across the
world which influenced the art.
➢ Modern art broke away from the conventional forms of art.
➢ It emphasized subject representation rather than focusing on realism.

Self-Learning Activities

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 Let us imagine we are practicing contemporary artist like the ones discussed. We will
produce a collaborative, process- oriented and integrative art.

WE’RE ON OUR WAY

Quiz no. 1.1 - TRUE OR FALSE
Direction: Identify whether the statement is true or false. Write “True” if it’s true and write “False” if it’s
false.

__________1.) Contemporary Art focuses on social, political, and cultural reformations across the world
which influenced the art.
__________2.) Modern Art is referred to as “traditional” compared to Contemporary Art.
__________3.) Art that is new or current is also often referred to as “modern” as opposed to
“traditional” or “consecutive.”
__________4.) It is common tendency to describe the present as “Contemporary Art.”

__________5.) Modern Art focuses on social, political, and cultural reformations across the world which
influenced the art.

(FOR MODULAR STUDENTS ONLY)

Once you are done answering Quiz no. 1.1, you may compare your answers with the
those that are found in the ANSWER KEY located at the end of this module. See for
yourself which concepts you have mastered, and which concepts you need to relearn.

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 IV. HOW FAR HAVE WE GONE?

Direction: Write the definition of Contemporary and Modern Art based on our
discussion. You may answer it based on your understanding after reading the
module or listening to the discussion of the Teacher.

Modern Contemporary

V. WALKING THE EXTRA MILE (PERFORMANCE CHECKS)

Direction: Within your “Barangay” or “Sitio”, find some artist that has a unique art and you can consider
a contemporary artist. Follow the format below. (Post a picture but optional)

Date:___________ Name:____________
Name of the Artist:____________ Types of Art:___________________

VI. REFERENCES

Datuin, F., Paulino, R., Ramirez, E. L., & Marcelino, L. (2016). Contemporary Philippine Arts from the
Region. Manila: Rex Book Store.
Guillermo, Alice 1998. “Art and Society” Humanities: Art and Society Handbook, University of the
Philippines College of Arts and Letters (CAL) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

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 Tiongson, Nicanor (ed) 1991, Tuklas Sining, Cultural center of The Philppines.
Mecada, Jose. 1998 Gongs and Bamboo, University of the Philippine Press.
Peralta, Jesus (ed) 2003. Enumerations from the Philippine Inventory of intangible Cultural Heritage,
NCCA and UNESCO-ICHCAP.
Respicio, Norma. 2004. Journey of a thousand Shuttles: The Philippines Weave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIJ3TTe2u8- Intro – YouTube

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