Traditional Arts

The Philippines is home to many traditional arts. These are the arts that started in the pre-colonial times and
have been handed down from generation to generation. Traditional art is essential in a nation, for it builds posterity in
the culture of its natives.

There are various kinds of traditional art in the country. Most are learned
informally and are usually produced in indigenous or close-knitted communities,
reflecting their history and culture. These arts are passed down from master
craftsmen to their apprentices.

The usual theme of these arts is Animism. Its intention is to depict

something of the people’s gods and goddesses, thus resulting in the creation of
abstract symbols of animistic figures like the sun, the moon and other human
figures.

Bulul, god of rice of the Ifugaos

(The carved figure of Bulul of the Ifugaos is one of the examples of Animism.)
Photo Retrieved from http://www.tribalartasia.com/IFUGAO%20BULUL%20STATUES/BULULNOV2013/IFUGAO0.JPG

Other examples of Traditional Arts are;

Woven Basketry (Bay-ong) of the Mangyans T’nalak Tapestry Woven by the T’bolis in South Cotabato
Photo Retrieved from Photo Retrieved from
http://mangyan.org/system/files/imagecache/product_full/products/012-buri- https://explorelakesebuviajeras.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/sebu4-fabric-
basket-bay-ong-01.jpg 420.jpg

Pissiyabit (Head Cloth) of Mindanao

Photo Retrieved from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5O- Embroidered Jusi and Piña Cloth of Lumban, Laguna
HZcZWDZ4/UhiFz9Hmi9I/AAAAAAAASQQ/zYwnk8bjNsA/s1600/01a.jpg Photo Retrieved from https://muni2ph.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/lumban-
11.jpg?w=600&h=400

The Philippines contemporary art on the other hand, is not bounded by any rule or standard. It is conceptual,
innovative, expressive, and experimental compared with traditional art. In the contemporary works of art, the viewer is
also allowed to participate in the experience and is urged to validate his/her own beliefs and values.

Monuments and statues, since the ancient times, have long been created to commemorate heroism or other
deeds of greatness. But what differs contemporary monuments and statues from the traditional ones is the reimagining
of the character or event, in order to evoke more intense emotions from its spectator.
 People Power Monument by Eduardo Castillo
Photo Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/2v17o9-
People_power_monument_Edsa_CNNPH.png/alternates/FREE_640/People_power_monument_Edsa_CNNPH.png

The People Power Monument near Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City is a good example of a contemporary work that
allows the viewer to recall a historical event from the past. One cannot display all the events and the heroes that came
about during the 1986 People Power Revolution. However, this monument created by Eduardo Castillo encapsulates the
triumph of the EDSA phenomena perfectly.

Contemporary Arts
The Philippines is a gold mine or art. Aside from our own indigenous arts, the Philippines has a variety of many
other art forms. Because of the four colonial periods in history – the Spanish, British, American and Japanese – the art of
the Philippines had been influenced by almost all spheres of the globe. It had a taste of Renaissance, Baroque and
Modern Periods through the colonizers who arrived in the country.

Then, when the rest of the world opened up to the idea of post postmodernism in the late 1900s, Philippines
also welcomed the birth of contemporary art. Its first appearance happened after the Second World War and again
during the martial law era in the 1970s. Writer broke the laws by writing screams of protest against the government.
Filmmakers used their expertise in joining the bandwagon of nationalistic artists.

Modernism in all art forms evolved into a variety of expressions and media that turned the entire world into a
“creative upheaval.”

Even architecture developed a modernist style. Many Filipino artists and architects became adherents of the
style. The architecture by National Artist Leandro Locsin is an example.

The paintings by National Artist Jose Joya are also examples of the art style of the modernist period in the 1950s
known as abstract expressionism.

Photo Retrieved from http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/files/2013/01/t0121joya_feat2_1.jpg

 In the late 1980s, postmodernism appeared in the Philippines. The postmodernists sought to contradict several
aspects and ideas of modernism that had emerged earlier. They believed that artists should no longer try to create
something “new”. All they needed to do was to “borrow, combine, explore” what was already existing to produce
something new. This gave birth to integrative art, which is being practiced in the regions at present.

Postmodernism has several features. The most common feature is Pastiche, which refers to the blurring of
division between fine art and commercial art, high culture and low culture, and highbrow and lowbrow. It also means
artistic, musical and literary works that comes from diverse sources. It is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, or music
that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche celebrates, rather
than mocks, the work it imitates.

Pastiche of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man

Photo Retrieved from http://www.phosphorart.com/wp-content/uploads/BP-Horizon-Cover-by-Pastiche.jpg

(Features of Postmodernism)
Another feature of postmodernism is Bricolage or Assemblage – popularly used in visual arts. It is the
construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by
mixed media.

Norberto Roldan, ‘Sacred Is The New Profane 1’, (diptych), 2010. Assemblage with found objects. 24 x 48
inches. | Image courtesy of the artist and Lightbombs Contemporary.
 Appropriation or Borrowing is another feature. Postmodernism finds inspiration in artworks from previous
periods. This art uses pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. The use of
appropriation has played a significant role in the history of the arts.

Another popular feature includes Installation Art, it is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that often
are site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space.

Shoal, an art installation by Jose Tence Ruiz in

collaboration with Danilo Ilag-Ilag and Jeremy
Guiab et al, photographed by Mm Yu
Traditional Versus Contemporary Art
Traditional art is different from contemporary art, for the latter revolves around the artist and his/her feelings,
thoughts, and messages to his/her audience. It uses a diverse array of materials, media, techniques and styles.

Contemporary art is the present-day art. It is all about the ideas and concerns which are solely aesthetic (the
look of the work). It includes and develops postmodern concepts in its art form. In simple terms, this art form reflects
Modernism.

Contemporary means to be in continuation, that is, these art forms reflects the creation of lifetimes. These are
those art forms, which are practiced from the 1970’s. They represent and reflect particular issues related to any desired
subject, which are then pictured in the contemporary art form. These are issues related to the society and the new
ideas. There are societies, institutions and galleries, where the contemporary arts flourish and are practiced. These art
forms represent the ongoing conceptual issues of the society and its influence on a person or an individual. Basically, the
contemporary artists portray the new modernized issues and ideas by their thoughts into an innovative form.

Traditional arts, on the other hand, are a kind of arts, which are a part of any culture, skills and knowledge of a
group or generation of people. The people or group generally belongs to the historical era/ times. These art forms
comprise of anything done with the hands, such as the painting, printmaking and sculpture among others. The
traditional art reflects the art forms of previous generations, their lifestyle, thoughts and belief. The traditional art’s
artists do not try to focus on the materialistic ideas or views, but on the usage and the concept behind their usage in a
creative form.

Subject of Art
Every work of art has a subject. A subject or a topic is any person, animal, thing, or issues that is described or
presented in a work. It usually generated the question, What is it? because people expect to see or hear subjects that
they can recognize or are familiar to them. Subject is different from theme or content (substance); theme is the
recurring idea or element in a work of art. The theme refers to the ideas, thoughts, and feelings of the artists.

There are different ways or styles of depicting a subject.

Realism
Realism in which the subject is done the way it actually looks.

Fernando Amorsolo’s Man and Chicken Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s Katipunan

https://www.google.com.ph/search?biw=888&bih=632&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=xan-WYKIDoTM0ASK2ryQAw&q=fernando+amorsolo&oq=fernando+amor&gs_l=psy-
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https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-
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 Distortion
The artist uses his or her imagination and alters the subject according to his or her desire.

Jay Bautista’s I'm Coming Eduardo Yap’s Redbull Maniac

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T5hKqlI/AAAAAAAACv4/GiNTs4tpOBoFNpMJ1L_wK5LIjRuABeZ6ACLcBGAs/s1600/im%2Bcoming
maniac-art-oasis-green-vision.jpg
%2Bhome.jpg

Abstraction
The artist breaks apart a subject and rearranges it in a different manner.

Benedicto Cabrera’s Fishermen Hernando Ocampo’s Two

http://at-ph.s3.amazonaws.com/i/story-20150603144513-2124.jpg
Women
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2133.jpg

Non- Objectivism
There is no subject at all – just an interplay of pure elements like line, shape, or color, and so on.

Hernando Ruiz Ocampo’s Mga Kiti Mauro Malang Santos’ Pastures

http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00154lldnPRJFgTQeR3CfDrCWvaHBOcyKOF/hernando-
http://at-ph.s3.amazonaws.com/i/story-20150603144421-2064.jpg
ruiz-ocampo-mga-kiti.jpg
Elements of Visual Design
 LINE
- man’s own invention
- does not exist in nature
- artists use lines to imitate or to represent objects and figures as a flat surface

Directions and Movements of Line

 horizontal
- creates an impression of serenity and perfect stability since we associate it with reclining forms in nature,
such as that of a sleeping person, or with the horizon
 vertical
- appears poised and stable
- conveys the feeling of strength and stability
 diagonal
- implies action
- show movement and, consequently, instability
- conveys a feeling of unrest, uncertainty, and movement
 curved line
- there is a gradual change of direction. Because it is gradual, it shows fluidity.
- feeling of grace and movement
- feeling of serenity and stability as in the curves of the rounded arches in our church
 Angular lines
- when change in direction is abrupt
- the abruptness creates tension and an impression of chaos, confusion, or conflict

 SHAPE
 Natural Shapes
- those we see in nature, such as shapes of men, animals, or trees
- may be interpreted realistically, or they may be distorted

Fernando Amorsolo’s Rice Planting Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s Harana

https://media.mutualart.com/Images/2010_05/20/0007/847188/129185832210791432_bc89e608- https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vzA7-
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%252520Harana%2525201957.jpg
 Abstract Shapes
- formed after the artist has drawn out the essence of the original object and made it the subject of his
work

Hernando Ruiz Ocampo’s Ina’t Anak Vicente Manansala’s Magsasaka

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bd/a0/17/bda01759b1088ca298c8e8eda436993 https://images.summitmedia-
1.jpg digital.com/spotph/images/files/2014/04/1397113293-Magsasaka-
Manansala-550.jpg

 Non- objective Shapes

- seldom have reference to recognizable objects, but most often show a similarity to some organic forms

Hernando Ruiz Ocampo’s Passage J. Elizalde Navarro’s Morning Mist Over Ubud
http://www.askart.com/photos/2016/LGP20160910_100132/1 http://www.artnet.com/artists/jerry-elizalde-navarro/morning-mist-over-ubud-bali-
32.jpg TKM0Oc2_UYCvIS9l59H8zA2

- sometimes called biomorphic shapes

  TEXTURE
Texture is the surface of an artwork. A texture can be actual or tactile, meaning, it can really be felt by
touch; or it can be simulated or illusory, which means it can only be seen, not felt.

Hernando R. Ocampo’s Genesis Kenneth Montegrande

http://digitaleducation.net:8080/MYCCPV3- http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/qw9nac-
Painting_Ken_Montegrande_2_CNNPh.jpg/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_76
VG/images/genesis2.png 8/Painting_Ken_Montegrande_2_CNNPh.jpg

 COLOR
- It is derived from light, whether natural, like sunlight, or artificial, like fluorescent light
- A series of wave lengths which strike our retina. Every ray of light coming from the sun is composed of
different waves which vibrate at different speeds.

Primaries
o Primary Color
Many colors are formed by mixing two or more colors. There
are, however, three colors which cannot form from mixtures
because they are pure colors.
Red, blue, and yellow

Ang Kiukok’s Rooster

https://media.mutualart.com/Images/2017_09/11/08/085727579/77c3f2b2-
6090-4921-ad16-f575c96f509a_570.Jpeg

o Secondary Color
color formed out of the combination of two primaries
Violet, Green, Orange
 o Intermediate Color
- mixing primary and secondary color
- there is no limit to the number of
intermediate colors we can form
because the color produced depend
largely on the proportions of the
amount of primary or secondary colors
we use

o Complementary Colors
- colors opposite to each other in the color diagram
- they afford the greatest contrast and the best harmonies
of colors as long as they are mixed with equal value and
intensity
- when complementaries are placed adjacent to each
other, they do not only create vibrating contrasts of
opposites but also produce an effect of mutual
enhancement
- the closer the hues are in the color wheel the closer their
hue relationship is, the farther they are, the more
contrasting they become

Hernando R. Ocampo’s Mother and Child Mother and Child von Benedicto Cabrera
http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00189lldaDFJF https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4f/9b/4f/4f9b4f7f51abb6ca96727
gFEjR3CfDrCWvaHBOcv9oE/hernando-ruiz-ocampo-mother- 1bb6e4b2071.jpg
and-child.jpg

Analogous colors
• one color is used as a dominant color while others are used to enrich the scheme.
Properties of Color

 Neutrals
- Black, white, or gray. These are not present in the color spectrum.
- No color quality, instead, they differ in the quantity of light that they reflect
- Do not reflect any one distinct color
- Black reflects no light at all; white reflects all colors, and gray results from a partial reflection of light

Vicente Manansala‘s Mother and Child, 1967 Ang Kiukok’s Crucifixion

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Ic42/Manansala%252520-%252520Mother%252520and%252520Child
%2525201967.jpg

o Shade
- When black is combined with another color

Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s Camote Diggers Victorio C. Edades’ Mother and

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version=1432983645&width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp
Daughter
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 o Tint
- When white is added to a color

Fernando Amorsolo’s Paracale Fernando Amorsolo

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4SsoM4/UJqBbWxODaI/AAAAAAACLQs/gGWLkVZfOqE/s1600/Fernando+Amorsolo++1892-
Amorsolo-Paracale-7349.jpg 1972+-+Philippine+Genre+and+Historical+painter+-+Tutt%2527Art%2540+%25285%2529.jpg

Principles of Design
 HARMONY
This refers to the wholeness of the design, the pleasing arrangement of parts, and the agreement between parts of
a composition, resulting in a united whole.

Cesar Legaspi’s Soldiers Arturo Luz’s Two Jugglers

http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00058lldaD http://galeriestephanie.com/wp-
FJFgFEjR3CfDrCWvaHBOcv9oE/cesar-legaspi-soldiers.jpg content/uploads/2014/06/Luz_Two-Jugglers-GJC-ALAC-0910-23-36-
X-36-AC-1999.jpg

 VARIETY
Variety pertains to the assortment or diversity of a work of art.

Variation are produced so that monotony and uniformity in the environment are prevented.

Guillermo E. Tolentino’s Bonifacio Monument Vicente Manansala’s Birdman

https://kahimyang.com/resources/xandres-bonifacio- https://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/vicente-
 monument-og.jpg.pagespeed.ic.2MBBAEejGy.jpg manansala/the-bird-seller-1976.jpg

 RHYTHM
- There is rhythm in the tide created by the alternating ebb and flow, just as there is rhythm in man’s
heartbeat
- A continuous flow, feeling of movement achieved by the repetition of regular visual units.

Benedicto Cabrera’s Three Women Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s Magpupukot

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+91.5+x+139.5+cm.1957.jpg

 PROPORTION
- Deals with the ratio of one part to another and of the parts to the whole. Ratio implies a comparison
between parts.
- It is expressed in size, number, and position.
- We find pleasure in looking at a well-proportioned shape or figure just as we find pleasure in rooms in
which the size and number of furniture pieces are proportionate to the length, width and height of the
room.

Cesar Legaspi (1917-1994) Ang Kiukok’s White Fish in Blue

https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/Leon/31/578 http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00026lld1ZMJ
131/H6022-L84626559.jpg FgTQeR3CfDrCWvaHBOcGy0E/ang-kiukok-white-fish-in-
blue.jpg
 BALANCE
Balance pertains to the even distribution of weight. It is the principle that deals with equality. In art,
there are two types of balance: - formal balances and informal balance.

Formal balance, or symmetrical balance, refers to two sides that are identical to each other. An
example is a cross-sectional image if a butterfly. The spread wings of the butterfly show balance in the
image.

On the other hand, informal balance, or asymmetrical balance, refers to two sides not identical to each
other yet equal in visual weight.

Ang Kiukok's “Fishermen,” 1981 Vicente Manansala’s Luksong Tinik

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luksong-tinik-(jumping-over-thorns).jpg

 EMPHASIS AND SUBORDINATION

Emphasis is the principle that gives importance or dominance to a unit or an area. This is opposite to
subordination, which gives less importance to a unit or area.

In visual design, an element may stand out by itself or attract attention because of its size, position, or
usage of elements.

Ang Kiukok's “Fishermen,” 1981 Vincent Manansala’s Mother and Child

http://www.christies.com/LotFinderImages/D46251/D
4625190r.jpg