1

It is said that art is a product of a particular culture and time period. In the past, we have seen
how Philippine art was influenced by western standards.
Today, we can say that Filipino artist have come of age and are no longer bound by foreign
influence. After years of searching for a national identity, our artist learned to look inward to rediscover
our roots, absorbing the rich tradition and vast resources that lay them.
Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region is your stepping stone to understanding the
rudiments of art and how they operate in the country at the present time.
This module will show you how important it is for you to understand that these contemporary arts
are rooted in tradition and culture and how it moves forward towards the future as artists experiment and
innovative.

At the end of the module you are expected to:

 Describe various contemporary art forms and their practices from the various regions
(CAR11/12IAC-0A-1)
 Discusses various art forms found in the Philippines (CAR11/12IAC-OB-2)
 Research on various art forms.(CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-4)
 Explains Filipino artist roles and identify their contribution to contemporary
arts(CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-5)
 Evaluates contemporary art forms based on elements and principles (CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-6)
 Compares forms of arts from the different regions (CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-7)
 Relates the significance of arts form from the regions (CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-8)
 Promotes arts from the regions (CAR11/12CAP-Oc-e-9)
 Researches on techniques and performance practices applied to contemporary arts
(CAR11/12TPP-OC-e-10)
 Discusses local materials used in creating art (CAR11/12TPP-Oc-e-11)
 Critiques available materials and appropriate techniques (CAR11/12TPP-Oc-e-12)
 Explicates the use of materials and the application of techniques (CAR11/12TPP-Oc-e-13)

At the start of the module you are about to take the pre-assessment to see how much background
information and knowledge you have in Philippine arts.
Do not write your answers on this module. Your answers should be written in a separate paper.
 2

PRE-ASSESSMENT
I. On Contemporary Arts. Write TRUE if the statement is correct; FALSE if
incorrect.
1. Art comes from the word “ars” which means create.
2. Contemporary arts are those produced by artists of ancient
times.
3. Contemporary art is confined to the museum.
4. Hybridity refers to the mixing of unlikely materials (sand,
mud, coffee and the likes) to produce an artwork.
5. Vegetable or fruit sculptures used as table decorations
exemplify integrative art.

II. On Classification of Art Forms. Match the following genres of art with their
descriptions.
Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. Visual Arts A. They are those presented in the written

mode and intended to be read.
2. Graphic Arts B. They are those forms perceived by the eyes

3. Plastic Art C. They are those forms perceived by both ears

and eyes
4. Audio-Visual Arts D. They are those visual arts that have length
and width; thus, they are also called two-
dimensional arts.
5. Literary Arts E. They are those visual arts that have
length, width, and volume; thus, they are
also called three-dimensional arts.

III. On Functions of Art. Identify whether the following functions of art are
personal, social, economic, political, historical, cultural, physical, or
aesthetic.

1. The composer of the song “Vincent” was inspired

by
Vincent Van Gogh’s painting,“The Starry Night”.
2. Paintings serve to decorate houses and other buildings.
3. Many people claim that dance is one of the best forms of
exercise.
4. The first Greek paintings and sculptures w ere those of
gods and goddesses.
 3

5. The cenaculo (passion play) not only commemorates

but celebrates historical greats.
6. Paintings of great painters such as Da Vinci
and Buonarroti are worth millions of dollars
now.
7.Jose Rizal’s novels were written to arouse social
consciousness.
8. When Imelda-Romualdez-Marcos became the
Governor of Metro Manila, she promoted her
political programs by means of the arts.
9. Many claim that music is a form of therapy.
10. Literary pieces are embodiments of a nations culture.

IV. On Principles of Art. Identify the conventions of artistic compositions

described in each statement. Choose from the words below.

harmony balance rhythm

proportion emphasis

1. Known as physical equilibrium or the

stability produced by even distribution of
weight of each side of the thing.
2. This is achieved when all elements of a thing are
put
together to come up with a coherent whole.
3. This refers to the comparative relationship
of the different parts in relation to the
whole.
4. This is exemplified by concentric circles, by an
alternation of black and white stripes, by
checkered blue and orange squares.
5. It is giving proper importance on one or more parts
of a thing or the whole thing itself.
 4

LESSON 1: WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY ART?

Topic: Integrative art as applied to contemporary art
Sub-topic: Historical Background of an art in the Philippines

It is a common tendency to describe the present as “modern”, being modern means

being up to date and technologically advanced .Often, being modern is equated with
being contemporary. Art that is new or current is also referred to as modern as opposed to
traditional or conservative in other words; in everyday parlance the terms are
interchangeable.
In this lesson and in the more detailed history in the next, we will learn that the
terms modern and contemporary refer to vastly different periods. Modern art is not the
same as contemporary, although they could have shared some characteristics, sources and
influences. As we will come to realize and learn as we go along it is also possible to
integrate and transform elements from Modern Art into Contemporary.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

Define Contemporary Arts

Explain the art forms and the development of Philippine Arts
Describe the form of integrated contemporary art in the Philippines in
choreography

WHAT’S IN

What is Contemporary Art?

Contemporary art is an important type of art that includes more than fifty types of expressions
that have emerged since the end of World War II. Achieving an understanding of contemporary art
requires the study of many theories that have been presented over approximately six decades of art. The
common denominator is that artistic talent must be formally recognized by the art world. Some
contemporary artists reflect the influence of Modernism, including Impressionism, Surrealism,
and Cubism, and others separate themselves from Postmodernism, even eliminating all connections with
the artistic movements that existed in the past.
It is a concept that calls the general form of artistic expressions that originated in the twentieth
century or current era from the different vanguard hatches that occurred at the beginning of the current
century.

What are the similarities and differences between contemporary art and modern art?
 5

Modern art came before contemporary art. Most art historians and critics put the beginning
of modern art in the West at around the 1860s, continuing up to the 1960s. Whereas, contemporary
art means art made in the present day. But it can be hard to define what the 'present day' really means.
What are the Characteristics of Contemporary Art?
The characteristics of contemporary art are as follows:
 Traditional media – uses such as oil canvass and water color.
 Site-specific – they cannot be experienced in the same way if removed from their original places
of exhibit whether in the gallery, out on the streets, in the forest, on the internet etc.
 Process based – they integrate various mediums and art forms. For example, the band
Sleepyheads integrate performance art, theatrically and indie music it their gigs.
 Collaborative – The output of the art is not alone. For example an artist and his family perform
their life as their art and vice versa, as evident with their art which has become associated with a
mix of performance, instillation, architecture and culinary arts.
 Interactive – the art is never complete without the audience’s active input/
A lot of contemporary art may be 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 range of strategies, media, and techniques under the term
“Contemporary Art”, there are works that are done alone by artist in their studios, and therefore not
working in collaboration with others; there are works that are too fragile for direct handling, and are not
exactly “interactive”.
What is the purpose of Contemporary Art?
Simultaneously, viewing art, especially Contemporary Art can be inspiring for people. This style
of art aims to depict and comment on the world. Such depictions and commentary can inspire people to
action and push viewers to become better versions of them.
Below are examples of contemporary art:
 6

Below are some examples of Modern Art:

ACTIVITY
It is said that Contemporary Art is distinguishable from Modern Art according to their historical,
stylistic and cultural terms.
Research about the differences and similarities of Contemporary Art and Modern Art through a
table of each term:
 Table 1: Historical Overview : Philippine Art
 Table 2: Stylistic Overview
 Table 3: Cultural Overview

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF AN ART IN THE PHILIPPINES

This lesson provides a brief discussion of Philippine Art History and its major periods, artists,
and their works.
While we recall the past in this lesson, it is also important to remember that the art of the so-
called “past” continued and continues to evolve until the present and are therefore in that sense,
“contemporary”. The art continues to be produced, even if the conditions behind its production have
already changed significantly in the discussion below, be conscious of the way the description of context
is integrated into the description of for – which art is made of and how art is made. The relationship of
material and
process to
the symbols
and
meanings of
the art
forms
matters is how we contextualize.

OVERVIEW OF THE BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART

 7

I. Pre-conquest
II. Islamic Colonial (13th century to the Present)
III. Spanish Colonial Period (15-21-1898)
IV. American Colonial Period (1898-1940)
to the Post War Republic (1946-1969)
 Modern Art and its Challenge to Academic Art
V. Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)
IV. Neo-Realism, Abstraction, and other Modern Art Style
VII. 70s to Contemporary

This lesson gives you a brief overview of the major themes of Philippine art history from pre-
conquest to conquest on to modern and contemporary periods. This account puts the practices of
contemporary artist in context, thus making us understand that their practices are influenced by major
traditions which we can trace through our long history of making and making sense of art.

ACTIVITY
What fiesta traditions do you know? When is the fiesta held and what does it commemorate?
What are the rituals and activities? Choose a form (Fiesta décor, culinary arts, performing arts etc.)
describe, and explain its origin.
III. INTEGRATIVE ART AS APPLIED TO CONPEMPORARY ART
o refers to the inter – disciplinary art, art research, development, production, presentation, or
artistic creation of work that fully uses 2 or more art disciplines to create a work for a specific
audience (e.g. music & drama = opera)
Art - is “human ingenuity in adapting natural things to man’s use ”
- Art comes from the word “ars” which means skill
- It is synonymous with skill, cunning, artifice, and craft, which all mean the faculty of what is
devised
1. Art is a Natural Human Behavior
2. Art is communication
3. Art is healing
4. Art tells our story
 8

5. Art is a shared experience

ACTIVITY
Find the art forms (e.g. visual arts, architecture and literature, theater arts,dance, choreography and
usic) and the development of Philippine Art in four major traditions namely:
1. Ethnic tradition
2. Spanish Colonial Tradition
3. American Colonial
4. Contemporary traditions

ASSESSMENT
The picture below is a famous painting by Fernando Amoroslo
Make an interpretation about the painting. What aspect of art history does it convey? What impression
does it gives to you?
9