CPAR

Lesson 1: Modern & Contemporary Arts

Modern Art referred to as “Traditional” compared to Contemporary Art.
Contemporary Art is the art of the present, which is continuously in process and in flux.
— The distinction of modern art and contemporary art could also be “a matter of
perception and reception depending on the context”.
NOTE‼️: modern could be contemporary
TWO TYPES OF ART:
Fine/Aesthetics (Major) — visually appealing
Utilitarian/Practical (Minor) — needs and useful

Fine or Aesthetics (Major Arts) are primarily for aesthetic enjoyment through the senses,
especially visual and auditory. It is the changing of certain materials or media for aesthetic
pleasure.
Practical or Utilitarian (Minor Arts) are intended for practical use or utility. It is the changing
of raw materials for utilitarian purposes. However, they must posse ornaments or artistic
qualities to make them useful and beautiful.

Industrial Arts is the changing of raw materials into some significant product for
human consumption or use.
Examples: shell-craft; bamboo-craft; leather-craft; shoe-making; pottery-making; sheet-
metal work; and manufacture of automobiles; home appliances; television sets.
Applied or Household Art refers mostly to household arts such as flower arrangement,
interior decoration, dress-making, home-making, embroidery, cooking and others.
Civic Arts this includes city or town planning, maintenance and beatification of parks,
plazas, roads, bridges and farms. It refers to civic planning and beatification in order to
improve the standard of living.
Commercial Arts this involves business propaganda in the form of advertisements in
newspaper and magazines, sign painting, billboard announcements, leaflets, displays,
poster designing, movie illustrations and many more.
Graphic Arts is anything printed from raised or sunken reliefs and plain surfaces.
Agricultural Arts this refers to agronomy (crop production), horticulture (garden or orchard
cultivation), husbandry (raising of cows, carabaos, poultry and swine), and farming.
Business Arts this includes merchandising, accounting, book keeping, typewriting,
stenography, salesmanship, and business administration.
Fishery Arts includes shallow and deep fishing, fish refrigeration and culture, net weaving.
Medical or Clinical Arts includes first aid treatments, medicinal manufacturing, surgery,
medical operations, rehabilitation and others.
Philippine Art History
Pre-Colonial Arts (Ethnic Arts) (Integral to Life)
— arts are for ritual purposes or everyday use.
Islamic Arts (Graphic Design)
— is characterized by geometric designs and patterns eliciting focus from the
believers.
Spanish Arts (Faith and Catechism)
— Become a handmaiden of religion, serving to propagate the Catholic faith and thus
support the colonial order at the same time.
American Arts (Secular Form of Art)
— In the american regime, commercial and advertising arts were integrated in the arts
curriculum.
Japanese Arts (Orientalizing)
— Since the japanese advocated for the culture of East Asia, preference was given to
the indigenous arts and traditions of the Philippines. This emphasized their
propaganda of “Asia belonging to Asians”.
Modern Era (National Identity)
— Modern era in the Philippine art began after world war 2 and the granting of
independence. Writers and artists posed the question of national identity as the
main theme of various art forms.
Contemporary Art (Martial Law, September 02, 1972) (Social Realism)
— Was an offshoot of social realism brought about by Martial Law. Arts becomes
expression of people’s aspiration for just free.
Lesson 2: Pre-conquest & Pre-colonial
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE ART
PRE CONQUEST
— This refers to the art before the coming of the first colonizers.
— It is also refers as “indigenous” to emphasize the idea that our ancestors have been
making art even before colonization.
PRE COLONIAL
— As described in the cultural terms
— As a term to use for the general way of life before colonization.
Was there ART before colonization?
— Yes! Prior to colonization, art of the ancient Filipinos were woven into the fabric of
everyday life.
— They did not distinguish forms into different categories like MUSIC, THEATER,
VISUAL ARTS.
 — Everyday expressions were all integrated within rituals that marked significant
moments in a community’s life, like PLANTING and HARVESTING, RITES of
PASSAGE, FUNERARY CEREMONIES, WEDDINGS, AMONG OTHERS.
— Aside from the communal functionality of indigenous art, creative forms such as
POTTERY, WEAVING, CARVING, METALWORKS, AND JEWELRY also embody
aesthetic, technological and ritual values that exist in various forms with the
present.
Carving = 2d ; sculpture = 3d
Hunter-gatherer
— Pre-colonial Filipino hunted food and game that were shared among members of
the community in a gathering where they told stories about the hunt.
— They imitated the movement of animals and prey and the sounds that they made.
— The activity alone evolved: RITUAL, MUSIC, DANCE, THEATER AND EVEN
LITERATURE.
• When they told stories about the hunt, this form of oral storytelling marked the beginning
of LITERATURES. In time, they would learn to devise an alphabet and write these stories
down.
• When they imitate the movements of the animals that they hunted, this marked the early
beginnings of THEATER or PLAY ACTING.
• When they learned to add drum beating and attach a rhythm to their movements, they
had given birth to MUSIC and DANCE.

EARLIEST FORMS OF THEATER ARE STILL ALIVE IN VARIOUS REGIONS

Mayvanuvanua — in Batanes.
Cañao or Kanyaw is found in the Cordillera Autonomous Regions.
— Involves animal sacrifice, where the entrails are read through a process of divination
that is performed either for healing, to announce the birth of a child or coming of
age, during wakes, weddings and burial ceremonies.
Kashawing — lake Lanao in Mindanao.
— To ensure abundance during rice planting and harvesting is still observed and
performed.
— This ritual involves a reenactment of the pact made by the ancestors of the
community and the unseen spirits that inhabit the lake.
Tagbanwa
— believe that every thirteenth moon, three goddesses descend from heaven to bless
the planting of rice.
— The shamans go into a trance amidst ritual chanting and dancing and are believes
to be taken over by the goddesses themselves.
PRE-COLONIAL ETHNIC/MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The country’s indigenous culture through the existence of ethnic musical instruments
such as: PIPES, FLUTES, ZITHERS, DRUMS, VARIOUS STRING INSTRUMENTS like KUTYAPI
(3 stringed guitar), KULINTANG (an array of bossed gongs), GANSA or FLAT GONG,
BAMBOO PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS and AGONG (a large bossed gong).

PRE-COLONIAL NATIVE DANCE FORMS

PANGALAY
— from the SULU archipelago is mimetic of the movement of seabirds.
— Whose movements often imitated the movements of animals, humans, and
elements from nature.
KINABUA (Mandayas’), BANOG-BANOG (Higaonon and B’laan communities) and MAN-
MANOK (Bagobos of Mindanao)
— imitate the movements of predatory birds.
TALIP DANCE of the IFUGOAS
— used in courtship and is mimetic of the movements of wild fowls.
INAMONG (Matigsalug), KADALIWAS DANCE (T’boli)
— represent the comedic movements of monkeys.
TINIKLING
— a tagalog folk dance often showcased for tourist, is evocative of the movements of
the crane, balancing itself on stilt-like legs or flitting away from the clutches of
bamboo traps.

PRE-COLONIAL IMAGES
— Exemplified by the country’s rich tradition in carving.
BULUL
— people of CORDILLERA
— regarded as a granary god that plays an important role in rituals.
— The anthropomorphic BULUL also appears in container, bowls, and spoons.
HAGABI
— of the IFUGAO
— A wooden bench that marks the socioeconomic status of the owner.
The Christianized communities in Laguna and Pampanga are known for carving SANTOS
or sculptures of saints as well as other wooden sculptures of secular or non religious
orientation
PAETE
— in LAGUNA
— recognized for its carving tradition, the town of Betis, Pampanga remains active
today despite the many challenges posed to contemporary practice.
OKIR
— curvilinear decorations.
— Termed UKKIL in Tausug/Samal/Badjao — are employed in woodcarving.
Sensuous figures sometimes painted in primary colors follow the basic designs of the
mythical SARIMANOK, the NAGA or Serpent, and the PAKO RABONG or fern.

Elaborate OKIR designs can also be found in the panolong or protruding beam of the
sultan’s house called the TOROGAN.
The ubiquity of OKIR is evident in its diverse application, from ornamentation in musical
instruments and sheaths; to grave markers called SUNDUK, as well as marking for
ceremonial boats.
PRE COLONIAL: TERRACOTTA
MANUNGGUL JAR
— discovered at Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan.
— Dated to Late Neolithic Period (890-710 BC)
— A secondary burial vessel, where buried and exhumed bones are placed.
— Glazed with reddish hematite and incised with curvilinear designs, it has two
anthropomorphic or human forms atop the lid: a boatman paddling to transport his
deceased charge, whose journey through water is interpreted as a metaphor of
travel to the afterlife.
Another type of anthropomorphobic burial jars was produced during the METAL AGE (5BC-
225 AD)
— Found in AYUB CAVE in MAITUM, SARANGGANI PROVINCE.
— The human figure is more pronounced in these jars, with the lid taking the form of a
head and the base, its body.
Palayok — for cooking
Banga & Tapayan for fermenting food and keeping water.
Pagbuburnay — tradition in Vigan thrives and currently valued in Ilocos parts of its creative
industry.
Earliest Form of Weaving
Textile are not only functional, they also impart knowledge about people’s belief system:
1. the reverence of spirits and natures
2. criteria for the beautiful
3. societies sociopolitical structures
Traditional Weaving
Fibers are gathered from plants like cotton, abaca, & pineapple leaves.
Pigment are extracted from clay, roots, & leaves of plants.
Backstrap Loom or Pedal Loom
— used to weave designs that hold special meaning for a particular cultural group.
Example of Woven Textiles:
• Maguindanaon • Yakan
• B’laan • Meranao
• Tausog • T’boli
Another Forms of Woven Textile: Mat & Basket Weaving
Tepo Mat (Sama of Tawi-tawi)
— colorful doubled-layer
— made of pandan leaves
— an everyday object with high artistic value.
Pis Siyabit
— a headpiece woven by the Tausog People
Malong
— has exquisite tapestry panels called Langkit.
— woven by the Maranao of Lanao del Sur
Ovaloid Basket (Itbayat, Batanes)
— made of nito and bamboo are used as a sling to carry harvests.
Bubo (Ilocos Region)
— sturdy bamboo strips are woven to create fish traps.
Boxer Codex
— in the 16th century, a manuscript that featured representation of various
ethnolinguistic groups.
— an upper class tagalog couple was portrayed wearing gold jewelry while the visayan
are shown fully covered in tattoo, corroborating early accounts that referred to the
visayas as “islas de los pintados”.
Ancient Tagalogs: Royal Couple, Noble Couple, & Commoners
— aside from aesthetic functions, tattoos were valued because it was believe to
protect individual from evil spirits, and in some cases it was considered as a badge
of maturity and bravery.
— shared by other regions in SE Asia and NZ, other Philippine ethnolinguistic groups
which practice tattooing includes:
• Kalinga • Ibaloy
• Kankanay • Ifugao
 — as with jewelry, painstaking attention to detail is manifested in metalworks such as
the LOTOANS or betel nut boxes of various shapes, made of brass or bronze
produced chiefly by the Maranao of Lanao del Sur.
Brass Kendi and Gadur
— vessels that employ same technique.
— used in ceremonies and are cherished as status symbols or as heirloom pieces.
Jewelry was also believed to make the weaver more attractive to the opposite sex in as
much as it is considered pleasing to the Gods.
T'boli — known to wear brass chains, bells, and colorful beads to complete their
elaborate ensemble.
Textured designs of Rhombuses, spirals, circles, and tendrils swarm over the exterior of
functional containers.
— the designs is achieved through a special technique of metal casting called the
LOST WAX or CIRE PERDUE process which involves the use of molds filled with
liquified metal that eventually hardens. The removal of the mold reveals the designs
in relief.
Lesson 3: Islamic Colonial
Islamic Colonial
— Islam was already well entrenched in Southern Philippines, where it continues to be
culturally dominant and strong.
— Islam was said to have gained significant grounding in SULU as early as the 13th
Century.

Sayyid Abbubakar of Arabia

— In the 15th Century that led to a significant turn of events.
— he married Princess Piramisuli, the Daughter of Rajah Baguinda.
— when his father in law died, Abubakar succeeded the throne and established the
Sultanate of Sulu.

— introduce holy texts via the holy book of QURAN building the house of prayer.
— building a religious school, also known as MADRASA facilitated the teaching of
ARABIC writing in the 16th Century.

Natives from Zamboanga and Yakans from Basilan were converted to Islam, with teachers
coming from Jolo, Sulu, others from nearby regions like Brunei.
— As the Islamization process in Mindanao strengthened, ISLAM became the driving
force that enabled the natives to resist centuries of Spanish Colonization.
UMMAH
— community of believers
TAWHID
— a doctrine that centers to the Islamic Faith.
ISLAMIC faith
— unity of God
— this belief emphasizes the impermanence of nature and the incomprehensible
greatness of the divine being.
According to Prof. Abraham Sakili, we can then relate this with two aspects of reality:
1. one is the object perceived by the ordinary sense.
2. the sense of nothingness, a space or a void empty of all things; to evoke that
God is above and beyond all things.
— In Islamic art, we can observe how artists are influenced by the notion of the
TAWHID.
— In Islam, divine unity is expressed through abstract forms and patterns that
compel the believer to engage in mental concentration.
How Philippine muslim organize space in Architecture:
— Also tells the adherence to the TAWHID and other Islamic beliefs
— Mihrab or Niche and the Qibla wall are oriented towards the west.
— In order to fulfill the requirement that all Islamic buildings must be oriented towards
MECCA as an expression of oneness with the larger Islamic community.
MECCA — where we find the GREAT MOSQUE OF MECCA and its bulbous dome, which is
characterized by Islamic Architecture.
DOME — tells us about how the order of the universe is imagined.
— The central feature of the mosque, the DOME relates to “all level of the cosmic
existence”.
Octagonal base — symbolizes the spirit
Four sided main base — refers to the earth or material world.
Ka’bah — a black shrine believed to be build by Muhammad himself.
QIBLAH — the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays.
— water supply like fountain, serves the function of ablution or cleansing before one
enters the sacred space of the Mosque.
— gardens within the Mosque compound or even outside homes are evocative of
paradise.
SAKILI- observed that many of the ISLAMIC FORMS are inclined to project, grow or have an
upward orientation, in tune with the regards for heaven and the veer from the “material
earth”.