Contemporary Art

Forms and Practices

from the Regions

Prepared by: Louie Idago

 MAJOR ART
FORMS
• Visual arts
• Literature
• Music
• Theater
• Dance
• Architecture
• Film
Visual Arts
• In the American period, education was
introduced to the Philippines.
• Juan Arellano, Diosdado Lorenzo, and Victorio
Edades were among those who studied outside
the country and introduced the concept of
modern art.
The Sketch The Builders
• Urban setups became the usual subjects of
visual arts during the American period.
• After World War II, artists started creating
proletarian art which depicts the life after the
war.
• Art Association of the Philippines by Purita
Kalaw-Ledesma
• Philippine Art Gallery by Lydia Villanueva-
Arguilla
Proletarian Art
 Different Mediums in Art
Making
• Paris Cubism - is a kind of cubism showing
fragmented figures in larger planes, color
harmonies and texture.
• Vicente Manansala, Romeo Tabuena and Cesar
Legaspi were three of the known cubists of their
times.
Paris Cubism
• Surrealism - refers to the style which explored
the world of dream.
• The known surrealist in this time was Galo
Ocampo and Juvenal Sanso.
• Magic realism - refers to the style in painting
showing minute details of the subjects and
highlighting their texture and color.
Surrealism
Magic Realism
• In sculpture, Napoleon Abueva became famous
for his modern works.
• Ramon Orlina and Impy Pilapil explored the use
of glass in making sculptures.
• In order to promote and preserve the rich artist
of the country, Committee on Visual Arts
launched an education program that tends to
convene artists annually in the country through
their regional and national congresses.
Napoleon Abueva's works
Literature

• During the contemporary period, publication of

young poets to campus journals emerged.
• The Bagay movement took its scene. It is a kind
of poetry which uses colloquial language.
• Valediction sa Hillcrest by Rolando Tinio
• Poems of American and British poets influenced
the English poems in the Philippines.
• Poetry revolved on subjects like the search for
love and identity.
• This was followed by, poems containing social
issues.
• In the area of novels, literary criticism was also
produced after WWII aiming to analyze the
Philippine writings.
 Music

• During the early American period, the music of

the country was mostly classical due to the
influence of European. This kind of music
continued flourishing until the 1950s.
• Years later, Pinoy pop or the Filipino pop music
took place.
• Later on the OPM or Original Pilipino Music
became popular.
• It was followed by alternative music influenced
by folk balladeers.
• At present, different music genre like pop, rock,
OPM, indigenous music, jazz, rap, a mixture of
different genre like ethnic rock and many more
exist in the music industry.
 Theater

• The Americans introduced the bodabil or stage

show.
• It was during the Japanese period the bodabil
included short melodrama.
 Styles Employed in Philippine
Theater
• Psychological realism deals with the problems
of individuals.
• Paraisong Parisukat by Orlando Nadres and
Bayan-Bayanan by Bienvenido Noriega Jr.
• Social realism deals with the problems of
individuals considering their society.
• Alberto Florentino’s The World is an Apple
• Presentational style which highlights the
discussion of social issues.
• Theater of the Opressed by Augusto Boal
• Documentary style which tends to discuss
historical events.
• Mayo A-biente Uno of Al Santos
• There are other forms of theater art that
emerged like the dula-dula, a short drama
poem.

• Some of the directors who significantly

contributed in the progress of the Philippine
theater are the National Artists Lamberto
Avellana, Severino Montano, and Wilfredo Ma.
Guerrero.
 Dance

• During the first years of American period,

vaudeville or bodabil dancing became popular.
• Dances like buck-and-wing, tap dancing, clog,
and skirt dancing were among the dances being
performed in the show.
• Later on, European classical ballet entered the
scene.
• Remedios de Oteyza
• Leonor Orosa.
• The ballet was followed by a modern dance. It
deals with a mixture of wide-range of dances.
• Folk and social dances followed the rise of
modern dance. This was after Francisca Reyes-
Aquino research on the Philippine folk dances.
• She integrated folk dances in the educational
system.

• Today, the mentioned dance forms are still alive

even in the contemporary setting.
Architectur
e

• The Philippine architecture was characterized as

simple, rational, and functional.
• In the early 20th century the young Filipinos who
studied in American universities and institutes
went back to the country and brought changes in
the Philippine architecture.
• Among them were, Juan Arellano, Carlos
Barreto, and Antonio Toledo.
• It was also in the early 20th century when the
tsalet was developed.
Tsalet
• After WWII, real estate development started to
take place, and two-storey houses were
introduced.
• Starting from Marcos era, there had been
constructions of expressways, convention
centers, hospitals, hotels, malls, buildings,
amusement centers and many more.
 Film

• The film industry in the Philippines started in

1987 through the initiatives of foreign
businessmen.
• The film became popular in 1912 when
foreigners Edward Gross and Harry Brown
produced the film about the life of Dr. Jose Rizal.
• Jose Nepomuceno tagged as the “Father of
Philippine Movies” is the first Filipino to
produced a film entitled Dalagang Bukid.
• 1942, movie production stopped and the
Filipinos went back to watching and producing
stage shows.
• Philippine started to regain strength and
flourished during the 1950s.
• Four film studios became prominent and
considered as the Big 4. These are LVN,
Sampaguita, Levran, and Premiere.
• Film awards were also introduced like the
Filipino Academy of Movie and Arts and
Sciences or FAMAS and Maria Clara Awards.
• In the succeding periods, there had been a
decline of studios. Independent producers
dominated film industry.
• Sex films
• Fan movies
• Slapstick comedies
• Action movies
• During Marcos regime, the government
regulated filmmaking. With the establishment of
Board of Censorship Motion Pictures (BCMP),
film scripts had to be submitted prior
production.