CON ARTS UNIT 3.1-2

UNIT 3: CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

LESSON 1: Contemporary Arts in the Philippines

A major distinction between modern and contemporary is cultural and temporal significance. The list below is created by Art Studies professors Fajardo and Flores. It is aptly named “Historical Overview of Philippine Art” (2002) since it describes briefly the phases of Philippine art before it was enslaved to recent times. It should be noted that just the painting, sculpture, and architectural style are included in this section. You will apply your own information about the other forms such as song, ballet, writing, and drama as you explore more in subsequent classes.

Figure 1.2 was shot in Hong Kong in 2013 by the photographer, Xyza Bacani, a Nueva Vizcaya native. She served as a domestic helper before moving to New York on a scholarship. She used her digital camera to capture the images when she was free. Her first camera was purchased with funds loaned by her employer. (For more information, visit www.xyzacruzbacani.com).

The painting made by HR Ocampo in the 1960s was cosidered contemporary at that time. These paintings are no referred to as samples of Modern Art as they were crated between the American colonial period and the Post-war period. Many contemporary artists are still working today which makes their projects modern because they are “of the present”. For instance, National Artist, Arturo Luz, managed to paint well into the twenty-first century, showing the above notion as correct. However, the "Historic Overview" table for his work, shown in Figure 1.1, is linked to the modern style of the late 20th century with the hardline abstract style of his paintings. As a result, the word “contemporary” is a complex one, and its meaning shifts depending on the circumstances. In this case, it refers to historical and stylistic. Modern and contemporary can be used together or interchangeably depending on the situation but mistakes should be avoided. Hence, the meaning and context should be understood first.

The Majority of painters across several age groups have created something synonymous with Modern Art. Victorio Edades, a popular Filipino artist, is credited for launching the contemporary art trend that opposed the neoclassical standards which were prevalent during his period. The Neoclassical style idealizes and represents life as accurately as possible which can be seen in the works of National Artists like Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino. Their creations were characterized as “orthodox” styles. Modern artists focus on rendering unrealistic imagery rather than mundane scenery. They change the colors and compress the image instead of copying and idealizing truth. They represent what could be considered as “disorganized and unattractive” rather than sublime.

Neoclassical art was common at the time, while Modern Art was new and unaccepted. Art historians such as Guillermo who studied artworks characterized this Neoclassical art as “academic”, as well as other European styles adopted due to Spanish colonization. Neoclassicism means “academic”, and it is still taught in schools and universities such as the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts and now it is known as UP College of Fine Arts. It is the place where Amorsolo and Tolentino had their influence in the field of visual arts. The Neoclassical style by Amorsolo and Tolentino, continues to inspire young artists who learned to paint formally through art schools or universities or informally through self-learning, especially the ones living in remote regions far from Metro Manilla.

Modern art is considered “traditional” in comparison with contemporary artworks. Contemporary art is a creation of the vision of an artist that is created in the moment and keeps on updating. Contemporary art today can be considered as “academic” or “traditional” at some point. Modern art styles are now a part of art school curriculum and didactic in nature. Hence, the difference between these two forms may vary as per interpretation and acceptance. It is vital to recognize the similarities and dissimilarities between modern and contemporary art.

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

Figure 1.5 shows the representation of fishing by Carlos Francisco as a difficult process. However, Amorsolo's interpretation emphasises calmness and peacefulness. Like Francisco’s Magpupukot (1957), HR Ocampo’s The Contrast (1940) in Figure 1.3, Cesar Legaspi’s Frugal Meal (undated) in Figure 1.4, Edades’ The Builders (1928) in Figure 1.7 shows the oppressive situation of the underprivileged classes. Modern artists such as Romeo Tabuena, Hernando Ocampo, Vicente Manansala, Victor Oteyza, Ramon Estella, and Cesar Legaspi became prominent participants in the social conditions after World War II. One of the critics, Aguilar Cruz, named these artists Neo-realists as they portrayed societal issues and posed a challenge to Amorsolo and Tolentino's Neoclassical rural-pastoral style. The heirs of this tradition were the social realists of the 1970s.

Contemporary artists are continuously influenced by Social Realism. Imelda Cajipe-Filipina Endaya's Filipina DH, 1995 is a social-realist, but the form and method are somewhat distinct. This serves as a wonderful example of the differences in style and medium around Modern and contemporary art, see ‘The Stylistic Overview’ table (Figure 1.9).

Aside from style, it's also important to understand the artist’s background and the conditions under which they create and distribute their work. It will be discussed further how Contemporary artists Bacani and Cajipe-Endaya represent a variety of traditions in the table entitled "Cultural Overview." The latter has been displayed in art exhibitions and galleries, just like the modern artists. Bacani began showcasing her artwork on online platforms such as journals and blogs, where she attracted the interest of photographers. She quickly rose to prominence in social, print, and broadcast media. Her art has entered the domain of Fine Arts and it is viewed in museums and galleries.

Ibn Saud Salipyasin Ahmad is an artist from Zamboanga,Mindanao is a hybrid product of Subanen and old era Maguindanao Muslim cultures. He is considered to be a contemporary artist but has a touch of native Southeast Asian and Philippine Muslim style. Hence, his style is considered “traditional”due to its emphasis on tradition and intricacy of drafting techniques, which he adopted from his trade school in Zamboanga. He used watercolor to depict local populations and surroundings. His portrayals enable us to experience his history and values in the light of contemporary trends.

What are the general characteristics of contemporary art?

While some contemporary artists such as Saudi Ahmad, prefer to work with traditional media including watercolor and oil paints on canvas, others like Cajipe-Endaya, working with mixed media. A few artworks are also site-specific, such that they cannot be experienced fully if they are removed from their original exhibition sites, be it in the gallery, on the streets, in the forest, on the Internet, etc. They are process-based in general and integrate different media and forms of art. For example, the band Sleepyheads integrate performance art, theatrically and indie music in their concerts.

The filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and his family perform their life as their art and vice versa, as evident in the art spaces in Baguio which have become associated with a mix performance, installation, architecture, and culinary arts. It is hard to separate the artist from his space of practice, and his lifework. However, the output is not his alone. The process is collaborative, and the experience is immersive and interactive, such that the art is never complete without the audience’s active input.

A significant number of contemporary art is collaborative/participative, interactive, and process-oriented, meaning that the finished product and an "author" or artist are less emphasized. But for other works, this is not always the case. Under the term "contemporary art," there are a variety of strategies, media, and techniques. There are works, for instance, that are done by artists alone in a studio (for example, Ahmad) and not in collaboration. Some works are sensitive to direct treatment. In subsequent lessons, there will be many examples that may or may not exhibit all of these works.

LESSON 3.2: Research on Contemporary Arts in the Philippines  

What is the difference between subject matter and theme?

The term subject in the arts refers to what it is all about. When we observe a painting, we tend to remember it and the manner in which it is presented. The image can be representational or figurative, which suggests it was rendered from a real object or inspired by real life. It may not have an identifiable subject, such as a tree or an object. It is abstract, non-representational or non-figurative and its subject is form and elements, including texture, colour, composition, form or motion.

Themes are the threads that bind topics to their surrounding life or background. The theme of a painting can be determined by various methods. We consider the original image from its most apparent and notable details:

·         Title

·         Artist

·         Medium

·         Dimension

·         Time of production

We also consider the following:

·         Text

·         Images

·         Meanings

·         Signs and symbols

These facts provide insights into the complex and interactive learning described. The conceptual road runs at this stage of symbolism and allegory.

In practice, it is difficult to separate the subject and thematic plane. What is heard, smelled, seen, touched, and tasted is answered by the subject. The first move is to use our sensory inputs. This necessitates the careful and meticulous study of both the picture and its interpretations and, whether an absence of image or the way the formal elements are installed. Themes go beyond the literal, artwork data, and what we see on the surface using our senses. In a wider context, we continue to make sense of the work. Power issues come into play in the world of art itself, not only in large contexts. Our own research and observation leads to insights and questions, but also our own lenses and opinions may be "coloured." These themes can intersect, depending on many factors, as a single artwork may cover several themes and resonate. This will be shown in the following discussion.

Heroism and Identity

The Rizal Monument and its shape, format, strategy, and expressive elements are considered as an interesting case and hence grabs our attention. Its subject is self-evident: Jose Rizal, our National Hero, who instantly draws our attention to the topics of national identity and heroism. However, in addition to the things observed and heard personally, we can do some analysis to get a better understanding of how these major concepts are described and represented.

In 1905, a National competition was held to design the Rizal National Monument in Luneta. The winner was Italian Carlos Nicoli, yet the award was given to the runner up nominee, Swiss artist Richard Kissling, because he failed to meet those conditions. This style has since been copied by a number of cities and towns across the country and overseas. The Rizal Monument was unveiled in 1913 and is a landmark monument cum mausoleum that houses the hero's remnant.

The monument portrays Rizal as a rising entity holding a book possibly symbolizing the value of education. He is dressed in a European overcoat rather than local or native clothing.

As a result, there are several different ways to represent Rizal, based on the situation of particular locations and the desires of the officials who have the authority to determine the specifications helping portray or depict the views of the population of that location. There are so many different interpretations of heroism and national identity that it's impossible to generalize common ideas regarding naming of a hero, especially of the Filipinos in a background consisting of several cultures. We should research and gain knowledge of our own cultures instead of looking for a one meaning and explanation of identity.

Other landmarks' barong tagalog can reflect this inquisitiveness. We may also imagine a more rounded and less formal hero when we wish to deviate from his formal or static posture, and let him sit, write, or become more active. In reality, Rizal was a sportsman, a doctor, a writer, a faithful son, and a lover during his lifetime. Perhaps we want to see our heroes on a more human than a lofty plane, even if they are made larger than life by the nature of monuments.

Heroism and Ecology

There is a side to Rizal that is highlighted and largely unknown in his bust, monuments, and historical texts. Rizal was an environmentalist long before gaining importance in cultural, moral, spiritual, and environmental degradations of these troubled times. He was an environmentalist, farmer, teacher, poet, sculptor, merchant, engineer, loving son and patriot. He used his lottery wins to purchase land during his exile in Dapitan and he grew crops, maintained cattle and livestock, and to trade harvests with his kins. In collaboration with local people, he sold their goods and built a dam with the group's support from recycled wood beams, bottles of glass and rocks. He taught children by taking imaginations from art, statues, stories and poetry. He collected and shared data with science groups on the new organisms he found. There are three species named after him—the flying lizard (Draco rizali), a frog (Rachophorus rizali) and a beetle (Apogonio rizali).

There are similarities between him and botanist Leonard Co who contributed to the discovery of endemic species of plants. Rafflesia leonardi, a parasitic plant named after him, has the largest flowers in the world. It is the most renowned species associated with him.

At the age of 35 in Luneta, Rizal was shot dead. Also, Leonard Co was killed at an alleged crossfire in the forests of Kanaga, Leyte, where he and his team were conducting investigations for a project to spread endangered and indigenous trees in his area. Like Rizal, Co was a polymath, a man of many talents. He was a botanist, musician, photographer, and poet. He spoke Mandarin, Filipino, and Latin. He was also a comic whose performance relaxed his team's tired minds whenever they were out on the field. The people he touched bear witness to his passion, humility, simplicity, and incredible knowledge in Philippines botany.

There are not many documented artworks present that address Rizal's position as an environmentalist. So, we cannot expect any representation of the lesser known botanist Leonard Co. Another possible exception is that the works do not directly represent the lives of heroes. An entire exposition dedicated to the 150th year of Rizal's birth was celebrated in his honour in 2011. In the course of numerous high-profile events, Rizal and Co were honoured by a modest exhibition of eight male environmentalists, whose contributions were interpreted through paintings and installations done by eight female artists, as part of the annual Walong Filipina exhibition series.

Spirituality, Ecology, and Everyday Life

As we already noticed in learning objectives, Rizal's monument appears frequently set in the town plaza center, an arrangement inspired by Spanish colonizers. The Church, the municipal building, and the houses of elites are all located at the town plaza center. A kumbento or convent is normally attached to the Church, houses, school, and the quarters of priests and the workplaces.

San Carlos Church, a tourist attraction, popular venue, and a functional core in the quaint community of Mahatao on Batan Island, a neighborhood that is 99 percent Roman Catholic, served a crucial role in preserving the numerous heritage buildings and objects of the spot. The kumbento, which connects towards the parish priest quarter, is also a gathering spot for local groups, and it serves as a hallway and corridor to a bypass since it has entryways that pass through the building. It is dark, barren, and sometimes vacant, filled with people on their way to another place or at times interacting, and perhaps space could serve as a transit point for others to rest, reflect, and to calm tired minds and hearts.

The artist Jay Ticar created a collection of blank books stacked on shelves that resemble the waves from the seas, as well as other pieces that were inspired by the ambient landscapes. The visitors and passerby of the library-turned-kumbento will arbitrarily pick a journal to write down their ideas and experiences in the form of documents, sketches, and physical items. Basic gestures or marks in the daily paper sheets accumulate like duston carpet, which have been untouched for a long time. The artist hopes to make the library a large and "meaningful collection of dust". He described this in his design report for an Asian Public Philosophers Joint Venture in 2010. Ticar suggested this project should be impressive to the public and dive deep into human emotions and hence should serve as a string connecting countries like Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and other South Asian Nations and make them realize the importance of the environment.

Ticar carried two boats into the library, along with the blank books. An abandoned tataya was one of the boats, a conventional wind-powered boat formerly operated by a fishermen's organization. When deserted, the vital source of income for catching marine animals got converted to home for poultry and a source of fascination. The other boat was bigger and probably motorized, representing modernity’s challenge to tradition. Previously owned by a rancher/soldier/meat man/jailor who was known for his arrests of native anglers. These fish catching gentlemen belonged mostly from Taiwan or even from Vietnam. These boats "turned into the tables and chairs of the library”, as the artist describes his project. The boats are illuminated by recycled, light-bulb housing, bamboo poles (articulated as fishing rods). Boulders are still used as stools on the floor area, in the valugan and aplaya stones we call it in Tagalog or in English simply beach. Under these stones, hidden boards with wheels are placed to give the floating feel, especially when moved. These stones and boats can be rearranged and played.

Glossary

Allegory: It is a symbolic representation

Ecology: It is the overall relationship of organisms to its environment

Indie music: It is the short for independent music; music produced independently from major commercial labels

Mixed media: It is a type of artwork where a variety of media is used in the process of creation

Neo-Realism: It is an art movement that aims to revive traditions from the realism movement

Postmodern: It refers to the usage of complex forms, fantasies, allusions to traditional styles, and the general disregard for the emphasis on utility and formalism.

Site specific: It is an artwork wherein the location is an essential part of the piece

Social Realism: It is an art movement that aimed to capture social realities as a way of political commentary

Symbolism: It is using symbols to represent ideas