Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (CPAR)

Prepared by: Ms. Narlyn P. dela Cruz,LPT

LECTURE NO.1

A. Integrative Art as Applied to Contemporary Art

DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. ARTS

 Something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important
ideas or feelings

 The expression or appreciation of human creative skill and imagination

 Its origin came from:

a. Aryan root AR, meaning “to put together”

b. 2 Greek words, ARTIZEIN (to prepare) &ARKISKEIN(to put together)

c. Latin terms ARS, ARTIS (everything that is artificially made or composed by man)

2. CONTEMPORARY

a. Existing or occurring at the present time

b. Kontemporaneo (UP Diksyonaryong Filipino) : nabibilang o umiiral sa kasalukuyang panahon ;

sumusunod sa modernong ideya o modang estilo o disenyo [belongs to the present time ; follows
the modern idea or mode of style or design ]

c. In vernacular English, it is synonymous with the word modern

3. CONTEMPORARY ARTS

a. Art produced at the present period in time

b. Art of today, produced by artists who are living in the 21 st century

c. Refers to the recent & current practice of art ranging from the 1970’s up to the present

4. INTEGRATIVE ARTS

a. Integrating : to bring together or incorporate [parts] into a whole

b. Integrated : in arts, used to denote integration of the arts experience into the learning process

c. Integrated Arts Practice : 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)

THE PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ART

 The Philippine Contemporary Art is divided into seven (7) major forms namely :

1. Visual Arts
2. Literature
3. Music
4. Theater
5. Dance
6. Architecture
7. Film

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 Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (CPAR)

Prepared by: Ms. Narlyn P. dela Cruz,LPT

 The development of Philippine Art comes in three (3) major traditions namely :

1. Ethnic Tradition (Pre – Colonial )

2. Spanish Colonial Tradition

3. American Colonial and Contemporary Tradition

 The Philippine Art has its unique characteristics based on its period of development.

MAJOR TRADITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ART

ETHNIC TRADITION (PRE – COLONIAL PERIOD : 6185 BC – 1520 AD)

 The location and experiences of the Filipinos were the major factors in art production

 In terms of visual arts – POTTERY, WEAVING, WOOD CARVING & METAL CRAFTING were dominating,
making use of the available materials surrounding them.

 Pottery : stands among one of the most ancient arts

a. Manunggul Jar – excavated in Manunggul Cave in Palawan circa 8th century B.C. This large
burial jar has a cover showing 2 men rowing a boat, suggesting the belief among early Filipinos
in an afterlife across a mythical body of water.

b. In later years, it is more associated with objects with daily use such as the palayok (clay pot) for
cooking, banga (clay jar) for storing drinking water, asinan (salt container), tapayan (liquid
container) for fermenting basi or sugarcane wine or curing bagoong (small fish or shrimps
preserved in brine)

 Brine – a mixture of salty water used especially to preserve or add flavor to the food

c. In Ilocos, the making of burnay pottery continues as a lively tradition

d. Materials – clay & sand mixed by carabao feet trudging round and round for 6 hours

e. Fidel Go – 1990 GAMABA Awardee, one of the notable potters in Vigan

 Weaving : remains as a precious living tradition

a. Oldest textile in existence in the Philippines is a piece of cloth from a cave site in Banton Island
which is now in the National Museum

b. The Philippines was known to have woven fibers such as pineapple, abaca, ramie, maguey,
cotton, and bark cloth

c. Cordillera groups of the North are well – known for it (producing blankets and articles of
clothing that fulfill a practical function & also play a part in religion & ritual)

d. Introduction of cotton, which was successfully cultivated in the Ilocos region, was to alter the
use of weaving materials, particularly in the adjoining regions of the Cordilleras

e. The use of indigenous dyes from the indigo plant also resulted in a major resurgence in
traditional weaving

f. Santa Maria, Santiago, & Vigan in Ilocos Sur ; Sarrat and Paoay in Ilocos Norte ; and Bangar, La
Union are major weaving towns

g. Santiago, Vigan & Sarrat produce blankets called Binacol/Binakol and Pinilian with intricate
designs, characterized by repetitive geometric designs that produce optical illusions, which
have been mistaken for those of the Tinguian of Abra.

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 Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (CPAR)

Prepared by: Ms. Narlyn P. dela Cruz,LPT

h. Ancient art of IKAT

 Known among the Ifugao

 By the 1970’s, it had all totally vanished as a tradition

 In the mid – 1970’s, an old lady named Kahhimangan Palatic, 1990 Manlilikha ng Bayan
awardee, who still remembered the process, revived the tradition

 A dominant process, only method used in some places, by the highland groups of
Eastern Mindanao (Tboli, Bagobo,Tagakaolo, Mandaya, Bilaan, Ubo,Kalagan)

 A dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior
to dyeing and weaving the fabric.

 Means "to bind" in the Indonesian language

i. Pis Siyabit & Kandit are outstanding examples of Tausug weaving

 Pis Siyabit : a square headdress for the male, with complex multicolored geometric
designs

 Kandit (sash) : a silk waist band in bold geometric patterns with sharp color contrasts

j. Weaving hats, baskets & mats is also widely practiced in the Philippines

 Ilocos provinces take pride of their sturdy abel

 In Mindanao, the Tboli of Cotabato weave abaca cloth, called T’nalak

 Cordilleras – rich in baskets for all purposes : for rice planting on the mountain terraces,
hunting in the forests, fishing in the streams and Pasiking (backpack)

 Basketry traditions

i. Mandaya backpack from Eastern Mindanao : arched cover & trimmings that
contrast with its black resin – coated body

ii. Bagobo baskets : generally simple & functional but personal bags are often
decked with tiny bells & multicolored beads

iii. Basag : attractive basket with a conical cover from Tagbanua of Palawan

iv. Hanunoo baskets of Mindoro : characterized by over plaiting on a basic woven

surface

v. Major Ifugao Baskets Categories

o Acob : a basket with square base & a round cover used for storing husked
rice

o Agawen : a small, open basket carried on the hip & used for gathering
snails in the fields

o Bangaw : a traveler’s backpack with a smooth black fiber covering it

against the rain

o Binali : a coiled – technique basket used to store grain

o Bulot : a locust – storage basket

o Camoan : storage basket for husked rice

o Hoop : a square basket for carrying food from the fields

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 Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (CPAR)

Prepared by: Ms. Narlyn P. dela Cruz,LPT

o Hulol : funnel – shaped basket to catch locust

o Topil : a food container for the field

o Ulbong : a spherical basket using the coiled technique for grain storage

vi. Mats : provide cool comfort

o Basic materials : giant and dwarf species of the pandanus leaf, swamp
grass, palm leaf and rattan

o Sesed mats : mostly done in stripes and plaids (Maranao)

o Oho mats : for ritual outside the house use by the Bontoc

o Tagbanua in Palawan : notable for workmanship which produces

uniform strands

o Aklanon : known for plain brown mats woven over with beige geometric
designs

 WOOD CARVING : many parts of the country have lively wood carving traditions

a. The Cordillera Groups

 Bulul :

o In their rice culture, a stylized sculpture representation of a human figure / anito

figure in wood, which double as ancestral spirits and granary gods.

o Used in rituals associated with the many stages of rice planting, healing & the
resolution of intertribal feuds

o Also appears in spoons, bowls, walking sticks, grain containers, & even chili
crushers

o Often found in pairs, these signify the value of fertility

o In the central post of the traditional house the same carved human figure
appears and is referred to as kinabagat

 Hagabi

o A huge wooden bench with a slightly arched midsection, is the ultimate status
symbol & proof of the owner’s economic & political power

o It is transported over mountains & hills from the carving site to his house, the
owner has to host a ritual feast in every village it passes.

b. Muslim Groups

 Wood sculpture in Western Mindanao is basically decorative

 It uses geometric patterns & stylized representations of floral and animal forms derives
from the orthodox Islamic prohibition of realistic representations of humans and
animals

o Okir : often referred to in Maranao ; these are ornate curvilinear designs and
motifs applied to wood carving ; principal designs are :

 The Sarimanok – carved in wood, simply varnished or painted in many

colors, or sometimes executed in brass,is the stylized design of a bird
holding a fish in its beak and/or standing on a base in the shape of a fish.

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 Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (CPAR)

Prepared by: Ms. Narlyn P. dela Cruz,LPT

While its meaning derives from epics & myths, it also alludes to Lake
Lanao’s fertile waters

 The Naga – has the form of an elaborate mythical serpent or dragon with
a vigorous S – curve and numerous curvilinear motifs to suggest its scales.

 The Pako Rabong – a stylized growing fern with a broad base gracefully
tapering upwards

o Ukkil : in Tausug meaning carved

 METAL CRAFTING : has ancient roots in the Philippines. It surfaced in the form of jewelry & weaponry.

 A precolonial gold jewelry retrieved from the diggings in Butuan and Agusan is the most
stunning achievements generally unknown to most Filipinos.

 Ling – ling – o : an ancient amulet design, said to signify fertility – found in necklaces, rings, &
earrings of the Cordillera group

 One of the Mandaya woman’s prized possessions is the huge silver – disk neckpiece

 The Bagobo attach tiny bells practically to everything they use – carrying bags, necklaces,
anklets, bracelets, bolo handles, musical instruments, horse saddles, and others.

 The Ifugao and the Bontoc

o Cast small brass or gold jewelry pieces

o They produced necklaces in the form of stylized animal heads or full animal
figures like pigs, dogs, and deers.

o Dudong – a small brass piece, sometimes rarely gold,representing a human

figure and worn as wedding accessory, is one of the rarest and most valued
status symbols

 The Ilongots of Nueva Vizcaya use belts made of brass coiled tightly over copper wires and
trimmed with tiny shells with serrated edges

 Gadur – a metal product from Tugaya, traditionally used as ceremonial containers for rice and
tobacco

 Rasid Laidon – a 1990 Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee, know for his fine artistry of his brass works

 Weapons, such as the kris, kampilan,or gonong are cast in iron

 Architecture : the early Filipinos used local materials such as anahaw, bamboo, cogon, cane, rattan,
and other light materials in constructing structures

 Have folk literatures in the forms of folk speeches, songs, & narratives which verbalized their
experiences

 Theater Arts : tribal presentations and rituals were the early theatrical performances depicting their
beliefs

 Music : our ancestors have their indigenous musical instruments like the bamboo flutes & brass gongs

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