Learning Module in Contemporary Arts 12/Grade 12

Contemporary Arts
Quarter 2 Module 3
Name: _________________________________________________________Grade&Section: ______________________
Prepared by: Ms. Cloue Faye I. Basallo

Lesson 1: Artistic Skills and Techniques

What’s In
The previous lesson scanned the arts and crafts in Mindanao. We were able to study the attire, textiles, and
tapestries created by B’laan, Bagobos, T’boli, Maranaos and Yakan groups. We also recognized some Mindananoan
contemporary artists and their masterpieces. These artists shared some of their techniques in making contemporary
artworks. These artistic skills and techniques will be elaborated in this lesson.
Many contemporary artists do not have formal studies in the fine arts. Many of them are selftaught. Concerned
with the development of their talent and skills in artmaking, they study on their own, interact with artists and read a lot
about lives of artists and their artworks. They also explore the materials in hardware stores, experiment with chemical
reactions on their base material. Some hire resin makers, house painters and materials fabricators to help them in
constructing artworks.
In this lesson, we will learn the meaning of “artistic skill” and “technique” through actual and hands-on activities.
We will also learn that artists’ choice of material and how they use these materials are at the heart of making art, and
that these involves process and transformation.

What Is It
ARTISTIC SKILLS
With the broadening of the art world, many people are getting confused about what qualifies as an artistic skill.
Artistic skills are abilities that are possessed by artists who operate within a fine art capacity.
Each artist uses different mediums to develop their artistic skills. A medium is defined as the material, or the
substance out of which a work is made. Through these materials, the artists express and communicate feelings and
ideas.
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as follows:
1. The sculptor uses metal, wood, stone, clay, and glass. Sculptures fall within the category of “three-dimensional” arts
because they occupy space and have volume. Pottery is a form of sculpture. Other examples are nudes or figures such as
Guillermo Tolentino’s Oblation, ritual objects such as bulul wood carvings in the cordillera, or the santos or carvings of
saints in Christian churches.
2. The architect uses wood, bamboo, bricks, stone, concrete and various building materials. Buildings are also called
“three-dimensional”. However, architecture has the added element of time since we move into structures.
3. The painter uses pigments (e. g. watercolor, oil, tempera, textile paint, acrylic, ink, etc.) on a usually flat ground
(wood, canvas, paper, stone wall such as cave paintings.)
4. The printmaker uses ink printed or transferred on a surface (wood, metal plates, or silk screen) that is keeping with a
duplicating or reproducing process. Prints and paintings are further classified as “two-dimensional” arts, because they
include the surface or ground on which coloring substances are applied. However, while paintings are unique and one-
of-a kind, prints can be reproduced in several pre-determined editions.
5. The musician uses sound and instruments (including human voice), while the dancers use the body. A T’boli chanter
sings creation stories in a way that is different from a classical singer or pop music influenced by the Western music
scale.
6. The dancer uses he body and its movement. Dance is often accompanied by music, but there are dances that do not
rely on musical accompaniment to be realized. Dance can tell stories, but the other times, they convey abstract ideas
that do not rely on a narrative.
7. The theater artist integrates all the arts and uses the stage, production design, performance elements, and script to
enable the visual, musical, dance and other aspects to come together as a whole work.
8. The photographer and filmmaker use the camera to record the outside world. The filmmaker uses the
cinematographic camera to record and put together production design, sound engineering, performance, and
screenplay. In digital photography and film, the images can be assimilated into the computer, thus eliminating the need
for celluloid or negatives, processing chemicals, or print.
9. The writer of a novel, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction uses words. The designer, the performance artist and installation
artist combine use of the range or materials above.

TECHNIQUE
Technique is the way artists use and manipulate materials to achieve the desired formal effect, and communicate
the desired concept, or meaning, according to his or her personal style (modern, Neoclassic, etc.). The distinctive
character or nature of the medium determines the technique.
Technique involves tools and technology, ranging from most traditional (for example carving, silkscreen, analog
photography, and filmmaking) to the most contemporary (digital photography, digital filmmaking, music production,
industrial design, and robotics).
Here are some of art techniques used by artists.
1. Collage – is the technique of an art production used in the visual arts where the artwork is made from on assemblage
of different forms, thus creating a new whole. Collage may sometimes include magazines and newspaper clippings,
ribbons, paints, bits of colored or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs, and other found
objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas.
2. Decollage – is the opposite of collage; instead of an image is being built up all or parts of existing images, it is created
by cutting, treating away or otherwise removing pieces of an original image. The French word “Decollage” in English
means “Take-off” or “To become Unglued” or “To become unstuck”. Example of decollage include cut-up technique.
Similar technique is the lacerated poster, a poster in which one has been over another.
3. Graffiti – are writing or drawings that have been scribed, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or other surface, often
in a public space. Graffiti range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti may express underlying
social and political messages, and a whole genre of artistic expression is based spray paint graffiti styles.
4. Land Art – earth works, or earth arts is an art movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably
linked. It is also an art form that is created in nature, using natural materials such as soil, rock (bed rock, bolders,
stones), organic media (logs, branches, leaves), and water which introduced materials such as concrete, metal asphalt,
or mineral pigments.
5. Digital Arts – is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as an essential part of the creative or
presentation process. Digital art is work made with digital technology or presented on digital technology. This includes
images done completely on computer or hand-drawn images scanned into a computer and finished using a software
program like Adobe Illustrator. Digital art can also involve animation and 3D virtual sculpture renderings as well as
projects that combine several technologies. Some digital art involves manipulation of video images. After some
resistance, the impact of digital technology has transformed activities such as paintings, drawing, sculpture, and
music/sound art, while new form such as net art.
6. Mixed Media – It refers to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art. For example, work
on canvas that combines paint, ink and collage. When creating a painted or photograph work using mixed media, it is
important to choose the layers carefully and allow enough dying time between the layers to ensure the final work will
have structural integrity, if many different layers are imposed. Many effects can be achieved by using mixed media.
Found objects can be used in conjunction with the traditional artist to attain a wide range of self-expression.
7. Print Making – is the process of making artworks by painting, normally in the paper. Prints are created by
transforming ink from a matrix ink from a matrix or through a prepared screen to a sheet of paper or other material.
Common types of matrices include metal plates, usually copper or zinc, or polymer plates for engraving or etching; stone
aluminum of polymer for lithography; blocks of wood crafts and wood graving; and linoleum for linocuts. Screen made of
silk or synthetic fabrics are used for the screen-printing process.
8. Frottage – is the technique of rubbing with crayon on a piece of paper which has been placed over an object or an
image. The impression of the image can be created using leaves, woods, wire screen, or metal with embossed image or
words.
9. Decalcomania – is the process of applying gouache to paper or glass then transferring a reversal of the image onto
canvas or other flat materials.
10. Decoupage – is done by adhering cut-outs of paper and then coating these with one or transparent coating of
varnish.
11. Eggshell mosaic - is an artistic technique that uses tiny parts of eggshell to create a whole image or object. Mosaics
are usually assembled using small tiles that are square, but they can also be round or randomly shaped.
12. Trapunto painting – is the technique used by Pacita Abad where her canvases are padded, sewn, and often filled with
sequins, beads, shell, buttons, tiny mirrors, bits of glass, rickrack, swatches of precious textiles and other things that she
picks up from her travels and journey.

What’s More
ACTIVITY 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
Read the sentence carefully, select the letter of your choice and place it on your answer sheet.
1. An artwork made with digital technology or presented on digital technology. This includes images done completely on
computer.
a. Collage c. Print Making
b. Land art d. Digital Art

2. Earth work or Earth art movement in which created in using natural materials such as rock, soil, organic media, and
water.
a. Collage c. Print Making
b. Land art d. Digital Art
3. It is the art process of making artworks by painting normally in the paper.
a. Collage c. Print Making
b. Land art d. Digital Art
4. Instead of an image is being built up, all parts of existing images, it is created by cutting or treating away from its
original image.
a. Decollage c. Print Making
b. Land art d. Digital Art
5. These are writings or drawing that have been scribe, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or other surface often in a
public space.
a. Land Arts c. Graffiti
b. Collage d. Digital Art

What I Can Do
ACTIVITY 2: EGGSHELL MOSAIC MAKING
Create a contemporary art using the eggshell mosaic art technique. Gather the materials you need and follow the steps
in collage making.
Materials you need:
•1 Oslo paper
• Eggshells (cleaned and dried)
• Glue
• Watercolor/ acrylic paint/ dye/ other coloring materials
• Pencil
• Marker
How to Make:
Step 1. Decide on a theme or idea for your collage (example ideas: landscapes, flowers, event, etc.). Sketch it first on
your Oslo paper using a pencil.
Step 2. Using the marker, outline your sketch.
Step 3. Take your eggshells and break them into small pieces. Arrange the eggshells onto the paper. Make sure you do
not cover the outline of your sketch.
Step 4. If you are satisfied with the arrangement of the eggshells, carefully glue the pieces of eggshells together. Let it
dry.
Step 5. Add accent pieces using the coloring material. Using watercolor, acrylic paint, dye or other coloring materials,
color the eggshells according to your taste and creativity.
Assessment: (Post-Test)
Multiple Choice. Select the letter of the best answer from among the given choices.
1. It is considered as a pre – triumph era.
A. Japanese era C. Modern era
B. Pre – Colonial era D. Contemporary era
2. It is anything printed from raised or sunken reliefs and plane surfaces
A. Civic art C. Practical art
B. Commercial art D. Graphic Art
2. It is anything printed from raised or sunken reliefs and plane surfaces
A. Civic art C. Practical art
B. Commercial art D. Graphic Art
4. Pis siyabit is an example of __________.
A. ornamentation C. weaving
B. tatooo D. Carving
5. A period in which focuses on idyllic sceneries and secular forms of arts
A. Modern era C. Contemporary era
B. American era D. Pre – colonial era
6. He is one of the abstractionist artists.
A. Fernando Amorsolo C. Juan Luna
B. Romeo Tabuena D. Arturo Luz
7. It is an art of today produced by artists living of today.
A. Modern era C. Contemporary era
B. American era D. Pre – colonial era
8. This art use for or utility, changing of raw materials for utilitarian purposes.
A. Industrial art C. Graphic Art
B. Practical art D. Commercial Art
9. He wrote the national anthem during the Japanese period entitled Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas
A. Julian Felipe C. Marcelo Adonay
B. Felipe de Leon D. Ryan Cayabyab
10. An era focuses on geometric and design.
A. Islamic era C. Modern era
B. American era D. Pre – colonial era

Romans 12:12

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be

constant in prayer.”