Periods of Art in the Philippines

1. Pre-Colonial Period

2. Islamic Period

3. Spanish-Colonial Period

4. American-Colonial Period

5. Japanese-Colonial

6. 70’s to Contemporary Period

Pre-Colonial Art Period

• In art historical terms, we refer before the coming of the first colonizer as “pre-conquest”.

• In stylistic terms, we refer to it as “indigenous” to emphasize the idea that our ancestors have
been making art even before colonization.

• In cultural term, we refer to it as “pre-colonial” to use as a general way of life before

colonization.

Was there “art” before colonization

• Prior to colonization, art of the ancient Filipinos were woven into the fabric of everyday life.

• 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.

• Long before the coming of the Spaniards, the pre-colonial people of the Philippines already
possessed a varied and vibrant musical culture.

• This wealth of ethnic musical instruments is further complimented by native dance forms whose
movements often imitated the movements of animals, humans, and elements from nature.

• Pre-colonial Filipinos have been making images before colonization. This exemplified by the
country’s rich tradition in carving.

• Some of the most ancient forms are made out of terracotta.

• Terracotta - commonly used term for a type of natural plastic clay that hardens when dried.

• The tendency toward ornamentation could be also seen in the way early Filipinos adorned their
bodies.

• Boxer Codex – representations of various ethnolinguistic groups

• Aside from its aesthetic function, tattoos were valued because it was believed to protect the
individual from evil spirits, and in some cases, it was considered as a badge of maturity and
bravery.

How did Islam influence art before the coming of Spanish Colonizers?

• Islam was said to have gained significant grounding in Sulu as early as the 13th century. However,
it was in the arrival of Sayyid Abbubakar of Arabia in the 15th century that led to significant turn
of events.

• Sayyid Abbubakar of Arabia married the daughter of Rajah Baguinda and established the
Sultanate of Sulu and became the first sultan.

What are the main beliefs of Islam that influence the ways art is made and interpreted?
• Tawhid – unity of God, emphasizes the impermanence of nature and the incomprehensible
greatness of divine being.

• Islam rejects the direct copying of images in nature.

• Ukkil/Okir – curvilinear and flowing forms in Islamic arts

Spanish Colonial Art Period

While the South remained resistant to Spanish colonization, the colonizers gained inroads in the
central part of the islands whose inhabitants we now refer to as “lowland Christians”.

What kind of art were developed during Spanish Colonization?

• Art that flourished during the Spanish colonial period conformed to the demands of the church
and the colonial state.

• The art forms from that period are referred to stylistically and culturally as religious art, lowland
Christian art, or folk art.

• Plaza complex – natives were forcibly resettled to carry out project of colonization and
Christianization.

• During the 17th century, Chinese artisans, under Spanish supervision were engaged in making
icons or saints or santos (in vernacular) in wood and ivory; building churches and houses; as well
as making furniture.

• The Greek and Roman classical influence can be seen in the proportion employed as well as the
formality of expression while the trace of the Baroque is evident in the expression and
emotional characteristics of the santo.

• Retablo – decorative altar niche in a church

• Via Crucis – series of 14 paintings or relief sculptures depicting Christ’s crucifixion and
resurrection
• With the coming of Spaniards, who brought western musical instruments like the pipe organ,
the violin, guitar, and the piano, Philippine musical instruments also took on a very European
flavor – with new rhythms, melodies, and musical forms.

• Pasyon/Pabasa – biblical narration of Christ’s passion chanted in an improvised melody.

• Zarzuela/Sarsuwela – operetta which features singing and dancing interspersed with prose
dialogue which allowed the story to be carried out in song.

• Senakulo – passion play, narrative was culled entirely from the biblical account of Christ’s
passion and death on the cross, adapted into verse from and translated to local language.

• Komedya – depicts the conflict between Muslims and Christians

• Komedya de Santo - centers on the life of Christ or of any saint

Secular Komedya – Example: Moro-moro, a typical moro-moro story would usually involve a
love story between a Christian hero and an Islamic heroine or vice versa.

• The reprographic art of printmaking was introduced in the Philippines as early as the 16th
century.

• Doctrina Christiana – printed in 1593 in Spanish and Tagalog by Dominican priests, first printed
book in the Philippines, compilation of song lyrics, commandments, sacraments, and other
catechetical material

• Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas – first scientific map of the
Philippines, surrounding the map are vignettes of everyday life that focus on different types of
people and their surroundings called tipos del pais.

• Flora de Filipinas (1878) – Made by Augustinian botanist Fr. Manuel Blanco, contents of
lithographic reproductions of remarkable watercolor illustrations by Filipino artists, compilation
of Philippine plants

What is Art?

• 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.

Etymology of Art

The term “art” is related to the Latin word “ars” meaning, art, skill, or craft. The first known use
of the word comes from 13th-century manuscripts. However, the word art and its many variants
(artem, eart, etc.) have probably existed since the founding of Rome.

Philosophy of Art

Art as Representation or Mimesis -Plato first developed the idea of art as “mimesis,” which, in
Greek, means copying or imitation. For this reason, the primary meaning of art was, for
 centuries, defined as the representation or replication of something that is beautiful or
meaningful.

Art as Form -Art should not have a concept but should be judged only on its formal qualities
because the content of a work of art is not of aesthetic interest.

Art as Expression of Emotional Content - Artists look to connect with and evoke responses from
their viewers.

Contemporary Art

• Defined as art produced by artists living today.

• What is contemporary today might become “academic” or “traditional” at some point.

American Colonial Arts

- The independence that the Philippines gained after the revolution of 1896 was cut short with
the establishment of the American colonial government in the Philippines.

- The American brought in education and value formation with both following the “American
way of life”.

Popular Art Styles during the Philippine Colonial American Period

Neoclassicism in American Architecture

“The White House”

Neoclassicism in Philippine Architecture

 “City Hall of Davao”

Japanese Occupation in the Philippines

Under Japanese occupation of Manila in modern art project slow down in pace. Early moderns
and conservatives alike continued to produce art and even participated in KALIBAPI (The
Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas).

logans such as “Asia for Asians” made its way to the public through posters, ephemera, comics,
and Japanese sponsored publications.

Modern Art in the Philippines

The history of Modern Philippine art is marked by the conflict between the rules and views of
the Academy and the innovative methods of the Modernists. The Academic style was
established during the Spanish colonial period and followed the rules of the Spanish, Italian and
French Academies. When they first arrived in the Philippines in the early 16th century the
Spaniards did so with the primary intention of spreading the Catholic faith. As a result religious
art and the creation of icons were strongly encouraged. By late 19th century Neo-Classicism and
Realism became the norm.

A turning point was the emergence of the “13 Modernists” group which included artists who
had received their education abroad where they had come in contact with various new and
experimental styles. They argued that the official art was too photographic and relied too much
on the exactness of representation which led to rigidness and lack of originality.

Contemporary Art in the Philippines - It was on the on-set of the sudden rise of personal
computers and new technology created a new art medium for the arts and human expression.

-Contemporary art as the work of artists who are living in the 21st century.

-Contemporary art mirrors contemporary culture and society, offering the general audiences a
rich resource through which to consider current ideas and rethink the familiar.