INTRODUCTION TO
CONTEMPORARY
ARTS
IN THE PHILIPPINES
• Contemporary Arts
• Various Perspective in
Contemporary Arts
• Contemporary Art VS.
Modern Art
OBJECTIVES
• Define contemporary art
forms and their practices
from various regions (FK)
• Identify various art forms in
the Philippines (FK)
• Classify various art forms in
the Philippines (CK)
Let’s volt in!
• Form a quadrant.
• Within your group,
BRAINSTORM your ideas
about your definition of
CONTEMPORARY ARTS
according to your own
perspective.
• Your answer could be a word,
a phrase or a sentence.
• Best answer gets 5 POINTS.
• Good luck!
WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY
ARTS?
• It refers to art made and
produced by artists living
today.
• It runs from 1970 until now.
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE
OF CONTEMPORARY ART?
Cultural Perspective
VS.
Stylistic Perspective
CULTURAL
PERSPECTIVE
• Contemporary art mirrors
contemporary culture and society.
• It offers the general audiences a rich
resource through which to consider
ideas and rethink the familiar
• In a globally influenced, culturally
diverse, and technologically
advancing world, it gives voice to
the varied and changing cultural
landscape of identities, values and
beliefs.
STYLISTIC
PERSPECTIVE
• Contemporary art is a dynamic
combination of materials,
methods, concepts, and
subjects that challenge
traditional boundaries and defy
easy definition.
• Diverse and eclectic,
contemporary art is
distinguished by the very lack
of a uniform organizing
principle or ideology.
• Contemporary artists working within the
postmodern movement reject the concept
of mainstream art and embrace the notion of
"artistic pluralism“
–The acceptance of a variety of
artistic intentions and styles.
• Contemporary artists pull from an infinite
variety of materials, sources, and styles
to create art.
• For this reason, it is difficult to briefly
summarize and accurately reflect the
complexity of concepts and materials used
by contemporary artists.
HOW DO MODERN ART DIFFER
CONTEMPORARY ART?
• After watching the video, you should be
able to differentiate CONTEMPORARY
ART from MODERN ART.
• Enjoy!
Contemporary Art
• Although a by-word for
decades in the Western
world, is a phenomenon of
the post-war period in the
Philippines.
• In terms of Art History, it can
be defined as art produced
by artists living today.
Example of Contemporary Art
Filipino DH (Imelda Cajipe Endaya)
The Contrast, HR Ocampo (1960’s)
• At that time, the
painting was
considered
Contemporary Art.
• Today, we refer to
these works as
examples of
Modern Art
Modern Art
• produced between the American
colonial period to the Post-war
period
• style of the artworks produced
during the 1890-1960 era.
• Some Modern artists continue to
produce work till today.
• In that sense, their works can be
described as contemporary, by
virtue of being “of the present.”
• At times, the Modern
Contemporary can be used
simultaneously and
interchangeable;
• However, there is also danger
of using them carelessly or
loosely thus, it is important to
know the historical, and
stylistic contexts of the terms.
• Today, Modern Art is referred
to as “traditional”, compared to
Contemporary Art.
Example of Modern Painting
The Builders (Victorio Edades)
When did Modern Art
started?
• National Artist Victorio Edades is
credited for initiating the Modern
Art movement that challenged
the Neoclassic style
• depicts reality as closely possible
and idealizes it.
• challenged what were described
as “conservative” art seen in the
works of National Artists Fernando
Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino
• MODERN ART do not aim to
copy and idealize reality;
instead, they change the
colors and flatten the picture
instead of creating illusions of
depth, nearness, and farness.
• Instead of the beautiful and
pastoral, they depict what
might be thought of as “ugly”
and unpleasant.
Example of Neoclassic Painting
Magpupukot (Carlos Francisco)
Example of Neoclassic Painting
Fishing Scene (Fernando Amorsolo)
What is
Neoclassic Art?
• At that time, Modern Art was
considered new and shocking;
Neoclassic Art was familiar
and comfortable.
• Neoclassic Art is also described
by art historians like Guillermo
as “academic” along with
other established styles
imported from Europe via
Spanish colonization.
• It its simplest sense
Neoclassicism is “academic” as it
was and continues to be taught
in schools, particularly the then
University of the Philippine
School of Fine Arts (now UP
College of Fine Arts), where
Amorsolo and Tolentino were
most influential.
• The School of Fine Arts is now
the University of the Philippines
College of Fine Arts, where
students are being exposed to
various styles.
• The Neoclassic style
associated with Amorsolo and
Tolentino continue to influence
number of practicing artists who
have learned to paint in that
style either formally as art
students in various universities
• Neoclassic style included in the
curriculum or informally through
workshops and apprenticeships,
or through self-learning or self-
study, as in the case of many
artists from the regions outside
Manila.
• In your quadrant, choose a word and
make an acrostic out of it that will
explain about meaning of
CONTEMPORARY ART.
• Best answer gets 10 points.
