Contemporary Philippine Arts: Elements & Principles

Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region

• Elements and principles of art and design are the foundation of the language to describe art.
• Elements of art are the visual tools artists use, including appropriation, performance, space, hybridity, and tech.

Elements or Principles of Contemporary Art

Appropriation

• Existing artworks are used to produce new art.
• Prints, images, and icons are used to make another art form.
• The practice combines the past and present.
• It can revive interest in existing art forms.

Performance

• Performance evolved, emphasizing spontaneous events.
• Various human activities are interpreted, from ordinary routines and rituals to socially relevant themes like poverty, commercialism, and war.

Space

• Arts transform space, like in flash mobs or art installations located in malls and parks.
• Art forms can be performed and positioned in specific spaces, such as public places.

Hybridity

• Contemporary art uses unconventional materials.
• Unlikely materials are mixed to produce artwork.
• Coffee is used for painting, or crayons for miniature sculptures

Technology

• Technology is used to create and share art.
• Video is a familiar phenomenon from MTV to YouTube.
• Performance can be improved through recording, video posting, sharing, and even live streaming.

Contemporary Art Forms

Painting

• It is an image (artwork) created using color or pigments on a surface, such as paper or canvas.
• Pigments may be in wet forms, such as paint, or dry forms, such as pastels.

Weaving

• It is the art of making cloth with yarn or thread.
• Patterns are made on a loom when threads are pulled together
• Threads interlock at right angles to create fabric.
• Horizontal threads are called warp, while vertical threads are weft.

Sculpture

• This art form operates in three dimensions.
• It is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth.

Architecture

• It is the art and science of designing and engineering large structures and buildings.
• Admissions requirements typically consider both artistic ability and mathematical proficiency.

Music

• This art form combines vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form and emotional expression.
• It usually follows cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and harmony, especially in Western music.

Literature

• It shares a story and develops a theme for the audience.
• It is an art form of language that can be read or spoken.
• The author communicates ideas and experiences to the reader.

Dance

• It is a performing art of purposefully selected sequences of human movement.
• Movement can be aesthetic and symbolic.
• Dance is acknowledged by performers and observers within a particular culture.

Elements of Dance

• Theme is the most basic element in dance.
• Theme conveys the message of a dance.
• Design is the pattern of dancers' movements in time and space.
• Movement consists of the bodily actions of the dancer, including steps.
• Technique is the skill of movement the performed dancer expresses.
• Music is the auditory background to which a dancer moves.
• Costume and Body Paraphernalia refers to properties worn by the dancer.
• Costume and Body Paraphernalia help reflect the message, customs, and beliefs.
• Choreography refers to the figures and steps in the dancing.
• Choreography enables all the dancers to perform in an organized manner.
• Scenery is the background or setting where the dance is performed.
• Scenery looks more realistic and adds enrichment.

The Subject of Art

• Realism portrays the subject as it actually appears, like in Araceli Dans' painting, Bridal White.
• Distortion uses imagination to alter the subject based on the artist's desires, such as Norma Belleza's painting, Fiesta.
• Abstraction breaks apart and rearranges a subject in a different manner, exemplified by Vicente Manansala's paintings.
• Non-Objectivism features no subject, presenting interplay elements like line, shape, or color, as seen in Roberto Chabet's painting.

Principles of Design

• Design refers to the overall structure of an art form, guiding artists in conveying ideas and feelings.

Harmony

• It refers to the wholeness of design.
• The pleasing arrangement and agreement between parts result in completeness.

Variety

• It pertains to diversities in works of art.

Rhythm

• It is the consistent, repeated pattern of the elements of art.
• It creates a flow or the feeling of movement.
• This is achieved through the distribution of visual units

Proportion

• Elements should relate throughout a work of art.

Balance

• It pertains to the equal distribution of weight.
• It deals with equality.

Movement

• It is a fundamental principle in choreography and in any theatre arts.