Philippine Traditional and Folk Arts

• The Philippines has many traditional arts that started in pre-colonial times and have been passed down through generations.
• Traditional art is essential for building posterity in a nation's culture.
• Traditional arts are learned informally and produced in indigenous communities, reflecting their history and culture, and are passed down from master craftsmen to apprentices.
• Animism is a usual theme, intending to depict people's gods and goddesses, resulting in abstract symbols of animistic figures like the sun, moon, and human figures.
• The carved figure of Bulul of the Ifugaos is one example of this art.
• Examples of traditional art include the woven basketry of the Mangyans, the T'nalak tapestry woven by the T'bolis, the pissiyabit of Mindanao, and the embroidered jusi and pina cloth of Lumban, Laguna.
• Folk art examples are toothpick and papier-mache objects from Pakil and woodcarving in Paete, Laguna.
• Philippine traditional songs and dances are handed over by master craftsmen and preserve culture through generations.
• Classical structures and standards evident in literature and performing arts are considered timeless, such as Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere."

Traditional vs. Contemporary Art

• Traditional art represents the past due to the absence of photography.
• Unlike traditional art, contemporary art revolves around the artist's feelings and thoughts and uses diverse materials, media, techniques, and styles.
• Traditional art is culture-bound.
• Traditional sculpture focuses on realistic figures.
• Contemporary sculpture focuses on the feelings and thoughts of the artist.
• Philippine contemporary art is innovative, expressive, and experimental and allows viewer participation to validate their beliefs and values.
• Contemporary monuments and statues reimagine characters or events to evoke intense emotions.
• The People Power Monument by Eduardo Castrillo encapsulates the triumph of the EDSA phenomena.
• Contemporary arts can incorporate traditional arts, such as Nicanor Tiongson's interpretation of "Noli Fili: Dekada Dos Mil," mounted as a play by PETA.
• Philippine architecture combines traditional and contemporary styles.
• The Philippines lacks innovative and radical design in its architecture due to a lack of financial support.

Contemporary arts in the Philippines

• The Philippines has a variety of art forms due to its colonial history, influenced by the Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern periods.
• Postmodernism emerged after the Second World War and during the martial law era in the 1970s.
• Modern art forms evolved into various expressions and media, known as a "creative upheaval."
• Architecture developed in a modernist style by artists like National Artist Leandro Locsin.
• Jose Joya's paintings exemplify the modernist period in the 1950s, known as abstract expressionism.
• Postmodernists in the 1980s sought to contradict modernism by "borrowing, combining, and exploring" existing elements to produce something new, giving birth to integrative art.

Features of Postmodernism

• Pastiche: Blurring divisions between fine art and commercial art, creating a mixture of diverse ideas with a sense of fragmentation and interweaving of stories, celebrating original artwork without mocking it.
• Bricolage: Assemblage using diverse materials, simplifying collage, and using words as the central artistic element.
• Appropriation: Borrowing inspiration from previous artworks, such as using the style and content of another culture in music.
• Installation art: Transforming indoor or outdoor spaces into three-dimensional artworks using diverse materials and presenting diverse themes.
• Other features: Recycling past styles, breaking barriers between low and pop cultures.
• New themes: Socially conscious issues such as feminism, consumerism, multiculturalism, globalization, health awareness, and migration.
• Filipino contemporary artists address current concerns and provide audience participation while acknowledging Filipino roots and using indigenous materials.

National Art Centers in the Philippines

• Manila was the center of cultural activities; museums, theaters, art galleries, concerts, and exhibitions thrived.
• Now, with the support of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), cultural and artistic centers are in various regions.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)

• CCP was established in 1969 to preserve, develop, and promote arts and culture, housing resident companies like the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and Tanghalang Filipino.
• CCP provides a venue for concerts, theatrical performances, and art exhibits and holds festivals like the PAsinaya CCPs Open House Festival.
• CCP's Ugnayan sa Sining program promotes regional arts through cultural interactions and exchange tours.
• CCP is in charge of the National Art Center in Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna, home to the Philippine High School for the Arts, established in 1976.

The National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA)

• NCCA was formed in 1992 to preserve, promote, and develop culture and the arts.
• NCCA is the policy-making body and coordinator among cultural agencies.
• NCCA has four subcommissions focusing on the Arts, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Dissemination, and Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts.
• NCCA-SCA facilitates events and projects, offers grants, and celebrates National Art Month (NAM) with the Philippine Arts Festival.
• Seven national committees of NCCA-SCA prepare programs for the Philippine Arts Festival.

Examples of programs

• Cinema Rehiyon (National Committee on Cinema) showcasing regional film production.
• Sayaw Pinoy (National Committee on Dance) showcasing different dance types.
• Literary Arts Festival (National Committee on Literary Arts) gathering writers and students.
• Tunug-tunugan (National Committee on Music) using traditional instruments.
• Tanghal (theater).
• NCCA spearheaded Likha Asya, an Asian festival and conference on Community Theater, creative industries, and community-based tourism.
  • Philippine visual arts festival
• NCCA also provides support to community-based theater groups, together with government agencies.

Integrative Art Applied to Philippine Contemporary Arts

• Arts are classified into architecture, visual arts, music, literary art, dance, dramatic arts, cinema and broadcast arts, and new media.
• Arts in the regions have evolved into integrative art, creating interconnection among different forms.

Contemporary art forms in the regions

• Choreography, musical instruments, literary and music composition, visual design, theatrical performance, and cinema.

Choreography

• An arrangement or design for dance movements accompanied by music.
• Contemporary choreography is seen in street dancing for regional festivals.

Musical intruments

• Musical Instruments
• A Musical instrument is any tool or device that produces some.
• Consist of array of shapes and style from the simple to complex. One Interacts with an instrument in a way.
• It produces a sound.
• One memorable Filipino, National Musician, Lucresia Kasilag, put many songs into new forms, such as theatre and pictures.
• Includes musical instruments, representing visual arts, and function to create various types of musical sounds.