CONTEMPORARY ART

Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

The Nature of art
• Art constitutes one of the
oldest and most
important means of
expression developed by
man.
• It is always created/
being created/ will be
created by the people.
Aesthetics
•Theory of beauty
•A branch of Philosophy that concerns art
 WHAT IS “ART”
ACCORDING TO
DIFFERENT PARADIGMS?
GREEKS
 Greeks - Plato
 It is an imitation of an
imitation.
 If art is imitating an
imitation of an ideal,
then, art is doubly
divorced from reality
and doubly inferior.
 Greeks - Aristotle
 Art is still imitation, but imitation
not of the ideal world like Plato but
of the real (physical) world.
 Art is a mirror of reality around us
and within us.
 Mimesis
 The meaning of the art is that
which it represents.
Polykleitos - Doryphoros
(Spear-Bearer)
Greek Art idealized the human form
 FOLLOWING THE GREEK
DEFINITION, CAN WE
CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING PAINTINGS AS
“ART?”
Surrealist Art here

• Salvador Dali – The Persistence of Memory (1931) Oil on

Canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York
Edvard Munch – The Scream (1893) Oil,
tempera, pastel on cardboard.
National Gallery, Oslo Norway
• Pablo Picasso - Head (Tête) (1913–
14) cut and pasted colored paper,
gouache and charcoal on
paperboard Scottish National
Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
The essence of art lies in its power to express
something, not only in its mimetic capacity.
With the definition of art given by the Greeks,
Plato, and Aristotle, works of art are judged
according to the similitude, that is, the better
the imitation, the better the art.
A perfect copy is considered as a good art.
ROMANTICISM
An expression of an inner reality
 Romantics –
Leo Tolstoy

Art is the contagion of feeling

The artist expresses feeling
through the artwork which in
turn evokes the feeling with his
viewers.
Art is interpreted or judged by
the quality of feelings it
expresses.
Romantics –
Benedetto Croce
Art is the expression of
emotion

• are the real and primal type

of knowledge; and
• When evoked and
expressed by great works of
art, it becomes powerful,
often cosmic
Romantics –
Robin George Collingwood
The original intention of the artist
is the actual art.
The inward psychological vision
of the artist is so primordial and it
does not matter whether or not
that vision ever got translated
into art forms for the public.
Eugene Delacroix – Liberty Leading the People (1830) Oil on canvas
 Hermeneutics
 The art and science of interpretation.
 an interpretation of the artist’s original intention/s,
feeling, and/or vision.
 It is also the recovery of the artist’s original intention/s
in its original historical setting
 Theorists of Hermeneutics include Friedrich
Schleiermacher, Wilhelm Dilthey, Emilio Betti, ED
Hirsch
EXPRESSIONISM
“what I am after above all is expression”
- henri matisse
 Expressionism -
Vincent Van Gogh
“Instead of trying to
reproduce exactly what I
have before my eyes, I
use color more arbitrarily
so as to express myself
forcibly.”
 Expressionism –
Pablo Picasso

• Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier),

(1910) oil on canvas
UNCONSCIOUS
INTENTIONS
Sigmund Freud
Many human intentions are, in fact,
unconscious.
Although unconscious, it can make
their way in disguised forms into
everyday life as neurotic symptoms,
as symbolic dreams, or as slips of the
tongue.
A significant part of the
understanding of an artwork is the
unearthing of the unconscious.
 Marxism
Also part of an unconscious
intentions on the part of the
artist.
The artist exists in a setting of
techno-economic structures.
The correct interpretation of a
work involves highlighting the
class structures in which the art
is produced
Diego Rivera’s The History of Mexico (1935) mural
 Other -isms
 Feminists aggressively tried to argue that the fundamental and
hidden structures were primarily those of gender.
 Other –isms such as racism, sexism, elitism, speciesism,
anthropocentrism, etc. view a particular artwork as symptomatic/
indicative of a larger currents or force, which the artist is often
unaware of—sexual, economic, cultural, political, ideological, etc.
 Interpretation of the art rests in the decoding and exposing of the
hidden intentions, whether individual or societal.
 Formalism
 Intentions alone, conscious or unconscious cannot define the
value and nature of art.
 Formalism repudiates much the Romantic-expressionist
definition.
 Impressionists – Monet, Renoir, Manet, Pissarro, and Degas
sought to capture “the immediate visual impressions” and
render them impersonally. The emotions of the artist becomes
secondary
 Aggressively reject/denies the significance of the artist’s original
intention therefore he is totally irrelevant to the work
 Formalism
 The meaning of the artwork is found in the formal relationship
between elements of the work itself.
 How can one know the intent of the artwork if it is not
expressed in the art itself?
 Intentions might be interesting, but if they don’t make it to
the artwork, then they are not part of the work
 Interpretation of an artwork should center, first and foremost,
on the elements intrinsic to the artwork considered as a whole
in itself.
Formalism
 The nature of meaning in art is NOT in:
Intention of the artist
Artwork it represents
Artwork it expresses

But in the structural relationship of the elements in the

artwork itself.
• Claude Monet - Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant),
1872
• Pierre – Auguste Renoir Girls at the
Piano, 1892, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
ART OR NOT ART
Thumbs up if art; Thumbs down if not art
Objectives
1. Discuss the nature of contemporary art
2. Identify and discuss the characteristics of
contemporary arts
3. Discuss contemporary arts in the Philippines
4. Discuss aspects of contemporary art as seen in
selected artworks
5. Explain the use of contemporary art
Contemporary art
• Art of the present
• Contemporary, Lt. con:”together” + tempus:”time”
Question
• Vincent Van Gogh, 1889, The Starry
Night
• Can we consider this painting as
contemporary when this was made?
Contemporary art: Chronological view
• Views art as related to the current period in art history
• Refers to art that is new, recent, modern, or of the
present moment
• Vague; old and new are always relative.
Contemporary Art: Historical usage
• Specific stage in the evolution of art, referring to a
specific location in space and time
• Art belonging to the contemporary period
Postmodern

• Art produced after 1945/1960s

CONTEMPORARY ART
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Contemporary Art in the Philippines
• A reaction to the social and cultural realities of the 1970s
• State support and reaction against it
• EDSA People Power I
Contemporary Art: Breaking of norms
• Radical; interdisciplinary • Architecture
• Dance
• Plural; diverse
• Music
• Artists may now freely • Literature
mix different media • Theater Arts
• Visual Arts
• Film
Contemporary Art: Breaking of norms
• Does not only celebrate the beauty of the final form and
technical achievement of the
Contemporary Art: local heritage
• Contemporary art profess an awareness of local
heritage.
• Physical heritage
• Practices of heritage
Contemporary Art: Critique of society
• Everyday life and concerns of the day can be also used as
subject in contemporary art
• Technology, transfer of ideas, culture, etc provide a
backdrop for dizzying diversity and rapid
transformations in contemporary arts
 FUNCTIONS OF
CONTEMPORARY ART
Function of Contemporary Art
• A response to the world—a way of making sense to the
realities of the day
• Capture an aspect of the contemporary world
• draw attention to it
• Present a fresh angle on it
• For the sake of exploring it
• Enjoy and celebrate it
IS CONTEMPORARY THE
SAME WITH MODERN?
Historical overview: Philippine art (Fajardo & Flores, 2002)
Form Pre-conquest Spanish Period American Japanese Postwar Contemporary
(1521 – 1898) Period Period Republic Period
(1898 – 1940) (1941 – 1945) (1946 – 1969) (1972 to the
present

Painting Pottery, body Religious Landscape, Wartime scene

adornment (ecclesiastical portraiture, still (aggression,
edifices, santos) life nationalism,
Portraiture propaganda Modern, Figurative, non-
conservative figurative, art
Indigenizing and Abstract, for art sake,
Sculpture Pottery, carving, Santos, Free standing,
Orientalizing Experimental, multimedia,
and woodwork retablos, altar relief, public
artworks public art mixed media
pieces,
(Amorsolo,
metalwork
Francisco,
Ocampo
Architecture Dwellings and Church, plaza City planning,
houses, places complex; town parks,
of worship, planning, waterfronts, Real estate, safe housing,
mosque, masjid plazas, bridges, civic and Public Works tenements, squatters, commercial
lighthouses government and business establishments,
Hernand
o R.
Ocampo’
s the
Contrast
Xyza Bacani’s
 Contemporary and modern art
What is Modern Art? What is Contemporary Art?
H.R. Ocampo’s painting was painted in early Xyza Bacani’s work was taken around 2014
1960s
A movement initiated by Victorio Edades

It challenged the neo-classical style

Neoclassic style depicts reality as closely as

possible and idealizes it.
 Contemporary and modern art
H.R. Ocampo’s painting was painted in early 1960s
A movement initiated by Victorio Edades
It challenged the neo-classical style
What is Modern Art?
Neoclassic style depicts reality as closely as possible and idealizes it.
Challenges the “conservative” art of Fernando Amorsolo and
Guillermo Tolentino
They do not merely copy the reality; they change the colors and
flatten the picture instead of creating illusions of depth, nearness and
farness.
Instead of beautiful and the pleasant, it is now the “ugly” and
unpleasant.
Contemporary and modern art

What is Contemporary Art?

Xyza Bacani’s work was taken around 2014
Art of the present; continuously in process and in flux
The difference between the two could be a matter of reception and perception depending
on the context
Amorsolo’s Fishing scene
Botong Francisco’s Magpupukot
Victorio edades’ The Builders
Imelda Cajipe Endaya Filipina DH
What are the general characteristics of
Contemporary art?
Integrative

Process-based

Site-specific

Collaborative

Interactive

Installation

Mixed media

Performance art
Integrative
 The artist is free to
integrate any medium
and any art form or style
in order to express their
artistic intention,
without being limited to
conform to a stylistic
trend
 Process-based

 Emphasizes on how the

artist starts not with a
final product in mind, but
starts with the
development of a concept
and then subsequently
proceeds with realizing
the idea
Site-specific
 An artwork’s meaning has
a direct relationship to a
specific location where it
is seen or experienced.
 Changing the location of
the work would mean a
change in the
interpretation of its value
or meaning
Collaborative
 The end product is created with the
involvement of two or more artists
 Often presents multiple perspectives
on one main idea
Interactive
 The audience has the
potential to change or add to
the meaning of the artwork.
 Artworks are designed in a
way that the audience is
asked to encourage to
interact with the piece or
element of it
Installation
 A method in which the artist is not
limited into a two-dimensional plane
in making artworks.
 It would now involve real space in
which elements of his/her artworks—
in various forms and mediums, would
be arranged to effectively convey the
artist’s intent
Mixed media
 The use of different materials in
creating an artwork
Performance art
 An art form in which the artist
executes an art work in front of live
audiences
 The process by which the artis
creates by means of movement,
space, spontaneity, and uniqueness
of the moment
What are the general characteristics of
Contemporary art?
Integrative

Process-based

Site-specific

Collaborative

Interactive

Installation

Mixed media

Performance art
“A WORLD WITHOUT
FUTURE”