Contemporary arts
These visual elements of art are:
1. Line- prolongation of a point or a mark on a surface, Solid lines can be used in order to define,
broken lines are typically used to suggest hidden form
2. Shape and Mass - an area with boundaries identified or drawing lines, A shape may be natural
or living forms called an organic shape and can be irregular or rounded, may also be measured
forms called geometric shape. Ex: 2 dimensional. Mass refers to solid portions of a three-
dimensional object
3. Value - to lightness or darkness of an area. Evident in creating shadows for a two-dimensional
object to give an illusion of depth.
4. Time and Motion- Movement in the visual arts can either be an illusion or an actual motion, an
illusion of movement is more common in two-dimensional artworks, actual motion is easily
seen in kinetic sculpture that moves with the wind or are vibrating with the surrounding air.
5. Color- visual perception that allows a person to differentiate objects due to the way various
wavelengths of light are reflected, very important element because it can communicate
information and emotion to the viewer. There are Three properties of color;
Hue- refers to the basic or pure color, and is represented in the color wheel.
Value- refers to the lightness and darkness of color, A light color or tint is the
result of adding white to a hue, while a dark color or shade results from adding black to
a hue
Saturation- also known as Chroma which refers to brightness and dullness of
color
The color wheel is an arrangement of primary, secondary and tertiary colors. It is important tool to
identify which colors can work well if used in a certain artwork which is the color schemes or color
relationships.
Color Schemes
1. Monochromatic – involves using the same hue but with different gradients of value.
2. Analogous – entails the use of three or four adjacent colors in the color wheel.
3. Complementary – involves the use of a color and its complement, meaning the color
located opposite of the first color.
4. Split-complementary – this scheme uses the two colors adjacent to the complement.
5. Triadic – uses three colors that are of equal distance with each other.
6. Tetradic – also known as double complementary color scheme, this uses two pairs of
complementary colors.
6. Space - the area that is occupied by an object or a subject, area surrounding that object or
subject. An illusion of space can still be created in a two-dimensional surface using perspective
Two types of perspective
1. Atmospheric perspective
a. which utilizes the properties of light and air in depicting the illusion of distance.
2. Linear perspective
- which involves the use of vanishing points and receding hidden lines.
7. Texture- element refers to the feel or appearance of a surface, Actual texture can be felt
tangibly based on the material that is used for the artwork while implied texture can be
exhibited, for instance, in a painting of fur of an animal
PAINTING
refers to the process of applying color on a flat surface
Forms can be created using a wide variety of materials such as watercolor, acrylic, ink, oil,
pastel, and charcoal
Surfaces for painting include wood, canvas, cardboard, and paper.
considered two-dimensional, meaning it only has height and width
FORMS OF PAINTING
1) Easel Painting - most common form of painting, involves applying color to a board or canvas
that is fixed on an upright support, meant to be framed and hanged on a wall after creating
2) Mural - a huge wall-sized painting used to impart messages to the public
3) Portable mural - developed in order to prevent the mural from being erased from the wall,
created by using bold strokes in applying bright colors on pieces of cheese cloth\or canvas
4) Telon Painting - backdrop or background or the stage used for komedya, sarswela, and sinakulo,
the popular forms of theater in the country
5) Calesa Painting - typically painted using one color, decorated with geometric patterns, repetitive
patterns, and/or thin lines
6) Jeepney painting - a logo, number, or painting is covered Near the driver’s seat, as well as near
the seats adjacent to it
7) Collage - involves combine images in a single artwork, entails cutting and pasting materials such
as paper, fabric, tin foil and other relatively flat materials onto a board or canvas
THEMES OF PAINTING
1. Genre painting - portrays people in daily activities
a. Folk genre - everyday activities of the folk
b. cubism in depicting folk or Urban subjects
c. folk-naive is another style wherein it uses a lot of color and spontaneity. Ex,
Monalisa
2. Historical Painting - depicts a scene from the past, has a lesson concerning national
values
3. Interiors or Interior Painting - painting of the space inside of a part of a house or a
building, usually reveals the social class of the family living in that particular house and
the traits of the people living in it.
4. Landscapes paintings - portrays natural scenery or urban scenes, Mixed media is now
used in creating landscape paintings
5. Seascapes - which focus on large bodies of water, particularly the ocean or the sea.
6. Portraits - painting portraying one or more specific individuals, usually portrays the
physical characteristics of the subject and seeks to show an understanding of that
person’s character
7. Nudes - paintings that portray the unclothed human figure, conducted in galleries.
8. Religious Painting - a lone religious image, lives of the saints, and scenes based from the
Scriptures like the Nativity scene, and the Station of the Cross
9. Still life painting - depicts natural or man-made objects that form a composition in a
natural setting
SCULPTURE AND OTHER VISUAL ARTS
Sculpture – branch of visual arts that operates in three dimensions height, width, and depth. It is
created by either carving, modelling, or assembling parts together.
GENERAL KINDS OF SCULPTURE
o Free- standing - that can independently stand in space It has a flat horizontal base, All its
sides contribute To the overall form of the sculpture
o Relief - does not have a flat horizontal base the form is projected from a flat surface
Low relief or base-relief which is slightly from the flat surface.
High relief Cagayan de Oro’s Legendary River Monster is an example of relief
sculpture.
o Assemblage - formed by putting together materials. such as found objects, pieces of
paper, sponges, wood. scraps, and other materials
o Kinetic sculpture - a sculpture in motion because the entire sculpture or some parts of
the sculpture are moving with the wind or are vibrating with the surrounding air
o Welded Sculpture - involve the process of connecting sheets of metal together by using
an acetylene or electric torch.
o Use of Glass - the medium of expression used by the artist is Glass Symbolic Sculpture,
an abstract idea is represented by means of symbol and personification
OTHER FORMS OF VISUAL ARTS
1. Advertising Arts - using paid space or time in any of the media to inform and influence the
public, used to encourage the public to patronage certain goods and services or to support
policies or persons.
2. Bamboo Art - works made of bamboo that may be used for everyday purposes, for decorations
or ornaments
3. Basketry - art of creating containers by weaving, plaiting, or braiding materials into hollow
three-dimensional shapes that can either be used for carrying, storage and trapping animals
4. Book design - involves structuring and reproduction of bound pages that are filled with text
and / or images, and are protected by hard or soft covers
5. Costumes - garments, hairstyles, and accessories that are worn by individual members in a
particular society.
6. Embroidery - art of stitching ornaments on cloth by hand.
7. Food Art - involves packaging and / or presentation of food in an artistic way, enhancing the
food itself or its packaging in an artistic way.
8. Furniture - decorative and functional objects which are typically found in a public or private
dwelling or building, also known as muebles or kasangkapan
9. Komiks and Editorial cartoon - involve illustrations of stories or events
i. editorial cartoon - single-frame illustration that may either makes fun of political
leaders or institutions, or comments on current events.
ii. Komiks - may use single or multiple frames with conversations of people or
animals placed inside “balloons”.
10. Leaf art - used in religious rituals, food wrapping, and even as a form of modern artistic
expression
11. Matt weaving - plaiting strips of organic fibers into mats”, mats, locally known as banig, are cool,
light, and portable compared to fixed beds.
12. Metal craft - all objects made from metal using the processes of brass casting and blacksmithing,
tinsmithing, or goldsmithing and silversmithing.
a. Brass casting - casting and forging pieces of brass or bronze. Anting-anting or amulets
are also created using this process. ‘
b. Goldsmithing and silversmithing - of gold and silver in creating objects and ornaments.
c. Tin smithing - easily seen in creating jeepneys, kalesas, and cariton or ice cream cart.
13. Multimedia - involves the use of other senses in appreciating those works aside from the sense
of vision.
a. Conceptual arts - ideates or sets up a situation, placing philosophical value in the
process itself while negating the importance of craftsmanship in arriving at a finished art
object.
b. Installation art - artist puts together materials and objects in an exhibition space to cast
a new experience or idea.
c. Performance art - an artist converts himself or herself into an art object in motion and
sound. ex, elgamma pinumbra
14. Paper art - the processes of cutting, pasting,. recycling, and / or constructing of objects from
paper, Paper art used to. be limited with folk paper art such as.. taka and higante from. Angono,
parol, pastillas, wrappings,. and kites.
15. Personal ornaments - objects that are worn on the human body. Jewelry falls under this form.
These are worn either to enhance a part of the body of the wearer, to exhibit rank or status, or
to symbolize ritualistic and emotional states.
16. Photography - refers to the process of producing images using a light-sensitive chemical plate or
film. Photographs are taken to serve as portraits and as propaganda which is highly useful
medium for an artist.
a. Pottery - decorative and useful objects made from clay and set off at high temperatures
b. Earthenware or Terracotta - This type of pottery is made from clay and is usually fired at
1,700-2,100 ᵒF.
c. Stoneware - made from clay and feldspar.
17. Porcelain - made from kaolin, a special type of clay that is extra fine, white and feldspar. Print
making - transferring images from a firm surface, such as metal or wood , to a pliable surface,
such as cloth or paper, using pressure.
18. Tattoo art - body adornment permanently engraved on the skin using a sharp instrument and
plant dyes or inks.
19. Textile weaving - process of creating cloth by interweaving a series of parallel vertical threads
witH another series of horizontal threads at right angles.
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture - considered to be one of the most functional branches of the visual arts, involves designing
the form of a building while allowing the building to serve its function. It is considered to be the “art to
inhabit.”
FORMS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
1. Domestic Buildings and Houses
A. Apartment - a building composed of many residences called units. This is usually built in
populated urban areas
Condominium - to maximize the use of space and because of the increased buying
power of the population
B. Bahay na bato - considered to be a residence of the wealthy,
C. Barong - barong - houses of the landless poor that are built on any land or area
D. Bungalow - one-story house with a wide front porch and large windows. It may also
have a terrace, which may be roofed or not.
2. Ethnic Houses
A. Bahay kubo - considered as an ethnic house of Christian peasant families living in the
lowland areas, typically owned by families belonging in low income groups
B. Houseboat - basically a boat that also serves as dwelling.
C. One-and-a-Half Story House- characterized by an upper level or story covering just a half
of the lower level
D. Split level house - has two main levels, These levels are separated by about half or less-
than-half a story
E. Tsalet - sub-urban house that has one story, a two-story house with living quarters on
the upper level, or an elevated one-story house
3. Commercial Buildings- a place or building for buying and selling goods, also referred to as
tindahan, and tiyangge, the palengke has evolved into the supermarket, The mall, or galleria, is
considered a more recent evolved form of the palengke
FUNCTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY ART
1) Contemporary art for Pleasure - visual delight in the work of art, can take many forms including
an appreciation of beauty or decoration, or delight in an element of surprise
2) Contemporary art as Profession - Artists earn a living through their art since art and ideas are
never free
3) Contemporary art as Commentary - Art has been used to answer our need for information, they
view art as primary goal to communication by means of subject matter.
4) Contemporary art in Spirituality - may create art to express spiritual beliefs about the destiny of
life controlled by the force of a higher power.
5) Contemporary art as Remembrance - can be a remembrance which is something done as an aid
to memory, can be a remembrance which is something done as an aid to memory
6) Contemporary art as Self-expression - an artist conveys information about his or her
personality, feelings or worldview
NATIONAL ARTISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Fernando Amorsolo- was known for using the backlighting technique in painting, making his
creations bright and cheerful
Carlos “Butong” Francisco - was known for using historical events as subject matter for his murals
Guillermo E. Tolentino - was known for designing the seal of the Republic of the Philippines
Napoleon V. Abueva - was considered to be the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture
Victorio C. Edades - Father of Modern Philippine Painting and was known for using dark somber
colors in his paintings
Vicente Manansala - was known for his paintings depicting realistic themes using an abstract or a
cubist style
Hernando R. Ocampo - was largely known for his abstract paintings
Cesar Legaspi - was known for utilizing and refining cubism, style involving breaking parts into
geometric shapes, in his paintings
Elizalde Navarro - was known for his hardwood masks reflecting the human and the animal,
abstract paintings in oil and watercolor, and assemblages
Ang Kiukok - was known for his paintings expressing nationalism and sociological agenda during
the 60’s through vivid cubistic figures
Benedicto Cabrera - was noted as the bestselling painter of his generation of Filipino artists and
also known for his sketches of a scavenger named “Sabel,. a symbol of dislocation, despair and
isolation-the personification of human dignity threatened by life’s circumstance.”
Abdulmari Asia Imao - was instrumental in popularizing the ukil, sarimanok and naga motifs in the
country as original Filipino creations. He helped in developing trust and confidence among cultural
groups
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz - was mainly known for his oil and acrylic paintings, and sketches in ink,
pencil, and watercolor.
Francisco Coching - Dean of Filipino Illustrators,” Coching is best known for his work on comics and
illustrations which lead to its recognition as popular art
Jose T. Joya - known for pioneering abstract expressionism in the Philippines. His most notable
work is the Granadean Arabesque
Carlos Quirino - was the first and so far the only National Artist for Historical Literature
Levi Celerio - was most known from his recognition as the only man who could play music with a
leaf in the Guinness Book of World Records
