Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART

 Prior to colonization, art of the ancient Filipinos were  People of the Cordilleras carve the bulul, regarded as
woven into fabric of everyday life. a granary god that plays an important role in rituals.
 Everyday expressions were all integrated within  The ifugaos also produce the hagabi, wooden bench
rituals marked significant moments in a community's that marks the socioeconomic status of the owner.
life, like:  Christianized communities in Laguna and Pampanga
a. Planting and Harvesting are known for carving santos or sculptures of secular
b. Funeral Ceremonies or non-religious orientation.
c. Weddings  In Southern Philippines, curvilinear decorations called
 Our ancestors, just like all others in the world during the okir (termed ukkil in Tausug/Samal/Badjao) are
those times, were hunter-gatherers. employed in woodcarving.
 "KANYAW"
 Found in Cordillera Autonomous Region. I. PRE-CONQUEST
 Officiated by a shaman or mumbaki
 Involves animal sacrifices  In art historical terms, we refer to art before the
 "Kashawing" coming of the first colonizers as "pre-conquest". In
 In Lake Lanao in Mindanao stylistic terms, we refer to it as "indigenous" to
 Ritual to ensure abundance during rice planting emphasize the ides that our ancestors have been
and harvesting is observed and performed. making art even before colonization. It is also
 "Tagbanwa" described in cultural terms as "pre-colonial" as a term
 In Palawan to use for the general way of life before colonization.
 Believe that every 13th moon, 3 goddesses Although the terms are interchangeable, it is also
descend from heaven to bless the planting of useful to keep these distinctions in mind when
rice. studying the art of the past.
 Long before the coming of the Spaniards, the pre-  Manunggul Jar, discovered at Manunggul Cave,
colonial people of the Philippines already possessed Lipuun Point, Palawan is dated to the late Neolithic
a varied and vibrant musical culture. The country's period. It is a secondary burial vessel, where buried
indigenous cultures through the existence of ethnic and exhumed bones are placed.
musical instruments such as:  Another cherished living tradition is weaving.
a. PIPES According to Respicio, textile weaving has a long
b. FLUTES history that Philippine ethnolinguistic groups have a
c. ZITHERS rich textile weaving tradition. Textile are not only
d. DRUMS functional, they also impart knowledge about people's
e. KUDYAPI belief system.
f. KULINTANG  A backstrap loom or a pedal loom is used to weave
g. AGONG designs that hold special meaning for a particular
 "Pangalay" cultural group. Examples of woven textiles include the
 from Sulu archipelago pis siyabit, a headpiece woven by the Tausug of Sulu
 mimetic of the movement of seabirds, the and malong with exquisite tapestry panels called
Mandayas' kinabua, the banog-banog of the langkit woven the Maranao of Lanao del Sur.
Higaonon and of the B'Iaan communities, and the  The colorful doubled-layered tepo mat of the Sama of
man-manok of the Bagobos of Mindanao imitate Tawi-Tawi made of pandan leaves is a remarkable
the movements of predatory birds. example of mundane or everyday object with high
 "Talip dance" artistic value.
 -(Ifugaos) is used in courtship and is mimetic of  Weaving techniques are also applied in creating tools
the movements of wild fowls. for agricultural purposes. In Ilocos region, sturdy
 The Inamog of the Matigsalugs, and the kadaliwas bamboo strips are woven to create fish traps called
dance of the T'bolis represent the comedic bubo.
movements of mokeys.  In the 16th century, the illustrated manuscript called
 "Tinikling" the Boxer Codex featured representations of various
 -popular Tagalog folk dance often showcased for ethnolinguistic groups.
tourist, is evocative of the movements of the  As jewerly, painstaking attention to detail is
crane, balancing itself on stilt-like legs or flitting manifested in metalwork, such as the lotoans or betel
away from the clutches of bamboo traps. nut boxes various shapes, made of brass or bronze
 Pre-colonial Filipinos have been making images produced chiefly by the Maranao of Lanao del Sur.
before colonization. This is exemplified by the
country's rich tradition in carving.

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 Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART
Prepared by: Mr. Paul Ray Mark N. Salsag

 Textured designs of rhombuses, spirals, circles, and panolong, and elaborately carved protrusion akin to a
tendrils swarm over the exterior of functional wing attached to the torogan or the royal house of the
containers. Maranao. Aside from the mythical sarimanok, the
 The design is achieved through a special technique burraq, a horse with the head of a woman, is also an
of metal casting called the lost wax or cire perdue important figure believed to carry the Prophet in his
process which involves the use of moulds filled with ascension to heaven.
liquified metal that eventually hardens.
 Other vessels that employ the same techniques are III. SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD
the brass kendi and the gadur, which are used in
ceremonies and are cherished as status symbols or  While the South remained resistant to Spanish
as heirloom pieces. The kendi is a vessel used for colonization, the colonizers gained inroads in the
pouring liquids. Central part of the islands whose inhabitants we now
refer to as "Lowland Christians". Art that flourished
II. ISLAMIC COLONIAL during the Spanish colonial period conformed to the
demands of the church and the colonial state.
 Even before the coming of Spanish colonizers, Islam Religious orders were dispatched to convert the
was already well-entrenched in Southern Philippines, natives to Catholicism as part of the larger project of
where it continues to be culturally dominant and colonization. The art forms from that period are
strong. Islam was said to have gained significant referred to stylistically and culturally as religious art,
grounding in Sulu as early as the 13th century. lowland Christian art, or folk art.
However, it was in the arrival of Sayyid Abubakar of  To carry out the project of colonization and
Arabia in the 15th century that led to a significant turn Christianization, the natives were forcibly resettled in
of events. He married Princess Piramisuli, daughter towns structured according to the plaza complex.
of Rajah Baguinda. When his father-in-law This relocating became a means of organizing and
died,Abubakar succeeded the throne and established gaining control of the native populace. The complex
the Sulanate of Sulu. Natives from Zamboanga and was designated as the town center and consisted of
Yakans from Basilan were converted to Islam, with the municipio or local government office and the
teachers coming from Jolo Suluand other church. Designed according to the prescriptions of
practitioners from nearby regions like Brunei. As the the Spanish crown, the Church established its
Islamization process in Mindanao strengthened, importance in people's lives through its imposing
Islam became the driving force that enabled the scale and overall visual appeal. During this period,
natives to resist centuries of Spanish colonization. cruciform churches following the shape of the Latin
Islam was embraced as a religion and as a way of life cross were built. In keeping with the prevailing design
by the peoples of Mindanao, among them, the of Hispanic churches, the baroque style was
Tausug, Maranao, Maguindanao, Yakan, Samal, predominantly employed; they were characterized by
Badjao, to name a few; as well some areas in grandeur, drama, and elaborate details that purposely
Palawan. appealed to the emotions. Examples of baroque
 Filipino Muslims recognize that they belong to an churches that have survived to this day are:
ummah or a community of believers. Central to the a. San Agustin Church
Islamic faith is the doctrine of Tawid or unity of God. b. Morong Church in Rizal
This belief emphasizes the impermanence of nature c. Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte
and the incomprehensible greatness of the divine d. Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao
Being. According to Prof. Abraham Sakili, we can Iloilo
then relate this with two aspects of reality.  Images of saints and interpretations of biblical
1) the object perceived by the ordinary sense narratives were considered essential to worship.
2) the sense of nothingness, a space or a void Under the strict watch and patronage of the church,
empty of all things; to evoke that God is above images were produce through painting, sculpting, and
and beyond all things. engraving.The friars brought with them Western
 How Philippine Muslims organize space in models for local artist to copy. Made of ivory or wood,
architecture is also telling of their adherence to the the imagery of the santo would be based on classical
Tawhid and other Islamic beliefs. and baroque models. During the 17th century,
 Sakili observed that many of the Islamic forms are Chinese arisans, under Spanish supervision were
inclined to project, grow, or have an upward engaged in making icons or saints or santos (in the
orientation, in tune with the regard for heaven and to vernacular) in wood and ivory; building churches and
veer from the "material earth". We can see this houses; as well as making furniture. They were
upward orientation of design elements in the spread throughout centers of creative production

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Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART
Prepared by: Mr. Paul Ray Mark N. Salsag

such as Cebu, Batangas, Manila, and Ilocos. Their  Among Mangyans who inhabit the island province of
involvement resulted in works that drew upon Mindoro, bamboo poles are cut into smaller nodes
Chinese features and techniques. An example is a and are etched with Baybayin script used to compose
painting of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Bohol, the short poems that tell of courtship and other emotional
image of which was said to be inspired from Kuanyin, concerns. In the town of Ticao, located in southern
the deity of mercy in East Asian Buddhism. province of Leyte, a huge stone was discovered that
 The Greek and Roman classical influence can be contained Baybayin writing believed to be an
seen in the portion employed as well as the formality invocation for safe journey by sea “zarzuelas or
of expression while the trace of the Baroque is sarsuwela" was an operetta which features singing
evident in the expressive and emotional dancing interspersed with prose dialogue which
characteristics of the santo. In colonial churches, allowed the story to be carried out in song. The first
santos are displayed in a decorative altar niche called zarzuelas that were staged in the Philippines were
retablo. entirely Spanich and featured a European cast. Local
 The Via Crucis is an important inclusion in colonial playwrights later wrote liberettos in the local
churches which are presented either as a series of 14 language, hence the term sarsuwela.
paintings or relief sculptures depicting Christ's  Severino Reyes and Hermogenes Ilagan, who wrote
crucifixion and resurrection. sarsuwelas in Tagalog were the most distinguished
 Church altars are sometimes decorated with carved playwright os their day with Honorata 'Atang dela
figurative protrusions on the surface called relleves or Rama (National Artist for theater and Music, awarded
with the organic designs of hammered silver or the 1987) as their most celebrated leading actress.
plateria. Tha plateria technque is also applied in the  The first senakulo or Passion Play was written in
body of the carroza, where the santos are paraded 1704 by Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Its narrative was
during town processions. called entirely from the biblical account of Christ's
 With the coming of the Spaniards, who brought passion and death on the cross, adapted into verse
western musical instruments like: form and translated into the local language. It is
a. PIPE ORGAN performed during Lent and in some cases, may last
b. PIANO for three days. In some areas, the senakulo was
c. VIOLIN tweaked to convey Christ's sufferering as a metaphor
d. and GUITAR for the suffering of Filipinos under Spanish colonial
 Philippine musical forms also took on a very rule.
european flavor ---- with new rhythms, melodies, and  The komedya is another local theater form that
musical forms, that Filipinos proceeded to adopt them emergedring this period. The komedya depicts the
and make their own. conflict between the Muslims and Christians. There
 Catholic liturgical music was intorduce in 1742 when were two main types of the komedya.
the then Archbishop of Manila, Juan Rodriguez a. komedya de santo or religoius komedya. It
Angel, established a singing school at the Manila centers on the life of Christ or of any saints.
Cathedral that taught western church music. b. secular komedya. The moro-moro is a type of
 Outside of Manila, a musical form based on the secular komedya. The word 'moro' is derived
Catholic faith would emerge in the pasyon or pabasa from the Spanish word for Moor or the North
as it is sometimes called-- or the biblical narration of African Arabs who ruled parts of Spain from the
Christ's passion chanted in an improvised melody. It eighth to the 15th century. A typical moro-moro
is a tradition that has survived to this day. story would usually invlove a love story between
 Among the lowland Christian communities of a Christian hero and an Islamic heroin or vice
Pampanga, Iloco, Bicol, and Iloilo, secular music versa.
forms such as the awit and the corridor soon  In the visual arts, paintings served an instructive
flourished. These were musical forms that were function through visual interpretation of biblical texts
chanted stories based on European literature and central to Catholic devotion. An example is Heaven,
history and were popular even among the peasantry Earth, and Hell (1850) a mural by Jose Dans in Paete
who learned the verses purely by rote. At this time, Church, Laguna.
the kundiman and the balitao, balitao-sentimental  Image making during the period generally conformed
love songs and lullubies also evolved. During the to the preferences of the patrons and not just the
latter half of the 19th century when revolutionary interest and preference of the artist's. Such relations
sentiments began to develop, the kundiman which are at work is the Basi Revolt a series of 14 paintings
usually spoke of resignation and fatalism, became a by Esteban Villanueva. It chronicles the defeat of
vehicle for resistance. Ilocanos who rebelled against the Spanish
government's monopoly of basi or rice wine in 1821.

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Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART
Prepared by: Mr. Paul Ray Mark N. Salsag

 The reprographic art of printmaking was introduces in  The Academia-trained Lorenzo Guerrero painted The
the Philppines as early as the 16th century. Applying Water Carrier, which exemplifies the use of
the technique of xylography or woodcut printing, chiaroscuro in genre of the late 19th century.
Doctrina Christiana (teachings of Christianity) was  The Pampanga-born Simon Flores also produces
printed in 1593 in Spanish and Tagalog by Dominican genre scenes.A distinct example is the painting,
priest. Doctrina is the first printed book in the Primeras Letras, 1890, which features a woman
Philippines compiling song lyrucs, commandments, teaching a child how to read.
sacraments, and other catechetical material.  Luna won gold for Spoliarium; while Hidalgo garnered
 In 1734, the Jesuit priest Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde a silver medal for Virgenes christianas expuestas al
collaborated with homegrown talents, the artist populacho. Both works testify to Filipino artistic
Francisco Suarez and the engraver Nicolas de la excellence which proved to be at par with the
Cruz Bagat to produce Carta Hydrographica y standards set by the European academy. Luna's
Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas, the first alignment with the ilustrados' propaganda movement
scientific map of the philippines. is evident in the painting España y Filipinas, 1886
 The opening of Manila to international trade in 1834, featuring two women ascending a flight of stairs.
and of the Suez Canal in 1869 gained economic  The Spoliarium may be viewed at the National Art
benefits for the native elites. The enlivened trade and Gallery of the Philippines and España y Filipinas at
commercial ventures also presented to them the the Lopez Museum.
opportunity to study in Europe. From this class rose  Virgenes, currently on a long-term loan to the
the illustrado or the "enlightened" ones. With the National Art Gallery in Singapore, is a part of the
emergence of the native elites as new art patrons, Metropolitan Museum of Manila or MET Collection.
secular themes in art were explored and developed.
 In the domestic realm, families tended to their altars IV. AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD (1898-1940) TO
comprised of delicate santos placed in a viriǹa, a THE POSTWAR REPUBLIC (1946-1969)
bell-shaped glass case; or urna, a humbler, domestic
version of a retablo, often attributed to the  The independence that the Philippines gained after
craftsmanship of artist from the Visayan region. the revolution of 1896 was cut short with the
 The rise of this new elite would also manifest in town establishment of the American colonial government in
organization. Among those that occupied the plaza the Philippines Bound by the Treaty of Paris in 1898,
complex were the bahay na bato which housed rich Spain "surrendered" the Philippines to United States.
and prominent families. Simon Flores's painting, 1800  Plays such as Juan Abad's Tanikalang Guinto or
documents the family's influence: the magnificent "Golden Chain" , 1902 Juan Matapang Cruz's Hindi
interior of the family's home, the mother's jewerly, the ako Patay or "I Am Not Dead", 1903 and Aurelio
delicate fabric and embroidery of their clothing, and Tolentino's Kahapon Ngayon, at Bukas or
their dignified poses. "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow", 1903 echoed not
 Other renowned miniature painters includes only the nationalist sentiments of their playwrights but
a. Antonio Malantic also served as medium for political protest, openly
b. Isidro Arceo attacking the Americans. Known as drama simbolico,
c. Dionsio de Castro these one-act plays came to represent a deep and
d. Justiniano Asuncion profound yearning for freedom.
 Combining names of individuals and vignettes of  In 1915, Lino Catillejo and Jesus Araullo authored A
everyday life, this painting style became popular Modern Filipino, the first Filipino play written in
when Filipino natives acquired Spanish names in English.
compliance with a decree implemented in 1884  Inspired by the City Beautiful Movement introduced in
 Aside from miniaturist painters, academic painters 1893 at the Chicago World Fair, the new urban
gained ground as they received their art studies in design employed neoclassic architecture for its
local schools, or abroad as in the case of Juan Luna government edifices and integrated parks and lawns
and Felix Hidalgo. In 1821, Damian Domingo, the to make the city attractive by making its buildings
painter known for his watercolor albums of tipos del impressive and places more inviting for leisure amid
pais established the first art school in the country urban blight.
right at his stud in Binondo Manila. The Academia de  De la Rosa was known for his naturalist paintings
Dibujo was eventually absorbed by where Domingo characterized by restraint and formality in brushwork,
served as director. Closing down in 1834 after choice of somber colors, and subject matter, as seen
Domingo's death, this school was reopened in the in the works Planting Rice 1921 and El Kundiman,
1850s. 1930.

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Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART
Prepared by: Mr. Paul Ray Mark N. Salsag

 A prolific artist, Amrsolo had produced numerous promoted valuews of docile industriousness. Such
portraits of prominent individuals; genre scenes mood is echoed by Sylvia La Torre's hit song Sa
highlighting the beauty of the dalagang Filipina, idyllic Kabukiran, written in Tagalog in the 1940s by the
landscapes; and historical paintings. He was also a acclaimed composer Levi Celerio (National Artist for
graphic artist who rendered drawings or the textbooks Music and Literature, awarded 1997). La Torre's
series. The Philippine Readers as well as illustrations operatic singing along with an energetic tempo
for the newspaper. offered an escape from the troubles of the war.
 The Independent Guillermo Tolentino is credited for Comissioned portraits of high officials such as His
the iconic Oblation (1935, original/1958, bronze cast Excellency, Jorge B. Vargas, Chairman of the
found at the UP Oblation plaza) of the University of Philippine Executive Commission, 1943 and
the Philippines and the Bonifacio Monument, 1933 in "Independence this Year", said His Excellency,
Caloocan. Premier Tojo, 1943 were also produced at this time.
 Unlike the latter's pastoral images, Edades's The Portraits representing different ethnoliguistic groups
Builders, 1928 showed distorted figures of toiling were produced, and this is exemplified by Crispin
workers using dull colors; a shift in the treatment of Lopez's Study of an Aeta, 1943. Although scenes
form and subject matter. from the war were also made, the imagery remained
 "Botong" Fransisco is known for his magisterial neutral, focusing rather on the aesthetic qualities of
murals, particularly, Filipino Struggles Through ruin and disaster.
History 1964, one of the largest and most ambitious  Take Amorsolo's Bombing of the Intendencia, 1942
in scope, which he did for the Manila City Hall. and Ruins of the Manila Cathedral, 1945 as
 Galo Ocampo is recognized for indigenizing western examples, they draw attention to the elegant handling
icons, as seen in his Brown Madonna 1938 which of value in the billows of smoke or the pile of ruins
sets the mother and child in a native, tropical rather than the urgency of the disaster itself. Works
environment. which depicted the horrors of war such as Diosdado
 Edades, Francisco, and Ocampo have been regarded Lorenzo's Atrocities in Paco and Dominadoe
as the "triumvirate" of modern art after having worked Cateneda’s Doomed Family were painted after 1945.
on several murals together. A collaborative work that  Manansala's The Beggars, 1952 consists of the
survives to this day is Nature's Bounty, which image of two women with emaciated bodies, their
portrays a group of women harvesting fruits in a field forlorn faces set against a dark background capturing
the deariness of poverty. Many of Manansala's
JAPANESE OCCUPATION (1941-1945) paintings are characterized by transparent cubism, a
style marked by the soft fragmentation of figures
 Early moderns and conservative alike continued to using transparent planes instead of hard-edges ones
produce art and even participated in KALIBAPI as exemplified in the painting Tuba Drinkers, 1954,
(Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod ng Bagong Pilipinas)  Legaspi's Gadget II, 1949 depicts half naked men
sponsored art competitions.n 1943 and 1944, almost engulfed in the presence of machines. Most of
Purugganan and Francisco won KALIBAPI, Legaspi's figures in this period are distorted by his
respectively. elongating or making rotund forms in a well-ordered
 Slogans such as "Asia for Asians" made its way to composition, as seen in the painting Bar Girls, 1947.
the public through posters, ephemera, comics, and HR Ocampo's The Contrast, 194, discussed Lesson
Japanese sponsored publications such as Shin-Seiki, 1 is a distinct figurative work which exposes dire
and in newspapers and magazines such as Liwayway human conditions amid the backdrop of modernity.
and Tribune. In music, the composer National Artist  Ocampo's painting Genesis, 1968, which puts
Felipe P. De Leon was said to have been together warm-colored shapes, became the basis of
"commanded at the point of the gun" to write Awit sa the stunning tapestry hanging at the Man Theater or
Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas. Declared as the Bulwagang Nicanor Abelardo of the CCP.
anthem specifically for the period, it conveyed  The 1950s also saw the construction of modern
allegiance to the nation reared in East Asia, where architectural structures, particularly churches that
Japan was actively asserting its political power. modified or veered away from traditional cruciform
 If art was strictly policed during the Second World designs. Within the UP Diliman campus, examples
War, it brings us little suprise that Amorsolo's include the Church of Holy Sacrifice, 1955 and the
paintings, many of which showed little or no indication Church of the Risen Lord, which both employed
of war's atrocities, continued to be favored. Examples concrete as primary material and experimented with
include Harvest Scene, 1942 and Rice Planting, rounded o parabolic forms. Another remarkable
1942. These paintings that evoked a semblance of example is the Chapel of St. Joseph the Worker in
peace, idealized work in the countryside, and

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 Humanities 22: Philippine Contemporary Arts from the Regions
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE ART
Prepared by: Mr. Paul Ray Mark N. Salsag

Victorias, Negros, built by the Czech-American Ledesma described the work as "anti-museum
architect Antonin Raymond. art".
 Arturo Luz's works is the use of stark linear elements,  Albano (Chabet's successor) argued that
as seen in Street Musicians, 1952 which pared down although some experimental forms seemed
the figures into lines and basic shapes. wholly foreign, he invoke the practice of adoring
ephemeral and familiar objects in fiestas, which
V. 70S TO CONTEMPORARY shared processes and features with installation
art. An early example of installation art is
 Under the helm of Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Junyee's Wood Things, 1981, made of kapok or
Marcos beginning in 1965, many cultural projects cotton pods, installed on the walls and floor of the
ensued amid the backdrop of poverty and volatile CCP's white cube spaces to make these look like
social conditions. Amidst claims of national chaos crawlers encroaching on the museum space.
of emergency proportions, Martial Law was  Social Realism(SR)
declared on September 21, 1972. Under Martial  A significant strand that emerged during the
Law, Marcos envisioned a New Society or intense political ferment of the 70s and the 80s
Bagong Lipunan, which worked toward the rebirth was Social Realism or SR, for short. Using
of a long lost civilization, on one hand, and various mediums, techniques, and styles, SR, is
aspiration to modernization and development, on a form of protest art that exposed the
the other. sociopolitical issues and struggles of the times.
 The discourse of rebirth can also be discerned in  Kaisahan was composed of Antipas Delotavo,
the anthem or songs the regime sponsored and Neil Doloricon, Renato Habulan, Edgar Talusan
circulated through the media and public Hernandez, Al Manrique, Jose Tence Ruiz, and
education channels. The optimism toward a new Pablo Baen Santos.
beginning was articulated for example, in Levi  Kaisahan's influence as a collective reached
Celerio and Felipe Padilla de Leon's composition organizations like the group of UP Fine Arts
for the New Society titled Bagong Pagsiglang. Students who eventually became known in the
 At the center of this arts and culture program was 80s as the Salingpusa.
the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the  Varied forms of expression can be observed from
premier bureaucratic entity through which art the period which spilled over from the previous
acquisition, exhibition making, workshops, grants, decades.
and awards were implemented.  In sculpture, Eduardo Castrillo's gigantic metal
 For the group exhibition Objects, held at CCP in work Pieta, 1969
1973, Chabet tore up a copy of a coffee-table k  In the 90s, when support from the state was
on Philippine contemporary art and placed it in a practically non-existent, artist were empowered to
trash bin. The work, entitled Tearing into Pieces, initiate projects like regional festivals. Meanwhile,
was seen as a scandalous critique or the art as galleries began to spring up inside mall
world; in her book The Struggle for Philippine Art, spaces, equally intriguing were the budding of
artist, collector, critic and founder of the Art alternative and artist-run spaces that supported
Association of the Philippines Purita Kalaw- experiments and D-I-Y (Do It Yourself) projects of
young artists.

REFERENCES

Datuin, Flaudette May, et.al. (2016). Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions. Rex Book Store, Inc.
Manila, Philippines.