A Glimpse at Philippine Arts

1. Prehistoric Art in the Philippines
   1. Decorative Elements in Pre-Hispanic Art

Among our most ancient arts is pottery, which combines design and function. The Manunggul Jar excavated in Palawan is evidence of the high artistic level which the art attained in an ancient times. This large burial jar has a cover which features tow men rowing a boat, suggesting the belief of the early Filipinos in an afterlife that one reaches after crossing a mythical body of water. Around its body is an incised geometric pattern of lines and dots. Extant examples of early Philippine pottery show a wide variety of shapes and decorative techniques, such an incision, stippling, appliqué, openwork and impression by rope and mat. Their designs were usually geometric with stylized nature motifs. Later, pottery became more and more functional, principal examples of which are the palayok for cooking, the banga and the tapayan for storing liquids. In the Ilocos, the making of burnay pottery continues as a lively tradition.

Weaving also originated in precolonial times and is one of our most precious living traditions. The Cordillera groups of the North are well-known for their art of weaving. The blankets and articles of clothing that they produce by means of the backstrap loom not only fulfill a practical function but also play a part in religion and ritual. This tradition spills over into the adjacent Ilocos provinces which take pride in their sturdy abel weave. In Mindanao, the T’boli of Cotabato weave abaca cloth called t’nalak in a difficult tie-dye process. This cloth has a large repertoire of motifs, such as the g’mayaw bird, whose rhythms create the feeling of flapping wings; the frog which signifies fertility; and the dancing man which calls for rain. These motifs attest to the T’boli’s deep-seated sense of the harmony of man and nature.

Weaving techniques are also used in the exquisite mats with vivid colors and intricate geometric designs woven by the women of Sulu, particularly from the islands of Laminusa and Siasi. In the Visayas, Samar and Leyte are known for their colorful mats with bird and flower designs. The large mats meant for family use imply strong familial values.

Other arts that use weaving techniques are basketry, as well as the making of hats and fans. The Cordilleras are rich in baskets for all purposes, reflecting occupational needs related to rice planting on the mountain terraces, hunting in the forests and fishing in the streams. Their backpack or pasiking for instance, is not only an example of good design but is also structured to support the human frame. Aside from baskets and containers related to hunting and agricultural activities, there are also many kinds of bamboo fish traps with shapes and sizes to suit the different species of fish found in the rivers.

Many parts of the country have lively woodcarving traditions. The Cordillera groups carve anito figures called bulol which double as ancestral spirits and granary gods. They are often found in pairs to signify the value of fertility. Human and animal motifs are also integrated into parts of houses such as door posts, as well as household objects such as bowls, forks and spoons.

In Southern Philippines, the Maranao and the Tausog of Mindanao are known for their okir-a-datu, ornate curvilinear designs and motifs applied to woodcarving. The principal okir designs are the sarimanok, the naga and the pakorabong.

The sarimanok carved in wood, simply varnished or painted in many colors (it is also executed in brass), is the stylized design of a bird holding a fish in its beak or standing on a base in the shape of fish. While its meaning derives from epics and myths, it also alludes to Lake Lanao with its fertile waters. The naga has the form of an elaborate mythical serpent with a vigorous S-curve and numerous curvilinear motifs to suggest its scales. The pakorabong is a stylized growing fern with a broad base gracefully tapering upwards. The sarimanok and naga are found in the panolong, the extended floor beam of the torogan or the large Sultan’s house, and it its interior beams and posts.

The Tagbanua of Palawan carve wooden figures of different kinds of birds and animals. Again, their meanings are linked to religion and ritual. For birds play an important part in Tagbanua mythology as messengers that link the many levels of their heaven. The animals and other creatures that they carve, such as the pig and the wild boar, have a part in ritual as sacrificial offerings. Their carvings are of blackened wood, incised with geometric designs that bring out the original light tone of the material.

Jewelry, another ancient art, began as amulets and charms to ward off evil spirits or to give supernatural powers to the wearer. It was only later that is assumed a purely ornamental character. The Cordillera groups have an ancient amulet design called the ling-ling-o, said to signify fertility, found in necklaces, rings and earrings. The T’boli wear some of the most splendid body ornaments in brass chains and bells, strings and nets of multi-colored beads, and fine chains of horsehair forming neckpieces, earrings and rings, bracelets and anklets. Related to religious belief and to social function, body ornaments are worn to please the gods, to signify the status of the wearer and enhance her charms. A belt made of a row of brass bells that tinkle with every movement calls attention to the presence of a young marriageable girl. Often, jewelry is worn along with elaborate tattoos on and around the arms and legs that function as a permanent body design with motif from nature related to the animist worldview. Even in our day, anting-anting medals with their mystical symbols and figures in relief are worn by the folk as amulets rather than as mere body ornaments.

1. Survivals as found in Philippine Ethnic Art

Ancient Filipinos lived in big settlements along sheltered bays, coastal areas, and mouths of rivers. Interior settlements were established at the headwaters and banks of rivers and their tributaries. The houses were usually constructed side by side along the river banks or seashores. This type of settlement could be found in Cebu, Leyte, Bohol, Panay, Cagayan, Manila and others. Other types of settlements included clustered communites and scattered communities on the inland hills and plains.

These ties to the water made it the most practical location for a community. The water was a major source of food like fish, shrimp, and shellfish, which were easily harvested around the communities. Transportation on and along the rivers and streams was also practical. Also, the alternative, the primary forests, were not strategically attractive environments for settlements.

These early settlements were also rather mobile and non-permanent. The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by the Filipinos caused them to search for new land, because if the land is cultivated and harvested, secondary growths and tough grasses made it difficult to recultivate.

The materials used in the Filipino house are found near the site. Depending on the ecology of the area, the materials may differ around the Philippines. The major building materials are: bamboo (kawayan), rattan (yantok), various native woods, native palms like palmabrava (anahaw), and nipa palms, cane, and cogon, a long grass, for thatching. Stone and clay are sometimes used as well.

With a bolo and the knowledge of house construction, the early Filipino could construct a hut in just a few hours. These Pre-Hispanic Filipino lowland houses had a light stucture on top, and heavier materials on the bottom. This helps in resisting the earthquakes that occur in the Philippines. The light structure is also beneficial if the house was toppled by earthquakes or typhoons, leaving the occupants with little injuries.

The early Filipino house was constructed without the use of nails or pegs, which were not available. The frame was tied together with rattan or other materials.

The walls were made of bamboo and nipa, dried grass, wood, or siding made from splitted and pounded green bamboo halves. The materials were lashed or woven to keep the interior water tight. The floor was composed of bamboo slats (tinilad, tilad), usually placed convex sides up, that were spaced apart to increase ventilation and allow dirt to fall through. The roof was made of nipa shingles or cogon thatch.

The houses are usually constructed by the head of the family, the whole family, or the family and their friends. Most early Filipinos are capable of building their own houses and could complete them in a couple of days.

1. Colonial Art

• Architecture

The history and culture of the Philippines are reflected in its architectural heritage, in the dwellings of its various peoples, in churches and mosques, and in the buildings that have risen in response to the demands of progress and the aspirations of the people.

Architecture in the Philippines today is the result of a natural growth enriched with the absorption of varied influences. It developed from the pre-colonial influences of our neighboring Malay brothers, continuing on to the Spanish colonial period, the American Commonwealth period, and the modern contemporary times. As a result, the Philippines has become an architectural melting pot–uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the occidental.

The late national hero for architecture, Leandro Locsin once said, that Philippine Architecture is an elusive thing, because while it makes full use of modern technology, it is a residue of the different overlays of foreign influences left in the Philippines over the centuries: the early Malay culture and vestiges of earlier Hindu influences, the more than 300 years of Spanish domination, the almost 50 years of American rule, the Arab and Chinese influences through commerce and trade over the centuries. What resulted may have been a hybrid, a totally new configuration which may include a remembrance of the past, but transformed or framed in terms of its significance today.

The Philippine’s architectural landscape is a contrast among small traditional huts built of wood, bamboo, nipa, grass, and other native materials; the massive Spanish colonial churches, convents and fortifications, with their heavy “earthquake baroque” style; the American mission style architecture as well as the buildings of commerce with their modern 20th century styles; and today’s contemporary, albeit “modern mundane” concrete structures of the cities.

Construction of rural native huts has changed little in the centuries. Design vary by region, but common features include steep roof over a one-or-two room living area raised on posts or stilts one to two meters above the ground or over shallow water. Some huts have balconies. Floors may be of split bamboo to allow dirt and food scraps to fall through to pigs and poultry. The space beneath the hut may be used for storage or as a workshop; it also allows air to circulate and safeguards against flooding, snakes, and insects. As families become more affluent, they frequently replace the thatch roof with galvanized iron which lasts longer but makes the house hotter and aesthetically more mundane. The bahay-kubo (nipa hut) is a typical traditional house found in most lowlands all over the Philippines. Originally built as a one-room dwelling, the nipa hut changed as family needs become more diverse.Modern urban dwellings, on the other hand, are typically two-story structures with a concrete ground floor, sides of brick, concrete blocks, or wooden slats, and an iron roof. During the 19th century, wealthy Filipinos built some fine houses, usually with solid stone foundations or brick lower walls, and overhanging, wooden upper story with balustrades and kapis shell sliding windows, and a tiled roof.

The Rizal house in Calamba, Laguna and the Luna house in Badoc, IlocosNorte are good examples. Vigan, Ilocos Sur as well as Taal in Batangas have the best surviving Spanish quarters. The city of Manila, Ilo-ilo and Cebu also have some notable old houses. Other areas of the country present different forms of tribal architecture as compared to the low-land bahaykubo which is influenced greatly by culture, and in some cases, climate and the environment. In the upland regions of the Cordillera Mountains, the houses, though still using native materials, is a bit more secured. Where the low-land bahaykubo is ventilated on all sides, the mountain huts, Bontoc, fayu; Ifugao, bale; Kalinga, binayon; Kankanay, binangiyan, and others typify a more insulated dwelling. The Maranaotorogan, on the other hand, is designed for royalty and thus built with much ornamentation and elaborate details. Being an isolated and wind-frequented area, the Batanes Islands, exhibit the most different of all traditional architecture in the Philippines. The Ivatan`srakuh is built solidly on all sides, made of a meter thick rubble work covered by thick thatch roofing to withstand gales which frequent the area.

The arrival of the Spaniards in 1571 brought in Antillian architecture. Though not specifically suited for the hot tropics, European architecture was transposed via Acapulco, Mexico into a uniquely Filipino style. The style traces its roots from the Antilles, in Central America rather than from mother Spain. The Christianization of the islands created the need to establish religious structures to support the growing number of religious organizations. Though they don’t compare with those seen in Europe or in Latin America, Philippine colonial churches are unique in their own sense. Some of the best preserved colonial churches in the country are found in the Ilocos Regions, as well as those in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas, as well as the Visayan islands of Panay, Cebu and Bohol. These colonial churches were typically designed by anonymous friar-architects and built between 1600 and 1750. Most were initially constructed with bamboo and nipa, but the friars realized that to instill a sense of awe, as well as to caution against the terrible menace of fire and earthquake, more grandiose buildings had to be erected. In spite of technical and material limitations, they managed to erect massive structures that often took years, even decades to complete, that have survived to the present.

In time, the friars’ task was taken over by Filipino and Chinese master-builders. These craftsmen have sometimes left their native stamp in the decorative motifs: tropical vegetation by Filipinos, lions and dragons by Chinese. The churches were built with an adjacent convento (priest house and office: also served as school, tribunal, prison and evacuation house during calamities), attached or detached belfry (as seen in the Ilocos Region where the belfry was built a couple of meters away from the church structure, this to anticipate a collapse of the belfry in times of earthquake) and walled forecourt. The large three-story belfry, affording a good view of the surrounding land and sea, were used as watchtowers for approaching enemies. Individual churches vary in the amount and style of their interior and exterior decoration. Many have an ornately carved facade and reredos, backdrop of the altar). Today, some churches are in their original form, while others have been spoiled by tasteless renovation. Many churches are the result of successive restoration and renovation projects which superimposes on earlier foundations. The Spanish colonial period also brought with it military architecture as seen in the fortifications they built all over the archipelago. Foremost of which is Intramuros in Manila. Intramuros which literally means within the walls, is a defensive network composed of raveling and bulwarks to protect the Spanish city from attack. It also contains the foremost military outpost during the Spanish reign, Fort Santiago named after Spain’s patron saint.

Commercial structures which developed only during the latter part of the Spanish period evolved primarily from the typical Filipino noble house or the BahaynaBato. The BahaynaBato is a derivation of the traditional Bahay Kubo with more sturdier materials as the main form of construction. Using the same spatial arrangements of the Bahaykubo, the BahaynaBato continued the principle of open ventilation and elevated apartments as that of its predecessor. The only difference being that the BahaynaBato, which translates as Stone House, is made in most cases of stone instead of the more traditional bamboo. Other versions of the BahaynaBato would be constructed of a stone- or brick-supported lower level and a hard wooden upper level covered by tiles or in later cases galvanized iron. The window of the house is unique in architecture for it opens not just from mid-level but from floor to ceiling. This enables tropical wind to circulate freely into the structure enabling the house to be ventilated tropically. The upper level, or the piano noble of the house contains the most luxuriously furnished apartments, this level overhangs the ground level which contains mostly storage and carriage depots.

Other structures developed during the Spanish Period were schools and hospitals (Ateneo Municipal, University of Santo Tomas, Colegio de Letran, Hospital de San Juan de Dios). Though most often attached to the church, these structures eventually developed into their own following the tropical baroque style of architecture popular at the time.

The Philippine Revolution of 1887 led to the declaration of independence from Spain. This, on the other hand, was superceded by the transfer of power from Spain to the United States as part of the settlement entered by the Kingdom of Spain with the United States after the Spanish-American war. The Americans came to the islands in 1898. With the arrival of the Americans came a new breed of architectural structures. Foremost of the American contributions to the country was the establishment of civil government. This led to the erection of government buildings from the city all the way to the municipal level. Government houses dotted every community. Designed in the most respectable manner, these government houses resembled Greek or roman temples complete with porticoes and pediments.

The revival period, popular at the turn of the century, became the foremost architectural parlance of the era as seen in such buildings as the Government Post Office Building as well as the Legislative House. Education of the masses also became the thrust of the American regime, as such, public education was established, foremost of which is the University of the Philippines. With American rule firmly established in the islands, the military government at the time invited the noted Chicago architect and town planner Daniel Burnham to develop the city of Manila and found a summer capital in the area of Baguio. Burnham’s arrival led to the formation of the Burnham Plan which identifies the city of Manila as a uniquely European city in the tropics and as such opposed to develop its architecture in line with the existing style. The style of architecture, as suggested, varies little from existing architecture at the time as typified by The Manila Hotel. New structures continued the use of conventional motifs but were made of more durable materials such as concrete. This style of architecture prevailed even after the turn of the century.

The eclectic style, a mixture of historic styles, also found its way in some of the commercial establishments rising in the business district such as the Regina Building along historic Escolta. The emergence of Art Nouveau also gave some samples in the central business districts (Uy-Chaco Building along Calle Rosario and Plaza Cervantes) as well as in stately homes of the well to do (Casa de Ariston Bautista in Calle Barbosa, Quiapo). By the mid 20`s to the eve of the second world war, Art Deco became the bi-word for Philippine Architecture with works such as the Metropolitan Theatre along Plaza Aroceros, Perez-Samanillo Building, Crystal Arcade and Capitol theatre along Escolta, State and Avenue Theatre along Avenida Rizal, Lide and Times Theatre along Quezon Boulevard and others.

The aftermath of the second world war left nothing but destruction in its wake, and a time of rebuilding ensued. The modern era dawned on Philippine architecture using the simple straight lines of the International Modern Style as a chief mode of expression. By the 70`s a new form of Philippine architecture emerged with the filipinization of architecture. The Filipino style found its way in the re-emergence of traditional motifs, the bahay-kubo and the bahaynabatobecame popular forms to be copied and modernized (BatasanPambansa, BLISS Housing projects). By the 80`s the country’s architectural idiom was swept by the tide of Post Modernism, a hearkening back of some sort to the romance of classical architecture. Today, architecture in the Philippines continue to be vibrant and with the country opening up to the world, more first rate architecture is pouring in.

• Sculpture

Of all the new art forms introduced, the natives took to sculpture instantly. The carving of anito was transformed into sculpture of the saints. These santos were used primarily for the church altars and retablos. It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives’ homes.

Carvings for churches include altarpieces called retablos (usually with niches for the icons), the central point of any Catholic church. The retablo houses the tabernacle and the image of the town’s patron saint. Usually referred to as a “cabinet of saints”, one would see a hierarchy of saints depending on their importance to the townspeople. The patron saint would be in the middle; less important saints would be in the periphery. The most elaborate retablos can be seen in the San Agustin Church in Intramuros.

Other parts of the church that may have carvings are church doors, pulpits, and carrozas (floats that carry the saints for processions). The façade of churches may be carved from adobe, coral stone, and volcanic rock, among others. It may have carved images of saints, floral decorations or leaf decors. In the case of the Miag-ao Church in Iloilo, the façade is decorated with a carved image of St. Christopher carrying the Christ Child on his shoulders under a coconut tree.

Relleves (carved images in relief) usually depict the Via Crucis. It may also show holy images in religious scenes.

The earliest known sculptor in the Philippines is the 17th century sacristan, sculptor and silversmith Juan de los Santos (ca. 1590 – ca. 1660) of San Pablo, Laguna. A few of his extant works may be found at the San Agustin Convent museum.

Except for de los Santos, carvers were anonymous artisans before the 19th century. But in the mid-19th century, with the rise of the ilustrados and the opening of the country to international trade, higher artistic standards were demanded from the carvers/sculptors. A number of Filipinos found fame in sculpture such as CrispuloHocson, Romualdo de Jesus, Leoncio Asuncion and IsabeloTampinco.

The second half of the 19th century, as travel in and around the country considerably improved, saw a marked increase in the demand for non-religious souvenirs. Tipos del pais (human types of the country) sculptures, showing ordinary people doing everyday activities and wearing their local costumes, became the favorite. They also depicted the heads of the various ethnic groups.

The inclusion of sculpture in the Academia de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Manila’s curriculum in 1879 formalized training in sculpture. Known sculptors during this time were BonifacioArevalo, GracianoNepomuceno, Marcelo Nepomuceno, and Anselmo Espiritu. Philippine National Hero Jose P. Rizal was a sculptor. He took up woodcarving lessons from Romualdo de Jesus and Paete master carver Jose Caancan.

Paete, a small woodcarving town in Laguna, Southern Luzon, produced the finest santo carvers during this period. The most prominent name is Mariano Madriñan who won a gold medal in the 1883 Amsterdam Exposition for his Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowful Mother).

In 1889, the first woman student, Pelagia Mendoza y Gotianquin, was accepted in the Academia de Dibujo Y Pintura by then Director Lorenzo Rocha. In 1892, Pelagia Mendoza won in the 1892 Columbus Quadricentennial Art Contest with a bust of Christopher Columbus.

• Painting

The Spanish friars introduced Western painting in the Philippines to artisans who learned to copy on two-dimensional form from the religious icons that the friars brought from Spain,. For the first centuries of Spanish colonization, painting was limited to religious icons. Portraits of saints and of the Holy Family became a familiar sight in churches. Other subject matters include the passion of Christ, the Via Crucis, the crucifixion, portrayal of heaven, purgatory and hell.

Painters from the Visayas island of Bohol were noted for their skillful manipulation of the technique. Their paintings of saints and religious scenes show figures in frontal and static positions. For the Boholano painters, the more important persons would be depicted bigger than the rest of the figures. Christ normally dwarfs the Roman soldiers in these paintings. Unfortunately, they did not sign their names on their works and no record of their names exists.

In the church in Paete, Laguna are two works by Josef Luciano Dans (1805- ca. 1870), probably one of the earliest recorded painters in Philippine art history. Langit, Lupa at Impierno ca. 1850 (Heaven, Earth and Hell), a three-level painting which shows the Holy Trinity, Mary the Mother of Christ, saints, the Seven Blessed Sacraments and a macabre depiction of Hell. The second painting is entitled Purgatorio (Purgatory) which shows the eight forms of punishment the soul passes through for cleansing before reaching Heaven.

During the early part of the Spanish occupation, painting was exclusively for the churches and for religious purposes. Occasionally, it was also used for propaganda. Esteban Villanueva of Vigan, Ilocos Sur depicted the Ilocos revolt against the basi monopoly in a 1821. The Spanish government commissioned the work. The fourteen panels show the series of events that led to the crushing of the Ilocano basi workers revolt by Spanish forces. It also showed the appearance of Halley’s comet in the Philippines during that time.

Tagalog painters Jose Loden, Tomas Nazario and Miguel de los Reyes, did the first still life paintings in the country. They were commissioned in 1786 by a Spanish botanist to paint the flora and fauna found in the country.

The earliest known historical paintings in the Philippines was a mural at the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) in Intramuros entitled The Conquest of the Batanes done in 1783. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the 1863 earthquake.

Secular subject matter in painting only increased during the 19th century. With more tourists, ilustrados and foreigners demanding souvenirs and decorations from the country, tiposdelpais developed in painting. These watercolor paintings show the different types of inhabitants in the Philippines in their different native costumes that show their social status and occupation. It also became an album of different native costumes. Damian Domingo y Gabor (ca. 1790-1832) was the most popular artist who worked in this style.

In the early 19th century, the rise of the ilustrados saw a rise in the art of portraiture. The need to adorn their newly constructed bahay-na-bato and the want to document their new found wealth and social status, the ilustrados commissioned painters to make portraits of themselves. The works of painters like Simon Flores, Antonio Malantic and JustinianoAscunsion captured the intricately designed jewelry and fashion accessories, the minuet details of the embroidered clothes, and ornately designed domestic furniture of the patrons. The painstaking attention to minuet details characterized miniaturismo.

Governor General NarcisoClaveria in 1849 issued a decree that all Philippine natives should assume Spanish names. Letras Y Figuras, (letters and figures), a style developed by Jose Honorato Lozano, combines both tipos del pais and genre paintings by forming the letters of the patron’s name from figures of people in local costumes doing everyday activities. It also utilized landscape scenes as background.

In 1821, Damian Domingo opened the first formal fine arts school in the country in his house, the Academia de Dibujo. Perhaps realizing his importance to Philippine art history, Damian Domingo is known for having made the first self-portrait in the country. In 1823, the Real SociedadEconomica Filipina de Amigos del Pais (Royal Economic Society of the Friends of the Colony) opened their own art school. In 1826, the society offered Domingo to be the professor in their school, in effect merging the two art schools. In 1828, Domingo was promoted to school director. Domingo must have taught miniaturismo to his students, but a publication by the academy entitled Elementos de Perspectiva (Elements of Perspective) suggests that he must have also taught the classical ideals of the European academies. Due to lack of funds and probably due to Domingo’s death in 1832, the school eventually closed in 1834.

In 1850, under the Junta de Commercio, a new art school, the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura, was opened with 70 enrollees. Enrique Nieto y Zamora, a new employee at the Post Office and a graduate of the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, was appointed as acting director of the academy. Paintings by Spanish master were brought in to serve as models for the students, propagating the European academic style of painting – using grand subject matter from classical Greek and Roman mythologies, depicting historical scenes, and the use of chiaroscuro.

The academy was renamed Escuela de Dibujo, Pintura y Grabado in 1889. It was later incorporated with the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in 1891. In 1893, the school of arts and trades was separated from the academy. The academy was later elevated to the Escuela Superior de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado.

Other subject matter became increasingly popular such as genre, landscapes (paisajes), and bodegones (still life) with artists like Simon Flores, Lorenzo Guerrero, Felix Martinez, Paz Paterno and her half sisterAdelaidaPaterno. Flores’ two extant works, PrimerasLetras and Feeding the Chicken show the close bond between mother and child.

The academic style was still favored by the church and government and was used for religious icons. The miniaturist style, though, was favored by ilustrado patrons and continued to prosper.

Several Filipino painters had the chance to study and work abroad. Among them were Juan Novicio Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo who became the first international Filipino artists when they won the gold and silver medals in the 1884 Madrid Exposition.

Luna’s academic painting Spoliarium won gold medal. It showed the dead and dying Roman Gladiators being dragged into the basement of the Coliseum. It is often interpreted as an allusion to Imperial Spain’s oppression of the natives. Though winning the gold medal, Luna was not awarded the Medal of Excellence, the top award for the competition, because he was a Filipino. The King of Spain, to assuage Luna’s feelings, commissioned him to paint The Battle at Lepanto. Hidalgo won the silver medal for Virgeneschristianasexpuestas al populacho or Christian Virgins Exposed to the Public. The feat of Luna and Hidalgo caught the attention of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine’s National Hero, that in a gathering of Filipinos in Madrid, he gave a speech praising Luna and Hidalgo for their mastery and nationalism

In the 1892, Columbus Quadricentennial Art Contest competition sponsored by La Illustracion Filipina, a Filipino weekly publication, a 16-year-old girl named Carmen Zaragosa won first prize for her painting “Dos Intelligencias.” In the 1895 Esposicion Regional de Filipinas in Manila, Zaragosa won a Cooper medal for her painting. Fourteen other women artists participated. Five of them won Cooper medals and four won honorable mentions.

III.  Modern Art in Flux

• Architecture

The first year of the new millennium was a year of trauma, reflection and re-orientation for the Philippines and Philippine architecture. Little came by way of actual buildings completed, and those in progress were still mostly foreign-designed or influenced, contributing little to the development of Filipino architecture. In fact, the biggest news in the architectural world was the demolition of landmark buildings and damage caused to heritage structures and sites. Much like the political and social structure of our country, the integrity of our built heritage and emerging architecture was and is being shaken to its very foundations.

Philippine architecture, both product and profession, faces the danger of deterioration of quality and depth wrought by the economic events of the last two years and the continuing lack of intellectual discourse related to pedagogy and practice. The effects of the Asian financial crisis have taken its toll on the country and consequently on the business of real estate development, the fountainhead of architectural production in the boom years of the mid-1990s. What little activity apparent in the skyline of our cities are the tail-ends of those few projects that have found enough capital for completion.

Most of these building projects, of larger scale and scope, are products of foreign architectural firms with the token creative participation of local “architects-of-record.” Construction billboards, up and down Ayala Avenue and other business and commercial districts in Metro Manila (and even other urban centers like Cebu City), proudly proclaim the names of overseas architectural “design consultants.” A listing of these forms a veritable “who’s who” in the universe of western design. The likes of I. M. Pei, KPF (Kohn, Pendersen and Fox), SOM (Skidmore Owings and Merill), HOK, Gensler, Arquitectonica and even Michael Graves have been used to “brand” local projects.

All this further commodifies architecture in the Philippines as symbols of elitist power and prestige or bottom-line profits driven by the local market perception that “foreign is better.” These structures are also signifiers of continuing cultural hegemony by the West. Our building in this framed aesthetic has the effect of further orientalizing ourselves in occidental towers rising physically and ideologically above the surrounding unequal social landscape.

On the functional level clients or developers justify the commissioning of outside consultants by pointing out that skyscraper projects in the 30- to 50-story range involves realms of expertise unavailable locally. Many local professionals would beg to differ, however, given that a good number of Filipino architects, engineers and project specialists have more than adequate competence in high-rise glass, steel and cladding construction.

This collective competence has been accumulated from experience working abroad, a result of the diaspora of Filipino professionals in the previous two decades. The problem again seems to be that of the lower regard by Filipino developers for Filipino professionals. (In the current economic setting, however, clients have reluctantly tuned back to the more reasonably priced services of locals.)

The new-modernist or retro-modernist towers that have sprung up have mostly been permutations of previous designs by these foreign architects. A cursory review of any coffee table book on contemporary architecture would prove this point. Very few have taken any more effort, at contextual or original design, than just going through the motions of adapting elevator capacities, parking-bay requirements or superficial adaptations to climactic conditions.

The same may be said, however, for the few towers designed by local architects. In the defense of the local designers though, it must be stated that little opportunity is given them to express any more than compliance to utilitarian briefs for maximum leasable space in a building. Pressure from clients also force Filipino architects towards copycat façadism; to adopting a “fashionable” (foreign-looking) style to ensure marketability but with less budget and consultantcy fees.

Noteworthy, too, in these new buildings of steel, glass and aluminum is the lack of Filipino art. In the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the art of Filipino sculptors, painters, and craftsmen embellished the spaces, walls and facades of our modern architecture. A case in point is the original Philamlife building on United Nations Avenue. Its architect, Carlos Arguelles, made sure that the building accommodated works by the likes of Vicente Manansala and GaloOcampo. The new Philamlife building on Paseo de Roxas is devoid of artwork. Other new towers prefer minimalist interior treatments rather than any investment on or celebration of Filipino borloloy that had been a definition of both our vernacular and adapted architecture.

Typologically, the tower or tower-on-a-podium is the formula of choice in the speculative commercial towers that make the bulk of current work. Little contribution is made by these examples of “plunkitecture” (buildings that may just as well be from New York or London and “plunked” in Makati or Ortigas) to the urban design of city streets. This is because of their predisposition to leasing out ground level space to banks and similar institutions that produce little visual or social interface with the pedestrian. The rhythm of the street is also regularly disrupted by driveways, ramps and palisades of utility poles in older districts of Manila and poorly planned centers like Cubao and Ortigas.

Hopefully some mixed-use redevelopment projects, like those currently ongoing in Ayala/Makati’s commercial center and Greenbelt areas, will correct this and strive for more pedestrian-friendly environments. The same pedestrian-friendliness is promised in newer districts like Fort Bonifacio, the Rockwell Urban Center and even a new Ayala project in Cebu City, though little of this is evident in the built-up portions of these districts. Not surprisingly, almost all of these projects were planned by foreign consultants.

Aside from high-rise towers, the rest of architectural (and related design) production this year focused mainly on residential work, renovations or interiors. Large residential (bordering on the palatial) mansions made for a niche market by a number of architects. But despite this shift in source of projects, even the larger or more successful of local design firms that survived to the turn of the century cut back even further in staff and operations. Managing to carry on with work were the practices or offices of the likes of Bobby Mañosa, Bong Recio and Meloy Casas, Philip Recto, Jun Palafox, Coscolluela, Lor and Ed Calma, and Andy Locsin.

On other matters related to conservation, we have seen or will see the demolition of several more landmark buildings significant in Philippine twentieth century architectural development.

In Makati, the Neimeyeresque Union Church by Jose Zaragoza was demolished to make way for a new church. A magnificent yucca tree (Yucca elephantipes) perished in the process. The Insular Life Building on Ayala Avenue, a landmark tower by Cesar Concio, is slated for demolition soon. (Napoleon Abueva’s masterful relief on the building’s façade is being transferred to a new site or saved for the new replacement building.) Finally, there is confirmation that Leandro Locsin’s Ayala Museum will be leveled and a new museum built on a corner site nearby. The demolition reportedly comes with Locsin’s blessing (given before he passed away), and his son Andy is supervising the design of the new edifice.

In old Manila, the marvelous Marvel Building on Calle Juan Luna disappeared overnight. Many buildings in the Binondo and Escolta areas are sporting demolition permits or, like the art deco Meralco Headquarters on San Marcelino Street, are boarded up, awaiting decisions for its sale or demolition. While in New Manila, Quezon City, as well as older residential districts of Sta. Ana, Sampaloc and San Juan, we are losing heritage houses almost every week, with many being turned into standard, high-density, nondescript townhouse developments.

There have been a few bright spots in the conservation scene. One is the conservation of St. Cecilia’s Hall at the campus of St. Scholastica’s College in Manila. The 1932 design of Andres Luna de San Pedro (renovated in 1955 by Carlos Arguelles) was used sensitively in reconfiguring and improving the layout of the hall. The hall has been improved with the addition of an orchestra pit, air-conditioning, and improvements in lighting and acoustics. The conservation and renovation architects were the O.B. Mapua Group led by O.B. Mapua and Joel Lopez. Theater design was by Dennis Marasigan and Gerry Fernandez with interiors by Joel Panlilio.

Another excellent example of conservation and adaptive re-use that opened this year is the MuseoIlocosNorte in Laoag. An old brick Tabacalera warehouse was converted into a museum on Ilocano life. Conservation architect Rene Luis Mata resurrected the edifice with the help of historian RegaladoTrota Jose and Al Valenciano. Mata’s approach to conservation was thorough yet accommodating to modern functional requirements of a museum.

The Malate Church Convent and Mission Center was also inaugurated this year. The competition for the project was won the other year by the firm of P.Y. Lim and Partners. The new, four-story building replaces the old convento built in 1948. The new building fits in the context of the site and reflects the architectural style of Malate Church in details like the cornice treatment and fenestration. Though not a strictly conservation project, the new building shows how heritage sites can accommodate expanded uses without compromising historical integrity.

Other conservation efforts in places like Vigan, Taal, Silay and the southern towns of Cebu, among others, have thrived despite apathy from local government authorities and lack of public awareness. But on the main, most towns and cities still neglect their heritage. Iloilo’s Fort San Pedro, which houses a beer garden within its crumbling walls, epitomizes this. Efforts by the local UAP chapter and support from Sen. Franklin Drilon have yet to see fruition.

The NCCA, the HCS and the UAP have pursued programs for documentation of heritage sites and buildings, organized talks and seminars on adaptive re-use and heritage conservation. A Heritage Bill is also being prepared in Congress and the Senate to give more teeth to these programs and to arrest the continuing depletion of irreplaceable cultural resources of built heritage.

Architecture and design continued to enjoy increasing space and exposure in national dailies and magazines in the first year of the new century. A number of books on Philippine architecture or featuring Philippine projects were launched this year. Our built heritage was also given television coverage on cable channels such as Lakbay TV and on regular television shows like “Probe” (on specific issues like the Jai Alai and Intramuros).

Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer led most national dailies in the amount of space given. Both have regular columns on architecture and urban issues. The lifestyle and metro sections of both newspapers regularly feature architecture and design, a contrast to a number of years ago when most articles on architecture were fairly limited to the construction and real estate pages. Other newspapers like Philippine Post, The Manila Times, and The Chronicle, printed features on architecture and interior design (mostly residential work).

Design magazines have survived drastically cut advertising budgets. The field is led by veteran publication Design and Architecture and relative newcomer Bluprint Magazine (now on its second year). Other magazines like Arkikonst and Hinge manage to hang on.

In December, the University of the Philippines’ College of Architecture launched a new journal. Muhon is a semi-annual publication on architecture, landscape architecture and environmental design. The inaugural issue contained papers ranging from practical issues in “Parking Design in the Tropics” by ZenaidaGalingan to a postmodernist/poststructuralist look at Filipino space in “‘Mala-BaklangEspasyo’ saArkitekturang Filipino: Estetika, Morpolohiya, Konteksto (PanimulangPagtuklas At Paggalugad).”

The title of the journal was originally used as a title for a travelling exhibit on Filipino architecture funded by the NCCA that started with a CCP launch early in the year. Launched this year, too, was an NCCA-sponsored publication on vernacular building practices in the Philippines. Appropriately titled Oro, Plata, Mata, the book is the work of Ernesto Zarate, a practicing architect. The book had its origin in a series of advertisements for Amon Trading Corporation in the ’60s that featured building practices similar to Chinese geomancy.

Last June another practicing architect, Bnn C. Bautista (with a collaborator, Franklin Primo Libatique), launched Philippine Architecture 1948-1978 (Reyes Publishing, Quezon City). The project had a tentative start in 1975 involving interviews with the likes of Locsin, Nakpil, Mendoza, Formoso, the Mañosa brothers. It took another 25 years for the book to see print.

The book contains a selection of 11 buildings which the authors felt had a strong impact on the architectural profession, including Juan Nakpil’s UP buildings, the Mañosa brothers’ Sulu Restaurant, Locsin’s CCP, Angel Nakpil’s National Press Club, and Felipe Mendoza’s BatasangPambansa Complex. The book is uneven in graphic quality and loosely structured in its writing. But it is a laudable effort, considering the dearth of writing on contemporary Filipino architecture, and the book was personally funded by the authors.

Filipino architecture continued to slowly come to the attention of regional and international readers. Robert Powell’s new book, the fourth in his series on residential design in Asia, entitled The New Asian house (Select Publishing, Singapore), features two Filipino architects. The PablitoCalma House by Ed Calma and the Chan House by Joey Yupangco are featured in a collection that includes works of rising stars in Asian architecture like KamilMerican of Malaysia and Wong Mun Sum of Singapore.

The same houses are also featured in another book, Tropical Living: Contemporary Dream Houses in the Philippines by Elizabeth Reyes, Fernando Zialcita and Paulo Alcazaren with photography by Chester Ong (Periplus Editions, Hong Kong). This book follows in the steps of Filipino Style of two years ago but with a more focused theme and featuring more work by a new generation of architects like Manny Minana, Bong Recio, Conrad Onglao, Benny Velasco and Andy Locsin.

International expositions have always been an opportunity to showcase our contemporary architecture and benchmark ourselves against the rest of the world. Notable in the Philippines’ past participation in these events have been Otelio Arellano’s salakot pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair and Leandro Locsin’s shell pavilion at the Expo ’70 in Osaka.

After 30 years of absence, the Philippines resurfaced at the Expo 2000 Hanover with a pavilion that reflected the state of Philippine architecture, just as the pavilions of ’64 and ’70 reflected its states in their respective times. Participation was made possible by CITEM, Department of Trade and Industry, NCCA and the German government resulted in the commissioning of architect Ed Calma’s pavilion’s design. Given a tight budget and little time, Calma produced a piece of work as distinctive in form as the two previous Philippine pavilions.

While Arellano’s salakot was literal and Locsin’s shell was expressionist, Calma’s sensual weave of bamboo lines and planes was evocative. His basket-like construction of bamboo-derived elements created an environment, a deconstructed architecture that sought more to frame its contents than to contain them in a conventional envelope.

Calma’s piece differed situationally from the previous two in that it was housed in a cavernous interior space instead of in the open. There was no need to aim for a distinctive silhouette or to bother with climate control. Freed from these constraints, Calma’s design focused on an almost totally introverted delineation of space and the temporal experience of moving through it as displacements of interaction with the various artifacts and digital images contained in the pavilion.

Calma’s design was augmented by Melissa LaO’s installations. She used elements that unfolded from the logic and structure of Calma’s framework. These in turn contained the digitized or printed images and served as plinths for material that provided the layering in a texture that was to blur both message and medium. Unfortunately, the message or curatorial content was, in the opinion of many, decidedly less focused than the medium.

The trade fair was the biggest in the world this year and ran from June to October. It was popular with the expo’s visitors. There was a recurring theme of the use of timber in many pavilions like Finland’s. The Philippines’ contribution was in the use of an indigenous material, bamboo, which is gaining popularity now that appropriate downstream processing technology has been developed.

The contribution of Calma’s piece to Filipino architecture was the experiment in the process and production of form based on the goal of projecting a positive image of the Philippines. Issue may be taken with this very goal as the image projected was one that seemed to overly commodify Filipino craft and creativity. More disturbingly, it also commodified Filipinos themselves as entertainers or highly skilled exportable labor, adding value to economic or cultural enterprise in other countries, except our own. Calma’s appropriation of a foreign technology (the bamboo process is German-developed) as a tool for producing a Filipino form and framework seemed opposite to the message of our cultural and social displacement.

This may be the gist of our architectural dilemma. Content and form in our architecture, our contemporary culture and the spatial and aesthetic expression of it, are either in a state of flux and evolving or dangerously dissipating in the blinding light of a globalizing culture. Exposure works two ways—we can move forward and use the process to further develop our architecture, or we can be absorbed by the resurgence of internationalism in world architecture. We can continue to “play” with fashionable form given the natural talent we have for mimicry, or we can strive (a term connoting conscious effort) to experiment (as Calma, LaO, and a number of younger Filipino architects have done) to make form and content have real meaning.

The year 2000 was a benchmark year for Philippine architecture. Heritage loss like the Jai Alai and the impending loss of other landmarks, such as the Insular Life Building by Concio and Locsin’s Ayala Museum, have not been balanced with any new work. This situation pervaded 2000 save for a few bursts of creative flair like Calma’s pavilion and the continuing expression by a younger architectural generation in residential design. Major new work in progress like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport III terminal building and numerous towers in our city are foreign-designed, relegating Filipino architects-of-record to the role of glorified draftsmen, delineating our future buildings and sites under the homogenizing gaze of western culture.

The older generation of Filipino architects have, like Felipe Mendoza, passed away or, like Concio, retired into anonymity. Their work and contributions are unappreciated and much worse, mainly undocumented. A younger transitional generation (back from stints abroad) is mainly practicing based on sheer talent, rehashing styles and forms absorbed from overseas as well as driven by marketability and fashion. With few exceptions, the goal of Filipino architecture has been to produce goods for consumption rather than to create environments that ennoble our culture and to discover viable patterns of increasingly dense urban life in the tropics.

Physical tragedies, like the Payatas and Cherry Hills incidents, have caused the profession and academe to reexamine their environmental and social responsibilities. Our schools of architecture and the various related professional organizations have taken steps to acknowledge these responsibilities and to benchmark progress along more environmentally sustainable and culturally sensitive lines.

Housing for the Filipino masses remains an unattainable dream given the continuing tight grip of the paradigm of sprawl and low-rise/high-density formulas for residential typology. Meanwhile, cultural and institutional architecture is in the doldrums, creating quickly crumbling symbols of political corruption rather than monuments and sites of civic pride.

All crises and tragedies can be turned into opportunities. Philippine architecture should rebuild on the debris of a shattered economy and shore up the foundations with a conserved heritage and more substantial intellectual discourse. Academe and professional associations must endeavor to reorient the occidental inclinations of Filipino clients and the public, along with retrofitting the mindsets of Filipino architects themselves.

The next year should bring a perceptible shift in the way we view our architecture and the process with which we produce our knowledge, our practice and our experience of it. This shift must occur, or the benchmark of 2000 may be lost in the mire of social and cultural miasma, brewing in the wake of neo-colonial, glossy, Mc-globalized, throw-away architecture.

• Sculpture

Sculptures from the Philippines come in a potpourri of mediums. There are glass sculptures, marble sculptures, bronze and mixed medium sculptures. The themes, forms and styles employed for Filipino sculptures run the artistic gamut from abstract sculptures to figure studies.

During the 18th century sculptures from the Philippines reflected Catholic themes. One of the most widely known and esteemed 18th century Filipino sculptures was the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. This sculpture was produced in ivory. It was fancified using polychrome, glass, silver and gilding.

Alma Quinto is a progressed Filipino sculptress that works in a assortment of mediums and art forms. Her Lolita’s Pet is a mixed medium sculpture that has been featured in assorted publications. It is presently valued at regarding S$500. If you take delight in the sculptures invented by this artisan then you may also be mesmerized in the illustrations, paintings, textiles and installation pieces invented by this artisan as well.

Duddley Diaz is another innovative artisan from the Philippines who specializes in distinguishable sculptures. He was born in the Philippines in 1962. His artistic education started at the University of the Philippines where he earned a BFA. It then continued at the Academia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Here Diaz studied both painting and sculpting. One of the pieces that this Filipino artisan formulated was the Preacher no. 3. This 1997 creation was formed from wood and other mediums. It was valued at S$7,000. In addition to wood, Diaz also works in bronze. His bronze sculpture Goddess with a Bough has been valued at S$7,000.

Filipino sculptures have undergone an evolution in shape, form, content and mediums. Like other cultures the first sculptures created by Philippine native cultures were primitive. These primitive sculptures utilized native materials like stone and clay. The sculptures created depicted normal life and acts of worship. Colors were limited in these primitive sculptures.

The transitional sculpture movements in the Philippines between the primitives and the modern movements were influenced by outside cultures and internal evolutions. In the middle of the transition between the primitive and the most modern sculptures was the 19th century art movement. The hero of this sculpture movement was Guillermo Tolentino. His most popular and well known piece was the Bonifacio Monument. This monument was a tribute piece to the Filipino revolution that was fought against the Spanish in 1896. Tolentino completed this multi-figure sculpture in 1933 and it became the cornerstone of his career.

One of the latest artistic movements in Filipino sculptures is the modernist movement. This movement has had at least three generations. Michael Cacnio belongs to the third generation of the Filipino modernist movement. His sculptures are done in brass and they echo the heart and soul of Filipino heritage and culture. Some of his contemporaries include Abdulmari Imao and BenhurVilllanueva.

• Painting

Visitors to the Philippines will be awed by the works of the country’s talented individuals in the art of painting. The country’s two most famous painters of the 19th century are Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo. The masterpiece ‘Spolarium’, which won a gold medal at the 1884 Madrid Exposition, is perhaps one of Luna’s best work. The mid-20th century gave way to other internationally acclaimed artists like Vicente Dizon, Fernando Amorsolo and Vicente Manansala.

Those interested in contemporary art should give the Ateneo Art Gallery a visit. This art gallery showcases the permanent collection of selective contemporary works by contemporary Filipino artists and is located at Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Showcasing over 500 artworks, the Ateneo Art Gallery of the Ateneo de Manila University is acclaimed to be the Philippines’ first museum of modern art. It is the modern Filipino art’s haven as it is the only museum in the country devoted to collecting, displaying and interpreting modern Philippine art.

The Ateneo Art Gallery highlights works from its permanent collection and hosts public programs and exhibitions of present day local artists. Visiting exhibitions from foreign artists are also scheduled. Categorized as follows, The Print & Drawing Collection, The Modern Philippine Art Collection and The Contemporary Philippine Art Collection include drawings, sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs and posters, woodcuts, engravings, lithographs etchings, and other graphic-arts media.

Rembrandt, Goya, and Picasso are only a few of the world-renowned artists featured in the Gallery. Works by notable Filipino artists like Fernando Amorsolo, Vicente Manansala, AngKiukok and Anita Magsaysay-Ho are also shown. For contemporary art, there are the creations of Jose Tence Ruiz, Anna Fer, Alfredo Esquillo and many more.

A generous inheritance from the late Fernando Zobel de Ayala (1924-1984), over 200 artworks by postwar Filipino artists formed the initial compilation of the museum. Ayala, renowned painter, scholar and teacher, intended for these to be a study collection of students especially those taking up liberal arts. Other patrons and artists soon donated more pieces to the Gallery, resulting to an impressive collection which charts the art movement in the Philippines in the postwar era, from neo-realism to social realism among others. Ayala’s art legacy to the university was first displayed in the Bellamine Hall in 1961 and was moved permanently in 1967 to the ground floor of the Rizal Library.

The Ateneo Art Gallery also holds the annual Ateneo Art Awards, considered to be the most prestigious prize for a Filipino contemporary artist. It was established in 2004 in memory of Fernando Zobel de Ayala, its founding benefactor.

The Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines at Central Bank Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila is a must see for those with great interest in classical and contemporary paintings and prints from America and Europe. Besides the exhibitions, visitors will also have the chance to see slide shows and films almost daily at this art gallery.