Philippine Contemporary Art Forms and Practices

What is contemporary art? According to some, it means that it is “the art of today”. There are seven forms of contemporary art; namely are music, photography, cinema, painting, sculpture, literature, and architecture. Contemporary art has many art styles, although, artists are not required to follow these styles to express their feelings and longings. This art era doesn’t hinder an artist’s growth of creativity. It even allows them to combine different art styles from the previous art styles to the newly generated art styles. Contemporary art does not merely show an artist’s passion and emotion. It mainly shows the struggles of one’s society.

What are its practices? As some were mentioned, contemporary art practices an artist’s creativity and it does not hinder their growth. In this case, artists are not afraid that their piece might be against society’s standards because it is unsuitable to their tastes. If art pieces in the past times should only be interpreted from one perspective, in the contemporary art era, the input of the audience is important. It makes the art piece more meaningful as it can be perceived differently by each individual, whilst the artist’s message is also incorporated. Art today is open to everyone’s understanding. It may look vague but it helps us to understand different perceptions of each individual on how we look and see the beautiful things in life.

Nowadays, art cannot only be done on canvases but everywhere. It can be painted on the wall as a mural, it can be performed, and it can be written on every paper that you can use. Art surrounds us, it does not merely exist in one’s private space but it is everywhere. From the trees, we climb in and to the seas that we swim in. For the past centuries, humanity has only yet to learn how to preserve and save our Mother Earth. Contemporary art practices include recycling. This depicts one’s creativity and resourcefulness. Usually, our school projects would contain recycled materials to make a masterpiece. This has truly shown that art, even in its simplest form, can save us and our environment. Lastly, most contemporary arts in the late 20th century and 21st century are also made through the use of technology. One of the many examples of contemporary art that is produced by technology is the films that we have watched today. Specifically, the ‘indie films’ or formally known as independent films.

Indie films have their main point focused on the problems that our society or environment faces in today’s generation. The Philippines is an archipelago with more than seven thousand islands. Within these seven thousand islands, there is a rich culture that is heavily influenced by art. Our country adapted to Contemporary Arts sometime between the mid-60s and early 70s.

During those times, the Philippines’ society was in rubble. It was the time when Ferdinand Marcos became our president and the time when Martial Law was implemented. This is when most artists would desire to make an epiphany to our ancestors who were naive, scared, and turned a blind eye, albeit, some are still blind to what was happening to our society when President Marcos became our leader. To name an example of a poem that was made because of Marcos’ regime is Third World Geography by Cirilo F. Bautista. He showed the hardships they have experienced during the cruel president’s presidency and how it affects our new society. Another famous poem that was made as a result of Marcos’ oppression is Apo on the Wall by BJ Patino. This poem shows a child’s narrative about his father’s hanged picture of Ferdinand Marcos and how it greatly affected the Boomers Generation and Generation X during the Martial Law.

The Philippines’ contemporary art does not merely focus on political problems that our history has faced. It also shows our history, culture, and beauty of our land and people. One example of this is Ez Mil’s Panalo. The song starts with Ez Mil’s first few lines in English and continues with ‘trap beats’, the usual beats that are used in pop and hip-hop songs nowadays, and raps his first Filipino verse. His song showcases that he’s a proud Filipino, despite being half-blooded, he proudly stated his home country and its known natives. Furthermore, he continued to rap about the life he is living as an American-Filipino and the life that he lived throughout his childhood years, and his great pride for our national heroes who had made the Philippines great and phenomenal in our history that we read today. This song does not only show Ez Mil’s pride for being a Filipino but his song also indicates to have confidence in our own skin, as to the Filipinos who are not openly proud and much comfortable with being one, it gives them a sense of pride to see a fellow kababayan rap and showcase his talent to the world with beats to dance and rap too.

In this song, we can reflect on how Filipinos have this toxicity called post-colonial mentality due to the Spaniards colonization period, but I am not merely blaming it all on the Spanish colonial times. Because of the many colonizers who have tried to colonize us, this mentality strips us from our true identity as Filipinos. We were always have been looked at as dependent and naive since we live in such a small archipelago with no powerful civilizations to be written and talked about. Even now, we are still looked down upon by other nations with the United States of America to depend on because of our good relationship with them that blossomed during World War II. This mentality not only continued after our independence but to our contemporary times. It left our society with vast corrupt government and officials, and an incompetent economy with an astronomical number of poor families.

In connection to this, one of Bamboo’s pieces named Tatsulok was inspired by our society. The song starts with a kind of alternative-rock type tune and then begins with a familiar voice singing his heart out about the unfair treatment of our hierarchical society. The chorus of the song states that the colors of our skin are not the reason why we are fighting, but the vast poverty and injustice towards the needy are. The last line of the chorus states, “Habang may tatsulok, di matatapos ang gulong ito.” Tatsulok in English translates to a triangle. This symbolic literary device depicts the hierarchical society that we live in. Whoever is at the top will have the most privileges, whilst those at the bottom will be left with nothing but scraps or sometimes nothing at all. He then continues with a solution to the problem. To prevent this from happening even further, he encourages the listeners to make the change. If not, it will remain the same. Change cannot be done with action, and as our infamous president, Rodrigo R. Duterte, stated when he was voted by many to be our leader, “Change starts from within.”

Another example of contemporary art that is proudly made Filipino is Ernest Concepcion’s painting entitled, OMG Christ. The painting’s art style looks more like a Pop Art than any other contemporary art style. The painting shows Jesus Christ sporting a shocked face with big capital yellow letters stating OMG. This painting may be perceived as offensive to most traditional Christian Filipinos because based on their perspective it is somewhat mocking Jesus Christ. To others, this painting might simply just mean the phrase that is commonly used by the Zoomers, famously known as Generation Z, which is “OMG, Christ.” They usually use this phrase whenever there are moments that leave them utterly speechless or simply because they were surprised. As a Christian Filipino who is still a bit traditional, the painting looks offensive because it mocks a particular religion. Whilst, it is perceived differently by every individual, I believe in freedom of expression. I understand that the artist simply wants to freely express his art because, in this era, Contemporary Art believes in no bounds and rules to follow to express one’s self.

From the works I have mentioned, the sense of contemporariness of their works reflects today’s society and environment. To summarize, in the first work, Panalo, the artist wants to convey that we Filipinos should be proud of our history and who we are now. I understand that some Filipinos struggle with their identity and their patriotism.

Admittedly, I am one of them. Growing up, I have never been proud of Filipino adaptations or productions. I too have also the very toxic Filipino trait that we inherit from our ancestors called post-colonial mentality. Whenever I would see or hear Filipino soap dramas or songs, I would immediately turn it off or go to another channel to entertain myself. To be brutally honest, the infamous Filipino entertainment industries are stagnant. They would always have the same concepts and plots that don’t challenge or engage an individual. This is also partly why some new-generation Filipinos are rarely patriotic nor proud. But kudos to the Filipino independent film directors and scriptwriters who should be acknowledged and emphasized greatly because of their unique works that are different from what the mass media usually produces. Bamboo’s song Tatsulok has captured my attention to a great extent. We have a piece of common knowledge that our government officials are exploitative and that there are a large number of the needy. This song can be an eye-opener for all.

It may not be appreciated by many but I hope that this song will be heard and appreciated deeply. Tatsulok reminds us that our world is not getting any better from this venomous society. It teaches us that change is done with action and passion. We should look around us painstakingly to see the pain and shining eyes of our fellowmen and do the change together with them.

The last artwork is Ernest Concepcion’s, OMG Christ. As said earlier, this painting can be taken offensively or jokingly. It will depend on the age and mentality of an individual on how they will grasp the artwork presented. But if it was not stressed enough, Contemporary Art lets the artists freely express themselves. In this case, the artist will not care enough about society’s opinions about his artwork because he painted it to his own liking. These art forms are not entirely unique but the artwork OMG Christ is one that I can say is unique. The other two art forms simply show the struggles of individuals in the Philippine society, whilst, the painting can be decoded in a deeper meaning and is greatly vague to its audiences. All artworks have their own uniqueness and it stands out from the crowd. The difference between these three artworks is that the two songs picked a more common issue, while the painting can cause controversy. Albeit, these art forms provide us with wisdom and knowledge that we may or may not already know. These contemporary artworks made by Filipinos, pure-blooded or half-blooded alike, help us build our social environment to improve. Not only that but ourselves too. Art does not only symbolize the beauty or aesthetic around us, yet, it gives us a sublime outlook on life no matter how inadequate it may seem.