|
Arts of the Philippines cover a variety of forms of entertainment. Folk art and Primitive art consist of classic and modern features that flourished as a result of European and Indigenous influences.
Literature of the Philippines
The literature of the Philippines illustrates the Prehistory and European colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous and Hispanic writing system. Most of the traditional literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, Tagalog, English and other native Philippine languages.
Performing Arts
Music
Muslim musicians in the southern Philippines, performing the Kulintang.
The early music of the Philippines featured a mixture of Indigenous, Islamic and a variety of Asian sounds that flourished before the European and American colonization in the 16th and 20th century. Spanish settlers and Filipinos played a variety of musical instruments, including flutes, guitar, ukelele, violin, trumpets and drums. They performed songs and dances to celebrate festive occasions. By the 21st century, many of the folk songs and dances have remained intact throughout the Philippines. Some of the groups that perform these folk songs and dances are the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, Barangay-Barrio, Hariraya , the Karilagan Ensemble, and groups associated with the guilds of Manila, and Fort Santiago theatres. Many Filipino musicians have risen prominence such as the composer and conductor Antonio J. Molina, the composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for his nationalistic themes and the opera singer Jovita Fuentes.
Modern day Philippine music features several styles. Most music genres are contemporary such as Filipino rock, Filipino hip hop and other musical styles. Some are traditional such as Filipino folk music.
Dance
A Chavacano dance in Hispanic tradition.
Philippine folk dances include the Tinikling and Cariñosa. In the southern region of Mindanao, Singkil is a popular dance showcasing the story of a prince and princess in the forest. Bamboo poles are arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing poles.
Visual arts
Folk art
Filipinos began creating artistic paintings in the 17th century during the Spanish period. The earliest paintings of the Philippines were religious imagery from Biblical sources, as well as engravings, sculptures and lithographs featuring Christian icons and European nobility. Most of the paintings and sculptures between the 19th, and 20th century produced a mixture of religious, political, and landscape art works, with qualities of sweetness, dark, and light. Early modernist painters such as Damián Domingo was associated with religious, and secular paintings. The art of Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo showed a trend for political statement. Artist such as Fernando Amorsolo used post-modernism to produce paintings that illustrated Philippine culture, nature and harmony. While other artist such as Fernando Zóbel used realities and abstract on his work.
Primitive art
A primitive Ifugao fabric.
Pottery, weaving, and wood carving are popular among Filipinos. Pottery was first made in the Philippines about 6000 B.C. The Manunggul jar, discovered in Palawan Island, is the most valued prehistoric artifact. The jar features carved scroll lines, a figure of a boat, a boatman and passenger and was painted with iron oxide,.
The sculptures of the Kankana-ey and Ifugao tribes possess a unique sculptural tradition. The bulol tradition features a pair of figures with primitive features carved in wood. They have religious significance, and are associated with the protection of rice harvests. The hagabi is perhaps the best example of a wood carving in the Philippines. It is a carved large wooden bench with pig-like heads sculpted at each end. The natives regard it as a sign of social status.
The Itneg tribes are known for their intricate weaving production. The binakol is a blanket which features optical illusion designs. Weavings of the Ga'dang tribe usually have bright red tones. Their weaving can also be identified by beaded ornamentation. Other tribes such as the Ilongot make jewelry from pearl, red hornbill beak, plants and metals.
The tribes of Mindanao such as the B'laan, Mandaya, Mansaka and T'boli became skilled in art of dyeing abaca fibre. Abaca is a plant, and its leaves are used to make fibre known as Manila hemp. The fibre is dyed by a method called ikat. Ikat textiles are woven into geometric patterns with human, animal and plant pictorial themes.
Islamic art
Islamic art in the Philippines have two main artistic styles. One is a curved-line woodcarving and metalworking called okir, similar to the Middle Eastern Islamic art. This style is associated with men. The other style is geometric tapestries, and is associated with women. The Tausug and Sama-Bajau exhibit their okir on elaborate markings with boat-like imagery. The Marananaos make similar carvings on housings called torogan. Weapons made by Muslim Filipinos such as the kampilan are skillfully carved.
Cinema and television
The advent of the Cinema of the Philippines can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking in 1897 when a Spanish theater owner screened imported moving pictures.
The formative years of Philippine cinema, starting from the 1930s, were a time of discovery of film as a new medium of expressing artworks. Scripts and characterizations in films came from popular theater shows and Philippine literature.
In the 1940s, Philippine cinema brought the consciousness of reality in its film industry. Nationalistic films became popular, and movie themes comprised primarily of war and heroism and proved to be successful with Philippine audiences.
The 1950s saw the first golden age of Philippine cinema. with the emergence of more artistic and mature films, and significant improvement in cinematic techniques among filmmakers. The studio system produced frenetic activity in the Philippine film industry as many films were made annually and several local talents started to gain recognition abroad. Award-winning filmmakers and actors were first introduced during this period. As the decade drew to a close, the studio system monopoly came under siege as a result of labor-management conflicts. By the 1960s, the artistry established in the previous years was in decline. This era can be characterized by rampant commercialism in films.
The 1970s and 1980s were considered turbulent years for the Philippine film industry, bringing both positive and negative changes. The films in this period dealt with more serious topics following the Martial law era. In addition, action, western, drama, adult and comedy films developed further in picture quality, sound and writing. The 1980s brought the arrival of alternative or independent cinema in the Philippines.
The 1990s saw the emerging popularity of drama, teen-oriented romantic comedy, adult, comedy and action films.
The Philippines, being one of Asia's earliest film industry producers, remains undisputed in terms of the highest level of theater admission in Asia. Over the years, however, the Philippine film industry has registered a steady decline in movie viewership from 131 million in 1996 to 63 million in 2004. From a high production rate of 350 films a year in the 1950s, and 200 films a year during the 1980s, the Philippine film industry production rate declined in 2006 to 2007. The 21st century saw the rebirth of independent filmmaking through the use of digital technology and a number of films have once again earned nationwide recognition and prestige.
Architecture
The Nipa hut (Bahay Kubo) is the mainstream form of housing. It is characterized by use of simple materials such as bamboo and coconut as the main sources of wood. Cogon grass, Nipa palm leaves and coconut fronds are used as roof thatching. Most primitive homes are built on stilts due to frequent flooding during the rainy season. Regional variations include the use of thicker, and denser roof thatching in mountain areas, or longer stilts on coastal areas particularly if the structure is built over water. The architecture of other indigenous tribes may be characterized by an angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place of leafy thatching and ornate wooden carvings.
The Spaniards introduced stones as housing and building materials. The introduction of Christianity brought European churches, and architecture which subsequently became the center of most towns and cities. Spanish architecture can be found in Intramuros, Vigan, Iloilo, Jaro and other parts of the Philippines. Islamic and other Asian architecture can also be seen depicted on buildings such as mosques and temples.
Contemporary architecture has a distinctively Western style although pre-Hispanic housing is still common in rural areas. American style suburban-gated communities are popular in the cities, including Manila, and the surrounding provinces.
Martial arts
Filipino martial arts is a term used to describe the numerous martial art forms that originated in the Philippines, similar to how Silat describes the martial arts practiced in Asia. Filipino martial arts include Panantukan (empty-handed techniques), Eskrima, Kali, Arnis de Máno (blade and stick fighting) and Pananjakman (kicking).
*source - wikipedia |
The Philippines 
