Philippines Arts and Cinema

Philippines Arts

CULTURE: ART

Isolated from the cultural influences of the ancient civilizations of the Asian continent, and yet known as a meeting point for Indian, Chinese, Muslim and colonial Western merchant traffic, deeply linked to Western aesthetic conceptions rather than those of the Eastern world, artistic production of the Philippines still seeks its own definition as “national” or “Filipino” art. Before the Spanish occupation, the artistic manifestations of indigenous cultures were limited to an ethnographic production of which the characteristic wooden sculptures of the Anitos they are the highest expression. As an alternative to indigenous cultures, Western art from the Spanish colonial era (16th-19th centuries) was inserted into local traditions, expressed above all in the opulent decorative baroqueism of the religious theme, which drew on the great examples of Spanish and Mexican art.: Manila, as a bishopric and government residence, is a synthesis of the art of the Philippines in this era, both in religious and civil architecture, and in the painting and sculpture created to decorate the buildings. In the sec. XX the different aesthetic solicitations of the European and American artistic currents offered new stimuli and impulses to the Filipino artists of the generations working after the Second World War, gathered around the Philippine Artistic Association, established in 1948. Among these, Victorio C. Edades (1895-1985), considered the father of modern Philippine painting, Napoleon Abueva (b. 1930), one of the greatest sculptors, and Carlos V. Francisco (1914-1969) deserve a mention., member with Edades and G. Ocampo (1913-1985) of the “Triumvirate”, Ang Kiukok (1931-2005). Contemporary production, aimed at achieving its own creative identity, is characterized on the one hand by the development of the mosaic technique and the spread of Mexican-derived murals, and on the other by the reinterpretation, according to local colors and sensibilities, of religious iconographies. Westerners, especially the theme of mother and child, among the greatest sculptors, and Carlos V. Francisco (1914-1969), member with Edades and G. Ocampo (1913-1985) of the “Triumvirate”, Ang Kiukok (1931-2005). Contemporary production, aimed at achieving its own creative identity, is characterized on the one hand by the development of the mosaic technique and the spread of Mexican-derived murals, and on the other by the reinterpretation, according to local colors and sensibilities, of religious iconographies. Westerners, especially the theme of mother and child, among the greatest sculptors, and Carlos V. Francisco (1914-1969), member with Edades and G. Ocampo (1913-1985) of the “Triumvirate”, Ang Kiukok (1931-2005).

According to animalerts, contemporary production, aimed at achieving its own creative identity, is characterized on the one hand by the development of the mosaic technique and the spread of Mexican-derived murals, and on the other by the reinterpretation, according to local colors and sensibilities, of religious iconographies. Westerners, especially the theme of mother and child, leitmotiv of Filipino art. The arts of wooden sculpture remain alive and productive, especially in the mountainous regions, and marble.

CULTUA: CINEMA

In the silent era, Hollywood products were the only food for a cinema-hungry population. On their imitation and in rudimentary studios they turned in the thirties of the century. XX the first films spoken in Tagalog. During the Second World War Manila and Luzon produced for the Japanese invaders. In the fifties they met in the West Genghis Khan by Lou Salvador, The snake on the cross by Gerardo de León (author in 1950 of the remarkable 48 hours), Badjao by Lamberto V. Avellana, all examples of the historical-chivalrous genre, cultivated until the Seventies with the sagas of Eddie Romero (So we were… and now?) And Mario O’Hara (3 beings and 3 years without God). But in that decade the first great Filipino filmmaker, Lino Brocka (1939-1991), led a nouvelle vague through flaming melodramas of lucid social and political contestation, among which at least Tinimbag (1973), Manila: in the clutches of darkness should be mentioned. (1975), Insiang (1977), Bona (1980), PX (1982), presented at the 1st Manila festival, Cain and Abel (1982), Bayan Ko (1984), Les Insoumis (1990). Others followed Brocka’s example: for example Kidlat Tahimik (The Scented Nightmare, 1976) and Mike de León (In the blink of an eye). The third millennium marks, on the one hand, a sort of halt in research in Filipino cinematography, for which several works yield too evidently to the imitation of Western models, and American ones in particular, and, on the other, the emergence and the establishment of some filmmakers on a global level. Between these two artists, now known to the international public. Lav Diaz (b.1958) director and screenwriter, is the author of Serafin Geronimo: kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion (1998; The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion), Hesus rebolusyunaryo (2002; Jesus Revolutionary), and more recently, of Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engkanto (2007; Morte nella terra degli Encantos), winner of a special prize in Venice and final act of a trilogy composed of Evolution of a Filipino Family (2005) and Heremias (2006); Auraeus Solito (b. 1969) in 2005 directed Tuli and Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Ang (Il fiorire by Maximo Oliveros), both of which were awarded multiple awardsat the Berlin Film Festival and the Sundance Festival. Filipino cinema obtained other international awards: in 2010 the director Monster Jimenez won the award for best documentary at the 12th Cinemanila International Film Festival with the film Kano: an American and His Harem (Kano: an American and his harem), also recognized as best first film at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (2010), while in 2014 the aforementioned Lav Diaz won the Pardo dʼOro 2014 at the Locarno Film Festival with the film Mula sa kung ano ang noon (From What Is Before).

Philippines Arts