Lesson 4: Philippine Contemporary Artists

Filipino artists today, especially the younger ones, are a different breed from their predecessors.
They no longer cling to Western ideals but develop their own system of beliefs, forms, and styles
by adopting the rich heritage of Philippine folklore, customs, and traditions. They are also
conscious of the role they play in society because they know that their tools are powerful. They
know that through their pen, brush, music, drama or dance, they are able to generate a critical
response, thus, becoming agents of change.
You have discovered that these artists play a significant role in the preservation and promotion
of our culture through their respective artworks. Fernando Amorsolo, a National Artist for
Painting, Fernando Poe, Jr., a National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, and Lang Dulay, a
Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan, were notable Filipino artists recognized by the country because
of their great contributions and the impact they have had to the Filipino nation.
In this part, you will learn more about the Filipino artists and their role and contributions to
Filipino society.

Philippine Contemporary Arts

Filipino artists play a role in presenting and educating the public about our history, culture,
society, and identity.
As a rule, the Filipino artist’s role is four-fold: the personal, the social, the physical, and the
immaterial.
First, the artist expresses what he or she feels. Then, the artist expresses what he or she sees
around him or her. Also, the artist finds a need to create something useful but also pleasing to
look at. Finally, the artist gives form to the immaterial, the hidden truths of the universe and the
spiritual force that inhabits the world. Because of these roles, the artist is able to refine us and to
elevate our sense of what is beautiful and sublime.
An artist reflects the time and culture of his period but seen in a different light. In this way, he or
she gets to influence his reader, viewer, listener, intentionally or unintentionally.
The artist is a crusader, attempting to sway the viewer to his or her side. In the past decades,
there has been a rise in national fervor. The Filipino artist has become a social critic, exposing
the inequalities of life, the effects of urbanization, globalization, and neocolonialism, evident in
most contemporary works today. The artist has also become
an advocate for what he or she believes in. he or she creates an artistic controversy, thereby
becoming an agent of change.
The Filipino artist is versatile. He or she creates, not only to realize his or her personal fulfillment,
but also express a point of view. He or she is a storyteller, narrating everyday life of
extraordinary events: presenting cultures in different lights, and recording and preserving history
for future generations to see.
National Artists of the Philippines
There are many significant Filipino artists who have made a mark for the development of Filipino
society.
Many of them have made significant contributions in their own fields, earning them the Order of
National Artists. It has been established by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1001 s. 1972
and aims “to give appropriate recognition and prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished
themselves and made outstanding contributions to Philippine arts and letters.” The Order of
National Artists is the highest award conferred by the President of the Philippines to the nation’s
artists.
The categories for the Order of National Artists are music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature,
film and broadcast arts, and architecture or allied arts.
The awarding of the Order is administered by the Order of the National Artists Secretariat –
NCCA and CCP- and is conferred by the President of the Philippines every three years. Cultural
organizations, educational institutions, and private foundations and councils may submit
nominations for the Order once the Secretariat announces the opening of nominations. The
Secretariat then screens and deliberates the nominations before submitting a list of
recommended nominees to the President. After this, the President will decide the final list of
awardees and will then issue a proclamation, conferring the rank and title on the awardees.
The Order of National Artist (ONA) [Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining] is the highest
national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the
development of Philippine arts. It aims to recognize:
a. Filipino artists who have made significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the
country;
b. Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest level and to promote creative expression as
significant to the development of a national cultural identity; and
c. Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives to their works to forge new paths and
directions for future generations of Filipino artists.
The Order of National Artist shall be given to artists who have met the following
criteria:
a. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination and at the awarding,
as well as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were
Filipino citizens at the time of their death.
b. Artists who through the content and form of their works have contributed in building
a Filipino sense of nationhood.
c. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus, earning
distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists.
d. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of works and/or
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus, enriching
artistic expression or style.
e. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:
e.1 Prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as the Gawad CCP
para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award, and NCCA Haraya Awards (Alab and
Dangal)
e.2 Critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works
e.3 Respect and esteem from peers.

*Guidelines of the Order of National Artist was taken from https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-

arts/culture- profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/order-of-national-artist-guidelines/

LIST OF NATIONAL ARTISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

Awardee Date of Category
Award

1. Fernando Amorsolo (++) 1972 Painting

2. Francisca R. Aquino (+) 1973 Dance

3. Carlos V. Francisco (++) 1973 Painting

4. Amado V. Hernandez (++) 1973 Literature

5. Antonio J. Molina (+) 1973 Music

6. Juan F. Nakpil (+) 1973 Architecture

7. Guillermo E. Tolentino (+) 1973 Sculpture

8. Jose Garcia Villa (+) 1973 Literature

9. Napoleon V. Abueva 1976 Sculpture

10. Lamberto V. Avellana (+) 1976 Theater and Film

11. Leonor O. Goquingco (+) 1976 Dance

12. Nick Joaquin (+) 1976 Literature

13. Jovita Fuentes (+) 1976 Music

14. Victorio C. Edades (+) 1976 Painting

15. Pablo S. Antonio (++) 1976 Architecture

16. Vicente S. Manansala (++) 1981 Painting

17. Carlos P. Romulo (+) 1982 Literature

18. Gerardo de Leon (++) 1982 Cinema

19. Honorata “Atang” dela Rama (++) 1987 Theater and Music

20. Antonino R. Buenaventura (+) 1988 Music

21. Lucrecia R. Urtula (+) 1988 Dance

22. Lucrecia R. Kasilag (+) 1989 Music

23. Francisco Arcellana (+) 1990 Literature

24. Cesar F. Legaspi (+) 1990 Visual Arts

25. Leandro V. Locsin (+) 1990 Architecture

26. Hernando R. Ocampo (++) 1991 Visual Arts

27. Lucio D. San Pedro (+) 1991 Music

28. Lino Brocka (++) 1997 Cinema

29. Felipe P. de Leon (++) 1997 Music

30. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (++) 1997 Theater

31. Rolando S. Tinio (++) 1997 Theater & Literature

32. Levi Celerio (+) 1997 Music & Literature

33. N.V.M. Gonzales (++) 1997 Literature

34. Arturo R. Luz 1997 Visual Arts

35. Jose M. Maceda (+) 1997 Music

36. Carlos Quirino (+) 1997 Historical Literature

37. J. Elizalde Navarro (++) 1999 Painting

38. Prof. Andrea Veneracion (+) 1999 Music

39. Edith L. Tiempo (+) 1999 Literature

40. Daisy H. Avellana (+) 1999 Theater

41. Ernani J. Cuenco (++) 1999 Music

42. F. Sionil Jose 2001 Literature

43. Ang Kiukok (+) 2001 Visual Arts

44. Ishmael Bernal (++) 2001 Cinema

45. Severino Montano (++) 2001 Theater

46. Jose T. Joya (++) 2003 Visual Arts (Painting)

47. Virgilio S. Almario 2003 Literature

48. Alejandro R. Roces (+) 2003 Literature

49. Eddie S. Romero (+) 2003 Cinema & Broadcast Arts

50. Salvador F. Bernal (+) 2003 Theater Design

 51. Benedicto R. Cabrera 2006 Visual Arts

52. Abdulmari Asia Imao 2006 Visual Arts

53. Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera 2006 Literature

54. Ramon Obusan (+) 2006 Dance

55. Fernando Poe Jr. (++) 2006 Cinema

56. Archt. Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr. (+) 2006 Landscape Architecture

57. Ramon O. Valera (++) 2006 Fashion Design

58. Manuel Conde (++) 2009 Film

59. Lázaro Francísco (++) 2009 Literature

60. Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (+) 2009 Visual Arts

61. Alice Reyes 2014 Dance

62. Francisco V. Coching (++) 2014 Visual Arts

63. Cirilo F. Bautista 2014 Literature

64. Francisco F. Feliciano(++) 2014 Music

65. Ramon P. Santos 2014 Music

66. Jose Maria V. Zaragoza (++) 2014 Architecture

Legend: (+) deceased; (++) posthumous conferment.

Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/lists/national-artists-of-the-
philippines/

Fernando Amorsolo
National Artist for
Visual Arts (May 30,
1892 – April 24,
1972)

The country had its first

National Artist in Fernando C.
Amorsolo. The official title “Grand Old
Man of Philippine Art” was bestowed
on Amorsolo when the Manila Hilton
inaugurated its art center on
January 23, 1969, with an exhibit of
a selection of his works. Returning
from his studies abroad in the 1920s,
Amorsolo developed the backlighting
technique that became his trademark
were figures, a cluster of leaves, a
spill of hair, the swell of breast, are
seen aglow on canvas. This light,
Nick Joaquin opines, is the rapture of
a sensualist utterly in love with the
earth, with the Philippine sun, and
is an accurate expression of
Amorsolo’s own exuberance. His
citation underscores all his years of
creative activity which have “defined
and perpetuated a distinct element of
the nation’s artistic and cultural
heritage”.
 Among others, his major works include the
following: Maiden in a Stream (1921)-GSIS
collection; El Ciego (1928)-Central Bank of the
Philippines collection; Dalagang Bukid (1936) – Club
Filipino collection; The Mestiza (1943) – National
Museum of the Philippines collection; Planting Rice
(1946)-UCPB collection; Sunday Morning Going to
Town (1958)-Ayala Museum Collection.

Levi Celerio
National Artist for Literature /
Music (1997) (April 30, 1910 –
April 2, 2002)

Levi Celerio is a prolific lyricist and

composer for decades. He effortlessly
translated/wrote anew the lyrics to
traditional melodies: “O Maliwanag Na
Buwan” (Iloko), “Ako ay May Singsing”
(Pampango), “Alibangbang” (Visaya)
among others.

Born in Tondo, Celerio received his scholarship at the Academy of Music

in Manila that made it possible for him to
join the Manila Symphony Orchestra, becoming its youngest member.
He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person
able to make music using just a leaf.

A great number of his songs have been written for the local movies,
which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film
Academy of the Philippines. Levi Celerio, more importantly, has
enriched the Philippine music for no less than two generations with a
treasury of more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to
appeal to all social classes.

Fernando Poe, Jr.

National Artist for Cinema (2006)
(August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004)

Ronald Allan K. Poe, popularly known

as Fernando Poe, Jr., was a cultural
icon of tremendous audience impact
and cinema artist and craftsman–as
actor, director, writer and producer. *

The image of the underdog was projected in his films such as Apollo
Robles (1961), Batang Maynila (1962), Mga
Alabok sa Lupa (1967), Batang Matador and Batang Estibador (1969),
Ako ang Katarungan (1974), Tatak ng Alipin (1975), Totoy Bato (1977),
Asedillo (1981), Partida (1985), and Ang Probinsyano (1996), among
many others. The mythical hero, on the other hand, was highlighted in
Ang Alamat (1972), Ang Pagbabalik ng Lawin (1975) including his
Panday series (1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) and the action adventure films
adapted from komiks materials such as Ang Kampana sa Santa Quiteria
(1971), Santo Domingo (1972), and Alupihang Dagat (1975), among
others.
Poe was born in Manila on August 20, 1939. After the death of his
father, he dropped out of the University of the East in his sophomore
year to support his

family. He was the second of six siblings. He married actress Susan

Roces in a civil ceremony in December 1968. He died on December 14,
2004.

*(from the citation)

Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA)

The Philippines also honors artists who are engaged in folk or traditional
arts and who have reached a high level of technical skill and artistic
excellence. The award is called the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan
(GAMABA) or National Living Treasures Award.

The categories for GAMABA are folk architecture, maritime transport,

weaving, carving, performing arts, literature, graphic, and plastic arts,
ornament, textile or fiber art, pottery, and other artistic expressions of
traditional culture.

This award was institutionalized by 1992 Republic Act No. 7355, with
the NCCA in charge of its implementation. The process or awarding a
Manlilikha ng Bayan is similar to that of the Order of the National
Artists. However, only NCCA’s ad hoc panel of experts and reviewers
will screen and review the nominations. They will then submit the list to
the President of the Philippines for proclamation.

First awarded in 1993 to three outstanding artists in music and poetry, the Gawad
sa Manlilikha ng Bayan has its roots in the 1988 National Folk Artists Award
organized by the Rotary Club of Makati-Ayala. As a group, these folk and traditional
artists reflect the diverse heritage and cultural traditions that transcend their
beginnings to become part of our national character. As Filipinos, they bring age-
old customs, crafts and ways of living to the attention and appreciation of
Filipino life. They provide us with a vision of ourselves and of our nation, a vision we
might be able to realize someday, once we are given the opportunity to be true to
ourselves as these artists have remained truthful to their art.

As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen

engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have
reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have been
passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her
community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.

How Does One Become a Manlilikha ng Bayan?

To become a “Manlilikha ng Bayan”, the candidate must possess the
following qualifications:
1. He/she is an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural
community anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous
customs, beliefs, rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever
external elements that have influenced it.
2. He/she must have engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence and
 documented for at least fifty (50) years.
3. He/she must have consistently performed or produced over a significant period,
works of superior and distinctive quality.
4. He/she must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by the art, and must
have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of
extraordinary technical quality.
5. He/she must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the community
their skills in the folk art for which the community is traditionally known.

A traditional artist who possesses all the qualities of a Manlilikha ng Bayan candidate, but due to
age or infirmity has left him/her incapable of teaching further his/her craft, may still be
recognized if:
6. He/she had created a significant body of works and/or has consistently displayed
excellence in the practice of his/her art, thus achieving important contributions for
its development.
7. He/she has been instrumental in the revitalization of his/her community’s
8. artistic tradition.
9. He/she has passed on to the other members of the community skills in the folk art
for which the community is traditionally known.
10. His/her community has recognized him/her as master and teacher of his/her craft.

Hooray! It has been a meaningful and fun learning knowing the National Artists
of the Philippines from the different categories and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan (GAMABA) awardees! What a way to explore the beauty of contemporary arts
in the country.
And what could be more significant than to discover the life of our very own
GAMABA, the pride of the Region XII- SOCSKSARGEN, the National Living
Treasure, Lang Dulay!
The life of the great Lang Dulay and realize how incredible her contributions are
to the preservation and promotion of the T’boli culture. This article helps you
understand more the culture of T’nalak weaving in T’boli, South Cotabato.

National Living Treasure: Lang Dulay

Get to know more the

Region XII’s recipient of
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan (GAMABA), Lang
Dulay.

LANG DULAY (+2015)

Textile Weaver
T’boli
Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
1998

Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay speaks more eloquently than
words can. Images from the distant past of her people, the Tbolis, are recreated
by her nimble hands – the crocodiles, butterflies, and flowers, along with
mountains
and streams, of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, where she and her ancestors
were born – fill the fabric with their longing to be remembered. Through her
weaving, Lang Dulay does what she can to keep her people’s traditions alive.
There are a few of them left, the traditional weavers of the tnalak or Tboli
cloth. It is not hard to see why: weaving tnalak is a tedious process that begins
with stripping the stem of the abaca plant to get the fibers, to coaxing even
finer fibers for the textile, then drying the threads and tying each strand by hand.
Afterward, there is the delicate task of setting the strands on the “bed-tying” frame
made of bamboo, with an eye towards deciding which strands should be tied to
resist the dye. It is the bud or tying of the abaca fibers that define the design.
A roll of tnalak must be individually set on a back strap loom, so called
because of the broad band the weaver sets against her back to provide tension
to the work. There is great strain on the weaver’s back and eyes, particularly
since Tboli women are required to help out in the fields to augment the family
income. It is only after the farm work is done that the weaver can sit down to
her designs. Also, due to the peculiarity of the fiber, of its getting brittle under
the noon day sun, working on it is preferred during the cool evenings or early
morn.
Lang Dulay knows a hundred designs, including the bulinglangit (clouds),
the bankiring (hair bangs), and the kabangi (butterfly), each one special for the
stories it tells. Using red and black dyes, she spins her stories with grace. Her
textiles reflect the wisdom and the visions of her people.
Before the 1960s, the Tboli bartered tnalak for horses, which played an
important role in their work. Upon the establishment of the St. Cruz Mission,
which encouraged the community to weave and provided them with a means to
market their produce, the tnalak designs gained widespread popularity and enable
weavers like Lang to earn a steady income from their art. However, the demand
also resulted in the commercialization of the tnalak industry, with outsiders
coming in to impose their own designs on the Tboli weavers.
Ironically modern designs get a better price than the traditional ones.
Despite this, and the fact that those modern designs are easier to weave, Lang
persists in doing things the old, if harder, way, to give voice, in effect, to the
songs that were her elders’ before her. Her textiles are judged excellent because
of the “fine even quality of the yarn, the close interweaving of the warp and weft,
the precision in the forms and patterns, the chromatic integrity of the dye, and the
consistency of the finish.”
She was only 12 when she first learned how to weave. Through the years,
she has dreamed that, someday she could pass on her talent and skills to the
young in her community. Four of her grandchildren have themselves picked up the
shuttle and are learning to weave.
With the art comes certain taboos that Tboli weavers are careful to
observe, such as passing a single abaca thread all over the body before weaving
so as not to get sick. Lang Dulay never washes the tnalak with soap, and avoids
using soap when she is dyeing the threads in order to maintain the pureness of
the abaca.
Upon learning that she was being considered to be one of the Gawad sa
Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees, tears of joy fell from her eyes. She thought of the
school that she wanted to build, a school where the women of her community
could go to perfect their art.
https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/gamaba/national-living-
treasures-lang-dulay/)