Justiniani,
Borlongan and Flores eventually formed their own collective, Sanggawa,
with artists Federico Sievert, Joy Mallari, and Emmanuel Garibay. In
contrast to Salingpusa's interactive mode of painting where different
styles are wittingly mixed in one work, Sanggawa members strive to mix
their individual styles to create one work (hence, the name isang gawa)
that appears to be executed by one artist. The raison d' etre of collective
work is to counteract Western art's cult of the individual artist. Furthermore,
Sanggawa's highly political subjects differ from those of Salingpusa's
scenes of contemporary life, thus marking them out as a new group and
not merely an extension of the previous one. Discourses have multiplied
in the late 90's as concerns have diversified and the field of probing
grows wider. Gender issues, women's issues and environmentalism have
become the subjects of many artists and artists groups. Brenda Fajardo,
a leader in the women artists group, Kasibulan, initially worked along
the lines of social realist modes of representation. Later, in her Tarot
Card series she has created didactic spaces with paper and ink that
directly comment on historical events, especially women's history by
juxtaposing folk tarot images and historical scenes. Conclusion: Philippines
at the Crossroads The diversity of form, style and discourse in Philippine
Contemporary Art is a result of the intense soul-searching of the 1980's.
With the expansion of art's scope into anthropology and history, more
discursive methods and artistic processes where needed. The previously
dominant visual language associated with 70's "high art" has made significant
contributions to the process of decoding and deconstructing the culture.
Conceptual art, although seen as a superfluous discipline in the previous
decade, is being integrated into contemporary art making in the Philippines.
Another significant cause of this plurality is the increased awareness
of the artists' status in the society. Marginalized artists in the provinces
have raised questions about the privileges of Manila-based artists.
This bias was challenged by the rise of Visayan artists in the early
80's and the increasing number of art activities in regions outside
of Manila. The Baguio Arts Guild in the north and the Black Artists
of Asia, VIVA and ExCon in the south became legitimate venues of art
discourse in the later years. Artists from these regions such as Nunelucio
Alvarado, Norberto Roldan Charlie Co, Dennis Ascalon, Roberto Villanueva,
Willy Magtibay, John Frank Sabado and Kidlat Tahimik a.k.a. Eric de
Guia are slowly integrating their discourses into the new mainstream.
Artists are hoping these developments will resonate in more provinces
and generate a collective impetus for determining a truly Filipino expression.
Ronald Hilario paints, sculpts, and does freelance writing. He has been
working for the Ayala Museum as an art teacher since 1997. He organized
and coordinated the Philippine Art Awards 1998, the local leg of the
regional ASEAN Art Awards, which includes Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,
Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. He does research on contemporary
Philippine art and he plans to concentrate on this work in the near
future.