Folk graphic and plastic

arts
• A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression,
typically two-dimensional, produced on a flat surface. Graphic art further includes
calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery.

• Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium
by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be
used broadly for all the visual arts(such as painting, sculpture, film and
photography), as opposed to literature and music.
• The fields under folk graphic and plastic arts are tattooing, folk writing, and
folk drawing and painting.
Folk writing
(calligraphy)
• The Philippines has numerous indigenous
scripts collectively called as suyat. each of
which has their own forms and styles of 
calligraphy.
• Various ethno-linguistic groups in the
Philippines prior to Spanish colonization in
the 16th century up to the independence
era in the 21st century have used the
scripts with various mediums.
• By the end of colonialism, only four of
the suyat scripts survived and continue
to be used by certain communities in
everyday life. 
Folk writing (calligraphy)
• These four scripts are: 
• hanunó'o/hanunoo of the Hanuno'o Mangyan people, 
• buhid/build of the Buhid Mangyan people, 
• Tagbanwa script of the Tagbanwa people,
• palaw'an/pala'wan (ibalnan) of the Palaw'an people.

• All four scripts were inscribed in the UNESCO 

Memory of the World Programme, under the name Philippine
Paleographs (Hanunoo, Buid, Tagbanua and Pala’wan), in 1999
 hanunó'o/hanunoo of the Hanuno'o Mangyan people

• Mangyan is the
generic name for the
eight indigenous
groups found on
the island in Mindoro,
southwest of
the island of Luzon,
the Philippines, each
with its own tribal
name, language, and
customs. 
buhid/build of the Buhid Mangyan people
 Tagbanwa script of the Tagbanwa people

• The Tagbanwa people are
one of the oldest ethnic groups
in the Philippines, and can be
mainly found in the central and
northern Palawan. Research
has shown that the Tagbanwa
are possible descendants of
the Tabon Man, thus making
them one of the original
inhabitants of the Philippines.
 palaw'an/pala'wan (ibalnan) of the Palaw'an people

• The Palawan tribal people, also

known as the Palawano or
the Palaw'an, are an
indigenous ethnic group of the
Palawan group of islands in the
Philippines. Palawanos are
more popularly known as
Palawans, which is pronounced
faster than the name of the
province.
Folk writing (calligraphy)
• Due to dissent from colonialism, many artists and cultural experts have
revived the usage of suyat scripts that went extinct due to Spanish
persecution.
• These scripts being revived include:
• the kulitan script of the Kapampangan people,
• the badlit script of various Visayan ethnic groups,
• the iniskaya script of the Eskaya people,
• the baybayin script of the Tagalog people,
• the sambali script of the Sambal people,
• the basahan script of the Bicolano people,
• the sulat pangasinan script of the Pangasinense people,
• the kur-itan or kurdita script of the Ilocano people,
 Kulitan script of the Kapampangan people

• The Kapampangan people 
(Kapampangan: Taung Kapampangan), 
Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the
sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the 
Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in
2010.

• They live mainly in the provinces of 

Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, as well as 
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Zambales.
 Badlit script of various Visayan ethnic groups

• Visayans (Visayan: Mga Bisaya, local
pronunciation or Visayan people), are a 
Philippine ethnolinguistic group native to
the whole Visayas, the southernmost
islands of Luzon and many parts of 
Mindanao. They are the largest ethnic
group in the 
geographical division of the country when
taken as a single group, numbering some
33.5 million.
 Iniskaya script of the Eskaya people

• The Eskaya, less commonly

known as the Visayan-Eskaya,
is the collective name for the
members of a cultural minority
 found in Bohol, Philippines,
which is distinguished by its
cultural heritage, particularly its
literature, language, dress and
religious observances.
 Baybayin script of the Tagalog people

• The Tagalog people are the second largest 

ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines after the 
Visayan people, numbering at around 30 million.
An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well
developed society due to their cultural
heartland, Manila, being the capital city of the
Philippines. They are native to the Metro Manila 
and Calabarzon regions of southern Luzon, as
well as being the largest group in the provinces
of Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija and 
Aurora in Central Luzon and in the islands of 
Marinduque and Mindoro in Mimaropa.
 Sambali script of the Sambal people

•The Sambal people are a 
Filipino ethnolinguistic group
 living primarily in the 
province of Zambales and
the Pangasinense 
municipalities of Bolinao and 
Anda. The term may also
refer to the general
inhabitants of Zambales.
 Basahan script of the Bicolano people

•The Bicolano people or the 

Bikolanos (Bikol: Mga Bikolnon) are the
fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group
. Males are usually referred to as Bicolano
and Bicolana is used for females. Their
native region is commonly referred to as 
Bicolandia, which comprises the entirety
of the Bicol Peninsula and neighbouring
minor islands, all in the southeast portion
of Luzon.
 Sulat Pangasinan script of the Pangasinense people

•Pangasinan people 
(Pangasinan: Totoon Pangasinan), also
known as Pangasinense, are an 
ethnolinguistic group native to the
Philippines. Numbering 1,823,865 in 2010,
they are the tenth largest ethnolinguistic
group in the country.They live mainly in their
native province of
 Pangasinan and the adjacent provinces of 
La Union and Tarlac, as well as 
Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, and 
Nueva Vizcaya.
 Kur-itan or kurdita script of the Ilocano people

• The Ilocanos (Ilocano: Tattao
nga Iloko/Ilokano), Ilokanos,
or Iloko people are the third
largest 
Filipino ethnolinguistic group and
mostly reside within the Ilocos
Region in the northwestern
seaboard of Luzon, Philippines.
Folk drawing and
painting
• Folk drawings have been known for
thousands of years in the
archipelago. The oldest folk drawing
is the rock drawings and engravings
which include the petroglyphs in 
Angono (Rizal), which was created
during the Neolithic age of the
Philippines, corresponding to 6000
BC to 2000 BC. The drawings have
been interpreted as religious in
nature, with infant drawings made to
relieve the sickness of children
Folk drawing and
painting

• Another known petroglyph

is in Alab (Bontoc), which
is dated to be not later
than 1500 BC, and
represents symbols of
fertility such as the
pudenda.
Folk drawing and
painting

• The petrographs of 

Peñablanca in
Cagayan compose
charcoal drawings.
Folk drawing and
painting

• The petrographs of 

Singnapan in southern
Palawan are also
drawn with charcoal.
Folk drawing and
painting

• The petrograhs in 

Anda (Bohol)
comppose drawings
made with red
hematite.
Folk drawing and
painting

• Recently discovered petrographs in 

Monreal (Ticao), Masbate include
drawings of monkeys, human faces,
worms or snakes, plants,
dragonflies, and birds.
 Folk drawing and painting
• Folk paintings, like folk drawings, are works
of art that usually include depictions of folk
culture. Evidences suggest that the people of
the archipelago have been painting and
glazing their potteries for thousands of years.
Pigments used in paintings range from gold,
yellow, reddish purple, green, white, blue-
green, to blue.
• Statues and other creations have also been
painted on by various ethnic groups, using a
variety of colors.
• Paintings on skin with elaborate designs is
also a known folk art which continue to be
practiced in the Philippines, especially
among the Yakan people.
 Tattooing

• Tattooing was introduced by

Austronesian ancestors thousands
of years ago, where it developed
into cultural symbols in a variety of
ethnic groups. Although the
practice has been in place for
thousands of years, its
documentation was first put on
paper in the 16th century, where
the bravest Pintados (people of
central and eastern Visayas) were
the most tattooed.
 Tattooing
• Similar tattooed peoples were documented among the
Bicolanos of Camarines and Tagalogs of Marinduque. 
• Tattooed people in Mindanao include the Manobo, where their
tattoo tradition is called pang-o-túb.
• The T'boli also tattoo their skin, believing that the tattoos glow
after death, guiding the soul in its journey into the afterlife.
• But perhaps the most popular tattooed people in the Philippines
are the highland peoples of Luzon collectively called the Igorot,
where they are traditionally tattooed prior to colonization.
Whang-od

Whang-od Oggay (born February 17,

1917),also known as Maria Oggay, is
a Filipino tattoo artist from Buscalan, 
Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines. She is
often described as the "last" and
oldest mambabatok 
(traditional Kalinga tattooist) and is
part of the Butbut people of the larger
Kalinga ethnic group.
Paper Crafts
Paper marbling

• Paper marbling is a type of

design where patterns are
created on the surface of
paper that resemble marble
stone. This is accomplished
by using water that makes
the colors used float and
swirl. It is then transferred
to the paper.
ORIGAMI (PAPER FOLDING)

• Origami is an ancient Asian

art form that involves paper
folding. The folding of the
square-shaped paper
ultimately creates a shape or
figure of choice. The most
common type of origami
found is in the form of
animals.
PAPERMAKING

• Papermaking is the process of

creating matted sheet with the
goal of making paper or
cardboard. It is documented
that paper making was
invented in China as far back
as 105 A.D. Originally
papermaking was done by hand
but now-a-days it is created by
machinery.
CAST PAPER

• Cast paper is a type of paper

making technique that
involves fibers being formed
by using a mold. Cotton
fiber is often used but
sometimes it is mixed with
other material depending on
the texture desired.
DECOUPAGE

• Decoupage is a type of surface

decorating that is done by
applying many cutouts of
material like paper and then
layers of finish are applied on
top to seal it. The word
“decoupage” comes from the
Middle French term
“decouper”, which means “cut
from something”.
PAPERCUTTING

• Papercutting is the act of

forming paper designs by
cutting it. Sometimes the
designs are cut using a single
sheet of paper and sometimes
multiple sheets are used
depending on the design
wanted. The oldest paper cut
object is a circle that is from
6th century China.
IRIS FOLDING

• Iris folding is the act of

folding colored paper strips
in order to form a pattern.
This art form is known to
come from 20th century
Holland. It is called “iris
folding” because of the
center of the design that
resembles an iris.
PAPER EMBOSSING

• Paper embossing the

technique of raised designs
in paper. The design appears
to be three dimensional. The
opposite of this is debossing
where the design appears to
sink into the paper.
BOOKBINDING

• Bookbinding is the act of

sewing stacks of paper
together. This can be
achieved by hand or
machine. It is thought that
this art derives from India
where palm leaves were
used to write religious text
on.
QUILLING

• Quilling is the process of

using paper strips to
decorate. This is done on
items like boxes, cards,
books, jewelry and more.
The paper strips are shaped
in different ways like curled,
rolled, and stacked to create
a three-dimensional effect.
PAPIER-MÂCHÉ

• Papier-mâché is a material
made out of paper pulp that
is mixed with adhesive like
glue or paste. The material is
then shaped into whatever
object desired. The term
“papier-mâché” comes from
the French word “papje
mɑʃe,” which means
“chewed paper.”
PAPER MODEL

• A paper model is a model

constructed out of thick sheets
of material like paperboard and
cardstock. The first paper
models were found in Europe
during the 17th century. This art
is traditionally done by hand but
these days, we have technology
like 3D printers to easily print
off a fully formed paper model.
PARCHMENT
CRAFT
• Parchment craft (which is
also known as pergamano) is
a paper craft art that
involves embossing
decorative designs on
parchment paper. It is
believed that this art form
originated during the 15th
and 16th century in Europe.
CALLIGRAPHY

• Calligraphy is a type of artistic

handwriting that involves
using a broad tip tool that
helps to create variations in
thickness of the lines written.
The term “calligraphy” comes
from the Greek word
“kalligraphos” which means “a
person who writes beautifully.”