LOCAL

MATERIALS
USED IN
CONTEMPORA
RY ARTS
 LEARNING COMPETENCIES

MELCs: -Discusses local materials used in

creating art (CAR11/12TPP-0c-e-10)

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the week, students are
expected to:
o Identify local materials used in creating art
o Discuss local materials used in creating art
o Appreciate the importance of local
materials used in creating art
 Material is what the artwork is made of. It can also
be a combination of objects used in the artwork.
Contemporary artists recover materials that can be
recycled and made into creative forms. They can make
artworks that combine structure and wood and interact
with the wind to make music. Some artists combine
indigenous materials with textile and mount these on a
painted flat surface. Paper as an art medium is also
explored by artists. In outdoor sculpture, there is a lot
of use of brass welded together and mounted on
concrete. Wood and glass are used for indoor sculpture.
Found objects are combined and are covered with resin.
Painting is no longer confined to canvass hung on the
Some are done outdoors. Many local artists lead the
community or students in painting murals on walls to
make a more pleasant environment and raise
consciousness towards environmental protection. In
architecture, there is an extensive use of glass and
steel. Color combination is either complementary or
strong contrasting, such as orange and blue, red and
white. In performance art, artists use variety of props
such as rope, plastic, textile, and found objects. Paint is
also used in body art. Technology has also redefined art
in many ways. Because of the usefulness of new
materials to art-making, artists have to upgrade their
skills and learn the use of computer programs and its
This requires physical strength and special tools. Some
materials have chemical components that are
hazardous to the health such as resin, acid and
fiberglass. The availability and variety of materials and
the possibilities offered by technology expand the
choices of artists. This is essential to the development
of contemporary art. Local can refer to material that is
easily available. It can also refer to wherever the artist
finds himself or herself. It can also refer to language,
staging and techniques, and the ways by which they
can be used in adapting and translating foreign
material.
Artistic Skills and Techniques

With the broadening of the art world,

many people are getting confused about
what qualifies as an artistic skill. Artistic skills
are abilities that are possessed by artists
who operate within a fine art capacity.
Each artist uses different mediums to
develop their artistic skills. A medium is
defined as the material, or the substance out
of which a work is made. Through these
materials, the artists express and
communicate feelings and ideas.
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as
follows:

1. The sculptor uses metal, wood,

stone, clay, and glass. Sculptures fall
within the category of “three-
dimensional” arts because they
occupy space and have volume.
Pottery is a form of sculpture. Other
examples are nudes or figures such as
Guillermo Tolentino’s Oblation, ritual
objects such as bulul wood carvings in
the cordillera, or the santos or carvings
of saints in Christian churches.
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as
follows:
2. The architect uses wood, bamboo,
bricks, stone, concrete and various
building materials. Buildings are also
called “three-dimensional”. However,
architecture has the added element of
time since we move into structures.

3. The painter uses pigments (e. g.

watercolor, oil, tempera, textile paint,
acrylic, ink, etc.) on a usually flat
ground (wood, canvas, paper, stone
wall such as cave paintings.)
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as
follows:
4. The printmaker uses ink printed or
transferred on a surface (wood, metal plates, or
silk screen) that is keeping with a duplicating or
reproducing process. Prints and paintings are
further classified as “two-dimensional” arts,
because they include the surface or ground on
which coloring substances are applied.
However, while paintings are unique and one-
of-a kind, prints can be reproduced in several
pre-determined editions.
5. The musician uses sound and instruments
(including human voice), while the dancers use
the body. A T’boli chanter sings creation stories
in a way that is different from a classical singer
or pop music influenced by the Western music
scale.
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as
follows:
6. The dancer uses he body and its
movement. Dance is often accompanied by
music, but there are dances that do not rely
on musical accompaniment to be realized.
Dance can tell stories, but the other times,
they convey abstract ideas that do not rely
on a narrative.

7. The theater artist integrates all the arts

and uses the stage, production design,
performance elements, and script to enable
the visual, musical, dance and other
aspects to come together as a whole work.
The medium also defines the nature of the art form as
follows:
8. The photographer and filmmaker use the
camera to record the outside world. The
filmmaker uses the cinematographic camera to
record and put together production design,
sound engineering, performance, and
screenplay. In digital photography and film, the
images can be assimilated into the computer,
thus eliminating the need for celluloid or
negatives, processing chemicals, or print.

9. The writer of a novel, poetry, nonfiction,

and fiction uses words. The designer, the
performance artist and installation artist
combine use of the range or materials above.
 TECHNIQUE
Technique is the way artists use and
manipulate materials to achieve the desired formal
effect, and communicate the desired concept, or
meaning, according to his or her personal style
(modern, Neoclassic, etc.). The distinctive character
or nature of the medium determines the technique.
Technique involves tools and technology,
ranging from most traditional (for example carving,
silkscreen, analog photography, and filmmaking) to
the most contemporary (digital photography, digital
filmmaking, music production, industrial design, and
robotics).
 Here are some of art techniques used by artists.
1. Collage – is the technique of an art production used
in the visual arts where the artwork is made from on
assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new
whole. Collage may sometimes include magazines and
newspaper clippings, ribbons, paints, bits of colored or
handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts,
photographs, and other found objects, glued to a piece
of paper or canvas.

2. Decollage – is the opposite of collage; instead of an

image is being built up all or parts of existing images, it
is created by cutting, treating away or otherwise
removing pieces of an original image. The French word
“Decollage” in English means “Take-off” or “To become
Unglued” or “To become unstuck”. Example of
decollage include cut-up technique. Similar technique is
the lacerated poster, a poster in which one has been
over another.
3. Graffiti – are writing or drawings that have been
scribed, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or
other surface, often in a public space. Graffiti range
from simple written words to elaborate wall
paintings. Graffiti may express underlying social
and political messages, and a whole genre of
artistic expression is based spray paint graffiti
styles.

4. Land Art – earth works, or earth arts is an art

movement in which landscape and the work of art
are inextricably linked. It is also an art form that is
created in nature, using natural materials such as
soil, rock (bed rock, bolders, stones), organic
media (logs, branches, leaves), and water which
introduced materials such as concrete, metal
asphalt, or mineral pigments.
5. Digital Arts – is an artistic work or practice that uses digital
technology as an essential part of the creative or presentation
process. Digital art is work made with digital technology or
presented on digital technology. This includes images done
completely on computer or hand-drawn images scanned into a
computer and finished using a software program like Adobe
Illustrator. Digital art can also involve animation and 3D virtual
sculpture renderings as well as projects that combine several
technologies. Some digital art involves manipulation of video
images. After some resistance, the impact of digital technology has
transformed activities such as paintings, drawing, sculpture, and
music/sound art, while new form such as net art.
6. Mixed Media – It refers to a work of visual art that combines
various traditionally distinct visual art. For example, work on
canvas that combines paint, ink and collage. When creating a
painted or photograph work using mixed media, it is important to
choose the layers carefully and allow enough dying time between
the layers to ensure the final work will have structural integrity, if
many different layers are imposed. Many effects can be achieved
by using mixed media. Found objects can be used in conjunction
with the traditional artist to attain a wide range of self-expression.
7. Print Making – is the process of making
artworks by painting, normally in the paper. Prints
are created by transforming ink from a matrix ink
from a matrix or through a prepared screen to a
sheet of paper or other material. Common types of
matrices include metal plates, usually copper or
zinc, or polymer plates for engraving or etching;
stone aluminum of polymer for lithography; blocks
of wood crafts and wood graving; and linoleum for
linocuts. Screen made of silk or synthetic fabrics
are used for the screen-printing process.

8. Frottage – is the technique of rubbing with

crayon on a piece of paper which has been placed
over an object or an image. The impression of the
image can be created using leaves, woods, wire
screen, or metal with embossed image or words.
9. Decalcomania – is the process
of applying gouache to paper or
glass then transferring a reversal
of the image onto canvas or other
flat materials.

10. Decoupage – is done by

adhering cut-outs of paper and
then coating these with one or
transparent coating of varnish.
11. Eggshell mosaic - is an artistic
technique that uses tiny parts of eggshell to
create a whole image or object. Mosaics
are usually assembled using small tiles that
are square, but they can also be round or
randomly shaped.
12. Trapunto painting – is the technique
used by Pacita Abad where her canvases
are padded, sewn, and often filled with
sequins, beads, shell, buttons, tiny mirrors,
bits of glass, rickrack, swatches of precious
textiles and other things that she picks up
from her travels and journey.
How to celebrate
List some ways you can celebrate Black History
Month. Here are a few examples:
• Discover African American artists
• Read African American authors
• Listen to African American musicians
• Learn important moments of African American
history
Questions & answers
Invite questions from the audience