This document discusses how modern and contemporary artists have addressed social issues through their work. It provides examples of artists like Daumier, Kollwitz, Lawrence, and Hopper who brought attention to issues like social inequality, poverty, and isolation through realist paintings and drawings. The document also discusses Filipino artists like Ang Kiukok, Pablo Baens Santos, and Cesar Legaspi who addressed issues in Philippine society during the Marcos regime like political oppression, exploitation of peasants, and the dehumanization of labor through works like "Man of Fire" and "Gadgets." Overall, the document examines how modern art has served to shed light on and protest against important social, economic, and political issues of the

1. ARTS
1st – Art and Culture in the Modern and
Contemporary Eras
2nd- Composition of Art in the Modern and
Contemporary Eras
3rd- Combined Arts in the Modern and
Contemporary Eras
4th- Social Issues Confronting The Modern
and Contemporary Artists

3. Works of Diego Rivera, a social realist from Mexico

4. Global and Social Issues Affecting Art

5. What are the issues that need to
be addressed?
How modern artists helped in
addressing those issues?

6. Globalization, the state of the
environment and
technological advancements
have all affected human
condition.

7. 1. Globalization and World Peace Issues
Global Issues
-African immigration to Europe
-Violence between Middle East Countries
- SARS, H1N1, bird flu, HIV,
- Terrorism and suicide bombers
- Deadly Weapons
- Human Rights Violations
- Disparity between rich and poor nations
- Oil crisis
- Debt crisis

8. Philippines
-Government fighting for
insurgency
- Communist party and
waged intermittent war
against the government
-Firearms possession and
private armies
Campaign for Global Peace
is a common theme in
art competitions. Peace
education is expressed
through posters and
sculptural work.

9. 2. Environmental Issues
-population growth
- Balance of ecosystem
-deforestation
-destruction of coral reefs
-problem on waste and improper
disposal
-endangered species of animals
continue to disappear
These problems are addressed
through campaign posters.
Everyone must influence others
to become pro-environment.

10. 3. Technological Advancements
-fast communications
*use of land, sea, and air transportation
* use of satellites, cable telivisions, fax machines,
mobile phones, and -wide use of computers and
internet
- space explorations
- development in agriculture and food production
- discoveries in health and sciences
Advancement in science and technology has led to
diversity in the arts where improvisation,
innovation, and adaptation was experienced.

11. MODERN FILIPINO ARTISTS AND THEIR WORKS
Brenda Fajardo’s art moves back and forth from the
interior depths of the psyche to the somewhat
turbulent social surface of Filipino life and its
underlying problems, especially that of women.
Ana Fer deplores the state of the environment.
“Tigang na Lupa” (Parched Earth) -a mural,
depicting the earth as a wasteland, barren, and devoid
of forest and wildlife.

12. Arlene Villaver’s painting “Nang Pumutok ang Bulkan”
focuses on the sufferings of Aetas, the poor and
marginalized in Philippine society ( vulnerable to the
punishments inflicted by natural disasters)
Eduardo Castrillo expressed his reactions of the
country’s political conditions. One example is his
group sculpture, People Power. The monument
symbolizes our mother land and ordinary Filipino
people who participated in the peaceful revolution
that overthrew the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

14. Seated Figure
by Ang Kiukok
Ang Kiukok’s Seated
Figure depicts a person
in a most depressed
state. Seated, unmoving,
head down with hands
clasped, the human
being is shown resigned
to nothingness.

15. The Idol by Cesar
Legaspi
The Idol shows women
idolizing a man.
This is the artist’s reaction
to the impact of media
and entertainment on
the Filipino viewers.

16. SOCIAL REALITIES
IN
MODERN ART

17. In the visual arts, the style that
corresponds best to the new social
issues and awareness is called
realism.
The term was coined in 1840,
although the style itself appeared even
before that period, as shown in the
artworks of Honore Daumier and
Kathe Kollwitz.

19. The Third Class Carriage
by Honore Daumier

20. Honore Daumier
satirized the corruption of
political life, the legal system
judges, businessmen,
government officials and
bourgeois hypocrisy.

22. “Freedom of the Press”
The implication of the painting is
that the power of the press is
ultimately greater than that of a
king.
The figure in working class clothes is
Daumier’s hero.
He stands firm, with clenched fists
and a set determined jaw.
The impact of this painting was so
great that in 1835, France passed a
law limiting the freedom of the
press to verbal rather than
pictorial expression.

24. Whetting the Scythe
by Kathe Kollwitz
This painting brings the viewer into contact with the
emotional and material struggles of the working
classes. The presence of a scythe attributes to the Grim
Reaper or death and conforms to the woman’s rather
sinister quality.

25. American visual arts of the 1920s and 1930s
were affected by economic and
political events, particularly the
Depression and the rise of facism
in Europe. Art at this time, which
had political undertones, can be
seen in the works of American
socialists and regionalists.

26. Jacob Lawrence (1917)
African-American artist, dealt with the issue of racial
inequality and social injustice.
Laurence created a powerful image of the abolitionist
Harriet Tubman sawing a log. Tubman’s concentration
and her focus of energy on her task engage the
observer directly in her activity.

28. Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
American painter adds a scene of psychological isolation
and loneliness.
In Gas 1940, a lone figure stands by a gas pump. The
road, for Hopper is a symbol of travel and time that
seems to continue beyond the frame. Juxtaposed with
the road are the figure and station that “go nowhere,”
as if frozen within the space of the picture plane.

30. This shows how ordinary
people travel in Europe in the
1800s, where the train had
wagon that separates the rich
from the poor, who are in the
crowded ‘third class’

32. Potato Eaters
by Vincent Van Gogh
Poor family dining
in a poorly lit room.

33. 1960, Philippine society was
confronted by economic and
political issues of the Marcos
regime.

34. This is a period marked by political awareness and
strong nationalist temperament.
Student organizations spearheaded protest actions.
Highly expressionistic and neo-realists artworks
conveyed the anxieties and tensions of the period.
The traditionally beautiful and harmonious artworks
turned into powerful and aggressive works that
reflected a society in ferment. With the declaration of
Martial Law, on September 21, 1972, Social Realists
took the lead in protest art.

35. Ang Kiukok illustrated in vivid,
cubistic images the terror and angst of their times.
“Man of Fire” – shows a a shocking image of the human
condition in anguish and despair.
His painting depicts a world where poverty, suffering, cruelty
and violence abound.
Kiukok’s images erupted into forceful expressions of anger,
frustration and introduced these emotions like tongues of
fire, knives, fangs and claws in his images.

36. Pablo Baens Santos, a social realist,
makes a social commentary and protest as he deals with
the contemporary issues and condition of Philippine
society.
“Panginoong Maylupa”- the landlord is depicted as a
formidable-looking, bespectacled figure in collision
with a blond figure hovering above him.
He tramples heavily on the backs of the peasants to
cower in fright. The peasants are in various defeat,
suffering, supplication and initial defiance.

37. Cesar Legaspi, a neo-realist,
shows the relationship of man and machines in his painting,
Gadgets.
The men are seemingly transformed into a machine.
Their arms became machine parts fitting in with the cogs and
wheels and slabs of factories.
The theme suggests dehumanization of humans.
The theme can also be interpreted in the light of the
disadvantaged laborer or factory worker who deserves a fair
share in the fruits of his toil and is entitled to a more
humane treatment by the society, which exploits him
despite benefiting from his services.

39. Tell whether the following
statement is TRUE or FALSE.
1. The painting “Freedom of the Press” implicates that the
power of the press is ultimately greater than that of a king.
2. Realism in art serves as mirror of social issues.
3. Artists expresses their reactions to social conditions
through their art.
4. Pablo Baens Santos makes a social commentary and
protest as he deals with the temporary issues and condition
of Philippine socitey.
5. Gadgets shows the relationship of man and machines.

40. Assignment
Form a group with five members. Make an assemblage
expressing your reactions to any of the following social
conditions.
a. Poverty f. Corrupt government officials
b. Political dynasty g. Drug Trafficking
c. Quarrying h. Water pollution
d. Informal Settlers i. climate change
e. Improper Waste Disposal j. migration