Arts of the Philippines

Arts of the Philippines is diverse. Weaving is popular in the northern part of the Philippines. Pottery is also common in pre-Hispanic societies. Ornate carvings are found in the southern Philippine islands. Similarly, wooden art is also quite popular and is displayed in various parts of Filipino homes.
Artistic paintings created by Filipinos began in the 17th century during Spanish colonial times and continued until the present, with such revered artists as Luna, Amorsolo, and Zóbel. Other popular artists include Hugo C. Yunzón reflected an earthy style that touches on indigenous Malay culture in pieces such as Early Risers and Mariang Makiling, Néstor Leynes with Mag-ina Sa Banig, Fred DeAsis with Legend of Sari-Manok , and Tam Austria with Mag-Anak. Filipinos have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks rapidly and in rhythm, clap sticks for dancers to artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet caught between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks. Dancers can be found trying to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks all together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances performed in teamwork fashion not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing.