Kalipunan IV ushers National Arts Month Celebration
“The Kalipunan Exhibit has raised the level of Social Realism from it’s heydays in the 70s. With the old favorites like Doloricon, Cabangis, Bacaltos, the young artist delivered their own interpretation in a more challenging time (for it is another time) in an exquisite manner. I like the young artists included here. The works of Bejar and Bueza are stunning! Beautiful! I walked around the gallery three times and no one has recognized me, so I viewed them alone. I felt that I created a connection with their pieces.” - Jun Cruz Reyes (Own translation)
Kalipunan IV which shows in the time of the launching of the UP Centennial, deals with everything round and cyclical.
“Pinoy Big Kuya”Mark Cosico ‘07
This particular painting deals with the contradiction in some Filipino families. It puts into the scene the emergence of the “ Big Brother” TV show and implies the nurturing and destructive values in it. The eminent figure here is the cycle of good and evil inculcated into a particular subject (the viewer).
“Vanguard”
Paul Acena ‘07
Depicts the protracted worker’s struggle in a cycle called the “mode of production”.
“ Strategic Defense to Ofense”
Paul Acena ‘07
The painter comments, “Video games are the common pass time of children nowadays and these products of superior minds and hi-technology in return or in the end dwarfs their imagination and hinders the growth of their intellect”
“Pusta”
Ian Dorado ‘07
The cost of the people’s struggle is the life of thousands who willingly put their lives on the line everyday. In “Pusta” the artist places on top of each other two scenes– the upright one containing symbolic “A”, meaning Alas, the card that trumps and eventually clobbers the deck and below it, the “K” for King, which represents the rule of the state. Eventually, in both ends, camps and situations, the life of the lower class is the one being sacrificed.
“Mekanismong Organismo”
Dan Mendoza ‘04
Sculpture on the Philippines reliance on its “natural resources”
The continued reliance and exploitation of the Philippines rich natural resources can impact our future in two ways: it can strengthen the nation’s nascent pluralism or contort the government into further kleptocracy; develop the entire country, or enrich only a handful; give the Philippines control over its own destiny, or make it a victim of erratic, insensitive global markets.
“The whole globalization process affecting us, especially in this stage of our country’s development will result in a miserable economic and political history. The process of Globalization is focused on digging and extracting things that could be sold and used in the world market. This is too dangerous for us. We could turn into Congo and deteriorate into criminality or become like Saudi Arabia that has not cured it’s addiction to using their natural resources, including our people as a commodity.”
“UP Naming Mahal”
Clarence Alvear ‘07
Clarence Alvear’s version of the oblation is a tad short of the original by Guillermo Tolentino and it’s also made out of something else- Paper Money. This artwork sledgehammers the point right to the bone with unjustified Tuition Increases and the commercialization of education in general, the curfew in college buildings in particular (Why can’t the students hang out past seven in their tambayans? This gives the excuse why students opt for posh coffee houses in katipunan to meet with their classmates) “This university is not the university it was a hundred years ago,” says the Fernando Javier, the oldest fraternity man and alumnus of UP.
Even student activists, or the rise of the pseudo-activists breed in UP is starting to annoy. I actually heard this from one of their conversations.
“Ang mahal ng tuition fee noh?
(Deleted gibberish here)
Brouhahaha!
“Oo nga eh. Tara let’s talk about in Seattle’s Best. ”
Probably the most recognizable change in UP is the impending rise of more S&T parks, the sequel of which the UP Administration is trying to sweep under the rug with a weak and questionable UP Charter sponsored by Mr. Sharon Cuneta.
And what’s with all the skinny jeans and hip-hop cars in campus? If there wasn’t the Oblation, and yes, the strong fraternity culture and other good things like genuine friendships you make here, UP would not be UP anymore.
“Tubero”
Clarence Alvear ‘07
Alvear does not search far for his subject. In “Tubero”, he explores the mundane self-advertisements for and from plumbers. Although comic, the artwork discusses heavy issues like self-destruction (clues you have to see to realize.) He deconstructs the ad, so to speak- the trade, a very manly name like “Ding” or “Richard” and a landline number. Are any of the plumbers real when it has been both an open secret and running joke that these are male prostitutes? How many houses get their leaking pipes fixed by tuberos nowadays, anyway?
The relation between Alvear’s “UP Naming Mahal” and “Tubero” is stunning.
Kontradiksyong Bisyo, Kontra Adiksyon- Francis Bejar ‘07
Bejar ‘s piece tackles how the mind thinks of itself and the many million contradictions that springs from it. He alludes to the lifestyle and taste of his generation to the many forms of learning. That the values we learn both in school and in experiencing life bring us to the formation of the individual- which is seemingly the product of the neo-colonial trend . The artwork, however points out on how the university (still as a colonial tool) in its one hundred years, raised both rebels and radicals, and on the other hand, docile men and women. He blurs both ends of “Kontradiskyon” meaning being addict to a certain contradiction such as colonial mentality. He traces how Filipino colonial mentality both crumbled and built the national culture. We have become a nation whose national ambition is to go abroad.
In “Pinoy Me”, Bejar raises the question of identity. The circa 90s government propaganda “Pinoy Ako” and the theme of Big Brother (a TV show, which has launched the many careers of many Filipino halfies), is a dazzling phenomenon as a nation. He finds the consciousness, weird. That being a Filipino, born and raised here in the Philippines should produce the kind of mentality. It is in fact a kind of Alienation. That we as a Filipino people consider our nationality, race and culture, exotic.
What’s with our libraries having a “Filipiniana” Section, anyway?
Rollie Florano ‘07
The roundness of a woman in her pregnancy, impressed upon, the artist the idea of life as a cycle. Pregnancy is the symbol of man’s triumph over death, in a way that reproduction extends our life as a specie. The exaggeration in the woman’s body, the “pagbubuntis” is replete with circles and round figures- the face, the cut of her hair, the lips, the breasts, the nipples, the belly, the navel, the hips.
“Window Shopping”
Ryan Tizon ‘07
Coins and bills, round figures shine on a woman’s eyes. In the absence of money, we turn to the eye to satisfy our yearning for material things, and we call this window shopping. We call the eyes “windows to the soul”. In this photograph, the artist implies that money becomes man’s envy, especially in the current culture of consumerism.
“Ako ay may lobo, lumipad sa langit, ‘di ko na nakita”
Tomas Leonor ‘04
Tomas Leonor notes the painful irony of how he was born thirteen hours after his father, Ramon Caragan died of Cardiac Arrest . He was a seaman stationed somewhere in Russia and was in a drinking binge to celebrate the birth of his son. These images, represent the stories that constitute the myth of a man who is as close to him as he has been distant. It tackles the absence of memory of a father, how the artist dealt with creating images as a substitute for a father figure. He relates his story to the millions of families around the world facing a similar ordeal.
Tomas Leonor is his family’s unico hijo. He has seven sisters.
“Reflick-Rifleck”
Gino Bueza ‘05
Probably, this exhibition’s highlight, the recent winner of the Shell National Arts Student competition, Gino Bueza, reprises his winning piece “Beyond the Border of Good and Evil” in “Reflick-Rifleck”. Gino tries to create the impression of the Rorscach Technique or inkblot test (delivered by psychiatrist) in his works. He does this by taking one image juxtaposed with its mirror reflection. Intentionally, Gino depicts his subject in mid-action, strumming a guitar (but without the guitar) or shaving before a mirror. Again, the mirror is used as a medium to convey the similar image (or how the outside world) views the self. His color is almost basic, trying to confine the viewer to the nuances of pastel colors. It is luminous and cartoony but also edgy. Among the AC residents, Gino has been the first one to play on concept of “cycle” and has done this in his early pieces, in particular with “Mahiwagang Maninila”.
The “flick”, used as a pun for “Reflect”, again alluding to the mirror, is drawn from the movement of the hand, used in playing the guitar (the subject). He also relates the flick to painting, wherein details are sometimes painted using delicate flicks.
He says he draws his inspiration from Rodel Tapaya ’97, an artist, who has mentored him in his home in Quezon City during his sophomore year in College.
For his ideas, he improves upon the theories of Michel Foucault and Jean Genet.
“Paco”
Redd Nacpil ‘05
Nacpil, uses his vivid images with bright colors to take the attention of his viewer. His style is eery, often using insects to show corruption and as a symbol of abject poverty. His painting “Paco” is a song on a worker’s hardships in particular on how he deals with his boss or landlord. His style, often regarded as hodge-podge or pastiche uses strong image but plays on weak connections to deliver the message. The deliberate use of understatement, again in withholding the moment for his viewer is a habit for Nacpil.
“Elle”
Chuck Zaldivar ‘07
Zaldivar says you can apply the message of my artwork to many events and things. Although it is obviously the French word for woman, “Elle”, has been proven by research that the sound of it is recognizably feminine in all languages. He says he uses the dark background to bring about the age old dichotomy of Light and Darkness (Good and Evil). Inside the circle, Chuck say’s another classic concept is brought to life. The woman’s smile is incomprehensible. A man cannot fully understand a woman.
“It’s A Fish Eat Fish World”
Manolo Sicat ‘04
The centerpiece of the current Kalipunan Exhibit is a three-piece cement sculpture by Manolo Sicat. The persistent theme of this exhibit is perfectly depicted in this sculpture which depicts the system of capitalism as a fish eating smaller fishes in order to propagate. The live fishes (dilis) inside the sculpture represents the workers who are the ultimate victims of the strife. Sicat’s piece is a heavy mass of cement, which maintains its rough feature. The cement is the primary building material our local workers are exposed to.
Lex Marcos ‘97
Lex Marcos, who is an exquisite theater actor and singer is also a poet of the paintbrush. His oil gesso on wood piece entitled “Solar, Lunar” presents the cycle in the sun and moon, of which man’s life has been timed (in fact the origin of time) and based upon. The human figure seems to rise like his hues of green and blue.
“Kadete”
Geronimo Cristobal, Jr. ‘04
Kadete is a painting from memory of cadets at the Philippine Military Academy wearing sweaters, in a middle of a drill parade. Tradition, the artists says is created through repetition or cyclical process of practices and situations. Like the parade, tradition is perfected through careful practice and polishing of details. Some institutions like the PMA, thrive from their wealth of customs that distinguish them.
In 2003, one cadet at the PMA, still in his plebe year was found dead at the foothills near the Kennon Road. During Saturday inspection and the ensuing parade, the cadet was severely punished and mocked by his upperclassmen for accidentally dropping his rifle. He was declared AWOL that night and three days later found dead and rotting. The official report stated head injuries resulting from concussions sustained while trying escape in the middle of a rainy night.
Tags: Art, Artists' Circle, Brotherhood, Bueza, Cabangis, Cristobal, Doloricon, Exhibit, Fraternity, Kalipunan, Mendoza, Nacpil, News, Painting, Sicat, University of the Philippines, UP, UP Centennial
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
January 23, 2008 at 5:43 am
brad wala bang pictures upclose? hehe