CULTURES IN THE

PHILIPPINES

MC JOHN GOC-ONG
Name of Instructor

CHRISTINE C. MALICAY BSN-III

Name of Student

Date: 09/24/2020
Napoleon Abueva (1930-2018)
 Father of Modern Filipino sculpture
 Mentored by noted sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, at the College of Fine Arts.
 Born in Bohol,
 the youngest National Artist awardee appointed by then President Marcos, at the
age of 46.
 His expertise was seen in a wide array of materials such as hard wood, abode, steel,
cement, marble, and bronze.

Abueva is adept in traditional representation and modern abstract forms of

sculpture. A trip around the University of the Philippines will show you a number of his
works, such as the University Gateway and Nine Muses near the old faculty centre. He was
also responsible for the relief marble sculptures seen in the war memorial cross in Mt.
Samat, Bataan.

It is the second highest cross in the world and the tallest in Asia. Under the
commission of the Philippine government, Abueva collaborated with designer Lorenzo del
Castillo to create a shrine that commemorates the thousands of Filipino and American
soldiers who lost their lives during the Japanese-led Bataan Death March in 1942. Make
sure to walk up the flight of stairs inside the cross to reach the top, and experience the
fabulous views of Bataan.
Agnes Arellano (1949-present)
 Born to a family of prominent male architects,
 is best known for her surrealist and expressionist work in plaster, bronze and cold-
cast marble.
 Her sculptures highlight the female body and draw from themes surrounding
sexuality, religion, and mysticism.
 Borrowing from the term of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, Agnes attributes her work
to ‘inscapes’, that assert an internal unity among various elements in her
installations and sculptures.
 Drawing from the tragic death of her parents and sister from a house fire in 1981,
her work explores themes of creation and destruction, and the cycles of life from
birth to death.
José Joya (1931-1995)
 A Filipino pioneer of Abstract expressionism, multi-media painter.
 uses bold and vibrant colours with a variety of painting techniques, layering, loose
impasto strokes and controlled drips.
 His harmonious colours are influenced by Philippine landscapes and tropical
wildlife.
 His mastery lies in gestural paintings, where the paint is applied spontaneously on
canvas, sometimes directly out of the tube or through the use of broad strokes with
brushes.

Joya influenced younger artists to explore other mediums such as pottery and
printmaking while he served as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of the
Philippines. In 1964, Joya represented the country in the Venice Biennial, showcasing the
advancement of modern art in the Philippines.

His most notable painting from 1958, called Granadean Arabesque, is a large scale
yellow hued mural that features clusters of sand and impasto. It can be viewed at
the Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila.
Pacita Abad (1946-2004)
 Born on the northern island of Batanes,
 the internationally revered artist first obtained a degree in Political Science at
the University of the Philippines.
 Her staunch activism against the Marcos regime in the 1970s, led her to move to San
Francisco to initially study law – but she found her true calling with art.
 Her paintings consist of vibrant colors and a constant change of patterns and
materials.
 Earlier work dealt with socio-political depictions of people, indigenous masks,
tropical flowers, and underwater scenes.
 Pacita created a unique technique called ‘trapunto’, where she stitches and stuffs her
vibrant canvases with a wide range of materials such as cloth, metal, beads, buttons,
shells, glass and ceramics, to give her work a three-dimensional look.
 Her many travels across the globe with her husband have served as an inspiration
for the techniques and materials used in her art.
 Pacita has participated in over 60 exhibitions across the United States, Latin
America, and Europe.
 She is noted to have worked on more than 5,000 pieces of art – her masterwork
being Alkaff Bridge, Singapore, a 55-meter bridge covered in over 2,000 colourful circles. It
was completed a few months before she passed away from lung cancer in 2004.

Roberto Chabet (1937-2013)

 Born Roberto Rodriguez, he used his mother’s maiden name Chabet when he began
his career in art.
 He was a mentor to many students at the University of the Philippines, where he
taught for over 30 years, and is acknowledged as the father of conceptual art in the
Philippines.
 Chabet initially studied architecture but his conceptual art installations, collages,
and sculptures in the 1960s and 70s made him a rebellious figure on the local art
scene.
 He was the founding museum director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines from
1967-1970, where he established the 13 Artists Awards that highlight the
achievements of young artists whose works show a contemporary view of art-
making and thinking.
Carlos "Botong" V. Francisco (1973)
 The works of Botong include murals that interpret historical events.
 His ten-panel mural Filipino Struggles Through History is inside the magnificent
Senate Hall at the National Art Gallery.
 The hall is at the center of the neoclassical building where government bodies
originally convened.

 
 In 2018, Botong's 4 x 6 ft. painting “The Nose Flute” went for a hammer price
of ₱32,104,977 at Leon Gallery's Magnificent September Auction.
Napoleón Abueva (1976)
 The metal, stone and wood sculptures of Napoleó n Abueva are made in a way that
has a flowing and fluid effect.
 His large-scale works include Sunburst and The Transfiguration statue.
 The artist's legal name was Esabelio, while family and friends called him "Billy".
 When he was six years old, one of his teachers called him "Napoleon" after Napoleon
Bonaparte. The name stuck.
 Throughout his life he often referenced the conqueror, quoting, "If I weren't a
conqueror, I would wish to be a sculptor," which he became.
Vicente Manansala (1981)
 Vicente Manansala painted in the style of transparent cubism.
 He layered geometric shapes to form images of the province through a colorful lens.
 The effect were glowing, translucent paintings.

His one work Tiangge (Market Scene) sold for $618,082 at a Hong Kong auction.
Cesar Legaspi (1990)
 In his cubist works, Cesar Legaspi captured the rawness of social realities.
 He was a color blind painter.
 His daughter, internationally renowned singer Celeste Legaspi, would assist her
father choosing pigments as a child.
 His one artwork Workers shows how he modified cubism, using rounded instead of
angular shapes.

His medium-sized painting Ritual sold for ₱5.5M in Leon Gallery's Asian Cultural Council

Auction in 2015.
H.R. Ocampo (1991)
 The ceiling-high fire curtain at the Cultural Center of the Philippines reflects
Ocampo’s tiny painting Genesis. 
 The painting was woven into textile by Japanese artisans.
 He was a self-taught painter that conveyed Philippine flora and fauna through
colorful patterns.

His 1971 triptych Passage, with individual titles, "I am", "I Love" and "I was" sold
for ₱23,360,000 at Leó n Gallery’s Magnificent September Auction in 2016.
Jose T. Joya (2003)
 The “action paintings” of Joya convey vibrant, spontaneous images of tropical places.
 His masterpiece “Space Transfiguration” was inspired by NASA's first attempt to
reach the moon.
 It sold for a whopping P112 million at a Leon Gallery auction in 2018.

 
Ben Cabrera (2006)
 Ben Cabrera, or BenCab has been called "arguably the best-selling painter of his
generation of Filipino artists." 
 His iconic muse Sabel is a major subject that recurs through his work, inspired by a
real-life scavenger he once encountered.
 The artist put up the BenCab museum in the mountain province of Baguio displaying
his own works and works of other Filipino artists.

 
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (2009)
 The various works of Alcuaz include paintings in abstract expressionism, as well as
tapestries in the Czech technique Art Protis.
 In the National Art Gallery of the Philippines, Alcuaz has an entire room dedicated to
his Art Protis tapestries.
 His father was a lawyer with artistic leanings. In his university days Federico cross-

enrolled and managed to finish in both fine arts and pre-law. 

Vicente Manansala,
The Surreal Cubist of the Philippines

 Vicente Manansala is considered one of the pioneers of modernism in the

Philippines, and his “transparent cubism” style broke off from its European
influence to feature Filipiñ ana themes and rainbowed palettes.
 Manansala’s lively compossions brought on many commissions for government and
private institutions, such as the mural series at the Philam Life in Manila and the
International Rice Research Institute in Los Bañ os, which are all now housed at the
National Museum.
 He would sometimes temper his cubist style to paint historical paintings, or create
complete surreal works, such as the mural “Arts and Sciences” at the Palma Hall
lobby in UP Diliman

Stations of the Cross" by Vicente Manansala at the UP Parish of the Holy Sacrifice. Photo by JOHN PAUL
OLIVARES

 Manansala did not shy away from experimenting on other media, such as his metal
sculptures of the Nicanor Reyes Memorial Square and the mosaic of Our Lady of
Fatima at the chapel of the Far Eastern University in Manila, or the patterned Arts
and Sciences floor design also at the Palma Hall.
 The Philippine Heart Center (PHC) has an impressive collection of artworks found
throughout the compound, however the most known and controversial is the mural
located at the PHC lobby in Quezon City. Commissioned by the former first lady
Imelda Marcos, Vicente Manansala portrayed her as the spirit of the Motherland
or “Inang Bayan.”
Cesar Legaspi (1990)
(April 2, 1917 – April 7, 1994)

 Another neo-realist and peer of Manansala, Cesar Legaspi was also a foremost figure
in the refining of Cubism in the Philippines.
 Also a member of the Thirteen Moderns, his work is set apart by his daring use of
colors, shapes, and themes.
 Critics have said that his works transform the “unfeeling, geometric” order of
Cubism into a dynamic, rhythmic social expressionism.
 His works primarily focused on the dehumanization and struggles experienced by
the working class and mendicants in the city.
 His work is among many that led to the acceptance and later popularity of modern
art in the Philippines. These include Gadgets I, Diggers, Bayanihan, and The Survivor.
Arturo Luz (1997)

 A printmaker, sculptor, designer, and art administrator, Arturo Luz received his
Order of National Artists for Visual Arts award in 1997.
 One of the founding members of the neo-realists in the Philippines, Luz’s work
exemplifies simplicity and sophistication.
 He is credited with elevating the Filipino aesthetic vision, and his work is elegant
and economic, employing minimalism, geometric abstracts, and invoking a universal
reality.
 Luz is known as one of the greats of Asian modernism, and his work as an art
administrator with the Luz gallery has influenced generations of Filipino artists.
 Included in his best works are Bagong Taon, Candle Vendors, Night Glows,
and Imaginary Landscapes. 
 His mural Black and White is displayed in the lobby of the Cultural Center of the
Philippines’ Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco.
Jeremias Elizalde Navarro (1999)
 J. Elizalde Navarro was a native of Antique, and studied in the University of the
Philippines, Manila before transferring to the University of Santo Tomas, where he
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, major in Painting, in 1951.
 His work in the visual arts spans a variety of media and techniques, including
drawing, printmaking, graphic designing, painting, and sculpting.
 Navarro employed the use of mixed media in much of his work, sometimes fusing
found objects and metal parts.
 A few of his major mixed media works include I’m Sorry Jesus, I Can’t Attend
Christmas This Year (1965), Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969), and A Flying
Contraption for Mr. Icarus (1984).
Ang Kiukok (2001)
 Born in Davao to Chinese immigrant parents, Ang Kiukok began his art journey at a
young age.
 The family later moved to Cotabato, where Kiukok made movie billboards, and then
on to Manila, where he attended the University of Santo Tomas.
 One of his mentors during this period was the great Vicente Manansala. Kiukok
began rising in the Philippine art scene in the 1960s thanks to his distinctive style,
which pulled influences from cubism, surrealism, and expressionism.
 His work was noted for depicting rage and violence, with subjects such as rabid dogs
or the crucified Christ in agony.
 Included among his works are Geometric Landscape (1969), Pieta (1962), and Seated
Figure (1979).
Victorio Edades (1976)
(December 23, 1895 – March 7, 1985)

 Victorio Edades was a key figure in the history of Philippine art, counted as one of
the revolutionary Thirteen Moderns and later called the Father of Modern
Philippine Painting.
 Edades moved away from the idyllic landscapes of his contemporary Amorsolo and
instead preferred to paint a more sobering picture of Philippine society.
 His works employed dark and somber colors, and were focused on depicting the
dirt and sweat of laborers, factory workers, and the Philippine proletariat.
 Edades became Dean of the Department of Architecture in the University of Santo
Tomas, later instituting an art degree program.
 He invited Carlos Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo to become professors of the
university, and the three were later known as the Triumvirate.
 Included among his works are The Sketch, Portrait of the Professor, and Poinsettia
Girl.
Vicente Manansala (1981)
(January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981)

 A master of the style of Cubism, Vicente Manansala is credited as one of the figures
in the Philippine art world who popularized neo-realism in the country.
 He was educated at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts, later
training in Paris, Banff, Montreal and at the Otis School of Drawing in Los Angeles.
 Manansala developed a style called transparent cubism, where he masterfully
overlaid colors and shapes to depict forms and figures.
 This style is exemplified in his works Kalabaw, Mother and Child, Madonna of the
Slums, and Still Life with Green Guitar. 
 Most of Manansala’s artistic estate currently resides in Holy Angel University’s The
Vicente Manansala Collection.
“Nose Flute” by Carlos “Botong” Francisco

 The priciest Botong Franciso painting went under the hammer on May 19, 2012 at
One East-Larasati Hong Kong.
 The subject was a Northern Philippine mountain tribe couple with a nose flute.
Measuring 4 x 6 feet, the painting is on two canvases, joined horizontally in the
bottom half.
“La Parisienne” by Felix
Resurreccion Hidalgo

 Hidalgo's “La Parisienne” was

the first Philippine work of art
that made the cover of Sotheby’s
sale catalogue.

 The artist painted a woman

holding a parasol using an
Impressionistic light palette.

 In a 2003 Sotheby’s auction, the

painting was pegged at an
estimated value of SGD 380,000
to SGD 550,000.
“Sabel” by Benedicto Reyes Cabrera (Bencab)

 One of the largest single-figure pieces in the “Sabel” series by Benedicto “BenCab”
Cabrera was sold at Leó n Gallery’s Magnificent September Auction 2015.
 His 2003 oil painting measuring 96 x 72 inches projects intense emotional moods, a
recurrent subject in the his works through the years.

 
“Fish Harvest at Dawn,” by Anita Magsaysay-Ho

 Anita Magsaysay-Ho is known for her depictions of Filipina women at work.

 This 1979 oil painting, “Fish Harvest at Dawn,” was sold at a record price in an
auction on June 13 at Leó n Gallery in Legazpi Village, Makati.
“España y Filipinas” (Spain and Philippines)
by Juan Luna

 An earlier version of Juan Luna’s oil painting “ España y Filipinas” was auctioned in
Sotheby’s 40th Anniversary Evening Sale on October 3, 2013 in Hong Kong.
 It is believed that the artist made three versions; the second one is in the Lopez
Museum and the third is still unaccounted for.
 Signed in 1884, the painting is an allegorical comparison of two women, one
representing Spain, and the other, the Philippines.
 It broke the record of “Parisian Life” for being the highest paid work of art by Juan
Luna.