University of the Philippines: Parish of Holy Sacrifice

To conclude a series of journeys through a handful of exhibits, we trekked to north to University of the Philippines, Diliman. Along Apacibile street, we made our way into the Parish of Holy Sacrifice. There were only two things to see in the Parish of Holy Sacrifice (not counting mass, of course)— the building’s architecture and the stations of the cross painted around its interior.

Its architecture was dome-like and rotund in shape. I suppose when this was created, it appeared to be very unique for a church, but I understand that this has probably been copied. Although it is unique and appealing in style, I have to say that it might not have been the best for a church. Because it’s round, some people are forced to view mass almost facing the priest’s back. I’m not a religious fanatic, but from what I understand, mass is a participative ritual; the architecture sort of ruins that element.

The paintings, on the other hand, I did not find spectacular. Without a doubt, the painter was talented and I’m not saying I could have paint anything as good, but it simply did not appeal to me. Let’s have a look at each station of the cross:

The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death

Here we see Pontius Pilate speaking with Jesus, condemning him to death even though he knows that Jesus is innocent. The popular figure of speech “washing his hands” is derived from this scene and can be seen in the painting. I sort of find it awkward how the window filled with people is right beside Jesus, though, and it looks like they’re all staring at him.

The Second Station: Jesus takes up His cross

Jesus accepts his fate and takes up the heavy cross. In the painting, Jesus looks like he’s praying; strangely enough, the crowd that was watching from the window earlier is nowhere to be seen. His mother and Mary Magdalene are helplessly looking on though.

The Third Station: Jesus falls for the first time

Here Jesus falls unto his knees because of the weight of the cross. At the side, we see Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene praying. Again, the spiteful audience is not present in the painting, which I suppose is what makes it awkward that the two women are just praying at the side while Jesus is heaving to carry the wooden cross.

The Fourth Station: Jesus meets His mother

I do recall this station to be a rather heartbreaking one. Mary is stricken with grief and cannot bear to see her son suffering, so she goes to meet him. Her doing so is most probably dangerous as she could also be condemned, but she does so anyway. In this paintings, the number of people increase, so that’s a plus.

The Fifth Station: Simon helps carry the cross

Because of the soldier’s impatience with Jesus’ pace in walking, they order a random civilian, Simon, to help him carry the cross. This is another touching scene, as we see Simon, first reluctant to help Jesus, open his heart and hands to him.

The Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

The painting shows what the title specifically says. One of the things I found amusing here is that Veronica wiped Jesus’ face, but also seemed to capture the contour of his hair on the piece of cloth. No doubt that looks weird.

The Seventh Station: Jesus falls for a second time

Jesus falls yet again; Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene look on helplessly yet again. It makes me think about women during that time— were they really regarded in a manner so low that they didn’t think any of them could help Jesus up?

The Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem who weep for Him

Again, like I said in my earlier reflection, did all the women do was weep? Did none of them think of helping up at least carry the cross or did they think they were too weak for that? In this painting, though, there is again an absence of the taunting crowd and now, Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. Where’d they go?

The Ninth Station: Jesus falls for the third time

Here we see a more true-to-story interpretation; there is finally the presence of a soldier who whips him as punishment for falling yet again. Another problem with the other paintings of the stations was that Jesus’ suffering was not so evident because there lacked the presence of the taunting crowd and the sadistic soldiers, so it just looked like Jesus was having a really hard time carrying the cross.

The Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments

I honestly found this painting really awkward. Jesus is just standing there with his eyes closed in shame while two other guys tear his clothes off.

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

One plus to this painting is that it effectively stirred the imagination of the viewer of what was going to happen next and how badly it’s going to hurt. One negative side is that it sort of looks like there’s a dirty, yellow plate behind Jesus’ head.

The Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross

There appears to be a change in style here, because the look of Jesus’ body is suddenly different. Mary and Mary Magdalene also look rather strange, not looking at Jesus but rather looking directly up (not to mention their amusing lack of a neck).

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down the cross and given to His mother

There is another change in style here, not only because Jesus’ body looks different, but also because his skin color changed significantly. I have to wonder if it’s because the artist wanted to make it look like Jesus was really dead or lost a lot of blood. Another strange thing about this painting is that I have no idea who that random guy is that looks like he’s hugging Jesus.

The Fourteeth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

The tomb doesn’t look like a tomb, but apart from that, I think I rather liked this painting. It showed genuine emotion through Mary Magdalene’s face, though I do wish they had added more detail on Jesus’ body; it doesn’t look like he’s dead here and he’s a bit disproportioned.

The Fifteenth Station: Jesus is risen from the dead

This is the only painting that used brighter shades and with good reason; it’s the only painting showing something positive. I can’t say I particularly like how they showed his resurrection, but who am I to complain?

There have been a lot of rumors about the UP Parish, and truth be told, I can’t say it lived up to them. Despite that, I also can’t say this wasn’t a positive experience. It was still good to see art in our country made by our countrymen!

Ateneo Art Gallery

After having a good look at the exhibit at the ALIWW office that featured Brenda Fajardo’s work, I went up to have a peek at the Ateneo Art Gallery. Although it was supposedly an exhibit showcasing modernity, I found that it was a wonderful collection of various styles.

Upon walking inside, the first thing I encountered was some sculptures. One was “A house on fire” by Julie Lluch, which was carved out of terracotta wood. Although the sculpture depicted a rather tragic scene, I found myself more amused at how cartoon-like the details of the carvings were. There were also assembled sculptures namely, “Psychogenic Figure” by Patricia Eustaqui and Edgar Fernandez’s “Kinupot”. I have to say I was impressed, mostly because I was fooled. From afar, I thought someone had merely draped cloth over a piano; after closer inspection, I realized that it only mimicked the shape of a piano. As for Fernandez’s work, it was astounding. The way he was able to recreate the shape of human fingers and feet were beyond impressive.

"A House on Fire" by Julie Lluch.

"Psychogenic Figure" by Patricia Eustaqui.

Walking further, I entered a large room filled with paintings. At the rightmost, it seemed to me that the paintings were either romanticist or realist, since they were paintings of landscapes and portraits. The techniques used in these paintings were definitely remarkable; however, it lacked substance, in my opinion (I am rarely amused with portaits).

A wall of realistic portaits.

After those paintings, however, the arrangement became a mix of different styles, ranging from cubism to abstract to forms I can’t even name. One of the paintings that captured my eye was Juvenal Sanso’s “Red Sunset”, which appeared to be of flimsy buildings made of wooden rods/poles. While I was very impressed with the painter’s attention to detail, the painting as a whole seemed to evoke a morose atmosphere. It actually seemed as though something bad had happened in the painting. What I like about it is that it has the ability to evoke emotion right away, without the viewer having to think about it.

"Red Sunset" by Juvenal Sanso

There were several cubist and abstract paintings; I have to say, I’m not a fan. I’ve never really understood what message or emotion the art is trying to convey. To me, they look more like technical drawing than anything else. One of them, however, interested me, because it seemed to show the skeleton of a carnival or amusement park. There were also paintings that strangely looked like cave art to me (although I knew it wasn’t), such as “The Joyous Kingdom” by David Medalla and “Table with Fish” by Ang Kiukok. I honestly found them rather out of place.

"A Joyous Kingdom" by David Medalla.

"Table with Fish" by Ang Kiukok.

One of my favourite paintings in the art gallery was “Clouds of Conscience” by Alfonso Ossorio, a piece that was almost appeared to have the style of Jackson Pollock. What I loved about this artwork was the use of colors. The artist used bright colors in the beginning, but then added a large splash of black, which created a wonderful contrast. The clash of the dark and bright elements evokes a sort of dark emotion, which, from deducing it from the title, could be guilt, while the bright colors represent our minds and thoughts.

"Clouds of Conscience" by Alfonso Ossorio.

The next paintings after that were again cubist and abstract in nature. One of the ones that interested me was Hernando Ocampo’s “56-E (Joseph’s Coat)”. Immediately after reading the title, I connected it with the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Primarily, though, without looking at the title, I thought it was a tessellation!

"56-E (Joseph's Coat)" by Hernando Ocampo.

There was also an interesting installation piece by Marciano Galang, entitled “Cavite”. I honestly did not know how it connected to the province, so it was certainly mind-boggling. Initially, I thought it was a piece about pollution or childhood or something to that extent.

"Cavite" by Maricano Galang.

In the middle of all this was a metal assemblage by Idelfonso Marcelo called “Construction”. Although the work was impressive, I can’t say it left much to the imagination.

"Construction" by Idelfonso Marcelo.

Moving along in the exhibit, I saw there were also art pieces with religious subjects. Throughout the years, there have been more than enough beautiful artworks that have been religious in nature. It was no difference in this art gallery.

"Dambanda" by Vincente Manansala.

"St. Thomas Aquinas" by Alfonso Ossorio.

The last two parts of the exhibit was probably the most amusing, in my opinion. Some paintings seemed to have been simplified, while others seemed to look like it was done by a child. One of the more interesting ones would have to be David Medella’s “My Sister at the Sewing Machine”. I’m uncertain of the reason why he meant the painting to look like it was done by a child, but I found the expression on his sister’s face to be rather funny. I doubt she was pleased when she saw the painting.

"River of Life" by Galo Ocampo

"My Sister at the Sewing Machine" by David Medalla.

"Man and Woman".

The last portion of the exhibit appeared to be a collection of some of the best works of the students of the university itself. I have to say, I was quite impressed, not only with their talent in painting, but also with the way they presented their work.

A room filled with students' works.

The trip to the Ateneo Art Gallery was no doubt a pleasant experience, but apart from that, it was also an eye-opener towards Filipino artists and their work. I actually wouldn’t mind going there again to see what’s on exhibit next!

Ateneo de Manila ALIWW: Brenda V. Fajardo Exhibit

As a continuation of our required voyage to see various exhibits and works of art, we trekked to Ateneo de Manila to see both its art gallery and Brenda Fajardo’s exhibit. Although the commute going there from school is gruelling, particularly if you have no idea where you’re going, the art we saw was worth it.

Brenda Fajardo is obviously a Filipino artist and apparently comes from a family of artists. According to

her website, she has actually been more active in the theatre than in painting; however, her work tells us that she’s no amateur when it comes to the paintbrush.

Her work in the exhibit was clearly and heavily influenced by our culture and history. The very first thing I noticed about most of her paintings was that majority focused on women and their roles throughout the years, which made me wonder if Brenda Fajardo is a feminist. The piece that caught my eye was the one with three women with black veils and thorn crowns. Each woman had a

different flag as a background, which were quite obviously the flags of the countries that once colonized us. In my opinion, the painting showed how women were undermined and maltreated during these periods because they were perceived to be weaker, second-class citizens. The painting made use of bold colors, and instead of it having a dark atmosphere, I believe it was meant to empower women so that history will not repeat itself. On the other hand, there were paintings of a darker atmosphere, which seemed to depict how women were (and are) objectified or how women were not given a voice, heard or seen in society back in the day.

A painting that seems to depict how women are objectified.

There were many other historically referenced paintings; among them were paintings of volcano eruptions (I assume they were of Mt. Pinatubo or Mt. Mayon) and Martial Law under Marcos. Another interesting thing that the artist focused on was Philippine folklore and mythology.

The artist’s style, in my opinion, is actually very Filipino. She made use of bright colors and her subjects are more often than not, Filipinos (you can tell by the very brown skin); however, I retract my earlier statement about Brenda Fajardo’s work being influenced by our culture and history. At this point, it’s safe to say that isn’t just an influence but rather the very core of the art itself.

Filipinos fighting for their rights! Probably set during the Martial Law period.

A painting of a fight between a tribal Filipino and a cyclops.

Lumina Pandit Photo Essay

For our HARTDS2 class, we were required to visit the Lumina Pandit exhibit in the University of Santo Tomas. To be honest, I had no idea what this exhibit was all about. From the title, I had automatically assumed it had something to do with old relics. Nevertheless, my two friends and I hopped on a jeep and went on our way to UST.

I was semi-surprised to find that the exhibit was actually of historical treasures, which was displayed in celebration of the university’s 400^th year. We paid our entrance fees and headed into the first section of the exhibit.

The first section of the exhibit was mostly books of Miguel de Benavides. A painting by Carlos Botong Francisco was displayed, wherein he used cheerful colors to depict the Philippines accepting their Evangelization. There was also a portrait of the founder of UST. Further along, I also saw religious artifacts such as rosaries and sculptures of saints. I noticed that one of the great things about this exhibit is that it interacts with its viewers through the use of computers that showed the routes of the Dominicans; however one of the more amusing things about this section is that there were random stuffed birds displayed with the exhibit.

Beautiful rosaries on display.

Carlos "Botong" Francisco's "Evangelization of the Philippines".

That's just me, messing around with the computer. Haha!

The second section was entitled “Realm of Print”. Naturally, here we found some of the first few books to be published in the Philippines. Aside from that, there also seemed to be loose papers of alibata, our earliest system of writing, and what looked like Chinese prints. I suppose these documents had something to do with early trade relations with China. In this section, there were even more religious artifacts, like sculptures, paintings, crucifixes and even candle holders and chalices used for masses. I didn’t exactly understand what these items had to do with printing, but I had assumed that the school found it important to display.

Sacred items used in mass.

Incomprihensible chinese writing.

Doctrina Cristiana, the first book published in the country.

The third section, called “Spheres of Change”, was filled with what appeared to be astrology, cosmology and other studies of the universe. There were various old books of maps. I think at this point, people started to have a fascination with the universe and a higher being. Apart from that, I was very interested in the story of Noche Triste. Apparently, students had to study and practically know everything about this one book by Aristotle and are faced in front of a panel of judges. From what I understood, the student had two or three questions to answer; voting dice were used to determine their grade. On a lighter note, we found more amusing stuffed animals in this section, such as a tiger and a monkey, which I truly think had nothing to do with anything.

Voting dice-- dun dun DUN!

A book that looks like it's about the universe... or something.

The fourth section is known as “Routes of Globalization”. Here, we saw maps and a lot of old stamps and seals. From the title, my immediate thought was that it had something to do with trade. Strangely enough, this was also where the activity area was. People could participate in a printing workshop, to experience how printing worked back in the day. I had my hand at it; I was quite tedious to make one page. I can’t imagine having to make a hundred or a thousand. The outcome, however, was wonderful. In my opinion, it looked positively medieval.

Trying out the printing press workshop. Fun!

Some stamps and seals. Interesing designs on such small things.

A map. Duh.

The fifth section, branded “Nascent Nation”, seemed to have a lot to do with our country’s fight for independence. There were several books that were published during the Spanish Rebellion, such as Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Katipunan. Another notable thing that we saw here is Jose Rizal’s academic records. I was surprised and slightly amused that he actually got average grades with the exception of one subject, which he excelled in. Aside from that, there were also more religious images and paintings, as well as an area with headphones. I had no idea what the connection was, because when I listened to it, it was all sounds of nature— like crashing waves or animals in the jungle.

Rizal's report card! Surprisingly unimpressive...

An old copy of El Filibusterismo.

Listening to sounds completely unrelated to the exhibit. Hahaha!

I would have to say that the last section of the exhibit was the one I found most interesting. Entitled “Curve of Nationalism”, it displayed various sketches of Carlos Botong Francisco, which I found impressive, yet rather redundant in style. He also had costume studies, which were equally as impressive. In this section, they also showed old newspapers that have been well-preserved by binding them together to make a large book. Who knew that old broadsheets were so impressively large? Not to mention the printing style. Another notable item in this exhibit was the papier-mâché figures within the glass, which showed different scenes throughout history such as revolts, daily life and even a volcanic eruption. This was the only section that seemed to include the American and Japanese occupation.

Little papier-mâché people going their merry way.

A large book binding together issues of the newspaper, Kalayaan.

Carlos "Botong" Francisco's hard-to-understand sketch.

I have to say that the whole exhibit was a bit overwhelming. More than half the time, I honestly didn’t know what I was looking at; I basically had to assume for myself. The little labels didn’t do much help and the long texts looked discouraging to read; if I read them all, I would have been there until the next day. Despite this, the exhibit was, without a doubt, impressive in size and in substance.