ARCHITECTURE

Pablo Sebero Antonio

Born at the turn of the century, National Artist for Architecture Pablo Sebero
Antonio pioneered modern Philippine architecture. His basic design is grounded on simplicity,
no clutter. The lines are clean and smooth, and where there are curves, these are made
integral to the structure. Pablo Jr. points out, For our father, every line must have a meaning,
a purpose. For him, function comes first before elegance or form. The other thing that
characterizes an Antonio structure is the maximum use of natural light and cross ventilation.
Antonio believes that buildings should be planned with austerity in mind and its stability
forever as the aim of true architecture, that buildings must be progressive, simple in design
but dignified, true to a purpose without resorting to an applied set of aesthetics and should
eternally recreate truth.
Antonios major works include the following: Far Eastern University Administration and
Science buildings; Manila Polo Club; Ideal Theater;Lyric Theater; Galaxy Theater; Capitan
Luis Gonzaga Building; Boulevard-Alhambra (now Bel-Air) apartments; Ramon Roces
Publications Building (now Guzman Institute of Electronics).

Leandro V. Locsin
Leandro V. Locsin reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture reflective of
Philippine Art and Culture. He believes that the true Philippine Architecture is the product of
two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental to produce a new object of
profound harmony. It is this synthesis that underlies all his works, with his achievements in
concrete reflecting his mastery of space and scale. Every Locsin Building is an original, and
identifiable as a Locsin with themes of floating volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant
and massive running in his major works. From 1955 to 1994, Locsin has produced 75
residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48
commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building.
Locsins largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which
has a floor area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP Complex itself is a virtual Locsin Complex
with all five buildings designed by him the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts
Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel (now
Sofitel Philippine Plaza).

Juan F. Nakpil
Juan F. Nakpil, architect, teacher and civic leader, is a pioneer and innovator in Philippine
architecture. In essence, Nakpils greatest contribution is his belief that there is such a thing
as Philippine Architecture, espousing architecture reflective of Philippine traditions and
culture. It is also largely due to his zealous representation and efforts that private Filipino
architects and engineers, by law, are now able to participate in the design and execution of
government projects. He has integrated strength, function, and beauty in the buildings that are
the countrys heritage today. He designed the 1937 International Eucharistic Congress altar
and rebuilt and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930 adding a dome and a second belfry to
the original design.
Among others, Nakpils major works are the Geronimo de los Reyes Building,Magsaysay
Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino
Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the Philippines Administration and University
Library, and the reconstructed Rizal housein Calamba, Laguna.
 ARCHITECTURE

Ildefonso Paez Santos, Jr

Ildefonso Paez Santos, Jr., distinguished himself by pioneering the practice of landscape
architecturean allied field of architecturein the Philippines and then producing four
decades of exemplary and engaging work that has included hundreds of parks, plazas,
gardens, and a wide range of outdoor settings that have enhanced contemporary Filipino
life.
Santos, Jr., who grew up in Malabon, made his first mark with the Makati Commercial
Center where he introduced a new concept of outdoor shopping with landscaped walks,
fountains and sculptures as accents. Santos, Jr.s contribution to modern Filipino
landscape architecture was the seminal public landscape in Paco Park.
Santos, Jr.s most recent projects were the Tagaytay Highland Resort, the Mt. Malarayat
Golf and Country Clubin Lipa, Batangas, and the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Imus,
Cavite.

Jos Mara V. Zaragozas place in Philippine architecture history is defined by a significant

body of modern edifices that address spiritual and secular requirements. Zaragozas name
is synonymous to modern ecclesiastical architecture. Notwithstanding his affinity to
liturgical structures, he greatly excelled in secular works: 36 office buildings, 4 hotels, 2,
hospitals, 5 low-cost and middle-income housing projects; and more than 270 residences
all demonstrating his typological versatility and his mastery of modernist architectural
vocabulary.
Zaragoza graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1936, passing the
licensure examinations in 1938 to become the 82nd architect of the Philippines. With
growing interest in specializing in religious architecture, Zaragoza also studied at
International Institute of Liturgical Art (IILA) in Rome in the late 1950s, where he obtained a
diploma in liturgical art and architecture. His training in Rome resulted in innovative
approaches, setting new standards for the design of mid-century Catholic churches in the
Philippines. His prolificacy in designing religious edifices was reflected in his body of work
that was predominated by about 45 churches and religious centers, including the Santo
Domingo Church, Our Lady of Rosary in Tala, Don Bosco Church, the Convent of the Pink
Sisters, the San Beda Convent, Villa San Miguel, Pius XII Center, the Union Church, and
the controversial restoration of the Quiapo Church, among others.
Zaragoza is a pillar of modern architecture in Philippines buttressed by a half-century
career that produced ecclesiastical edifices and structures of modernity in the service of
God and humanity.
Major Works: Meralco Building (Pasig Cty), Sto. Domingo Church and Convent
(Quezon City), Metropolitan Cathedral of Cebu City, Villa San Miguel, Mandaluyoung.
 CINEMA

Lamberto V. Avellana
UAL ARTS
Lamberto V. Avellana, director for theater and film, has the distinction of being called
TS The Boy Wonder of Philippine Movies as early as 1939. He was the first to use the
motion picture camera to establish a point-of-view, a move that revolutionized the
techniques of film narration. Avellana, who at 20 portrayed Joan of Arc in time for
Ateneos diamond jubilee, initially set out to establish a Filipino theater. Together with
Daisy Hontiveros, star of many UP plays and his future wife, he formed the Barangay
Theater Guild which had, among others, Leon Ma .Guerrero and Raul Manglapus as
members. It was after seeing such plays that Carlos P. Romulo, then president of
Philippine Films, encouraged him to try his hand at directing films. In his first film Sakay,
Avellana demonstrated a kind of visual rhythm that established a new filmic language.
Sakay was declared the best picture of 1939 by critics and journalists alike and set the
tone for Avellanas career in film that would be capped by such distinctive
achievements as the Grand Prix at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong for Anak
Dalita (1956); Best Director of Asia award in Tokyo for Badjao, among others.
Avellana was also the first filmmaker to have his film Kandelerong Pilak shown at the
Cannes International Film Festival. Among the films he directed for worldwide release
were Sergeant Hasan (1967), Destination Vietnam(1969), and The Evil Within (1970).

Catalino Lino Ortiz Brocka

Catalino Lino Ortiz Brocka, director for film and broadcast arts, espoused the term
freedom of expression in the Philippine Constitution. Brocka took his social activist
spirit to the screen leaving behind 66 films which breathed life and hope for the
marginalized sectors of society slumdwellers, prostitute, construction workers, etc.
He also directed for theater with equal zeal and served in organizations that offer
alternative visions, like the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the
Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP). At the same time, he garnered awards and
recognition from institutions like the CCP, FAMAS, TOYM, and Cannes Film Festival.
Lino Brocka has left behind his masterpieces, bequeathing to our country a heritage of
cinematic harvest; a bounty of stunning images, memorable conversations that speak
volumes on love,betrayal and redemption, pestilence and plenty all pointing towards
the recovery and rediscovery of our nation.
To name a few, Brockas films include the following: Santiago (1970), Wanted:
Perfect Mother (1970), Tubog sa Ginto (1971), Stardoom (1971), Tinimbang Ka
Ngunit Kulang (1974), Maynila: Sa Kuko ng Liwanag (1975), Insiang (1976),
Jaguar (1979), Bona (1980), Macho Dancer (1989), Orapronobis (1989),
Makiusap Ka sa Diyos (1991).
 CINEMA
Ishmael Bernal
Ishmael Bernal was a filmmaker of the first order and one of the very few who can be
truly called a maestro. Critics have hailed him as the genius of Philippine cinema.
He is recognized as a director of films that serve as social commentaries and bold
reflections on the existing realities of the struggle of the Filipino. His art extends beyond
the confines of aesthetics. By polishing its visuals, or innovating in the medium, he
manages to send his message across: to fight the censors, free the artists, give justice
to the oppressed, and enlighten as well as entertain the audience.
Among his notable films are Pahiram ng Isang Umaga (1989), Broken Marriage
(1983), Himala (1982), City After Dark (1980), and Nunal sa Tubig (1976).
He was recognized as the Director of the Decade of the 1970s by the Catholic Mass
Media Awards; four-time Best Director by the Urian Awards (1989, 1985, 1983, and
1977); and given the ASEAN Cultural Award in Communication Arts in 1993.

Manuel Conde
Born on October 9, 1915 and christened Manuel Pabustan Urbano, Manuel
Conde grew up and studied in Daet, Camarines Norte.
In the decades before and after World War II when Philippine society was being
inundated by American popular culture, Conde invested local cinema with a distinct
cultural history of its own through movies that translated onto the silver screen the
age-old stories that Filipinos had told and retold from generation to generation for at
least the past one hundred years. Among the narratives that Conde directed and/or
produced for the screen were three of the most famous metrical romances in
Philippine lowland culture: Siete Infantes de Lara, Ibong Adarna, and Prinsipe
Tenoso.
Through the more than forty films he created from 1940 to 1963, Manuel Conde
contributed in no small measure to the indigenization of the cinema, specifically: by
assigning it a history and culture of its own; by revitalizing folk culture with urgent
issues, fresh themes and new techniques; by depicting and critiquing Filipino
customs, values and traditions according to the needs of the present; by employing
and at the same time innovating on the traditional cinematic genres of his time; and
by opening the local cinema to the world.
With a curious mind and restless spirit that could not be contained by what is, Conde
went beyond the usual narratives of the traditional genres and ventured into subject
matter that would have been deemed too monumental or quixotic by the average
producer. Conde dared to recreate on screen the grand narratives of larger-than-life
figures from world history and literature, like Genghis Khan and Sigfredo. In doing
films on these world figures, Conde had in effect forced the Filipino moviegoer out of
the parochial and predictable concerns of the run-of-the-mill formulaic film and thrust
him into a larger world where visions and emotions were loftier and nobler and very
very far from the pedestrian whims and sentiments that constituted the Filipino
moviegoers usual fare.
Serendipitously, as these movies opened the vistas of the Filipino film to other
cultures, they also unlocked the doors of western cinema to the Filipino film, allowing
it entry into one of the most prestigious film festivals of the globe. Later, when these
films were bought by foreign distributors, they were exhibited in all parts of the
cinematic world of the time, establishing the presence of the Filipino cinema in the
eyes of that world.
Major works: Ibong Adarna (1941), Si Juan Tamad (1947), Siete Infantes de
Lara (1950), Genghis Khan (1950), Ikaw Kasi! (1955) Juan Tamad Goes To
Congress (1959).
 CINEMA
Fernando C. Amorsolo.
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Ronald Allan K. Poe

Ronald Allan K. Poe, popularly known as Fernando Poe, Jr., was a cultural icon of
tremendous audience impact and cinema artist and craftsmanas actor, director, writer
and producer.*
The image of the underdog was projected in his films such as Apollo
Robles(1961), Batang Maynila (1962), Mga Alabok sa Lupa (1967), Batang Matador
and Batang Estibador (1969), Ako ang Katarungan (1974), Tatak ng Alipin(1975), Totoy
Bato (1977), Asedillo (1981), Partida (1985), and Ang Probisyano (1996), among many
others. The mythical hero, on the other hand, was highlighted in Ang
Alamat (1972), Ang Pagbabalik ng Lawin(1975) including his Panday series (1980,
1981, 1982, 1984) and the action adventure films adapted from komiks materials such
as Ang Kampana sa Santa Quiteria(1971), Santo Domingo (1972), and Alupihang
Dagat (1975), among others.
Poe was born in Manila on August 20, 1939. After the death of his father, he dropped
out of the University of the East in his sophomore year to support his family. He was
the second of six siblings. He married actress Susan Roces in a civil ceremony in
December 1968.

Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero, is a screenwriter, film director and producer, is the quintessential
Filipino filmmaker whose life is devoted to the art and commerce of cinema spanning
three generations of filmmakers. His film Ganito Kami NoonPaano Kayo Ngayon?,
set at the turn of the century during the revolution against the Spaniards and, later, the
American colonizers, follows a nave peasant through his leap of faith to become a
member of an imagined community. Aguila situates a familys story against the
backdrop of the countrys history. Kamakalawa explores the folkloric of prehistoric
Philippines. Banta ng Kahapon, his small political film, is set against the turmoil of
the late 1960s, tracing the connection of the underworld to the corrupt halls of politics.
His 13-part series of Noli Me Tangere brings the national heros polemic novel to a
VISUAL new generation of viewers.
Romero, the ambitious yet practical artist, was not satisfied with dreaming up grand
ARTS ideas. He found ways to produce these dreams into films. His concepts, ironically, as
stated in the National Artist citation are delivered in an utterly simple style minimalist,
but never empty, always calculated, precise and functional, but never predictable.
 Carlos Botong Francisco, the poet of Angono, single-handedly revived the forgotten
art of mural and remained its most distinguished practitioner for nearly three decades.
In panels such as those that grace the City Hall of Manila, Francisco turned fragments
of the historic past into vivid records of the legendary courage of the ancestors of his
race. He was invariably linked with the modernist artists, forming with Victorio C.
Edades and Galo Ocampo what was then known in the local art circles as The
Triumvirate. Botongs unerring eye for composition, the lush tropical sense of color and
an abiding faith in the folk values typified by the townspeople of Angono became the
hallmark of his art.
Harana, 1957
His other major works include the following: Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of
Limahong, Serenade, Muslim Betrothal, Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The
Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo.

Hernando R. Ocampo

Hernando R. Ocampo, a self-taught painter, was a leading member of the pre-war

Thirteen Moderns, the group that charted the course of modern art in the Philippines.
His works provided an understanding and awareness of the harsh social realities in the
country immediately after the Second World War and contributed significantly to the
rise of the nationalist spirit in the post-war era. It was, however, his abstract works that
left an indelible mark on Philippine modern art. His canvases evoked the lush
Philippine landscape, its flora and fauna, under the sun and rain in fierce and bold
colors. He also played a pivotal role in sustaining the Philippine Art Gallery, the
countrys first.
Ocampos acknowledged masterpiece Genesis served as the basis of the curtain
design of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater. His other major works
include Ina ng Balon, Calvary, Slum Dwellers, Nude with Candle and Flower, Man and
Carabao, Angels Kiss, Palayok at Kalan, Ancestors,Isda at Mangga, The
Resurrection, Fifty-three Q, Backdrop, Fiesta.

Benedicto R. Cabrera

VISUAL ARTS Benedicto R. Cabrera, *who signs his paintings Bencab, upheld the primacy of
drawing over the decorative color. Bencab started his career in the mid-sixties as a
lyrical expressionist. His solitary figures of scavengers emerging from a dark landscape
were piercing stabs at the social conscience of a people long inured to poverty and
dereliction. Bencab, who was born in Malabon, has christened the emblematic
scavenger figure Sabel. For Bencab, Sabel is a melancholic symbol of dislocation,
despair and isolationthe personification of human dignity threatened by lifes
vicissitudes, and the vast inequities of Philippine society.
Bencabs exploration of form, finding his way out of the late neo-realism and high
abstraction of the sixties to be able to reconsider the potency of figurative expression
had held out vital options for Philippine art in the Martial Law years in the seventies
through the contemporary era.
*from the citation
Selected worksMadonna with Objects, 1991Studies of Sabel, dyptych, 1991People
Waiting, 1989The Indifference, 1988Waiting for the Monsoon, 1986
 Guillermo Estrella Tolentino
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino is a product of the Revival period in Philippine art.
Returning from Europe (where he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts,
Rome) in 1925, he was appointed as professor at the UP School of Fine Arts where the
idea also of executing a monument for national heroes struck him. The result was
the UP Oblation that became the symbol of freedom at the campus. Acknowledged as
his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands
as an enduring symbol of the Filipinos cry for freedom.
Other works include the bronze figures of President Quezon at Quezon Memorial, life-
size busts of Jose Rizal at UP and UE, marble statue of Ramon Magsaysay in GSIS
Building; granolithics of heroic statues representing education, medicine, forestry,
veterinary science, fine arts and music at UP.
He also designed the gold and bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award and
did the seal of the Republic of the Philippines.

Arturo Luz
Arturo Luz, painter, sculptor, and designer for more than 40 years, created
masterpieces that exemplify an ideal of sublime austerity in expression and form. From
the Carnival series of the late 1950s to the recent Cyclist paintings, Luz produced
works that elevated Filipino aesthetic vision to new heights of sophisticated simplicity.
By establishing the Luz Gallery that professionalized the art gallery as an institution
and set a prestigious influence over generations of Filipino artists, Luz inspired and
Cesar Legaspi
developed a Filipino artistic community that nurtures impeccable designs.
Among his other significant paintings are Bagong Taon, Vendador de Flores, Skipping
A pioneer Neo-Realist of the country, Cesar Legaspi is remembered for his singular
Rope, Candle Vendors, Procession, Self-Portrait, Night Glows,Grand Finale, Cities of
achievement of refining cubism in the Philippine context. Legaspi belonged to the so-
the Past, Imaginary Landscapes. His mural painting Black and White is displayed in the
called Thirteen Moderns and later, the Neo-realists. His distinctive style and daring
lobby of the CCPs Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater). His sculpture of a
themes contributed significantly to the advent and eventual acceptance of modern art
stainless steel cube is located in front of the Benguet Mining Corporation Building in
in the Philippines. Legaspi made use of the geometric fragmentation technique,
Pasig.
weaving social comment and juxtaposing the mythical and modern into his overlapping,
interacting forms with disturbing power and intensity.
Among his works are Gadgets I, Gadgets II, Diggers, Idols of the Third
Eye, Facade, Ovary, Flora and Fauna, Triptych, Flight, Bayanihan, Struggle,Avenging
Figure, Turning Point, Peace, The Survivor, The Ritual.

Abdulmari Asia Imao

VISUAL ARTS Abdulmari Asia Imao, a native of Sulu, is a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist,
documentary film maker, cultural researcher, writer, and articulator of Philippine Muslim
art and culture.
Through his works, the indigenous ukkil, sarimanok and naga motifs have been
popularized and instilled in the consciousness of the Filipino nation and other peoples
as original Filipino creations.
His U.P. art education introduced him to Filipino masters like Guillermo Tolentino and
Napoleon Abueva, who were among his mentors With his large-scale sculptures and
monuments of Muslim and regional heroes and leaders gracing selected sites from
Batanes to Tawi-tawi, Imao has helped develop among cultural groups trust and
confidence necessary for the building of a more just and humane society.
Selected works:
Industry Brass Mural, Philippine National Bank, San Fernando, La UnionMural Relief
on Filmmaking, Manila City HallIndustrial Mural, Central Bank of the Philippines, San
Fernando, La UnionSulu Warriors (statues of Panglima Unaid and Captain Abdurahim
Imao), 6 ft., Sulu Provincial Capitol
 Federico Aguilar y Alcuaz
Federico Aguilar y Alcuaz, who signed his works as Aguilar Alcuaz was an artist of
voluminous output. He is known mainly for his gestural paintings in acrylic and oil, as
well as sketches in ink, watercolor and pencil. He was also a sculptor of note and has
rendered abstract and figurative works in ceramics, tapestries and even in relief
sculptures made of paper and mixed media, which he simply calls Alcuazaics. The
preference to use his maternal name was more for practical reasons; Alcuaz was rarer
than the name Aguilar, and thus ensured better recall; it was also simpler to drop the
customary y between the two names.
Alcuaz belongs to the second generation of Filipino modernists after the fabled
Thirteen Moderns, credited along with Jose Joya, Constancio Bernardo, Fernando
Zobel and Arturo Luz, for building a significant body of abstract art from the arguably
more tentative efforts of their predecessors. Alcuaz went to the UP College of Fine Arts
in Diliman while also taking up his pre-law course at San Beda College. Napoleon
Abueva, Jose Joya and Juvenal Sanso were also in school with him at that time,
studying under Fernando Amorsolo, Guillermo Tolentino, Irineo Miranda, Constancio
Bernardo and Toribio Herrera. He would go on to win prizes at UP and at the national
Shell Art competition, and embarked on several solo exhibits after graduating from San
Beda
Alcuaz would go on in 1955 to obtain a law degree at the Ateneo de Manila in Padre
Faura, Manila in deference to his fathers wishes, but after mounting an exhibit at the
legendary Philippine Art Gallery, he received a fellowship from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Spain and proceeded to study at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando in Madrid, where other Filipino expatriates like Juan Luna, Felix
Resurreccion Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, Fabian dela Rosa and Jose Ma. Asuncion
received a similar classical training.
After his studies, he stayed on to live and familiarize himself with the art and culture of
Europe. He had exhibits in Madrid and then in Barcelona, where he met his future wife
Ute Schmidt who he married in 1959. They have three children. In 1964, the family
moved to Manila, but after 4 years his wife returned to Germany with their three sons,
whereupon, Alcuaz embarked once more on shuttling between Europe to see his family
and mount exhibits, and then to Manila, where he preferred to do his studio at the
Manila Hilton (now the Manila Pavilion).
His works are highly favored, not only for its studied refinement and European flair, but
also for the ease and pleasure conveyed by his choice of light, color and composition;
all of which add up to scenes which are always
Napoleon quite playful but never cluttered. His
V. Abueva
love for classical music is also apparent in this constant fluidity.
At 46 then, Napoleon V. Abueva, a native of Bohol, was the youngest National
Artist awardee. Considered as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture,
Abueva has helped shape the local sculpture scene to what it is now. Being
adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract, he has
utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood (molave, acacia, langka
VISUAL ARTS wood, ipil, kamagong, palm wood and bamboo) to adobe, metal, stainless
steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass. Among the
early innovations Abueva introduced in 1951 was what he referred to as
buoyant sculpture sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a
placid pool. In the 80s, Abueva put up a one-man show at the Philippine
Center, New York. His works have been installed in different museums here
and abroad, such as The Sculpture at the United Nations headquarters in New
York City.
Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of
Judas (1955),Thirty Pieces of Silver, The Transfiguration (1979), Eternal
Garden Memorial Park, UP Gateway (1967), Nine Muses (1994), UP Faculty
Center, Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila Hotel, the bronze figure of Teodoro
M. Kalaw in front of National Library, and murals in marble at the National
Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.
 J. (Jeremias) Elizalde Navarro
J. (Jeremias) Elizalde Navarro, was born on May 22, 1924 in Antique. He is a versatile
artist, being both a proficient painter and sculptor. His devotion to the visual arts spans
40 years of drawing, printmaking, graphic designing, painting and sculpting. His masks
carved in hardwood merge the human and the animal; his paintings consists of
abstracts and figures in oil and watercolor; and his assemblages fuse found objects
and metal parts. He has done a series of figurative works drawing inspiration from
Balinese art and culture, his power as a master of colors largely evident in his large
four-panel The Seasons (1992: Prudential Bank collection).
A Navarro sampler includes his 50s and 60s fiction illustrations for This Week of the
Manila Chronicle, and the rotund, India-ink figurative drawings for Lydia Arguillas
storybook, Juan Tamad. Three of his major mixed media works are Im Sorry Jesus, I
Cant Attend Christmas This Year (1965), and his Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969:
Ateneo Art Gallery collection), and A Flying Contraption for Mr. Icarus (1984: Lopez
Museum).
 VISUAL ARTS

Francisco Coching
Francisco Coching, acknowledged as the Dean of Filipino Illustrators and son of noted
Tagalog novelist and comics illustrator Gregorio Coching, was a master storyteller in
images and in print. His illustrations and novels were products of that happy combination of
fertile imagination, a love of storytelling, and fine draftsmanship. He synthesized images and
stories informing Philippine folk and popular imagination of culture. His career spanned four
decades.
Starting his career in 1934, he was a central force in the formation of the popular art form of
comics. He was a part of the golden age of the Filipino comics in the 50s and 60s. Until his
early retirement in 1973, Coching mesmerized the comics-reading public as well as his fellow
artists, cartoonists and writers.
The source of his imagery can be traced to the Philippine culture from the 19th century to the
1960s. His works reflected the dynamics brought about by the racial and class conflict in
Philippine colonial society in the 19th century, a theme that continued to be dealt with for a
long time in Philippine cinema. He valorized the indigenous, untrammeled Filipino in Lapu-
Lapu and Sagisag ng Lahing Pilipino, and created the types that affirm the native sense of
self in his Malay heroes of stunning physique. His women are beautiful and gentle, but at the
same time can be warrior-like, as in Marabini (Marahas na Binibini) or the strong seductive,
modern women of his comics in the 50s and 60s.
There is myth and fantasy, too, featuring the grotesque characters, vampire bats, shriveled
witches, as in Haring Ulopong. Yet, Coching grounded his works too in the experience of war
during the Japanese occupation, he was a guerilla of the Kamagong Unit, Las Pinas branch
of the ROTC hunters in the Philippines. He also drew from the popular post-war culture of the
50s, as seen in Movie Fan. At this point, his settings and characters became more urbane,
and the narratives he weaved scanned the changing times and mores, as
in Pusakal, Talipandas, Gigolo, and Maldita.

Victorio C. Edades

Painting distorted human figures in rough, bold impasto strokes, and standing tall and
singular in his advocacy and practice of what he believes is creative art, Victorio C.
Edades emerged as the Father of Modern Philippine Painting. Unlike, Amorsolos bright,
sunny, cheerful hues, Edades colors were dark and somber with subject matter or
themes depicting laborers, factory workers or the simple folk in all their dirt, sweat and
grime. In the 1930s, Edades taught at the University of Santos Tomas and became dean
of its Department of Architecture where he stayed for three full decades. It was during this
time that he introduced a liberal arts program that offers subjects as art history and
foreign languages that will lead to a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts. This development
brought about a first in Philippine education since art schools then were vocational
schools.
It was also the time that Edades invited Carlos Botong Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo
to become professor artists for the university. The three, who would later be known as the
formidable Triumvirate, led the growth of mural painting in the country. Finally retiring
from teaching at age 70, the university conferred on Edades the degree of Doctor of Fine
Arts, honoris causa, for being an outstanding visionary, teacher and artist.
Among his works are The Sketch, The Artist and the Model, Portrait of the
Professor, Japanese Girl, Mother and Daughter, The Wrestlers, and Poinsettia Girl.
 VISUAL ARTS

Ang Kiukok
Born to immigrant Chinese parents Vicente Ang and Chin Lim, Ang
Kiukok is one of the most vital and dynamic figures who emerged during
the 60s.. As one of those who came at the heels of the pioneering
modernists during that decade, Ang Kiukok blazed a formal and
iconographic path of his own through expressionistic works of high visual
impact and compelling meaning.
He crystallized in vivid, cubistic figures the terror and angst of the times.
Shaped in the furnace of the political turmoil of those times, Ang Kiukok
pursued an expression imbued with nationalist fervor and sociological
agenda.
Some of his works include: Geometric Landscape (1969); Pieta, which
won for him the bronze medal in the 1st International Art Exhibition held
in Saigon (1962); and the Seated Figure (1979), auctioned at Sothebys
in Singapore.
His works can be found in many major art collections, among them the
Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Historical Museum of Taipei,
and the National Museum in Singapore.

Jose Joya
Jose Joya is a painter and multimedia artist who distinguished himself by creating an
authentic Filipino abstract idiom that transcended foreign influences. Most of Joyas
paintings of harmonious colors were inspired by Philippine landscapes, such as green
rice paddies and golden fields of harvest. His use of rice paper in collages placed value
on transparency, a common characteristic of folk art. The curvilinear forms of his paintings
often recall the colorful and multilayered kiping of the Pahiyas festival. His important
mandala series was also drawn from Asian aesthetic forms and concepts.
He espoused the value of kinetic energy and spontaneity in painting which became
significant artistic values in Philippine art. His paintings clearly show his mastery of
gestural paintings where paint is applied intuitively and spontaneously, in broad brush
strokes, using brushes or spatula or is directly squeezed from the tube and splashed
across the canvas. His 1958 landmark painting Granadean Arabesque,a work on
canvas big enough to be called a mural, features swipes and gobs of impasto and sand.
The choice of Joya to represent the Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennial itself
represents a high peak in the rise of the modern art in the country.

Granadean Arabesque, 1958 (Ateneo Art Gallery Collection)

Joya also led the way for younger artists in bringing out the potentials of multimedia. He
designed and painted on ceramic vessels, plates and tiles, and stimulated regional
workshops. He also did work in the graphic arts, particularly in printmaking.
His legacy is undeniably a large body of work of consistent excellence which has won the
admiration of artists both in the local and international scene. Among them are his
compositions Beethoven Listening to the Blues, and Space Transfiguration, and other
works like Hills of Nikko, Abstraction, Dimension of Fear, Naiad, Torogan, Cityscape.