Some of the finest work of Art made by Filipinos
The Island of Philippines is known for its rich and diverse culture. And because of this, a lot of work of art has been created and become popular not only locally but also it became a trend in other countries as well. Filipinos makes use of art also to tell or to illustrate the historical events that have occurred during that time and to express what they want to say from the countries that have colonized us to the present era.
Speaking of which, there are a lot of popular Philippine work of art and one of it is the famous painting created with our very own national hero, Juan Luna, The Spoliarium which is illustrated below:
Spoliarium illustrates the horrific and tragic experiences the Filipinos have experienced during the 19th century. It asserts the violation of human rights made the first colonizers of our country, the Spaniards. Spoliarium other paintings and works of art created by Juan Luna were the first works of art that became famous to the other countries particularly in the European countries that has given him a lot of recognition due to his creative and expressive style of creating an art. This painting have made Juan Luna won a gold medal at the National Exposition of Fine Arts which was held in Madrid, Spain. With this influencial painting, it ablazed the heart of our fellow countrymen to create works of art in order to express their emotions against the colonizers and to continue to fight for their freedom.
This portrait was created by one of the known artist the Filipinos has and that is Fernando Cueto Amorsolo. This is a portrait of the former president Manuel L. Quezon. Fernando Amorsolo, dubbed as the grand old man of the Philippine art scene, he had a big impact and contributed a lot to the Philippines due to the works of art especially paintings he have created which are scattered all around the Philippines. Fernando Amorsolo has done may portraits including this one and others like Manuel Roxas and Sergio Osmena Sr. Most of his work of art illustrates elegance and brilliance of our society during the late 1800's until the 1950's. His greatest contribution to the Philippine arts would be the discovery of natural light that could be revealed in his painting making it them more realistic.
Given some of the famous works of art made by Filipinos and having enough knowledge on how to interpret a work of art. I would be giving my own critique on 3 of the Philippine works of art I have selected.
The first one would be “Comprador” by Pablo Baens Santos
This work of art expresses a very strong yet negative emotion because of the thick and sharp lines. It can also be seen at the art that the people are struggling in order to survive while there is one person that sits above them showing his superiority over them because he has the power and wealth to manipulate them. A suiting example would be our politicians that abuses their power to control people who are helpless and seeking equality and justice. It is disappointing that it is an uncurable disease in our society. Adding more emotion to this canvass would be the colors because the dominant colors in this picture would be black and other dark colors. As for its principles, variety because there is a difference between hierarchy in temrs of power, emphasis because the artist wants its audience to focus their attention on the man in the center. Scale is also a visible principle that can be depicted here. The man at the center is bigger than the other people ( the ones who are pulling the ropes). Accroding to my research, during the year 1978, the Philippines were still under the Marcos’ regime and every person or groups that opposes to him are all sent to jail. Filipinos are treated like puppets and what the government dictates is mandatory because basically they have the power and wealth to manipulate any person that stands in front of them.
The next work of art that I would be giving a critique on is “Genesis” by Hernando Ocampo
Some of the elements that could be seen in this canvass in my own opinion would be lines (curved), shape (amorphic), light, and color. As for its principles of design and in my own opinion, some of the principles visible to this canvass would be variety in terms of its colors, and balance ( asymmetrical) , emphasis (focal point). Through the elements and principles that I have seen through this illustration Personally, I would interpret it as a very strong yet positive canvass because of its colors. With the color of red, for me it means that there is passion and dedication that the painter wants me to feel and I could also see a yellow color meaning happiness and positive vibes. As for its lines, it is curvy yet it is thin meaning it is flowing in a very calm state and according to my research,
At the year 1968, where this canvass was created, Philippines were still under the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos. One tragic event that have happened during the year was the Casiguran Earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.3 which was the second most destructive earthquake in the history of the Philippines next to the 1990 Zambales Earthquake.
(taken directly from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_in_the_Philippines)
“Genesis” that was woven into a tapestry by Japanese artisans to become the fire curtain of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater. With proper lighting, “Genesis” glows with the intensity of red-hot embers, and emanating from its three-dimensional center are what seem to be claws or tongues of fire reaching out to the viewer.
(taken directly from: http://opinion.inquirer.net/55307/the-real-h-r-ocampo-stands-up#ixzz3SpvieTDv)
And the last work of art that I would giving a critique on is “Francisco Garcia Ortiz” by Jose Honorato Lozano
Some of the elements that could be seen in this canvass in my own opinion would be lines (curved), shape, texture, pattern, light, and color. And as for its principles and in my own opinion, some of the principles visible to this canvass would be unity because of the people visible in every letter, emphasis by focal point, imbalance. As for its context, upon looking the canvass, one would recognize the letters that was formed and maybe one would think that it would only want to express the creativity by making use of people and no much meaning within it. It may also mean that there is something about that name that the artist is fancy about that is why he was inspired to make a canvass from him. Personally, I would interpret this canvass as something that is simple yet very creative because through the movements or actions done by person in order to create latters that would further create words and try to express it to the viewers. I also felt a very nostalgic feeling when I stared to this, it felt like I was brought back to the Renaissance Era and everyone is living in an aristocrat life and everyone is passionate about arts.
According to my research, At the year 1854-1863, where this canvass was created, Philippines under the colonization of the Spaniards. Filipinos were not given much freedom to do what they want unless one is wealthy or has a very strong connection to the government. Filipinos that time were living a very conservative life and some of them are very active in terms of arts and literature in order to express what they feel. There are others that are starting to rebel against the Spanish and fight for the country’s freedom
