THE UP OBLATION
Patriotism
By Mico Letargo
In fields of battle, deliriously fighting,
Others give you their lives, without doubt, without regret;
Where there’s cypress, laurel or lily,
On a plank or open field, in combat or cruel martyrdom,
If the home or country asks, it's all the same--it matters not.
The UP Oblation is an iconic symbol of the iskolar ng bayan depicting a man with arms outstreched, chest protruding forward in an act of offering himself to the nation.
Made by Professor Guillermo Tolentino, the statue was made as an interpretation of the above stanza from Jose Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios which talks about the ultimate sacrifice for one’s country.
The model used by Tolentino was Anastacio Caedo, his then apprentice, Contrary to urban legend that it was Fernando Poe Sr who stood naked for the sculptor. Caedo would soon become a professor in the University, taking with him skills he acquired from his mentor.
Originally, the statue was completely naked, but, as morality was prevaling at that time, it was modified by former U.P. President Jorge Bocobo with the addition of a fig leaf to cover the genitals.
The Oblation found fronting the University is in fact a bronze replica as the original was moved to the UP Main Library, supposedly the original location of the College of Fine Arts where the sculptor taught.
Today, more replicas stand in the different campuses of UP across the Islands. The Oblation in its long history has become the centerpiece of many UP-related symbology and emblems.
MOTHER AND CHILD
Rey Paz Contreras
Rubbish Art: A Scavenger Hunt to Aesthetic-ness
By Maria Espie Vidal
MOTHER and CHILD—this is a sculpture made by world renowned Rey Paz Contreras. At a glance, one can say it is made out of an expensive type of wood—at a glance!
Mr. Contreras is a prominent Filipino sculptor working with urban refuse and environmental materials as artistic media. He currently has his studio near the railroad tracks in Tondo, Manila, where he conducts his community-based art training to promote a socially-responsive 'people's art' that has developed into the Daambakal Sculptors Collective. Contreras' pioneered the use of travieza or hardwood railroad tracks during the late 70s. (www.wikipedia.org)
Mostly his works are inspired by the indigenous Filipino culture and creates visual forms of contemporary images that explore a distinct Filipino aesthetics. This is evident in this sculpture of Mother and Child.
This sculpture is a picture of a native mother holding her child in her arms.
She is wearing an Igorot-like “tapis” which Contreras made out of little pieces of wood. There is also a small basket tied to her waist.
The child is made to be wrapped in cloth but it is not an attachment like the mother’s tapis. It is carved.
In spite the lack of details, it is a complete package in itself. The love of the mother to the child was still clearly shown in the following: first, the tightness of embrace of the mother. She wraps her arms around her baby to secure him/her by giving support to the chest and knees. Also, this may symbolize protection.
Another symbolism for protection is the baby being fully clothed.
If one may notice, the baby also is tilted to the left side of the mother’s chest. This may symbolize the mother’s love that she wanted the baby to be literally close to her heart.
Nevertheless, Contreras' significant contribution to the development of contemporary Filipino/Philippine art has been recognized by various art organizations and cultural institutions since the early 1990s. He has conducted sculptural training workshop in the regions and has been invited to exhibit in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Australia and the US.
ECSTASY OF ST. THERESE
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
Fusion of Art and Religion
By Melanie Datu
“I saw an angel close by me, on my left side in bodily form. This I am not accustomed to see unless very rarely. Though I have visions of angels frequently, yet I see them only by an intellectual vision, such as I have spoken of before. It was our Lord's will that in this vision I should see the angel in this wise. He was not large, but small of stature, and most beautiful - his face burning, as if he were one of the highest angels, who seem to be all of fire: they must be those whom we call Cherubim…I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it, even a large one. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of his goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying.” –The Vision as described By St. Therese of Avila
For those who are young in mind, this sculpture made by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini can be a little offensive. But for those who can understand the mix of religious and erotic imagery, as seen in this sculpture, one will immediately understand that Bernini’s aim was to portray a religious experience characterized by an intense bodily reaction to spiritual enlightenment in a language of ecstasy used by many mystics.
The text above shows how St. Therese’s heart was pierced by an angel with a golden arrow. How is it possible for an artist to turn this powerful text into an image? Such a complex set of emotions is hard enough to be described in text, how can it be demonstrated in a piece of marble? Between the years 1645 and 1652, Bernini managed to do this with a great skill, and created one of the most dramatic sculptures in history. The point in which we see the two figures, the angel and the saint, is not only the climax of the story but also the very middle of the action.
Saint Theresa, the focal point of the Cornaro Chapel of the church Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, is a soft white marble statue surrounded by a polychromatic marble architectural framing. Bernini was the first sculptor to realize the dramatic potential of light in a sculptural complex as noticed in the sun's rays, coming from an unseen source, illuminating the swooning saint and the smiling angel about to pierce her heart with a golden arrow. Not only did Bernini pioneered the use of light in sculptural complex, Bernini’s depiction of St .Therese also met the unrestrained quality of baroque art and its refusal to limit itself to firmly defined spatial settings.
If anything, The Transverberation of St. Therese is considered to be the hallmark of Baroque and Bernini as the genius of Baroque.
