Bernard Valen G.

Sanchez Fa43

SPOLARIUM

The spolarium measures four meters in height and seven meters in width. The canvas depicts a chamber beneath a Roman arena, where bodies of dead gladiators are being dragged into a shadowy area, presumably to be piled for disposal. Spoliarium was painted on a very large canvas and is more or less life size. It depicts defeated gladiators in the arena being dragged into a pile of other corpses. On the left side, there are spectators viewing the spectacle with a variety of expressions, while on the far right side of the painting is a grieving woman in torn and shabby clothing. Horizontal lines are seen in the walls and the people watching the scene. But

diagonal lines that denote movement are very obvious and can be seen in the gladiators slain bodies, in the men dragging them and in the floor tiles. There is dominant use of contour lines as shown in the muscles of the arms, legs and backs of the gladiators. In the use of color, there is a governing use of red, mostly seen in the center, that is one of the first things to attract the attention of the viewer. The use of blue on the weeping lady's dress creates contrast against the gladiators red dresses. The intensity of the color red is very overwhelming. Almost all of the colors used are warm colors, which is thought to be intentional on the part of the artist. Luna has been known to use colors not simply for reasons of aesthetics but also for their symbolic value. The Spoliarium shows different interpretations to many people where one of the most famous interpretation is the mistreatment of the Spaniards towards the Filipinos. Ryan Cayabyab composed the opera Spoliarium, which chronicles the creation of the eponymous painting and Juan Luna's trial for the murder of his wife. Soprano Fides Cuyugan-Asensio wrote the libretto. A recorded version was released for commercial distribution in 2006.

The Spoliarium is a painting created by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Along with Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, he won the gold medal for this particular painting during the Exposicin Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884, with Hidalgo winning a silver medal for his painting "The Assasination of Governor Bustamante and his Son." The first thing you ll notice about the painting is it s size. Standing at 4 meters in height and 7 meters in width, the painting no doubt commands attention and gives off a magestic aura. Any viewer of the painting will feel dwarfed by the large painting and may feel overwhelmed by the magnanimity of it. The next thing you ll notice about the Spoliarium is the rich colors used. Predominantly, the painter made use of warm colors for his work of art, with reds being a central color that attracts the most attention. In person, the colors are striking and quite unique. The Spoliarium depicts an even during the Roman empire, where gladiators die for entertainment. The painting shows how gladiators are being dragged mercilessly by men towards an unknown darkness, where other tragically killed gladiators are brought. To the left is a cheering crowd, screaming for blood while to the right, a woman is crouched and seemingly in sorrow.

The painting shows a tragic event, definitely. But it also shows a deeper meaning, especially for the Filipinos during the time of the Spanish colonization (which lasted over 400 years!). According to art experts, the fallen gladiators who are being dragged are the Filipino people, while the men dragging them into the darkness are representative of the Spanish rule. The woman crouched on the right side of the painting is believed to be the Mother Country or the Inang Bayan who weeps for her Philippines. The blood thirsty crowd to the left is a representation of the social cancer of that time. Truly, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Luna s painting. The Spoliarium is famous among the Filipino people, to say the least. The fact that Luna had gained recognition among other Spaniards in Madrid because of this painting has given the Filipinos great pride. This also shows that the Filipinos have skills that can equal, if not, surpass the Europeans of that time. This is why the painting, along with Hidalgo s, are deemed National Cultural Treasures, because they were able to contribute to the development of art in the Philippines. The Spoliarium can be found in the Hall of the Masters of The National Museum of the Philippines. Whether you are a foreigner or a local, take a few hours off your schedule to visit the museum and learn more about Philippine culture and history through the eyes of its artists. It is an educational and enriching experience.

BLANCO

FAMILY

MUSEUM

The patriarch of the family, Jose Blanco, a Filipino painter known for his paintings tagged as folk realism, died last month. He left behind a legacy that few can rival. A fine arts graduate, he mentored his children in the art of painting. Although none of his children received formal professional training in painting, they became prolific painters themselves, their works exhibited around the world.

Folk realism ? Alice Guillermo used the term to describe Blanco s paintings but it is unclear whether she was the first to apply the term in art. Folk realism was originally a socio-political term used to convince the public that responses in opinion polls, or surveys, are based on the intuitive realism of the common folk. Some have debunked this notion by pointing out that the intuitive realism of ordinary folk is neither based on real experience nor empirical data but is, rather, shaped by mass media and people they look up to as authoritative in certain subject matters.

To better appreciate the position of those who deny the validity of intuitive or folk realism, consider the response made by a lot of people when asked if they believed former President Joseph Estrada was guilty right after his conviction by the Sandiganbayan. Except for the lawyers and political watchers, most people based their opinion not on the evidence presented but on their perception of

Estrada as a man of good or bad character, from how he was represented both in the news and in movies. Realism as a technique in painting has been around for centuries. Perhaps, the addition of folk was intended to describe the Blancos favorite subjects the common folk not knowing that folk realism already had a distinct meaning in another discipline.

Rather than be biased by labels like folk realism, I tried to view the Blancos paintings without associating them with any distinct style or interpretation. I spent two hours looking at them. My best description is that they are an intent to freeze moments in real life and capture facets of real emotions. If the Blancos were writers rather than painters and their paintings were their writings, then they speak in plain language. Not because they are short on highfalutin words but because they have this honest intention to convey their message and they do not want their audience to miss the substance because they got lost in the form. That s how their art is profound in their simplicity yet rich with vibrant details. Triumph, tragedy, perseverance and innocence reproduced with colors and brush strokes.

Does the word realism apply to them? All the figures in the paintings look real people are people, water is water, fire is fire, land is land. In terms of technique, therefore, the answer would be yes. But in terms of substance, we have to remember that a painting any painting is an artist s interpretation of something, whether that something is a face, an occurrence or an emotion. That detracts from realism in any piece of art. Anything, except during the moment that an event is unfolding, is someone s interpretation. A tearful face is as real as it can be but captured by an artist s pen or brush, its reality is mixed with the artist s own reality the reality of his own experiences which determine the emotions and thoughts elicited at the moment he sees that tearful face. All of that are conveyed in his art.

Come to think of it, this is true even in photography. A tearful face, captured in a photograph, is the photographer s interpretation because the photograph is a totality of the subject, lighting, hues, saturation, composition and background. These depend on the photographer, rather than on the subject. An illustration. There was this decrepit gasoline station near the Taytay market. I took a photo from across the street, setting my digital camera on black and white mode. To get the composition I wanted, I

waited patiently so that the only figures in the frame were the gasoline station, the gasoline attendants, some passers-by and a lone cyclist. No cars, no jeepneys, no bumper-to-bumper traffic that could clearly mark it as post-2000. I posted the photo on my Web log and asked the readers to guess when the photo was taken. Most said the 1950s.

Back to the Blancos paintings. The labels heaped on them were irrelevant. I stood there, gazing and gaping with awe at the wonderful play of colors and lines, brilliance and shadows. But what makes the exhibit even more special is that they form a chronicle of the Blanco family s life as artists. Paintings of the Blanco children, including crayon scratches by 11-month-old Peter Paul, were there as an integral part of the collection. The exhibit is a testament to an evolution and the reality of that evolution is more profound and striking than any debate as to the realism in any work of art.

Even more significant is the clear message that formal training and education is not essential to be good at any discipline. None of Blanco s children went to art school. Neither is age relevant. One of Blanco s daughters-in-law took up painting at the age of 48, learned and became good at it. To call the experience inspiring would be an understatement. It was so inspiring and heart-warming that I finally decided to do what I ve been wanting to do for years paint. Who knows? In a few years, I might be inviting you to my own art exhibit.

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BATANGAS MUSEUM

Opening in Batangas City on July 15 2006, Museo Puntng Batangan raises the standards for research, exhibition design and interpretation for local community museums.

Moving away from the tired exhibition formulas, Museo Puntng Batangan utilizes multiple video projections, computer and television monitors, audio programs, and large-scale photographs to convey information and come close to its viewers.

It will not draw attention to its high tech components merely for their novel use, however. Batangas City is a community in motion, with a lively character that comes across best through a multi-media approach. The fluidity offered by moving images and sound prove appropriate to a place where an independent spirit is the community s most precious gift, expressed in its use of language, songs, and

interpersonal relations.

To further deepen understanding of this independent spirit, this museum is organized according to key concepts in Tagalog.

Fourteen words were selected by the curatorial team, and the social importance of each word in Batangas City is given a small exhibition of its own. Some of these words, like punto, will be exhibited as sound experiences; while others, like bayan and awit, are shown as video productions. Others still, like batang, and kalumpang, are explored via displayed objects.

Through all these sections, extraordinarily beautiful photographs by the renowned photographer Neal Oshima will assist the visitor in understanding the concepts.

Why create a museum in Batangas City?

The creation of a museum in Batangas City began with a resolve to say something to and about an entire community, not just its leaders and well known individuals living in the city center. And so the museum accomplishes a number of firsts.

It is the first Philippine museum built on a massive research effort that combed through performed and oral traditions of more than 100 barangays comprising this single city. It is the first Philippine museum focusing on specific bodies of knowledge carried by rural folk identifying Batangas City s principal culture bearers.

It is also the first Philippine museum that utilizes a foreign archive extensively, i.e. the National Archives of the United States, and the United States Army Archives, which keep the records of the Philippine American War. Batangas province was among the few areas that sustained the most intense impact of the American conquest (it was one of three provinces where the writ of habeas corpus was suspended for continuing resistance to American rule). Handwritten testaments by Batangueos, presently kept in Washington, D. C., allowed the curatorial team to piece together the events that transpired during this now-unknown and brutal war including the effects of starvation and cholera.

Museo Puntng Batangan is also among the handful of Philippine community museums that utilize the Philippine National Archives. Documents like the late 19th century fincas urbanas (real estate declarations) have allowed the reconstruction of the poblacion as it was 120 years ago, including old street names.

Finally, three maps owned by the Museo del Ejercito in Madrid, Spain that show the poblacion in the 18th and early 19th centuries have allowed the curatorial team to identify an extensive fortress/wall system which used to surround the church.

I think the painting shows more on cold ambiance, for instance her face, she seemed to be distressed and tired, she tries to drink a red tea, warm colour to show heat or to warm up herself. Honestly, te painting didn t really attract me.

This river gives the viewer a brushing eyesight with its colour and it was painted with life. The water seems to be more realistic with its shiny part on it. i think the painting was made during the summer days because the ambiance of the color seems more on warm side and speaking of summer, i just remembered our province where in we usually rest every summer.

This painting portrays the ocean view from the water upward. This painting is full of life. It is quite astonishing how the painter portrayed the mystical life under the sea. Its life he s shown there in the painting in the fish, dancing and swimming. I think this painting is more on life, how it is look from the canvas.

This painting is not my usual type of painting, i mean this painting is painted violently and in a sarcastic way. The cold colours used does not really attract my eyes. It only says the technology will kill you, but i don t know, can t say much.

This shows that reality is always bolder than imagination. Oil medium of paint is used to define the realistic image of an eye.

An art gallery is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art. Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects; however, sculpture, decorative arts, furniture, textiles, costume, drawings, pastels,watercolors, collages, prints, artists' books, photographs, and installation art are also regularly shown. Although primarily concerned with providing a space to show works of visual art, art galleries are sometimes used to host other artistic activities, such as performance art, music concerts, or poetry readings. Works on paper, such as drawings, pastels, watercolors, prints, and photographs are typically not permanently displayed for conservation reasons. Instead, public access to these materials is provided by a dedicated print study room located within the museum. Murals generally remain where they have been painted, although many have been removed to galleries. Various forms of 20th century art, such as land art and performance art, also usually exist outside a gallery. Photographic records of these kinds of art are often shown in galleries, however. Most museum and large art galleries own more works than they have room to display. The rest are held in reserve collections, on or off-site. The term is used for both public galleries, which are non-profit or publicly owned museums that display selected collections of art. On the other hand private galleries refers to the commercial enterprises for the sale of

art. However, both types of gallery may host traveling exhibits or temporary exhibitions including art borrowed from elsewhere