Dominic R.

Narcelles
12- STEM 1

Fine Art Designs in the Community

1. Quezon Memorial Shrine

Coordinates
14°39′02.9″N121°02′53.5″E

Location Quezon Memorial

Circle, Quezon City

Designer Federico Ilustre

Type Mausoleum, Museum

Height 66 meters (217 ft)

Beginning date 1952

Completion date 1978

Dedicated to Manuel Quezon, 1st

President of the Philippine

Commonwealth

(Officially the 2nd President of

the Philippines overall)

Since I live near that area, I live near Quezon City Hall, this memorial Shrine is just a walking
distance from my place. The history and architectural explanation of this shrine can be found in
Wikipedia

History
The Quezon Memorial Committee which was tasked to organize a nationwide fund-raising campaign
for the building of a monument dedicated to former President Manuel Quezon, was established by the
virtue of Executive Order, No. 79 signed by then President Sergio Osmeña on December 17, 1945.
Then President Elpidio Quirino proposed the relocation of the monument away from its original
planned site but such plans did not pushed through. The Bureau of Public Works commenced the
construction of the monument in 1952. The monument was placed under the jurisdiction of
the National Historical Institute through Presidential Decree No.1 issued by then President Ferdinand
Marcos on September 24, 1972.
On January 14, 1974, the monument was formally designated as a national shrine and was
inaugurated in August 19, 1978. The remains of former President Manuel Quezon was transferred to
the Quezon Memorial Shrine from the Manila North Cemetery on August 1, 1979. The remains of
Aurora Aragon Quezon, was likewise transferred to the shrine on April 28, 2005.
Architecture and design
The Quezon Memorial Shrine was designed by Federico Ilustre. The 66 meters (217 ft) monument is
composed of three connected pylons and is located at the center of the Quezon Memorial Circle, a
major park in Quezon City. An observation deck is also present at the top of the structure which has a
capacity of 60 people which can provide a panoramic view of the city. A spiral staircase connects the
deck to the bottom of the structure.[7] The observation deck is currently not open to the public. The
columns are adorned with three grieving bowed angels holding sampaguita (Jasminum sambac)
wreaths with each of them representing the three major island groups of the Philippines namely,
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.[6] Each of the angels were given a traditional clothing representing one
of the three island group. The angel figures were made by Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti.
Under the watch of former Quezon City Mayor Tomas Morato, the monument was beautified by
Amberti, an Italian architect hired by Morato with Carrara marble. Morato's successors replaced the
Italian marbles with locally sourced marble.

2. UP Diliman in Quezon City

Mural on a wall outside of UP Diliman Art Department. /IMAGE Gerilya Google Arts & Culture page

Street art and murals in UP are not just Instagram-worthy. Artists in UP Diliman bring
social and political significance to their art. The artist collective Gerilya, whose artists are
alumni of the university, is behind the murals at the UP Diliman College of Fine Arts. Most
of their works are inspired by cultural values, historical events and socio-political issues.
 3. 11th World Scout Jamboree Memorial Rotonda

Location

Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

14°38′5.5″N 121°2′7.97″E:
Coordinates

Roads at Timog Avenue

junction Tomas Morato Avenue

Construction

Type Roundabout
The 11th World Scout Jamboree Memorial Rotonda, also
Maintained Department of Public Works and
known as the Boy Scout Circle, is a roundabout in Quezon
City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. Located at the
by Highways intersection between Timog and Tomas Morato Avenues, it
serves as the boundary between Barangays South Triangle,
Laging Handa and Sacred Heart.
A monument stands in the middle of the roundabout which commemorates the members of the ill-
fated Philippine contingent to the 11th World Scout Jamboree that was among the casualties of
the United Arab Airlines Flight 869 crash of 1963.[1] The monument consists of a circular pedestal with
bronze statues positioned around the structure, in the likenesses of the 24 members of the Philippine
delegation (22 Boy Scouts, 2 veteran Scouters, and 2 chaperons). In 2007, the Quezon City
government performed a ₱20 million renovation on the monument that included the addition of
an obelisk on top of the structure honoring Tomás Morató, the first mayor of Quezon City and the one
after whom Tomas Morato Avenue is named.
 4. “Inang Bayan” (1975) at the Philippine Heart Center, Medical Arts Building
If you’re an often visitor of the Philippine Heart Center like me, because I just live near
the area. You will often see this in the main entrance of the hospital.

Art is like love. At times you can’t have it, so you just content yourself with distant
admiration. And in the case of “Inang Bayan” at the lobby of the Philippine Heart Center
in East Avenue, Manila.

“Inang Bayan” (1975) by Vicente Manansala, Medical Arts Building, Philippine Heart Center, East
Avenue, Manila.

The mural “Inang Bayan” is one of the most controversial commissions of Vicente
Manansala. In 1975, founding chairman of the Philippine Heart Center for Asia and
former First Lady Imelda Marcos commissioned the artist to create the mural for the
lobby of the hospital’s Medical Arts Building. The mural depicts the former First Lady as
the mother of the country (Inang Bayan) which sparked uproar from militant groups
against the Marcoses. During that period, the sole reason of being linked to the First
Family was enough to stir a controversy. On February 28, 2011, the National Museum
declared the mural an important cultural property.
 5. Sketches and Studies of the “Stations of the Cross”
Manansala believed that the true beauty of art lay in the process of creating it. And as
reflected with the collection of his sketches at the Museum of Kapampangan Arts, all of
his works started with studies, sketches, and numerous variations until he attained the
structure that would eventually be transformed into fully realized works that are now part
of the his many legacies.

Manansala Studies of the “Stations of the Cross” for the Church of the Holy Sacrifice at the
University of the Philippines Diliman Campus.

The “Stations of the Cross” was one of the most important commissions of Manansala.
Those who have marveled at the actual murals installed at the Church of the Holy
Sacrifice in UP may find it difficult to believe those where the original forms or sketches
for the fourteen marterpieces.

Sources:
https://www.tenthousandstrangers.com/vicente-manansala/
http://primer.com.ph/blog/2017/07/01/street-arts-and-murals-6-places-you-can-appreciate-
art-for-free/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quezon_Memorial_Shrine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_World_Scout_Jamboree_Memorial_Rotonda