May 23, 2013

Serafin Serna's Traces of Greatness

by Christiane L. de la Paz

May 2013--Serafin Serna was in his senior year when World War II broke out. He was studying at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where he learned the fundamentals of painting. He executed two paintings during his student years, Igorot Woman and Marketing in Baguio, both painted in 1941 that showed the influence of Fernando Amorsolo, his UP professor. Serna did not hesitate to tackle even the more complex subjects such as head studies of young and old people with the confidence of a great painter. While working as a layout artist in the Philippines Herald since the 1950s, he began his series of pastoral landscapes until the 1970s for which he became a familiar name. However, while not much is known of Serna’s personal life and other efforts, his paintings during the American period and onwards points out a range of examples of his art. In this interview, Bessie del Rosario, Serafin Serna’s granddaughter reveals that his grandfather, whom she calls Papa, was an affectionate family man who participated energetically in building a good relationship with his family. The business success Serafin and his wife, Bellaflor Laureano of Malabon achieved allowed him to paint what his heart desires. Serafin Serna died of emphysema on March 9, 1979.

lee mas...

ARTES

Jose Zabala Santos (1911-1985)

by Ricky Orellana

March 2013--Jose Zabala Santos or “Mang Pepe” to his neighbors in Kuatro Kantos, Malabon, was born in Calumpit, Bulacan on July 20, 1911. He acquired his early drawing skills from his mother whose avocation is painting. Later on, he took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines when he was sixteen but soon quit because cartooning wasn’t offered then. Instead, he enrolled in a US correspondence course on cartooning and earned his diploma.

“Zabala,” as he is known in the cartoon world, started his career in 1932. It was Amado Hernandez or Ka Amado, then editor of Sampaguita magazine, who launched his career as a cartoonist. Pre-war readers of the vernacular comic strips were soon introduced to the delightful characters of – Titina, Lukas Malakas, Sianong Sano and Popoy. When Sampaguita folded up, Liwayway Publications started running his characters in 1935, thus ensuing the popularity of his character Lukas Malakas.

When World War II broke out in 1941, he abandoned his career. However, in 1942, he was invited by the Manalang advertising agency to join its art department until 1948. It was his stint in the advertising field that he discovered animation. In 1949, he worked in the advertising department of the Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC). There, he made Juan Tamad together with Francisco Reyes for a PMC product in 1955. Juan Tamad is a six-minute pioneering animated short film shot in 35mm and processed in the US, but believed to have never had a commercial run in the movie house circuit.

lee mas...

ANTIGUEDAD

The Culture and Art of the Mangyan

by Jericho Paul Santos

September 2012--The Mangyan tribe has been included in the history of Mindoro. Spaniards have long documented the life of the Mangyan people. However, much is still to be learned from the culture of one of the Philippines’ richest ethnic group. Mangyan refers to the Philippine ethnic group living in Mindoro Island but some can be found in the island of Tablas and Sibuyan in the province of Romblon as well as in Albay, Negros and Palawan. The word Mangyan generally means man, woman or person without any reference to any nationality. Social scientists have documented Mangyan tribes into several major tribes. One of the ways to categorize them is through their geographical location. The Northern tribes include the Iraya, Alangan and Tadyawan tribes while the Buhid, Bangon Batangon and Hanunuo Mangyan comprise the tribes in the South.

The Culture

Despite being grouped as one tribe, Mangyans differ in many ways. In comparison to the technological advance between the two geographical divisions, the Southern tribes are more advanced as seen in their use of weaving, pottery and system of writing. The Northern tribes, on the other hand, are simpler in their way of living. Their language just like the whole Philippines came from the Austronesian language family. However, even if they are defined as one ethnic group the tribes used different languages. On the average, they only share 40% of their vocabulary words on their mutual languages. The tribes have also varied physical and ethnogenetic appearances: Iraya has Veddoid features; Tadyawan are mainly Mongoloid; and the Hanunuo looks like a Proto-Malayan.

lee mas...

DE INTERES

Silay’s Ancestral Houses: The Glory of the Past

by Jericho Paul Santos

January 2013--A physical structure has no significance to the community if it does not have corresponding stories that help shape the people surrounding it. This reason has contributed to the preservation of family structures in the city of Silay.

The city of Silay in Negros Occidental, 14 kilometers North, was one of the cities in the province that reaped the success of the sugar industry boom. Its golden age was between late 19th century and the early year before the Second World War. The houses were the seat of the privileged clans of the city. But the damage of the War and the decline of the sugar industry led to the return to its laid back atmosphere.

There are a total of thirty-one (31) recognized ancestral buildings in Silay. Some are still inhabited while some have become commercial establishments. Of all the ancestral houses in the area, the Hofileńa Ancestral Home and the two houses that are turned into museums – Bernandino Jalandoni Ancestral House and the Balay Negrense Museum are the most visited houses that are open for public viewing.

lee mas...

CRITICA

Break the Silence Over Fakes

by Jack Flam

April 2012 -- The press has recently been full of reports about forgeries. In Europe, fakes by Wolfgang Beltracchi have embarrassed a number of experts and collectors. In the US, a painting purportedly by Jackson Pollock that was sold for $17m is the subject of a lawsuit against the now-closed Knoedler gallery and its former president Ann Freedman. This “Pollock”, moreover, seems to be only the tip of the iceberg, since it appears to belong to a surprisingly large collection of pictures supposedly painted by leading abstract expressionist artists. This collection was allegedly brokered by a previously obscure dealer named Glafira Rosales, who is now said to be the subject of an FBI investigation. The names attached to the paintings Rosales allegedly handled include Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still, as well as Pollock.

One of these paintings, supposedly from the “Elegy to the Spanish Republic” series by Motherwell, was recently confirmed as a forgery by the Dedalus Foundation as part of a court settlement. The foundation, which I head, is sponsoring a catalogue raisonné of Motherwell’s work. Our experience with this and related works makes it clear how problematic the issue of authenticity has become for scholars, collectors, gallery owners, and foundations specialising in modern painting. Sharply rising prices and an increasing scarcity of major works have created a rich environment for forgers.

lee mas...

TRIVIALIDADES DE ARTE

Controversial Caravaggio to be unveiled in London

by Martin Bailey

March 2013--Mahon bought The Cardsharps for £50,400 (est £20,000-£30,000) when it came up for auction at Sotheby’s, London in 2006, ascribed to a 17th-century “follower” of the artist. Mahon believed it to be by the master. A controversial Caravaggio that belonged to the late collector and scholar Denis Mahon is due to be unveiled in April at the Museum of the Order of St John in London. Although the rest of Mahon’s 58 Italian Baroque paintings have been bequeathed to UK public collections, the long-term future of The Cardsharps is uncertain, because of the question of attribution.

The Cardsharps came up for sale at Sotheby’s, London in 2006, ascribed to a 17th-century “follower” of the artist and estimated at between £20,000 and £30,000. Mahon bought it for £50,400 (the hammer price was £42,000), believing it to be by the master. The seller, Lancelot William Thwaytes, is now taking legal action against Sotheby’s because of its alleged misattribution, but the claim is being robustly rejected by the auction house.

lee mas...

ACONSEJAR

A Critical Essay on Constructing the Filipina: A History of Women’s Magazines (1891-2002)

by Molly Anne Velasco

April 2013--Constructing the Filipina: A History of Women’s Magazines from 1891-2002 by Georgina Reyes Encanto is a first attempt to record the history of Women’s magazines in the historical-feminist perspective. The author herself is the former Dean of Mass Communication and a Journalism professor in the University of the Philippines. Her research interests mainly cover Philippine press history, feminism and gender issues in Philippine media and popular culture.

She begins her book with an introduction to the location of Women’s magazines in the lives of everyday Filipina women. Women’s magazines are the most accessible forms of media for women of different social classes. Topics of magazines usually include gossip, fashion, tips for the house and the workplace, horoscopes and relationship advice, all of which are absorbed by many of the readers from cover to cover. The pictures of beautiful scantily clad or fashion forward women who the readers idolize are often found on the covers along with advertisements of products that are supposed to aid women into becoming like the celebrities they adore. Encanto gives specific statistics regarding their circulation well as statistics on which medium and the percentage of the population were actually reading magazines thereby establishing factual evidence on Women’s magazines’ ubiquity. She also states that the study of women’s magazines as an Ideological and/or Repressive State Apparatus is a challenge yet a necessity because of their influences in the ideologies, decisions and world-view of women in the country within the book’s given timeframe. She mentions that while cursory historical accounts have been made by earlier writers, none of them have written in the historical-feminist perspective or have focused on women’s magazines specifically.

The author describes that women’s magazines did not appear until the last quarter of the 19th century. The women writers at that time were of bourgeoisie, ilustrada upbringing who propagated dominant Western, patriarchal and religious ideologies to their readership. The articles in these magazines had women assigned to subordinate, domestic roles; deceiving women by romanticizing their roles as homemakers thus establishing the ideas of the hegemony during that era. Amidst the seemingly progressive articles that promote women’s development, juxtaposing these against repressive, colonial ideologies was very evident with the portrayal of the ideal women as learned and cultured ‘Queens of the Home’ in a patriarchal society. The ideal women exist to serve their husbands and use her knowledge for the proper upbringing of her children. The perception of physical beauty should reflect those of the

lee mas...

ANUNCIO

Private Collections Art Book Officially Launched

by Artes de las Filipinas Web Team

October 20, 2009 -- EACOMM Corporation hosted a cocktail reception to celebrate the publication of its first book project, Private Collections. Almost three hundred guests turned up at the Isla Ballroom 3 of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel to welcome the release of the limited edition art book and to have it signed by the art collectors.

The audience had a warm and unforgettable moment that Tuesday evening. Artists and distinguished guests from the business, arts and society stood in lines to meet and have a chat with Washington SyCip, Hans Sy, David Consunji, Joey de Leon, Napoleon Abueva, Charlie Cojuangco, Joel Jimenez, Eddie Chua, Patrick Reyno, Mark Villar, Julius Babao, Arsenio Tanco, Jovenal Santiago, Manny Zialcita, Gilbert Santos, Wilmer Hontiveros, Louie Ojeda, Mikee Romero and Alexander Tan, who were recognized and honored that night.

Private Collections is available online and at Fully Booked and Powerbooks.

lee mas...