UP FORUM Volume 13 No. 6 November-December 2012 19
Campus of National Art
UP Diliman's Heritage of Works by National Artists
By Reuben Ramas Cañete
T
he University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, Quezon City is perhaps the most well-endowed university campus in the Philippines with works done by National Artists on its grounds. Since the 1930s, architects, sculptors, and painters who have achieved renown as National Artists of the Philippines have decorated it with unforgettable structures and works of art. It had been an avocation of sorts that resulted from their long association with UP as their alma mater and as their everyday workplace as faculty members. The first such works to greet the typical visitor of UP Diliman upon driving down University Avenue is found at the corner of CP Garcia Avenue, a pair of monumental sculptures titled Tribute to Higher Education (1962). These are the works of National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva. The two sculptures are reminiscent of ceremonial gateways into ancient cities. Finished in 1966, each is composed of two unevenly sized concrete piers formed in volcanic tufta (adobe) that support a cantilevered concrete block with bas reliefs molded on its surface. The reliefs represent figures in Philippine folklore and history, combined with allegorical figures and symbols that represent various aspects of learning such as science, engineering, and the liberal arts. Other sculptures by Abueva include Bridge of Love (c. 1978-1984) found at the College of Fine Arts Sculpture Garden; the Diwata or The Nine Muses (1994) at the Bulwagang Rizal front garden; and Magdangal (2008), in front of the new CAL Building. Abueva’s works can also be found in front of the College of Business Administration (CBA) Building, titled Spirit of Business (1979); at the Virata Hall, Institute of Small Scale Industries, Tribute to the Filipino Enterpreneur (1970s); and Crucifixion (1956) is a double-sided hardwood crucifix in simple curvilinear forms that is mounted on the center of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sacrifice. At the terminus of University Avenue is the most famous sculptural symbol of UP, the bronze statue titled Oblation, first done by National Artist Guillermo E. Tolentino in 1935. The original statue, now a prized possession of the University Archives, was molded from concrete by Guillermo Tolentino. The statue is a superb example of the beaux-arts ideal of classical masculinity, dignity, harmony, and the sublime. Another work by Tolentino can be found at the portico of the lobby of Palma Hall along Roxas Avenue, where a small bronze bust of Jose Rizal atop a black granite pedestal was finished in 1955. What makes the bust distinct is Rizal’s name inscribed in the ancient baybayin. It is also one of two Rizal busts Tolentino reputedly made for UP. The other one attributed to him, made of plaster, belongs to the Department of European Languages, CAL. In terms of sculpture by other National Artists, there is Allah (1984) by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao at the side of the Jorge Vargas Museum along Roxas Avenue. Allah revels in the curvilinear patterns of Islamic calligraphy, and Mindanaon okir carving, resulting in a flamboyant, s-shaped abstract metal piece that combines three interrelated themes: the sari-mosque (in the form of the five-pointed star set within the crescent moon), sari-manok (the mythical rooster-like bird of dazzling plumage with a fish in its beak), and sari-okir (the use of curvaceous lines that originate from the pako rabong and naga woodcarving motifs of the Maranaos and Tausugs). Architecturally, the first major work by a National Artist that one sees upon entering Diliman is Quezon Hall. Finished in 1950 by National Artist Juan Nakpil, Quezon Hall is a masterful synthesis of classical and modern architecture. The open portico, fluted columns, tiled roof, paired columns on the Observatory Deck, and relief details on its corners point to its classical origins, while its use of floor-mounted floodlights, a curvilinear cantilevered walkway, geometric grillwork, and a simplified entablature frame points forward to a more modern persuasion. Beyond Quezon Hall, decorating two sides of Diliman’s famed Academic Oval stand two other structures by Nakpil, the University Carillon and Gonzales Hall, also known as the Main Library Building. Gonzales Hall, named after the sixth President of the University, Bienvenido M. Gonzales, has a floor area of 12,613 square meters, with a shelving capacity of 1 million volumes. Its massive portico gives it an air of grandeur and monu-
mentality that is anchored on Beaux Arts principles. Inaugurated in 1952, the 130-foot tall Carillon Tower, also designed by Juan Nakpil, is located between Cine Adarna and the University Theater. Its 40 bells, cast in Holland, are controlled from a master keyboard-and-pedal set by a carilloner at the ground floor. In 1975, Juan Nakpil finished his third and last architectural project for UP Diliman, Romulo Hall which currently houses the Asian Center and the Institute of Islamic Studies, at the corner of Leon Ma. Guerrero Street and Ramon Magsaysay Avenue. Romulo Hall was designed using the brutalist forms of Neo-Vernacular Modernism, and is based on an amalgamation of several traditional Filipino house archetypes, particularly the Ifugao fale, the Maranao torogan, and the lowland bahay kubo. The hardwood doorways that mark the front and rear entrances of Romulo Hall are made of thick panels of narra and molave, and soar more than four meters tall, carved with stylized sarimanok relief motifs. Finally, its façade profile and roof are evocative of the bahay kubo, with its sharp angle and imposing bulk. Besides Nakpil, another earlier pair of buildings for the campus, which can be found in the Academic Oval facing the Sunken Garden were designed by National Artist Juan Arellano. These are Benitez Hall (College of Education Main Building) and Malcolm Hall (College of Law Main Building), both finished in 1941. Benitez and Malcolm Halls exemplify the beaux-arts ideal that overlays neo-classical purity and monumentality with Renaissance architectural motifs. This includes the use of a pediment over the main entrance, columns and arches that frame the entrance and third story gallery, a pitched, tiled roof; and the use of arched openings on the second floor. By contrast, National Artist Leandro Locsin designed and finished in 1956 the UP Church of the Hoy Sacrifice in the International Modern Style. Locsin’s circular plan called for a dome of three-inch-thick concrete shell that is spherical, with a radius of 70 feet, resting daringly on 32 thin reinforced concrete piers (nine inches thick and 30 inches wide), that follows the curvature of the dome. In addition, a cantilevered, ringshaped concrete canopy was suspended from the center of the curving piers, protecting the perimeter from sun and rain, and made the general impression of a space ship; or an abstracted salakot hat. In terms of painting, UP Diliman has also been blessed with mural and easel works by National Artists. On the south wall of the main lobby of Palma Hall is Manansala’s The Arts and Sciences (1960). Spanning 14 meters long by two meters wide, it is Manansala’s largest public mural in UP Diliman and depicts a surreal landscape animated by an array of different motifs culled from many sources, including the artist’s use of artistic details like the carabao, as well as the depiction of the arts (the canvas and easel, the statue, and the violin) and sciences (the compass, the heart/brain/eye, and the test tube). Manansala, with National Artist Ang Kiukok assisting him, also executed The Fifteen Stations of the Cross (1956) for the Church of the Holy Sacrifice. The works of National Artist Jose T. Joya can be found at the lobby of the College of Business Administration, titled Barter of Panay (1978); and the Costume Museum of the College of Home Economics (CHE) at Alonso Hall. Barter of Panay, however, does not represent any human figure, but is instead suggested through heavily painted polygons of colors: black, white, orange, brown, and golden yellow. His untitled work for the Costume Museum of the CHE is a geometric simplication of patterns of cloth, scissors, and thread, which was done in 1961. Inside the Church of the Holy Sacrifice, National Artist Arturo Luz designed a River of Life motif of colored granolithic terrazzo flooring that radiates almost 2,164 square meters from the altar, and derives its forms from the minimal but exuberant shapes of European planar abstraction, such as those by Henri Matisse, or the Catalan surrealist Joan Miro. Finally, National Artist Benedicto Cabrera executed a 1964 portrait of Jose Rizal that can be found at the CAL Library. --------------Dr. Cañete is assistant to the dean for culture and arts of the UP Asian Center. Email him at reubenramascañete@gmail.com.
Clockwise, from top left photo: Sculptures of the human form in concrete and adobe along the University Avenue by Ildefonso Cruz Marcelo; one of The Fifteen Stations of the Cross by National Artists Vicente Manansala and Ang Kiukok; Gonzalez Hall by National Artist Juan Nakpil; The Nine Muses by National Artist Napoleon Abueva; The Arts and Sciences by Manansala.