Abueva: Tributes to an artist as a patriot
THE nation mourns, especially the artists’ communities. We have been orphaned by the passing of Napoleon Abueva, National Artist for Visual Arts and Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture.
In a tribute, former UP College of Fine Arts dean Prof. Neil Doloricon wrote lovingly of Abueva who also served in the same capacity.
“To me and my generation of UP Fine Arts students,” Doloricon wrote, “National Artist Napoleon Abueva was the modest ‘Sir Billy’, the respected, unparalleled, unequaled mentor, father and colleague who never ceased shaping, and forming his oeuvres out of earth’s bounty to make our world an artful place to live.”
Doloricon, who is known among others for his incisive and hard-hitting editorial cartoons, reminded the nation of some of his works: “The “Transfiguration” welcomes mourners and visitors wherein lie remains in eternal peace... Acts of patriotism and courage and supreme sacrifice are etched forever in the Dambana ng ng Kagitingan in Limay, Bataan.”
Doloricon also listed Abueva’s works around the UP campus in Diliman: “the entrance we pass through – the UP Gateway”; “the nine muses which represent the nine disciplines in the arts”; “as we pass through the College of Business, the spirit of business sculpture which engages us to imagine things”; and “when we pray to the Lord to give us strength over the challenges in life, the Lord hanging on the cross at the Church of Holy Sacrifice was carved by Sir Billy.”
“We will always remember Sir Billy. We will always have his art to remind us that if life must go on, it must be in the service not just of self but of those whose own selves are unselfishly and unflinchingly artful in their own creative ways for the people,” Doloricon said.
Abueva also made the replicas of Guillermo Tolentino’s iconic Oblation for UPLB, UP Tacloban and UP Mindanao. He also created the Pegaraw, the fantastic fusion of the Pegasus and Tamaraw, as a tribute to the UP College of Agriculture, and which now stands guard in front of the UPLB Main Library. The Pegaraw is a UPLB icon.
In a statement signed by its chair, National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines said Abueva was “a craftsman and patriot whose works attest to his love for the Filipino people and their struggle for dignity and free expression.
“In the resistance to the Marcos dictatorship, he was a key figure in the campaign ‘Free the Artists, Free the Media,’ despite potential political wrath from above,” Lumbera said, adding that “this was a factor that led to the founding of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.”
CAP likewise reminded the nation that “Abueva’s concern for the integrity of the National Artist award was manifested by his active involvement in the protest against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s arrant disregard for such integrity when she inserted the names of personal favorite artists in the duly-elected list of candidates for National Artist. Such activism has inspired fellow artists to contribute enthusiasm and energy in the growth of solidarity among their ranks.”
“Filipino artists, young and old, salute the passing of a
senior artist whose legacy to the nation, in art works and civic example, will forever be remembered,” CAP added.
Playwright Bonifacio Ilagan and Director Joel Lamangan also honored Abueva, on behalf of the broad arts and media alliance LODI (shorthand for Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity).
“Abueva’s works are both a personal and national achievement that would always be honored by Filipinos. They are monuments to Abueva’s creativity and vision, and also his highest tribute to the nation he so dearly loved,” said LODI.
Echoing CAP, LODI said: “We remember Abueva standing courageously with other artists when they declared ‘Free the Artist, Free the Media’ amid Ferdinand Marcos’ suffocating tyranny. It was the inspiration for the founding of the beautiful Concerned Artists of the Philippines which the ugly dictatorship feared and hated.”
Referring both to the growing movement against tyranny under the current president and to the national artist’s chosen artform, LODI said that “Abueva leaves us another time of ferment, when the people are fighting for the freedom to carve, cast and shape a present and a future without tyranny.”
These tributes by Doloricon, Lumbera, Ilagan and Lamangan, and by their organizations CAP and LODI properly situate Abueva in his times and in the nation he served.
The highest tributes we could give Abueva now is to realize his vision of free artists among a free people, and to defeat the new dictatorship that seeks to demolish what remains of the democratic space which have been won, depicted and nourished by our artists like Abueva and our people.