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By Kayla Mariz Jurado
Special to The manila Times
Alumni of the University of
the Philippines (UPAA) pay tribute to the iconic oblation to
mark UP’s Centennial Anniversary with an art exhibit entitled
“100 Nudes, 100 Years” at the Mandarin Suites, fourth floor of
Gateway Mall in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City until June 25.
Masterpieces by the 79
artists—all UP alumni—will be exhibited. Works include those of
National Artists Fernando Amorsolo, Napoleon Abueva and Guillermo.
Almost all art pieces that will
be featured will be for sale and proceeds will go to the art studies
scholarship program of the UPAA.
Models were young students of UP
who aspired to be part of the success of the exhibit. The chosen
theme was nudity because, according to UP alumnus and Regent Gari
Tiongco, “The nude body like the Oblation, is our Alma Mater’s
symbol of freedom—our affirmation that we are ready to accept
truth and knowledge and proclaim truth to all without any
reservation.” Tiongco also explained that “the human figure has
been a recurring interest in art since the time of the classical
Greeks who openly regarded it as both ideal and heroic. In educated
societies like ours, we treat this subject with parallels between
“beauty of the body and purity of the mind.”
According to Prof. Ruben Defeo,
the exhibit will show the journey of art from pigments to pixels.
Several paintings will be exhibited but there will be only one work
by Niña Cabangis using digital art. The exhibit was also to show
the evolution of works from the day Amorsolo started nude painting
until the contemporary age of sketching nude human body.
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