The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 93rd birth anniversary of Napoleon “Billy” Veloso Abueva, born #OnThisDay in 1930. 

Napoleon Abueva was born in Manila but grew up in Duero, Bohol. He finished his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts in 1953. He was mentored by the first National Artist for Sculptor Guillermo Tolentino. He pursued studies abroad and became a versatile sculptor who produced works in academic representational style and modern abstract using various materials such as wood, metal, steel, cement, bronze, marble, and brass. He was recognized as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture. In 1976, Abueva was declared National Artist for Sculpture. 

Featured here from the National Fine Arts Collection is one of Abueva’s notable creations and early works, “Mother and Child”, sculpted in adobe stone or volcanic tuff. It depicts a sitting mother adorably playing with her child as she raises her kid above her head as the child reaches back to cling to her. 

You may view this featured artwork and other works by Napoleon Abueva at the Vicente and Carmen Fabella Hall (Gallery XIII), Third Floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, and in the “Pagpauli: A Homecoming Exhibition of National Artist Napoleon Abueva” at the #NationalMuseumBohol in Tagbilaran. 

Follow this page for more features from the National Fine Arts Collection.  The #NationalMuseumPH is open to the public for free.  View the link for the 360 degrees virtual tour of the nine select galleries at the National Museum of Fine Arts:  https://nmfa.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/

#OnThisDay #NapoleonAbueva #MuseumFromHome

Text and photo by NMP FAD

© 2023 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPh celebrates the 113th birth anniversary of National Artist for Painting Vicente Silva Manansala.

Born in Macabebe, Pampanga, Manansala earned his Fine Arts degree at the University of the Philippines. He pursued further studies at Ecole de Beaux Arts in Montreal, France and the University of Paris through the UNESCO scholarship grant and French government scholarship, respectively. He was mentored by French artist Fernand Léger who advised him to simplify the shapes and colors in his works. He eventually rendered figures and objects and simplified them into basic geometric shapes while applying layers of colors. This style, which he pioneered and developed, is called transparent cubism. 

For his birth anniversary, we feature his memorabilia of paintbrushes and a serial palette he used to create his pieces. These memorabilia give us a glimpse and make us wonder about the artist’s process in creating their masterpieces. These tell us that Manansala was fastidious about cleaning his materials and equipment, as he would scrape and scrub his hardwood palettes after each use. In contrast, some artists would clean workspaces only after finishing each series of paintings as though they were wiping the slate to start afresh. As you may notice, Manansala may have opted to mix various colors on this particular palette, especially when he was creating larger paintings.

Manansala’s paintbrushes and serial palettes are on loan from the Manansala family. These are on view at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Northwest Hall Gallery at the National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), along with some of his works from the National Fine Arts and GSIS collections. You may view other works of National Artist Vicente Manansala at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Hall and the PHILAM Life Hall also found on the third floor of the NMFA.

#OnThisDay

Text and photos by NMP-FAD

© 2023 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 95^th birth anniversary of cartoonist and modernist painter Mauro Malang Santos #OnThisDay in 1928.

Mauro Malang Santos (1928-2017) belonged to the group of artists who took inspiration from folk art and whose works are characterized by geometric shapes, simplified figures, festive colors, and decorative forms. The National Fine Arts Collection has four of his works. One of these is an undated serigraph entitled “Sampaguita Vendor (93/249)” which depicts a simplified figure of a woman portrayed with long black hair dressed in a blue blouse with white sleeves and a red skirt. The woman holds a bagful of flowers and stands under the opening of an arched structure with a cross at its summit. In the background are images of houses, plants, trees, and a mountain at the end using solid geometric shapes. This work by Malang was donated to the National Museum in 2018 by Ms. Dora C. Afable.

Malang was born on January 20, 1928, in Santa Cruz, Manila. His artistic training started when he took drawing lessons from Teodoro Buenaventura (1863-1950). He later continued his studies at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. Malang’s talent was recognized when he won awards in art competitions organized by the Art Association of the Philippines, the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists, and the Art Directors Guild. He was also awarded the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1995. Mauro Malang Santos, who signed his works with Malang, passed away on June 10, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of works representing his artistic style and his contribution to Philippine art. 

You may view his artworks at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism (Gallery XVIII) and The Philippine Center New York Core Collection: A Homecoming Exhibition (Galleries XXVII and XXVIII) at the National Museum of Fine Arts. For visitor guidelines, please visit https://bit.ly/3pqZ2iJ. You may also view the 360 degrees virtual tour of selected NMFA galleries on the link https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. See you at your National Museum!

#MauroMalangSantos #OnThisDay

Text and photo by NMP-FAD

© 2023 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 87th birth anniversary of National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao, the first National Artist from Mindanao who was born #OnThisDay in 1936.

For his birth anniversary, we are featuring his bronze sculpture, The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting (1908-1976), completed in 2009, which is the newest addition to the National Fine Arts Collection. Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting and his family donated this sculpture in 2022. The donor, Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting, commissioned National Artist Imao to create a bust of his father, Antonio L. Tambunting. The figure used to be displayed in the Head Office of Planters Development Bank, where Ambassador Tambunting served as the board’s first chairperson. You may view the bust at the Antonio and Aurora Tambunting Gallery entrance at the National Museum of Anthropology.

NA Imao was a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist, filmmaker, researcher, and writer. He was born in Siasi, Sulu. He earned his fine arts degree at the University of the Philippines. He pursued graduate studies at Kansas University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Columbia University. He produced several photojournalistic and research work about the people of Mindanao. He also studied and promoted indigenous brass casting techniques. His works displayed the indigenous okir or ukkil, sarimanok, and other motifs from Southern Philippines. In 2006, Imao was declared a National Artist for Visual Arts. He passed away on December 16, 2014, at the age of 78 years old. 

The National Fine Arts Collection holds five other artworks of NA Imao. Found in the exhibition galleries at the National Museum of Fine Arts are the following: Sarimanok (1975, acrylic on canvas), Sarimanok (1969, bronze), Fishes (1976, bronze, two pieces), and Sarimanok (1996, pounded brass).

You may view these artworks when you visit the #NationalMuseumPh! We are open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9 AM to 6 PM. Entrance is free!

Text by NMP-FAD

Photo by NMP-EEMPSD

©National Museum of the Philippines (2022)

The value of rice in the Philippines goes beyond its role as a staple food in the country and other neighboring countries in Asia. In its many forms and state, rice is deeply embedded in the daily routines as well as in rituals and festivities among several ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines. As we end the celebration of National Rice Awareness Month, we highlight today the socio-cultural significance of rice by featuring the most popular effigy associated with it – the bulul/bulol of the Ifugao in northern Philippines.

Bulul/bulol are carved anthropomorphic figures serving as granary idols believed to protect against pests and assure good harvest for the Ifugaos in the Cordillera. They are effigies of one’s ancestors and guardian spirits. Once they are given proper rituals by the descendant community, their status becomes bulul, transcending beyond being tag-tagu or human figures devoid of any social constructs or signification.

Christian missions in Ifugao in the 19^th century, though sporadic, resulted in the scarcity of the bulul as some families began to discard them; its production was reduced if not halted, making it difficult to obtain them starting from the 20^th century. Among the tradition-bound Ifugaos, only wealthy families could afford to commission and maintain a bulul since the required rituals are often lavish. This situation led some locals to re-appropriate tourist art from the market by performing new libations of blood and grease for ritual use. Various opinions on what makes a bulul “authentic” have surfaced, primarily due to its different production methods, yet some of these may have become conceptually “authentic,” having been superseded by the ritual performance and the ascribed value given by the descendant community.

The rise in demand for the currently limited number of original bulul (i.e. those that underwent ritual and were actually used by the community for their intended purpose) in antique shops from the early 1960s to late 1970s triggered the production of imitations and replicas. Some of the newly carved figures were buried in mud or ground to achieve the old and dark color of the wood. These bulul are often prized possessions as these have been passed down from generations. Acquiring them often required owners to spend for costly rituals to sort of remove their attachment to the divine. Moreover, retiring a bulul also obliges them to build and ritually cleanse another statue to serve as the deity’s new dwelling place.

This level of importance that we accord to the bulul/bulol has been the motivation for us at the National Museum of the Philippines to include them in our National Ethnographic Collection, along with hipag (war deities) and other anthropomorphic figures. While continuing debates on the authenticity of a bulul and expertise on Ifugao culture abound, what remains clear is the unceasing respect of our indigenous people for our ancestors, for nature, and for their sense of community. The bulul/bulol will forever be a testimony to the artistry and craftsmanship of the Ifugaos which we hope is still being passed on to the younger generations.

Learn more about the Philippines’ rice culture by visiting the newly upgraded Pakhey, Humay, Palay: Rice, Biodiversity and Climate Change gallery at the 4F, National Museum of Anthropology.

#Bulul
#RiceAwarenessMonth2022
#MuseumFromHome

Article and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines