Tag: January 26, 2011

IN CELEBRATION of its 140th year and the University’s Quadricentennial anniversary, the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences opened a part of its vast visual art collection for public viewing.

The exhibit, Visual Color of Grace, which opened last January 7 and will last until January 29, features a total of 48 paintings by renowned Filipino masters and up and coming artists alike.

Among the wide selection of artworks seen in the show are those of National Artists for visual arts Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos “Botong” Francisco and Vicente Manansala.

Works of established artists such as Juan Luna, Galo Ocampo, Anita Magsaysay-Ho were also displayed, along with works of Thomasian newbie painters like Mark Ramsel Salvatus, Ivan Roxas and Ronaldo Ventura.

THOMASIAN multimedia artists introduced a breakthrough in Philippine cinema in the form of a full-length 3D animation film ,RPG Metanoia, one of the entries in the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last December.

Among the alumni who showcased their animation expertise were lead animator Paul Eliscupides and lead modeler Leon Enriquez, both products of UST’s Industrial Design program. UST Advertising Arts alumni Ana Katrina Pangilinan, Voltaire Cada and Alan Escio, Architecture alumnus Alexander Matias and Aylwin Velez, who studied information and systems management in UST, were also part of the production.

Enriquez and Eliscupides said the movie took four years to make.

ARCHITECTS who have turned to the visual arts and have made a name in the field is the focus of the exhibit, Architect Artists.

The exhibit, which runs from until April 2, feature eight architect-artists led by National Artist Victorio Edades, the founder of the school of fine arts in UST, and UST Architecture alumni Roberto Chabet and Agustin Goy.

Edades’ “Moro Lass” portrays a young girl in Muslim costume. His “Lady in Red” is a bright painting of a woman wearing a red Chinese costume.

His landscape painting, “Montalban Woods,” is an interplay of soft colors, while “Market Scene” evokes the chaos of a market place by contrasting the dark foreground with the bright background.

What birthday? Birthdays are for six-year-olds whose parents feel a happy obligation to bring sweet spaghetti and ice cream to the whole class. The 400th birthday is a lame phrase. The number beams with tectonic magnificence, conjuring images of monumental cliffs, mountain peaks vanishing in feathery clouds, the sun, the slow-dance to the rhythms of the geological clock. “Birthday” smacks of silly party hats and parlor games.

THE SLUMS may as well be the last place he wanted to be in. The stench of stagnant water and garbage brought an unpleasant welcome to the small community of scrap houses. Shanty people—men, women, and children dressed in tattered rags with black smudges from head to toe—watched the neatly-dressed stranger squeezing himself through the cramped path between the makeshift homes. As he went deeper into the shanties, he felt the residents’ hostile gaze. The smell of rotting garbage pointed to a creek at the end of the claustrophobic trail. Aside from the fact that the water wasn’t flowing at all and was trash lining the banks, dengue-carrying mosquitoes also buzzed around in swarms. Nevertheless, the children still chose to swim in the dirty water.

MAKALIPAS ang mahigit dalawang dekada, muling natunghayan ng bansa ang pagpapalit ng disenyo ng mga pera na sinimulan noong Disyembre 2010, kung saan unang inilabas ang P20 at P50 perang papel, samantalang nakatakdang ilabas ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ngayong Enero lahat ng mga bagong disenyo.

Ang mga bagong disenyo ay gawa nina Diwa Gunigundo, BSP Deputy Governor, at Ambeth Ocampo, tagapangulo ng National Historical Institute.

Ang pagbabago ng mga salapi ay inianunsiyo noong 2009 ng BSP.

Ayon kay Fe Dela Cruz, tagapagsalita ng BSP, isa sa mga rason kung bakit pinalitan ang mga disenyo ng pera ngayon ay dahil madali na itong magaya ng mga namemeke.

MULA SA pagkatatatag nito noong Abril 28, 1611, ang UST ay magdiriwang ng ika-400 na anibersaryo nito sa darating na Enero 28 kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng pista ni Santo Tomas de Aquino, ang patron ng Unibersidad.

Paliwanag ni Giovanna Fontanilla, direktor ng Office of Public Affairs, Enero, at hindi Abril ipagdiriwang ng UST ang ika-400 anibersaryo nito sapagkat buo ang UST bilang isang pamilya tuwing Enero.

“Sa Enero, kasama nating ang mga pinakaimportanteng mga stakeholder natin—ang mga mag-aaral. Ang populasyon ng Unibersidad na mahigit 40,000 na mga mag-aaral ay naririto. Tayo ay kumpleto bilang isang pamilya,” ani Fontanilla.