An Art Walk to Remember in UP Diliman

By: Lindsey Fabella

One sunny afternoon a few weeks ago, I found myself staring at this woman.  She was a native beauty with a quiet elegance about her.  Garbed in what is locally known as a Tagalog saya, she furtively kneels in front of a humble stove, tending to a small flame that is heating up what could only be dinner in a clay pot.  The subtle glow of the fire reflected on her face gives her a sense of tenderness and envelops the hut in a feeling of simplicity and warmth.  Then and there, I knew that I was standing face to face with a masterpiece.  A painting like this (Woman Cooking in the Kitchen, 1959) by a classical master like Fernando Amorsolo is priceless - it’s the kind of work that would usually entail shelling out a reasonable sum and travelling quite some distance to get to see in person, or so I thought.  That is why it was with some disbelief that when I looked outside the glass windows where this opus was, I could still see the academic oval.  As I regained a sense of awareness of where I was, it slowly occurred to me that I was still in UP Diliman. 

As a Philippine Arts graduate from UP Manila, I am no stranger to gazing at paintings, sculpture, installations, and other works of art of this kind.  Only that in my four years as an art student, having the pleasure of seeing masterpieces always came with a price (both literally and figuratively).  Whether it be private spaces like the Ayala Museum or the Lopez Museum, or government owned places like the CCP galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila or the National Museum, one always had to go out of one’s way and spend some money for art.  That is why when I (now a UP Diliman student) decided to take a walk around campus one afternoon and found out that one can see an authentic Amorsolo, as well as other equally great pieces, in neatly tucked and conveniently located art spaces within the campus; I felt that I just had to share this discovery.  So, whether you’re an art junky or simply curious, here are some of the best places to get in touch with your artistic side within UP Diliman.

#1 GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Museum

            Newest among the galleries on campus, this was built as part of the UP GT-Toyota Cultural Center.  The museum is housed on the first floor of the Hall of Wisdom right beside the UP Asian Center and Via Mare and is accessible by any jeepney that passes by the Romulo Hall.  As I entered its premises, I immediately noticed that its modern architectural and interior design made me feel like I was in the Ayala Museum.  Going to the latter place, however, will set you back at least 250 pesos on entrance tickets alone.  Entrance to the Toyota Asian Cultural Museum, however, only entails a few seconds of scribbling your name on their guestbook.

Its gallery is a temporary exhibition space made up of four distinct but interconnected rooms which can be used for four different exhibits at the same time.  The current exhibit “Re-imagining the Nation: Vintage Photographs from the Asian Center Collection” features blown-up old photographs that reveal our country’s former stable diplomatic relations with nearby Asian countries like China, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam .  As I was going through the exhibit, I could not help but smile while I thought about the irony (in light of the recent political conflicts we have had with China) of one of the photos showing how former President Marcos and his First Lady were warmly welcoming Chinese diplomats to the Philippine islands.  A timely topic to discuss, if you ask me - maybe we should be reminded more often of our former, more amicable relationship with our neighbours. For those interested, the show will run up to June 30, 2012 and it is open on Mondays-Saturdays, 8:00am-5:00pm. 

#2 Bulwagan ng Dangal

This is a place you might want to check out the next time you happen to borrow a book from the Main Library. The museum is located on the basement of the Gonzales Hall, which up until June 2009, remained unused.  Renovated and refurbished, it now serves as a temporary exhibit space that showcase art works either done by UP artists or are about the institution itself.  Its setting places it within walking distance of the heavily student populated College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, College of Arts and Letters, and the College of Engineering.

I was not allowed inside the gallery when I visited as they were in the process of setting up its next exhibit entitled, “The University of the Philippines: An Educational Heritage Site”, which will be opened to the public on the 6^th of May, 2012.  However, I still recommend seeing this place once it has re-opened as some of the artists that will be featured in its next show are visual arts titans like National Artist and former CFA Dean Jose Joya and other former deans and faculty members of the CFA.  Entrance to the Bulwagan won’t cost a thing; one only needs to present a valid UP ID.

#3 Vargas Museum

            This is, by far, the largest museum in campus, with four floors of various permanent and temporary exhibit spaces teeming with masterpieces from all forms and genres. It all began when distinguished alumnus and first ever Executive Secretary Jose B. Vargas donated his art collection to his alma mater in 1978.  From then on, it would be generally known as the official museum of UP Diliman.

            It currently houses three temporary exhibitions: “Tagalog at Taga-ilog” by Roberto M.A. Robles – comprised of several sculptural installations paying homage to the river life of the Tagalogs; “Revisiting Modernity: Architecture of the New Society” – which is a set of blown-up photographs of government buildings (CCP, Manila Film Center, and the likes) built during the Marcos era that represented what is loosely dubbed as modern Filipino architecture; and “A&L: The parallel (lives) museum” – a collection of artefacts from the lives of two influential art patrons.

On the other hand, its permanent collection boasts of an exquisite collection of works ranging from the classical like Fernando Amorsolo, to the moderns such as HR Ocampo, Victorio Edades and Nena Saguil.  The kinds of art belonging to this permanent exhibit – paintings, sculptures, video installations, photography, among others – are of National Museum calibre and should be visited at least once during a UP Diliman student’s stay in this campus.  The 20 peso entrance fee is still a money saver, as I found out, considering that the other places where I could see works done by national artists would set me back at least 100 pesos for round trip fare alone.  In fact, if you there on a Wednesday, you don’t have to pay anything at all! You could even take your friends and family on a tour here even if they are not enrolled in UP for a measly 30 peso entrance cost for each person.

            On a different note, there is also a deeper, more important reason why you should visit these places.  As the famous French artist Edgar Degas once said, art is not what you see, but what you make others see.  These art spaces show how much the UP community values both the production and preservation of art and heritage, be it in the national or school context.   So the next time you find yourself wandering around campus with time in your hands, I suggest you visit these three equally remarkable museums.  Maybe just like what Degas suggested, we would be able to see as well.