2009-65702
October 11, 2011
FA 110: Philippine Art Movement
Sabel and the Dreamer
Mark Justani created an oil painting entitled Abot Tanaw last 1997. In this painting, there’s a flying white kite and a floating person trying to reach for some sort of star in the night sky. The first thing that I noticed was the star the subject was trying to reach. It was quite noticeable because of the use of very bright colors on top of a dark night sky as background. The night sky was painted dark with highlights on the clouds. The subject was painted using bright colors as well. Shapes and lines were not very evident, though. There were no visible outlines on the subject. The only apparent shape was the diamond-shaped kite while the only evident lines were the stripes on the subject’s shirt. The dominant textures in the painting were soft ones, seen on the clouds, clothes and the skin of the subject. These elements of art give the feeling of being in a dream-like state.
In the year 2002, Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, also known as Ben Cab, painted Homage to Sabel using acrylic paint on canvas. The name speaks of the subject, Sabel, a woman living in the streets. In this painting, she wears some sort of plastic material covering her body. Her face and hair was painted with brown and black colors respectively and white and grey for the covering on her body. I did not notice any shapes on the painting, yet I saw lines which were the apparent brushstrokes in every part of the subject. She smiles in the painting, drawing my eyes to her face. It was probably day time when this was rendered for the plastic seemed to be reflecting a lot of light. With the bright plastic and bright smile, the painting seemed to impart a warm, happy feeling. The colors used in the painting, Abot Tanaw, were well blended, making it look soft, giving the impression of a vague dream. Using bright colors on the subject made it stand out from the dark background. The absence of