Jose Joya Awards reveal the impossible

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Annie Fe G. Perez

“IMADYENA ANG IMPOSIBLE” is the infamous tagline of every fine arts student from the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu. And they did imagine the impossible.

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During the opening of their 37th annual students’ exhibit and the 36th Jose Joya Awards last Feb. 10, one could say that the paintings inside the SM Art Center were out of the ordinary. Fine Arts Student Organization (FASO) chairman Gerald Ismael Pongase said, “This exhibit is not what you would expect, like landscapes and the like. These artworks are concept based.”

Out of almost 30 artworks, the Jose Joya Awards hailed three winners. This is the legacy of the late national artist Jose Joya to the first fine arts school outside of Luzon. The competition was judged by Fr. Jason Dy, a Jesuit priest and contemporary artist; Gabriel Abellana, UP alumnus and University of San Carlos fine arts professor; and Jon Unson, 1988 Jose Joya Awardee and professional photographer.

The grand prize winner was a freshman in the university who came from the city of Butuan. His artwork, entitled “Appetite,” was inspired by the concept of food. Julian Melchor, 16, said, "I wanted to advertise art." He explained that Filipinos love food, and that just like food, “art is edible, too. Mabusog imong mata. (Your eyes will be satisfied).”

The second prize winner got her inspiration from the social issue of cyber pornography and people’s sex drives. She entitled it “Cyber Monkey Sex Drive.” Nanami Cortes explained that this issue is not a thing to be afraid of but must be put to a stop.

Her mixed media artwork used white as a background to emphasize her message.

On the other hand, Lhee Isabel Taneo, who won the third prize, puzzled the viewers with her artwork entitled “Yes? What’s your question?” It was a rectangular shaped guitar in brown and orange color scheme. When asked why she created this for the Joya Awards, she chuckled and answered with her artwork’s title: “I had a personal question in mind that bothered me. Nganong wala may gitara nga rectangle? So, nagbuhat kog akoa.” (Why is there no rectangular guitar? So, I made my own.)

Commenting on the artworks in the exhibit, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said, “I am assured that the future of art in Cebu is going to be promising because the imagination of our young artists is beyond boundaries.”

There were also eye-catching artworks in the batch. Among them was “Spotted” by Ebenezer Morrok, which was a sculpture made of soft drink crowns. There was also a people’s champ Manny Pacquiao-inspired artwork entitled “Ridulo?” by Julius Sagrado with automotive paint as its medium. “Problemado” by Rhay Joseph Ferrer used different colors to convey one’s emotions at the onset of a troubled mind.

Aside from Rama, among those who attended the opening of the exhibit were UP Cebu officials, the management of SM City Cebu, UP Cebu art professors, people from the design industry, art enthusiasts and students.

Ronald Baldo, an art enthusiast, said, “I can see from this exhibit that the creativity of every student came out.”

Well, it was more than creativity. It was imagination mixed with the issues of society. The exhibit runs until today.