Here is my last sketch from the #UskManila sketch-walk at PICC – and the one I was most satisfied with. My sketching friend @Paul Paul and I found a spot in the courtyard where we could shelter from the rain but still sit outside. This concrete sculpture is another of the national treasures at PICC. Anito seems to be a reference to “an ancestral spirit worshiped as a protecting household deity” – which seems to fit with the totemic style.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
Here is another sketch from our PICC sketch-walk last weekend. After our first latag (Tagalog for laying out…when the group spreads out their sketches), my sketching friend @Paul Paul and I headed off to sketch at the grand staircase of the Plenary Hall and Reception Hall. This is dominated by a steel sculpture mounted on the wall, by Arturo Luz and called “grid”. This is one of the artworks at the PICC that has been declared a National Cultural Treasure. I did google around a bit to see if I could find any blurb about its meaning…but found nothing.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
Here is the second sketch I on the PICC sketch-walk with #UskManila – in the upper lobby of the east wing. It was raining a lot that day so most of my sketches were done inside. The mural or painting on the left is called Pagdiriwang in Tagalog, meaning celebration. It was painted in 1976 (and was done in-situ according to our guide) is an abstract expressionist work – according to the plaque the artist took inspiration from festive fok traditions in the Philippines.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
On the weekend I joined a sketch-walk with #UskManila at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The building was designed by Leandro Locsin, opened in 1976 and is designed in a brutalist style. Brutalism is a style of architecture that developed in the 1950’s and 60’s – characterised by lots of bare concrete and bold geometric designs. Personally I find the style a bit ugly – but the PICC building was at least designed carefully, was built to high quality standards and is still in very good condition. I sketched this sculpture while we waited for a tour – it’s part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation sculpture garden, which was opened in 1996. Some blurb on a plaque in front of it says it is by Vitaly Shanov and Daria Uspenskaya. The plaque also says that “the image of the bear is seen now as the epitome of goodness, peacefulness and fairness”…hmmm perhaps not anymore.
Sat-23-Sep-2023