The Katipunan is born

Andres Bonifacio was also a member of La Liga Filipina, although he soon lost hope in
gaining reforms though peaceful means. This feeling was especially heightened when Jose
Rizal was exiled to Dapitan. Bonifacio became convinced that the only way
the Philippines could gain independence was through a revolution.

Bonifacio then founded the “Katastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga Anak ng

Bayan” (KKK) on July 7, 1892 in a house on Azcarraga street (now Claro M. Recto), in
Tondo Manila.

The Katipunan had colorful beginnings. As a symbol of the member’s loyalty, they
performed the solemn rite of sanduguan (blood compact), wherein each one signed his
name with his own blood..

The members agreed to recruit more people using the “triangle system” of enlistment. Each
original member would recruit tow new members who were not related to each other. Each
new member would do the same thing, and so on down the line. Members were also asked
to contribute one Real (about 25 centavos) each month in order to raise funds for the
association.

The KKK members agreed on the following objectives:

▪ The political goal was to completely separate the Philippines from Spain after declaring the
country’s independence.
▪ The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good manners, cleanliness, hygiene, fine morals,
and how to guard themselves against religious fanaticism..
▪ The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend the poor
oppressed.

The “Kataastaasang Sanggunian” (supreme council) was the highest governing body of the
Katipunan. It was headed by a supremo, or president. Each province had a “Sangguaniang
Bayan” (Provincial Council) and each town had a “Sangguniang Balangay” (Popular Council).

The Leaders of the Katipunan:

▪ Deodato Arellano -Supremo

▪ Ladislao Diwa -Fiscal
▪ Teodora Plata -Secretary
▪ Valentine Diaz -treasurer
▪ Andres Bonifacio -controller

Jose Rizal and the Katipunan

Jose Rizal never became involved in the organization and activities of the Katipunan; but
the Katipuneros still looked up to him as a leader. In fact, Rizal’s name was used as a
password among the society’s highest-ranking members, who were called bayani.

Andres Bonifacio had already known Rizal during his La Liga Filipina days, although Rizal did
not know Bonifacio personally Nevertheless, Bonifacio so respected Rizal’s intelligence and
talent that in June 1896, he sent Dr. Pio Valenzuela to Dapitan to seek Rizal’s advice on the
planned revolution.

Rizal told Valenzuela that the timing was not right for a revolution. The people were not yet
ready and they did not have enough weapons. He suggested that the Katipunan obtain the
support of wealthy and influential Filipinos first, in order to gain financial assistance. He also
recommended Antonio Luna as commander of its armed forces, since Luna had much
knowledge and expertise in military tactics.

Valenzuela returned to Manila on June 26 and relayed Rizal’s advice to Bonifacio, who
admitted that it would indeed be fatal for the Filipinos to fight without enough weapons.
However, there was no stopping the Revolution. Bonifacio ordered his men to prepare for
battle. He directed them to store enough food and other supplies. Battle plans were made
with the help of Emilio Jacinto. It was suggested that the revolutionary headquarters be
located near the seas or mountains to provide for an easy retreat, if necessary.

The Katipunan is Discovered

Rumors about a secret revolutionary society had long been in circulation, although no solid
evidence could be found to support them. The big break as far as the Spanish authorities
was concerned, came on August 19, 1896 when a KKK member, Teodoro Patiño told his
sister Honoria about the existence of the Katipunan. Patiño was a worker in the printing
press of Diario de Manila. Honoria was then living with nuns in a Mandaluyong orphanage.

The information upset Honoria so much that she told the orphanage’s Mother Superior, Sor
Teresa de Jesus, what her brother had revealed. Sor Teresa suggested they seek the advice
of Father Mariano Gil, the parish priest of Tondo.

After hearing Patiño’s revelations, Father Mariano Gil-accompanied by several Guardias

Civiles immediately searched the premises of Diario de Manila and found evidence of the
Katipunan’s existence. The governor general was quickly informed. The printing press was
padlocked and hundreds of suspected KKK members were arrested. -Continue to Cry of
Pugad Lawin & Andres Bonifacio's Execution.
 Vicente Manansala’s Market Scene

The Artist

Vicente Manansala was born in Pampanga in 1910 and studied at the U.P.
School of Fine Arts and later continued to study in Canada and Paris. He started
out with creating abstract images from realistic ones, but never attempting to
discard the initial one. Later, Manansala dabbled with abstract images, which
paved the way for the concept of “cubism” which basically is, “reducing reality
into images” (http://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph/gallery_manansala.html). He died
in 1981 and was only regarded as a National Artist after his death in the same
year.

Market Scene

There was no prevailing ideology that influenced his art, he only believed in the
power of the artist to recreate reality according to what he feels and not only on
what he sees. Art, for him, was a representation of the general reality, only made
personal by the artist himself. It was a communication between the reality, the
artist and the colors that would breathe life to an idea.

For my part, I chose his Market Scene painting, painted in 1975. It is one of his
paintings which employed “cubism” as manifested by the angles and planes
floating around to form the whole picture through different shades and colors. In
his painting, the edges of the cubes were made lighter and softer to create
emphasis on the picture he was portraying, thus his “transparent cubism”
technique. If the edges had been sharp, then his art would be reduced into an
 abstract image, a form of art that he had revolutionized by fusing realism and
cubism.

He might not be a genius as Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo were, but
his use of “cubism” in the Market Scene made him unique from all his
contemporaries. His painting was brilliant, with the blending of colors into
shadows and shades into textures to make a picture in an otherwise abstract
figure. Cubism is generally defined as the tweaking of a picture to create an
abstracted representation but with Manansala’s art he fused these abstracted
cubes to form one picture.

In addition, the use of cubes and planes in his painting contributed to the balance
and asymmetry of colors and the painting itself. It is not too heavy, nor is it too
light. Although the colors range from orange to black, the shades of blue and
white make it easy to the eyes.

The emphasis lies on the life at the market area, an everyday activity. But here,
Manansala made use of the traditional baro’t saya of the women, something
which did not exist in the mid-70’s. Here, it can be clearly deduced that while he
had moved on from doing abstracted paintings, he had not let go of his belief that
art could be something else other than reality itself.

The Colors and Art

I liked how the orange and blue blended well together through the different
shades and colors. Somehow, it looked so orange and dark to me, but looking at
it closely, I realized that there were other shades other than yellow and orange. It
took a while before the blue color registered and I regard this as a bad thing.
Although they blended well together, the shades of blue were offset by the strong
yellow and orange shades.

In the same vein, Manansala’s “Jeepneys” painting was characterized by strong

shades of orange that filled the transparent geometric planes of his art. In
“Jeepneys”, he used different shades of orange to convey the polluted area of
Manila, as well as the heavy traffic that characterizes a typical city in the
Philippines. To quote, “filling up the entire pictorial space, Jeepneys successfully
conveyed the feeling of heat, pollution, noise and claustrophobia caused by the
city’s menace – traffic”
(http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=169). In the
same way, Manansala employed the colors of orange, yellow and brown to show
the typical market scene in the Philippines which is generally described by
housewives as busy, dirty and “populated”. This image evokes the stench of
dead pigs as their carcasses were hung upside down and of the stink of the
freshly-caught fish while buzzes of shouts and conversations fill the air.
 The Time Span

Although painted in the year 1975, Manansala’s painting was a reflection of his
own time. It seemed like a depiction of a long-lost Spanish era, but Manansala’s
painting was a reflection of his era, the American period, as manifested by the
traditional clothes worn by the women in his painting. In 1910, life in the
Philippines is on its way to modernity under the American regime. No longer
were we slaves of the Spaniards, but we were under the “spell” of the Americans.
In my own opinion, he painted this in 1975 to depict the ever-changing traits of
the Filipino women and also to serve as a reminder of the era that’s passed.

He grew up in an environment where women were the traditional Maria Claras,

but by the entrance of the “retro” period, women became undoubtedly freer and
more liberal in terms of fashion, career and world view. Women served two
purposes: as a household caretaker and as well as a career woman. I think
Manansala wanted to bring back the time wherein women were basically
caretakers of home. - ALEXIS LAURA FELICIANO
 JERRY ELIZALDE NAVARRO

National Artist for painting Jerry Elizalde Navarro may not have the same recall now as
many of his peers, like Bencab, Ang Kiukok, Jose Joya, Fernando Amorsolo, or Vicente
Manansala, who, by their ubiquitous presence and prominence in the auction scene over
the past decade, remain in the public consciousness. Instead, he occupies a more quiet
place; mythic still, because of his prodigious output which are well-placed in private
collections and museums, but rather impalpable to the general public, particularly the
younger set of art collectors and connoisseurs. Yet this was not always the case. Navarro,
in his lifetime, explored and excelled in various art fields. An elegant writer and poet,
sculptor, graphic designer, and advertising maverick, he represented the Philippines in
many international biennales for sculpture (Sao Paulo 1967, 1970,1972), and graphic
design (Brno 1974, 1978) and participated in designing the Philippine pavilions in
various world fairs and expos (1964 New York World Fair, 1975 Ocean Expo Japan,
1977 International Tokyo Trade Fair, 1979 Hamburg Trade Fair). His interdisciplinary
practice; together with his wanderlust which landed him various grants, teaching
positions, and exhibitions in Australia, the USA, Japan, and Indonesia; have made his
works among the most elegant, cosmopolitan, and sophisticated among the Philippine
artists of his time, vaulting his reputation as an artist, and garnering him the National
Artist Award in 1999.

Born: 1924 San Jose, Antique, Philippines

1947 Studied as a Ramon Roces Publications Scholar, School of Fine Arts, University
of the Philippines, Manila
1948 Moved to the University of Santo Tomas taking a course in painting. Became Art
Editor of the University’s school organ The Varsitarian
1951 Received Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Major in Painting, University of Santo
Tomas, Manila

1954 Originated “incision painting” and created construction pieces of mixed media,
including metal, wood and found objects
1957 Visited Japan as guest of Japanese chapter of the Youth Association of Asia,
observed traditional Japanese art

1964 Served as member of the design group the Philippines participated in the New
York World’s Fair; installed large iron mural at the Philippine site.

Recipient of a Creative Exchange Program from Compton Advertising , New York

Worked as an Art Director and Vice President for Creative and Print Production services
1967 Represented the Philippines in Sculpture category, Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil
1969 Taught advanced advertising design , National Art School, Randwick, Sydney,
Australia

1970 Represented the Philippines in the sculpture category, Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil
1972 Represented the Philippines at the Biennale de Arts Graphiques, Brno,
Czechoslovakia

Represented the Philippines in the sculpture category of sculpture at the 9th and 11th Art
Biennales in Sao Paolo, Brazil
Represented the Certificate of Merit Award by the Art Directors Club of New York, U. S.
A.
1973 Appointed Director for Graphics, Design Center Philippines
1974 Represented the Philippines, Biennale de Arts Graphiques, Brno, Czechoslovakia

1975 Served as Graphics Designer for the Philippine participation, Ocean Expo,
Okinawa, Japan
 Biography of Jose T. Joya, Philippine National Artist

JOSE TANIG JOYA (b. Manila, June 3, 1931 d. 1996)

National artist Jose Joya was a pioneer modern and abstract artist who was active as a
painter, printmaker, mixed-media artist and ceramicist. It has been said that it was Joya
who “spearheaded the birth, growth and flowering of abstract expressionism” in the
Philippines. His mature abstract works have been said to be “characterized by
calligraphic gestures and linear forces, and a sense of color vibrancy emanating from an
Oriental sensibility.” Joya’s sense of color has been said to have come from the hues of
the Philippine landscape, and his use of rice paper in collages demonstrated an interest in
transparency.
Jose Tanig Joya was born on June 3, 1931, the son of Jose Joya Sr. and Asuncion Tanig.
He began sketching at the age of eleven. At a young age, he became interested in
studying architecture, but found that he did not have the aptitude for the math and science
that architecture would require. While attending the University of the Philippines he was
introduced to the paintings of Fernando Amorsolo, and began his study of painting. He
was initially schooled in the traditional tradition — in which the standards had been set
by Amorsolo and Tolentino — but gradually was influenced by American abstraction and
by the emerging trends in Philippine modernism. He was mentored by Guillermo
Tolentino, Ireneo Miranda, Domindaor Castaneda and Virginia Agbayani.
Joya graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1953 with a Bachelor’s
Degree in Fine Art, earning the distinction of being the university’s first Magna cum
Laude. In 1954 the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica of the Spanish government awarded
him a one year grant to study painting in Madrid. Travel/study scholarships to Madrid —
which came about through the influence of PAG member Fernando Zobel de Ayala —
were also given to other PAG artists including Arturo Luz, Nena Saguil and Larry
Tronco. After returning from Spain, Joya finished his Master’s Degree in Painting in
1956 at the Cranbrook School of Art in Michigan, with the assistance of a Fulbright
Smith-Mundt grant.

Above: The opening of a Jose Joya exhibit, featuring religious paintings, at the Philippine
Art Gallery
Jose Joya (indicated in white) is 4th from the left.
His early works were representational paintings that showed the influence of Vincente
Manansala and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. During the late 1950’s, as he became involved in
the Philippine Art Gallery — founded in 1950 by a group of women writers led by Lyn
Arguilla — he became one of the “new wave” of artists who developed abstract
paintings. His first one make show appeared at the Philippine Art Gallery in 1954, and in
March of 1958 he won first prize for his non-objective “Painting” in the 11th Annual
PAG Art Exhibition, held at the Northern Motors Showroom. He won more prizes in
1959 (Second place for “Space Transfiguration), 1960 (Third place for “Horse of Life)
and 1962 (Third place for “Cathedral).

Jose Joya, “Untitled,” 1960, approx. 16 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

Joya was often present a the “Saturday Group” which met for weekly art discussions at
the Taxa de Oro Restaurant in Manila. In 1962, when Joya was serving as the President
of the Art Association of the Philippines, he and Napolean Abueva represented the
Philippines in the prestigious Venice Biennale: it was the first time that the Philippines
had participated. He displayed a 1958 horizontal abstraction titled “Granadian
Arabesque,” a painting which features powerful swipes of impasto mixed with sand, and
which is now in the collection of the Ateneo Art Gallery. Joya later wrote about
participating in the Biennale, and reported on the novelty, desire to shock and “dazzle” of
the work on view.

Side view of the impasto of Joya’s “Granadian Arabesque”

In the late 60s received grants from the John D. Rockefeller III Fund and the Ford
Foundation, which allowed him to paint and study at the Pratt Institute in New York
between 1967 and 1969. Among the positions he held were:
– President of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) 1962-65
– Dean of the UP College of Fine Arts 1970-78, where he modernized curriculum and
established scholarships.
– Chairperson of Philippine Delegations to China, 1961 and 1972
In the 1970s Joya executed two large murals, “Lanterns of Enlightenment” and
“Mariveles” which display vivid interplays of shape and tone. When traveling overseas
he often made rapid, on the spot sketches in pencil, charcoal or pastel.
Joya was also a holder of the Amorsolo Professorial Chair in UP in 1985. He served as
chairperson of the National Committee on Visual Arts, of the National Commission on
Culture and the Arts from 1987 until his death.
In 1981 a retrospective of some 200 of Joya’s works was held at the Museum of
Philippine Art. In1987 the French government awarded him membership in the “Order of
Chevalier des Arts et Lettres.”

Jose Joya, “Makiling Interlude,” 1984, Acrylic and Collage on Paper, approx. 22 x 15
inches
“In creating an art work,” Joya once stated “the artist is concretizing his need for
communication. He has an irresistible urge to reach that level of spiritual satisfaction and
to project what he is and what he thinks through his work.”
Joya died in May of 1995 at the age of 63 after complications from a prostate operation.
In 2003, eight years after his death, he was conferred the title of National Artist for his
pioneering efforts in developing Filipino abstract art. A retrospective of his work was
held in August of 2011 at the National Museum.
Joya’s ‘Space Transfiguration’ sells for
record-setting P112-million
National Artist Jose T. Joya’s abstract painting Space Transfiguration just fetched P112
million (hammer price was at P96 million) from a starting bid of P22 million at the Leon
Gallery Auction in Makati last Saturday.

National Artist Jose T. Joya’s ‘Space Transfiguration,’ oil on canvas, 1959. (MB File
Photo)

The sale, which took all of 20 minutes, broke all records. It is the highest price ever paid for
art in the Philippines at auction and it is also the most money ever paid at auction anywhere
in the world for Philippine modern art. Moreover, Joya’s 60” x 70” oil on canvas, said to be
inspired by NASA’s first attempt to reach the moon, now replaces Ang Kiukok’s The
Fisherman, which sold for P65,408,000 in June 2017, also at Leon Gallery, as the most
expensive painting ever sold at auction in the Philippines.

The identity of the winning bidder, whose bids were placed by phone, remains unknown.

Jose T. Joya was a painter, printmaker, mixed-media artist, and ceramicist. He was credited
for spearheading “the birth, growth, and flowering of abstract expressionism” in the
Philippines. He was dean of the UP College of Fine Arts from 1970 to 1978 and chair of the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts from 1987 until he died of a stroke in 1995. In
2003, eight years after he died, he was elevated to National Artist in honor of his efforts that
pioneered and developed Filipino abstract art.