The gavel finally comes down to a thud ....The Birdman SOLD to a lady from the United States. after a long journey this painting will go to its new owners on March 2010.
This subsequent development accounts on the issue of renovation of the Dipolog Cathedral. As this topic awakens my knowledge in history, pride of our people and preserving Architecture...
times . It is a flawless example of a Pre-Romanesque and Spanish Baroque style in the Philippines. The portico of the facade is characterized by the use of slightly pointed arches and king-sized windows with details in rhythmic patterns and cherubs in a Bas-Relief manner...(the interior side walls of the church also has a similar pattern that of the old facade). The identical towers if I'm not mistaken serves as watch towers than a belfry. This is common among churches in the old days that serves as protection of the people from marauding pirates.
This Old facade have witnessed the development of the place, survived World Wars I & II, famine and other calamities....and welcomed the names of famous historical figures like the National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal.... (inset: Former President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda Romualdez)
redesigned due to its dilapidated condition and its done in a Neo-classical style... they never gave way for restoring the Old one..Its porticoes adds grandeur to this simple yet modern style Architecture..but, it only lived for four decades.
made...this time, it is rendered in stone brick work...not usual for any of the previously mentioned Architectural Movements....its details and style may have been borrowed and copied from centuries old churches and it adds attraction...but it failed to to retain the originality and the uniqueness of what It was once a magnificent Church...
I was told that the Cathedral in my hometown was given a face lift this year...I have been away in Dipolog for quite a while and this news about the renovation of the City's Oldest Architectural Monument was a BIG thing for me.... so I relied on photos to see the look of a new church's facade...to my surprise, I was halfway close to disappointed by the outcome!.
and alterations being made in this Neoclassical - Romanesque Architecture Cathedral for the past 3o years...
he ordered the full restoration of the exact replica of the main Altar or Retablo which was executed in Abstract Baroque by the extraordinary genius Dr. Jose Rizal during his exile in Dapitan....this was a triumph in the Cathedral's history as they try to revive the old glory of the church. But!..... they failed to use the exact materials of Philippine hardwood as instructed by the National hero himself more than a 110 years ago...What you see now is a cold marble structure from an unknown quarry... this could raise issues questioning the authenticity of the design....visibly today, there isn't even a marker of validation from the National Historical Institute that recognizes Rizal's contribution to the church's history.
In time of the Christian Jubilee, the church ceiling coffered with panelings all rendered in wood was fully restored....bringing back the golden age of the Cathedral. These exquisite artesonado ceilings are what made the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral famous and much beloved by all faithful and religious parishioners. The hand carved faces of the four evangelists in the central apse above is as old as the church....This is one of the few churches in the entire Philippines that has maintained and restored the magnificent hand carved ceilings....a National treasure!
ceilings has undergone a lot of repainting from shades of pastel greens to powder blue then changed into Cream and Lemon chiffon hues and tones. At present, the side columns and arches were painted with Burgundy to Burnt Umber with shades of white trimmings particularly gave a feeling of old colonial palette...and I want to call this as a flawless craftsmanship!... In contrast to this are the long pews of what it used to be in natural wood color....now altered, its fate suffers in Peach color... a very distracting site!
Apparently, the restoration of the Cathedral's facade gives more enthrallment to the Church distinctive identity its magnificence awakens the pride of every Dipolognon but with a closer look at the details one can notice that:
of the famous Manila Cathedral in Intramuros (enclosed picture) even the arrangement of the statues of saints on the lower level.. is a copy cat like attempt.
To the rest of the world, "Cory Aquino" will always be remembered as the simple woman who restored Democracy and freedom in the Philippines, a very courageous president who made changes and became one of the great Asian leaders of our time. Aside from her works and efforts in public life, she also left us a number of remarkable works of Art....
Her life as an Artist began years after she stepped down from the presidency......."In 1996, Cory took an active interest in painting under the tutelage of artist Jeff Consumo. Next to prayer, painting became a favored mode of keeping her mind active and her sense of humanity intact. Although she participated in a joint exhibit with friends and has sold some of her works to raise funds for her advocacies, she does not profess to be a professional painter. She likes to paint flower and women, usually in oil and acrylic on canvas".
paints and colors, of techniques and style but it is more on the subject and content of her paintings that evokes to a lot of meaning. Her sense of spirituality is deeply shown in some of her works, her love of nature expresses gentleness in her brushstrokes and subjects that connotes women empowerment. Most of her works were given as gifts to people close to her and was well received with a kind of elegant intelligence.
In one of my conversations with Dave, he said "I always have the passion for photography, Thanks to my Dad for letting me borrow his Canon AV-1 (1978 model) film camera. Since then, I don't have the money to buy my own camera. hiring a model? too expensive... renting a studio? to boring.... so what i do is bring my camera and a couple of rolls of film, my favorite play list on my MP3 player then walkabout anywhere to find interesting subjects... this is how i learn photography and this is my hobby..."
Born from a family with real talent and skills in the Visual Arts. Rhey Davie D. Magdayao shares with us his passion in Photography. He admits that he never had any formal training or any classroom session of his hobby. For him, it is purely an activity on creating an emphasis on the subject, recording events and capturing light. He is really doing this not for business but for Science, Art and pleasure....undeniably for him... Photography is a "point and shoot" addictive hobby!
Dave's eclectic choice of subjects opens to his long journey in this field of discipline and his works aims for quality which have little or no prospect for a reward....He never puts title on his works as he leaves that issue on the viewer...
Photography (don't get me wrong, this guy is genuinely STRAIGHT! LOL)...this is another genre in photography that is devoted to display Vanity....He develops his own aesthetics in which location, clothes, model and light blends together to achieve the standards of contemporary fashion and magazine like demands.... he never likes to work on a studio and his keen eye for details can be seen on the pictures that he took..... and enhanced by the eye catching exotic effect of his models (willing to pose for the sake of Photography)...so, be on the loop!
The following photos were not taken from a Paris Fashion week or from the velvet ropes of New York, but this was staged in Cebu about 2 years ago at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel ... "Sposabella" features a collection bridal gowns from top
I like the superb quality of Anthony Nocom's Men's wedding suit collection.
I love this "Elvis Presley" inspired creation.....I failed to remember who the designer was, but the details are exquisite!...it's masculine yet feminine...its powerful but glamorous!...Sensual and Divine!
I created another blog recently and its all about travel and adventure to the perfect getaways in the Philippines and dream destinations from around the world.
Last night, two Artists opened A thousand and one tongues (usa ka libo ug usa ka dila) Art exhibit at the Gallery Q in A. S. Fortuna Mandaue, making Cebu's Art scene more Alive!
Good thing Gallery Q is quite impressive!
All these years, I have been surrounded by Art...was Inspired,learned, searched about it, made quite a number pieces to call it my own and kept on making (more) Artworks....but just the other day, I got two Paintings from a recently concluded Art Exhibit...
after almost a month show. It was really a very provocative and sensual show as it explores the different issues around everyone's favorite topic of bodily pleasures and mindless biological needs!...but putting on a twist and making us see the sacredness and Artform of SEX! despite of the many issues on the subject. 
We want our food to be palatable to the grandest level...this gives recognition to Philippine Cuisine as truly World class.."
