Tanyag - The Art Exhibit

CEBU, Philippines - Modernism was the dominant motif of a recent art exhibit in Cebu that exposed how Cebu’s up-and-coming talents are reframing past aesthetic sensibilities to fit with the present.

A highlight of “Tanyag: The 43rd Annual Students’ Exhibition of the College of Communication, Art and Design Week of the University of the Philippines Cebu,” the exhibit was part of the lead-up highlights to UP Cebu’s Centennial Celebration.

The show, which ran over the weekend at the atrium of Robinsons Galleria Cebu, also featured modernist-themed furniture pieces, home accessories and décor.

Like the exhibit’s art exhibit component, the furniture and home accent pieces on display were designed by UP students who are currently enrolled in UP Cebu’s design courses.

It was a hundred years ago when the Provincial Board approved the formation of the Junior College of Liberal Arts in Cebu. The school was originally named “Junior College” and had gone through nine name changes over the years. Classes in the Junior College were first held on July 1, 1918 at a barracks vacated by the Americans in the Ermita district of the city. The university’s present location in Lahug, Cebu City was inaugurated in March 1929.

Given the university’s history, the exhibit’s modernist motif isn’t all that difficult to grasp. The Modernist Period in the arts was, after all, all the rage when the institution was founded.

In zeroing-in on the aesthetic sensibilities of the late 1800s and mid-1900s, the exhibit brought viewers to the past, articulating a sense of oneness by cycling over the general visual arts field’s vividly active periods.

In a way, the exhibit presented how well-equipped its exhibiting student artists are to take on the challenges raised by the thematic standards of contemporary art – reflecting UP Cebu’s stance in looking forward to the days ahead.