UDTONG TUTOK: ART AT HIGH NOON: Affinities, Continuities, and New Directions in Philippine Art
September 14, 2023 - October 12, 2023
The glaring brightness of the sun and its excruciating heat described as naglagiti nga kainit, typically characterize the udtong tutok, the exact point at high noon. Being at midday, it demarcates the tasks of morning from the afternoon. Usually alluding to the atmospheric conditions of the time, udtong tutok makes for an ideal period of rest from an activity, a time to gauge the progress of a work and to scheme out a way towards its completion. Connoting a heightened sense of attention, it marks the peak of action in an undertaking, presenting something at its best while opening it up for re-imagination.
Udtong Tutok frames the current exhibition as an illuminating gesture amidst uncertain times, a coming together of seemingly diverse unrelated things that when juxtaposed into one another could provide new perspectives and insights that may challenge the conventional understanding of Philippine art and culture. Udtong Tutok celebrates the convergence of diverse cultures noting the importance of tensions and contradictions, affinities and continuities that shape a collective impulse to imagine and create. Udtong Tutok is a gathering of ideas, virtues and values, angst and anguish that need to be recognized and looked upon rather clearly so as to chart a new direction for Filipino creatives and cultural workers to thrive.
By veering away from the categorization of objects as either fine art or ethnographic artifacts, the exhibition traverses into a wider field of cultural narratives showing the richness of Filipino creativity articulated in diverse forms yet anchored in a collective consciousness and imaginative spirit. Furthermore, Udtong Tutok as an illuminating action sheds light upon the significance of regional cultures in the development of Philippine art. By bringing the works outside the Cultural Center of the Philippines to the regions, the objects encounter new audiences – inviting strangers to pause from their busy day, to converse with them, unravel new paradigms, and chart new relationships. True to its history as a place of encounters, Cebu continues to be an encouraging place for artists of varied interest to reflect, refract and diffract the waves of creativity into forms that speak true to themselves, their passions and beliefs.
- Jay Nathan T. Jore (Curator)
Artist
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About
Featured artists:
Paz Abad Santos, Felix Abesamis, Napoleon Abueva, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Ang Kiukok, Angelito Antonio, Benedicto Cabrera, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Roderico Jose Daroy, Josefina Escudero, Jose Joya, Lao Lianben, David Medalla, Edsel Moscoso, Romulo Olazo, Rodolfo Paras-Perez, Lisa Perez, Manuel Rodriguez Sr., Manuel Soriano, Solomon Saprid, Napoleon Abueva
