21/06/2023
January 26, 1930, Birth of Napoleon “Billy” Veloso Abueva in Tagbilaran, Bohol. He was known as the “Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture.” Through Proclamation No. 1539, he was proclaimed National Artist for Sculpture in 1976 when he was 46, making him the youngest recipient of the award to date —he was a master in both academic representational style and modern abstract. He is the first and only (so far) Boholano given the distinction as National Artist of the Philippines.
Napoleon Abueva’s father was Teodoro Lloren Abueva from Duero. Teodoro Abueva was a congressman representing the third congressional district of Bohol during the 6th Philippine Legislature. He was also a member of the Provincial Board representing the third district of Bohol. His mother was Purificacion Gonzalez Veloso, an active member of Women's Auxiliary Service. They were both executed in Valencia, Bohol by the Japanese in 1944 for supporting the guerrilla forces against the Japanese invaders. Billy was then only 14 years old, but this did not spare him from the brutality of the invaders. He accompanied his grandmother to Ilaya Duero, Bohol, when they were captured by some Japanese soldiers. His grandmother was later freed, but Billy was hog-tied, brought to Guindulman, and tortured for more than a week, the young Billy had to live with trauma for many years.
He spent his childhood in the coastal town of Duero, in his island province of Bohol, a place that would have a direct bearing on his sculpture and furniture designs. In grade school, he studied at the St. Joseph Academy in Tagbilaran (now Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran). When allowed to do gardening in grade school, he would make simple animal figures from mud. At 10 years old, he was making tombstones. In high school, he was already molding busts of famous people. Abueva graduated in high school at the Rafael Palma College (now the University of Bohol) in 1949. As expected, Abueva went to Manila to study art. He graduated Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in 1953. He received much recognition as early as his college years, during which he was mentored by Guillermo E. Tolentino the first National Artist for Sculpture. In 1955, he finished his Master of Fine Arts at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan as a Fulbright/Smith-Mundt Scholar. He later took graduate units in Ceramics at the University of Kansas and Art History at Harvard University.
In 1978, he was appointed Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, a position he held until 1989. In 1993, he was given an honorary doctorate in humanities and was promoted to University Professor. He retired from the University in June 1995, and was given the status of Professor Emeritus in April 2003.
Abueva helped shape the local sculpture scene in the Philippines. Being adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract, he has utilized almost all kinds of materials from hardwood (molave, acacia, langka wood, ipil, kamagong, palm wood and bamboo) to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass.
Among the early innovations, Abueva introduced in 1951 was what he referred to as “buoyant sculpture” — sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a placid pool. In the ’80s, Abueva put up a one-man show at the Philippine Center, New York. His works have been installed in different museums in the Philippines and abroad, such as The Sculpture at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
One masterpiece he dedicated to the Boholanos is the “Sandugo” or Blood Compact shrine in Barangay Bool, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, a landmark at the site of the first international treaty of friendship between Spaniards and Filipinos. The Blood Compact Shrine is one of the tourist attractions in Bohol, an expression of Abueva's awareness of his roots, and a manifestation of his artistic talents. The National Museum Bohol also displayed Napoleon Abueva’s greatest works.
The honors and awards accorded to Abueva are tremendous. Among them are:
●First Prize, Sculptural Exhibition by the Art Association of the Philippines (1951)
●First Prize and Special Award on the Fourth Sculptural Exhibition (1952)
●Awardee, “The Unknown Political Prisoner” in the International Sculpture Competition by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1953)
●First Prize and Special Award, Kaganapan (Marble), in the Semi-Annual Art Exhibition by the Art Association of the Philippines (1953)
●First Prize, “Kiss of Judas” (Wood) in the Religious Art Exhibition in Detroit, Michigan, USA (1955)
●Purchase Prize, “Water Buffalo” (Marble), in the Annual Show, at St. Louis, Missouri, USA (1956)
●First Prize, “Figure” (Wood) in the Annual Show of the Art Association of the Philippines (1957)
●Most Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Fine Arts, U.P. Golden Jubilee (1958)
●Republic Award for Sculpture (1959)
●Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) Awardee in Sculpture (1959)
●Winner, U.P. Gateway Design Competition (1962)
●Winner, Cultural Heritage Award (1966)
●First Prize in the Fifth Annual Art Exhibition (1974)
●ASEAN Awards for Visual Arts in Bangkok (1987)
●Fourth ASEAN Achievement Award for Visual Arts in Singapore (July 1995)
Napoleon Abueva was married to Cherry Abueva, a psychiatrist, and had three children: Amihan, Mulawin, and Duero. Abueva was confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City for pneumonia from December 31, 2017, until his death on February 16, 2018. His remains were then brought to his final resting place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Abueva was asked: Why do some individuals become great artists, while others, unfortunately, do not? Abueva responded: “The inner drive. A more accomplished artist has inner drive and stamina. Now this is very important. The plight of the artist is somewhat similar to that of the long distance runner. You have to cross the finish line. What counts more in life is the end result. Leonardo da Vinci once said that the greatest tragedy of artists is when theory outstrips performance. Artists are judged by the end result. Theory is important, but concepts must be executed very well for any theory to be realized. The artist must possess the inner drive, passion, and “loneliness” of a long distance runner to go very far.”
References:
1. Order of National Artists: Napoleon Abueva, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, NCCA
2. Wikimedia Commons
3. Bohol Provincial Library Archives
Photo from: Presidential Museum and Library
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