chapter 4 cafa, 1946-1960 rev. fr. eugenio jordan, o.p...
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CHAPTER 4
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS 1946-2000
CAFA, 1946-1960
Rev. Fr. Eugenio Jordan, O.P. the wartime Acting Rector presided over
the reorganization of the postwar University of Santo Tomas. Serving the
unexpended term of Rev. Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P. until 1944, he got his own
mandate to serve until 1948. It was during his stewardship of the university
after the war that the expansion and development programs, put on hold
during the Japanese occupation, again went underway. This expansion
program included the elevation of the School of Architecture and Fine Arts to a
college. It consequently established the College of Architecture and Fine Arts,
or simply CAFA.113
Fortunately for us, 1999 National Artist Jeremias Elizalde Navarro was a
prolific writer as he was a painter, and wrote a column at The Varsitarian from
1948 to 1951 titled “Off the Palette.”114 Our readings from these columns
113 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, UST General Announcements for 1947 to 1954, (Manila:
UST. Press, 1946-1954). 114 Jerry Navarro was a second generation modern. He was mentored by Botong Francisco of
whom Navarro was a great fan. It was Galo Ocampo, however, who was instrumental in providing him the opportunity to work at The Varsitarian. See, Guillerma L. Mendoza, Jeremias Elizalde Navarro: The
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provide us with anecdotes and commentaries of the various facets of the
glorious years of modernism in the University. These anecdotes and
commentaries were drawn from firsthand account making it the closest thing
this author can get to interviewing him, a renowned UST fine arts alumnus.
Organization, 1946-1960
The year 1960 was chosen to mark the end of this period because it
coincides with the school’s 25-year anniversary of its foundation. It was a time
for celebration, for taking stock of its accomplishments, and for redirecting
their efforts and energies towards continuing the excellent work it had
accomplished.
This period started with the elevation of the School of Architecture and
Fine Arts to the College of Architecture and Fine Arts. An important
consequence of this process was the appointment of the College’s very own
dean. The distinction of being the school’s very first dean belongs to Architect
Jose Victor Rocha. Administering the newly-established college was not new to
Architect Rocha. As the School of Architecture and Fine Arts, Architect Rocha
served as the school’s director from 1941 up to 1942. He initially served in that
_____________________________ Thomasian Works, 1947 to 1951, Journal for the Arts Culture and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Center for Intercultural Studies University of Santo Tomas: UST Publishing House, 2008), 28-30.
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position in acting capacity after the postwar reorganization in 1946. He was
appointed the full-fledged Dean of the College two years later in 1948. He was
succeeded in 1954 by Architect Carlos D. Arguelles. Dean Arguelles, on the
other hand, held that position until 1959. Shortly after that in 1960, Architect
Angel E. Nakpil would take over as dean until 1962.115
The first College Regent after the war, in 1946, was Rev. Fr. Gregorio
Garcia, O.P. There were five more Dominican priests who succeeded him when
he stepped down from that position in 1951. In 1951, Fr. Alfredo Panizo, O.P.
became Regent until the end of his term in 1953. Fr. James McAvey, O.P. was
appointed after him in 1953. Fr. MacAvey did not finish his term and was
immediately replaced by Fr. Adolfo Garcia, O.P. in 1954. Fr. Indalecio Alejo,
O.P. was also appointed to that position from 1956 until 1959. It was Fr. Cirilo
Gutierrez, O.P., who served as Regent the longest. His appointment as College
Regent was from 1959 beyond the 25th year of the school. He stepped down in
1969.116
Beginning the School Year 1950-1951, as part of CAFA, the school of
Fine Arts was organized into two departments, Painting and Sculpture. Each
department was assigned their respective heads. Prof. Victorio Edades who
115 Ibid. 116 Ibid.
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has already returned from the United States was given the task of heading the
Painting Department. Francesco Riccardo Monti, an Italian sculptor who
resided in the Philippines since 1930 was hired to teach and develop the
school’s sculpture program. He was appointed to head the Department of
Sculpture.117
The Engineering and Fine Arts Building, 1950
During this period, in 1950, CAFA transferred to its newly constructed
building. This new edifice was built to accommodate the increasing number of
students enrolled in both Architecture and Fine Arts. This is the present Roque
Ruaño Building located at the España-Lacson corner of the UST campus.
Designed by Architect J. V. Rocha, Streets, the four-storey building was
described by J. Elizalde Navarro in his regular column with The Varsitarian, as a
beautiful affair and a functional architectural piece. CAFA, he reminisced,
occupied three floors including a terrace where students may cool off their
heads when the professors begin to heat up. It had a painting-drafting room
with a skylight so that students may get on with their works even through
117 It was Monti who was commissioned by UST Rector Fr. Angel de Blas, O.P. to crown the Main Building with statues of Aristotle, St. Augustine, and William Shakespeare, among others, representing literature, philosophy, and religion. He died in August 11, 1958 from internal injuries he suffered from a car accident. See, Miko L. Morelos, The Italian Sculptor with a Filipino Soul, The Varsitarian, Vol. LXXVII, No. 4, September 9, 2005, http://www.varsitarian.net/circle/the_italian_sculptor_with_a_filipino_soul, accessed 07/31/2012, 9:24PM.
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inclement weathers. Art equipments were also new and made-to-order from
stateside samples. Fine arts people initially beefed about in silence when it
was rumored that the new edifice will be named as the Engineering and
Architecture Building. They rejoiced when their new home was eventually
named as the Faculty of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts Building. One
of the highlights of the inauguration of the Engineering and Fine Arts Building
was an architectural and fine arts exhibit which J. Elizalde Navarro described as
worth the three-floor climb. It will be CAFA’s home until 2003.118
Curriculum, 1946-1960
The curriculum underwent four adjustments during this period. The
School offered sculpture as a four-year course in 1951 under the Department
of Sculpture. It continued to be part of the department’s course offering until
1962. However, when Francesco Monti died in 1958, the school administrators
could not find someone to replace him as head of the department. In 1962,
the department was dissolved and the sculpture as a field of specialization was
eventually abolished.119
118 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, Vol. XXIII, No. 3, February 25, 1950, 4. 119 Morelos, “The Italian Sculptor,” Ibid.
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The course of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design was likewise abolished and
replaced with Interior Design in 1957 and Advertising Arts in 1958. Both
replacement courses were expansions of the initial two-year courses.
According to Professor Edades the demand for the opening of these two
specializations was persistent due to the growing importance of advertising arts
in the expanding economic field. This new development called upon
advertising artists to embellish the devices by which business lured its market.
It made advertising arts a sought-after career, resulting to an increase in the
enrollment for both Architecture and Painting. Meanwhile, the two-year
vocational versions of Advertising Arts and Interior Design courses continued to
be offered (see Table 12).120
TABLE 12
COURSE OFFERINGS, 1946-1960
1946-1947 1947-1951 1951-1957 1957-1960 1. Painting 2. Sculpture 3. Design
1. Fine Arts
1. Fine Arts 2. Sculpture
(Vocational)
1. Modeling
1. Painting 2. Advertising
Art 3. Sculpture
120 Ingle, Kites and Visions, 81; Edades, “History of the Department of Fine Arts,” 5.
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TABLE 12 - continued
COURSE OFFERINGS, 1946-1960
1946-1947 1947-1951 1951-1957 1957-1960 2. Modeling
3. Ceramics 4. Painting 5. Drawing & Design 6. Interior Design &
Decoration 7. Commercial Art
4. Interior Design (Vocational)
1. Advertising Art
2. Interior Design
Source: 1946-1960 General Bulletin
Table 12 also shows that the period covering 1951-1957 saw the
offering of six vocational courses. By 1957, these vocational courses have
been integrated into the four-year course offerings when enrollment in those
courses showed a trend in the upward direction.
Enrollment, 1946-1960
Student population also vastly enlarged from a dozen initial freshmen in
1935. Shown in Table 13 below is a list of enrollees for the School Year 1953-
1954 to 1959-1960. During the first semester of the School Year 1954-1955,
the population of incoming first year students swelled to 106 from 67 in the
previous year. By the School Year 1959-1960 it reached 285. The number of
graduates also increased with the graduation of 39 students in 1960. They
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joined the ranks of the 170 who graduated since 1937 who were already
practicing professionals.121
TABLE 13
ENROLLMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 1953 TO 1960
SCHOOL YEAR
All Year Levels Incoming Freshmen 1st
Semester
2nd Semest
er
1st Semest
er
2nd Semeste
r 1953-1954 1954-1955 1955-1956 1956-1957 1957-1958 1958-1959 1959-1960
175 201 278 333 393 479 595
127 182 257 295 366 458 551
67 106 139 164 193 210 285
49 94 134 142 164 219 232
Source: Office of the University Registrar, “Enrollment Data.”
This increasing trend in the enrollment of incoming first year students
for the period covering 1953 to 1960, also shown in the above table, coincided
with the implementation of major revisions in fine arts curricula during the
previous year. The revisions featured the opening of two four-year courses;
Painting and Sculpture, both leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and six
121 Office of the University Registrar 1960 Enrollment Data
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vocational courses in Design. This gave students more courses to choose
from.122
Table 13 above also shows that the enrollment for all levels for the first
semester of the School Year 1959-1960 was 595. It represented 340%
increase from the 175 for the first semester of the School Year 1953-1954. Of
these 595 enrolled students for that period, 285 were incoming first year
students: almost half of the student population. That school year chalked the
highest percentage (135%) of increase in the enrollment of incoming first year
students.
Faculty, 1946-1960
When it started in 1935 the UST School of Fine Arts had only one full-
pledge professor in the person of Victorio Edades, and two instructors; Jose L.
De Ocampo and Severino Fabie. By the end of the 1950s, as student
population steadily increased, school administrators had to hire additional
faculty members to augment its teaching staff in order to cope with the
demand. By that time the school had a total of 22 teachers of different
classifications. Two of these were full-pledge Professors, three Associate
122 Ibid.
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Professors, three Assistant Professors, and 14 were of Instructor rank.123 In his
“Off the Palette” column, J. Elizalde Navarro mentioned that Botong Francisco
“has been on leave for a year due to outside commissions which he has to
attend to personally.”124 He also mentioned the appointment that year of
Cesar Legaspi to the School’s roster of faculty. Professor Legaspi was an artist
of note who was at that time the Director of the Philprom Advertising Agency
and he was assigned to teach Commercial Art.125
Triumph of Modernism
One important development during that period was the triumph of the
Modernists over the Conservatives. This led to the acceptance of modernism in
the Philippine arts. This was not only a victory for Victorio Edades and his
Moderns but also for the school because it had steadfastly supported the
movement from the start. The press war between Victorio Edades and Ariston
Estrada was of essentially responsible for this development, but the founding of
the Art Association of the Philippines sustained it. The AAP provided the
platform for the word war between the two groups. During its inaugural art
123 Department of Fine Arts: Officers and Faculty, University of Santo Tomas General Bulletin 1960-1961 (Manila: UST Press, 1960), 13-14
124 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, 21st Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXII, No. 1, August 30, 1949, 4.
125 Ibid.
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exhibition in 1948, the moderns led by Carlos V. Francisco, Vicente Manansala,
Diosdado Lorenzo, Cesar Legaspi, and Hernando Ocampo, won all the prizes in
that competition. All of them were faculty members of the UST school of Fine
Arts. It renewed the clash between the modernists and conservatives, this
time pitting Victorio Edades on the side of the former and the eminent
Guillermo Tolentino on the latter. The results of the annual competition that
followed did not help the cause of the conservatives because the moderns
dominated the circle of winners. They did not only make off with the prizes but
gained for themselves more followers. Because the market was going to the
moderns, the conservatives, fighting for their livelihood, became apprehensive.
Hostilities were soon to escalate, and in 1955 came to a head. The
conservatives staged a walkout from the competition that year to dramatize
their protest against the alleged pro-modernist bias of the judges who gave all
the prizes to Galo B. Ocampo, Manuel Rodriguez, and Vicente Manansala. By
then the conservatives were a spent force.126
126 The Art Association of the Philippines or AAP was a private, non-profit, non-stock organization which was founded in 1948 by business woman and art patron Purita Kalaw Ledesma and other leaders of the community whose support she solicited to raise public consciousness of the fine arts and help struggling talented artists gain due recognition and respect through its national annual juried exhibition, or simply the Annual. See, Emmanuel Torres, Introduction: On the AAP’s Ginto Exhibition, Catalogue of the Exhibition, Ginto: 50 Years of the Arts Association of the Philippines 1948-1998, Vol. 1, (Manila: Art Association of the Philippines and National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1999), 35.
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The modernist faculty members of the School continued in their winning
ways. J. Elizalde Navarro mentioned one such episode in his The Varsitarian
column, the annual art contest was sponsored by the Manila Blue Printing
House, he wrote:
Two faculty members of the Department of Fine Arts of the University won two major prizes. Professor Bonifacio Cristobal got first prize for his “Hingutuhan” (Lice-hunting), and Professor Ricarte Puruganan, third prize for his “This Earth.”127
The students too brought honors to the institution. They consistently
won in the Shell National Art Students Competition. For a period of ten years,
since the competition started in 1951 up to 1960 UST Fine Art students have
garnered thirty-eight out of sixty-six prizes during the annual art contest.128
Because of these honors achieved by its faculty members and students, the
school attained an enhanced status within the organizational field it had chosen
to operate in. This meant that Filipino students, their parents, and the society
in general approved of UST school of Fine Arts and now regarded it to be at
par with the UP School of Fine Arts. By this time, the school had developed
127 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, 21st Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXI, No.
1, January 25, 1949, 34. 128 The Shell National Art Students Competition was an annual affair that started in 1951 which was
participated in by students from all over the Philippines. From the works submitted the Shell Company selected one painting what was featured in the Shell Christmas calendar. See, Sunday Times 03 February 1957, 5.
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its formal structures that dramatized their advertized result. It had successfully
established a positive record of accomplishment and gained a certain degree of
acceptance from other institutions within its organizational field. The
subsequent organized social response to this was a sharp increase in
enrollment during that period which continued to rise steadily thereafter.
Students who wanted to pursue degrees in fine arts and design began to look
at the school as comparable if not better than the one in the state university.
In 1960, the year it was to celebrate its twenty-fifth founding anniversary, the
school boasted of a bumper population of 750 students enrolled in its various
areas of specialization.
Silver Jubilee, 1960
It was also the last year of Rev. Fr. Jesus Castañon, O.P. University
Rector Magnificus. He presided over the celebration of the school’s twenty
years foundation celebration. The September issue of The Varsitarian filed a
report on that event:
…in order to celebrate the day of its birth, June 1935 to be exact, the faculty decided to go all-out and the University and school officials, aware of the relevance of the event, had promised to mark it with grand affair to end all grand affairs.129
129 Fine Arts: Grand Affair, The Varsitarian, Vol. XXX, No. 10, September 1960, 9.
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The celebration was highlighted by a weeklong arts exhibit starting at
nine-o’clock in the morning of August 27 with a motorcade staged by the
students of the department. They toured the campus along with their muses in
their gaily-festooned cars and jeeps. The student council put up a bazaar,
which sold objects ranging from paintings to cloth. An alumni homecoming
was also organized.
Rev. Fr. Jesus Castañon, O.P. cut the ribbon for the weeklong art exhibit
of works on paintings, advertising arts, liturgical arts, and interior design. The
report hastened to add that the celebration provided a brief reappraisal of the
past.130 It had been a fruitful period, which was punctuated by awards and
recognitions. In his message, Fr. Castañon congratulated the administrative
and faculty staff, the alumni, and the student body. He stressed that “that the
department has given to creative thinking and the total development of the
total aesthetic, intellectual and technical capacities of the students to enable
them to make and live a well-rounded life in the community is indeed
praiseworthy.” He called upon all of the Departments of Fine Arts to
“rededicate its efforts and energies toward continuing the excellent work that it
has so far accomplished in training of Christian artists and in the laudable
130 Ibid.
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increase of its enrollment.” Moreover, in closing, Fr. Castañon wished upon
them for “continued success and for the crystallization of it noble objectives
which would redound to the advancement of the Arts not only in the University
of Santo Tomas, but in the Philippines as well.”131
Beyond the Twenty-Fifth Year
After his term, eight more Dominican priests succeeded Fr. Castañon as
the University Rector. During that period, the first Filipino Dominican was
elected Rector. He was Rev. Fr. Leonardo Legaspi, O.P. who served from 1971
to 1977.
Architect Julio Rocha stepped down in 1954. He was replaced by
Architect Carlos Arguelles as the College Dean who served in that capacity until
1959. When the College of Fine Arts celebrated its 25th founding anniversary
1960, Architect Angel E. Nakpil, was CAFA Dean. For the next forty years,
several more Architects took turns in administering the college as Dean. Rev.
Fr. Cirilo Gutierrez, O.P. was the College Regent from 1959 to 1969. The list of
Regents that succeeded him Fr. Benigno Villaroel, O.P., Fr. Jose B. Tinoko,
131 Jesus Castañon, O.P. A Message, Silver Jubilee Program Souvenir, 1960, TMS (photocopy), 5.
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O.P., Fr. Francisco Tuaño, O.P., Fr. Alfredo Loresco, O.P., Fr. Lucio Gutierrez,
O.P., and Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P.132
Victorio C. Edades was still in-charge as its Director when the school
celebrated its 25th founding anniversary.133 When he retired in 1967, he was
replaced by Cenon M. Rivera. The position of “Director” was, however,
abolished after Cenon Rivera’s term due to revisions in the University Statutes.
Instead, the Department of Fine Arts was administered by department heads
who were appointed from among its faculty members.134
A lot has taken place within the CAFA during its first twenty five years.
It had undergone transformations to various forms and processes attaining
institutional legitimacy and achieving greater fit with rest of UST. Yet, in spite
of all these the school of Fine Arts remained true to its mission of training
students to become Christian fine and applied artists. Victorio Edades believed
then that from that time onwards, the success of the College of Architecture
and Fine Arts was tremendous. He felt that the College continued to lead in
Architecture and all branches of Fine Arts in the country, its alumni having
132 The lists of Deans and Regents were sourced from the University General Bulletin from 1935 to
2000. 133 Department of Fine Arts: Officers and Faculty, University of Santo Tomas General Bulletin 1960-
1961 (Manila: UST Press, 1960), 13-14 134 Edades retired in 1966. See, Ingle, Kites and Visions, 83.
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designed and constructed fine hotels, cultural buildings, business and office
condominiums in flourishing districts of Manila and suburbs.135
As an aside, the University of the Philippines also merged their Fine Arts
and Architecture colleges in 1961. However, this arrangement lasted only until
1970 because the two academic units were again separated.136 In 1978, UP
also undertook expansion of course offerings that led to academic restructuring
of programs offered into three departments; the Department of Studio Arts,
Department of Theory, and the Department of Visual Communications.137
Artistic Renaissance during the Martial Law Years
One important development during the period following the school’s first
25 years was the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos and his martial law
regime. History, mass media, and collective consciousness chronicle Ferdinand
Marcos’ rule as a period of profound turmoil, human right violation, and
economic instability. It saw the deterioration of the political and economic
condition in the Philippines which triggered the decline of support on Marcos’
plans. Social unrest ensued and reached its peak after the assassination of
former Senator Benigno S. Aquino in August 21, 1983. The incident sent
135 Ibid., 81. 136 Defeo and Flores, Forming Lineage, 14. 137 Ibid., 16.
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thousands of Filipinos to the streets calling for Marcos’ removal from post. The
1986 electoral strategy which he hoped would satisfy the people and preserve
his hold on the presidency only increased their determination to end his rule
and seated Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino. She became President
of the Philippines ousting Marcos from Malacañang Palace and ending the
twenty-one years rule through “People Power.”
However, not everyone would dismiss the Marcos regime as a
monumental failure in governance. The Marcos government and its supporter
claimed that:
Its early years were…a time of rebirth: peace, order, and discipline restored, the nation’s strength renewed, and indigenous beliefs, customs, and traditions revalued. Through Ferdinand’s governmental policies and his wife Imelda’s social welfare and cultural programs, the First couple aimed to bring prosperity and enhance the well-being of the Filipinos. While he formed the “body” of the nation, she gave it a “soul;” while he used the law to govern, she used the arts to inspire [italics mine].138
While in power, the Marcos regime embarked on an unprecedented
effort to advance the cause of national art and culture through Imelda Marcos.
She inaugurated museums and sponsored artist exchange and education
abroad. She also opened gallery exhibits, collected and commissioned
138 Pearlie Rose Baluyot, Institutions and Icons of Patronage: Arts and Culture in the Philippines
During the Marcos Years, 1965-1986 (Manila: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2012), 1.
102
artworks, and led the preservation of historical artifacts, monuments and sites.
She spearheaded the establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in
1966 through Executive Order No. 30, s. 1966 to showcase national artistic
productions of original Filipino works in art, dance, music, poetry, and theater.
In 1978, the Philippine High School for Arts was founded through her
initiatives. It main objective was to train Filipino youth to become cultural
leaders in the Philippines. More importantly, Imelda Marcos reorganized the
National Museum to safeguard the nation’s artistic, historic, and cultural
heritage.139
To recognize career artists, President Marcos established the National
Artist Award (Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining). It was institutionalized
through Presidential Proclamation No. 1001 that the president signed on April
27, 1972. The award aimed to give appropriate recognition and prestige to
Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding
contributions to Philippine arts and letters.140
The effect of these presidential efforts on national art and culture was
tremendous. The artist was placed on a pedestal to be emulated by young
139 Ibid., 8. 140 The National Artists of the Philippines Guidelines, http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca/org-
awards/org-awards-national-artist-guidelines.php/accessed 07/10/2012, 7:37 AM.
103
men and women with artistic inkling in them. Figures in Table 14 below shows
that during President Marcos’ presidency, from 1965 to 1986, enrollment to the
UST fine arts school steadily increased. It eventually breached the one
thousand mark in the school year following the declaration of martial law.
TABLE 14
FINE ARTS ENROLLMENT, 1965-1986
School Year 1st Semester
2nd Semester
1969-1970 1970-1971 1971-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974
882 912
- - -
805 807 900 873 1,05
1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977
1977-1978 1978-1979 1979-1980 1980-1981 1981-1982 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986
1,277 1,460 1,569 1,652 1,595 1,608 1,748 1,768 1,629 1,740 1,750 1,692
- 1,405 1,461 1,416 1,515 1,561 1,594 1,639
- 1,622 1,661 1,550
Source: Office of the University Registrar, “Enrollment Data.” Note: Enrollment data from 1974-1986 include enrollees for vocational course in Commercial Art.
104
Curriculum
Even with the introduction of the National College Entrance Examination
(NCEE) in 1973, students flocked to the fine arts and design courses of the UST
College of Architecture and Fine Arts.141 It offered vocational courses on
Commercial Art and Furnicraft (also Furniture Design) in 1976 to accommodate
students who wanted to take up fine art course in college but flunked the NCEE
(see Table 15). It was the University’s commitment of support to the
program.142 Enrollment data beginning School Year 1978-1979 included
enrollments in the four-year course of BFA Industrial Design. The course on
Industrial was first offered as a two-year vocational course in 1935.143
TABLE 15
COURSE OFFERINGS, 1960-1997
4-Year Courses Vocational Courses Painting Sculpture Interior Design Advertising Arts Industrial Design3
Advertising Arts Interior Design Furnicraft Commercial Art
Source: General Bulletin from 1960-1997
141 P.D. 146 signed into law by Pres. Marcos in 1973 requiring the passing of NCEE for college admission. See, http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1973/pd_146_1973.html/accessed 09/07/12, 4:32PM
142 The Committee on Proposal Preparation, “Proposed Establishment of an Independent College of Fine Arts and Design: Historical Overview,” TMs (photocopy), 2.
143 “Industrial Design Hails its 25th,” CFAD Atelier Bulletin, (Manila: College of Fine Arts and Design, Second Semester 2003-2004), 4.
105
By this time the College had become, according to of Prof. Edades, a
phenomenal institution embracing Painting, Interior Design, and the
Advertising Arts, and excelling in every artistic endeavor. These political,
social, economic, and cultural realities brought about changes with far-reaching
effects in the School’s organizational structure and focus and organizational
objectives. However, necessary revisions in the University Statutes
subsequently impacted the School’s organization. The abolition of the
Director’s position during the time of Rev. Fr. Frederick Fermin, O.P.,
highlighted for the first time the need, as expressed by its faculty members, to
separate the department from CAFA so that it could have it own administrator.
This prompted Fr. Fermin to appoint department heads instead. The time for
autonomy and independence insofar as the Dominican owners were concerned
has not yet come.144
During the school’s 50th founding anniversary in 1985 celebration was
without much fanfare. The political and economic upheaval besetting the
country also affected the University prompting University Treasurer, Fr.
Testera, O.P. to issue on June 18, 1984 a memorandum to all deans, regents,
144 Gil Obispo Santos, Historical Overview, 1997, TMS (photocopy), n.p.
106
directors, and office heads announcing austerity measure such as; freeze hiring
policy, cutting down on expenses, and reduction of purchases.145
The situation was further aggravated by the increasing militancy within
the ranks of the students. It was the time of boycotts and “welgang bayan.”
UST students were not immune from these developments. In November 22
that year what started as a 30-minute barricade planned by students from the
Faculty of Engineering and CAFA to demand roll back of tuition fees and
recognition of students’ democratic rights became a five-day university-wide
barricade unprecedented in scale in the history of the University. It resulted to
widespread disruption of classes.146 During that rally, in addition to their
demands for a rollback in tuition fees, recognition of students’ democratic
rights, Filipinization of the University, and the investigation of alleged siphoning
of UST funds to Hong Kong, College of Fine Arts students agitated for
separation from the College of Architecture.147
Summary
Increase in enrolment was brought about by the many changes in the
curriculum which were geared towards attracting more students, and the
145 Freeze hiring policy adopted in view of forecasted deficit, The Varsitarian vol. LV, no. 28, 1984, 2 146 Ma. Regina S. Bautista, “And then there were five,” The Varsitarian, Vol. LV, No. 28, 1984, 12 147 Gil Obispo Santos, “Historical Overview,” 1997, TMs photocopy, n.p.
107
improvements of school facilities and the building of CAFA’s new home – the
Roque Ruaño Building. The triumph of the modernism over the conservatives
was another factor that contributed to the golden years of the School.
Legitimacy for the school was not slow in coming during this period. All
the years of labors and hard works put in by the school administration, the
faculty members and the students brought success to the school. This was
precipitated in no small measure by the postwar rehabilitation of the country
after the Japanese occupation and the support for the arts by President Marcos
during the martial law regime.
After the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, the restoration of the old
political order and the massive rehabilitation of damaged structures and the
return of economic activities in the country after the Japanese defeat resulted
to the increase in the demand for professional fine and design artists. This
prompted university officials to immediate reorganize for the opening of classes
in order to resume the aborted expansion program aborted by the war. Part of
this reorganization was the elevation of the school to college status thereby
creating the College of Architecture and Fine Arts.
The prewar controversy between the moderns and the conservatives
was finally resolved during this period to the advantage of the former. UST
108
being the bulwark of modernism immensely benefited from this development.
The contest that started before the war culminated with the Moderns running
off with prizes in competitions and in the process gained more followers. Most
of these winners were members of the UST school of Fine Arts. It also helped
that its listed National Artists among distinguished administrators and faculty
members in the persons of Victorio C. Edades (1976), Carlos Francisco (1973),
Vicente Manansala (1982), Hernando R. Ocampo (1991), and Jeremias Elizalde
Navarro (1999). Even during the Japanese occupation, modernists like Botong
Francisco have already been given recognitions. During this period UST fine
arts and design students themselves have been winning national art
competitions. Its graduates gained national prominence in the field.
The school’s espousal of modernism was an important factor in breaking
the dominance of conservatism and initiated the change in the main direction
of Filipino painting and obliterated the cultural isolation of Philippine arts from
the rest of the world. In the words of the acknowledged leader of the modern
art movement in the Philippines – Victorio C. Edades, “modern art has given
the Philippines a new direction. To find pleasure in the visible qualities of even
the commonest object of everyday life, to use color structurally, to investigate
every department of our environment which we directly experience, and to
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blend and integrate all our impressions with our Oriental heritage and our
traditional Christian culture – these are profound lessons with which the great
modern art movement is inspiring our progressive artists today so that they
may create masterpiece which will claim their places in the art galleries of the
world.”
President Marcos was also unequivocal in his support of the artists and
the arts. Because of this some sort of renaissance occurred during his
administration. In spite of his personal motives, his unprecedented patronage
helped in the development of arts in the country which eventually gained for
the artists the recognition and appreciation they deserved.
All these factors collaborated to bring about heightened consciousness
of the fine arts and design among Filipinos and which was evidenced by the
increased enrollment in the UST school of Fine Arts during that period.
From the beginning of CAFA, Fine Arts had always been subordinate to
the College of Architecture. Fine Arts faculty would later on make the mistake
of declaring that Architecture and Fine Arts as organizationally equal in their
pitch for the separation of department from CAFA. The Dominican owners of
the University, however, have already made clear this point by appointing
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Architects, and not Artists, to the position of Dean from the start in 1946 until
their separation in 2000.