Faith, movement and airiness at the 2013 Metrobank Art and Design competition

(Updated 3:12 p.m.) Religion and faith were the driving forces behind Alvin D. Florentino and Herbert J. Pajarito's paintings, just two of the prize winners in the 2013 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) competition.

Florentino's “Nilay-Nilay” is a split-human, half-man and half-woman, cleansing itself in a tub of  bitten apples and red roses. A challenging look haunts the Christ-half of the figure's face, while its womanly side relishes the apparent cleanliness the wash brings.

“Intercession”, Pajarito's abstract piece, drives to connect the interlocking series of reds, greens, and whites slicking the surface of the painting by the use of a singular, solid figure – the “divine.”

These two pieces were among the prize-winning artworks recognized during the 2013 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) competition. MADE, which has been around since 1984, seeks to recognize the best of the Philippines' artistic talents.

Florentino explained “Nilay-Nilay”'s theme, which comes from the yearly Visita Iglesia pilgrimages Filipinos make every Holy Week.

“Pinupuntahan po natin yung iba't-ibang church... Isang beses lang yun [sa isang taon]. Tingin ko, 'di naman kawalan sa atin na kahit papano magbawas tayo ng kasalanan kahit man lang sa ganoong panahon,” he said.




Meanwhile, Pajarito pointed out that his painting's focal point, the solid figure, is the church, surrounded by people who interconnect in a wide web, yet always ending up in this center, waiting for a mediator to connect them with a meaning beyond their reach.

“Para sa akin, yung human at divine, hindi talaga tayo maka-connect sa divine, kasi human lang tayo, kaya meron tayong may namamagitan sa atin, parang mediator,” he said.

Vindication

Also recognized during the competition was Darby Vincent Alcoseba’s “Perseverance”, a piece that dedicates itself to the idea of contentment.

He chose a window cleaner as his subject, contrasting his happiness with the job, despite of the danger, with the people within the windows he cleans, who are hollow despite the economic and physical safety they enjoy.

Alcoseba was pleased that his work earned him a MADE award, which he considers to be his most prestigious win to date. Impressive, as the fourth-generation artist admitted he didn't even want to paint at first.

“Sa totoo lang, iniiwasan kong maging artist.... I decided [to take] Computer Engineering para umiwas sa painting, pero hindi ko alam na painting na pala ang magmo-move sa akin sa kung ano ako,” said Alcoseba, who paid his tuition with profits from selling his paintings.