Arturo Luz the 7th Philippine National Artist in 1997 Modula 2 National Artist Arturo Luz unveils a one-man exhibition of new abstract sculptures in metal and wood. Minimalist and geometric, this series of works delves into the various configurations of form embodying the themes that Luz has engaged over the years. As a visual artist, Mr. Luz started merging sculpture and abstraction in 1969, veering away from then on in what art critic Dr. Patrick Flores terms as a “critical shift” towards a “feeling for form”. This exhibition of new work on wood and metal likewise points to different trajectories of the abstract. Mr. Luz imbues geometry with physical presence through creating modular forms, grids, cubes and blocks, standing solidly in space. He also indulges in the play of monochromatic surfaces and patterns like Modula 2, denoting a carnivalesque dance of shadow and light. Other objects alternately recall primitivist and prehistoric otems and pay homage to artistic personality associated with the development of abstraction. These contradictions create archetypes and votive markers or both the forgotten past and the contemporary present. From his artwork Modula 2, it is a wooden type of art that is made up ipil tree. From the picture you can see the structure that is questionable and explainable. Based on some of the information that we have read, Modula 2 means the figure of the human body. And from my opinion, all of the elements of arts are present in his artwork: the lines, space, color, value, shape and form. Moreover, Mr. Luz’s Modula 2 is hard to understand, since the structure of it is new and he has its own interpretation and meaning and we have different imagination from his. But truly, behind this artwork it was a meaningful art. Drawing the Line Arturo Luz is a Filipino printmaker, sculptor, designer and founding member of the modern Neo-Realist School in the Philippine art influenced by Modernist painters as Paul Klee, he has worked in a variety of styles and techniques in varying degrees of abstraction to create playful geometric figures and forms. He was born on November 20, 1926 in Manila, the Philippines and went to study at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Art School of the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and at the Académie Grade Chaumière in Paris. In 1976, Luz became founding director of Metropolitan Museum of Manila, a position he held until in 1986. His international shows include the Philippine Cultural Exhibition held in New York in 1953, Arte de America y España in 1963, the 11th São Paolo Biennial in 1971, the Tokyo International Print Bilennial in 1974. In 1997, he was named the National Artist in Visual Arts by the government of his home country. From his artwork Drawing the Line, it is a selfportrait (195) from the collection of Fernando and Catherine at Zoleil de Ayala. From his work, you can see an image of a person that is being sketched in the picture. Although his portrait does not emphasize color, you can still clearly understand the picture. And I can still clearly understand the he properly emphasize the tone of the pencil shading, and the organization of the lines that makes his artwork more attractive and meaningful. In evaluation to the portrait, it will depend on a person’s mental capacity to understand a certain scenario. And from my opinion, all the elements of arts are present in the pictures: the lines, space, color, value, shape and form. Colors doesn’t mean literally since color also pertains to lightness and darkness of a certain environment. The lines are vividly clear, spacing is enough to occupy a emptiness of the picture, the value refers to its lightness and darkness of the shading. The shape and form is the portrait itself, it is clearly understandable that the person in the drawing is sitting. Moreover, Arturo’s works are more on abstract in which what is interpreted in the picture is not quite understandable because it is based on your mixed imaginations and we have different perceptions and interpretations as we encounter such picture like Arturo’s work. Desert Landscape Arturo Luz, is known as a Filipino printmaker sculpture, designer, and founding member of the modern Neo-Realist school in Philippine art. He has worked in a variety of styles and techniques in varying degrees of abstraction to create playful geometric figures and forms. His paintings are marked by meticulous simplicity and restrain, with subdued colors and understated form. Luz himself described them as “ semi-representional, semi-abstract”. One of the artwork of Arturo Luz is Desert Landscape, A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. The artwork of Arturo uses geometric figures and forms to emphasize the meaning. The use of color in the artwork gives happy satisfaction. The color highlight a deepest meaning about Desert Landscape. The texture of the artwork shows to convey a variety of messages and emotions. The artwork also also have spotlight harmony because it shows the unity of the artwork specifically in reference to the arrangement of its part. The artwork of Arturo Luz in organize specifically the lines, shapes and form that is used. Moreover the artwork is very pleasant to the eyes of the people. He really deserve to be named as national artist because of his undying artwork that merked the country Philippines. His artwork is unique and powerful to create deepest meaning. His artwork is simple yet it’s very satisfying. Simplicity is beauty.
