|
FEATI SFA students win in two more competitions
Success is rapidly becoming a tradition in the FEATI School of Fine Arts (SFA) as two of its students were recently adjudged winners in two separate art competitions for students from various schools and universities.
Alfred Ong and Averil Paras have added to the feathers in SFA’s cap as both triumphed in inter-university competitions in February and March 2010.
Nature through his lens
Besting more than 80 students from different universities as FEATI University’s sole contestant, Alfred Ong won the grand prize for his ingenious idea of a sprouting plant inside a light bulb at “Viewpoint: Developing Positive Changes”, an inter-university photography competition organized by Legworks in March 2010.
The competition was aimed at challenging the creativity of the students in expressing thoughts, emotions and viewpoints on saving the environment through photography.
“Global warming and climate change are perhaps the greatest threat to our planet, but we're just ignoring them. I came up with this idea because I want to challenge the minds of people who don't take this issue seriously, and I also see this competition as an opportunity to open up those minds. My idea of the sprout inside the bulb, though somehow simple, is unique and also serves a tribute to Earth Hour, which took place on the same date as the grand awarding date of the competition,” explains Ong, who received his P15, 000 cash prize on March 27, 2010 and whose winning piece will be displayed on a billboard in Balintawak.
Ong, a fourth year Fine Arts student, shares that he has been immersed in photography for three years now. His favorite subjects are streets, objects in still life, portraits, and “interesting places”. Though photography is his forte and passion, he also does painting and drawing. For more of Ong’s works, log on to his webpage: http://alpreddd.deviantart.com
Other winners of the “Viewpoint” competition were Gerald Arnelle dela Cruz of Far Eastern University (1st Runner-up) and Hyacinth Laoke of University of the Philippines (2nd Runner-up). Most of the participants came from schools and universities such as UP, FEU, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Adamson University, Technological University of the Philippines, Mapua Institute of Technology, University of the East, San Sebastian College Recoletos and FEATI University, to name a few.
Patience is his virtue
“Try and try until you succeed and reap yet again the rewards”, apparently, is Averil Paras’ unofficial motto as he etched his name for the second time in the winner’s list of the annual University of Santo Tomas On-The-Spot Painting Competition (USTOTSPC) in February 2010. Emerging third and winning a cash prize of P20,000 to boot, Paras’ “Origin of Culture, The Protector of Nature,” was among the top six paintings that earned the judges’ nod. The six winning entries were also exhibited at the UST Museum from February 25 to March 19.
The two-time winner believes that patience is the key to winning competitions such as the USTOTSPC. “Actually, I have joined the UST On-the-Spot Painting Competition four times since I was in first year college and I have won twice. Nadaan sa tiyaga (patience),” reveals Paras, who first won 2nd place in this annual competition in 2008. He adds that this year’s competition was even more memorable for him because he almost missed out on this edition since his name was not in the original list of participants submitted by FEATI University.
Paras explains why he chose to draw an indigenous mother piggybacking her child facing a dying forest with alibata characters written on the upper part of the frame. “I want to let the viewers know that the indigenous Filipinos are important in our civilization. We are what we are right now because of them. They were the first to shape and cultivate our nature and culture which we enjoy until now. This is because I believe that the future of a society depends on its past,” says Paras. He adds that the alibata inscriptions mean “Mag-ina, Kultura at Kalikasan” (Mother and Child, Culture and Nature). For more of Paras’ works, visit his webpage at www.averilparas.multiply.com.
Kathleen Yeo, from the College of the Holy Spirit, grabbed the top spot while Julian Pangilinan from the Bulacan State University was second. The three honorable mentions were Russel Trinidad of Technological University of the Philippines, Frances Nicole Delos Angeles from the University of Santo Tomas and Mark Kim Arcenal from TUP.
USTOTSPC is yearly competition organized by the UST Office of the Secretary General and the UST Museum that aims to “acknowledge the talents of the students in the field of visual arts and to foster camaraderie among students and encourage them to hone their talents through friendly but competitive competition.” The theme for this year was “Mag-Ina: Larawan ng Yaman ng Kultura at Kalikasan,”
The entries were evaluated and judged by actress and art collector Candy Pangilinan, architect Jonathan Matti and Galeria Duemila owner Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz. "Photos courtesy of Red de Leon of UST Museum and Alfred Ong." (KAL)
|
