Sabel

By: Ben Cabrera (2008)

Sabel, one of BenCabs most
recurring and iconic subjects throughout
his career, was inspired by a real-life
woman, who travels places and begs for
food, that he pictured and sketched in
1965. She has been the artists medium for
the expression of moods which are
intensely emotional. It portrays the life of a
beggar which is a common scene in Metro
Manila.
What is seen in the painting is a portrayal of a woman that is wrapped in a fabric-like
material that is almost abstract. With the combination of grays, which is often seen as an
unemotional color of depression, indecisiveness, detachment and humility, is accented by
yellows, blues, and orange that indicate the intense wild assortment of emotions felt by Sabel;
but is overall, dominated by silence and depression. The background is blocked in a plethora of
vivid scarlet red which asserts the treatment of the society towards her as a beggar which
conveys ruthless violence and brutality. Even though she is oppressed by the outside world, she
still maintains a solemn face, but her emotion deep within is expressed by the wrapping cloth.
The material, that wraps Sabel, is contoured by rough and sharp organic curves with
intense brush strokes, which communicates a strong sense of emotional distress and violence.
The action formed by the movement of the curves convey of her aspiration and drive to get out
of that bondage; to escape what is keeping her in that state of being oppressed by society.


Angel
By: Guillermo Tolentino

This artwork, made by the national
artist Guillermo Tolentino, features a classic
angel, sculpted in marble, which is portrayed
praying to God.
What is prevalent throughout this piece
is its pleasing bilateral symmetry that makes it
aesthetically pleasing. It connotes balance and
order. Her straight vertical stance gives her a
look of dignity, nobility, and character.
Her cloth that is covered in smooth fabric communicates her delicate and sincere aura
and the wings symbolize her freedom, spirituality and creative energy. Her body language tells
us that she is pleading or begging for something spiritual.






Mission Accomplished
By Hernando R. Ocampo

This shows a depiction of an aerial
bombing over a plain of ongoing war. The use of
bright colors may represent the explosions
happening during the bombing or the power that
hit the ground. The land shows a destroyed
building and some deformed corpse pierced with
bullets. I guess the representation of the land
shows how people are easily destroyed by strong force pushing them. The airplane represents
an unknown entity that are hard to reach since they are in the air and that the bombs that they
carry represents the powerful force.

Sources:
"Sabel." BenCab Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. http://bencabmuseum.org/national-artist/his-works/sabel/
"The Color Gray." Empowered By Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. <http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-
psychology.com/color-gray.html>.
"Wings." Wings. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/W/wings.html>.

Carl Julius Caelas
Joshua Noguera
FSTHEOR DFS5