Disable Fiddler

(2006)
By: Elmer Borlongan

Art Critique
Title: Disable Fiddler
Artist: Elmer Borlongan
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimension: 183 x 122 cm
Date: 2006
Overall, the exhibition depicts a variety of scenes from daily life in the inner streets of
Manila, specifically in Nueve de Febrero, Mandaluyong, a historic street where the artist
grew up and found inspiration. Observing people in his surroundings, Borlongan zeroes
in on the Every Man— the Juan de la Cruzes whose humble lives go unmarked and
unnoticed.

Borlongan's works revisit a gritty world of humdrum lives, weary perseverance, and
unexpected tenderness. A strong empathy with the marginalized and the disabled
remains a constant presence in his works. Familiar scenes of ordinary people going
about their day abound with an edgy and dissonant twist.

Far from being Pollyannish, Borlongan captures people trying to make ends meet, and
in the process, survive and thrive: selling balloons, puppies, or religious paintings of
Christ or the Last Supper. The artist also includes children having fun, minus fancy toys
and gadgets: riding piggyback on each other or playing blind man's bluff.

He tends to choose darker shades of browns, blacks, and greys in his early works; after
2002, a when he moved to San Antonio, Zambales with his wife, his works started
having rural imagery and his colors became more vibrant.

Describe:

The Weeping Woman is a painting finished by Pablo Picasso in France, 1937.

This type of artwork can be considered to be expressionism. There isn’t an
actual background scene in the painting. The background is completed with
different lines and colors. The woman is the focus point of this painting. She is
wearing an accessory on top of her head which demonstrates her elegance.
My first impression of the artwork is that the face of the woman is not
proportionate and is only painted with lines, no curves. The main colors that
are used in this painting are green, yellow, blue, purple, red and black. The
painting is set mainly of lined and little curves. The mood and visual effect that
this painting portrays can be considered to be suffering, and sadness.

Analyze:

The colors that the author uses can be considered to be quite different as
each color conveys a separate impression. The light purple that begins at the
bottom top of the woman’s eyes can convey sadness. The other half of the
face is mainly covered in green and yellow; these can be said to interpret
other solid emotions that the painter must have towards this woman as she
was a vital character in Picasso’s life. The painting is created with mainly lines
which can mean that the woman had strong physical features or that her
different emotions were felt passionately as lines are usually seen as strong
technical elements. The only curves that are being used are for her hair and
eyes. The eyes look quite down or depressive. This is because the woman is
crying, which goes back to the main mood which is suffering.

Interpretation:

I believe that Picasso wanted the audience to feel pain and provide a
statement that explains how all women feel and the agony that they are
consistently in. The audience can see that the woman has peeled away her
flesh by corrosive tears to reveal her white bones. The handkerchief she tries
to stuff in her mouth seems as a shard of glass. This vivid image can convey
pain and hurting. Picasso has expressed the behavior of this woman several
times and often describes the constant tears that fall off her eyes. So the
feeling conveyed by the artwork is definitely suffering. Picasso wanted us to
feel her and understand the pain that she was going through. It was not easy
to be a woman during that time since females where often frowned upon.
Picasso demonstrates the appreciation that he has for her through this
painting as he wants the audience to understand her.

Judge:

Finally, the artist’s value may be to evoke pain, as mentioned previously. This
is due to the colors that Picasso used and the shapes that he draws; not only
these technical elements but also the images that the painter uses within the
actual face of the woman. The painting relates to the entire female
community. This community can understand the painting and know what
Picasso was trying to portray. Every woman is able understand and
comprehend the message behind this painting as we all feel the same way at
one point in our lives. I believe that this is a strong value in the painting. The
weak value lies in the different colors that the painter chooses. I found it
confusing to interpret other areas of the face as the colors that were used
didn’t seem to match other locations of the face.

When asked about his visual approach, Borlongan describes his style as figurative
expressionism.[4] Art curator Ditas Samson expounds on this, describing a typical
Borlongan canvas as "dominated by the human figure - often disorted in shape, in
unreal hues." [2]
Borlongan's early work is known for its usage of figures in urban settings, in stark
contrast to the idyllic rural settings of the earlier generation of Filipino artists, such as
Fernando Amorsolo.
Later works by Borlongan, after his move from the streets of Manila to the provincial
settings of Zambales, increasingly featured people in rural settings as well, but imbued
with the same tense energy which characterizes his urban-setting figures - a thematic
contrast which has been described as a prominent characteristic of Borlongan's later
corpus.

escription:

The painting shows a group of people standing around a beach or lake. The clothes that the people are
wearing are an older style. The skirts the women are wearing are large, and some of the men are wearing
top hats. A man is sitting on the front left side wearing a baseball hat and a sleeveless shirt.There is a
woman and a man on the rightside, who are standing in the shade, with some animals around them,
including a dog. There are a number of people sitting around and looking at the water. Some of the
women have umbrellas, although it is not raining. Some of the people are in the shade.

Analyze:

The painting shows a contrast of light and dark colors. The artist creates space by having the beach and
people go back in the painting. There are no real lines in the painting because it is painted in
a pointilist style. The artist shows texture in the dresses and on the grass.
The artist uses different color values for the clothes and on the grass to show the difference between the
shaded area and sunny area. the painting shows a realistic scene.

Interpret:

I think that the painting is about people gathering around outside on a nice day and looking at the
water. Maybe they are all there on a weekend day. There are lots of people in the picture, some are sitting
down and maybe having a picnic. There are some boats in the distance on the water and maybe the they
are watching a boat race.

Judgement:
I think that this is a good painting because the artist uses a different style to create the image and uses alot
of different colors. The contrast between the shaded area and the light area shows that it is a sunny
day. The artist uses different colors and values, and creates a unique texture through his style of
painiting.
1. Description

First of all, you have to describe the object of art:

 The name of the work, date when it was created, artist, etc.
 What does the art object is made of?
 What colors, shapes, and textures did an artist use, etc.?

2. Analysis
The next step you have to take when writing an art critique assignment is to evaluate
how the facts from description correlate to each other:

 Do the points complement each other?

 Do they create distress or harmony?
 What about principles and elements of art, like balance, proportion, similarity and
contrast, emphasis?

3. Interpretation

Now it’s time to think about arguments. Here are some questions for you formal
analysis:

 How does this art object make you feel?

 What do think of when you’re looking at the artwork?
 What did the artist want to tell you as a viewer?

4. Judgment

And now it’s time to express your opinion:

 How do you think: is the work successful or not?

 Does this art object seem original or not?
 What do you feel when looking at this piece of artwork?

Well, now you know what to write. And it’s time to take a closer look at structure
elements of artistic analysis:

 The introduction. In this part, you should provide essential information about the
artist, the artwork, and its features: title, materials, location.
 The thesis. Here you should come up with an argument about the art object.
 The body. This section implies a full description of the intent of the artist. Explain
the piece of art from your first reaction and impression points of view.
 The conclusion. The last but not the least section of your art analysis paper
should include your evaluation of the work.

Christie’s reworking of Boilly’s the Arrival of the Stagecoach is an exceptional example of how a classic work of art can be
manipulated to reflect a contemporary urban street scene. To begin, Christie creates a TWO-DIMENSIONAL scene that seems to
consist of two PLANES, one being the NEGATIVE AREA, representing the buildings above the sidewalk, while the POSITIVE AREA
represents the activity on the street.

She works exclusively with color pencils as her MEDIUM which give her the ability to use HATCHING and CROSS-HATCHING
techniques. These techniques allow her to easily create HUES that vary in VALUE by applying different amounts of pressure in
certain areas. She does a great job of keeping the recreation OBJECTIVE by using LOCAL COLORS as they would appear in real
life.

The NEGATIVE AREA, comprised of buildings, is perfectly represented using GEOMETRIC SHAPES for their windows and overall
design. Furthermore, the buildings are perfectly represented through ANALOGOUS LOCAL COLORS consisting of NATURAL
HUES. Christie’s POSITIVE AREA is teaming with life in the same manner as Boilly’s original. She does a great job of keeping
intact the same themes and elements as the original; however, she portrays these elements in a contemporary light. Again, she
uses LOCAL COLORS, but they are INTENSE and of HIGH-KEY HUE, HIGHLIGHTING and drawing the viewer’s attention to the
POSITIVE AREA and further accentuating the symbolic themes running throughout her piece that now take on a modern day
significance.

The painting depicts a nature scene of a pond which reeds and water lilies are living in. The first thing I
notice when I look at the piece are the lilies because they are pink while the rest of the picture consists of
cool colors. The warm colors such as pink stand out against the cool colors which make up majority of the

painting. The shapes of the objects in the picture are very wispy and fluffy looking, creating a soft tone.
None of the lines are perfect lines, they are curved and abstract- not having any particular shape. The
ripples on the water give the picture a sense of texture. In this picture the brightness indicates it is

daytime, because otherwise you would not be able to see the vivid colors of the lilies. The overall visual
effect this picture gives off is relaxing. The smooth lines and soft colors are pleasing to look at.
Monet has used an overall cool color theme to give the painting a relaxing feel, while the bright pink

contrasts with these colors and attracts the attention in on the water lilies floating in the pond. The colors
create a serene, calming mood that flow together. The lines are not all one size or stroke, they are more
wispy and free flowing, which allows the viewers eyes to flow around the picture from most important to

least important aspect. I think the lines are a huge part of this painting because it creates a sense of
fluidity, which is great when trying to

The painting depicts a nature scene of a pond which reeds and water lilies are living in. The first thing I
notice when I look at the piece are the lilies because they are pink while the rest of the picture consists of
cool colors. The warm colors such as pink stand out against the cool colors which make up majority of the

painting. The shapes of the objects in the picture are very wispy and fluffy looking, creating a soft tone.
None of the lines are perfect lines, they are curved and abstract- not having any particular shape. The
ripples on the water give the picture a sense of texture. In this picture the brightness indicates it is

daytime, because otherwise you would not be able to see the vivid colors of the lilies. The overall visual
effect this picture gives off is relaxing. The smooth lines and soft colors are pleasing to look at.
Monet has used an overall cool color theme to give the painting a relaxing feel, while the bright pink

contrasts with these colors and attracts the attention in on the water lilies floating in the pond. The colors
create a serene, calming mood that flow together. The lines are not all one size or stroke, they are more
wispy and free flowing, which allows the viewers eyes to flow around the picture from most important to
least important aspect. I think the lines are a huge part of this painting because it creates a sense of
fluidity, which is great when trying to

Step One:

Throughout this art critique, the painting that will be examined is “Scream”, by Edvard Munch,
completed in 1910. The night sky in this masterpiece Edvards Munch “Scream” is beautiful with a rough,
smooth red at the top as the sky and descending down to the flow of a river. There is red in every part in
this painting whether it is used to contrast and to even out the colour. While at the bottom centre of this
painting there is a guy putting his hand over his ears as like there is a loud noise or something. This man

is on a bridge that is over top on the river. There is a couple behind this man the back left of the
wonderful painting that looks like they are holding hands and walking towards the old man. The sky
however looks to me like the sun is going down, setting an image of a sunset. When I look at this fantastic
painting its brings me fear and anxiety. The painter put a lot of emphasis into it that it makes it very
creative and makes it look very smooth. I cannot think of a better way to portray this painting better than
how Edvard Munch did. It is stunning.

Step Two:

Starting in the upper left of the painting I see a reddish orange sky that is reaching from the top left to the

top right of the painting. The sky is a mix between a bunch of yellows and oranges. Now inside to top
right box, near the bottom you will see two people. They look like a couple going on an evening stroll by
the water while holding hands. To the right of the couple you see a little island that looks deserted as there
are no houses on it on vegetation. Now proceeding to the top right you still have that orange sky that kind
of now swirls into some water, which I believe is a river. Now descending down
Karnabal

While looking at the extravagant and mysterious

painting and guessing what is the meaning behind that oil canvas, someone approached us if we
want to know what’s the story behind that.
We were able to meet one of the painters of the remarkable painting that Pinto Art Gallery
has.

He started it pointing at the clown who was confessing to the priest and it was located in the
middle of the painting under the floating woman. He described it as a big joke, which means our
society is a big hoax. He gave us an example like people who are violating the laws, students
cheating in exams and massive corruptions. The aspect that proves that our society is drollery is
religion, like for example christianity. It is not just a religion but also a way of life. He noticed
that some people keeps swearing after they attend mass. Suddenly, the word ‘education’ came
out which explains that the moral values does not just literate in church but also can be learn in
school.

The next thing is the dog that turned into a monster which located at the left side beside the
clown. It explained that we cannot served two masters and be loyal to them.

Biblically, we have man and God but socially, we have Darna and Superman which symbolized
the east and the west. Superman is behind the dog wearing white sando throwing a ball to the
target that will make Maria Clara fall down directly to the water and Maria Clara represents
Darna which located at the east part of the painting and pointing to the west. He said that after
the colonial period of the Spaniards we became Fil-ams not Filipino Americans rather Feeling
Americans. We are using trendy words that we really don’t know the real meaning.

The monkey who is riding in the carousel located in the front of Darna. It is operating the
machine that has eyes, mouths and four arms pointing all over the Karnabal. So he used our
friend as an example by pointing at her saying that she is ugly but actually it’s three times in
return to him. He said that “Masarap tingnan o pakinggan ang mali ng iba kesa sa sariling mali
natin at minsan mas masarap tignan ang kapangitan ng iba kesa sa kapangitan natin”

Let’s go to the part where the girl is floating in the upper middle of the painting. The magician is
just an illusion which means daya. The magic came from the word majai which means “wise
man”. The magician represents us because were

Maze in the upper left corner of the painting that represents our comfort zone, we cannot escape
or we’re caged to the fact that we used to lived in that way.
Obviously, the room we came in has a different painting but it was all connected to each other.
He wasn’t able to explain it to all of us because to tell you honestly it takes time to explain it all
but we’ll tell you what was he explained to us.

On the upper left side, you can see the girl with the fake boobs and fake face. It represent our
fellow Filipino who’s not contented of what we have and who are we.

On the upper left side of the paintings, those children who does not have wings that are
supposed to have the wings they deserve but because of the massive effect of the technology
children’s tends to focus on their gadgets rather than to read books.
As you can see, it is a compilation of paintings since 1940 to 2000. It symbolizes the positivity
and negativity of our society.

Let’s go back to the main painting of the room which is Karnabal, the black and white flooring
symbolized the chess tiles which means we are in a game and our life is like a game.

Are we the players or are we the one who being played?

I took the entryway that led me to an outdoor staircase leading down to a
garden, where there were artworks including a cow sculpture by Plet Bolipata.

Upon my last step, I found another door. I did not need to be completely inside
the room to see "Karnabal" (1992), a 12'x40' acrylic mural by 16-artist
collective Salingpusa.

At this carnival are Darna, who seems to be dancing around a pole; soldiers
targeting dolls in a shooting booth; a Christ-like magician elevating a woman
from the ground; red papier-mache carabaos; and a harlequin sitting in a
confessional across from a priest.

According to Salingpusa member Andy Orencio, who also acted as tour guide,
"Karnabal" is a creative embodiment of Philippine society after the Marcos
era—and maybe even up until the present.
The figures at the center of 'Karnabal': the Christ, the priest, the clown, the
dog and the carabaos.

“Is this a manifestation of our belief, or just a façade?” said Orencio, on how
the harlequin represents Filipinos' absorption of Christianity.

Artist Geraldine Javier created "Holy on Sundays" in 1990. This work depicts
a veiled woman with a rosary behind burning bars. The piece asks if Filipinos
are only "holy" on Sundays.

According to Orencio, pieces like these showcase Filipino society’s declining

morals and values, as depicted by the sinking black church in Costantino
Zicarelli’s work, “We are here together forever until the world will be on the
verge of sorrow.”

Navigate the museum with our hashtag #PintoArtMuseumTour

Initially the acquisition of artworks began as support for the development of artist's careers of the
group called The Salingpusa. But since then the collection has grown to include other pieces of the
subsequent generations of artists, largely from those working in the figurative tradition. The
collection features more than 200 works of sculptures, paintings and installations. The buildings that
house the art pieces are designed by Antonio Leaño, himself among the original group of young
stalwarts whom Cuanang supported in his early career. Surrounding the museum is a two hectare
garden complex known as the Silangan Gardens, which in itself an ecological work with its variety of
plants and flora, and a sanctuary for birds and local fauna. The Museum also operates a gallery,
whose programs include exhibitions of contemporary Philippine art. Pintô Art Museum is located in
Antipolo, a city known for being a pilgrimage site for the past four hundred years.
The Pintô Art Museum is now one of the 25 most Instagrammed museums in the world according to
ArtNet.
The collection and its context
The collection is a veritable record of the changes of the cultural milieu following the People Power
Revolution in 1986. Highlighting this historical context is the large canvas Karnabal painted as a
collaborative work by the artists of the Salingpusa group. This painting captures the critical mood of
the period following the end of the Marcos regime and describes the post-revolutionary period as a
carnival.

Karnabal by Salingpusa group

Works by artists such as Elmer Borlongan, Emmanuel Garibay, Neil Manalo, Mark Justiniani,
Antonio Leano, Ferdinand Montemayor and Jose John Santos III also append to the reading of the
state of transition of the society to the challenges of empowerment in the 1990s. The collection also
plays a large part in describing a direction in Philippine contemporary art through the figurative
tradition. This tradition traces its roots in Spanish colonial and academic art in the 1800s by way of
church art, but found its unique form through the influence of Modern Art in the years previous to and
following World War 2. Works in the museum show how Filipino artists were able to fuse academic
art formation with personal integrations of modernist persuasions such as Surrealism,
Expressionism, Minimalism to Social Realism and Conceptual Art but with a vigilance in identity and
rootedness. The themes and subjects featured in the works appeal to the universal human condition,
but expressed in the unique historical and cultural experience of being Filipino.
The collection and its context
The collection is a veritable record of the changes of the cultural milieu following the People Power
Revolution in 1986. Highlighting this historical context is the large canvas Karnabal painted as a
collaborative work by the artists of the Salingpusa group. This painting captures the critical mood of
the period following the end of the Marcos regime and describes the post-revolutionary period as a
carnival.
Karnabal by Salingpusa group
Works by artists such as Elmer Borlongan, Emmanuel Garibay, Neil Manalo, Mark Justiniani,
Antonio Leano, Ferdinand Montemayor and Jose John Santos III also append to the reading of the
state of transition of the society to the challenges of empowerment in the 1990s. The collection also
plays a large part in describing a direction in Philippine contemporary art through the figurative
tradition. This tradition traces its roots in Spanish colonial and academic art in the 1800s by way of
church art, but found its unique form through the influence of Modern Art in the years previous to and
following World War 2. Works in the museum show how Filipino artists were able to fuse academic
art formation with personal integrations of modernist persuasions such as Surrealism,
Expressionism, Minimalism to Social Realism and Conceptual Art but with a vigilance in identity and
rootedness. The themes and subjects featured in the works appeal to the universal human condition,
but expressed in the unique historical and cultural experience of being Filipino.