CHAPTER 4

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS 1946-2000

CAFA, 1946-1960

Rev. Fr. Eugenio Jordan, O.P. the wartime Acting Rector presided over

the reorganization of the postwar University of Santo Tomas. Serving the

unexpended term of Rev. Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P. until 1944, he got his own

mandate to serve until 1948. It was during his stewardship of the university

after the war that the expansion and development programs, put on hold

during the Japanese occupation, again went underway. This expansion

program included the elevation of the School of Architecture and Fine Arts to a

college. It consequently established the College of Architecture and Fine Arts,

or simply CAFA.113

Fortunately for us, 1999 National Artist Jeremias Elizalde Navarro was a

prolific writer as he was a painter, and wrote a column at The Varsitarian from

1948 to 1951 titled “Off the Palette.”114 Our readings from these columns

113 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, UST General Announcements for 1947 to 1954, (Manila:

UST. Press, 1946-1954). 114 Jerry Navarro was a second generation modern. He was mentored by Botong Francisco of

whom Navarro was a great fan. It was Galo Ocampo, however, who was instrumental in providing him the opportunity to work at The Varsitarian. See, Guillerma L. Mendoza, Jeremias Elizalde Navarro: The

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provide us with anecdotes and commentaries of the various facets of the

glorious years of modernism in the University. These anecdotes and

commentaries were drawn from firsthand account making it the closest thing

this author can get to interviewing him, a renowned UST fine arts alumnus.

Organization, 1946-1960

The year 1960 was chosen to mark the end of this period because it

coincides with the school’s 25-year anniversary of its foundation. It was a time

for celebration, for taking stock of its accomplishments, and for redirecting

their efforts and energies towards continuing the excellent work it had

accomplished.

This period started with the elevation of the School of Architecture and

Fine Arts to the College of Architecture and Fine Arts. An important

consequence of this process was the appointment of the College’s very own

dean. The distinction of being the school’s very first dean belongs to Architect

Jose Victor Rocha. Administering the newly-established college was not new to

Architect Rocha. As the School of Architecture and Fine Arts, Architect Rocha

served as the school’s director from 1941 up to 1942. He initially served in that

_____________________________ Thomasian Works, 1947 to 1951, Journal for the Arts Culture and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Center for Intercultural Studies University of Santo Tomas: UST Publishing House, 2008), 28-30.

86

position in acting capacity after the postwar reorganization in 1946. He was

appointed the full-fledged Dean of the College two years later in 1948. He was

succeeded in 1954 by Architect Carlos D. Arguelles. Dean Arguelles, on the

other hand, held that position until 1959. Shortly after that in 1960, Architect

Angel E. Nakpil would take over as dean until 1962.115

The first College Regent after the war, in 1946, was Rev. Fr. Gregorio

Garcia, O.P. There were five more Dominican priests who succeeded him when

he stepped down from that position in 1951. In 1951, Fr. Alfredo Panizo, O.P.

became Regent until the end of his term in 1953. Fr. James McAvey, O.P. was

appointed after him in 1953. Fr. MacAvey did not finish his term and was

immediately replaced by Fr. Adolfo Garcia, O.P. in 1954. Fr. Indalecio Alejo,

O.P. was also appointed to that position from 1956 until 1959. It was Fr. Cirilo

Gutierrez, O.P., who served as Regent the longest. His appointment as College

Regent was from 1959 beyond the 25th year of the school. He stepped down in

1969.116

Beginning the School Year 1950-1951, as part of CAFA, the school of

Fine Arts was organized into two departments, Painting and Sculpture. Each

department was assigned their respective heads. Prof. Victorio Edades who

115 Ibid. 116 Ibid.

87

has already returned from the United States was given the task of heading the

Painting Department. Francesco Riccardo Monti, an Italian sculptor who

resided in the Philippines since 1930 was hired to teach and develop the

school’s sculpture program. He was appointed to head the Department of

Sculpture.117

The Engineering and Fine Arts Building, 1950

During this period, in 1950, CAFA transferred to its newly constructed

building. This new edifice was built to accommodate the increasing number of

students enrolled in both Architecture and Fine Arts. This is the present Roque

Ruaño Building located at the España-Lacson corner of the UST campus.

Designed by Architect J. V. Rocha, Streets, the four-storey building was

described by J. Elizalde Navarro in his regular column with The Varsitarian, as a

beautiful affair and a functional architectural piece. CAFA, he reminisced,

occupied three floors including a terrace where students may cool off their

heads when the professors begin to heat up. It had a painting-drafting room

with a skylight so that students may get on with their works even through

117 It was Monti who was commissioned by UST Rector Fr. Angel de Blas, O.P. to crown the Main Building with statues of Aristotle, St. Augustine, and William Shakespeare, among others, representing literature, philosophy, and religion. He died in August 11, 1958 from internal injuries he suffered from a car accident. See, Miko L. Morelos, The Italian Sculptor with a Filipino Soul, The Varsitarian, Vol. LXXVII, No. 4, September 9, 2005, http://www.varsitarian.net/circle/the_italian_sculptor_with_a_filipino_soul, accessed 07/31/2012, 9:24PM.

88

inclement weathers. Art equipments were also new and made-to-order from

stateside samples. Fine arts people initially beefed about in silence when it

was rumored that the new edifice will be named as the Engineering and

Architecture Building. They rejoiced when their new home was eventually

named as the Faculty of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts Building. One

of the highlights of the inauguration of the Engineering and Fine Arts Building

was an architectural and fine arts exhibit which J. Elizalde Navarro described as

worth the three-floor climb. It will be CAFA’s home until 2003.118

Curriculum, 1946-1960

The curriculum underwent four adjustments during this period. The

School offered sculpture as a four-year course in 1951 under the Department

of Sculpture. It continued to be part of the department’s course offering until

1962. However, when Francesco Monti died in 1958, the school administrators

could not find someone to replace him as head of the department. In 1962,

the department was dissolved and the sculpture as a field of specialization was

eventually abolished.119

118 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, Vol. XXIII, No. 3, February 25, 1950, 4. 119 Morelos, “The Italian Sculptor,” Ibid.

89

The course of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design was likewise abolished and

replaced with Interior Design in 1957 and Advertising Arts in 1958. Both

replacement courses were expansions of the initial two-year courses.

According to Professor Edades the demand for the opening of these two

specializations was persistent due to the growing importance of advertising arts

in the expanding economic field. This new development called upon

advertising artists to embellish the devices by which business lured its market.

It made advertising arts a sought-after career, resulting to an increase in the

enrollment for both Architecture and Painting. Meanwhile, the two-year

vocational versions of Advertising Arts and Interior Design courses continued to

be offered (see Table 12).120

TABLE 12

COURSE OFFERINGS, 1946-1960

1946-1947 1947-1951 1951-1957 1957-1960 1. Painting 2. Sculpture 3. Design

1. Fine Arts

1. Fine Arts 2. Sculpture

(Vocational)

1. Modeling

1. Painting 2. Advertising

Art 3. Sculpture

120 Ingle, Kites and Visions, 81; Edades, “History of the Department of Fine Arts,” 5.

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TABLE 12 - continued

COURSE OFFERINGS, 1946-1960

1946-1947 1947-1951 1951-1957 1957-1960 2. Modeling

3. Ceramics 4. Painting 5. Drawing & Design 6. Interior Design &

Decoration 7. Commercial Art

4. Interior Design (Vocational)

1. Advertising Art

2. Interior Design

Source: 1946-1960 General Bulletin

Table 12 also shows that the period covering 1951-1957 saw the

offering of six vocational courses. By 1957, these vocational courses have

been integrated into the four-year course offerings when enrollment in those

courses showed a trend in the upward direction.

Enrollment, 1946-1960

Student population also vastly enlarged from a dozen initial freshmen in

1935. Shown in Table 13 below is a list of enrollees for the School Year 1953-

1954 to 1959-1960. During the first semester of the School Year 1954-1955,

the population of incoming first year students swelled to 106 from 67 in the

previous year. By the School Year 1959-1960 it reached 285. The number of

graduates also increased with the graduation of 39 students in 1960. They

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joined the ranks of the 170 who graduated since 1937 who were already

practicing professionals.121

TABLE 13

ENROLLMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 1953 TO 1960

SCHOOL YEAR

All Year Levels Incoming Freshmen 1st

Semester

2nd Semest

er

1st Semest

er

2nd Semeste

r 1953-1954 1954-1955 1955-1956 1956-1957 1957-1958 1958-1959 1959-1960

175 201 278 333 393 479 595

127 182 257 295 366 458 551

67 106 139 164 193 210 285

49 94 134 142 164 219 232

Source: Office of the University Registrar, “Enrollment Data.”

This increasing trend in the enrollment of incoming first year students

for the period covering 1953 to 1960, also shown in the above table, coincided

with the implementation of major revisions in fine arts curricula during the

previous year. The revisions featured the opening of two four-year courses;

Painting and Sculpture, both leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and six

121 Office of the University Registrar 1960 Enrollment Data

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vocational courses in Design. This gave students more courses to choose

from.122

Table 13 above also shows that the enrollment for all levels for the first

semester of the School Year 1959-1960 was 595. It represented 340%

increase from the 175 for the first semester of the School Year 1953-1954. Of

these 595 enrolled students for that period, 285 were incoming first year

students: almost half of the student population. That school year chalked the

highest percentage (135%) of increase in the enrollment of incoming first year

students.

Faculty, 1946-1960

When it started in 1935 the UST School of Fine Arts had only one full-

pledge professor in the person of Victorio Edades, and two instructors; Jose L.

De Ocampo and Severino Fabie. By the end of the 1950s, as student

population steadily increased, school administrators had to hire additional

faculty members to augment its teaching staff in order to cope with the

demand. By that time the school had a total of 22 teachers of different

classifications. Two of these were full-pledge Professors, three Associate

122 Ibid.

93

Professors, three Assistant Professors, and 14 were of Instructor rank.123 In his

“Off the Palette” column, J. Elizalde Navarro mentioned that Botong Francisco

“has been on leave for a year due to outside commissions which he has to

attend to personally.”124 He also mentioned the appointment that year of

Cesar Legaspi to the School’s roster of faculty. Professor Legaspi was an artist

of note who was at that time the Director of the Philprom Advertising Agency

and he was assigned to teach Commercial Art.125

Triumph of Modernism

One important development during that period was the triumph of the

Modernists over the Conservatives. This led to the acceptance of modernism in

the Philippine arts. This was not only a victory for Victorio Edades and his

Moderns but also for the school because it had steadfastly supported the

movement from the start. The press war between Victorio Edades and Ariston

Estrada was of essentially responsible for this development, but the founding of

the Art Association of the Philippines sustained it. The AAP provided the

platform for the word war between the two groups. During its inaugural art

123 Department of Fine Arts: Officers and Faculty, University of Santo Tomas General Bulletin 1960-1961 (Manila: UST Press, 1960), 13-14

124 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, 21st Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXII, No. 1, August 30, 1949, 4.

125 Ibid.

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exhibition in 1948, the moderns led by Carlos V. Francisco, Vicente Manansala,

Diosdado Lorenzo, Cesar Legaspi, and Hernando Ocampo, won all the prizes in

that competition. All of them were faculty members of the UST school of Fine

Arts. It renewed the clash between the modernists and conservatives, this

time pitting Victorio Edades on the side of the former and the eminent

Guillermo Tolentino on the latter. The results of the annual competition that

followed did not help the cause of the conservatives because the moderns

dominated the circle of winners. They did not only make off with the prizes but

gained for themselves more followers. Because the market was going to the

moderns, the conservatives, fighting for their livelihood, became apprehensive.

Hostilities were soon to escalate, and in 1955 came to a head. The

conservatives staged a walkout from the competition that year to dramatize

their protest against the alleged pro-modernist bias of the judges who gave all

the prizes to Galo B. Ocampo, Manuel Rodriguez, and Vicente Manansala. By

then the conservatives were a spent force.126

126 The Art Association of the Philippines or AAP was a private, non-profit, non-stock organization which was founded in 1948 by business woman and art patron Purita Kalaw Ledesma and other leaders of the community whose support she solicited to raise public consciousness of the fine arts and help struggling talented artists gain due recognition and respect through its national annual juried exhibition, or simply the Annual. See, Emmanuel Torres, Introduction: On the AAP’s Ginto Exhibition, Catalogue of the Exhibition, Ginto: 50 Years of the Arts Association of the Philippines 1948-1998, Vol. 1, (Manila: Art Association of the Philippines and National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1999), 35.

95

The modernist faculty members of the School continued in their winning

ways. J. Elizalde Navarro mentioned one such episode in his The Varsitarian

column, the annual art contest was sponsored by the Manila Blue Printing

House, he wrote:

Two faculty members of the Department of Fine Arts of the University won two major prizes. Professor Bonifacio Cristobal got first prize for his “Hingutuhan” (Lice-hunting), and Professor Ricarte Puruganan, third prize for his “This Earth.”127

The students too brought honors to the institution. They consistently

won in the Shell National Art Students Competition. For a period of ten years,

since the competition started in 1951 up to 1960 UST Fine Art students have

garnered thirty-eight out of sixty-six prizes during the annual art contest.128

Because of these honors achieved by its faculty members and students, the

school attained an enhanced status within the organizational field it had chosen

to operate in. This meant that Filipino students, their parents, and the society

in general approved of UST school of Fine Arts and now regarded it to be at

par with the UP School of Fine Arts. By this time, the school had developed

127 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Off the Palette, The Varsitarian, 21st Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXI, No.

1, January 25, 1949, 34. 128 The Shell National Art Students Competition was an annual affair that started in 1951 which was

participated in by students from all over the Philippines. From the works submitted the Shell Company selected one painting what was featured in the Shell Christmas calendar. See, Sunday Times 03 February 1957, 5.

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its formal structures that dramatized their advertized result. It had successfully

established a positive record of accomplishment and gained a certain degree of

acceptance from other institutions within its organizational field. The

subsequent organized social response to this was a sharp increase in

enrollment during that period which continued to rise steadily thereafter.

Students who wanted to pursue degrees in fine arts and design began to look

at the school as comparable if not better than the one in the state university.

In 1960, the year it was to celebrate its twenty-fifth founding anniversary, the

school boasted of a bumper population of 750 students enrolled in its various

areas of specialization.

Silver Jubilee, 1960

It was also the last year of Rev. Fr. Jesus Castañon, O.P. University

Rector Magnificus. He presided over the celebration of the school’s twenty

years foundation celebration. The September issue of The Varsitarian filed a

report on that event:

…in order to celebrate the day of its birth, June 1935 to be exact, the faculty decided to go all-out and the University and school officials, aware of the relevance of the event, had promised to mark it with grand affair to end all grand affairs.129

129 Fine Arts: Grand Affair, The Varsitarian, Vol. XXX, No. 10, September 1960, 9.

97

The celebration was highlighted by a weeklong arts exhibit starting at

nine-o’clock in the morning of August 27 with a motorcade staged by the

students of the department. They toured the campus along with their muses in

their gaily-festooned cars and jeeps. The student council put up a bazaar,

which sold objects ranging from paintings to cloth. An alumni homecoming

was also organized.

Rev. Fr. Jesus Castañon, O.P. cut the ribbon for the weeklong art exhibit

of works on paintings, advertising arts, liturgical arts, and interior design. The

report hastened to add that the celebration provided a brief reappraisal of the

past.130 It had been a fruitful period, which was punctuated by awards and

recognitions. In his message, Fr. Castañon congratulated the administrative

and faculty staff, the alumni, and the student body. He stressed that “that the

department has given to creative thinking and the total development of the

total aesthetic, intellectual and technical capacities of the students to enable

them to make and live a well-rounded life in the community is indeed

praiseworthy.” He called upon all of the Departments of Fine Arts to

“rededicate its efforts and energies toward continuing the excellent work that it

has so far accomplished in training of Christian artists and in the laudable

130 Ibid.

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increase of its enrollment.” Moreover, in closing, Fr. Castañon wished upon

them for “continued success and for the crystallization of it noble objectives

which would redound to the advancement of the Arts not only in the University

of Santo Tomas, but in the Philippines as well.”131

Beyond the Twenty-Fifth Year

After his term, eight more Dominican priests succeeded Fr. Castañon as

the University Rector. During that period, the first Filipino Dominican was

elected Rector. He was Rev. Fr. Leonardo Legaspi, O.P. who served from 1971

to 1977.

Architect Julio Rocha stepped down in 1954. He was replaced by

Architect Carlos Arguelles as the College Dean who served in that capacity until

1959. When the College of Fine Arts celebrated its 25th founding anniversary

1960, Architect Angel E. Nakpil, was CAFA Dean. For the next forty years,

several more Architects took turns in administering the college as Dean. Rev.

Fr. Cirilo Gutierrez, O.P. was the College Regent from 1959 to 1969. The list of

Regents that succeeded him Fr. Benigno Villaroel, O.P., Fr. Jose B. Tinoko,

131 Jesus Castañon, O.P. A Message, Silver Jubilee Program Souvenir, 1960, TMS (photocopy), 5.

99

O.P., Fr. Francisco Tuaño, O.P., Fr. Alfredo Loresco, O.P., Fr. Lucio Gutierrez,

O.P., and Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P.132

Victorio C. Edades was still in-charge as its Director when the school

celebrated its 25th founding anniversary.133 When he retired in 1967, he was

replaced by Cenon M. Rivera. The position of “Director” was, however,

abolished after Cenon Rivera’s term due to revisions in the University Statutes.

Instead, the Department of Fine Arts was administered by department heads

who were appointed from among its faculty members.134

A lot has taken place within the CAFA during its first twenty five years.

It had undergone transformations to various forms and processes attaining

institutional legitimacy and achieving greater fit with rest of UST. Yet, in spite

of all these the school of Fine Arts remained true to its mission of training

students to become Christian fine and applied artists. Victorio Edades believed

then that from that time onwards, the success of the College of Architecture

and Fine Arts was tremendous. He felt that the College continued to lead in

Architecture and all branches of Fine Arts in the country, its alumni having

132 The lists of Deans and Regents were sourced from the University General Bulletin from 1935 to

2000. 133 Department of Fine Arts: Officers and Faculty, University of Santo Tomas General Bulletin 1960-

1961 (Manila: UST Press, 1960), 13-14 134 Edades retired in 1966. See, Ingle, Kites and Visions, 83.

100

designed and constructed fine hotels, cultural buildings, business and office

condominiums in flourishing districts of Manila and suburbs.135

As an aside, the University of the Philippines also merged their Fine Arts

and Architecture colleges in 1961. However, this arrangement lasted only until

1970 because the two academic units were again separated.136 In 1978, UP

also undertook expansion of course offerings that led to academic restructuring

of programs offered into three departments; the Department of Studio Arts,

Department of Theory, and the Department of Visual Communications.137

Artistic Renaissance during the Martial Law Years

One important development during the period following the school’s first

25 years was the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos and his martial law

regime. History, mass media, and collective consciousness chronicle Ferdinand

Marcos’ rule as a period of profound turmoil, human right violation, and

economic instability. It saw the deterioration of the political and economic

condition in the Philippines which triggered the decline of support on Marcos’

plans. Social unrest ensued and reached its peak after the assassination of

former Senator Benigno S. Aquino in August 21, 1983. The incident sent

135 Ibid., 81. 136 Defeo and Flores, Forming Lineage, 14. 137 Ibid., 16.

101

thousands of Filipinos to the streets calling for Marcos’ removal from post. The

1986 electoral strategy which he hoped would satisfy the people and preserve

his hold on the presidency only increased their determination to end his rule

and seated Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino. She became President

of the Philippines ousting Marcos from Malacañang Palace and ending the

twenty-one years rule through “People Power.”

However, not everyone would dismiss the Marcos regime as a

monumental failure in governance. The Marcos government and its supporter

claimed that:

Its early years were…a time of rebirth: peace, order, and discipline restored, the nation’s strength renewed, and indigenous beliefs, customs, and traditions revalued. Through Ferdinand’s governmental policies and his wife Imelda’s social welfare and cultural programs, the First couple aimed to bring prosperity and enhance the well-being of the Filipinos. While he formed the “body” of the nation, she gave it a “soul;” while he used the law to govern, she used the arts to inspire [italics mine].138

While in power, the Marcos regime embarked on an unprecedented

effort to advance the cause of national art and culture through Imelda Marcos.

She inaugurated museums and sponsored artist exchange and education

abroad. She also opened gallery exhibits, collected and commissioned

138 Pearlie Rose Baluyot, Institutions and Icons of Patronage: Arts and Culture in the Philippines

During the Marcos Years, 1965-1986 (Manila: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2012), 1.

102

artworks, and led the preservation of historical artifacts, monuments and sites.

She spearheaded the establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in

1966 through Executive Order No. 30, s. 1966 to showcase national artistic

productions of original Filipino works in art, dance, music, poetry, and theater.

In 1978, the Philippine High School for Arts was founded through her

initiatives. It main objective was to train Filipino youth to become cultural

leaders in the Philippines. More importantly, Imelda Marcos reorganized the

National Museum to safeguard the nation’s artistic, historic, and cultural

heritage.139

To recognize career artists, President Marcos established the National

Artist Award (Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining). It was institutionalized

through Presidential Proclamation No. 1001 that the president signed on April

27, 1972. The award aimed to give appropriate recognition and prestige to

Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding

contributions to Philippine arts and letters.140

The effect of these presidential efforts on national art and culture was

tremendous. The artist was placed on a pedestal to be emulated by young

139 Ibid., 8. 140 The National Artists of the Philippines Guidelines, http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca/org-

awards/org-awards-national-artist-guidelines.php/accessed 07/10/2012, 7:37 AM.

103

men and women with artistic inkling in them. Figures in Table 14 below shows

that during President Marcos’ presidency, from 1965 to 1986, enrollment to the

UST fine arts school steadily increased. It eventually breached the one

thousand mark in the school year following the declaration of martial law.

TABLE 14

FINE ARTS ENROLLMENT, 1965-1986

School Year 1st Semester

2nd Semester

1969-1970 1970-1971 1971-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974

882 912

- - -

805 807 900 873 1,05

1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977

1977-1978 1978-1979 1979-1980 1980-1981 1981-1982 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986

1,277 1,460 1,569 1,652 1,595 1,608 1,748 1,768 1,629 1,740 1,750 1,692

- 1,405 1,461 1,416 1,515 1,561 1,594 1,639

- 1,622 1,661 1,550

Source: Office of the University Registrar, “Enrollment Data.” Note: Enrollment data from 1974-1986 include enrollees for vocational course in Commercial Art.

104

Curriculum

Even with the introduction of the National College Entrance Examination

(NCEE) in 1973, students flocked to the fine arts and design courses of the UST

College of Architecture and Fine Arts.141 It offered vocational courses on

Commercial Art and Furnicraft (also Furniture Design) in 1976 to accommodate

students who wanted to take up fine art course in college but flunked the NCEE

(see Table 15). It was the University’s commitment of support to the

program.142 Enrollment data beginning School Year 1978-1979 included

enrollments in the four-year course of BFA Industrial Design. The course on

Industrial was first offered as a two-year vocational course in 1935.143

TABLE 15

COURSE OFFERINGS, 1960-1997

4-Year Courses Vocational Courses Painting Sculpture Interior Design Advertising Arts Industrial Design3

Advertising Arts Interior Design Furnicraft Commercial Art

Source: General Bulletin from 1960-1997

141 P.D. 146 signed into law by Pres. Marcos in 1973 requiring the passing of NCEE for college admission. See, http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1973/pd_146_1973.html/accessed 09/07/12, 4:32PM

142 The Committee on Proposal Preparation, “Proposed Establishment of an Independent College of Fine Arts and Design: Historical Overview,” TMs (photocopy), 2.

143 “Industrial Design Hails its 25th,” CFAD Atelier Bulletin, (Manila: College of Fine Arts and Design, Second Semester 2003-2004), 4.

105

By this time the College had become, according to of Prof. Edades, a

phenomenal institution embracing Painting, Interior Design, and the

Advertising Arts, and excelling in every artistic endeavor. These political,

social, economic, and cultural realities brought about changes with far-reaching

effects in the School’s organizational structure and focus and organizational

objectives. However, necessary revisions in the University Statutes

subsequently impacted the School’s organization. The abolition of the

Director’s position during the time of Rev. Fr. Frederick Fermin, O.P.,

highlighted for the first time the need, as expressed by its faculty members, to

separate the department from CAFA so that it could have it own administrator.

This prompted Fr. Fermin to appoint department heads instead. The time for

autonomy and independence insofar as the Dominican owners were concerned

has not yet come.144

During the school’s 50th founding anniversary in 1985 celebration was

without much fanfare. The political and economic upheaval besetting the

country also affected the University prompting University Treasurer, Fr.

Testera, O.P. to issue on June 18, 1984 a memorandum to all deans, regents,

144 Gil Obispo Santos, Historical Overview, 1997, TMS (photocopy), n.p.

106

directors, and office heads announcing austerity measure such as; freeze hiring

policy, cutting down on expenses, and reduction of purchases.145

The situation was further aggravated by the increasing militancy within

the ranks of the students. It was the time of boycotts and “welgang bayan.”

UST students were not immune from these developments. In November 22

that year what started as a 30-minute barricade planned by students from the

Faculty of Engineering and CAFA to demand roll back of tuition fees and

recognition of students’ democratic rights became a five-day university-wide

barricade unprecedented in scale in the history of the University. It resulted to

widespread disruption of classes.146 During that rally, in addition to their

demands for a rollback in tuition fees, recognition of students’ democratic

rights, Filipinization of the University, and the investigation of alleged siphoning

of UST funds to Hong Kong, College of Fine Arts students agitated for

separation from the College of Architecture.147

Summary

Increase in enrolment was brought about by the many changes in the

curriculum which were geared towards attracting more students, and the

145 Freeze hiring policy adopted in view of forecasted deficit, The Varsitarian vol. LV, no. 28, 1984, 2 146 Ma. Regina S. Bautista, “And then there were five,” The Varsitarian, Vol. LV, No. 28, 1984, 12 147 Gil Obispo Santos, “Historical Overview,” 1997, TMs photocopy, n.p.

107

improvements of school facilities and the building of CAFA’s new home – the

Roque Ruaño Building. The triumph of the modernism over the conservatives

was another factor that contributed to the golden years of the School.

Legitimacy for the school was not slow in coming during this period. All

the years of labors and hard works put in by the school administration, the

faculty members and the students brought success to the school. This was

precipitated in no small measure by the postwar rehabilitation of the country

after the Japanese occupation and the support for the arts by President Marcos

during the martial law regime.

After the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, the restoration of the old

political order and the massive rehabilitation of damaged structures and the

return of economic activities in the country after the Japanese defeat resulted

to the increase in the demand for professional fine and design artists. This

prompted university officials to immediate reorganize for the opening of classes

in order to resume the aborted expansion program aborted by the war. Part of

this reorganization was the elevation of the school to college status thereby

creating the College of Architecture and Fine Arts.

The prewar controversy between the moderns and the conservatives

was finally resolved during this period to the advantage of the former. UST

108

being the bulwark of modernism immensely benefited from this development.

The contest that started before the war culminated with the Moderns running

off with prizes in competitions and in the process gained more followers. Most

of these winners were members of the UST school of Fine Arts. It also helped

that its listed National Artists among distinguished administrators and faculty

members in the persons of Victorio C. Edades (1976), Carlos Francisco (1973),

Vicente Manansala (1982), Hernando R. Ocampo (1991), and Jeremias Elizalde

Navarro (1999). Even during the Japanese occupation, modernists like Botong

Francisco have already been given recognitions. During this period UST fine

arts and design students themselves have been winning national art

competitions. Its graduates gained national prominence in the field.

The school’s espousal of modernism was an important factor in breaking

the dominance of conservatism and initiated the change in the main direction

of Filipino painting and obliterated the cultural isolation of Philippine arts from

the rest of the world. In the words of the acknowledged leader of the modern

art movement in the Philippines – Victorio C. Edades, “modern art has given

the Philippines a new direction. To find pleasure in the visible qualities of even

the commonest object of everyday life, to use color structurally, to investigate

every department of our environment which we directly experience, and to

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blend and integrate all our impressions with our Oriental heritage and our

traditional Christian culture – these are profound lessons with which the great

modern art movement is inspiring our progressive artists today so that they

may create masterpiece which will claim their places in the art galleries of the

world.”

President Marcos was also unequivocal in his support of the artists and

the arts. Because of this some sort of renaissance occurred during his

administration. In spite of his personal motives, his unprecedented patronage

helped in the development of arts in the country which eventually gained for

the artists the recognition and appreciation they deserved.

All these factors collaborated to bring about heightened consciousness

of the fine arts and design among Filipinos and which was evidenced by the

increased enrollment in the UST school of Fine Arts during that period.

From the beginning of CAFA, Fine Arts had always been subordinate to

the College of Architecture. Fine Arts faculty would later on make the mistake

of declaring that Architecture and Fine Arts as organizationally equal in their

pitch for the separation of department from CAFA. The Dominican owners of

the University, however, have already made clear this point by appointing

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Architects, and not Artists, to the position of Dean from the start in 1946 until

their separation in 2000.