Entry 058

Sculpture 01: UP Oblation(s)

(UPDATED IMAGES) When I was studying, I regarded the iconic monument of my university as something like an everyday fixture overlooking the grounds as we, the students, enter and leave the gates.

The Oblation has been the symbol of the University of the Philippines since it was erected. The figure of a naked man with outstretched arms, making an offering of himself as he seemingly murmurs a silent prayer is one of the grand works of sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, who was proclaimed National Artist for Sculpture.

I won’t go for details about the origin and symbolism of the Oblation (Oble for short) as you can research about them in various sources online like this page, this one, and this one. I cared to visit the different campuses of the UP System (but haven’t completed them all yet) and took images of Oble. I am starting with UP Baguio, where I am an alumnus.

UP Baguio

UP Baguio has been serving the region by conducting researches on the thriving and evolving cultural and social dynamics of the Cordilleras. Anastacio Caedo, one of the models of Tolentino for Oble, made the replica that was unveiled in 1965.

Oble in UP Baguio is painted black.

Oble stands facing a row of trees across.

Inang Laya is another monument icon in UP Baguio. It was a work of Napoleon Abueva and was unveiled in 1964.

This relief is the work of the late fine arts professor Darnay Demetillo. Cordilleran themes are incorporated in this work with an Oble as a centrepiece.

Oble stands on a “hill” of lush Allamanda plant on a foggy milieu. (Photo courtesy of Manuel Santos.)

The base of boulders was bare again in 2014 when the shrubs were removed.

UP Diliman

The Oble in UP Diliman is perhaps the most photographed and well-known among the Oble casts. The one in front of Quezon Hall is a bronze copy supervised by Tolentino in Italy and unveiled in 1958. The original concrete is safely housed inside Gonzalez Hall (the building way opposite Quezon Hall), which serves as the main library of UPD.

The superficial “corrosion” in UP Diliman’s Oble is as attractive as the statue itself. The verdigris green colour makes it more pleasing to observe.

Oble illuminated at night.

Going to Gonzalez Hall with a plan of capturing Oble’s countenance, my excitement turned to an august wonder as I realised that Oble was actually colossal than I used to think.  It stands 3.5 meters according to Tolentino and is made of polychromed concrete. A significant amount of dust settled at its head and torso, though. The unveiling of the original had conflicting dates: 1935, 1936, and 1939.

The original Oble seems guarding the University Archives.

I would have wanted to photograph his full visage but this is what I could capture.

Another view, this time from the side.

I can’t cease from adoring that young man’s figure. Guillermo is a genius of Philippine realist sculpture!

UP Los Baños

The copy of the Oble in UP Los Baños was made by Napoleon Abueva in 1983. It should be noted that its base partially reveals the rocks before turning into smooth and polished planes. Think of it as a steep tetrahedron with its apex cut where the the actual Oblation stands on.

Oble in UP Los Baños on a clear sky

I love beholding the aged look of this Oble, just like the one in Diliman.

This is called “Pegaraw”, a composite of the mythical winged horse Pegasus and the Philippine-endemic tamaraw. This is also an identifying icon for UPLB.

UP Visayas (Miag-ao)

When I was in Bacolod, it occurred to me to pay homage to the Oble in UP Visayas. Iloilo is an hour away from Bacolod through a ferry; and Miag-ao, where UPV is headquartered, is a 45-minute bus ride from Iloilo City. I thought that it was a great offence not to see the campus in Miag-ao. The copy of the Oble in Miag-ao was made by Napoleon Abueva in 1989.

However, I failed to check on the Oble in the Iloilo City campus.

Oble in UPV in Miag-ao, to my eyes, seems gilt.

It is surrounded by much verdancy.

Another popular monument in UPV in Miag-ao is the “Diwata ng Dagat” by Napoleon Abueva, another National Artist for Sculpture.

She carries a fish net and stands atop a number of fish, symbolising the college course in which the UPV excels–fisheries.

UP Open University

The Oble in UP Open University is intricate. A whirling ornament complements Oble. This was designed by Dr. Grace Alfonso, the past chancellor of UPOU, and was unveiled in 2005. She happened to be my teacher in a graduate class. Lucky me!

Oble in UPOU headquarters in Los Baños

UPOU’s Oble before sunset.

UP Manila

The original Oble stood for a decade or so in the first UP campus in Manila. In 1949, the original was transferred to the wider Diliman campus in a motorcade. So the Manila campus needed a new one. At the Padre Faura block of UP Manila is an almost-glistening Oblation that stands in front of Rizal Hall (College of Arts and Sciences). Its base is much higher, I think. This copy was made by Anastacio Caedo and was originally standing at the former UP Tarlac until it was transferred to Manila in 1982.

The Rizal Hall in UP Manila hosts the Oblation statue.

This one stands on a tall base.

Philippine General Hospital

The Philippine General Hospital, as well all know, is operated by UP. In 2008, an Oble was erected in front of the PGH main building. It was also the work of Dr. Grace Alfonso.  Her design of that Oble (called UP Manila Oblation) includes an ornate base which displays the logos of colleges and institutions of UP Manila. Interestingly, the base do not include rocks or boulders.

The new Oblation and the Philippine General Hospital

The base includes layered leaves and UP in baybayin script (not seen in photo).

Another shot of the Oblation

UP Cebu

Unusual from all the Oblations is the one in Cebu. Obviously it was not a cast from the original. It was a copy made by Fidel T. Araneta, a Cebuano sculptor who studied in the prewar UP School of Fine Arts. It was unveiled in 1967.

In early 2018, a new one resembling the “standard” Oblations replaced the Cebu Oble after being the campus icon for 50 years. This has been relocated to another building in the vicinity.

The UP Cebu Oblation has a “more muscular” physique and not as lean as the original and its casts. The fig leaf and the katakataka are significantly different. Even the head seems unfamiliar. (Photo courtesy of Charl San Pedro.)

UP Bonifacio Global City

The newly opened campus of UP in BGC in Taguig is reserved for graduate studies, catering to professionals around the area. The Oble is painted brown, similar to the ones in PGH. Another striking distinction is that its left-hand palm seems slightly facing the viewer instead of facing upward. Dr. Grace Alfonso also designed this cast. Its base, too, curiously has outgrowths of the katakataka plant, from which the figure is attached. I should note that the muscular details in the torso seem to have been smoothed out a little.

Behind this Oble is the building of the campus named after its sponsor, Henry Sy.

UP Clark

Officially called the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga, UP Clark has its permanent home inside Clark Freeport, a former American military airbase. UP’s presence in Pampanga had been juggled between Clark and San Fernando before it ultimately settled in the former. The Oble here was installed in 2015, together when the new and permanent campus was opened. The derivative work is also by Dr. Alfonso. Again, the left hand is slightly tilted like the one in BGC.

The new site of the Clark campus was opened in 2015.

So far, my Oble hunt has been satisfactory and is quite a success.

UP Diliman
UP Los Baños
UP Manila
UP Baguio
UP Cebu
UP Visayas – Miag-ao
UP Visayas – Iloilo
UP Visayas – Tacloban
UP Open University
UP Mindanao
UP Cebu (Professional Schools)
SHS Baler (Aurora)
SHS Palo (Leyte)
SHS Koronadal (South Cotabato)
UP BGC
UP Clark
Philippine General Hospital

All images are mine except when stated.