Environmental Art: The blessing of the St. Anthony de Padua Art Assemblage
Completed St. Anthony de Padua
ceramic tile mosaic with the artists.
The St. Anthony de Padua Parish of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo will be the province' first institution to claim ownership of the first environmental artpiece, the latest emerging artform, in this part of the country. This parish church is recipient of a commissioned artwork entitled "St. Anthony and Child Jesus", a ceramic tile mosaic of the image of the parish' patron saint holding the baby Christ.
"What is interesting with this artpiece is that it makes use of ceramic, granite and marble wastage from construction companies", shared Mr. RJ Juarez, the artist who was commissioned to do the artpiece. "Not only are we creating an artwork for everyone to enjoy and appreciate, we are also creating awareness of protecting the environment through waste recycling.
Indeed, making use of waste found in our environment as raw material for an artwork is the latest emerging artform. Specifically known as "environmental art", its goal is to raise awareness of the fragility of nature by coming up with a nature-inspired art made from found objects.
The St. Anthony de Padua Art Assemblage is a landmark piece since this is the first in the region to install such a massive environmental art assemblage. The ceramic tile mosaic is made of 5,043 tiles (tessarae) and is 10 ft by 14 ft high. Each tessarae is hand cut to the necessary size and shape, individually chosen for its unique shade of color and texture to, fit the image design. They are then skillfully plastered on small cement groupings, adjusted and secured, producing an artistic composition that will be treasured for generations.
This artwork started as a challenge project among friends and relatives RJ Juarez, Lorman Juarez, Aida Montajes and Lorenzo Juarez. They started working on it since November 2006 and took six months to complete. As they progress on the completion of the project, the artistic experience becomes more spiritual. They approached the municipal parish priest, Rev. Msgr. Ramon Pet, to offer the artpiece to the church, which was gratefully accepted by the latter. The good reverend helped in the conceptualization and design, and provided funds for the mounting of the artpiece.
The finished artpiece is fittingly complemented with a waterfall, greenery and lighting effects for better appreciation during nighttime, and to highlight the environmental undertones suggested by the use of waste materials. Mr. Juarez and Rev. Msr. Pet hope that this artpiece would be one of Iloilo's tourist attractions and be able to convey the message of hope, good health, and bountiful life as exemplified by the message St. Anthony's pious life.
The artpiece was commissioned by spouses Roberto Juarez and Elmera Cernol for the Barotac Nuevo Parish Church. A special mass to bless the environmental art assemblage based on the image of the beloved St. Anthony will be conducted by Rev. Msgr. Ramon Pet on May 6, 2007, Sunday at 8:00 A.M. Local parishioners, devotees and patrons of the beloved saint will grace the said event.
This first environmental art assemblage is being promoted by the BM 230 (Marketing Management) Class of Prof. Joseph Idemne, College of Management Graduate Program, UP in the Visayas, as part of their class project.