Evolving Art Series 1 to 25: ART AND NATURE IN OUR POSTMODERN WORLD

Evolving Art Series 1 to 25

ART AND NATURE IN OUR POSTMODERN WORLD

Dr Abe V Rotor

Driftwood Art depicting Nature's urgent appeal for conservation and protection of the environment, pioneered by the author in his artworks and writings in line with emerging movements to save Mother Earth, including cryptobiology, a field of science at the border of the paranormal, legends and popular beliefs.

1. Capture Ephemeral Nature through Painting
2. Palette Board Speaks of Neo-Darwinism Evolution of Life
3. Living Prism in the Deep
4. Global Warming is creating a new Art Movement
5. Techniques in Impressionistic Paintings
6. Two Faces of our Planet Earth Chandelier
7. Evolving Art, ad infinitum
8. Make your own transforms for teaching and decoration
9. Two Paintings: Secret of the Heart and Innocence in Nature
10. Nature Paintings Revival

11. Nature's distress call through art

12. Nature's Message in Cryptobiology

13. The Eye in the Coral Reef

14. Capture and Enshrine Nature in Murals

15. Composite Wall Mural of Nature - A Glimpse into Our Living World

16. Two Faces of Nature in Postmodern Art

17. Cry of the Lawin in Driftwood and Backboard

18. Stone Bird

19. Forest World

20. Heritage Tree Art, GMO Tame and Wild

21. Nature Crucified "Above me rises a dead tree..."

22. Nature's Message in Cryptobiology

23. Cryptobiology* in Driftwood Art.

Birds - Descendants of the Archaeopteryx.

24. Cryptobiology* in Driftwood Art.
Bats and Gliders - Descendants of the Pterodactyl
25. Listen to the Music of Nature

Evolving Art Series 1

Capture Ephemeral Nature through Painting
Dr Abe V Rotor

Remnants of termites mounted on apocalyptic background painted
in acrylic by the author. On display at Living with Nature Center,
San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

High rise in ruins cower
to time, pest and weather,
their grandeur gone forever.
Will man ever remember?

Cave entrance reminiscent of Tabon Cave in Palawan,
relief painting in acrylic by AV Rotor.

Stalactite on the guard,
stained by a fiery past;
home of man long before
he became an outcast.

Profile of a human face on our Milky Way galaxy,
acrylic painting by AV Rotor.

Images of human abound,
in living colors and sound;
serendipity or providence,
captured as evidence.

Treetop convergence in acrylic by AV Rotor
Living with Nature Center

Trees make a community of their own,
they talk, sing, embrace each another;
designed by nature after they're sown,
living in unity and harmony together.

Microalgal colony in a pond in acrylic by AV Rotor
  Living with Nature Center

It's a world of the minutiae,
thru the microscope we see,
but a shade of its entirety,
much less its diversity.

Tree skeleton clinging on a rock cliff, by AV Rotor
Living with Nature Center

It's counterpart of the sacred Cross;
let's save Mother Nature at all cost.

The Last Deer, wood carving against a dying waterfall
mural by AV Rotor, Living with Nature Center

"Two symbols on the wall,
neither the fairest of all."

Edge of land and sea, detail of a wall mural by AV Rotor.
Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

"It's a reflection of a scenery,
opposite of a sweet memory." ~

Reference
Philippine Literature Today
Copyright 2015 by C & E Publishing, Inc 237 pp
Abercio V Rotor and Kristine Molina-Doria

Evolving Art Series 2
Palette Board Speaks of
Neo-Darwinism Evolution of Life

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor
Speleology and tourism, what a combination;
though both exploit the secrets of the past,
trace the beginning of human's civilization,
and Plato's allegory of the escaped outcast.

Linnaeus, if alive today, would wonder,
how he missed in his study
organisms posthumously emerged
from science and technology.

Coral reef of deceiving beauty,
red for warning, black for death;
white as skeleton; blue-green,
invasion of the primitive scum
that once ruled the early earth.

If you can decipher what life forms these are,
you must be an artist, like Picasso or Matisse,
masters of abstract art - not the ideal, the real,
the form and order of God's creation remised. ~

Evolving Art Series 3
   Living Prism in the Deep
Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living Prism in the Deep in acrylic (24” x 43”) 2017

Sunlight splits into colors, the rainbow,
     through droplets hanging in the sky,
the deep among seaweeds where fishes play,
     letting time and the world go by.

Oh, how the seasons come and go at ease,
     ephemeral in our lifetime,
yet fullest in awe and wonder and joy,
     in the living prism in our prime.

In the golden years as the sun sets down,
     and into the deep its last rays soon die,
lingers, flickers the light saved by the day
into beautiful dreams to live by. ~

Evolving Art Series 4

Global Warming is creating a new Art Movement

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Coral Reef Deforestation. Eye of the Coral Reef.

When the sea rises and buries the shoals and sandbars,

the sea grass and coral reef;

when the sun bears hard on the fringes of sea and land,

requiem hums eerie and grief.

Oh, Art - what gift do you bring in suffering and lament,

but catharsis however brief.

Mountain Desertification

When the wind hot and dry sweeps over hills and mountains

all day long, freezing cold in the night;

and rain after a long absence brings gales and hurricanes;

the landscape turns into a pitiful sight.

What movement can a artist recall in the long history of art?

too far out romanticism and classicism;

realism lost to the lens, impressionism to varied abstract art -

welcome Dali-Miro'-Ernst surrealism. ~

Is it Summer or Autumn?

Global warming is destroying the orderly march of seasons,

worst it is destroying the setting of this magnificent drama of nature.

Neither!

Summer is when the sun is brighest
to nourish the plants into full bloom;
the fields transform green to golden,
haystacks growing like mushroom.

Autumn is when the wind gets chilly,
birds in the sky migrate southward,
among stars and kites and fireflies,
and trees wear their brightest ward.

Neither!

Never again will summer or autumn
come, the march of seasons gone
where once Paradise stood proud,
prouder a rational wandering son.

Mutation (Mutilation) by Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering has put into man’s hands the path and nature of evolution, creating heretofore unnatural organisms leading to speciation (species formation) under the dictate of the new science. Here, the god in man is taking over God’s power over creation. In this painting one can subjectively identify organisms fused into an unorderly fashion yet revealing basic identities.

It's a riddle, shocking, senseless and cruel,
seeking answer not only to what but why;
an elephant, a hog, a bull, save your guess,
science knows no limit like the endless sky.

neither direction nor purpose, obedience
to sacredness of creation nor of humanity.
Frankenstein's regret too late to destroy
what he created, a fiend to life's sanctity.

It's a riddle, more than the Sphinx's threat,
the key to safe passage in ones journey;
move over robot, we may say to strangers,
yet strangers we are seen too, by many.

Where now leads the path of evolution
of millions of years to what all the living
are today? Move over Darwin, Mendel et al;
your time is up, it's genetic engineering!

Did man destroy Eden on purpose then?
knowledge and disobedience on one table,
then to build and to destroy are also one;
beauty in his eyes and heart insatiable. ~

Evolving Art Series 5

Techniques in Impressionistic Paintings

Dr Abe V Rotor

Acrylic painting on glass in three dimensions: seaweeds, fish and the deep. There is apparent movement, yet there is peace among the creatures living in co-existence. Step 1: dark background. Step 2: fish and other red colors. Step 3: seaweeds, transferred from separate impression. Step 4: details like air bubbles. Step 5: fixing with lacquer spray. Step 6: framing, or "edging" (liston)

Mural (5 ft x 10 ft) acrylic. Repetition has a powerful effect - it serves as boundary yet gives a sense of depth a feeling the viewer is at the edge of a forest. The source of light however, is from inside the forest. Step 1: stretch canvas on 2"x 3"x 10' kiln dry lumber. Step 2: use white latex to seal canvas surface. Step 3: use palette for the trees. Step 4: dub premixed yellow and blue for vegetation. Step 5: details like flowers, sunbeam, and red to break monotony. Note: Don't use fixative, let the painting as is, just protect it from direct sunlight.

Fiery flowers emerge from below to meet the sun, only to wither soon after the bees have done their chores. Wither, one by one, younger flowers succeeding, a cycle of life and life giving, progenies born one after another. How could you paint such a cycle but by impressionism? Impressionism leaves much of what is to be said. For the mind is richer where it is left with space to explore, and meaning to seek. It is not easy to depict a phenomenon on a single canvas when it takes immeasurable time and innumerable stages to complete. Step 1: start with the flowers, large and unarranged. Step 2: apply thick dark green and light green in ascendant strokes, heaviest at the base. Step 3: Add flowers at the center to give focus. Step 4: add light green ascendant lines as foliage.

Hazy, light and soft to the eye and touch. How is this done in contrast with the still life previously explained above? Here the colors used are first mixed with white on the palette, never on canvas. Choose the hues and keep the contrast low so that the boundaries are smudged, with pleasing effect. There is a tendency to end up with muddy appearance. Maintain restraint, give that "cloud nine" look. It fits well on a wall where peace and quiet reign. It invites relaxation. ~

* Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities. Wikipedia

Evolving Art Series 6

Two Faces of our Planet Earth Chandelier

Indigenous Chandelier by Dr Abe V Rotor

The Pristine Face of our Planet Earth in acrylic
on wood scrap by the author 2020

 The Defiled Face of our Planet Earth in acrylic

on wood scrap by the author 2020

Light in the air, swaying with the wind;
Heavy in the air dull, still;
Pristine, natural in the absence of man, 
Defiled, dead, can't humans feel?

Indigenous art, ecological in message, this piece of art tells to viewers looking up to this hanging parol and chandelier.  No candles, no light, no chime, except the natural radiance and music of the pristine face of our Planet Earth.  

So rare today this happy face beams, so commonplace the sad face shrouds cities where more than half of the world's population of 8 billion souls are ensconced in the so-called Good Life, the "ultimate" aim of civilization.  

What is the Good Life in the current Corona Virus pandemic? Good life in global economic depression?  Good life in widespread poverty?  Good life in inequity and injustice?  Global breakdown of institutions, from marriage and family, threatening to destroy the pillars of human society? 

What is Good Life with the Israel war in Gaza? Russian war in Ukraine? And in other critical spots, civil wars and drug wars, notwithstanding? Cities burgeoning into metropolises and megapolises? Growing widespread depression leading to suicide? Hopelessness spreading among the young and old alike?

What is the Good Life in a "floating continent of garbage" twice bigger Texas, thrice that of France? Unabated rise of sea level as a result of continuing global warming? Acid rain ruining productive farms? Radiation emanating from transmission and communication towers, and from millions of computers and smartphones?

What is the Good life in science and technology gone wild?  Good life in the explosion of knowledge, grain and chaff mixed up? Good life in erosion of values? Good Life in the failure of governance - local, regional, global? 

We have yet to learn from "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome," and the Dark Age that enveloped the world thereafter. We have yet to learn from the Renaissance that followed a millennium after.  If only man's rationality can save him from his own destruction. ~

Evolving Art Series 7

Evolving Art

(ad infinitum)

Art works and verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Splash Painting

Who needs brush and canvas?

Only colors, if you must.

On the floor, just splash, splash,

to create stained glass!

Noah's Black Dove

I found a fossil entombed,

of a story in driftwood.

Duck Head Figurine

Once hunted on water and in air,

now figurine, a grim reminder.

Broken Jar Alive

A lease for life indeed

through art we bid;

talent put to the test

at its very best.

Driftwood Trophy

Why gold or silver a trophy:

why not remnant of a tree,

shells forgotten and empty,

to wake us up to reality?

Driftwood Table Decor

Wasteland in the hall,

a dreaded scene,

aftermath of the Fall,

of man's first Sin. ~

Evolving Art Series 8

Make your own transforms for teaching and decoration

Museum of Natural History, UPLB

Mt Makiling, Laguna

Dr Abe V Rotor

Replica of whale attracts teachers on field trip. On the left is a painting of the blue whale

Giant outline of a damsel fly and a butterfly

Scorpion on the wall; wooden exoskeleton of insect.

Modern sculptural representation of an insect's exoskeleton

Fairy tale mushroom; anatomy of a tree

Sowbug, a relative of the insect - a terrestrial crustacean

A representation of a "new" species of lizard.

Evolving Art Series 9

Two Paintings: Secret of the Heart and Innocence in Nature

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

SECRET OF THE HEART

Painting in Acrylic (13.5" x 13.5")

Hidden, the heart throbs
     in deep silence;
two nails embedded,
     unseen in pretence
of living, loving, caring,
     the highest art,
filling the five chambers
     of the heart.

INNOCENCE IN NATURE

Painting in acrylic (17.5" x 21.75")

Abstract over realism can you paint innocence,
     move over classics, you are too pure
to be true, and impressionism too assuming,
    with apologies to Monet's azure sky.

Oh! abstract indeed is a child's innocence,
     buds in early spring, grains ripening;
heart of a true friend, pledge of real love,
     growing in the passing of time.

Colors are mere symbols, wanting to behold,
     the magnificence of mind and heart,
triumph of the human spirit over our frailty,
     the most challenging of all art.~

Evolving Art Series 10

Nature Paintings Revival

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Grass in acrylic (18" x 21")

Sway with the breeze, dance with the wind;
Greet the sun with dewdrops clinging;
In summer turn golden, and bow,
And die sweetly to feed the world.

A LOVELY PAIR IN A BOWER
Painting in acrylic (11.5" X 16")

Let the world go by in their bower,
lovers blind to the busy world,
away from the maddening crowd;
fleeting moment is forever,
to this pair in their lair.

Wonder in our midst who we are,
blind to each other, but the world,
strange this crowd we are in;
where's this lovely pair,
where's their bower?

SYMBIOSIS Pisces and Echinoderms
Painting in acrylic (8" X 10")

Distant in phylogeny, yet live they together
in one community we call ecology,
ever since the beginning of our living world,
millions of years ago before man was born
to rule, to reign supreme over all creation;
wonder what Homo sapiens means
to true peace and harmony
beyond his rationality.

TOO SOON THE BUD OPENS Painting in acrylic (12" x 17")

You come in springtime and autumn,
too eager a bud ahead of your time;
what promise of life awaits tomorrow
from where you've broken through?

Whichever path you take from now,
you'll miss the adventure of youth
in summer, and stillness of winter,
Oh, how could you live to the full?

"For having lost but once your prime,
you'll always tarry," so says a poet;
"It's now or never," so sings a bard,
and I, I've neither a poem nor a song.

SEA URCHIN Painting in acrylic ( 11" x 13.5")

You're all made of spikes,
I can't see the real you;
in your invincible armor
in any view.

Wonder how many of us
live like the urchin
in silent, unknown ways
and never seen.

ART OF THE CATERPILLAR Painting in acrylic (11” x 14”)

Caterpillar, when you are gone
two things come to mind:
the butterfly you have become,
and the damage you have done
and left behind.

Art, art, whatever way defined,
the subject on the wall,
or dripping on the floor,
art, art you aren't hard to find
after all. ~

WEANING Painting in acrylic (8” x 10”)

A trio in adventure weaned out
of their nest too soon;
to explore the world beyond,
like the Prodigal Son.

What lies in the deep and dark
cavern with many eyes,
but monsters real or imagined
lurking for a prize.

It’s inevitable stage of life,
all creatures undergo;
weaning - crossing the bridge
and cutting it, too.

FISH SWARMING Painting in acrylic (9” x 17”)

I’ve seen jellyfish swarming,

plankton in coral reefs glowing;

a myriad fireflies mingling
with the stars, linking us all
to a Supreme Being. ~

Evolving Art Series 11

Nature's distress call through art

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Satellite image of the Earth showing the major biomes - forest, coral reef, grassland, tundra, savannah, being consumed by wildfire and desertification, both induced by man's unscrupulous activities.

Water pollution and global warming are destroying our coral reef, and consequently its productivity as an ecosystem. Destruction of the coral reef is likened to the destruction of the rainforest. Intrusion of settlements and farming on waterways and shorelines which we call reclamation exacerbates the loss of this ecosystem, indeed a requiem to nature.

Skeleton of a tropical rainforest after a wildfire. Deforestation permanently destroys the forest, more so with the deleterious effect of slash-and-burn or kaingin farming on the clearing. As a consequence the soil is stripped away by erosion, siltation and flood. Production falls below the marginal level, and ultimately the land is abandoned. Rivers dry, floodwater causes tremendous damage to life and properties of unimagined proportion - a fact that is happening today in many places of the world.

Where have all the Gardens Gone?
Insipient stage of a dying garden

Final stage and consequent death of a garden.
Acrylic paintings by the author, 2015

Where have all the gardens gone,
the butterflies and honeybees,
dancing and riding on the breeze,
dewdrops sparkling in the sun?

Where have all the children gone,
reminiscent of old Pied Piper,
lured to a new land somewhere,
and never again to be found?

Where have all the ladies gone,
in "loves-me-loves-me-not" game,
though lose or gain it's the same,
flower and love knitted as one?

Where have all the good life gone,
Nature's gift to the living world
bound by a collective accord.
Lo! to man the lost prodigal son. ~

Evolving Art Series 12

Nature's Message in Cryptobiology

Cryptobiology is the study of , creatures around which myths exist but whose current existence has never been verified. Some famous cryptids include bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, Abominable Snowman, the Kapre,* and not the least, the biblical Dragon.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Cryptobiology items on display at the Living with Nature Center,

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Organisms are alike or different. It's biological and natural, but man has taken evolution into his hands, playing the role of God through science and technology, creating Dolly the Sheep, and many more Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs.

Strange creatures when we first see them, tame them the second time around, re-creating them next on film and on screen in the likes of Godzilla and King Kong, and now through robotics and make-believe versions for more entertainment and profit.

We are changing the conditions of life on earth, polluting the air, land and water, in effect modifying the way organisms live through induced mutation, forced migration, disturbing their natural interactions in the food web, worst their very existence as species.

Dimorphism in Nature

Phenomenon, not the least,

past and present,

plant or animal or protist,

same though different.

Sea Urchin Tree

Take a close look at the thorny cherry;

it's a sea urchin, part of tree,

a hybrid creature you may not agree;

a living specimen to see.

Womb of a Tree

Si Malakas at Maganda in Philippine mythology

is a popular folktale and children's story;

the tree as habitat in the realm of biology,

now twisted into false and horror movie.

*Kapres are said to dwell in big trees like acacia, bamboo, and the balete. Some say they are the spirits of trees, protecting them in effect.

Evolving Art Series 13

The Eye in the Coral Reef

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog (avrotor.blogspot.com)

The Eye in the Coral Reef, Acrylic Painting by the author 2015

The eye! The eye!
among the corals watching.
conscience of the sea,
over Homo sapiens fishing.

It never winks, it's alive,
guarding against man's folly,
whose eye, not of man,
disgraced guardian of the sea. ~

Evolving Art Series 14

Capture and Enshrine Nature in Murals

Capture sweet memories of nature,

relive, enshrine;

capture time, brief as it may -

it's yours and mine.

Murals and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature Mural, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Wall mural at EA Apartelle, San Vicente, Ilocos SurI

NFA Farmers' Museum, Cabanatuan NE

Agoho Trees and Pond, SPUQC

Author poses with his work, Forest Stream, SPUQC

Capture nature in murals,
as big as screen;

capture creation from imagination
as it has been;

capture sunrise and sunset,
and the moonbeam;

capture the breeze passing over
a lovely stream;

capture the lilies in the pond rising
with the sunbeam;

capture the clouds becoming nimbus
before the rain;

capture the rivulets from the hills
writhing in pain;

capture the creatures talking,
sing and scream;

capture the essence of the gods
into a theme;

capture silence away from where
you have been;

capture the throb of the heart
away from sin;

capture the world in a grain of sand,
pure and crystalline;

capture nature through the arts,
classic and fine;

capture sweet memories of lost nature,
relive, enshrine;

capture time, brief as it may -
it's yours and mine. ~

Floor-to-wall-to-ceiling mural at author's residence

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

Make-believe Seashore scape mural painting by the author at his residence, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Reference: Don’t Cut the Trees, Don’t

Evolving Art Series 15

Composite Wall Mural of Nature

A Glimpse into Our Living World

Wall Mural Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Wonder how our world looks like when the sky, land and sea are combined into one piece like a jigsaw puzzle, the trees becoming part of the sky, the clouds merging with the sea, the mountains and hills flowing down the valley, and all things living and non-living are arranged into one peaceful network.

The deep sea and the vast sky are but one, as fish and birds merge yet distinct and free in their own habitats, the sun and other elements of life keeping them in unity and harmony through homeostasis a biological phenomenon we may never fully understand.

And when we find silence in its deepest expression, it is the breeze passing, birds chirping, crickets fiddling, gecko calling, mist turning into dewdrops, or the silence on the distant hills and meadows, that inspire man to create his greatest compositions in colors, music and literature, albeit a child drawing the clouds, or sailing on a stream with a leaf adrift.

The waterfall roars and settles down into a stream, joins a river, taking with it many a laughter, sweat and tear, yet it brings new life to fields and pastures, wakes up seeds and flowers, and down it continues its journey to the estuaries, shores and the sea like a returning child, only to be reborn into cloud and rain, onto the watershed where it begins as a waterfall again.

Rocks may appear lifeless at first, yet they are the precursor of life itself, the birthplace of algae, fungi, and their special symbiotic kin the lichens, and soon they soften and exfoliate into soil. The lowly moss settles down, followed by ferns and lianas forming a prototype forest, which through time, evolves into a true forest, a transformation in biodiversity and ecological evolution beyond our lifetime, yet many generations in the future benefit out of the process and ultimately its final state as an ecosystem.

More than knowledge and subsequently wisdom in some ways, lies the lighter side of human nature that takes us into a realm of happiness and joy, a state of the mind, which we have the capacity to share with others, thus earning for us the role as disciples of creation, and therefore protectors of Mother Earth.

How little do we understand the mystery of Creation no mortal could possibly share, even with the genius of man we extoll to be the apex of rationality. Now and then we are reminded of our frailty, our folly and lofty dreams, to conquer darkness in the way we attempt to fill the emptiness of our lives, offer the fullest reverence to the One responsible of everything in our world and the whole universe, through the arts in its holistic expression, the Humanities. ~

16. Two Faces of Nature in Postmodern Art

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

In this painting Romanticism is very much alive - subject, scenery, colors and the like. It tells a story in the viewer mind, reminiscent of life experiences. The bridge is symbolic of transition, connectedness, a rendezvous of characters, players of a drama. Nothing seems to move - placid pond, moss-covered trees; autumn colors speak of "coming home." Postmodern art takes us some steps back to the "fine art" of art apparently lost behind new movements.

This painting on the other hand, challenges the viewer to identify the subject in a kind of hide-and -seek game. He moves to a distance, returns - what is it really? And he traces the intricate lines visually and with a finger over the overlapping colors, and there beneath the feathery foliage are hidden creatures. It is abstract in the biological world where camouflage, mimicry and other forms of deceits are means of survival and dominance. These in various sophistication are not different from man's ways to cope up with the increasing demands and complexity of a postmodern world.

Two views, two messages, two different feelings. In our postmodern world we long for the peaceful, rustic, unspoiled landscape, a retreat, withdrawing from the fire raging from the inside and outside. It is a craving tolerated at the expense of change and here man becomes an orphan having lost Mother Nature. Postmodern art offers man a chance to return to sanity, a renewal in the way he lives. This is is the essence of a new art's movement of Neo-renaissance.

Are these real or just animaes? The country-bred associates them with reality, even if many of their kind are already gone; the streetwise may find it difficult to analyze; and the computer-TV kid definitely sides with the cartoons. What an art; three audiences, three worlds. If postmodern art thrives on divisiveness of the same subject, then what is the purpose of art? Postmodern art has indeed created contradicting versions, false impressions, inadvertent innocence and ignorance. Art educates, art enlightens, art unites - its movements flow like a river, from one source to one destiny, like humanity.

What did the world look like before man came into the picture. Science and technology has opened an art movement and gave concrete basis to its theme and character. Postmodernism of course, was born from scientific breakthroughs. But art is more than formulas and equations. And the more we rely on the formal, essential, empirical, primordial, striving to seek for the missing link and the prima causa, the more we move away from the very essence of art - that which is a synergy of intellect, psyche, spirit and soul, that binds the rational being and the the fabric of humanity.

Two forces of nature: cyclic and non-cyclic. Every thing in the universe is governed by these two models. So on Planet Earth, in the living and non-living world, in our lives, the march of seasons, in the life cycle of organisms - they follow the concentric model, characterized by repetition as if it is a plantilla. Nature is alive. She doesn't sleep. She can only rest like fallowing, aestivation, hibernation. She is as gentle as breeze and rough like a storm at sea. She is discreet like alpha radiation, silent as a dormant volcano, suddenly waking up. So with living things. They reproduce, form populations, reach a climax level and establish a niche. Populations interact, they compete. There is diversity. Balance of Nature is built this way and is always dynamic. How can postmodern art imbue these into the minds of younger generations?

The beginning of things is the most elusive of all adventures in any field. To what extent can postmodern art lead us to? Will we ever succeed in understanding the beginning of life, the Black Hole, the end of space. Postmodern art has indeed removed much the barrier of thought and imagination.

Evolution is now in the hands of man. Fantasy has grown to reality; it is no stranger than fiction itself. Man has changed life, playing God's role of creation. Man-made amino-acids make unbelievable combinations of proteins, the precursor of life. Genetic engineering relegates the infamous Frankenstein to the backseat. Why we can cross and combine genes irrespective of species, genera, phyla, across kingdoms of the living world! Does postmodern art merely ride on his feat? Will it just drift with the current of "progress"?
-------------------

Part 17 - Cry of the Lawin

in Driftwood and Backboard

Lawin symbolizes the young generations. It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generation.

Dr Abe V Rotor
We are blessed with having a rare bird called Philippine hawk or LAWIN in our language. It is a close relative of the Philippine eagle, which is considered a symbol of our culture.

Country lass Angie Tobias 18, displays a driftwood version of the

Lawin against a landscape mural, both artworks of the author, 2024

Painting of a lawin on a basketball backboard by the author

On a clear day we may see the lawin* hovering over our subdivision, alone or with a partner in dalliance, simply gliding and circling up in the sky, in a spectacular kind of show that this bird now categorized as threatened is still around. Its home is the La Mesa watershed, just across our subdivision. It is in deference to this bird that our association has adopted it as our symbol and acronym - LAWIN.

We thank our gazette editor Mr Fil Galimba who brought the idea of the organization, and Atty Riz Quiaoit for adopting Lawin as our symbol.

But what really does the lawin symbolize?

One early morning my granddaughter pointed at the bird in the sky. I explained what I know about the bird.  Lawin symbolizes the young generations. It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generations. It gives our children a break from iPads and TV. .

One time children in the neighborhood in our place could not play their favorite game basketball. Somebody rebuilt their backboard, and games resumed. There one difference: the other player on the back bard is a big lawin with outstretched wings seemingly playing with the kids.

Nearby a garbage dump began to transform into a vegetable and herbal garden. The children called it Lawin Garden. It is a local version of the Phoenix bird rising from the garbage ashes.

The lawin has a peculiar cry while in flight - clear and loud whistle of two notes. But most often, it is a silent flyer with panoramic and telescopic vision.

It can see like a satellite monitor what is happening over its broad area of vision, yet able to focus on the slightest movement - a prey or an enemy.

Writers and artists to a great degree are like the lawin. Like the lawin, true writers and artists are a vanishing breed, they are an endangered species victim of instant and unguided social media, and worst assassination of journalists. The Philippines is compared to worn-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan for having the highest number of killings in mass media.

The lawin writers and artists have "eyes for news and the arts," Their aerial perspective is holistic and contiguous. They see the multiplicity and unity of space and time, people and events. And they never veer away from their community which they watch over.

At the onset of organizing LAWIN, we did some research on our trust and functions, and on the long run - our projected goal.

Our reference is the our own Gazette. Lawin is DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. DevCom recognizes the power of communication as a catalyst for social development. It utilizes the tools and principles applicable in the community they serve for the advancement of society.

In an outline DevCom is

Information disemination and education
Social Marketing - ideas, knowledge and wisdom
Purposive communication - it sets targets
Social mobilization - involvement and militancy
Community improvement mainly on felt needs
Positive change (social, political, economic, moral, environmental, etc)
Participatory development - bottom-up approach
Humanities development - applied aesthetics
Sentinel and vanguard of code of media
Pathfinder - pioneering and visionary

Development Communication as the INTEGRATION OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, based on a clear understanding of real and down-to-earth situations, with people's participation and shared equitable benefits.

What then would be our guiding principle in our program? It can be summarized as follows, for an anonymous source:

"If it is of high quality, people will respect you;
If it is relevant, people ill need you;
If it is measurable, people will trust you;
If it is innovative, people will follow you."

If you were the lawin up in the sky over Greater Lagro, you are likely to see these -

the need to train students in our schools in the field of mass media and applied art to run their school paper.
the need to take care of the trees, and plants more tree, to make Lagro an extension of the shrinking wildlife.
the need to expand outdoor activities, participate in wholesome games and sports, creative activities.
the need to guard Greater Lagro from the incursion of bad elements, vices, violations of human rights, peace and order.
bringing in honors and prestige to the community through the talents of its citizens, particularly the young.
unifying relationships of families, strengthening bonding, making the community senior citizen friendly, grandchildren friendly as well.

There are one-thousand-and-one other visions that challenge the organization LAWIN and its members giving meaning to their membership, above all leaving their legacy for the next generations.~

Neighborhood projects of LAWIN (Lagro Association of Writers and Artists, Inc

Sports development: Lawin Backboard; Green Revolution: Lawin Garden

About the Philippine Hawk - Lawin

by Naomi Millburn

Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines. "Lawin" translates to "hawk" in the Tagalog tongue. Philippine hawk-eagles survive in very low numbers, so their population is considered vulnerable.
Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines.

Physical Appearance

Philippine hawk lawins are typically about 26 or 27 inches long. The top portions of their plumage are deep brown, and their lower portions are reddish-brown and adorned in black markings. Philippine hawk-eagles have pale throats, yellow limbs, deep gray beaks and dark crests. Their crests are made up of four to five feathers, some of which can reach 2.75 inches long. It takes about four years to develop their mature feathers. Fully grown Philippine hawk-eagles tend to have lithe physiques.

Living Environment

Philippine hawk lawins inhabit numerous islands throughout the Philippines, including Mindoro and Luzon. They haven't been confirmed as migratory, though they might occasionally travel between islands. They are prevalent around outer portions of forests, sometimes even in airy settings. Philippine hawk-eagles spend a lot of time hidden in the top layers of forests. They do a lot of high flying within their habitats.

Population

The number of Philippine hawk lawins in the wild is dropping swiftly. Their total population is thought to be 1,000 and 2,499 specimens, two-thirds of which are adults, according to BirdLife International. Key factors in their decline are the clearing of trees for logging, farm animals, and farming expansion in general. People also sometimes hunt Philippine hawk-eagles. Efforts to conserve this species include captive reproductive programs and protected locations such as Bataan National Park.

Vocalization

The signature call of the Philippine hawk lawin is a clear, loud whistle of two notes. These birds call out over and over again, sometimes in intervals of three seconds.~

---------------------

* Inaugural speech of the author upon assuming the position as first president of LAWIN (Lagro writers and artists) Association Inc, June 20 2016 Barangay Greater Lagro QC

18. Stone Bird

Dr Abe V Rotor

Your wings that everyday flap

are now in surrender,

And the wind that carried you up
has left you down under.

Majestic and lovely, oh bird,
lord of the open skies,
Across the land were once heard,
your pleading, helpless cries.

Would a monument suffice
to enthrone your life and deed,
Bestow a posthumous prize,
to hide man's folly and greed?

The stone bird does not answer,
its world too, shall soon depart,
And man takes pride in his power
of make-believe in his art.

Philippine Eagle Monument. Marcos Highway, Agoo, La Union.

Part 19. Forest World

Dr Abe V Rotor

Forest Stream in acrylic, AVR

I am a world of a bigger world,
connected and complete;
I catch the sunbeam and the cloud,
make food for all to eat.

I cover the land, make it green,
feed the stream and river;
I buffer the wind, block the flood,
for all creatures I revere.~

B. A Little Princess in the Woods

She wears a smile sweet and fresh

as Nature is pure and pristine;

how miss others girls in their prime

ensconced in city living.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Princess befriends an orangutan in its abode at the edge of a rainforest, where, too, reside a boa constrictor, some rodents, birds in their roosts, ground insects and other creatures. Mural painted by the author at the Living with Nature Center. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2019

C. Respite in the Forest

Dr Abe V Rotor

Respite in the Forest in acrylic (24" x 48") by AV Rotor 2015

When city living becomes prosaic and dull in the midst of so-called progress measured by affluence; when the good life doesn't bring genuine freedom and happiness - have a respite with Nature;

When you have reached the peak of your career, but you're not in good health and cheerful disposition in life; when in the midst of company you feel all alone and a stranger; have a respite with Nature;

When you are overtaken by grief and loneliness, stranded on the low ebb of life, rise up and continue on living, and when you shall have coped up with the pace of change, slow down, look back and have a respite with Nature;

When responsibility and accountability demand your decision and action, and the consequences are the potential hallmark of your career and person, take it as a precious challenge, but first, have a respite with Nature;

When your prayers are getting fewer, so with the answers you expected, or prayers you cry out in times of distress; when hopelessness dims your faith not only towards your Creator but your fellowmen - have a respite with Nature;

When warned of the consequences of environmental degradation, like global warming and pollution, you look up to global policies and programs, then ask what an individual like yourself can do - have a respite with Nature;

When you don't see fireflies anymore, when neon lights subdue the stars, sunset comes early and fades away unnoticed; when you don't hear birds that accompany spring, see kites in the summer sky - have a respite with Nature;

When you can hardly differentiate natural from cosmetic beauty, function from aesthetics, work from play, ethics from morals, rich from wealthy, humor from wit, important from urgent, it's time for a retreat with Nature;

When you can find love and care in the wilderness, unity in the diversity of creation, music and poetry by a living stream, science in a dewdrop, miracle in a blade of grass - rejoice and thank Nature;

When you aim to "catch the biggest fish" in your lifetime, you are blest and ageless like in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea ; and having caught one but receiving no trophy, found the biggest fish of all - Peace of Mind with Nature.

Details of Painting

Fishing as a pastime; a cottage in the forest.
A pair of parrots; and a pair of hornbills (kalaw)

Part 20 - Heritage Tree Art, GMO Tame and Wild

Dr Abe V Rotor

A. Heritage Tree Art

Wood shards from a heritage tree against a forest

background AV Rotor (16” x 24.5”) 2023

I sing the dirge of the Narra and Acacia,
heritage trees our children shall miss
at the verge of extinction like Sequoia;
save some epitaphs and memories.

If only art can take over their absence,
in monuments and legends they live,
but where is sanctity, what is reverence,
what can man to his Creator give?

B. GMO Tame and Wild

Dr Abe V Rotor

Genetically Modified Organisms In our midst, AV Rotor 2023

Splicing genes of the tame and the wild
progeny from the laboratory;
whatever glory to pest and pet combined,
affront to man’s rationality.

Could Pied Piper the hero come to the task,
save us from folly, greed and remiss
for our children and their future we ask,
before they vanish in our midst. ~

Part 21 - Nature Crucified

"Above me rises a dead tree..."

Dr Abe V Rotor

Lady devotee Angie Tobias turns her attention to Mother Nature in the

midst of today's massive destruction of the environment symbolized

by this driftwood artwork made by the author for Lent 2024.

When the sky is gray and red in sorrow,

the fields bare and dry all around,

the sun beats hard on ev'ry levee and furrow;

I wonder where I am and bound.

No shade to find comfort even for a while,

save a tree standing on a hill,

where some birds briefly rest and again fly,

leaving me empty at the scene.

I look up and wonder, "Is this Golgotha?"

No sound, no breeze, but eerie

like I were in the heart of the Sahara;

above me rises a dead tree. ~

Part 22. Nature's Message in Cryptobiology

Dr Abe V Rotor

Cryptobiology items on display at the Living with Nature Center,

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Author (center) and guests from the teaching profession display "Nature's Trophies" made of driftwood at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dimorphism in Nature

Phenomenon, not the least,

past and present,

plant or animal or protist,

same though different.

Sea Urchin Tree

Take a close look at the thorny cherry;

it's a sea urchin, part of tree,

a hybrid creature you may not agree;

a living specimen to see.

Womb of a Tree

Si Malakas at Maganda in Philippine mythology

is a popular folktale and children's story;

the tree as habitat in the realm of biology,

now twisted into false and horror movie.

*Kapres are said to dwell in big trees like acacia, bamboo, and the balete. Some say they are the spirits of trees, protecting them in effect.

23. Cryptobiology* in Driftwood Art
Birds - Descendants of the Archaeopteryx.

Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), nature's art in driftwood -
a lucky find among uprooted and burned madre de caacao trees,
waste of swidden or kaingin farming in woodlands.

Into the sky this giant among Aves,
rises with all its strength sublime,
enthroned in wood gone to waste.
Look, it's our own eagle in its prime!

In the likeness of an eagle or hawk, I mounted these pieces
of driftwood against a background depicting its natural habitat.

Darwinian evolution, Part 2, or is it?
It's beyond this world to comprehend,
where superstition and science meet,
and debate continues without end.

It resembles the Philippine hawk or lawin flying majestically in the sky.
I found this rare piece of wood cum bark of an old talisay (Terminalia
catappa) uprooted by a typhoon on our homelot in San Vicente,
Ilocos Sur, circa 2012

A legendary bird for children,
singular pride of our nation;
but we'll be losing this long time friend,
now at the brink of extinction.

Archeopteryx reconstructed from fossil

Cryptobiology: Study of creatures around myths and beliefs
*Cryptobiology is the study of cryptids, creatures around which myths exist but whose current existence has never been verified. Some famous cryptids include bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and the chupacabra. Cryptids are elusive creatures that dance on the fringes of human perception, whose existence has not been proven by science, but has been reported by many eye-witnesses. Modern science has proved the existence to creatures that existed only in imagination and fantasy.

Part 24. Cryptobiology* in Driftwood Art.

Bats and Gliders - Descendants of the Pterodactyl

Likeness of a Pterodactyl fossil in driftwood

Evolutionists of natural history argue over
the post-evolution of the Pterodactyl,
after the fateful end of the dinosaurs,
hoping to probe it's living today still.

Lacking feathers, but leathery wings instead,
like the bat, the only true flying mammal,
are the gliders - the lemur and flying dragon,
neo-pterodactyls we may also call.

Ever continuing search for fossils unfolds
mysteries too far out in the past,
leaving behind the quaintness and beauty
of Nature's art - mystic and vast. - avr

Driftwood in the likeness of the ancient flying reptile Pterodactyl
on display at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Pterodactylus is a genus of extinct pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehistoric reptiles to ever be discovered. Wikipedia

Cryptobiology: Study of creatures around myths and beliefs
*Cryptobiology is the study of cryptids, creatures around which myths exist but whose current existence has never been verified. Some famous cryptids include bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and the chupacabra. Cryptids are elusive creatures that dance on the fringes of human perception, whose existence has not been proven by science, but has been reported by many eye-witnesses. Modern science has proved the existence to creatures that existed only in imagination and fantasy.

Part 25. Listen to the Music of Nature!

Dr Abe V Rotor

Identify the sounds of nature in these paintings and photographs, translate them into notes. Arrange the notes into melody, and expand it into musical compositions cum lyrics. Try with an instrument - guitar, piano, violin, flute. This is your composition.

Figure 1 - Pinsal Falls (Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur)

Figure 2 - Migration of Birds

Figure 3 - Idyllic Farm Life in October (painting by AVR)

Figure 4 - Raging Twin Falls of Patapat (Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte)

Figure 5 - Sunken Pier (Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur)

Figure 6 - Friendly Love Birds (Safari, Thailand)

Figure 7 - Kite Flying detail of mural, AVR

Figure 8 - Seashore Combers Reflecting, (Calatagan, Batangas)

Figure 9 - Norfolk Pines on Tagaytay

Figure 10 - Rainbow across Bamban River, Tarlac

Figure 11 - Sea Urchins (Camindoroan, San Juan Ilocos Sur)

Figure 12 - Bikal Bamboo Grove (Tagaytay)

Figure 13 - Playing among the Saints (Manaoag, Pangasinan)

Figure 14 - On a Clear Day (Parks and Wildlife Center, QC)

Figure 15 - Sabado Gloria at Suso Beach (Sta Maria, IS)

Figure 16 - Honeybee at Work, Amadeo, Cavite

Figure 17 - Talisay Tree in autumn air, QC

Figure 18 - Bamboo Grove Playground (Taal, Batangas)

Figure 19 - Bamboo Xylophone, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Figure 20 - Author listening to the sea with conch shells

About the Author:
Abercio V. Rotor, Ph.D.

Award-winning author of "The Living with Nature Handbook" (Gintong Aklat Award 2003) and "Living with Nature in Our Times" (National Book Award 2008); Recipient Father Jose P Burgos Achievement Award (2016); professor, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University-D; columnist Bannawag Magazine, former Director, National Food Authority; and Consultant on food and agriculture, Senate of the Philippines.

Naturalism - the Eighth Sense

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Evolving Art Series 1 to 25: ART AND NATURE IN OUR POSTMODERN WORLD

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