Restoration of "Apo Baket" - Keeper of Time-Honored Tradition and Values

Restoration of Apo Baket

Keeper of Time-Honored Tradition and Values 

San Vicente Botanical Garden

Poblacion San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

She sits calmly in a garden,

full of thoughts and memories, 

while our troubled world grinds; 

would you like to hear her stories? 

Views and details of the concrete icon with local artist Bhoy Adora at work 2021.

Apo Baket undergoes restoration, 

by another skillful hand, 

rescued at the verge of oblivion,

 after her creator had gone.  

The icon, symbol of the old folk generation, keeper of time-honored tradition and values, was made by the late Francisco Boy Peralta in the seventies, and restored recently by Bhoy Adora.  Both sculptors are natives of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.  The icon can be viewed at the San Vicente Botanical garden.

Corals - Nature's Architectural and Engineering Wonder

Corals - Nature's Architectural 

and Engineering Wonder

Corals keep our islands and coast lines from being swallowed by the sea.
Dr Abe V Rotor

Skeleton of staghorn Coral. SPUQC Museum; children selling corals;
corals in natural formation (coral reef)

With the unabated destruction of our coral reef it is not common to see undisturbed coral fields. Corals are animals in colonies belonging to Phylum Coelenterata, which is often associated with Cnidaria, of the Class Anthozoa.

Coral reefs make the forest of the sea, the counterpart of our terrestrial forest. With their association with microscopic algae and seaweeds, they constitute the abode of fishes and countless kinds of marine life, without which our seas would not be as productive as they are today.

However, the destruction of coral reefs through illegal fishing like muro-ami and dynamite fishing, as well as the conversion of shores into resorts and fishponds have greatly reduced fish catch and the diversity of marine species.

Today our laws prohibit coral gathering, more so in exporting them. Coral reefs conservation is a priority program of many countries. Without corals our islands would fall back to the depth of the sea and our continents would be greatly reduced through cutbank erosion.

Thus, corals are nature’s architectural and engineering wonder for they serve as riprap and barrier against the restless sea, while making the underwater world a truly beautiful scape that is beyond compare with any kind.

Let's all give a hand to the conservation of corals. Let's join the campaign. No to the following:

1. Dynamite fishing, muro-ami and paaling, and bottom trawl fishing.
2. Reclamation of coral reef areas.
3. Conversion of shorelines to resorts and fishponds
4. Pollution of rivers and seas.
5. Settlements on coral reefs and seashores.
6. Goods and commodities made of corals.
7. Coral decors and jewelry
8. Deforestation - it causes erosion and siltation, forms mudflats over coral reefs.
9. Collection of shells, rocks, and the like, within coral zone
10. Quarrying of coral deposits.

Let's remember that corals are virtually a non-renewable natural resource because they grow very, very slow. It takes fifty years to grow to the size of a man's head. We have but very little time to witness and be part of a noble task of keeping our islands and continents from being swallowed down into the depth of the sea. Our foothold is but skin deep to the enormous sea. ~



Coral reefs, painting by AVRotor

Let Us Rebuild the Landscape with the Children

Let Us Rebuild the Landscape

with the Children

"By discovering nature, you discover yourself." - Maxime Lagacé

Dr Abe V Rotor

"A waterfall connects heaven and earth; 

its water nourishes life along its way 

from the mountain down the valley,

 the field where people work and play,

     down the river to the lake and sea." -avr

To these kids, with the guidance of their guardians 

and mentors, the new year poses a challenge to them 

to help save the environment.

 

 

Details of painting show the interrelationship of sky, land 

and water - the principal components of a landscape; 

unity and harmony, the key to dynamic balance 

called homeostasis. ~

The Face of Christ Appears on a Painting. Is there any message to our troubled world?

    The Face of Christ Appears on a Painting.

Is there any message to our troubled world?

NOTE: I received queries if the painting has any message at all to the current COVID-19 pandemic disease, specially with the expected resurgence beginning this new year. Earlier I received comments that relate the painting to the growing problems of the world like global warming, global economic recession, influx of refugees, induced calamities getting frequent and stronger, destruction of ecosystems, and others of similar magnitude. I am therefore reprinting this article earlier posted in this blog in response to our viewers' request. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Light in the Woods became the title of the painting, and a book of the same title was published by Megabooks Manila in 1995. The book was presented by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin to Pope John Paul II on his visit to the Philippines in 1995. The book is now a collectors' item.

Acrylic Painting, 36" x 48” by AV Rotor, former St. Paul University Museum, QC

Into Your Light

“Lead me to where I should lead them,
The little ones to my care You'll send;
That they may solve this awesome maze
And burst out bright into Your Light." 

- Anselmo S Cabigan, 1995

“Did you see the face of Christ?”

“Where?”

"On a painting.”

"What is this they are talking about, " I asked Sel.

We went to the Audio-Visual Room, spent a moment of silence as we searched for the Face on the 36" x 24" landscape painting. It was painted and a month ago, and presented in a seminar-workshop at then St. Paul College QC. The theme signifies unity and cooperation among faculty and staff members.

"Can you see it?” I asked.

Sel traced the outline, his finger touching the rough canvas.

"Can you see it?” He threw back the question.

"I see a different one,” I countered and traced the figure differently.

Silence fell again. We exchanged notes and soon enough we were looking at the same face.

Were we seeing The Thing, or only imagining it?

I recalled a story, Images of Illusion. A man was viewing an antique painting and saw himself as one of the torturers of Christ.

“Impossible,” he raged. How could it be possible for the painter to have composed a scenery combining a biblical event and a future character? He demanded the art gallery an explanation.

What is illusion?

In metaphysics, the workings of the human mind have been the subject of research and discourse from the time of Plato who coined psyche or mind or soul, to Kant whose theory of Existentialism remains as the binding force of man and his Creator which is a fundamental doctrine of major religions. Lately, Jung's primary idea of a person as a whole, and not as assemblage of parts, gave rise to the modern concept of holistic personality. Jung’s work as a psychoanalyst was to recover the lost wholeness of personality, and to strengthen the psyche through the process of psychoanalysis and psycho synthesis.

What Jung was saying is that the mind is made up of three levels: the consciousness, the only part of the mind that is known directly by the individual; the personal unconscious which is the level of the mind that adjoins the ego: and the collective unconscious which he inherited from his ancestral past. All three levels are always in a dynamic state. They are never static like a rock or a tree.

When one is afraid of the dark he is expressing the collective unconscious. If he is afraid a the dark because he may be kidnapped, he is expressing the personal unconscious level, an experience which may have been created by distraught thoughts or brought about by personal conflict or raised a moral issue before. In the dark he may be "seeing” a would-be kidnapper at the slightest suggestion.

Now where does the first level come in? His conscious awareness is put to test in such a situation. He then makes to fullest use his four mental functions, which Jung called thinking, feeling, sensing and intuiting. Depending on the development of these faculties from the time of his birth to his present age, the individual tries to overcome - or enhance - the other two levels of the mind which at that moment has caused in him fear.

What I am saying is that a mental image may arise from the interplay of the three levels of the mind. First, there is the “model” or an archetype from which the consciousness makes something out of it. This, in turn, is pictured or deleted in the mind through consciousness.

When Sel and I stood before the painting searching we had different archetypes in our mind. But people who have been raised in the same environment and had undergone similar training have many common archetypes from which images can be similarly patterned.

Suppose one does not readily take from the mind's bank a suitable archetype?

“I don't see anything.”

“Face of Christ, you said?”

"What are you talking about? I can only see trees and a stream flowing through them.”

"I still cannot figure it out.”

These observers, based on Jungian psychology, did not have the archetype at the moment to suit the picture they are looking for.

Quite often discussions may ensue while viewing the piece with someone taking the role of a teacher, or one insisting of seeing another thing.

Again, according to Jung, archetypes can be enlarged or reinforced so that they can surface with the help of the consciousness. However, this may not always work.

“I can see it now.”

“Yes, there it is. There is a bigger one beside it. No, actually there are three faces.”

“There is Blessed Virgin Mary at the center.”

“But it looks like a resurrected Christ.”

“See the trunk at the right? Scourging at the pillar.”

"My God! There's a devil clinging on Christ's nose.”

Now, now, the painting is getting overloaded,

As the painter I wanted to put it back to its real and down-to-earth perspective. It is a forest landscape, all right. The trees are the symbol of strength and unity; the flowing stream is life; the rocks are the obstacles we encounter in life; the light rays penetrating through the forest is hope and guidance; the forest itself characterizes the present world we live in; and the central perspective of the painting leads us to the attainment of a common vision and goal.

As I was about to leave, a very young boy came along with his mother. His eyes were bright and his face radiated the innocence of a child.

"Do you see the little cross, mama?” He was pointing at a orange figure, an empty cross laid upon a rock. Then he scanned the whole piece and quickly pointed at things none of us had earlier seen.

“Here is the Holy Family. Here is baby Jesus. There you see angels. You can count them, 1, 2 3, 4, 5, 6..."

“There are thirty-three trees, I was told," interrupted his mother.

"Those are children playing, mama - there under the trees and on the rocks."

I stood beside, speechless. I realized I only read Plato, Kant and Jung. l did not consult the Greatest of them all. ~

Uppermost pair of eyes in the painting, biggest of the three pairs

Middle pair of eyes, most prominent and patheticLowermost. All three pairs of eyes have a common expression of sadness.There is something strange in them after a longer look - compassionate.

Cross lying on the ground, as if it is broken and abandoned
Man and a woman emerging from the thicket toward the source of light

Reclining lady (center) beside a tree on the rocks (facing right),
with other figures around.

Standing human figure with outstretched arms, facing right.
Note light flooding his face and body.

Profile of a well-dressed human figure, facing right

Human figure stripped and tied to a tree, facing left.
There is a similar figure on the other tree.

Original Story 1994:

The Face of Christ - Image or Illusion?

“It inspired a soul to write a book
That touches the eye and heart;
This little light in a hidden nook
Shines where good and evil part.”
- A.V. Rotor, Nymphaea: Beauty in the Morning, 1996

The book was dedicated to Pope John Paul II on his visit 1n 1995 on the occasion of World Youth Day. Cardinal Jaime Sin, Fr James B Reuter and Sister Teresita Bayona, then college president, endorsed the book, and presented it to the Holy Father.

This painting was the first item to grace the newly opened museum to mark the celebration of the tricentennial of St Paul of Chartres or SPC, the congregation of the Paulinian sisters who run the school. It inspired me to write a book, Light in the Woods, using the painting's photo for its cover. Published by Megabooks, 1995, dedicated to Pope John Paul II, on his visit to the Philippines, in celebration of World Youth Day.

For fifteen years the painting, popularly known to the Paulinian community as The Face of Christ, found a permanent place in the museum until 2011, when the museum was renovated. The painting lost its original home. So with seven murals, and other items, which were transferred elsewhere on the campus. I had just left SPUQ then, due to old age and poor health - after fifteen years as professor and caretaker of the museum.

I sat down and looked at the painting for the last time. It evoked a mysterious feeling, as I touched the trees, the running stream, the rocks, and finally, the image. His eyes were moist, so with mine. I said, "Goodbye." He just looked at me. For a long time. I took a photo of the icon, and whispered, "Thank you," and left, never to see the old museum again.

I compared the photo I took last with previous photos. Why, the painting has not changed at all! Until ... on closer examination I was surprised to see hidden images other than those I saw before. Perhaps, I have grown old to see images the young is not so keen to observe. Perhaps, my perception is more of parting than welcome, memories rather than action. Memories are best preserved with tranquility, humility and peace. It is easy to settle down by the fireplace.

But the painting, I realized, has a message to our troubled world as can be seen from these mysterious figures. It's more than a face, it is more than a piece of art, it is more than the museum and the school community. The depth of these message is a measure of man's awareness of his relationship with his Creator, of his obedience and devotion, his concern for his fellowmen and the deteriorating environment. It is a test of man, the human being. ~

Dr Anselmo S Cabigan stands before the miraculous painting at a former university museum where hundreds of pilgrims and other visitors for more than fifteen years saw and pondered on it. It is said that the image remains obscure, and appears only to keen observers. The photos here have been edited to enhance the image. 

Dr Cabigan and the author were classmates and co-workers in the government, and co-professors. They have known each other for the last 50 years. The painting was made after a poem composed by Dr Cabigan, Into Your Light (above). The original painting has been transferred to a secured place where it can be viewed on special arrangement. Photos of the painting are found in Light from the Old Arch, by AVR, UST Publishing House 2000; Nymphaea: Beauty in the Morning, AVR, Giraffe Books 1996;Light in the Woods, AVR, Megabooks, 1995, and Light from the Old Arch 2000, UST-AVR Publishing House.

* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Personal Reflection of an Unknown Citizen

In remembrance of the 125th martyrdom of Philippine National Hero,

Dr Jose P Rizal, December 30, 2021

Personal Reflection of an Unknown Citizen on the lives of great men and women

Dr Abe V Rotor

Make your own personal reflection. Reflection brings out the inner person in you, like the inner eye of Heller Keller, the Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupery', idealism of Longfellow and Alexander Pope, meditation in Michelangelo's Pieta, the mysticism of Venus de Milo, enigma of wildlife in Rosseau's painting, inner ear of Beethoven, waning light in Claude Monet's Waterlily Pond. 

I invite our viewers to this exercise. You may find this useful in retreats and seminars, specially in leadership, and in the fields of theology, philosophy, and humanities.

Jose Rizal 

One man fought a nation, and save a nation, abhorring violence.
His greatest weapon: peaceful protest and civil disobedience
in asceticism that swept the land;
people revering him as father and almost god.
His name is Gandhi.

His likes are the greatest specimens of mankind; they too, changed
the world forever, making it a better place to live in.
His name is Mao Tse Tung.
His name is Ho Chi Minh.
His name is Jose Rizal.
His name is Ramon Magsaysay
Her name is Princess Diana.
His name is Jose Burgos.
He is Maximilian Kolby

She is Mother Teresa.
He is Nelson Mandela
He is Pope John Paul II, et al

They are people for all seasons, for all ages, for all waves of change.

But little do we know of the unknown great man,
The Unknown Soldier -
unknown doctor, unknown teacher,
farmer, worker, entrepreneur,
old man, father, housewife, child;
The Unknowns in other fields of life, regardless.

They are whose deeds are also those of great men and women we revere today.
They are us – each one of us
in our own little way to make the world go round and around –
or make it slower, that we may taste better the true Good Life,
the sweet waters of the Pierian Spring, the cool breeze on the hill.
  

Nelson Mandela 

All of us - we have the capacity to be great.
Bringing up our children to become good citizens,
being Samaritan on a lonely road,
embracing a returning Prodigal Son, 

plugging a hole in the dike like the boy who saved Holland from the sea,
or living life the best way we can that makes other lives better.

St. Mother  Teresa

These and countless deeds make us great,
and if in this or that little way we may fall short of it,
then each and everyone of us putting each small deed together,
makes the greatest deed ever,
for the greatest thing humans can do is collective goodness –
the key to true unity and harmony,
and peace on earth. ~ avr

Pomposity of colors - Nature's tool for beauty and survival

Pomposity of Colors - 

Nature's tool for beauty and survival 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Butterfly plant, what a coincidence
     in form and structure, and color;
I'd rather say, a case of mimicry,
     mutual protection, a favor of both.

Angel's trumpet, flimsy sinister, heralding
     not of victory but defeat;
Narcotics its essence, abuse its courtship,
     to the unwary on a dark street.

Balibago - white in the morning pink after;
     your secret of a short lived;
you must court the sun and bee without delay,
     in the act of make believe.

Mickey mouse the male, Minnie mouse the female,
     both flowers born on one plant;
If ever Disney got the idea from this plant, he's right,
     mystery is what people want.

Begonia, frail and dainty, and easy to wilt
     must shout its color to the butterfly and bee,
else its flowers like spinsters just fade away
     sad and lonely though colorful and free.


Caladium - but you are not a flower and far from one;
     yet you are an apple to the eye of the beholder;
whatever perceptions you create to your pollinators,
     count me as one, your ardent gardener. 

Caballero, name of the noble horseman, 

     wakes with the sun, retires at sundown,

season after season blooms the color of gold;

      tell me where your treasure is found. 

Puff lilies, forerunner of summer in the garden,

suddenly transforming it into a piece of Eden.

Tabernamontana pandakaki - what a name!

whatever that is, bears flowers a gyre of stars

in pure white shining in some forgotten corner

of a garden where other plants are scarce ~

"Nature, Nature on the Wall, A Beautiful Life to Recall.”

"Nature, Nature on the Wall,

A Beautiful Life to Recall.”

Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

 Dr Abe V Rotor

“Humans love the art of make-believe,

Scenic Nature painted on the wall,

Once empty and forgotten now alive,

Bringing in friends to the call.” - avr

       

Sor Veny V Rotor and Ms Helen I Nolasco (in red) pose before a mural 

painted by the author. Sor Veny was the author's sister, the eldest of 

three  siblings of the late Matias Rotor and Enriqueta Valdez..

“Sitting on the rock, reaching for the sky,

All day if you wish with no one asking why.”

   

     

“Grace is something in the spirit to share,

That grows the more we love and care.”

     

Sor Veny left, led house guest on a short walk at the botanical garden.

       What makes a house green

other than the color green;

but a verdant garden scene

happy and healthy to live in.

     

Sor Veny (foreground) led a short prayer before the 

Resurrection at her family's residence,

Apo Resureccion

How many times do we die and live again?

When we fall down and rise,

   we fail and succeed,

   when we are blind and see,

   deaf and hear,

   sin and atone,

   hate and love,

   love and care,

   ad infinitum;

the message of the Resurrection.

     

“Oh, heart on the wall,

Do you still feel?

Do you still throb,

The throb of love?

Ivy, ivy on the wall,

Don’t hide a living heart.”

House guest Ms Helen Nolasco poses before 

a painting of the author inspired by Grieg's Morning.

“Heavenly rays above your head, an experience full,

Enlightening to the heart and soul;

Listen to a voice once on Damascus Road to Saul,

Shh… just listen, listen to His call.” - avr

     

Stairway connects art gallery and library.

Stairway connects

the past and the present,

man and his Creator,

events current and future,

known and unknown

now and hereafter.

     

Sor Veny Rotor (right) explained to house guest some modern 

paintings at the gallery, among them are her works.

Modern art

Impressionism to surrealism,

Dali, Matisse, Picasso to blame;

Avant-garde and graffiti, the same;

Please roll back to realism.

Sor Veny V Rotor and Ms Helen I Nolasco (in red), house guest 2020

Living with Nature Center Rotor Residence

San Vicente Ilocos Sur ~