Students Visit an Old Man in his Green House

Students Visit an Old Man in his Green House

“No one should be alone in his old age..."

- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

In appreciation to my student-guests and their advisers from UNP, with special mention to Cristina Agustin, John Carlo Quibilan and Carl Gian Jimenez, who made beautiful illustrations of my humble home and myself. 

                                                                                 

I am an old man now, way past 80, retired from government service and the academe, 

a "balikbayan" in my hometown and birthplace, and a "Prodigal Son" who found later in life that tradition and values, together with knowledge and wisdom, are vital elements to attain unity and peace, compassion and love; that age can defy to a certain extent "time and space" and connect a senior citizen like me with the younger generations, share with them beautiful experiences in life, rekindle idealism, and keep the torch of hope burning in helping make our world a better place to live in.

What lesson can I impart to them as students of a prestigious university, if not something complementary, experiential and in situ, that is, where the action is, lesson that is not only contemporary but obligingly urgent and vital, such as expanding the realm of fine arts into humanities giving emphasis to its Latin word humanus - which is  to bring into awareness and integrate the humane factor of knowledge into all aspects of life and living, with the concept of brotherhood, and in the universal sense, humanity. 

They would come by group or team to my ancestral residence, and would find me attending to my art which I would gladly explain, and sometimes demonstrate, like painting a canvas or a wall with a mural, then show them my works influenced by the evolving schools of art, some "experimental" notwithstanding;  citing our own Luna and Amorsolo of the "old school", Monet and Cezanne of impressionism, Van Gogh, and later Picasso et al, who opened the floodgate of abstract art, ultimately paving radically to photography and computer art -  if ever we recognize these as bona fide fine art, yet these tools are vital in integrating art as a whole, and in weaving a fine tapestry for our postmodern world.  

I would walk with them under the trees many of them considered "heritage" having spanned three generations or more, and explain that a garden is a living gene bank, and in particular indigenous species we call "native," like native santol, tamarind, mango and the like - these being rare to find today  There is a plant nursery where seedlings of fruit trees and palms like betel nut and anahaw are grown to support tree planting projects of local schools and the community.  The garden itself is a park - natural park of sort, with little modification if at all, of nature's own design. Not so many young people have seen a narra tree, bitaog or palomaria, neem, molave.  It is an orientation of agriculture and forestry linked with ecology and, on the other side, humanities or integrated arts.    

 

Students in fine art at the University of Northern Philippines visit 

the author's family art gallery, museum and reading center.

 

 

Representative works of the author showing conventional and modern art.

 

Homage to an 18th century icon at the author's residence  

 

 

Lighter moments at the Art Gallery and Botanical Garden (arboretum and fishpond)