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= Tanghalian =

Julie Lluch Dalena was born on March 5, 1946 in Iligan City, Philippines. She completed a degree in Philosophy at the University of Sto. Tomas in 1967. She held her first one-woman show at Sining Kamalig in 1977. Others followed in venues like Galerie Bleue, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and Liongoren Art Gallery. Her 1997 show “Art and Faith” was held at Galleria Duemila. She has also joined international group exhibits in Fukuoka, Brisbane, Tokyo, Jakarta and Bangkok. In 1997 Lluch won the Araw ng Maynila award for Sculpture. She has also won awards for her work as a set designer and as an experimental filmmaker. She produced and acted in the prize-winning short film “Yuta, Earth Art of Julie Lluch Dalena”. Lluch’s public sculpture commissions include statues of Ninoy Aquino and Arsenio Lacson along Roxas Boulevard. One of her famous artwork is the Cutting Onions Always Makes Me Cry. This is an sculpture that shows a woman crying as she cuts up onions. She is crying because there must be something in the social environment that makes her -- an alter ego of the artist herself -- cry. The artist's interest lies in recreating the reality of women as they suffer from customs and systems in a male dominated society. All of the parts in this work, including the woman, chicken, eggs and vegetables are made of ceramics. Ceramics has historically been separated from fine art and categorized as crafts, similarly to the positioning of women. By taking ceramics into the context of contemporary art, the role and status of ceramics are also being reinstated. In relation to Dalena's masterpiece, a group of students from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines under the course Arts 1 would like to explain arts as a construct. Thus, students aim to give another interpretation to the aforementioned masterpiece. It includes giving a new title for the artwork with a story of a fictitious artist who will represents Dalena's artwork. Tanghalian is a Filipino term which means a midday meal or a lunch or a dinner (at noon). Tanghalian is an sculpture made by an artist name Maginoo.

I. Biographical Information
First cried on the 8th day of July 1967 in Cavite City, Maginoo, like any of the pioneer virtuosos struggled to catch the best rhythm, starting off with sharps and flat, from tangled ideas and humble creations, the question of starting has always been the issue, for not a single soul has certainty of what will happen, and what lies ahead. “Second chances never exist, or at least they were made to sugar coat regrets.” This line of Maginoo is more than enough to understand the reason behind the shadow of his works. With every detail carved to pinch one’s heart, his sculptures are of concrete evidence that regret is a good candidate for the search of the most dominant reaction in existence. His sculptures characterized by free flowing psychological themed styles fuelled by extreme feelings of qualms will make his audience retrace their steps in life, start questioning their decisions while at the same time thinking what could have happened. Art critiques say that an exhibit made by Maginoo will not let anyone who pays a visit, not be given a fair change of constant churning thoughts of revisions. In his artistic demesne, there were only two paths through which a person can be brought upon to. Its either you regret having it, or you regret not having it. Just like regretting an opportunity that you’ve lost and regretting opportunities you are currently into.

Maginoo’s art can be treated as a huge chunk of wooden art carved by second thoughts, etched by ‘what might,’ and finally furnished with ‘if only I.’ Though one might say that he is a man who quenches his thirst through negativity and seeing how his viewers question themselves, it does not necessarily mean that the reason engraved within his work is just to put one in a state of abash The reason behind this ‘what if series’ is to ignite self-realizations among us. To end the concepts of second chances before it’ll be able to make us think that failure is okay as long as you have another chance to do it. To make as realize that everybody demands a second time around to the point that we forgot how to established a deep connection with the moment.

A. Family Life
Maginoo, born on February 1, 1965 in Paete, Laguna, came from a wealthy family who owned a wood-carving shop famous for its religious sculptures. His family migrated to Canada in the year 1972, occasionally visiting the Philippines during the holidays. Maginoo’s grandfather managed the shop for 56 years after it was passed on to him by his great grandfather. Unfortunately, in 1984, Maginoo’s grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer, so his father had to take over. Their family immediately flew back to the country, leaving their peaceful life in Canada. Maginoo has two older brothers, who both pursued the field of arts and earned BA in Art Studies in UP Diliman. One was a sculptor like Maginoo’s forefathers and the other was a painter.

Maginoo had his own family during the latter part of his college years due to his wife who unexpectedly became pregnant with their first child. Right after they graduated, they got married and had their second child. Maginoo was a man of traditional beliefs. He strongly believed that women should just stay at home and serve their family. He confined his wife at home, restricting her from the pursuit of her happiness. This led his wife to commit suicide.

B. Formal Education
Maginoo had his early and high school education in Canada, where they lived for 12 years. He completed a degree in AB in Diplomacy and International Relations at Ateneo de Manila University. Only he, among his siblings, did not take up an art-related degree because wanted to shake things up a bit though, still having frustrations to follow in his family’s footsteps. Nonetheless, he was skilled enough because during his early years, his grandfather and father would train him when they occasionally returned to the country. Also, as the saying goes, “it runs in the blood”.

C. Early Influences
Maginoo’s primary influences were his forefathers. Came next were Pablo Picasso, Napoleon Abueva, and Guillermo Tolentino, his grandfather’s friend. However, these people were not enough to evoke Maginoo to heartily immerse in the art of sculpting. Only the distressful incident that happened to his wife made him consider engaging into his ultimate frustration in life.

A. Breakthrough show and history of other exhibits
The spouse of Maginoo died in the early 2000s. During the wake, the sculpture was displayed where it could only be seen by their relatives, close friends, and colleagues. They gave different interpretations of the sculpture and wanted to know what it meant for Maginoo but they couldn’t get an answer because Maginoo wasn’t ready for their inquiries yet. Since they are rich, they have also been rich in the circles in which they have been involved. The sculpture became intriguing because it reached the acquaintances of the couple and the public. They moved to the mausoleum after the wake. There the sculpture was shown again, and a large number of people went to see it. There were also media that came Maginoo to interview, but Maginoo continued to refuse to make statements. Many of their relatives were irritated because they felt that the death of the spouse was not respected by people.

B. Other venues where art is displayed/consumed
Maginoo’s lowkeyness was not affected by being rich and famous. Maginoo’s artworks were placed in their extended house. Many people knew about it, and Maginoo was asked to let them see those artworks. Maginoo finally agreed, but prior to visiting, schedules or appointments must be made. It was also not allowed to take pictures unless approved by the secretary of Maginoo. Moreover, there have been many rules and regulations that have made people curious.

A. Description of artist’s particular style
Growing up in a place known for its generations of skilled artisans and their wood carvings - from life-size statues of saints to miniature sculpture and wall hangings, Maginoo's undeniable talented hands surely rooted from their ancestry or as the saying goes, “It runs in the blood.” Wood carving, the oldest and most continuous type of sculpture, was practiced by Maginoo in showcasing his gift of art. Maginoo is best known for his freestanding sculptures - a type of sculpture that is surrounded on all sides by space, which can be seen in his chef d’oeuvre entitled Tanghalian.

B. Dominant Themes
The artist’s interest lies in recreating the reality of women as they suffer from customs and systems in a male dominated society. Maginoo's ideologically informed works of sculptured women performing various domestic chores, mostly autobiographical in origin, are sharp feminist commentary on the circumstances of women’s lives.

C. Motif
In Maginoo's artworks, there is a recurring motif of patriarchy, accompanied by imprisoning women at home and stifling their potential for personal and professional development.

D. Content
The content of Maginoo's artwork falls under Genre Art which depicts a pictorial representation from everyday life, wherein “Tanghalian” portrays a domestic setting.

E. Discussion of art movement where artist can be placed
Maginoo's style in art share the same artistic ideals, style, technical approach or timeframe with the realists. The artist focused on real life to illuminate humankind’s struggles and concerns. Maginoo's works evoke typical situations of women’s role in the society which contributed to the power of his works, that paved the way for the audience to relate in the artwork’s settings.

A. Response of critics to his/her works
Maginoo received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Many critics had praised it for the empowerment it gives to women. Former performance artist turned media sensation, Dante G. Lapan has stated, Maginoo's piece (Tanghalian), perfectly illustrates why our country needs gender empowerment. However it is kinda disturbing that the choice to exhibit it was during a funeral. I can see that the message could be more portrayed in that kind of setting but it kinda leaves a bad taste for the art." Other critics were not so forgiving as seen in the fiery critique of lawyer turned senator, Gady Laron, who lambasted the exhibit Tanghalian as being morbid due to the artist's choice of venue for showcasing it. He further reiterated that the exhibit was no more different from a tasteless publicity stunt performed by shameless corporations to profit on tragedies and debated that the purpose of the piece was not really for awareness of gender empowerment but for reinforcing the supposed "enigma" of a mystery artist. He also questioned the integrity and ethics of Maginoo as an artist after rumors circulated that "Tanghalian's" maker was not an artist at trade. On the issue of the artist's identity and occupation, decorated french art critic, author of the New York Times best-selling book "Anyone Can Be an Artist" and curator of Louvre Museum in Paris Pierre Gaston praised Maginoo on the statement presented by "Tanghalian". As he stated, " We need more artists like Maginoo who are more than willing to challenge social norms through the noble cause of gender empowerment. Whatever the identity or real occupation of this artists is, what is important is the ideals imparted by "Tanghalian" to the Philippine society. I have no qualms about Maginoo possibly not being an artist at trade as it fully reiterates my point that while not everyone can be an artist, great talent could come from anyone of us." The Art Association of the Philippines formally honored the piece "Tanghalian" for the values it had on gender empowerment and equality although Maginoo has yet to claim the award and was absent during the ceremony.

B. Public’s view on his/her art
The works of Maginoo was positively accepted by the general public. Many were even pushing for an art gallery as a permanent exhibit for the works with "Tanghalian" as its centerpiece. The particular piece itself has pulled some heartstrings of the public for it shows many elements of motherhood, poverty and gender empowerment. The success of the piece on provoking the emotion of the public was attributed to the social structure of the Philippines and the recent economic crisis and recessions that plagued the country forcing many families into poverty. The Municipality of Paete, Laguna werewere also delighted about the publicity of the piece since it was already confirmed that Maginoo's hometown was the said place. The Mayor stated that the publicity helps the artistic potential of the municipality on woodcarving which is now known to the international community. h Many progressive groups have praised the piece and wished that more artists should be clamoring for gender equality in Philippine society.