Nonoy Marcelo in academe
October 28, 2002 | 12:00am
Not many people know this facet on the life of Nonoy Marcelo. For two years, he spent part of his life teaching in academe, discoursing on the one thing that he did best, sharing it with eager young minds, and thus ensuring the continued professionalism of film animation in the country.
From June 21, 1982 to May 31, 1984, he enjoyed the title of Senior Lecturer in Film Animation at the UP College of Fine Arts. His academic appointment was initiated by the chairperson of the department of visual communication, Prof. Margarita Simpliciano, during the deanship of National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva.
The academic credentials of Nonoy were impressive. Having tucked a course in advance animation from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1971 and a filmmaking course from the New School for Social Research in 1972, he introduced salient innovations in the course to make it one of the strongest offerings in the college today.
When Prof. Simpliciano engaged the expert services of Nonoy in the faculty of the college, she was thinking of how the college as an academic institution could contribute to the development of film animation as an industry at a time when interest in the field was just beginning.
While it was Larry Alcala who introduced film animation as a course in the College, the manner by which it was taught relied heavily on homespun techniques, doing it mano-mano as Prof. Simpliciano herself put it, where students had to do one plate after the other.
Prof. Simpliciano knew Nonoy as early as the time when Nonoy was involved in the the making of Annie Batungbakal the movie, together with her brother-in-law, Rommel Simpliciano. When she invited Nonoy to teach at the UPCFA, she was surprised to realize that Nonoy, whom she knew was "so soft-spoken," was just "too excited to teach."
And teeming with such passion and commitment to share what he knew with his students, Nonoy actually did a one-man job in causing the UPCFA to get into a cooperative venture with Channel 4, so that students enrolled in his class would be able to use the sophisticated facilities at the TV station.
From thereon, the industry, led then at that time by Hanna-Barbera, was impressed with the products created by the students enrolled in Nonoy’s classes that they began to employ the students. Today, with ToonCity and PhilCartoons leading the way, many of the artists engaged in the industry come from the UPCFA.
There was even a time, all because of the infectious commitment of Nonoy to the field, when the industry had serious proposals submitted to the college to make film animation as a separate program offering.
The magic of Nonoy’s art comes from the fact that he never ceased to be a student of life. One foreign art critic said Nonoy’s works were actually reviews of life. His comic strip, as noted by Fred de la Rosa, "with its wit and characters, reflected the national mood, advertised popular lifestyles and mirrored national trends. It captured the follies of a generation and the milestones of an era."
Born to David Marcelo and Rita Santos on Jan. 22, 1942, Nonoy was a prodigy. At the age of nine, he already had a published book to his credit, a comic book entitled Likmuan ng mga Pighati sa Paligid-ligid (Seat of Sorrows All Around). As he once admitted in an interview with the Diliman Review, drawing was already in his veins since he was a child.
"Hindi pa ako nag-aaral, nagdo-drawing na ako, ’yung gaya ng nakikita mo sa daan, sa mga eskinita. Hindi pa ako marunong bumilang noon. Si Malang Santos, yotits ko, ang parang guro ko. Nagpupunta noon sa bahay sina Larry Alcala, Tony Velasquez, Hugo Yonzon – noong araw pa lang idolo ko na sila. Panahon pa ni Kulafu ’yon. Naka-corto pa ako noon, taga-tinta ako ng yotits ko," he reminisced.
Marcelo was a multi-awarded artist. He was the only cartoonist to be honored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines when the country observed its centennial in 1998. The CCP cited Nonoy, among a group of 100 Centennial Awardees, for excellence in the visual arts and for helping define national identity by taking a stand on political and social issues.
Recently, during the 431st founding anniversary of the City of Manila last June 24, 2002, Nonoy was hailed as one of the outstanding Filipinos who have immensely contributed to the development of their chosen professional fields. A special award was given him for his cartoons depicting life in Manila and the country.
From June 21, 1982 to May 31, 1984, he enjoyed the title of Senior Lecturer in Film Animation at the UP College of Fine Arts. His academic appointment was initiated by the chairperson of the department of visual communication, Prof. Margarita Simpliciano, during the deanship of National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva.
The academic credentials of Nonoy were impressive. Having tucked a course in advance animation from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1971 and a filmmaking course from the New School for Social Research in 1972, he introduced salient innovations in the course to make it one of the strongest offerings in the college today.
When Prof. Simpliciano engaged the expert services of Nonoy in the faculty of the college, she was thinking of how the college as an academic institution could contribute to the development of film animation as an industry at a time when interest in the field was just beginning.
While it was Larry Alcala who introduced film animation as a course in the College, the manner by which it was taught relied heavily on homespun techniques, doing it mano-mano as Prof. Simpliciano herself put it, where students had to do one plate after the other.
Prof. Simpliciano knew Nonoy as early as the time when Nonoy was involved in the the making of Annie Batungbakal the movie, together with her brother-in-law, Rommel Simpliciano. When she invited Nonoy to teach at the UPCFA, she was surprised to realize that Nonoy, whom she knew was "so soft-spoken," was just "too excited to teach."
And teeming with such passion and commitment to share what he knew with his students, Nonoy actually did a one-man job in causing the UPCFA to get into a cooperative venture with Channel 4, so that students enrolled in his class would be able to use the sophisticated facilities at the TV station.
From thereon, the industry, led then at that time by Hanna-Barbera, was impressed with the products created by the students enrolled in Nonoy’s classes that they began to employ the students. Today, with ToonCity and PhilCartoons leading the way, many of the artists engaged in the industry come from the UPCFA.
There was even a time, all because of the infectious commitment of Nonoy to the field, when the industry had serious proposals submitted to the college to make film animation as a separate program offering.
The magic of Nonoy’s art comes from the fact that he never ceased to be a student of life. One foreign art critic said Nonoy’s works were actually reviews of life. His comic strip, as noted by Fred de la Rosa, "with its wit and characters, reflected the national mood, advertised popular lifestyles and mirrored national trends. It captured the follies of a generation and the milestones of an era."
Born to David Marcelo and Rita Santos on Jan. 22, 1942, Nonoy was a prodigy. At the age of nine, he already had a published book to his credit, a comic book entitled Likmuan ng mga Pighati sa Paligid-ligid (Seat of Sorrows All Around). As he once admitted in an interview with the Diliman Review, drawing was already in his veins since he was a child.
"Hindi pa ako nag-aaral, nagdo-drawing na ako, ’yung gaya ng nakikita mo sa daan, sa mga eskinita. Hindi pa ako marunong bumilang noon. Si Malang Santos, yotits ko, ang parang guro ko. Nagpupunta noon sa bahay sina Larry Alcala, Tony Velasquez, Hugo Yonzon – noong araw pa lang idolo ko na sila. Panahon pa ni Kulafu ’yon. Naka-corto pa ako noon, taga-tinta ako ng yotits ko," he reminisced.
Marcelo was a multi-awarded artist. He was the only cartoonist to be honored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines when the country observed its centennial in 1998. The CCP cited Nonoy, among a group of 100 Centennial Awardees, for excellence in the visual arts and for helping define national identity by taking a stand on political and social issues.
Recently, during the 431st founding anniversary of the City of Manila last June 24, 2002, Nonoy was hailed as one of the outstanding Filipinos who have immensely contributed to the development of their chosen professional fields. A special award was given him for his cartoons depicting life in Manila and the country.
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