A living art installation at the QMC
May 9, 2005 | 12:00am
The Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) remains Quezon City’s pride. The awesome landmark serves as the resting place of the remains of the late Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, a staunch nationalist.
The remains of Doña Aurora were transferred from the Manila North Cemetery to the QMC shrine on the occasion of her 56th death anniversary. She was kept inside the black granite crypt beside the late president.
The occasion once again ignited the spirit of nationalism in the country. It also marked the opening of Bansoyan at the Park by Jerusalino V. Araos, QMC’s artist-in-residence.
The extensive and exclusive display of bansoy enhances the beauty of the national park by providing it with interesting and informative focal points.
Congratulations are in order for Emilio Gancayco and Charito Planas – chairman and president, respectively of the Quezon City Parks Development Foundation Inc. – for spearheading this noteworthy project.
In the last days of his life, Quezon was displaced by the Japanese from his homeland to die in exile in America. In his lifetime, he was a ferocious nationalist. He once said, "I would rather see my country run like hell by Filipinos than run like heaven by the Americans." It would be an insult to Don Manuel if other horticultural practices, like the bonsai, are installed in the park instead.
The concept of the bansoy was developed by Araos in the 1990s. It is a contraction of the phrase bansot na halamang makahoy, and has thus become the Philippine art of miniaturizing trees. As a sculptor, writer, teacher and gardener, his attraction to the Japanese bonsai motivated him to create the bansoy, together with his children Jemil, Liwa, Mira and Julian, as a similar obra that reflect the Philippines’ nature, culture and tradition.
In developing this concept, Araos eschewed tenets of the Japanese bonsai, popular in the country then as the standard of miniature trees. He aspired towards an authentic reflection of both the natural environment of the country and Filipino culture.
In an interview with Araos, he said the bansoy espouses a design philosophy that can only be identified as Filipino.
Plant species used in the bansoy coincides with the Philippine climate like the salungo, red balete, bignay pugo, kamuning, molave, bougainvillea, bitongol (which is a type of cherry), kamuning binangonan, balete, mulawin pusa, tahid labuyo, bignay kalabaw, and kalios.
Most of the mentioned woody plants have no ornamental purpose and are found wild in nature. The bansoy respects the natural growth patterns of these native trees. Araos also said while the bonsai produces winter branching, which is common to coniferous trees of temperate climates, the bansoy produces rainbow branching, which is normal in deep-rooted trees of tropical countries. In rainbow branching, the bansoy branches grow in a circular shape allowing its viewers to see full-view.
Since it mirrors the lush foliage of the tropics, the bansoy uses deep pot to contain the corresponding root system that will provide adequate moisture for each plant. Araos said this prevents the bansoy from drying out in the intense heat of the sun.
To prevent the exposed dead wood of the bansoy from decaying, Araos paints it using non-toxic colored paints. The principle behind the painting of the bansoy, Araos expounded, is that, "Color adds a special human spiritual dimension to the bansoy. Since the human eyes have the keenest color perception in the animal kingdom, the use of color in the bansoy is an exercise in being a human being. Color, too, is an expression of the festive and gregarious character of Philippine social interaction."
As art, the bansoy has the flexibility of form that can accommodate imitations of nature as well as frankly sculptural expressions. It is an art that is alive in both materials and design.
"The bansoy is a low tree rendered in high art. It upholds a standard of elegance where each element – trunk, branches, foliage, color, pot – respect artistic and biological imperatives. Harmony between natural growth and the practitioner’s intervention guides the development of each bansoy," Araos said.
Araos’s Bansoyan provides opportunities for park habitués to be involved in taking care of the bansoy. Its installation at the QMC encourages these people to participate in its painting, pruning and repotting. The bansoy also serves as an inspiration and means whereby park-goers, city-dwellers mostly, can plant trees within limited urban spaces.
"The project will grow to be a living museum of Philippine indigenous trees. It shall serve as a species bank that provides live specimen that can be studies and reproduced," Araos said.
For comments, send e-mail to ruben_david.defeo@up.edu.ph.
The remains of Doña Aurora were transferred from the Manila North Cemetery to the QMC shrine on the occasion of her 56th death anniversary. She was kept inside the black granite crypt beside the late president.
The occasion once again ignited the spirit of nationalism in the country. It also marked the opening of Bansoyan at the Park by Jerusalino V. Araos, QMC’s artist-in-residence.
The extensive and exclusive display of bansoy enhances the beauty of the national park by providing it with interesting and informative focal points.
Congratulations are in order for Emilio Gancayco and Charito Planas – chairman and president, respectively of the Quezon City Parks Development Foundation Inc. – for spearheading this noteworthy project.
In the last days of his life, Quezon was displaced by the Japanese from his homeland to die in exile in America. In his lifetime, he was a ferocious nationalist. He once said, "I would rather see my country run like hell by Filipinos than run like heaven by the Americans." It would be an insult to Don Manuel if other horticultural practices, like the bonsai, are installed in the park instead.
The concept of the bansoy was developed by Araos in the 1990s. It is a contraction of the phrase bansot na halamang makahoy, and has thus become the Philippine art of miniaturizing trees. As a sculptor, writer, teacher and gardener, his attraction to the Japanese bonsai motivated him to create the bansoy, together with his children Jemil, Liwa, Mira and Julian, as a similar obra that reflect the Philippines’ nature, culture and tradition.
In developing this concept, Araos eschewed tenets of the Japanese bonsai, popular in the country then as the standard of miniature trees. He aspired towards an authentic reflection of both the natural environment of the country and Filipino culture.
In an interview with Araos, he said the bansoy espouses a design philosophy that can only be identified as Filipino.
Plant species used in the bansoy coincides with the Philippine climate like the salungo, red balete, bignay pugo, kamuning, molave, bougainvillea, bitongol (which is a type of cherry), kamuning binangonan, balete, mulawin pusa, tahid labuyo, bignay kalabaw, and kalios.
Most of the mentioned woody plants have no ornamental purpose and are found wild in nature. The bansoy respects the natural growth patterns of these native trees. Araos also said while the bonsai produces winter branching, which is common to coniferous trees of temperate climates, the bansoy produces rainbow branching, which is normal in deep-rooted trees of tropical countries. In rainbow branching, the bansoy branches grow in a circular shape allowing its viewers to see full-view.
Since it mirrors the lush foliage of the tropics, the bansoy uses deep pot to contain the corresponding root system that will provide adequate moisture for each plant. Araos said this prevents the bansoy from drying out in the intense heat of the sun.
To prevent the exposed dead wood of the bansoy from decaying, Araos paints it using non-toxic colored paints. The principle behind the painting of the bansoy, Araos expounded, is that, "Color adds a special human spiritual dimension to the bansoy. Since the human eyes have the keenest color perception in the animal kingdom, the use of color in the bansoy is an exercise in being a human being. Color, too, is an expression of the festive and gregarious character of Philippine social interaction."
As art, the bansoy has the flexibility of form that can accommodate imitations of nature as well as frankly sculptural expressions. It is an art that is alive in both materials and design.
"The bansoy is a low tree rendered in high art. It upholds a standard of elegance where each element – trunk, branches, foliage, color, pot – respect artistic and biological imperatives. Harmony between natural growth and the practitioner’s intervention guides the development of each bansoy," Araos said.
Araos’s Bansoyan provides opportunities for park habitués to be involved in taking care of the bansoy. Its installation at the QMC encourages these people to participate in its painting, pruning and repotting. The bansoy also serves as an inspiration and means whereby park-goers, city-dwellers mostly, can plant trees within limited urban spaces.
"The project will grow to be a living museum of Philippine indigenous trees. It shall serve as a species bank that provides live specimen that can be studies and reproduced," Araos said.
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