ODE TO FREEDOM

MELVIN GUIRHEM, ROBERT BESANA, WILFREDO OFFEMARIA

O send round the bowl—

While the waves roar and roll,

Let Freedom and Love touch the strings of the soul

excerpt from Amos Kendall’s poem “Ode to Freedom”

These days, we as a society take many things for granted. We have gotten used to walking under the sun, burdened with the day-to-day hustle and bustle of life, that we have put aside and forgotten about the battles and challenges that those before us have faced, both in the context of our country’s freedom and in the context of the boundaries that which art was and is being dictated by.

Freedom is a concept that is heavy with the weight of its history. This history consists of Filipino heroes like Dr. Jose Rizal, who famously fought for our freedom with the use of pen and paper, and artists like Claude Monet, who pushed the boundaries of the art of their times with artworks that set the standard for the Impressionist era. Their influence can be observed to this day, and this exhibit commemorates the freedom of art and expression through the works of Melvin Guirhem, Robert Besana, and Wilfredo Offemaria.

Text by Melissa Uy