HE stands up from his chair, rummages through a small box hanging on a wall, gets a piece of chalk and writes “Earth” on a piece of wood. Then he crosses out the letters “e” and “h.”
“Isa ’to sa mga itinuro ng tatay ko. (This was one of the lessons my father taught me): If you take away ‘e’ and ‘h’ from ‘Earth’, what remains is ‘art,’” says second-generation sculptor Julian Araos, progeny of the late Artist Jerusalino “Jerry” Araos.
Literally and figuratively a chip off the old block, Julian uses wood as his medium. He considers his works functional, producing furniture pieces in unique forms and shapes.
In September 2013 Julian explored a new realm that was a step forward in his development as an artist. He created sculptures for the sake of creating art, and not as pieces of furniture. With his first and recent collection—titled Usbong, which means “to sprout”—he expressed the struggles and grief he had endured through the years.
In Pako (fern), he sculpted wood that resembles a fern: bent and about to unfurl. He says that it appears to be something premature, reflecting his grief over the loss of “a father, a guide and a mentor.”
His Mag-Ama is a wooden abstract sculpture that shows a person carrying someone on his shoulders. This beautiful work depicts his relationship with his father, and his father’s philosophy: That of a master letting his student stand on his shoulders rather than letting him sit at his feet—thus allowing him to see the horizon and go beyond boundaries.
“Creating art is a concentration on one’s life,” Julian says. Having learned from his father, Julian values originality. Every time he creates something new, he believes that it has to outdo the work he’s done before.
“You cannot repeat your own work,” he says. He exhausts his imagination to come up with new and creative outputs for both his own artworks and commissioned furniture pieces.
“If it’s a commissioned work, aside from you wanting to please your clients, ang pinaka-challenge is that you have to beat your last design. Palaging constant struggle (It is always a constant struggle): How do I top this?”
Although his use of second-hand wooden materials brings forth a feeling of nostalgia from the signature Jerry Araos art, people have told Julian that he has reached (and even exceeded) the standards set by his father.
While he regards this as a negative insight, it goes to show that Julian Araos at a young age can already give shape to something and create something that is uniquely his own. As art theorist Herbert Read puts it, “We have to find the touchstone outside the individual peculiarities of human beings, and the only touchstone which exists is nature.”
As an artist, Julian relates his inner life to nature and expresses it through nature.
He is driven by the sight of nature. He finds refuge in the breathtaking, relaxing and refreshing Araos Garden right in the heart of Antipolo City. With his workstation right outside the Araos home, he gets a perfect view of their vast and lovely garden which has been featured in online blogs and magazines.
Members of the Generation Y hardly appreciate nature’s beauty, given the rapid changes and technological evolution taking place all around us. From time to time though, it would not hurt to see the world in a different light through the refreshing perspective of art. And artists like Julian Araos can show us how.
Katriel A. Mendoza
1 comment
Jerusalino Araos is DEFINITELY NOT a National Artist!
WHEN WILL TRYING-HARD JOURNALISTS EVER GET THEIR FACTS STRAIGHT?
FYI: For an updated list of National Artists:
https://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca/org-awards/org-awards-national-artist-list.php