TUP Fine Arts Department

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐔𝐏 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐤𝐢𝐬: 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧!

a peer-reviewed academic publication that brings together research, critical discourse, and creative scholarship in art and design.

This milestone marks a significant step in strengthening the department’s research culture, offering faculty, researchers, and practitioners a dedicated platform to share ideas, advance knowledge, and contribute to the evolving conversation within the creative disciplines.

𝑮𝑬𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑪𝑶𝑷𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OKdhTxnVegJHdbHNbT69A_10-KT7qkgm/view?usp=sharing

Bigkis: Scholarly Journal of Art and Design, a peer-reviewed publication of the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) Fine Arts Department, has officially been granted an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). This milestone formally recognizes Bigkis as an internationally identifiable scholarly journal and underscores its adherence to academic rigor, ethical review standards, and quality research dissemination.

The ISSN registration strengthens the journal’s role as a credible platform for scholarly inquiry, critical discourse, and creative research in the fields of art and design, advancing the department’s commitment to research excellence and knowledge production.

FEATURED PAPER: "The Photograph That Never Happened: AI and the Reimagining of Presence" By Jerrica Mendoza, MFA

𝑨𝑩𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻: 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒙 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚—𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑹𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 “𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕-𝒉𝒂𝒔-𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏”—𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝑰 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆-𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒓-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝑰-𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏, 𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈, 𝑱𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒍é𝒎 𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝑰 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚: 𝒕𝒉𝒆 “𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕-𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅-𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆-𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏.” 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆, 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑨𝑰 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓.

𝙆𝙚𝙮𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨: 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚; 𝘼𝙄-𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨; 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙮; 𝙊𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮; 𝙃𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮; 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

Faculty Artwork Feature | Ferdinand Doctolero

This feature revisits the thesis exhibition of Ferdinand Doctolero, presented at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1989, a significant moment in his artistic formation. The works from this period are characterized by a strong focus on anatomical figures, demonstrating disciplines from the traditional art training, composition accuracy, and an academic grounding in the human form. These figurative explorations reflect the rigorous studio training and critical environment of UP Diliman during that time.

Over the years, Doctolero’s practice has undergone a clear and deliberate transition from figurative representation to abstraction. While his later works move away from literal anatomy, they retain the underlying discipline, structure, and compositional logic rooted in his early studies of the human body. His abstract works articulate themes drawn from the discipline of human daily life and the pursuit of higher consciousness, translated into dynamic forms and relationships.

Visually, this shift is reinforced through the expressive use of bright and assertive colors, which function not merely as aesthetic choices but as carriers of energy, rhythm, and psychological depth. These chromatic decisions amplify the experiential quality of the work, allowing abstraction to serve as both a reflective and intuitive mode of expression.

Taken as a whole, Ferdinand Doctolero’s artistic evolution underscores a practice grounded in discipline yet open to transcendence. His works exemplify how rigorous training can evolve into a mature visual language—one that bridges structure and intuition, the tangible and the contemplative—offering lasting insight into his role as both artist and educator.

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐤 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭: 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Join the BFA Second Year students as they unveil compelling narratives from their photowalk explorations of the city. Through sharp observation and heartfelt storytelling, the exhibit brings forward the often unseen truths of urban life—its struggles, its resilience, and its human stories.

09 December 2025
10:00 AM
CAFA Room 110

https://tupcareerportal.seemeconnect.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOI9JZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6ebKdy_gc6YUGzWr8Y1hzRpjsnSAVSm58YfIZYp5eZZaX7jZ-jq7YCtWpc_Q_aem_ye89lYoNhlqkxR8t-V1eAQ

Technological University of the Philippines Career Portal Serving with pure passion and dedication.

CONGRATULATIONS! 👏

Here are the top 10 designers ready to Outrace, Outcreate, and Outdesign for Design Drift: The Ultimate Website Showdown. See you at the next round!

🗓️ October 11, 1-6 PM
📍 F1 City Center, BGC, Taguig

*Kindly check your inbox for the confirmation email and secure your attendance.

Bold. Bright. Unapologetically expressive. 🔥

Check out this stunning maximalist design by our 4th year students! 🎨✨

From vibrant colors to layered textures, true embodiment of creativity, expression, and individuality.

Maximalism proves that sometimes; more really is more. 💥

We extend our warmest congratulations to Mr. Jao Pelaez, a proud alumnus of the Technological University of the Philippines – College of Fine Arts and Design, for being named the Grand Awardee in the Mixed Media Category at the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE).

The entire TUP FAD community celebrates this milestone with you, and we take pride in seeing our former student excel and gain well-deserved recognition in the national art scene.

Mabuhay ka, Jao! May this be just the beginning of even greater accomplishments in your artistic journey.

Congratulations to our BFA alumnus, Eugene Pelaez for winning the Competition 👏👏👏

FINE-NOMENON: Painting the Start of Your Journey 🖌️

TUP IVC proudly presents the official BFA Freshmen Orientation: FINE-NOMENON. 🤩 Join us as we welcome our freshies the first step towards the colorful world of our program. 🌈

📅 August 15, 2025 | Friday
🕒 7:30 – 11:30 AM
📍 CAFA AVR, CAFA Bldg. 4th Floor

Expect a deep dive into the creative chaos that makes our Fine Arts fam FINE-tastic and one of a kind. 💥

Kita-kits, future artists! 🔥





This orientation is exclusive to BFA students ONLY. For concerns and inquiries, you may reach out to our FB page. Thank you!