Brenda Fajardo is a Filipino art teacher, visual artist, and printmaker. Her work centers on
social issues
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...
,
women's issues, and the
colonial history of the Philippines, with focus on the "aesthetics of poverty and the art of the people". She is a
professor Emerita
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
in the department of Art Studies at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
.
Early life and education
Fajardo was born in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in 1940.
Originally interested in becoming a professional dancer, she was diagnosed with
rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...
at the age of 14. Her mother then suggested she take art lessons under Filipina artist Araceli Dans.
Fajardo earned a degree in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
from the
University of the Philippines Los Baños
The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay ...
in 1959, followed by her
MS in
art education at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
.
Upon returning to the Philippines, Fajardo taught art education throughout the early 1960s.
She later earned her
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in
Philippine Studies
In general, Filipinology or Philippineology ( es, Filipinología) ( tl, Pilipinolohiya) or more formally known as Philippine studies refers to: from the
University of the Philippines Diliman
, image = University of The Philippines seal.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman
, motto = Honor and Excellence
, established = February 12, 194 ...
.
Career
Fajardo has been described as a "visual artist and educator who brings local folk culture to the international forefront" and a "pioneer of the craft of Philippine
printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
".
She has produced work focusing on both the
Philippine diaspora and
Philippine epic poetry.
Fajardo is best known for her
tarot card
The tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their ...
series, which examines
Philippine history,
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and
women's issues.
Critics have cited her use of tarot cards to provide commentary on the Philippines' struggles "with socio-political issues, colonial history, and ongoing poverty";
whereas tarot cards are intended to reveal the future, Fajardo's work uses them to examine the past. Art critic
Alice Guillermo called Fajardo the "high priestess of tarot".
Fajardo co-founded the Philippine Art Educators Association (PAEA) in 1967
whose purpose is to train teachers on how to better teach art within the school system.
Observing how art education in the Philippines was primarily focused in training students for
art production, Fajardo advocated for teaching traditional Filipino "folk art" and better exploring the "Philippine identity" through art.
Fajardo's works have been
exhibited internationally, including
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and at home in
Santa Cruz, Laguna
Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz ( tgl, Bayan ng Santa Cruz), is a first class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. Accor ...
.
In the late 1990s, Fajardo was the
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
of the
Vargas Museum.
Awards and honors
*In 1992, Fajardo received the Thirteen Artists award from the
Cultural Center of the Philippines
*In 1998, Fajardo received the Centennial Award for the Arts also from the Cultural Center of the Philippines
*In 2012, Fajardo was awarded the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining award for Visual Arts
See also
*
List of Filipino women artists
This is a list of women artists who were born in the Philippines or whose artworks are closely associated with that country. These artists also explore issues within the Philippines as well as those experienced by the Filipino diaspora.
A
*Pacita ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fajardo, Brenda
Living people
Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Diliman
Art educators
1940 births
Filipino artists
Filipino women artists
Filipino women curators
Filipino printmakers
University of the Philippines Diliman alumni
University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Women printmakers