MANILA, Philippines - A stainless-steel work by Filipino sculptor Joe Datuin that reinterprets the traditional Olympic logo into a flight of the athletic spirit has won the grand prize for sculpture in the international Sport and Art Contest in connection with the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

?Dancing Rings? recasts the conventionally horizontal Olympic logo into a vertical leap of faith, much like a gymnast or a classical dancer in action, to signify both human grace and human solidarity.

?We?ve struck gold even before the Beijing games have opened,? top sculptor Ramon Orlina told the Inquirer. Orlina is Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) art coordinator who led the screening of the Philippine entries to be sent to the contest. He had also won the grand prize in the II International Biennale of Basketball in the Fine Arts in Madrid in 2000. Datuin will receive US$30,000 and a diploma, Orlina said.

Meanwhile, ?Dreams for Goals,? an oil-on-canvas work by Edmar C. Colmo, won a Highly Recommended award In the Graphic Arts category of the contest. The young Iloilo-based artist will get a diploma.

Orlina said 61 entries from 36 countries were screened by an international jury composed of representatives from the International Olympic Committee?s Commission for Culture and Education and art experts from the different continents.
Orlina himself and other top artists had screened the Philippine entries to the contest.
Aside from Orlina, the judges included top painter and printmaker Fil Delacruz; social realist Egai Fernandez, head of the National Committee for the Visual Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; POC president Jose Cojuangco and POC secretary-general Steven Hontiveros.

Dance of the dragon

Datuin echoed Orlina?s remark about the Philippine victory ahead of the Beijing Games. He said, ?Hindi pa man nagsisimula iyong laro eh nakasumbit na kaagad tayo ng ginto,? (The games haven?t started yet, but we?ve already snagged a gold.)
In designing his winning entry, Datuin said he tapped into three interrelated inspirations.

First, he derived the design from the logo of the 2008 Olympics, the ?Dancing Beijing.? According to host China, the logo represents Beijing?s effort to reach out to embrace all humanity. It is an invitation for ?the world to join their dance, experience their culture, and share their joy,? according to the Beijing Olympics website

?I was inspired by the logo chosen by the host country,? Datuin said. Thus, he conceived of an image that would reflect the idea of ?dancing wings,? of ?going against gravity.?

He explained the image of a dancer or gymnast is intrinsic to the concept, and the steel ball at the center of the sculpture appears to be the head of the dancer, and the rings below and above her are the dancing rings that are created by her movements.
Second, Datuin said he was inspired by the Chinese dragon. ?Since China is the host, I tried to conceive of a dragon playing with a ball, displaying its dexterity and grace,? the artist said.

And third, Datuin said he tried to render the motto of the Olympic games?Citius, Altius, Fortus??faster, higher, stronger.?

He explained that the dynamic movement of the sculpture approximates the speed injunction of the motto, while its vertical thrust appears to defy gravity and its shining steel medium reflects the hardy Olympic spirit.

Modernist

Datuin, 52, is known for his modernist idiom which he had acquired as a Fine Arts student at the University of Santo Tomas where his mentors included National Artist J. Elizalde Navarro, Cenon Rivera, Angelito Antonio, Leon Pacunayen and Mario Parial.

He had also apprenticed under National Artist Arturo Luz at the Design Center of the Philippines (1977-1981).

His modernist style is evident not only in his paintings and sculptures but also in his media graphics. In fact, as media director until 1992 of ABS-CBN, he had designed the logos, studio sets and ad campaigns that won audiences for the network giant.
As a UST student, he won third prize for Sculpture in the 1978 Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) Annual Art Competition.

As if to prefigure his 2008 triumph, he had won a Special Award in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games International Poster Design Competition.

And as if by serendipity, Datuin said he will have an exhibit in Gallery Nine, SM Megamall on Aug. 8, the first day of the Beijing Olympics!

He added he had agreed to do the show long before he was informed by Orlina about the call for entries to the 2008 Sport and Art Olympic.

Big boost

For Edmar C. Colmo of Molo, Iloilo, his participation in the international art contest was done in the true Olympic spirit of sportsmanship.

Still taking up his BS Industrial Technology major in architectural drafting at the Western Visayas College of Science and Technology, Colmo, 28, said he tried to reflect in his canvas the energy and boldness of the Olympics.

He explained that the jampacked and celebratory figuration in his entry should embody the ?supreme and definitive courage? of any athlete representing his or her nation.

?I?m very happy because our winning shows Filipino artists do not really lag behind the rest of the world,? Colmo said.

He added he was doubly happy because his entry had passed the Philippine screening and had been seen fit to represent the nation in the ?Olympics of the arts.? It was his first time to compete internationally.

Colmo?s triumph also draws attention to Iloilo?s vibrant art scene and emerging talents. In fact, Colmo is a member of the Baysulangpu Society and Kurit Ilonggo, which group together young Panay artists.

The double-victory of Datuin and Colmo revives memories of the similar double-victory achieved by Orlina and painter Emmanuel Garibay in the 2nd International Biennial Basketball in the Arts in Madrid, Spain in 2000.

Orlina won the grand prize for sculpture for his impressive steel-and-glass entry, ?Basketball, Mi Mundo,? while Garibay won the second prize for painting for his gritty ?One on One.?

?Dancing Rings? and ?Dreams for Goals? will be on exhibit in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and later, at Olympic Expo in Beijing. The winners will receive their prizes in Busan, Korea, during the VI World Forum on Sport, Education and Culture on Sept. 25-27.

List of winners

Sculpture
1st place: Joe Datuin (Philippines)??Dancing Rings?
2nd place: Mior Mohd Nafis Mohd Zain (Malaysia)??Determination?
3rd place: Levan Vardosanidze (Georgia)??Champion?

Highly recommended (diplomas)
Hsiang-Chih Shao (Chinese Taipei)??Achieving Success?
Milton Estrella Gavidia (Ecuador)??Movimiento?; To Shui Ming (Hong Kong, China)??Towards the Rainbow?
Mohammad Reza Yazdi (Islamic Republic
of Iran)??Gymnast?
Edward Eyth (United States of America)?
?Balance?

Graphic works (paintings, drawings, engravings)
1st place: Ivan Patúc (Slovakia)??Wrestling?
2nd place: Ching-Yuan Kao (Chinese Taipei)??Sprint?
3rd place: Kadir Nelson (United States of America)??The Anatomy of Team Handball?

Highly recommended (diplomas)
Liu Da Wei (China)??Play Polo?
Albert Münch (Germany)??Liu Xiang, World Champion, 110m Hurdles?
Shahariah Mohamed Roshdi (Malaysia)? ?Movement?
Edmar C. Colmo (Philippines)??Dreams
for Goals?
Nibonth Phokachang (Thailand)??Culture
and Olympism?