Grade 12 artist Thea Natividad's painting displayed in National Museum

On 12 July 2024, Althea “Thea” Natividad (STEM/12-Xavier) became the very first Ateneo de Manila Senior High School student to have an artwork displayed/exhibited in the National Museum of the Philippines while still in high school. Thea achieved this distinction through her piece “To Be A Woman is to Be Watched,” which was her output in the workshop, “Art Interact 2024 Manila.” The workshop was a sub-event of the 2024 Shell National Students Art Competition (NSAC), which Thea could not join because NSAC is open only to college students.

Approximately 100 artists joined Art Interact (AI), with Thea being one of its youngest participants. Of the 100 workshoppers, the outputs of 60-70 attendees were exhibited. AI does not name or give awards for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place, etc, because being exhibited in the National Museum is considered an award in itself.

So how did a left-brained scholar from the STEM strand achieve this remarkable, right-brained feat two weeks before her life as an ASHS Grade 12 student began? In a recent interview with the talented Thea, we learned quite a bit about her fascinating journey as an artist. The first surprise was finding out that she was told about the AI workshop only one day before it was scheduled to begin on 12 July 2024. On July 11, Thea was contacted by her coach, Ms Armela Rodrigo, who asked her if she wanted to join AI-Manila.

And why does Thea have a coach? It turns out that when she was in her last year of junior high at Marikina Science High School, Thea joined the Pintahusay competition and went the distance from district winner and regional winner, until she was ultimately crowned Pintahusay National Champion on 18 July 2023. (The Pintahusay finals took place in Cagayan de Oro, with contestants being given eight hours to create their artworks on-the-spot.) It was Ms Rodrigo who guided Thea throughout her Pintahusay journey, and they kept in touch.

One year after Thea’s Pintahusay triumph, on 11 July 2024, Ms Rodrigo told Thea about the workshop that was to take place the next day at the National Museum for Fine Arts. Billed as an “Art Interact workshop with Ronald Ventura,” participants were also promised “a panel discussion between contemporary Filipino artists” and the opportunity to “participate in a hands-on workshop aimed at honing essential techniques and cultivating one’s artistic voice and vision.”

Upon learning that the workshop would be conducted by one of her heroes, contemporary artist Ronald Ventura, Thea secured her spot. She adds that it was a no-brainer for her to join the event despite the short notice because there aren’t that many events or competitions for artists in the Philippines.  

When she arrived at the venue, Thea noted that many of the attendees were college students and working men and women. She even spotted a handful of veteran artists. The workshop began with the lecture of Ronald Ventura from 9 am to 12 noon. From him, Thea learned that contemporary art is not the old-style art where the artist knows what he/she will create from the get-go. In contemporary art, artists allows their hands to start creating, and then think their way through to the end to finish what their hands started. “Hahayaan niyo daw yung kamay niyo na mag-create, tapos kayo na mismo ang maglalapat o magtutuloy sa kung ano man yung sinimulan niyo,” says Thea, recalling Ventura’s lecture.

After lunch, the participants were given four hours to create their pieces for exhibition. The only “given” was that an element of their work had to use something from a magazine.

In choosing the style her artwork would employ, Thea opted to mix the genres of hyperrealism (a genre of painting where the work resembles a high-resolution photograph) and semi-realism (an art form that seeks to combine realistic and stylized depictions of a living being or scene) because these are what she is currently exploring. Some artists may frown at the thought of mixing these genres, but Thea had no problem with it. “For me, there’s nothing wrong with exploring different art styles. And yon din yung sinabi ni Sir Ventura sa lecture niya.”

So off she went mixing genres, offering another more practical reason for doing so: “Mas mabilis din po gawin ang pinaghalong semi-realism kumpara sa purely hyperrealism.”

Aware of her strengths as an artist, she settled on creating a portrait. “Ang pinaka focus ko ngayon is to draw portraits,” reveals Thea. “Sa moment na pinaupo niyo ako at ipa drawing ng kahit ano, ang una ko pong ido-drawing ay mukha.”

As for the subject of her portrait, Thea knew that she wanted to do a sequel or companion piece to some of her previous works, two of which have iconic “waterlogged” women as their subjects. A fan of Shakespeare’s plays and Philippine mythology, Thea’s opuses have depicted Ophelia (the young noblewoman in “Hamlet” who ends up in a state of madness that ultimately leads to her drowning) and the mythical Filipino character Aman Sinaya. “Si Aman Sinaya po kasi is a maiden. Nalunod po siya, pero kalaunan, naging deity o tagapagbantay siya ng tubig,” she explains.

When time was up at 5:00 pm, the work that emerged from Thea’s 10” x 14” canvas – which she eventually named “To Be a Woman is To Be Watched” – was a personal statement about the female condition in the here and now, the world seen through the lens of a woman. “Iba po kasi kapag sinabing being viewed and being watched,” she elaborates. “Kapag sinabi kasing you’re being seen, you’re being seen and recognized and acknowledged for the things that you can do, yung capabilities mo. Pero pag sinabing you’re being watched, parang there’s an obligation and a responsibility to be the best, to adhere to the standards that many people expect you to obey. So I’m putting emphasis na lang din po sa expectations set by men.”

The focus of her piece is a woman whom Thea says is meant to evoke the iconic Filipina beauty Paraluman. (“Paraluman” was the screen name of an award-winning 1940s actress and star from Sampaguita Pictures. The name was introduced to a younger generation of Filipinos when it was used in the 90s Eraserheads song “Ang Huling El Bimbo.”) On the periphery of the artwork are men, says Thea, who represent society in general. “These are the men who view women as entertainment, as something they can use,” she says.

As for the word WOMAN below the subject’s face, Thea explains that this was her way of accommodating the competition’s only rule, which was to use magazines. “Yan yung integration ng magazine collage. Kung makikita niyo po yung text na WOMAN, tapos may dot po…. cutouts sila sa magazine,” she says. “I wanted the piece to be mostly my work, tapos yung konting details na lang yung galing sa magazine,” she concludes.

Thea also names impressionist painter Claude Monet and contemporary Filipino artists Ronald Ventura and Love Bagacina as major influences on her style. “Kasi pag tiningnan niyo ang works ni Monet ng malapitan, hindi niyo siya masyadong ma-a-appreciate because of the strokes, the texture. But once you take a step back and then take your time to see the artwork, doon niyo ma-a-appreciate,” she explains. As for Love Bagacina, Thea describes him thus: “He’s a local artist here in the Philippines. Ang art style niya is not on the portrait side, but more of art nouveau and on the architectural side. He draws houses.” And as mentioned earlier, Ronald Ventura is another one of her heroes. “Kaya ako pumunta sa event kasi si Sir Ronald ang lecturer,” she declares.      

Since the exhibit in July and this interview that was conducted in August, Thea has become a very busy bee in her last year as an ASHS student, going next level and assuming the role of student-leader three times over. She holds three major job titles: Blue Book Editor-in-Chief, Hi-Lites Art & Layout Editor, and CSC Bluebook Committee Head. With so much on her plate, does she still have time to create art? Is she joining any competitions soon? And where is her acclaimed work from AI-Manila right now?

Thea says that “To Be A Woman is to Be Watched” is back at home, and that she has no ongoing art projects at the moment. She reveals, though, that she has been a working student – an artist-for-hire - since she was in grade 9. To supplement her family’s income, Thea charges nine hundred pesos to one thousand two hundred pesos per commissioned portrait, depending on the materials she uses. Her many satisfied clients include former teachers and even current classmates.

Asked about how the workshop has changed her as an artist, Thea replies, “The workshop taught me that making art doesn't necessarily mean that the work has to be prepared ahead and structured, nor does it have to be perfect. It just has to be representative of the artist.”

She also learned that an impactful artwork bonds the artist and viewer. “A good artwork connects the artist and viewer like a bridge, and tells the artist’s story to the viewer,” she explains. “I also learned that the best Art should not just impress humanity, but rather express humanity.”