In memory of the late Francisco "Boy" Peralta, self made artist.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to FridaySan Vicente is famous for sculpture, producing important works that decorate many churches and homes today, here and abroad. The town is dubbed the Little Florence, and is acclaimed to be the counterpart of Paete in Laguna and Betis in Pampanga. This article is a tribute to the sculptors of the town, and to those whose memory we their townmates shall remain forever proud and grateful.
Man with a Hammer, life size in stone by a local sculptor,
the late Francisco "Boy" Peralta. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
the late Francisco "Boy" Peralta. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
Here he stands, sun and rain, season in and out, alone,
a sledge hammer hangs on his brawn, frozen in time;
so blank his stare toward his subject, lifeless as stone,
immortality defined in neglect in mournful sublime.
And yet seeks man the mystery of power cum divine,
a god from Mount Olympus, on Apollo to the moon;
yet Man with a Hoe, Markham's hero a lowliest kind,
and Rodin's thinking man turned prophet of doom.
Mortal, shortcut to man's lofty dreams and often greed,
a hammer falling from the sky striking the hardest;
not once, but many times 'til the die is cast to the grid,
in Medusa's gaze, freezing man perhaps in his best.
And bridging the gap of thoughts and generations,
in suspended animation of true story or legend;
yet live the man with a hammer for whatever reasons,
and souls seeking immortality at the final bend.~ Orphaned Icons: What posthumous fate lies in the unfinished work of an artist?
The Worker
The artist comes to rest,
his works unfinished,
his dreams unfulfilled;
life, how short it is to the gifted,
the future his present;
and who would look beyond
with him but prophets?
Or Markham who saw in beauty
injustice in The Man with a Hoe,
of Millet's romantic scenery?
There is no answer, the artist is dead;
he lives on with these unresolved;
time and event shall tell
as his masterpiece crumbles
to dust, to oblivion.
The Potter
The elements come and go,
sun and rain through the years;
wonder the model once young as clay
with a consequence to pay.
We are potters too, of the mind,
characters of the young in our care;
time is kind in idleness, we say,
and rebels against the clay. ~