Pacita Abad: Google doodle on a Filipino ambassador of colours

Google today remembers Pacita Abad, the renowned Filipino visual artist by dedicating a beautiful artistic doodle.

Pacita Abad made history on July 31, 1984 by receiving the Philippines’ prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men award. This award was always being to men for the last 25 years until in 1984 where Pacita Abad became the first woman ever to receive this prestigious award.

In Pacita Abad receiving this award it had created a public uproar where angry letters sent to editors of published newspapers from men and male artists who thought that they, not Pacita Abad, should have received the award. Despite such uproar, she was thrilled that she had broken the sex barrier in which she stated in her acceptance speech that “it was long overdue that Filipina women were recognized, as the Philippines was full of outstanding women” and referred proudly to her mother.

Pacita Abad was born on October 5, 1946 in Basco, in the northern province of Batanes, the Philippines. She pursued graduate studies in San Francisco, California in the US in 1970 and became very involved in the city’s artistic community. She went on to study painting and then travelled the world with her art supplies, from Bangladesh to Sudan, and the cultures she encountered had a profound influence on her ever-evolving artistic style. Dedicated to improving the world through art, she used pieces like her 1979 series ‘Portraits of Cambodia’ to raise awareness of societal issues.

Pacita Abad established a unique trapunto technique in painting, and has influenced numerous art scholars throughout her lifetime. She is one of the few of her generation to have received numerous international awards in the field of painting. Many of her works have been acquired and prized by numerous art museums in Tokyo, Paris, London, Singapore, San Francisco, New York City, Hong Kong, and Manila, among many others.

Pacita Abad’s art has been in the national collections of at least 70 countries worldwide. The Fundacion Pacita Batanes Nature Lodge in Basco, Batanes, was lovingly refurbished by her brother, Butch Abad. Her works have been actively displayed in numerous galleries and museums in the Philippines throughout the annual Philippine Arts Month and art festivals.

Pacita Abad crafted over 5,000 pieces of art, and today her colourful legacy resonates in collections in more than 70 countries. In one quote, she said that she felt herself ‘an ambassador of colours’. Google today honours the legendary Filipino visual artist with a superb colourful doodle depicting her artistic style.

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