Hello! I'd like to share my thoughts on this one. Haha As an alumna of the university, overall, I'm not entirely smitten by the artwork or the idea of having a female version of the oblation since it drew a line between men and women in the university that actively campaigns for gender equality. What reached my perspective is that this female oblation with her hair on the ground and the rest of her whole being being raised upward implies that females need to give their everything - body and all - to claim that they have done their share on service; and honor and excellence unlike Oble who only had his head held high and arms open.
As for plagiarism, it's possible that the artist's claims are true. Geographically speaking, the Netherlands is very far from the Philippines. And The Virgins of Apeldoorn is not that well-known, at least not to me. So probably, there is just some coincidence since UPLIFT is also based on Oble, just horizontal.
Honestly, I would also like to be enlightened on this one. Just my 2 cents worth. 😉
Hello saiyanide :) Here's my thought on this one, when it comes to geographical setting, yes The Netherlands is far from the Philippines however, The Virgins of Apeldoorn has been on the internet for years and is very accessible to research on. At first glance one could tell their similarities however, despite these similarities both have very distinct meaning. “Uplift” was constructed to give honor and excellence to UP and promote women equity as it appears to be levitating. On the other hand, “The Virgins of Apeldoorn” represents innocence as there are 3 floating virgins covered with clothing. So yes, (on my opinion) both are different and not copies of one another.
I would also like to emphasize that just because it is alleged it doesn't directly mean plagiarism happened. It is up to UP Diliman to judge whether it is indeed a plagiarism or purely coincidental. Thank you for sharing me your thoughts. 😉
Hehe It could be available on the internet for years. Yes, but one cannot simply think and google The Virgins of Apeldoorn if they dont know that what they are looking for is actually The Virgins of Apeldoorn. Get what I mean? Hehe unless the same photo would appear if you google 'statues of women horizontally levitating' or something like that. Anyway, I think we arrived to the same conclusion though.
And I think UP Dil has made its judgement since the artwork was allowed installation in the campus. 😁👍