By the late 1960s, H.R. Ocampo would reach the zenith of his artistic career—his highly acclaimed and coveted Visual Melody Period from 1968 to 1978. Thanks to his decision in 1968 to resign from his long-time post as art director and Senior Vice President of PHILPROM, Ocampo freed himself from the burden of bureaucratic responsibilities, giving and flexing the free rein of his hands into painting. Purita Kalaw Ledesma succinctly writes of this decisive episode in Ocampo’s life in her book The Biggest Little Room: A History of the Philippine Art Gallery: “This liberation from a very constricting job gave him a burst of creativity he had never experienced before. His works became quite outstanding, and the public responded by buying most of his works. He now is one of the most sought-after artists.”
\nNow possessing the liberty of time, Ocampo found creative inspiration from music, particularly chamber music. Ocampo himself said in a 1972 interview with art critic and fellow artist Cid Reyes that his Visual Melody Period saw him “engaged in approximating the properties of music. “I am interested in creating what you would call ‘visual melodies,’” he said. “I approach my paintings now as if they were chamber music, which, I suppose, one can consider ‘pure music.’”
\nPrior to this stage in his painting career, Ocampo had his Mutants Period of 1963 to 1968, in which he explored the destructive consequences of nuclear warfare amid the looming threats of worldwide nuclear annihilation during the decade as the Cold War between the superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, progressed. In contrast, the Visual Melody Period witnessed Ocampo embrace bright, tropical colors that seemingly burst out of the canvas, transforming the composition into a palpable feast for the eyes.
\nThe Visual Melody Period was a natural progression for Ocampo, who had finally found all the time in the world to devote himself to what for him was life’s most consummate manifestation of being and his true love—painting. The period witnessed Ocampo attain the peak of his Neo-Realist style, finding a new reality grounded in the lyrical possibilities of pure music translated into a pure abstraction that stimulates the senses and electrifies the intellect. The explosive vigor of his new style confined within the limits of a canvas evokes the powerful intimacy of chamber music.
\nTerminal was one of those first works Ocampo painted in his new, exciting period in his four-decade art career. Forms seamlessly blend with each other, colors colliding in harmonious progression. As Terminal exemplifies, Ocampo’s Visual Melody sees his colors noticeably transformed into vibrant, prismatic ones, as opposed to the somber ones of the Mutants Period. His forms also became more complex, yet they possess arresting lyricism and free-flowing character.
\nIn the work, one sees forms stacking on each other, concluding in a mountain-like crest seemingly reaching for the horizon. Deep greens are embedded with yellow greens towards the summit, creating an interesting juxtaposition. For Ocampo, it may have been a reminder that there is nowhere to go but up when it comes to pursuing the creative passions of the heart and mind.
\nTerminal is a highly documented work by Ocampo, appearing in the publications Pamana, published by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in its 13 June 1974 issue and Artista ng Bayan, published by the CCP in conjunction with Ocampo’s posthumous declaration as National Artist for the Visual Arts. Both publications contain official lists of Ocampo’s works in chronological order.
\nOcampo would showcase his new style in a highly publicized and hotly anticipated three-man exhibition at The Luz Gallery with his friends, Cesar Legaspi and Arturo Luz, in November 1968. It was advertised under the banner of “The pioneers stage a comeback” by the Philippines Free Press, with the magazine writing about Ocampo, “Ocampo and Legaspi, who established their reputations years before many of today’s painters were born, only recently escaped the drudgery of advertising agency work, and are now devoting all of their time and energies to the fevered activity of their youth.”
\nThe eminent art critic Alfredo Roces, writing in his Light and Shadow column for the Times, observed that Ocampo’s works in the show are “alive with glowing colors and newfound energy,” adding that he and Legaspi had recently retired from their advertising careers with the show representing their “happy celebration.”
\nAn article published in the 4 November 1968 issue of the Manila Bulletin described the works of Ocampo in the exhibition as “continu[ing] to exploit the potentialities of chromatic arrangements and fragmented shapes endless in its variations.” The article also hyped Ocampo’s works, writing that the “products of his imaginations seem endless.”
\nFollowing the creation of Terminal and the other works Ocampo showcased in the Luz Gallery exhibition, he would then paint the monumental Genesis, which would be soon transformed into the iconic tapestry for the CCP Main Theater.
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