Google Philippines is honoring the life and works of Filipino visual artist, feminist, and activist Pacita Abad with a special doodle today, July 31.
On the same day in 1984, Abad made history as the first woman to be given the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award.
Just like Abad’s painting, the multinational technology giant made a vibrant and colorful doodle of the Filipino artist.
“Today, her colorful legacy resonates in collections in over 70 countries. Thank you, Pacita Abad, for painting the picture of a brighter tomorrow!” Google said.
Abad was an internationally-acclaimed painter born in Basco, Batanes whose works have been exhibited in more than 200 museums and galleries around the world.
She was also the first Filipino artist to have her artworks exhibited at the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington DC.
In her over 30-year career as a painter, Abad was able to make more than 4,500 artworks. She is most known for her “mixed media painted textile collages, abstract assemblages, and trapunto paintings.” One of her most known trapunto artworks was “Caught at the border (1991).”
Abad also used her artworks to bring light to societal issues like her 1979 series “Portraits of Cambodia.”
Abad died in 2004 at the age of 58 due to cancer.