JED ONG-CUNANAN MAKES BIG WAVES IN POP CULTURE ARTS

March 1, 2025 Community Billboard

THE BATMAN: The warrior. Packed crowd watch the float carries new version of Batman and its developer
Jed Ong-Cunanan,during 2025 Panagbenga’s grand float parade. Cunanan sends message through this iconic
fictional character– war on crime is everlasting and unending . INSET- Cunanan, doing his pop culture media
works at his studio at Paragon Hotel, Baguio City.

Photos by Thomas Picana/Primo Agatep/ABN

BAGUIO CITY

Millions watched the recent Panagbenga’s grand float parade, one was the -The Batman, created by Baguio’s pride, Jed Ong-Cunanan. It took 18 months (1 1/2 years) to develop the seven-foot figure mostly made of paper mosaic and canvass. ‘It’s hard to develop especially the muscles,’ said Jed, a young and amiable artist. CONCEPT Drawing inspiration from comic books and contemporary art. Jed decided to look into the comic books in the development of the figure as early 2017, creating his own version of Batman.

‘I want to show that (Batman) is a warrior, a detective wherein his legacy is more than 90 years plus at this point.
Because the idea of war on crime is everlasting and unending.’ He added ‘ I want to do something a lot… a lot bigger compared to people have done in my school.’ ‘I want to make it to be the ‘Bad God’ because his legacy is a lot more transparent and everlasting more than an icon this day in age.’ For his new version, he painted gray instead black. And yellow ‘typically shown in comic books for most media outside movies.’ At the crack of dawn and the city’s weather dropped to 14C , a packed crowd of people -young and old stunned to see the more than a life-sized Batman figure at the parade line. ‘Mama looked there’s Batman..my hero,’ a young little boy loud voice heard at a distance.

Along the parade route, the float (costing over a million pesos) adorned with various types of locally grown flowers
like Malaysian mum’s and Rados,among others , carrying the iconic fictional character Batman..Batman… chants grew louder. Jed, the son of the owner of Paragon,a well known hotel and restaurant in the city, waved and flashed warm smiles to the ever-cheerful crowd. The deafening Batman chants somewhat calls for a superhero this challenging times. With his own new version of Batman ( created back in 1939) .symbolizes hope and justice for better future.

ADVICE TO THE YOUNG GENERATION

‘Before you do your own art work, you have to do research on the topic that you want to create,’ stressed Jed, whose artistic talent-skill began at a very young age at 10, enrolled at Brent International School. ‘If you don’t do your
research, you’re seating yourself up for failure without any background of the source material which you’re adopting
said art to work for which I have to do with the aging process,’ emphasized Jed whose artistic passion reached greater heights by studying Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). ‘Its just right to see the environment and advantages,’ he said referring to UST, the same school where his father finished his medical degree.

POP CULTURE MEDIA
‘All my life,” said Jed when asked when did he started doing art works– inspired by western comic books .toy collecting and video games. He considered himself as a pop culture artist ..’re-interpretion to match each time period such as 1939 to 1950s to 1980s to modern day. Pop culture in art emerged in the Britain and United States during the mid-to late-1960s. For Jed, pop culture media for him : ‘based what the artist really want to interpret character -known and unknown.. like in Filipino and western cultures.’ ‘If you just do the subject as it is was presented before without your own twist it will not work,’ Jed said. Re-imagining the likes of Batman for years ..and for decades to come.

Primo Agatep/ABN