Filipino Art Today
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Wasak! FILIPINO ART TODAY Wasak! FILIPINO ART TODAY Edited by Matthias Arndt Foreword During the past three decades in contem- The underlying motivation of the WASAK! porary art I have discovered that there is no Filipino Art Today publication and the accom- single art world, but rather a number of dif- panying exhibition in Berlin is to shed light on ferent spheres that simultaneously compete this fascinating artistic universe. Following with and enrich each other. My first research the highly successful Manila: The Night is Rest trip to the Philippines in 2011 made clear to me less, The Day is Scornful exhibition curated that the term “art world” does not apply to Fili- by Norman Crisologo for ARNDT Singapore pino art: Metro-Manila alone is a universe in in 2014, WASAK! continues this exploration itself. There is an incredibly complex and rich of Fili pino contemporary art, in the hope of art scene there, driven by a strong sense of providing an emblematic contextual compen- community amongst fellow artists, either cul- dium for Western audiences. tivated through local alliances or forged at art Signaling the first instance of its kind, academies. WASAK! thus offers snapshots of current The Filipino creative scene receives strong artistic practices from the Philippines, uniting encouragement and support across the entire a selection of its leading protagonists across country, and is met with a steadily growing generational lines, genres, and media. local collector base. Besides Filipino contem- My gratitude goes to the nineteen par ti- porary and modern art increasingly attract- cipating artists, as well as to the curators of ing wider Asian audiences, and besides its ris- the exhibition Norman Crisologo and Erwin ing international profile, the sense of loyalty Romulo, DISTANZ publishing house, and co- and pride located within this arts community editor Kristin Rieber. as well as the appetite with which Filipino col- lectors follow “their artists” are unique in the Matthias Arndt, Singapore, October 2015 current global art landscape. Filipino art deals with the many chal- lenges and realities of contemporary life in the Philippines, but it is also deeply rooted in the multi-layered and colorful Filipino history, both recent and ancient. The artists work across a spectrum of genres, mastering a number of dif- ferent mediums, from painting and drawing to sculpture, installation, performance and, more recently, film and new media. 3 4 Contents 3 MatthiasForeword Arndt 6 CocoyWasak! Lumbao Filipino Art Today 12 Zean Cabangis 20 Annie Cabigting 28 Buen Calubayan 38 Louie Cordero 48 Jigger Cruz 58 Marina Cruz 66 Kawayan de Guia 76 Alfredo Esquillo 86 Ian Fabro 94 Nona Garcia 104 Pow Martinez 114 Manuel Ocampo 124 Alwin Reamillo 134 Norberto Roldan 144 Kaloy Sanchez 154 José Santos III 162 Rodel Tapaya 172 Tatong Torres 180 Ronald Ventura 191 Photo Credits 192 Colophon 5 Wasak!Cocoy Lumbao Filipino Art Today There have been many claims about the con- Although their work was largely inspired by Manuel Ocampo (b. 1965) in Los Angeles. Like dition of art nowadays that have generated the local, these artists have sought their place the string of pugilists the country has pro- vigorous discussion, mainly in the form of in the rest of the world. Through the jumble duced throughout the years, most of these books. This book, being no exception, carries and mess of their own ground zero—which artists have ensured that the red and blue with it two bold assertions: first, that there is is a country of broken histories, lush influ- flag will be raised around the world. such a thing as Filipino art; and secondly, that ences, and a people constantly having to live There are also artists who have quietly there are a number of native-born Filipino art- “despite” something—their art has become paved the way from their own home ground, ists emerging onto the international scene. individually more diverse, yet collectively creating art that is more palpable and real The Philippines may be best remembered appears as a single exploded view. Art, as it than any imagined notion of a lush country- by the rest of the world through sporadic turned out, was also being produced “despite” side that has in fact vanished since the time news headlining, which in hindsight can be something—or to be specific, some things: a the Filipino people woke to discover that their divided into two eras and two generations of conservative heritage, a lopsided economy, leader had declared martial law; since activ- audience. The earlier generation witnessed an erratic market, a soaring crime rate, a ist students and reformers began to disap- the unprecedented peaceful revolution in booming population, struggling art institu- pear without explanation; and since the price 1986 named “People Power,” that overthrew tions, and apathetic government agencies. of commodities became too high for the aver- the military government; the later saw thou- Wasak is a Filipino word that means “in age family. There may have been a number sands of people left homeless or perishing ruins.” When used in the vernacular, it means of different avenues explored by such art- in the wake of one of the most destructive “wrecked”—or as a more encouraging inter- ists as Carlos Francisco (1912–1969) with his typhoons of recent times. jection, “going for broke.” It is a term that sig- hero-laden epic murals, or Santiago Bose’s During the former event, people gath- nals a hazard, a warning: this machine has (1949–2002) robust primitivism, or Arturo Luz’s ered en masse to demonstrate to the wider departed from its normal function. (b. 1926) native brand of modernism, or even world what was possible; in the latter, people In another context, a shattering is Roberto Chabet (1937–2013) with his concep- gathered around mass graves to bury their implied—but of what? Tradition? Conscious- tual schemes and candid defilement of tired neighbors and loved ones. In both instances, ness? Homogeneity? The Philippines itself traditions. Filipinos were lauded for their resiliency and is physically “shattered”— an archipelago While the world filled the void of what is unwavering spirit. The Philippines was seen amounting to more than 7,000 islands. This now known as the “gap” of fifty-one years as a country able to reclaim democracy in has given rise to more than 150 different between 1964 and 2015—the span of time the face of a dictator’s iron rule and, three regional dialects spoken amongst different since the Philippines’ inclusion in the prestig- decades later, as a nation capable of pick- tribes and villages.1 It stands to reason, then, ious Venice Biennale—with idyllic scenes and ing itself up after a huge and terrible natural that such intrinsically fragmented terrain piecemeal testaments of Filipino history, art disaster. should produce disconnected practices. continued to be made in the Philippines, virtu- The nineteen artists in this book, entitled So in this arena of scattered landscapes, ally unseen on a wider stage. Wasak! Filipino Art Today, can be considered broken narratives, and fragmented histories, All the nineteen artists represented here a fair representation of the various art prac- what could best be described as “Filipino art”? have emerged from the different crannies tices that have emerged in the Philippines There was a period when art in the Philip- within this gap, which explains the vary- in recent decades. All of the nineteen have pines was understood to be the sort of idyllic, ing degrees to which their works attempt to lived through and witnessed one or both of rural scenes, adorned by bathing maidens explain not only localities but also small sep- the aforementioned “eras” of international or men planting rice, painted by Fernando arate nooks in a larger art-historical context. headlining. Most of them reached maturity Amorsolo (1892–1972). These traditional stud- Whether stemming from the city, a mountain- grappling with local events that transpired ies of light and landscape used to be seen as side or one of the remote islands in the vast between: natural disasters like earthquakes the epitome of everything Filipino, and indeed archipelago, these are clearly works wrought and flood; political unrest in the form of a coup they may still be the primary examples of Fili- with the utmost attention in a bid for recogni- d’état and calls for presidential impeach- pino art in encyclopedias and foreign refer- tion, despite being a part of an almost forgot- ments; political ineptitude in the form of cor- ence books. ten resource in the art world. ruption and briberies; and the longstanding But there is also the art that has become In an essay in 1979, one of the most influ- battle with poverty and urban overpopula- known through expatriates such as Juan ential Filipino art critics, Leo Benesa, asked tion. Most of these artists have nurtured or Luna (1857–1899) in Madrid, Ben Cabrera (b. the question: “What is ‘Philippine’ in Philip- fed their ideas into the reality that is Manila— 1942) in London, the filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik pine art?” Aware that most art from other the nation’s capital, from where the most pro- (b. 1942) in Berlin, performance artist David places was unable to escape the influence of nounced or provocative influences appear. Cortez Medalla (b. 1942) in New York, and the Western canon, he provided an optimistic 6 opinion: that the intention to paint well is what laws, only to learn by rote memory their doc- their culture, but was actually instrumental made artists from his home country “Filipino.” trines, which they did not understand, along for them to acquire one. “Painters first,” he summarised, “and bearers with another morality, another aesthetic, dif- Throughout the 1970s, at the height of of message, second.” 2 ferent from those inspired in their race by the Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorship through Many of the artists in Wasak! Filipino Art climate and their way of feeling.”6 martial law, we find the cycle of such a para- Today have chosen painting as their primary It is worth mentioning that he included dox reigning true.