Equal opportunity for all artists: Making the Cuban Selection
Equal opportunity for all artists:
Making the Cuban Selection
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, April 27, 1988
OUR impromptu dinner-guest last Friday was the Cuban art scout Jose Luis Ayala, here in Manila these past weeks to personally survey our artworld’s rank-and-file for eight Philippine entries to the prestigious 3rd Havana Biennial. Mr. Ayala had arrived in this country unusually well-prepared — armed to the teeth with an abbreviated “shopping list” of prospective local talents that had been compiled for him by the Centro Wilfredo Lam in Cuba — a list that included Filipino visual artists Santiago Bose, Arnel Agawin, Danilo Dalena, Junyee, Roberto Feleo, Fil Delacruz, Jose Joya, Lao Lianben, and this moonlighting writer among others.
Mr. Ayala’s role as on-the-spot surveyor is unusual in itself. Past selections to international art festivals abroad had always been done either through the CCP or the AAP — both equally notorious for limiting their choice to those artists who are in their good graces. Thus, the idea of a Philippine selection untainted by artworld politics seems an exciting enough prospect.
Mr. Ayala’s diligence is equally impressive. For instance, although informed by fellow-artists that I was reclusive and virtually impossible to reach, this dogged Cuban workhorse persisted in his attempts to reach me, later establishing contact through a kind-hearted intermediary.
Over assorted cold-cuts and a spicy broth, our gracious and articulate visitor continued to astound me with his knowledge of current developments in Philippine art, as well as with the extent of his organization’s commitment to Third World artists in general. I was surprised to learn from him that his Havana office was in possession of a formidable array of documentary material on my own work, including out-of-print catalogues from exhibitions that had featured my paintings and installations overseas. The man had even read my reviews for the defunct art periodical San Juan — copies of which had somehow found their way to Cuba!
But despite the obvious wealth of his information at home, Ayala refused to limit himself to the original list prepared by his superiors in Havana, visiting the homes and ateliers of a great many local artists of his own accord. He had visited “everyone of interest” in Manila, had even travelled to Baguio, and had entertained virtually all comers — from gallery-hacks to jugglers. Clearly, here was a bureaucrat immersed in his work.
The talk between us was animated and diverse. He wanted my opinion on the kind of art most “typical” of the Philippine context. I told him that our artworld was a melting pot of various influences and persuasions, and that I personally felt that as diverse a range of concerns as possible should be represented. He seemed to agree, yet appeared to secretly favor anthropological investigations. I asked him what he thought of our visual arts, and he said quite honestly that he believed us to be at the forefront of the Asean region, at par with the best Third World countries today. He was quick to add, however, that he did not find any sculptors of interest in Manila.
If it is any indication of the kind of art he’s after, Mr. Ayala inquired in earnest about the possibility of transporting some of my earlier work to Havana — specifically those pieces exploring the wholesale use of indigenous local materials. He also wished to reprint some of my reviews for The Manila Times in a forthcoming international magazine that his center would be publishing in June, and again showed particular interest in those articles that discussed neo-ethnological concerns in the visual and performance arts.
I suggested to Mr. Ayala that an announcement in this section of the Times would almost certainly bring many more promising artists from out of the woodwork — artists whom he would otherwise never be able to meet, as well as those whose reputations had yet to be established. Mr. Ayala was delighted by the offer, and all interested painters, sculptors and printmakers may now send their resumés through the Cuban Embassy in Manila, c/o Maria Sanchez, cultural attaché, at 51 Paseo de Roxas corner Buendia, Makati. Applicants are advised to send at least two photographs or transparencies, and some background material on themselves.
Of course, you may also write directly to Mr. Jose L. Ayala, c/o Relaciones Internacionales, Centro Wilfredo Lam, Oficios 420, La Habana 1, Cuba. Although he will be scouting for talent in Thailand, Sri Lanka and India in the coming weeks, Mr. Ayala assures us that all correspondence will be promptly forwarded to him on his return to Havana next month.
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Equal opportunity for all artists: Making the Cuban Selection” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, April 27, 1988
