Pride in Ourselves
Pride in Ourselves
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, November 26, 1986
FROM the cultural grapevine came word of our most recent artistic triumph abroad. Filipino painter Allan Cosio — long the object of artworld jokes and one-time president of the controversial Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) — was awarded top honors in a recently concluded international art competition in Baghdad, Iraq. Cosio is said to have won a cash prize of some P100,000.00, a hefty purse by local standards. Descriptions of the winning work are still sketchy as of this writing, but the artist is said to have utilized a hundred-odd dessicated coconuts (niyog), individually topped-off by rubber nursing nipples, and peering out from the grid compartments of an oversized softdrinks case. The winning piece itself was part of a trilogy on “Art & Humanity” submitted by Cosio for the competition, and which likewise included a collage of charcoal fragments (uling) and a trap-like construction of bamboo poles. Perhaps not altogether original for exhibition hereabouts, but certainly good enough to win elsewhere, apparently. For those who still doubted the enormous potential of local indigenous artworks abroad, therefore, Cosio’s latest coup should clinch the argument once and for always. And for the artist himself, who has borne the brunt of sideline heckling these past years, it must be sweet vindication indeed!
But while the Manila artworld can expect a media blitz by Cosio sympathizers, it is very likely that news of this significant breakthrough will be amplified in the press for all of the wrong reasons. More than simply being the triumph of a single individual, Cosio’s achievement overseas is a most fitting tribute to a long-underrated sector of the local artistic community — those who have, at great expense to themselves, pioneered or otherwise helped to popularize the use of indigenous Philippine materials despite persistent rejection by a predominantly-westernized institutional hierarchy. This, and the attendant incentive it can doubtless provide for our younger generation of inward-looking creative toilers, deserves a great deal more attention than it is likely to get.
It would be appropriate, then, to take a closer look at artists and their work that have, at one time or another, lent impetus to this overwhelming artistic trend. An ideal exhibition, perhaps not too far in the making, should definitely include a comprehensive sampling of work by the pioneering indigenous sculptor JUNYEE. (a.k.a. Luis Yee, Jr.), along with other prominent members of the energetic Los Banos circle: Genara Banzon, Roderico Jose Daroy, Arnel Agawin, among others. Yee’s monumental interactions with his natural environment, as well as his imaginative use of husks, twigs, leaves and shoots, sets him apart as a visionary of major importance through work far in excess of Cosio’s tentative explorations. Banzon has combined her own conceptual proficiency with an abiding fascination for things of the earth, and is quite possibly among the most gifted installational artists in the country today. Daroy, a trifle lethargic in recent years, has patented work weathered by the elements, while Agawin has brought the use of coarse handmade paper to unprecedented heights.
No such exhibition would be credible without the innovative work of the Baguio artist Santiago Bose, whose tribal roots have gifted him with a remarkable talent for fusing native materials with his obvious grasp of recent western art. Two younger artists who have elaborated on Bose’s early predilection for “box art” are Gabriel Barredo and Jose Tence Ruiz, both of whom have recently distinguished themselves in major art competitions despite their lack of exhibitional exposure. Both Barredo and Ruiz display a prodigious knack for startling imagery and elaborately-painstaking detail that does the Pinoy’s inborn penchant proud.
A truly major influence despite his tender age, Roberto Feleo would represent our current inclination towards constructional artworks within the exciting context of this mythical exhibition. Feleo is a virtuoso with plyboard cut-outs, superimposing vibrantly-painted layers that often conjure a native iconography of surprising originality, talismanic and festive in turn. It would also enrich our exhibition to have a judicious selection of works by Pacita Abad, Virginia Dandan, and Ching Abad Santos, if we could weather the hype and gain curatorial access to their more consequential produce. And the participation of Danilo Dalena, Joe D. Bautista, Jaime de Guzman, Eugene Bartolome, Glenn Bautista, Boy Rodriguez, Reynaldo Paz Contreras, and the late Raymundo Albano would certainly be welcome in the light of their own incidental contributions to the genre.
And yes, we would have to have some work by Allan Cosio, conqueror of Baghdad and the Saddam Arts Prize. But mind you, just a few. Much of our exhibition space must be set aside for those whose names escape us at this moment, through no fault of theirs, and whose work must yet endure the abuse of colonialistic bias for at least a little while longer.
* * *
Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Pride in Ourselves” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, November 26, 1986
