10.08.07 art exhibit review

Now serving

In historical time, a hundred years is a good enough measure of longevity. A third of that, or roughly 33 years, is or should also be a good indicator of maturity.

Next year the University of the Philippines System – starting as the American University in the Philippines in 1908 and becoming the UPS in 1972 -- will have made that measure and the Fine Arts program of UP Visayas, College Cebu will also have reached maturity.

But, while one really has to wait till next year for UP's centennial, one does not have to do any such waiting to view the UP Cebu Fine Arts program's proof of maturity.

Now, and up till October 18, at the SM Cebu Art Center, is incontrovertible proof of this program's maturation that only a certified contrarian will dispute.

'Haon : Memories From The Basement,' is an alumni exhibit of this program. Though not completely represented, as most batches are without representation, the exhibit is nonetheless representative of the development of the fine program that Dean of UP Cebu, Dr. Enrique Avila, has declared, quite visibly proud and without a hint of bias, to be the center of excellence in the arts.

While rather sparse, with just 26 works, and considering that a total of 28 batches would have graduated since its start in 1975, they are, just the same, able to span the breadth of the visual art practice in Cebu. Though with decidedly contemporary leanings, including one work ('Helian Thrope,' Eloise Daniot) that, strictly speaking, heralds the upcoming works of the industrial design majors who will yet have their first graduates in 2009, while she herself is a studio arts (painting) major.

As if to emphasize this contemporary tilt, only two works ('Ulo,' Dondon Bayawak and 'Mother and Child,' Mar Vidal) are of the realist-representational genre. And both are drawings. The former, pen and ink and the latter, pastel.

Two other works ('Inahanong Panglantaw,' Celso Pepito and 'The Church in Lazi, Siquijor,' Dennis 'Sio' Montera) straddles the ground between realism and cubism, in the former, and realism and colorfield texturism, in the latter.

Both can be seen as attempts (completely unwitting) to mitigate the obvious disparity of presence between the conservative and the contemporary genres as practiced in Cebu in this exhibit.

It is surprising then that the realist-classical representationalism -- landscape painting in particular -- is under represented in this exhibit considering that this genre continues to hold dominant sway among the general public and even among the art consuming minority and, more to the point, a genre most of the exhibiting artists would be technically proficient at.

On the other hand, towards the contemporary end of the visual art practice, digital art is well represented. It is worth mentioning that digital works are produced in this exhibit are almost exclusively by graduates of batch '96. Immediate mention should also be made of the fact that these digital artists work as graphic designers and two, Jethro Estimo ('Foreplay') and Phillip Muaña ('Naa Tanan Sa Basement'), are award winners in recent national digital works competitions.

Yet, the most popular work in the exhibit is a piece in a field of study or specialization and practice that is the natural adjunct to painting in a Fine Arts curriculum but is not yet offered at UP Cebu, which is sculpture.

'Innate,' is a paper mache, three dimensional work of Pierre 'Pikoy' Famador II. This piece, a slightly larger than full size torso that juts out of the wall and meticulously painted in the manner of tatoo art and body painting.

This work is reminiscent of the higantes which are a regular feature of the annual Sinulog festival and whose production is a competition in which Famador has distinguished himself by being a hall of fame awardee, a testimony and, ironically, a deterrence to his singlehanded domination of this component event.

Errol 'Budoy' Marabiles, better known as the front man for the popular Jr Kilat band also has an interesting wall mounted sculpture that extends his renown as an artist of challenging and controversial works.

His piece ('Your Savior') in this exhibit recalls, by affinity, his installation piece in the same venue some years back involving a live rooster whose over enthusiastic crowing earned the collective ire of the neighboring mall tenants leading to its recall.

To round off this review is the performance art pieces that opened the exhibit by Russ Ligtas ('Birth'), Raymund Fernandez ('Blowing in the Wind') and Roy Lu ('Demokrasilya'). They are associated with the performance art group XO?

Roy Lu's piece, in particular, highlighted the formal possibilities and aesthetic flexibility of performance art. As part of the performance, some elements of the piece were installed or transformed into a static sculpture.

Expectedly, among the guests during the opening were current students of the fine arts program, somewhat awed by the works of their elders, yet raring to step across the graduation line or, at least, tuck in so many school years, to earn a spot in the menu of the next serving. Hopefully, well before the next hundred years of UPS is reached.