Art Exhibit Recalls a Forgotten Literary Heritage
By Andy Medina
June 06, 2009
This Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Art Asia Gallery at the SM Megamall Art Walk will present an exhibit of young artists called Las Rimas. The exhibit deals with the relationship between the process of art making and art criticism and the recognition of meaning through a source text. As mainstream art becomes progressively more global the task of interpreting and considering art works changes with it as a great deal of a critical energy usually revolves around the facade or instrumentality of different ideologies and structures of power, Las Rimas takes a shot at employing how artists, critics and writers situate and interpret art across their boundaries.
Las Rimas is Flavio Zaragoza Cano’s winning piece, which won him among other accolades the Premio Zobel in 1929 and a fellowship at the Royal Academy of Spain. The exhibit artists took it upon themselves to translate the poem Las Rimas as part of their concept for gaining the attention of the public toward a forgotten heritage which is Philippine literature in Spanish.
The works in Las Rimas as expected became a mélange of interpretations and translations from the original text of Zaragoza Cano. Without glossing over the intended interpretation of the poem, the exhibit is also an attempt to render the image-repertoire of the artists and the viewer for which likeness or accuracy towards meaning in the text is not the point. The honesty of translation to image, as the artists would like to point out, demands a renegotiation of the relationship to representation of certain words and fragments. The focus is on the process of deriving meaning from text- whether the literal, contextual and the imaginative.
The American colonial poet’s adherence to Spanish poetry is also brought to the spotlight. The works were recently presented as part of a proposed show at the Instituto Cervantes, the non-profit cultural agency of Spain. Late in April, however, eager to realize the exhibit sooner, their artist-curator, Jun Cristobal brought the show to Art Asia Gallery in SM Megamall. The goal was to make more people access and take part on the exhibit. While it would be nothing if not imprudent to read this up-and-coming exhibition as some sort of indicator of renewed interest in Hispanismo and its formal and thematic concerns, it remains remarkable to imagine the possibilities of the desire to revisit the era of flowering and subsequent decline of literature genres. The 1920s saw the birthing and branching out of literary consciousness in the Philippines. In what is certainly to be a considerable period of intense historical and theoretical surveying, the exhibit might suggest an alternative, if partial, answer to the generally postmodernist demand for more intellectual contribution to art. Las Rimas signals, in particular, an enticement to re-examine forgotten literatures of resistance — literature as potentially touching as the repressive conditions it sought to combat during the time of its birth.
The artists have vowed to engage new riveting voice in the vibrant art community: that which calls for more commerce between the sister arts of poetry and the visual arts. Having exhibited previously in separate exhibitions, the artists are excited to have the opportunity to show their latest creations. Las Rimas is also about creating a fellowship with artists and discussing concept,” says Francis Bejar. The works in the show represent the wide range of technical and artistic possibilities of the artist-critic-writer collaboration.
While some of the artists in this show have previous knowledge of the theory pertaining to translation and semiotics, for others it was a first opportunity to work with a hands-on curator to create a show that expands and enhances their body of work. Whether they are primarily painters, sculptors or photographers the artists created pieces that reflect the translation of their artistic processes and ideas to artistic works with a life apart from the original text. They sought not to replicate an existing artwork in utilizing literature, but create a new piece through the collaborative pairing of artist with immediate critique, in which the critic provides the theoretical expertise in facilitating further experimentation and creativity.
The show will include paintings by Clarence Alvear, Paul Acena, Gino Bueza, Francis Bejar, Geronimo Cristobal, Jr., Francis Commeyne, Lex Marcos and Caroline Ongpin, sculptures by Kylo Chua and Manolo Sicat and photographs by Ryan Tizon. From the beginning the group has banked upon the strong intellectual resource and experiences offered by the academia. Most of them are student-artists or recent graduates with different concentrations from studio arts to information design. Manolo Sicat was a recently appointed fine arts professor at UP Baguio.
The show will run from June 24 to July 14, with an exhibit reception on Friday, June 26 at 6pm. As part of their collaboration with Ateneo Professor, Oscar Campomanes, the UP Artists Circle will hold an art talk about Las Rimas on June 23, 2009, Tuesday at the Corredor Gallery of the UP College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman.
For inquiries contact Jun Cristobal through mobile phone 09274412884 or email juncristobal@gmail.com. You can also visit www.artasiaphilippines.com to view the online exhibit catalog.
