Ang Kiukok and southern sensibilities at SM City Davao
Atapestry of cultures, traditions, and religions, Mindanao continues to offer multiple strands of inspiration to artists who call the region home with luminaries such as National Artists for Visual Arts Ang Kiukok and Abdulmari Imao leading the way.
Proud of their heritage, these artists bear witness to the region’s manifold constancies and transformations. Through their works, they do not only convey a sense of place, but also participate in its construction, which ultimately forms part of our ever expanding, ever shifting notion of identity and country. Fierce, questioning and reared by the south, their visions join our collective memory and imagination.
Mallgoers had a rare opportunity to discover the Mindanao region’s vibrant art scene when “My City, My SM, My Art” recently made a stop at SM City Davao. The event, which showcased the works of the late National Artist Ang Kiukok in a solo exhibition, was a special edition of the campaign through the partnership of SM and the Finale Art File.
At the same time, the works of young artists from the University of Mindanao Joffry P. Casan, Charles Ligan, Jr., Alynnah Bacalso Macla, Kent Medenilla, Jester Oani, Jr., Boylin Poral, Jr., Soon Unlang, and Judelyn M. Villarta were featured in a group show titled “Southern Sensibilities.”
A joint project of SM, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, the Shell Companies of the Philippines and the Philippine STAR with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Centerstage Productions, “My City, My SM, My Art” is a celebration of Philippine visual arts — painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and filmmaking.
The campaign brings art and people together by showcasing the works of masters, modernists and millennials in a road show around the SM Supermalls. Advocating art for all, the team works with communities to mount exhibits, workshops and contests in key cities around the Philippines.
The event brought together artists like painter and sculptor Kublai Millan, visual artist Lamberto Acyatan and Dinky Munda, as well as art lovers like University of Mindanao president Willie Torres and his wife Betsy, Angel and Arlene Puentespina of Malagos Farms, businessman Ed Bangayan and restaurateur Mary Ann Montemayor.
Members of the diplomatic corps like Indonesian Consul General Endah Rachmi Yuliarti and Consular Office of Malaysia’s Ahmad Shahrizal Bin Adbul Seliban also attended the event; as did Museo Dabawenyo OIC Orly Escarilla, DFA Mindanao director Ebrahim Zailon and Tourism regional director Robby Alabado. SM SVP for marketing Millie Dizon and SM City Davao mall manager Lynette Angala-Lopez and assistant mall manager Nick Santos warmly welcomed them.
Guests enjoyed the program, which included an AVP presentation hosted by Mutya ng Davao 2009 Atty. Resci Angeli Rizada featuring the master artists of Mindanao and their amazing works. These works were exhibited in and around My Art Gallery, which was inspired by Mindanao’s Maranao House.
Featured artists were students and faculty members of the University of Mindanao’s Fine Arts program who are not afraid to reimagine and visualize aspects of their customs, folklores and belief systems, as they consider their identity and their place in the world.
These include Alynnah Macla, who uses salvaged wood planks instead of canvas in her art; Kent Medenilla, who brings analytic ways of creating concepts and theories to his work; and Charles Ligan, Jr. who uses mixed media and bright colors. The works of other artists are a tribute to Mindanao’s indigenous roots: Judelyn Mae Villarta’s inspiration from her younger years in Bukidnon; Jester Oani Jr.’s remarkable research of the Manuvu people; Boylin Poral, Jr.’s portrayal of Davao City’s history; Soon Unlang’s narratives of the beautiful culture of the Mandayas; and Joffry Casan’s suite of members of the indigenous community in their ethnic garbs.
The highlight of “My City, My SM, My Art” was a tribute to National Artist Ang Kiukok who was born in Davao City to Chinese immigrants from Xiamen in 1931.
Kiukok, who was honored as National Artist by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001, is best known for his fusion of cubism, surrealism and expressionism, influenced by Mexican modernist Rufino Tamayo, Picasso and the Cuban artist Wifredo Lam, but in a style distinctively his own.
For the exhibition, a total of 20 works on paper were gathered, showcasing the iconography that has elevated Ang Kiukok’s name in the pantheon of Philippine visual arts. These are neither studies nor preparatory sketches but fully realized works created during the 1970s and ‘80s and coeval with his oil-on-canvas works with the same themes. Unseen by the public and kept in a private collection through all these decades, the works were exhibited for the first time.
With its aim of bringing art and people together, “My City, My SM, My Art” also conducted a Zine Art workshop by Eleoner Giron and Martin de Mesa for UM students. Jashiel Ramos won the top prize, for which he received P5,000 worth of gift certificates.
“My City, My SM, My Art” is a takeoff from the previous “My City, My SM” campaign, which promotes tourism, “My City, My SM, My Cuisine,” which highlights regional culinary specialties and “My City, My SM, My Crafts,” a celebration of traditional art and modern Philippine design in cities where SM has malls. “My City, My SM, My Art”’s next stop will be in SM City Batangas.