BEYOND FABULOUS
How is it possible that a dinner for 300 people should feel as though it were a party of 20? Rupert Jacinto’s Faaabvlous V book launch and photo exhibit, the fifth in his series of coffee table books, at the Peninsula Manila last Tuesday was a black tie affair, very formal under a black-and-white theme, and each and every one of the guests dressed accordingly, but it might as well have been a picnic, a casual get-together among friends. The party started at The Gallery at the Pen, which unveiled this year’s exhibition, a collection of 70 portraits, including a silkscreen series inspired by American pop art hero Andy Warhol and by Rupert’s recent visit to Japan and acquaintance with the work of Japanese painter Kazumi Nakamura. In addition to Rupert’s formal portraits of the likes of Sandie Poblador and Mabel Abaño, who grace the double front-and-back cover of Faaabvlous V, this year’s introduction of the silkscreen series is a showcase of how this esteemed portraitist, “Photographer to the Faaabulous,” as The Washington Post called him when he snapped his way, like a “disco version of Lord Snowdon,” into the parlors of New York’s most socially prominent women like Virginia Vanderbilt Burke, Kimberly Rockefeller, and Ivana Trump, is “pushing the boundaries of my artistic expression through collaboration with digital tools and techniques.”
The result of Rupert’s creative experimentation is amazing, with pops of bold, bright colors bridging the gap between photography and graphic art, between now and then—and all time. Among those privileged to have been part of this artistic breakthrough are Imelda Marcos, Ping Valencia, Ann Ong, Marivic Madrigal Vasquez, Mayenne Carmona, Virginia Lane, Thelma San Juan, Jun Jun Ablaza, and yours truly. This year’s collection of formal portraits, mirroring today’s times in the context of elegance, good living, personal achievement, and distinction, a Rupert Jacinto signature, also includes distinguished men like Gus Albor, Francis Libiran, Manny Pangilinan, Sen. Ramon B. Magsaysay Jr., and Michael Christian Martinez. Dinner followed at the Rigodon Ballroom, a simple meal of salad and steak, champagne and wine. There was entertainment, songs reminiscent of gentler, more elegant times and there was dancing but not before a program that was personal rather than grand. A few prized items were raffled off to lucky guests, including a Romulo Galicano painting. The piecede-resistance might have been Rupert’s speech, which underscored the support of the upper crust, whose lives and lifestyles he has chronicled through the years, through three decades, but it might have been the personal touches despite the immensity of the ballroom and its modern opulence theme designed by Jun Hen for the evening with amaryllis, carnations, hydrangeas, roses, and stargazers abloom on beds of gold twigs, berries, and gilded pears.
Rupert’s wife, his indefatigable partner, book supervisor, and number one fan Tina Jacinto, did not only hop from table to table in her Francis Libiran headturning in both its simplicity and intricacy to spread the obligatory air kisses, but sat at each table, wrapped her arm around many shoulders, whispered into many an ear, for some meaningful interaction. Rupert did the same: No table was far enough, each spot on the tables reserved for a VVIP.
No wonder in every Rupert Jacinto portrait, there is always something warm and heartwarming, something almost familiar—even in the portraits of such inaccessible personalities as the Duchess of Calabria, who appeared in Faaabvlous II. In each of his portraits, none is lost in the effects of lighting, the grandeur of the setting, the magnificence of lifestyle, the height of achievement, or the power of personality. His keen portraitist’s eye, though he has carved a niche in the exclusive realms of the very rich and famous, has always looked past physical beauty or social status or material wealth in search of something very alive and very human. In his own words, as I wrote in the foreword of Faaabvlous V, which I was honored to have been asked to write, “a Faaabulous person is one who has depth... To me, faaabulous also connotes being faaabulous at heart, in spirit, in giving or sharing, in kindness, in thoughts and deeds...” Faaabvlous V was done in collaboration with the Advertising Foundation of the Philippines, through its executive director Linda Gamboa.
Proceeds from the purchase of this book goes to the advocacy programs of the Advertising Foundation and the LoveA-Parish program of Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel at Greenbelt 1, whose aim is to assist needy churches across the Philippines. The photo exhibit runs at the Gallery of the Peninsula Manila until Nov. 20.