Pinoy artists make waves in Venice
VENICE—
La Biennale di Venezia was still new when expatriate Filipino painters Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo shook the Spanish and French culturati with their artistry in the 19th century.
On Thursday, another expatriate duo, contemporary artists Manuel Ocampo and Lani Maestro, presented overseas Filipinos’ artistic world view during 57th Biennale di Venezia.
The duo’s paintings, curated by artist Joselina Cruz, will be displayed in the Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennial’s main Arsenale exhibition venue from May 13 to Nov. 26.
This year’s exhibit will be called “Spectre of Comparison,” which Cruz said was drawn from the writing of another 19th century expatriate artist, Jose Rizal.
‘Noli Me Tángere’
Cruz said that the Spectre of Comparison was drawn from Jose Rizal’s novel, “Noli Me Tángere.”
“The phrase encapsulates the experience of Rizal’s protagonist, Crisostomo Ibarra, when he gazes out at the botanical gardens of Manila and simultaneously sees the gardens of Europe,” Cruz said.
She was refering to Rizal’s Noli Me Tángere which inspired the Philippine Revolution of 1896.
OFWs through centuries
Like Luna and Resurrección Hidalgo, both Ocampo and Maestro spent most of their careers overseas but they return to themes rooted in the Filipino psyche, again like Luna and Resurrección Hidalgo.
“We cannot help it. The colonial experience is really a major portion of our consciousness,” said National Artist Virgilio Almario when asked about the focus of Ocampo and Maestro.
The two artists focus on the themes of colonization, migration, nationhood, identity, globalization and individual and collective freedoms.
Ocampo painted anticolonial themes until he was “bored of that shit.” One of his works is entitled “Why I Hate Europeans” which was used as an album cover of the Canadian band Skinny Puppy while he was living in the United States.
Vernissage
Maestro, on the other hand, divides her time between Canada, where she emigrated in the 1980s, and France.
She has participated in several art biennials in Canada, Cuba, Turkey, Australia and Korea, among others.
Cruz, Maestro and Ocampo met selected Filipino journalists on May11 before a vernissage, or private viewing preceding the public exhibition, at the Venice Biennale’s Arsenale venue.
The first participation of the Philippines in the Biennale was in 1964 when the works of National Artists Jose Joya and Napoleon Abueva were presented.
The second instance took 51 years in the making but resulted in critical acclaim in 2015 when the country presented an exhibit called “Tie A String Around The World,” curated by Dr. Patrick Flores.
The exhibit featured the film “Genghis Khan” by the late National Artists Manuel Conde and Carlos Francisco, the multichannel video “A Dashed State” by Manny Montelibano and the installation “Shoal” by Jose Tence Ruiz.
Another milestone
Another milestone is the national pavilion itself which was moved from the secondary venue Palazzo Mora to the main Arsenale exhibition hall.
Sen. Loren Legarda asked La Biennale di Venezia president Paolo Barrata and other Biennale officials to accommodate the Philippine pavilion at the Arsenale.
Almario, who is also chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, noted that having the pavilion presented at the Arsenale was no mean feat.
“Without the tenacity of the senator, this would not have happened,” Almario said.
Defining identity
In a Skype interview, Legarda said the exhibit “examined the Filipino identity” and questioned the processes with which our identity as a nation was formed.
“The Spectre of Comparison ensures it is impossible for us to comprehend who we are without the painful hauntings of our history,” the senator said.
“This was the case for Crisostomo Ibarra, for Rizal and I am sure for Lani Maestro and Manuel Ocampo [as well],” Legarda said.