Sio Montera

'Artpostles' exhibit review on Art Diocese by Roy Lu published in Cebu Daily News Oct.31,2007

In religion, humility is among the most desired of virtues. In art, it is audacity. Audacity is not the same as pride though it is often mistaken for such, making it appear like the antithesis of humility.

In "Art Diocese : Why Art Thou?," a show on-going at the SM Art Center, SM City Cebu, and up until November 6, audacity is as palpable as their subject is as deeply entrenched culturally if not spiritually amongst us.

There is humility, too, it should be said immediately, though this is more deferential as can be expected of confessed faithful members of the flock ("the exhibit is not intended to make a pun to the authority of the archdiocese"), yet cannot be any more than that as expected from artists whose gospel, contained in the exhibit statement (from where the above quote is also taken), proclaims at " . . . revisioning to a point where the artists investigated its old traditions to come up with conceptual forms attuned to post-modern times."
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The Tuslob-Buwa Ltd. (though it should more properly be UnLtd.) Artists Group, composed of Evan Bejec, Dennis 'Sio' Montera, Ritchie Quijano and Lucilo 'Jojo' Sagayno have put together a show that, in all humility, they call a 'major' show, their last for this year, but for all its audacity should be seen as the best show for this year. Even in many years so far. And not only for their group, but for art in general in the city.

For one, more than in their previous two outings this year, this show exhibits an almost seamless cohesiveness that is nothing short of miraculous for a group of different or individual artistic temperaments, stylistic leanings and technical or conceptual proficiency.

This can be attributed largely to the fact that many of the pieces are collaborative works, which could really be the strength of groups though it could just as well be the cause of schism, as with many unfortunate cases. Here, thankfully, it is most of the former and, evidently, none of the latter.

On this score, "Santisima Nombre de Jesus," a large scale wall installation made of rattan skin and abaca rope that dominates the wall opposite the entrance, is an immediate case in point.

Together with the the life-size reinforcing steel bar, wood and assorted images crucifix of Ritchie Quijano ("Crucifixion de Kabilya") that stands very imposingly in the middle of the wall and divides the wall installation into a very dynamic symmetry, this sculptures-cum-installation recall the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday that ends many days later in Golgotha.

These are by no means the cute and handy palm fronds peddled outside churches on Palm Sunday. They are huge bunches of clearly organic material whose chaos is barely restrained by a wound abaca rope giving it a quality that strongly strikes one as sinisterly chaotic grace.

Going back to Quijano's crucifix, this work is the pivot of the entire exhibit both spatially and thematically. Quijano's choice of material feeds very well into the conflicts or weights of the broken Christ; strength and weakness, grace and rigidness, salvation and despair, mortality and immortality and, for the church herself; orthodoxy and heterodoxy. This, then, also contributes to its very striking visual impact.

Towards the right wall (or towards the left from the entrance) are the installations of Jojo Sagayno that, I confess, I find most interesting. These works stamp the group with a seriousness of purpose beyond the traffic of the buying and selling of art -- which, I should also immediately confess, I do not find inherently objectionable -- even if, or ironically since it was Jojo himself who made an impassioned plea to the audience during the exhibit opening, that they should "buy an artwork before you die."
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These works also confirm Sagayno's place as one of Cebu's most thought provoking if self-deprecating conceptual/installation artist.

Playing on the 'cross and sword'' dynamic of the Spanish conquest, Sagayno starts from the most literal imagery of nothing more than a cross and a sword. But its simplicity ends here though the fact that it continues be a disarmingly simple pieces is its poetic coup de grace.

For both pieces, the shapes are formed by sticks. For the cross, they are longer sticks: broomsticks. For the sword, they are shorter sticks: toothpick like. For both, the sticks are held in place by mounting gum, or, perhaps, playdoh.

They look fragile. They are fragile. But, collectively they are big. The cross must be around four meters by three. The sword about 3 meters in length from the end of the handle to the tip of the blade.

The cross-sticks is laid on the ground. The sword-sticks is on the wall overlooking (overseeing?) the cross. A subtle but very ingenious way to present the power relations between two institutions that underpinned the realpolitik of conquest.

Also, another thing. the cross is a positive image, though more a thick outline than a filled up object, while the sword is a negative one with the sticks radiating away from the edges that make up the figure.

But, here is the kicker: the sticks are tethered very tentatively on their mounting gum anchors. Already at the exhibit opening some of the sword-sticks have started to fall and some of the cross-sticks had started to topple down.

No power is permanent. Even, God forbid, that of the cross. Nor of the sword that propped it up.

But then, and here is an even bigger kicker; doesn't this run neatly into the there/not there paradox? Doesn't absence often become a greater presence? Ask someone in love who has lost a love.

I discussed this with Sagayno and he smiled. That's how it's supposed to be, he says. Nice.

Then there is another Sagayno, "Auction No. 1 to No.20 On the face of it, it looks out of place. But upon closer inspection the wickedly inventive art of Sagayno shines through.

With this work, Sagayno turns some tables. He shifts the spotlight. It is now on art or the art practice at the rarefied air of international art auctions (Christie's, Sotheby's) which, if art were a religion, these would be akin to the celebration of mass in a cathedral, or at the Sistine Chapel even. This is definitely Papal level, no disrespect to the Pope.

Pronouncements here are Ex Cathedra. And, what would those pronouncements be? They would be pronouncements of the auction gavel closing a sale. Contained within the reproductions of auctioned art works are their selling or closing prices.

The prices range from US$66,000 to US$ 3.99 M. Why an artwork in black with the text Mar. 31, 1975 in white sold for US$316,000 is simply a mystery as deep as the mystery of the trinity. Again, no disrespect to the triune God.

Then, there more notable collaborative pieces found on the left hand side of the space (or right side from the entrance). "Council of Trent," a collaborative work repositions that conclave, between 1545-1563, signaling the beginning of the Counter-Reformation is on a chess board, with personalities who might not have any actual correspondence in actual history, as the pieces.

Next to the chess table is the work, "Peticiones de Kwitis." This is the usual candle rack near churches where the faithful light candles or the candle vendor does the chore for them. Lighting candles assist the ascent of prayers to Heaven.

But, here, instead of candles, the rack is filled up with fireworks rockets, complete with their bamboo stick stabilizers.

On the visual level, they look like a petal-less, flame-less bouquet. On the content level, it is a tongue-in-cheek suggestion at how those prayers might be better assisted with rockets such as these that zoom to the heavens and explode with a noise that will surely wake up the sleepiest of saints, or otherwise, scare the most cantankerous of devils.

Then there are the smaller pieces, too numerous to enumerate here. They are the ones that Sagayno's earlier appeal would make sense with, for those of us who have less than deep pockets.

Still, this show is not about deep pockets, notwithstanding Sagayno's appeal. This exhibit is about the deep repository of poetics even folksy hermeneutics that will surely resonate with the faithful, the not so faithful and even the faithless.

In this way, even with some minor distracting pieces, the exhibit can be said to be faithfully Catholic.