Billy Bagtas: The Good Son

BY JAY BAUTISTA |

“His figures are un-anatomical, his work more evocative than literal. Aside from these we think De Guzman is recording some metaphysical insights by means of his personal mythology," written by then Cultural Center of the Philippines Director Raymundo Albano on Gomburza Martyrs (1971) by Jaime De Guzman (b.1942) which prominently hangs on the second floor of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Building.

 

It was in Pasinaya, the CCP Open Arts Festival in 2015 that Billy Bagtas first caught attention to this visual masterpiece which was De Guzman’s artistic ode to the three Filipino priests who inspired Jose Rizal to write the El Filibusterismo. For close to an hour Bagtas was enthralled and unmindful of his friends who were with him--intently stared at the mural which features a distortion of the three priests as martyrs done in feverish brushstrokes and emotive colors.

Bagtas was immediately transformed by Gomburza Martyrs as these Filipino clergy ignited the clamor for Philippine revolution during the 19^th century. And every chance Bagtas gets to visit the CCP he would never fail to see the De Guzman mural like a venerated image with religious devotion.

From the Gomburza Martyrs Bagtas would learn and gain the confidence that paintings can be dark both in theme and in composition; that one can include one’s anger, doubts, dreams with the surreal historical and bespoke myths and legends as Jaime De Guzman proved it can be done in black and red. In his first solo exhibition God Bless Our Home Bagtas introduces us to his beloved family and provides a tell-all tale of the inner workings of their Caloocan household.

Luha at Pangil

In the Name of the Father

Our story starts off fresh in a bakery in Orion, Bataan where Bagtas’ parents, Crisanto and Cory met. Cory was working there when Crisanto chance upon her and introduced himself. He then asked her employer if she could go out with him on her next availability. Cory is seven years older than Crisanto but the age did not matter and soon they were an inseparable couple.

Soon Crisanto would accept an offer to work in Saudi Arabia for their common future. By the time he finished with his working contract he went home and married Cory and eventually settled down.

Crisanto, being a natural tinker and works well in a junkshop, is the one Bagtas thinks he owes his creativity to, imbibing his meticulous attention to detail. Crisanto’s biological genes however may be his only contribution to their blood relations. Deep within him is a man exuding with false machismo. He was once a philandering husband leaving his family for another woman. Being ghoulish and full of deceit, Bagtas paints him as is with protruding horns and hanging pangs in Bukal ng Buhay, Tatlong Sungay. Despite Crisanto’s shortcomings, this painting occupies the biggest exhibiting space not only in the gallery but in Bagtas’ heart in his honor. Their ongoing relationship is one wrought in love-hate. Bagtas remains to be a true Christian and as a dutiful son, Bagtas still accords him with the greatest respect.

In Aso Krus Bagtas even strikes a pun intended only for him as he calls to attention Crisanto’s four unruly dogs who furiously roams around the house during the day. They even spread their litter everywhere. No wonder Bagtas sees his father as being a dog himself later on.

In Luha at Pangil Bagtas is elegiac as he hopes his father will still humble himself and repent for his past sins not only as a husband and father but as a mortal being. As tears freely flow, one day he will weep, ask forgiveness and maybe be proud of what Bagtas has already accomplished as a visual artist.

 

And of the Son

The Bagtases are a brood of three children with Bagtas being the middle child. They are your typical Filipino family barely surviving their daily struggle with the economics of life in the suburbs of Caloocan. In fact they were once saddled and lived in a former pig pen with only curtains as decoration.

Cryam is Bagtas’s elder brother and one he is closest with. In Panalangin ng Laman Bagtas believes that he will find heavenly favor and be converted from his earthly ways as his stigmata suggests. Last April, during the intense lockdown, Cryam’s girlfriend suffered a miscarriage. This fortuitous event has affected the whole family and overwhelmed Bagtas who was already preparing for his show. He timely marked the sad milestone in Anghel Gabay (Bulaklak) mourning for the baby’s passing as Buchokoy (his name) was already two months in his brother’s girlfriend’s womb as evident in Anghel Gabay (Kaluluwa).

Anghel Gabay (Kaluluwa)

When Bagtas become Born Again Christian his works became darker yet he introduced other colors particularly violet and pink signifying acceptance as a leap of faith. He will often use them to mean it is done and a gentle reminder to remember them only in memory. Such is Tao (Alaala) where he immortalizes his dearly departed nephew and never to relive the pain again.

 

And of the Holy Spirit

Yvonne is Bagtas’ youngest sibling. She was adopted from an aunt who almost sold her because they lived in dire poverty and could no longer support her. Yvonne was adopted by Bagtas’s parents and treated her as their own. She is the first to be renewed as a Born Again Christian. One day, when Bagtas was so distraught and needed help after a failed suicide attempt, it was Yvonne that he reached out. Bagtas pleaded her to bring him to the Lord.

Two years ago, 18 year-old Yvonne got pregnant by her boyfriend. Sa Pagiyak at Pagtanggap captures that moment when the family found out her delicate condition. Garbed in white Yvonne gets emotional as Cory in her floral aura anguish with her. Succeeding this scene is Apoy at Dugo where Yvonne and her baby Ishang have already strengthened their bond as mother and daughter. In Salitang Dumurog sa Sariling Puso Bagtas reminds Yvonne’s boyfriend to keep his promise to marry her and provide for their better future.

Apoy at Dugo

Before Bagtas was saved by the Lord in 2017, he was experiencing many pains both physical and emotional in nature. He had a recurring ache on the chest and lower abdomen. In fact during his graduation with a Fine Arts degree from EARIST he almost could not muster himself on stage and collect his diploma. Because of its recurring presence, he had to beg off being in the first batch of the Tuklas Program of Eskinita Art Gallery to be mentored by Alfredo Esquillo and Renato Habulan.

Since he became a Born Again he was relieved of whatever negative he was constantly feeling. He also summed up that practicing kindness will always make you feel light and happy. Another installation is Trono ng Awa which is about conquering pride and let mercy rule our bare existence. In Di Purong Tinik Bagtas pays homage to the epitome of mercy, his mother, Cory. She exemplifies stability in Bagtas’s life, the calm before (and even after) every storm of their lives.

Expect Bagtas to unapologetically explore the defining mood to a certain sentimentality to his own self-portraits. In Wasak Loob he is at his lowest depression being heart-broken. It is as raw as done in spontaneous strokes. He was badly hurting from a girl who just took him for a romantic spin. He thought she loved him--to think she was of the same faith as he is.

Wasak Loob

Espiritu ng Hayop reflects his softer side as a cat lover. As a young boy he will often bring home stray cats from the streets. Often fascinated with their eyes and fur, he is always surrounded by their feline comfort while painting and even when asleep beside them.

For Bagtas one has to trust the Lord and He will make everything beautiful in His time. Then maybe his family will finally come and see themselves in his paintings. In the end, home is where the art is.

Pagiyak at Pagtanggap

Note: God Bless Our Home, first solo exhibition by Billy Bagtas opened at the Eskinita Art Farm on November 22 until December 20, 2020.

Ejem Alarcon: Paws and Reflect

BY JAY BAUTISTA |

In the Beginning Ejem Alarcon strips down all complexities possible in a painting. Against a stark gray background, he leaves out only the barest essentials espousing the most basic core of human nature--love for one another, nurturing our family, and how simple kindness still matters. A fine arts graduate Alarcon had to unlearn what he was taught in college by breaking conventional artistic norms paying little attention to perspectives and perceptions. His canvases are void of people as outsized animals relate to one another, blurring realities as subjects are depicted in direct visual impact. For Alarcon, in a blatant reversal of fortune, furry creatures—some endangered, endemic and even personal--are his preferred images. Devising his own visual language, he concerns himself more with what they signify and how their inherent character relate to daily aphorisms.

In this third solo exhibition, Alarcon continues to be fixated with animals endearing to him as they are better in expressing what seems concealed and obvious in our outlook in life. These paintings were also inspired by lessons learned from watching documentaries and real experiences marked by imagination, memory and longings.

As early as seven years old Alarcon’s fondness for dogs started to grow. He even opted to become a dog trainer himself and has multiple bites as badges of honor in keeping them. Canine for him symbolizes guidance, faithfulness, loyalty and alertness. He extended his passion by illustrating them on canvas.

A Doberman is morphed into a father who protects his home, as guarded under the stability of a wooden stool. For Alarcon the game changed when he became a husband and father of two girls himself so did his approach to life as his family became his utmost priority.  An omnipresent eye remains a constant as it symbolizes love, reality and respect in Greek mythology while some cartoon character like Donald Duck and Tom and Jerry make cameo appearances, adding a bit of pop while endemic birds from Palawan flutter to decorate and complete the picture. Evident by his being aggressive as he is king of his abode, this fiercest of dogs wears a crown.

Depending on his intentions the sizes of Alarcon’s dogs vary. Humility is emphasized as such that Bloodhound is bigger than a St. Bernard. The Cocker Spaniel, which is the Queen of England’s pet is evidently unmindful of his royal lineage is permitted to interact with them. Alarcon wants his canvases light and fun to the hilt. Notice how his signature party hats put smiles to his subjects--life is a gift and every day we should use it to spread the good cheer that we are alive and well. Fond of nostalgia, as a bringer of happiness, he fills in his canvasses again with animation of yore from Bugs Bunny, Garfield, even two of Snow White’s dwarfs are featured on another canvas.

Contemporary art has the power to observe life in another dimension and step back in candid defilement as an alternative viewpoint. Alarcon’s sizeable pieces are more like graphical parables. Each scene has a lasting positive effect for viewers. Only Alarcon can come up with a kaleidoscope gathering of the vulnerable Zebra, the endangered reindeer, the care-free butterfly, the pristine stork, the playful whale, the stubborn goat and the critical cat to co-exist harmoniously with each other, reminding us that we all breathe and share as one brady bunch. All must adopt/adapt with one another in our common habitat.

Of the four brother who are all practicing artists, Alarcon is the most senior and a natural initiator. He wanted to be a trailblazer on his own, away from their conventional modes. He even invented his own paint brushes sourcing from make-up kits and construction tools to satisfy his precise strokes and translate his bespoke iconographies.

Inspired by documentaries Alarcon sketches his studies as big ideas strike him. Upon translating them on paper he composes further on the computer before finalizing his images on canvas. Of his long and arduous process he finds painting his subjects’ diverse furs most soothing. Alarcon certifies each artwork with a seal-like vintage coin as signature.

In the end although humans have bigger brains than animals it is their gift of language to communicate their immediate joys and fears that makes them different from us. Although we allow the development of reason and morals, animals appear more ethical in most considerations. Alarcon has clearly proven that we even can learn more from animals than we are from ourselves.

These pieces are wrought with behaviors and attitudes similar to amalgam of virtues. For the viewer they may be of unstructured pop surreal imagery, for Alarcon each canine and other creatures were carefully chosen amplifying values worth emulating. The strength of Alarcon’s imagery is how easy for the viewer to imbibe his messages like it is offered in-your-face for the taking, leaving the exhibition more learned and feeling better about yourself.

Beginning is ongoing at the Art Verite

Michael Froilan: Painting to Stand Still

BY JAY BAUTISTA |

Day Off

For most artists one’s first solo exhibition is his carefully conceptualized visual statement to a rather complicated contemporary art scene. Like an illustrative shout out, it beams as his coming out party to the world after lurking on group shows after group shows for quite sometime. Countering this usual trend, award winning artist Michael Froilan opts to go reflectively inward this time. Against the artistic tide, he shuns away from political impulses and avoids wallowing deeper into historical occurences. On the other hand, it is form that is his substance, then his statement is his medium. By displaying simplicity of his messages, he is like an old timer with paints.  

The direction of Still Moments seeks to surface/resurface what he is capable of creating; how much of himself can Froilan put up with these recent works. Furthering into melancholia by becoming more reflective, he focuses on his real life situations by reflecting empathy as mood, amplifying it with bareness of space and pausing time in a capsule. The brilliance of Froilan lies how he instills solitude of action, as if the viewer arrived too late or even too early to the scene. Injecting the personal he leaves many clues but no specific answers as he forces the viewer to complete the narrative of his story.

Froilan’s interest lies in simple domesticity of things with minimum action, without any signs of mobility. Commencing with his interior spaces hinting the viewers peeking in, they exist in flat planes placed side by side in voyeuristic cutaway dollhouse motif. Froilan uses interior rooms of his mind at his domesticated abode with his family members and close friends as characters.

As a fine arts graduate of EARIST he is a true contrarian--deconstructing proportion, and artistic perspective. His spaces set the appropriate mood while favoring sparse colors that are not too glossy, yet very natural which gives solitary figures to stand out.

Complex

Consider Complex which is Froilan’s intriguing self portrait. The heirarchy of floors discusses the many facets of his existence. At the ground floor is a landscape painting which represents what he painted at an early age to earn his keep as a painter; the second floor are his classical paintings and portraits reflecting his desire to copy the masters; the lion at the third floor is an epitome of aggression, not the angry kind but his eagerness to achieve his dreams. Froilan is the swimmer reflecting the times he wanted to quit life.  

Continuing his narration is The Dreamer which dwells in the psychological realm of inner life. For Froilan he does not see himself not an artist. He longs to mixing his paints while holding his brushes up high to convey his images on his canvases.

Another creative tactic is how he allows classical paintings to emphasize the moment. They are either decor or devices that amplify the situations. Ranging from his influences from Johannes Vermeer, James Whistler, Peter Paul Rubens, to Claude Monet with the progression situating from Baroque to impressionism. However it is David Hockney, Edward Hopper, or Rene Magritte that he wants the audience to emphatize with at this ongoing moment. Froilan studies even the circumstance or context of which the master has painted.

The Faithful, The Undecided. The Unbeliever.

Woman in White pays tribute to his wife whom he praises to high heavens for being symbol of strength and resiliency but at the same time exudes purity of the spirit and femininity. In fact she is so strong to be alone in her life, without him on his side. Torn pertains to her dual being as a loving wife yet capable of wholeness, void of affection from the other gender. 

Before he took up painting full-time, Froilan and his wife would converse about anything while partaking their favorite wine. When Froilan became in demand as a painter, he saw hiw wife les and less, reasons why she longed for his company. These are evident in the paintings I’ll be Seeing You and In the Presence of Absence where one can almost feel her longing for him. One feels the isolation and being disconnected. In his desire to make up for his loss, Froilan churn these out and let her know his shortcomings making him less guilty in return. 

With the presence of flames, Space Between Us evokes tension to viewing audience. The existential complimentary nature of man and woman  persists that one cannot survive without the other. As conflicts may arise, as seen in the two stairs on the sides, in the end they mend and reunite to one another. One loves because one needs.

The ongoing Sao Paulo Biennial has discarded well-worn themes and usual revolutionary ideas in guiding their artist-curators on what to exhibit. Rather it prioritizes on feelings and emotional response of viewers in generating attendance in the sixty seven year old world’s second oldest biennial after Venice. Froilan has paralleled his masterpieces with this premise that art must seek emotional response rather than be high brow rhetoric. Art must make you feel foremost. 

In music, rests is as important as notes in constructing musical composition. In fact, the silent notes are oftentimes more deafening yet their significance as loud as notes connote. Froilan has painted what seems to be restful in both space and time we are all familiar with. For art is capable of presenting what life is cannot.      

 

In the Presence of Absence