The revenge of the classics
Art being produced in the manner of the classics, which pays attention to and embodies enduring forms and themes, may seem a tad old-fashioned to those always on the lookout for fresh sensations or the shock of the new. After all, we have seen it all before: the deliberate craft, the perpetuation of tried-and-tested subject matter, the gloss of the finished product. However, the classics — from visual arts to music — continue to assert their claim on the world, attracting and winning over new audiences.
Take, for instance, the results of Leon Gallery’s second online auction under Leon Exchange Online. While the modernists have continued to fare well (a set of etchings by Ang Kiukok was sold for P345,000 from the starting bid of P50,000), it is the “conservative” artists who proved to be the top draw. Cesar Buenaventura’s 36 pieces of small paintings installed on a narra divider fetched P1.8 million from the low estimate of P300,000.
Elias Laxa’s “Seascape” made six times the initial bid of P25,000 for a total of P155,000. It is a mesmerizing work reminiscent of a Hidalgo, with its impressionistic strokes and subdued palette. The sky and sea seem to mirror each other, with the bare bones of the yachts (with their rolled-up sails) like exclamation marks across the horizon line. Meanwhile, Simon Saulog’s “Evacuation,” an almost cinematic rendition of a family fleeing from the fiery destruction of war set against a darkening atmosphere, achieved the hammer price of P200,000 from a starting bid of P90,000. The prices quoted have yet to include the buyer’s premium
These artists were outshone and outlasted by the modernists during their lifetime, when the Philippine visual arts took a sharp turn from the luminous landscapes and glowing women of Fernando Amorsolo to the gritty, in-your-face realism and pictorial distortions of Victorio Edades. Despite the scant attention paid to them, they continued to paint in their well-loved ways, with some establishing their base on Mabini Avenue after their famous walkout from the Art Association of the Philippines competition in the ’50s. Not one to ride on the fashion of the times, they were denigrated as derivative and rigid — one-trick ponies.
There were recent correctives to this, most notably the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) exhibition featuring Mabini artists two years ago. Curated by UP Professor Pearl Tan, the show sought to enfold the story of the Mabini artists into the general narrative of Philippine visual arts, giving due importance and attention to some of the best practitioners to have emerged from this enclave. Buenaventura’s work was one of the strongest arguments in behalf of the contribution of the conservatives. Prior to Leon auction, his other works have sold well, proving that reputations and fortunes of artists are still subject to the revisions of taste and history.
Speaking of the classics, music lovers were treated to Days of Russian Culture in Southeast Asia, which made its first stop at the CCP last Oct. 20 to 23. Organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Russia, the event brought some of the most prominent Russian performers and soloists, who delivered sterling renditions of a wide range of classical music — from Strauss to Tchaikovsky to Puccini to Rachmaninoff.
Headlined by soprano Natalya Dmitrievskaya (soloist of Bolshoi Theater in Moscow) and bass singer Dmitri Grigoriev (soloist of Mariinskiy Theater in St. Petersburg), other performers included members State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble named after Lyudmila Zykina and the fortepiano Nikolai Medvedev, who was the laureate of the Russian music contest in Moscow in 2014.
“Southeast Asia nations historically cherish friendly feelings for Russia and admire our culture,” said Alexei Lebedev, director of the Federal Directorate for Cultural Events, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, in a statement. “Days of Russian Culture in the Philippines will contribute to the mutual understanding of cultural relations and closer bilateral ties in general.”
