Art and basketball

It will likely be a September to remember once again in our part of the world; incessant rains, heavy flooding and an endless dose of dizzying bad news notwithstanding.

Whenever Sept. 1 comes around, we bid farewell to the ghost-infested dreary month of August and almost on cue, we hear Jose Mari Chan’s voice play in our heads like a last song syndrome: “Whenever I see boys and girls…” heralding the start of the world’s longest Christmas season.

There will be Christmas bazaars, plays, art shows and a whole lot of activities.

The well-heeled crowd of the art world, for instance, is excited as another auction at the renowned León Gallery, touted as the country’s most trusted auction house, happens on Sept. 9. 
Gallery director Jaime Ponce de Leon shared with me the good news that indeed, there would be another auction as demand for art surged after the pandemic. The country’s most prolific collectors – tycoons and members of aristocratic families – have decided to part with some of their pieces to make way for new ones and as new collectors begin their own adventure in art collecting.
De Leon said this so-called “Magnificent September Auction” is all about serendipity or of making desirable activities by accident.

Artist Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s Laughter for instance, will be auctioned with a starting price of P22 million.

Laughter, in the words of Lisa Guerrero-Nakpil, captures a bevy of women in a light-hearted moment, the familiar faces wearing white scarves, wreathed in wide smiles. Two women in the foreground appear to be exchanging lively banter; two others join in the high spirits, while a third, make a faint attempt at restraining a fit of giggles.

This piece was exhibited in 1957 and that ‘a princely sum P350 was paid for it, which at the time, is a small fortune,” said Guerrero-Nakpil.

Sixty-six years later, Laughter will find its way to a collector’s new home or perhaps become part of a new exhibition. How serendipitous indeed.

There are also pieces from the collection of the late media tycoon Don Geny Lopez – works by Hidalgo and Amorsolo, BenCab and Jerry Navarro, while Kit and Fenny Tatad have in their collection HR Ocampo’s Dilemma.

Works from the trove of U-BIX founder Edilberto Bravo, which include a ravishing Malang Santos and a Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, will also be part of the auction.

There are other pieces up for grabs when the hammer bangs on Sept. 9. These include a wide array of paintings, furniture, curio finds and rare fabrics.

It’s always exciting when Ponce de Leon shares with me news of his upcoming auctions.

More than being just a playground for the well-heeled crowd, art auctions, more importantly, enable the preservation and passing of art, from one hand to another, from one generation to another, from one era to the next and consequently, a retelling of the visual history of our society, our collective consciousness, our aspirations and our struggle toward self-actualization.

Someday, in the near future, I hope that photographs – documentary, news or visual poetry – will also be added to one’s art collection. Photographs, after all, are the most pervasive form of visual documentation that exists.

From the playground of the rich to basketball

If art auctions are the playground of the country’s richest, the basketball court is the playground of all Filipinos.

There’s no doubt about it; even condo developers have had to allot precious space – the standard 28 by 15 meters for a basketball court, because having at least one in their developments is a plus.

Everywhere in the Philippines, indeed, there is a full court, a makeshift court, a half court, a ring or just a makeshift ring tied to a tree, and a bunch of sweaty impassioned boys shooting hoops.

It is therefore no surprise that following Gilas Pilipinas’ heartbreaking performance at the FIBA World Cup emerged a sea of angry basketball fans. It’s been the talk of the town, this crushing defeat of Gilas – from boardrooms to far-flung barangays.

Filipinos were hoping for even just one win to keep us going in these trying times; just one win to give us a dose of good vibes amid a barrage of bad news; just one win to tide us over mentally in this gloomy rainy season.

But alas, victory was so painfully elusive for our beloved Gilas.

Now people are angry at Gilas coach Chot Reyes; yes, an anger worse than what we feel against corrupt politicians or abusive policemen.

So what really happened? A basketball coach shared with me his thoughts on Gilas’ heartbreaking defeat:

“They couldn’t even make the shots when they are needed the most. They just spent their energy trying to keep up. Gilas simply wasn’t good enough for the World Cup.”

Perhaps, it’s as simple as that. Maybe basketball – bequeathed to us by American teachers at YMCA during the American colonial period – will never be easy for Filipinos because of our average height of 5’4”.

Despite our height limitations, however, there is no limit to our heart and spirit. The strongest of hearts, indeed, belong to Filipinos and our Gilas players are no different. I salute our Gilas team for giving FIBA their best shot.

But it’s not game over just yet as I write this and I wish our team the best of luck in future games. I know Gilas will keep trying until it succeeds because in this nation of unbreakable spirit, we never say die.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.