Rhapsodies and Recollections: Artworks of BenCab and Justiniani at ILOMOCA

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By John Anthony S. Estolloso

In a musical sense, a rhapsody is an assortment of melodies which, to a certain degree, attempts to recreate scenes or vignettes anchored on a particular theme, usually inspired by cultural nuances. On the other hand, a literary perspective would evoke the free-flowing stream of thought of a written composition or a spoken speech. In either case, both definitions offer a certain eclecticism that both recalls and showcases virtuosity, eloquence, and cultural memory.

Rarely is the word used to refer to visual art. While the function of the painted canvas or the carved figure as memorabilia is unquestioned, to speak of visual art as a free-flowing artform unbound by theme seem an idyllic proposition, even for the most abstract and avantgarde. Yet on the occasion when works of National Artists and nationally acclaimed artists take the spotlight, the free-flowing numina of Art – themes, worldviews, influences framed through local and national contexts – come to play; at least, on that afternoon of July 11 at the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art.

Benedicto Cabrera’s ‘Reunion’ and Mark Justiniani’s ‘Ang Debate’ take the spotlight of Rhapsodies and Recollections, the newly opened exhibit currently on display at the Adoracion Valencia Gallery of the museum. Casted in bronze and created in collaboration with Yogya Art Lab (Indonesia), the pair of statuary examines contemporary phenomena: for the former, the sentimental warmth of overseas workers reunited with loved ones, and for the latter, the incessant clash between idealism and materialism, the gravitas of meanings made more palpable by the weight of the artworks’ medium.

In BenCab’s ‘Reunion’, a huddled mass of human figures congregates and converges together in a protracted embrace, the visual weight of the sculpture pulling the gaze of the viewer to its center. With arms entwined, the figures – perceivably a man and three female companions – clasp each other, the stationary act juxtaposed by the implied motion of their hair ruffled by some unfelt breeze. Their closeness and intimacy invite the viewer to reflect on lost time: a reunion, after all, implies a past separation through some space and distance, and connotes an extended absence of person. The passionate togetherness of the statue chokes whatever spatial gaps winding through the work, as if to efface the vestiges of this separation and absence. In BenCab’s work, this act of recollection paradoxically becomes a performative of forgetting.

Standing adjacent to the National Artist’s work, Justiniani’s ‘Ang Debate’ features two figures burdened with volumes of books on their shoulders, bowed headlong in aggressively frozen postures of boxers at the ready. Though the confrontational stance of the two suggests a conflict of idea, ideology, or worldview, it likewise conjures the image of the burden of knowledge. Akin to two Atlases bearing worlds, the two genuflecting men bear their intellectual weight, in a literal and haptic sense. The contrast of the curvature of their backs with the vertical tower of piled books further intensifies both sedate heaviness and violent encounter. Yet for whatever clash of ideas their attitudes may put forward, the sculpture faintly echoes the adage applied to the learned: heavy is the head that bears the wisdom and knowledge of the world – especially if the world does not heed these.

Surrounded by artworks of other National Artists and local painters, these bronzes stand out like a resurgence of humanity, brimming with sentimentality and depth. Complementing this surgency is a plethora of local color and culture. A sprawling Zambarrano canvas lends its iconic crimson hues as an apt backdrop. Tolentino’s sharp comparison of Gentileschi’s Judith decapitating Holofernes to a more contemporary figure provides an aside to Justiniani’s burdened souls. At the far end, a Nativo portrait flaunts its yellow-spattered visage as it glumly observes both BenCab’s huddled figures and their audience. A subtle Kiukok and a vibrant Ocampo hang demurely at the walls; a stolid Luz with its cold geometries pontificates with minimalist abstraction. Tucked at one corner, a sarimanok by Imao stands guard like a sentinel of the persistent past, a reminder of What Was situated in the Here and Now.

Taken altogether, Rhapsodies and Recollections is, simply put, a pastiche of regional and national art. No perceivable common thread or theme forces the canvases and statuary together, save perhaps the sheer humanity and culture embedded in these. Visual and tactile, the artworks exemplify that aesthetic eclecticism: rhapsodic in nature, recollective in intention.

[The author is a language and literature of one of the private schools in the city. Photos of the artists are from ILOMOCA’s official FB page.]