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Agsisinabali: a variety of absorbing art

BAGUIO CITY (Nov. 24) — The appreciation of art is relative. Some people like modern art, other people like classical paintings, and yet others do not like art at all. “Art,” in its strictest sense is not at the center of “Agsisinnabali” but the celebration of the Cordillera’s life and its rich heritage, through the works of four of Baguio City’s top visual artists. “Agsisinnabali” is not just art: it is the reaffirmation of ethnic identity.

“Agsisinnabali” is the latest art exhibition sponsored by the University of the Philippines Baguio College of Arts and Communication, the UP Baguio Center for Culture and the Arts, and the UP Baguio Cordillera Studies Center. “Agsisinnabali” features the works of artists Roberto Acosta, Darnay Demetillo, Liza Ann Ilagan and Katti Sta. Ana, all UP Baguio faculty.

There’s something about “Agsisinnabali” that makes it different from the usual “indigenous art” exhibit, which it’s not. One would not see anything in the way of a bahag or a bulol in the exhibit. Rather, “Agsisinnabali” shows how a theme can be reflected in multiple art forms that need not “look” indigenous. The whole exhibit is more concerned with the theme of assortment and diversity than with satisfying the seeming fascination with all things native.

Darnay Demetillo – the UP Baguio Artist-in-Residence and retired Fine Arts professor (and the founder of the Baguio artists’ group “Tahong Bundok”) presented a printing technique called “collograph”, using scraps of found materials (cardboard, pieces of paper, etc.), paint and a press to create a finished print. Despite Demetillo’s retirement from teaching in October 2005, and after 10 solo exhibitions to his credit, he can still make great works of art that speak for themselves. His “Untitled (Face)”, in the exhibition, exudes the kind of excellence and touch he has always had in his many years doing what he does best.

Roberto Acosta’s terracotta (pottery) sculptures are also of note. The United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) Professorial Chair of UP Baguio has few more tricks under his sleeve following his artistic stay grant at the Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico. His quaint but beautiful terracotta sculptures seem to come to life and take center stage at the exhibition, with his “Billit ti Kordi” reflecting the kind of quality found in his terracotta sculptures.

Katti Sta. Ana’s photographs reflect much of modern Cordillera life. One of the awardees of the prestigious Cultural Center of the Philippines 13 Artists Awards, she shows plenty of imagination and creativity in the weird but enjoyable and thought-provoking “Cabbage Viewing Boxes” installation, where scenes of colonized nature can be seen through boxes with cabbage heads placed on top.

Liza Ann Ilagan is no stranger to exhibitions herself: having been a previous director of the Baguio Summer Arts Festival, a former head of the Fine Arts Department, and the former head of the UP CCA, her art does not contrive itself to ethnic “standards” because they’re so. Her paintings feature the influence of the indigenous batik technique of southern Philippines.

Well, the appreciation of art may be relative, but it isn’t always about art or the artist, but it is the messages and themes that count most, and the excellence by which people make their art. “Agsisinnabali” is not just assortment: it is diversity – it is nothing short of astounding… it is absorbing.

“Agsisinnabali” is ongoing from November 11-30 at the UP Baguio Galerya. # Marck Ronald Rimorin for NORDIS

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