Sunday, September 24, 2023

358. DIE PHILIPPINEN, Perle im östlichen Meer: SANTO PAGES

PROCESSIONAL MATER DOLOROSA IN IVORY

DIE PHILIPPINEN, Perle im östlichen Mee
r (THE PHILIPPINES, Pearl of the Orient Seas) is a German-language book, published by Lipp in 1985, with contributions from the Staattliches Museum fur Volkerkunde Munchen. A whole chapter was devoted to Spanish colonial religious art of the Philippines , and these photos are from the book.

SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR

SAN JOSE

SAN JOSE, INMACULADA CONCEPCION
from Bohol

SANTO NINO

SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, icon painting

AN ALTAR OF SANTOS

IVORY MADONNA

IVORY HEAD OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

MADONNA AND CHILD,  with an intricately
carved gown and base.

NTRA. SRA. DE SALVACION

TRYPTICH ICON OF SAN VICENTE FERRER,
SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR AND STO. NINO

TWO SANTOS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

A PAIR OF FOLK MARYS

A PAIR OF FOLK MARYS

SAN ROQUE, WITH MISSING ANGEL

LA PIEDAD

CRUCIFIED CHRIST

BOHOL VIRGIN IN A POLYCHROMED URNA

THE BOOK: DIE PHILIPPINEN. PERLE IM OSTLICHEN MEER

 

Sunday, July 2, 2023

357. THE SANTO COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF PHILIPPINE ARTS AND CULTURE, San Fernando, Pampanga

Museum of Philippine Art and Culture, San Fernando

An invitation from Mrs. ANDREA DIZON DOMINGO to the launch of her foundation’s MUSEUM OF PHILIPINE ARTS AND CULTURE, was an event certainly not to be missed by the staff of the Center for Kapampangan Studies, and that included me. Though many remember her of late, as the Chairman and CEO of PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), she was also at some point,  a commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and a Pampanga congresswoman.

A cabinet-ful of antique santos

But I remember Mrs. Domingo as an owner of a well-know antique shop in Intramuros—GALERIA ANDREA—and who later put up a swanky branch at the LRI Plaza in Makati. I was a habitue of her antique shop that was always full to the rafters with antique santos, exquisite colonial jewelry, paintings, blue and white jars, and pottery diggings—all tastefully displayed under glass or organized on shelves and walls. 

Ivory Sto. Nino flanked by San Jose and Sta. Maria

I only have one santo purchase to show after all my frequent visits to her shops— an armless Santo Niño with a bone face on a globe base. I was content with browsing at her shops as she had probably one of the most select antique pieces in Intramuros. So, when I learned that she was opening a museum, I had no doubt that it will be nothing less than the best—I had already in my mind the quality and diversity of pieces she will be showcasing.

An ivory Calvario scene.

I had expected a small museum in a San Fernando subdivision, but I was floored when I saw it was in a huge 2-story building with expansive spaces. She explained that the building was a re-purposed ballroom dance hall that she had built at a time when she took up the hobby, and wanted a venue for other dance enthusiasts.

A folk Virgen and Sto. Nino in a box urna

Entering the well-lit, cavernous hall were walls and walls of paintings from past and present masters, presidential merit winners, Mabini painters,  and National Artists, a virtual who’s who in Philippine art history. Outside of Manila, this museum has perhaps the largest assemblage of paintings done by National Artists—works of Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, Botong Francisco, hang side by side with the paintings of Magsaysay-Ho,  Edades, Joya, and Legaspi. 

A cabinetful of antique santos

In another wing, the rooms displayed pre-colonial artifacts like bul-ols, oriental trade jars, potteries from various diggings, tribal art and textiles. 

More santos on display.

But of course, the one room that piqued my interest most was the santo collection in a wing of its own. The most precious ones—including the valuable ivories, were shown in well-lit floor to ceiling glass cabinets. The amazing exhibit featured mostly folk santos, many left overs from her antique shops, but still of impeccable quality no less. The antique santo collection is featured in these photos.

L-R: Ivory San Juan Bautista, and a pair of wooden San Roques

The MUSEUM OF PHILIPPINE ART AND CULTURE is set to open fully in July. It is located along the highway of San Fernando, brgy. San Agustin, next to Ramar Village, and across St.  Scholastica Academy. 

A gathering of Virgins and Sto. Ninos

A Sto. Nino among Virgenes

Ivory santos of the most precious variety

More ivories for the eyes to feast on.

The Ivory Section of the exhibit

Folk antiquities

Of wood and ivory.

A trio of charming Sto. Ninos

Inmaculada Concepcion

A wide-eyed San Pedro

Sagrada Familia in ivory

Inmaculada Concepcion

San Miguel Arcangel



A Bohol Sto. Nino and matching urna

Virgen del Rosario

Sunday, May 21, 2023

356. Moulding Characters of Godliness: DR. JOJO VALENCIA IV AND HIS CLAY SANTOS

DR. JOJO VALENCIA IV AND HIS CLAY SANTOS

For a long time now, Dr. Jojo Valencia IV has had an unconventional career, shaped by his lifelong passion for antiques and sacred art. As a child growing up in San Fernando, he held a fascination for the santos that were carried out for procession on the streets of the capital town every ‘Maleldo’ or Holy Week. In college, as a pre-med student in Baguio, he was asked to organize a “santo” exhibit at St. Louis University, which he successfully staged, and which prompted him to start collecting religious art. He pursued this antique collecting interest, while doing his medical practice, and parlayed that into a viable home business: buying and selling antiques. 

STA. INES / SAN JOSE

In recent years, with the supply of antiques drying up, and with extra time to spare, Dr. Valencia decided to dabble again in sketching, painting, and clay crafting. He had always had an artistic side; in his first year of high school, he would buy modelling clay sold at National Bookstore or Alemar’s and try his hand at molding and shaping santo figures. He remembered that his very first clay creation was a miniature replica of a San Jose, inspired by the image that was borne on procession in Bacolor in the 1970s.

SAN ROQUE / SAN JUAN SAHAGUN

Once he got started again with his clay modelling hobby, there was no stopping this talented doctor. “But the trouble with modelling clay is that it doesn’t really set and harden, and eventually the figure would become misshapen”, he said of his initial clay molding attempts. So, I had to look for another material”.

SAN VICENTE FERRER / SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL

Dr. Valencia turned to using pottery clay, used in ordinary earthenware products.  Soon, he began moulding and shaping santo figures, which he based on existing Philippine church statuaries,  estampitas, and images wrought from memory. The results were very encouraging, and, as he found his groove,  he also found his own distinctive style, evident in his figures molded in the round, and in his paintings, as well.

KNEELING SAN ISIDRO

His terracotta santos are short, almost squat, with stocky legs, in the case of male saints. There is also a “discernible feeling of plumpness” in the santos’s  physique,  at first sight—even the female saints exude this Rubenesque vibe.

SAN CLEMENTE / KNEELING ANGEL

The vestments worn by the santos, that include the cape and tunic, show the lively exuberance and energy of Dr. Valencia’s style—with overly defined drapings, folds, and extra ruffling on hems and edgings. Indeed, the minutiae in the vestments are thorough and absorbing, borne out of the artist’s medical training perhaps, of paying meticulous attention to details. The figures are then hand-painted by Dr. Valencia himself, in oil paints. After awhile, he had hand-molded dozens of tabletop-size santos which he displayed around his house.

PLARIDEL CHURCH EXHIBIT

It would not be long before Dr. Valencia’s private hobby would be know and spread to his circle of friends and clients, more so when he started posting them online. He started receiving offers for his works not only from his acquaintances but also from priests, church benefactors, known art aficionados and collectors, who took note of his appealing ecclesiastical creations. Some even wanted him to take commissioned projects. The turning point was when he finally accepted an important sponsored assignment to make terra cotta images of the barangay patrons of Plaridel town some 15 years ago, which went on permanent exhibit at the Plaridel Church in Bulacan.

THE ECSTACY OF STA. TERESA DE AVILA

A few years back, Dr. Valencia experimented on using a different kind of clay more durable than terra cotta. He found a commercial clay product made in the U.S., which, when kiln-baked and dried, had the look, feel and hardness of real porcelain.

LA MUERTE DE SAN JOSE
The creation of the images took much longer though, for the clay blocks had to be ordered from California. After the tedious hand-sculpting process, the figure is allowed to dry, then shipped to a pottery kiln in Manila for firing. After which, the figures are spray-painted, resulting in a pristine white or off-white santo with a smooth, exquisite porcelain finish.

STO. ENTIERRO / STA. MARIA MAGDALENA

He is often asked to exhibit his “obras maestras” like paintings and sculptures; last year, he was one of the featured artists in a gallery exhibit in Taal, Batangas, entitled “Artes y Tradiciones Filipinas”.

SAN SEBASTIAN / SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL

Today, the works of Dr. Jojo Valencia IV are prized by a few private collectors in Pampanga and beyond, not only for the inherent value of his unique sculptures.  They are sought after for the hand-made quality of his pieces, a manual tradition now slowly vanishing --which makes for the rarity of his pieces. He does not mind the long hours it takes to create one quality piece, as this doctor obviously has the patience of a saint.

Once the doctor steps out of his office , that’s when the artist in him, steps in—healing away his stress by molding images of faith, feats of clay that have given him the confidence to create more, and his clients, much personal satisfaction.  Science and art, they say are strange bedfellows, but for Dr. Jojo Valencia IV, there is no  such dissonance. In his chosen vocation and avocation, he has the best of both worlds.

VIRGEN DE LA CANDELARIA /SAN VICENTE ZARAGOZA

SOURCES:

Personal interview with Dr. J. Valencia, 11 May 2023, 

Photos courtesy if Dr. Jojo Valencia IV