National Museum presents Jose Joya retrospective
The splendor of Jose T. Joyaâs paintings, sketches, lithographs, and ceramic art are appreciated even by Filipinos who were born after 1995, the year the Philippinesâ pioneering abstract painter and cutting-edge multimedia artist of his generation died. On the three different occasions that I viewed the âJoya: Balik-tanaw Bilang Panimula ng Joya Festival 2011" exhibit at the National Museum, it was heartening to observe elementary and high school students squatting on the floor as they quietly gazed, seemingly entranced, at certain Joya pieces. Even college students, obviously on a date one Sunday afternoon and wise enough to skip a trip to a mall, were taken by Joya (1931-1995), who was crowned national artist for visual arts in 2003. Portions of Joyaâs citation as national artist describe his art as "an important landmark in the development of Philippine modern art." It adds: "His legacy is a large body of work of consistent excellence which has won the admiration of artists both in the local and international scenes." The âBalik-tanaw" exhibit, which runs until Sept. 4 at the 4th floor North Wing Gallery of the Museum of the Filipino, is one of the planned Joya retrospectives until the end of the year. Other Joya exhibits will be mounted at the Metropolitan Museum, Ayala Museum, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). As a painter, Joya is worthy of emulation by young Filipino artists. He did not only excel in his art, but was also academically exacting and intellectually rigorous. In 1953, he made history by becoming the first graduate of the UP School of Fine Arts to finish a bachelorâs degree as magna cum laude. At the time the dean was the vanguard of classicism in the Philippines, painter Fernando Amorsolo. Joya was also mentored by Guillermo Tolentino, Ireneo Miranda, Dominador Castañeda, and Virginia Agbayani -- all giants of Philippine arts. Joya himself became dean of his alma mater from 1970 to 1978. He and academic-art historian Rod Paras Perez revised the art education curriculum at UP Diliman to include a strong liberal arts program and units on the history of art. Like Amorsolo and the painters of his generation, the young Joya packed his bags to study painting in Madrid from 1954 to 1955 through a grant from the Spanish governmentâs Instituto de Cultura Hispanica. He also went to Michiganâs Cranbook School of Art under a Fulbright Smith-Mundt scholarship in 1956 to complete his masterâs degree in painting. Around the time, he was exposed to Jackson Pollock and the New York abstract expressionism movementâs spontaneous and energetic interpretation of non-figurative works. In a bid to ensure that his art works are not dismissed as copycats, Joya appropriated but recast the style on his own terms, slipped in new techniques, and explored new materials. Joya did not only use traditional canvas; the multimedia artist in him also painted and sketched on plates and ceramic vessels, while simultaneously busying himself in graphic arts, notably in printmaking. He experimented with unusual and mundane materials, such as sketching using felt-tip pens. In 1967-1969, he studied at the Pratt Graphic Art Center in New York. In the âBalik-tanaw" exhibit, the National Museum and the Jose T. Joya Family Collection strive to show the national artistâs works as âevidence of Joyaâs creation of a characteristic idiom that both encompassed and transcended foreign abstract art." The exhibit is composed of 85 artworks, plus two oil portraits of Joya painted by Filipino artists. It is presented chronologically, showing the evolution of Joya as an artist: from his early works, life drawings, portraits, art-making abroad and in the regions, abstract art, and on to ceramic art. The National Museum said the cataloguing âis but an interim classification on which to organize the artistsâ profound range of works beginning with the foundations of his work as a young artist." The works on display and his public murals such as the ones at the CCP and Philippine International Convention Center âvalidate Joyaâs principle in life that he and his works are gifts to which the nation is entitled to." For instance, Joyaâs âPagdiriwang" (Celebration) is widely recognized in the local arts circles as the âlargest abstract painting in the Philippines," measuring 5 meters by 8 meters. One of the earliest works featured in the exhibit is âLigawan," a 1948 oil painting on canvas, showing the strong impact of classical and conservative art movements on a young Joya at the time. âLigawan" features a lady clad in an ornate Maria Clara and a gentleman in a western suit, their hands nervously intertwined on top of a table while three house guests slyly observe their flirtations. âHidalgo Studies," a 1951 graphite on paper sketch, is another piece from the early years of Joya when most of his works were figurative. Among those clustered under the âlife drawings" and âportraits" sections are the âPortrait of a Lady," (1952), âBack of A Young Man," (1952), âVenetian Female Model," (1952), âMiddle-aged Man," (1952), âSeated Shirtless Man," (1956), and âThree Graces" (1957). The works in these sections reflected Joyaâs years of academic training and classes that included drawing subjects where male and female models posed in the nude. The correct and proportional human forms and anatomies echo works from his early years. Joyaâs gradual transition to abstract painting can be gleaned from the âSpace Transfiguration" (1959), âAng Pipit," (1956), âKarate," (1965), âRed Song," (1966), âAng Tutubi," (1967), âCityscape," (1972), âWarm Afternoon," (1974), âLanterns of Enlightenment,â (1977), âGlobal Warming," (1990), âMountain Façade," (1991), âSpirit of Season," (1992), and âMountain Trail," (1995). Joya used ceramics to create forward-looking arts as represented in this exhibit by âVoyage," (1975), âBlue Oblong," (1975), âAbstract Tile Slab," (1976), âMother and Child," (1976), âSweet Corn," (1976), âFish," (1982), and âCamia,â (1982). Thousands of sapped souls in this rambling metropolis of ours should pause and see the âBalik-tanaw" exhibit to reinvigorate themselves spiritually. - YA, GMA News