A meditation on Recci Bacolor’s Resureccion
My Little Art Space, Greenhills, San Juan; March 29-April 15, 2009
Group Exhibit
Sometimes, the artist has to be reborn or awakened from his or her tight sleep in order to unleash the power of his or her art.
BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
Correspondent
Bulatlat
CULTURE
Sometimes, the artist has to be reborn or awakened from his or her tight sleep in order to unleash the power of his or her art.
When this author walked into the halls of My Little Art Space in San Juan City in the evening of March 29, a huge collection of personal reflections of how an artist’s mind and soul had been “resurrected” by passion and love for the arts, painting in particular, took me by surprise.
It was the opening of the group exhibit titled Resureccion, the Spanish term for the rising from the dead.
The exhibit, which ran until April 15, is a diversified interpretation of resurrection, of coming to life based on personal or impersonal experiences.
In the Christian tradition, the Resurrection of Christ is the most important festivity in the whole liturgical calendar for it shows the triumph of Christ over death and sin. It is also the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of rebuilding the ruined Temple – which is His body –in three days.
Artist and curator John Mari Recci C. Bacolor, a.k.a. Recci, organized this major exhibition as a birthday gift to himself.
Twenty-three artists contributed the magnificent collection of paintings of different medium: mixed media, acrylic, oil, and manipulated photograph, namely Benjie Torrado Cabrera, Bunch Garcia, Carlo Claudio, Con Cabrera, Convocar, Felix Bacolor, Ingrid Almazan, James Ben, J. Pacena II, Loren Marquez, Mike Andaya, Niña Theresa Parreño, Niño Hernandez, Nityalila Saulo, Noel P. Tan, Patrick “Kinigtot” Bacolor, Recci himself, Rhea Cathrina Consorio, Shaira Luna, Tanya Escaler, Tootoots Leyesa, Xander Calceta, and Zeus Bascon.
Particularity and universality
As this author gazed at the canvases, the particularity and universality of the works of art became clearer.
While different moods, emotions, and ideas have been painted on canvas or printed on photo paper, or projected against the white wall, the idea is one: to live in hope and to relive that hope in each and every one of us, in order for us to rejuvenate and to regain our strength as humans.
Escaler’s “Resureccion” is a saga of rebirth, of love lost and rediscovered. The red backgrounds, the droplets which form the central image and the garden-like adornment at the lower portion of the painting give the audience the story of the quest of one soul of gaining the source of its life, that is, pure love.
Garcia’s “Awakened” tells the story of recovery from helplessness and darkness, and how the girl in the painting came to see the light which had given her hope, and maybe, happiness.
Recci’s “Life After Death” is but a symbol of eternity. The white rose signifies the continuity of one’s legacy or life perhaps; even it had had given its soul or life force.
Almazan’s “Nightmare” is the resurrection of one memory that has long been dead. Many can relate with this piece for there are some memories in our subconscious or unconscious minds which we perceive to be dead, but are actually still living and would eventually haunt us.
Convocar’s “Repost and Ascent” is a religious portraiture of the belief that one who has died will enter life; the corpse is buried and the soul returns to the place where it belongs—the ethereal realm.
Meanwhile, Kinigtot’s “Lazarus” seems to be waiting to be awakened by the Almighty. Lazarus is one of the followers of Jesus whose coming back to life was the proof of the Lord’s promise of the resurrection of the dead after Judgment Day.
Other works are interestingly diverse: Carlo Claudio’s “Palawan Seascape” is a picture of calmness, of peace, of tranquility. It brings the audience a sense of peace within, thus resurrects the weary soul.
“Hot Mama” by James Ben is the resurrection of the seed. To be able to bring forth a plant to life, the seed must die and have its root buried deeply under the ground. Such is also the case with the human soul.
End note
The Resureccion exhibit did show how individuals cope with personal dilemmas which equate to personal “death”.
This was suggested by some works which depict the personal struggles of the artists and how they survived these struggles.
In the final assessment, the exhibit did reach its goal, which is to share the artists’ resurrection to others so that the audience can also struggle to resurrect themselves and to live their lives to the fullest.
