Bob Feleo

Art springs from the revolt over wine

by Jasmine Agnes T. Cruz

Looking like they arose from myth, the human-shaped artworks are as tall as you. Some with seemingly hollow heads, some whose face is bursting into a sun, others with bright colored ethnic patterns, and those with a body of twigs and a head of fire. These aren't your typical homo sapiens, but they have come from our very history, a bloody one at that.

Their creator, artist Roberto Feleo, refuses to call the artworks as sculptures even if they are three dimensional in nature. He refers to them simply as "tao-tao (people)" and they are representations of the individuals that were involved in the Basi Revolt of 1807, an uprising in Ilocos Norte where Filipinos rebelled against the Spanish colonizers. The source of their anger? Basi or sugarcane wine.

So how did an insurgence start because of wine and why has this event inspired artists? This is something we learned when we visited the Vargas Museum, where they are currently showing Feleo's Mito ng Aklasang Basi along with Antipas Delotavo's Agos. Both exhibits tackle the Basi Revolt through Feleo's 14 pieces of "tao-tao" along with flora and fauna and Delotavo's diptych (a painting shown as two pieces), mural, and installation.   

Enduring interest

 

Feleo's pieces described above are not the first time the artist has exhibited artworks inspired by the Basi Revolt. Feleo has been fascinated about this historical period for decades. He remembers that a year after his high school graduation he read a magazine article written by Jack Pillar about a series of paintings by Esteban Villanueva. Those paintings, now considered National Cultural Treasures and are under the care of the National Museum, depicted the events of the revolt from its agitated beginnings to how the rebels' severed heads were displayed in birdcages.  

Apart from portraying a historical event, Villanueva's paintings appealed to Feleo because of its style. "It is very naive," he said. "I like artworks that look untrained." Feleo explained that this quality is often seen in folk art, and this type of art is "most reflective of the sentiments, language, and overall situation" of a locality. This is why he channels elements of folk art through his work. 

Inspired by Ilocos

Over the years, Feleo's interest grew and so did the size of his artworks, now produced on human scale. Feleo got to create such large artworks all because of the influence of the province from where the Basi Revolt happened. It was in 2012 when Feleo got a call from a well-known Ilocano, Imee Marcos. Ms. Marcos became aware of Feleo's art practice when she saw a 2007 exhibit in the National Museum featuring Feleo's works along with Villanueva's paintings. Ms. Marcos expressed her interest to commission Feleo to create new pieces. At first, Feleo didn't want to accept her offer as commissions usually meant that the client will dictate how the artworks will look like. Then Ms. Marcos surprised him by saying that he'll be given a free hand and agreed that her political inclinations will not be imbued in the work. 

Upon Ms. Marcos' invitation, Feleo visited several places in Ilocos Norte but was most struck by Piddig. "Hindi pa nila nakakalimutan ang nangyari. Galit sila (They haven't forgotten what happened. They are angry)," Feleo said. Basi was a beloved drink in Ilocos Norte, but in 1786 the Spaniards wanted to control the production of the wine. The Spaniards prohibited the locals from manufacturing Basi, thus forcing them to buy from stores operated by the Spanish government. The suppression eventually led to an 1807 revolt, but the Spaniards eventually won over the rebels and those involved in the mutiny were beheaded.

Obviously, none of the locals of Piddig were alive during the Basi Revolt, but they still talked as though they had a personal stake in it. "Bakit iyon ginawa sa amin? (Why was that done to us?)" is something they kept saying to Feleo. The local's strong sentiment over a historical event impressed Feleo. "Sana buong Pilipinas ganito rin, hindi nakakakalimot, hindi basta titiklop (I wish the whole Philippines was like this, we don't forget easily, we don't just back down)," he said.

Feleo's impact

Inspired by such a powerful history, Feleo created his pieces. Attesting to the strength of his creations, the first seven pieces of those at the Vargas show was featured as one of the special exhibits at the 2015 Art Fair Philippines. Co-organizer of the Art Fair Trickie Lopa said that Feleo is one of the underrated Filipino artists that deserve more recognition.

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Philippine Women’s University in 1982 and studied Art History at the University of the Philippines, Feleo has exhibited locally and internationally. He has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Art in 1988, a co-founder of Pinta Nueve, and the chief designer of Comite de Festejos.

Lopa also credited Feleo for his impact on young artists such as Rodel Tapaya, Kawayan de Guia, and Leeroy New. Feleo's influence on young artists is intertwined with the unique material that he used to make his "tao-tao" at Vargas. The pieces are not made of wood or clay, but of a mixture of materials that Feleo created himself. This blend is something that he discovered while he was teaching at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling, Laguna. Aside from Makiling, Feleo also taught at the School of Fine Arts and Design at the Philippine Women’s University in Manila and he is currently a professor of visual arts at the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. 

 

While in Makiling, Feleo read about the developmental patterns of children and realized that to teach his first year and second year high school classes, he needed a material that was playful enough to interest children. Through trial and error, he eventually made his current material blend, which is made of sawdust and eggshells. Who would have known that materials that many of us just discard have educated countless of young artists? More than that, they have allowed Feleo to continue creating artworks that are painstakingly detailed and are imbued with a fervid history.

Agos

Along with Feleo's exhibit is Delotavo's Agos. Having studied at the Fine Arts from the Philippine Women’s University, Delotavo has been given the Thirteen Artists grant in 1990, Garbo sa Bisaya of the Viva ExCon in 2012, and the Araw ng Maynila Patnubay ng Sining sa Pintura of the City of Manila in 2005.

Though the social realist artist is known for his paintings, with Vargas Museum's curator Patrick Flores calling him "a great portraitist", we were most attracted to his installation Via Crucis. You experience it once you enter a darkened area at the Vargas exhibit. On both sides of a checkered path, you find what looks like human beings covered by blankets. Not seeing what lies underneath the blankets but knowing exactly what they are, the effect of that is chilling. Once you've walked the path, you would have passed 14 human-shaped pieces covered with Ilocano abel blankets and your journey ends with an oil painting entitled Paraiso, which is a painting of a room with an almost empty canvas except for a small butterfly. 

 

As to what led Delotavo to use of the image of covered bodies. He said that this is something that Filipinos often see in the news when the media reports about people who have been run over by cars or were murdered on the street. They are often covered by a blanket with a checkered pattern like the abel, often seen as the poor man's blanket.

The image of dead bodies also connect with the violence experienced in the Basi Revolt, but Delotavo said that he's also referring to the activists who died during Martial Law. "These activists are obviously not thrill seekers," he said in mixed English and Filipino. "But they are doing this because there is something more precious than life--freedom."

Mito ng Aklasang Basi and Agos runs until April 8. The museum's regular hours 9a.m. to 5p.m have been extended to 8a.m. to 6p.m. during the run of these exhibits. The museum's is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays but after holy week, the museum will be open during the two Mondays of the exhibit run.

For more information, please contact Vargas Museum at (+632) 928-1927 (direct line), (+632) 981-8500 loc. 4024 (UP trunkline), (+632) 928-1925 (fax) or send an e-mail to vargasmuseum@gmail.com. You may also check their website at http://vargasmuseum.upd.edu.ph or like them at http://www.facebook.com/vargasmuseum.upd and follow them @UPVargasMuseum.