Raymond Kawataki Go

A BRIDGE TO THE PAST 

Raymond Kawataki Go on remembering and painting the harrowing 

March 18, 2019 /  C-2 

Text by Hannah Jo Uy

Every year, during the Lenten season, the island of Marin­duque hosts the highly an­ticipated Moriones Festival, featuring folks dressed as Biblical Ro­man soldiers. For Raymond Kawat­aki Go, the festival was more than a beloved local tradition. It planted a seed in his psyche that will grow into a deep understanding of the wisdom offered by the past. “I was influenced by the figures of the Moriones sculpt­ed masks,” Go said, recalling that he was moved by “the greedy faces that shows anger and power of the Roman soldiers.” It was during this time that Go was also drawn towards painting. He attributed his decision to take up the brush when he was merely an el­ementary student, to a fascination for the arts largely spurred by his sur­roundings. “My deep love for art his­tory started when we inherited paint­ings from my great grandfather,” he said, “who was a collector of paintings of old masters. “It greatly influenced me to read, research more, and study art history.” 

This laid the foundation for the now full-time artist to pursue a career in both art and history. After he ob­tained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Far Eastern University, Go went on to become an art restorer and lec­turer of the History of Philippine Art, following a Connoisseurship Degree from professor Santiago Albano Pi­lar. “In a way, being an art restorer made me develop an understanding of forms, color, composition, and the different styles of great artists and masters,” Go said. The artist, howev­er, stressed that he remains commit­ted to developing his own techniques when it comes to his personal works. 

While Go grew increasingly drawn to the unflinching visual narrative put forth by artists such as Leon Golub and Francis Bacon, he said that the social injustice represented by the Roman soldiers during the Moriones festival left an indelible mark in his aesthetics and paved the way for an artistic advocacy that moves towards an exploration of power dichotomies during the Spanish colonization. This continues to be a crucial element in his artworks, which largely tackles around the implementation of change in politics, religion, environment, and social structure. 

Through his paintings, Go uses his poignant depictions to take audi­ences through the history of Spanish colonization from the year 1521 up to the selling of the Philippines to the Americans by the Spanish govern­ment for USD 20 million dollars un­der the Treaty of Paris done in March 10, 1898. Go said that much of his vi­sual narrative also aims to throw the spotlight on the “the questionable death of Jose Rizal to the death of Andres Bonifacio in 1897.” “Since I am a social expressionist/ realist, it is my conscious effort to draw paral­lels between Rizal and Bonifacio and current events of the government,” he said. 

A new set of Go’s thoughtful, highly informative, and visually engag­ing works are to be showcased in his upcoming show, “Alamat” at Galer­ie Anna, on March 30. Go described the collection as a humble contribu­tion to his country in a bid to “open up the minds of the people that, up to this day, we are still in the claw of an eagle.” “We are victims of injustice, corruption, inequal­ity, greediness, and arrogance of the people in power,” he asserted. 

There is an un­deniable sense of urgency emanating from the creations of Go. This is caused by his desire to re­veal existing social ills to his country­men, to incite, if not action, at the very least, empathy. “Good governance, equality, and justice for all are the key to empower the Philippine people,” Go said. “As an artist I believe I can contribute to preserve and remind the people about history, because my paintings speak for itself.” Indeed, the works of Go, are not merely a land­scape or a portrait, they are teeming with meticulously researched sym­bols, each element holding significant meaning. “Every piece has a message that touches the inner core of human consciousness and hopefully will re­main in the hearts and minds of the Filipino people,” Go said. 

Go added that this palpable ur­gency is also rooted in his observa­tions that the current level of under­standing and appreciation among the Filipino youth when it comes to their past is sorely lacking. Painting, he said, is a great way to influence and educate the youth about history. “Be­cause it does repeat itself,” he said. “We learn from our mistakes and we can make a move to make us better human beings.” 

For Raymond Go, art is a medium to communicate with mankind. By or­chestrating color in order to tell the most harrowing stories of our past, in all its beauty and chaos, Go offers an earnest reminder of the supreme wis­dom in remembering. 

“Alamat” will be open to the pub­lic on March 30 at Galerie Anna , Me­gamall A , Mandaluyong City.