New Age adherents of numerology might point to Aviado’s addition of a second "L" to his given name in the 1990s to explain this serendipitous occurrence. But whichever power should be attributed for this remarkable coincidence, I must say that it’s such a thrill to see both shows feeding off each other, because Aviado is a visual artist who truly deserves success, both critical, which he has long had, and now – it is hoped – commercial.
While lesser contemporaries have blazed across the local art scene only to sputter and burn out, Aviado is like the little bunny who just keeps going… and going, contentedly marching to his own tune as he pulls edition upon fine edition from his intaglio plates or wood blocks, sketches wistful musings with pencil or pen, or simply gets himself involved in projects that have benefited a large part of the arts and culture community.
Of the two exhibits, the first, Virgillio Aviado: Drawings, featuring his recent drawings at Galleria Duemila at the Artwalk of SM Megamall, was a selling show, proof positive of the acceptance of drawings as complete works in themselves – not mere preparatory studies, and certainly no poor relations to painting. It was a fact borne out in his second show, a 40-year retrospective that casts a wider net to include a selection of Aviado’s fine prints, most of which were culled by the artist from his personal collection.
The idea of having an artist participate in organizing his own retrospective may seem a bit premature, if not somewhat presumptuous to some, but it is nonetheless accepted practice in modern art museums throughout the world, where displays meant to conjure experiences are adopted in place of more traditional encyclopedic displays, or straightforward curatorial interpretations.
Virgillio Aviado: Autoretrato at the Inner Gallery of the Ateneo Art Gallery then was very much an exhibition for our time. It was meant to be a personal encounter with the artist, who carefully displayed a selection from his life work thus far – pieces that encapsulate his creative vision – in an intimate and accessible space.
More than anything else, it provided a genuinely gifted artist with the opportunity to craft a portrait of himself – a self-image that sits back assuredly yet, with hands and legs crossed, is perched quite gingerly, as if in constant reflection.
It is a manifestation of one who looks back as well as ahead.
Recently, I had the pleasure of engaging Aviado in ArtSpeak:
Philippine STAR: How do you feel about organizing your own retrospective? Do you believe it to be a more valid, truthful presentation of an artist’s body of work rather than, say, it being done by a curator?
Virgillio "Pandy" Aviado: I do not see this show as one that is difficult to put up knowing that the people I would be working with have experience in mounting exhibits. It was rather nice that as the artist I was given the prerogative to help direct the exhibition. There were times, of course that my only role in an exhibition was to submit artworks. No problem with that either, I’m flexible.
It is a commonly held view among people who see retrospectives that an artist’s later works display a marked deterioration. Interestingly enough, you have maintained the high quality of your work through all these years. What explains this consistency? This may sound leading, but is it because unlike other artists of your generation who have enjoyed success commercially, your achievements, in comparison, have remained largely professional and critical?
Maybe.
How does "Autoretrato," your self-portrait and your retrospective, depict you?
A cat who is incapable of blowing his cool.
What do you consider your best work?
David Douglas Duncan, famous photographer, was making a book called Picasso’s Picasso. He asked the maestro which was his favorite artwork. Picasso replied by showing his hand and asking, "Which is my favorite finger?"
You work in various media, but are best known as a print maker – a pioneer, and one of the country’s finest. This is a difficult medium to work in, and yet, quite ironically, it is viewed by some quarters as rather unrewarding from a financial point of view, given that (a) collectors don’t like the idea of not having a unique art object, and (b) it’s done on paper, which is considered to be fragile, easily damaged, and less substantive than wood or canvas. What persuades you to keep working in this genre?
That’s rather a myopic perception of printmaking. Many artists who are into printmaking have made quite a killing from their prints. Look at Fil Delacruz. He has been selling his lithographs like hotcakes. Bencab is another artist who has been selling a lot of his etchings. There are also corporations who commission artists to make original prints as Christmas giveaways. There are also printmakers who pull editions for other artists. Then there are all these print exhibitions and competitions all over the world.
As a printmaker, you must be enamored by the idea of creating multiple originals, and thus having your artworks available to a wider audience. How do you feel about the practice of certain established artists in allowing the sale of signed offset reproductions of their work? Where do you stand on this matter?
This case about the offset lithograph fiasco is best left forgotten. It happened 10 years ago. And the people involved in that have learned the difference between a print and a reproduction. [ArtSpeak notes, however, that offset prints, particularly by the modern masters, still continue to be sold at obscene prices by certain unscrupulous parties. Buyers are again forewarned.] As part of the Philippine Association of Printmakers, we clarified our position regarding "autographed reproductions." Every time we have a workshop or a lecture, we make it clear to the audience that there is a big difference between the two.
I see you as a no-nonsense sort of artist. One who does not call attention to himself, and simply goes about his business. How do you feel about publicity? You are certainly more visible now, especially after your thespian turn as the older Edades in the self-titled, NCCA-produced documentary film on the artist that was premiered last month.
I am a very private person. I hate celebrities and the idea of being one. Sure, I have been in several movies including the latest one on Edades. I also appear on TV with Ramon "RJ" Jacinto every now and then during Sunday mornings on DZRJ, but I never, and will never, see myself as a pop icon. During the ’90s, I held positions that required me to be very visible. I was with CCP as director of the coordinating center for the visual arts and the NCCA as member and one-time head of the committee on visual arts then. Now, I am just a full time artist, but still visible in attending openings and other cultural functions.
Let’s turn to your Duemila show, which focuses on your drawings. The artist Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres said that "Drawing includes three and a half quarters of the content of painting." Are you comfortable with this opinion?
No problem with me, Ingres was a great artist. I now see drawing as an end in itself.
Your draftsmanship is very detailed, and it is my view that your meticulousness belies the deeply personal, introspective character of your works. Is it right to say that your art can be described as reclusive? By this, I mean that you seem to eschew the tendency to be monumental.
I like to do small detailed artworks. Recently I am doing large canvas paintings. The problem with doing this size is the space and how to transport them to a gallery. Anyway, you have yet to see my "big" works. I
would suggest that people look at my works from a more holistic point rather than just focusing on my small works.
Your drawings remind me of Griffin and Sabine series author Nick Bantock’s illustrations, which appear to have come straight out of an apothecary’s book filled with stylized ink calligraphy, fantastical creatures and botanical and anatomical minutiae. I read in an interview that Bantock said that his works try to be "on two levels at once." Would it be safe to assume that your graphic oeuvres also operate on a metaphysical level?
I guess so.
Do you think that as an artist, you are special? Or is the work you do to be seen simply as just another profession?
That question reminds me of an anecdote about an abbot in a monastery who was asked what he wishes for. He answered that he wished to be an ordinary monk, because an ordinary monk has no wishes at all.
Do you create art out of choice, or out of necessity? By necessity, of course, I am not simply referring to "the need to make a living."
I basically do artworks to keep me sane. Lately, I have been busy seriously marketing them through art brokers.
What is your feeling about criticism? When do you accept it, or reject it?
Criticism is a good way to learn to be humble. I always accept it. I would be a lesser artist if not for them. Creating artworks and being an artist is a humbling experience.
In what way are you a modern artist? When do you consider art to be "new"?
I am a modern artist because I subscribe to modern thoughts and philosophies. But we are now in the age of Post Modernism. I guess that makes me a post-modern artist also. I like to think that a lot of the things I am doing are new.
Your works have often been described as surreal, indeed as "journeys to new worlds," where disparate images appear together – like cabinets of curiosities – to create what I would best describe as truly enigmatic encounters. What do you derive from being a visual (and intellectual) tease?
I do not give my audience all the answers they can get from viewing my artworks. I like that they use their intellect in appreciating my aesthetics. I guess this is what I learned from Marshall MacLuhan, who said that it is better if you let the viewer participate in "decoding" the message in one’s artworks.
It has been written that your visual compositions are quite musical. That has been said of many artists, particularly when their works are appreciated in formalist terms. Are you comfortable that your art is analyzed in this way? Could you perhaps suggest another template by which your work can be viewed?
Poetry, film, animation, essays…
Artists are dreamers, their works are musings of how they would wish things to be. Your art strikes me as remote, distant, separated; your compositions are almost always deliberate, at times severe, and well ordered. Is that how you would like the world to be? Are you a tolerant person?
Lately, I have been doing compositions based on the Fibonacci proportion. The reason being that I like my work to be in synch with the world. Yes, I’m a tolerant person to some degree.
You have been on record saying that you introduced printmaking to many local artists, among them Bencab, Mars Galang, Fred Liongoren, Ray Albano and Santi Bose. You also printed editions for Bobby Chabet, Jose Joya, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Juvenal Sanso and Cesar Legaspi. Technically, then, you have had an affect on their careers. How have you, if at all, influenced them stylistically? I would suppose your response impacts upon my final question, which has to do with your significance as a Filipino artist, that is: What do you believe is your unique contribution to Philippine art?
When I shared my experience of printmaking among my fellow artists, the idea of influencing their art was farthest from my mind. Let me leave that to future art researchers to find out if there is. As to the last question about my unique contribution to Philippine Art, my answer to that would be the artworks I made as an artist and also articles about art that I have written.
"Virgillio Aviado: Autoretrato, Selected Graphic Works 1950-1990" runs through June 26 at the Inner Gallery, Ateneo Art Gallery.