Araos and his ‘salumpuwit, atbp.’

Quiet for quite awhile, Jerry Araos is back in mainstream exhibition circuit via "Salumpuwit, atbp." at the Lor Calma Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. The jolly show presents what he calls his architectonic sculptures, or chairs that are not only functional but wonderfully and highly crafted typical of Jerry’s very discriminating sense of aesthetics.

Wood is the mainstay in Jerry’s sculptural art, a material that the sculptor has exquisitely mastered through the years. Retrieving tree trunks that come from the debris after every storm and discarded local wood such as balayong, kalantas, akle, and ipil from torn down old houses all over the country, Jerry transforms them into furniture pieces for sitting that good-humored Pinoys anointed as the salumpuwit or "butt-catcher."

The sculptural works dramatize collectively the unique sitting habits of Filipinos. Although the recurring design motif is the carved torso with buttocks on both ends, they come in a range of sizes adapted to the rear of its target sitter. Thus, there are seats for women, for men, for children, and even one for the "Alphabutt."

Marked by undulating silhouettes and interspersed with circular details, Jerry sculpts the salampak (sitting flopped down), the kuyakoy (swinging one’s legs back and forth while sitting), or the Indian-sit (sitting with the legs cross-tucked under the thighs).

Hand in hand with the sculptural integrity of the works is the ergonomic design of the chairs. Subtle details demonstrate Araos’ awareness of the human body and his consideration for the comfort in sitting on a hard wooden material. The whole viewing experience is not only meant for the eyes, but for all the senses. Museum visitors are actually enjoined to sit on and explore the pieces. The experience at once becomes participative as it is sensory.

"Salumpuwit, atbp." accompanies the ongoing exhibit, "Upuan: Philippine Seating Arrangements During the American Colonial Era" curated by Gerard Rey Lico featuring over a hundred American period chairs on view at the Met until Sept. 14.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure conversing with Jerry. Here are excerpts I want to share with our readers.

PHILIPPINE STAR: In your opinion, what does contemporary sculpture emphasize?

JERRY ARAOS: Utility has become one of the functions that sculpture addresses. Sculpture begins to share the language of architecture, the other plastic art that allows for the manipulation of space according to a utilitarian program. Organic sculpture is the design of furniture that integrates with the design of the built environment. If furniture is articulated into forms that challenge usual forms of construction, it becomes sculptural furniture, residing under the muse of architecture.

Sculpture, on the other hand, when it relinquishes its franchise over the space surrounding it to allow for direct human interaction and contains consideration for human use or occupation, becomes architectonic sculpture, residing under the muse of sculpture.

Why do you call the works on exhibit either luklukan or laklakan?

The works that comprise luklukan, atbp. are architectonic sculptures that allow for an optimum sharing scheme between sculpture and audience. Object and owner are amicable fellow travelers within their domain of architectural space. They may, at different times, be intimate or indifferent to each other. They may situate themselves anywhere within the architectural space. The object may be used as a chair for dining, an occasional chair in the living room, mounted on a pedestal as in a high salon or serve as a stool by the bedstead.

The sculptures are constructed out of different indigenous hardwoods. Hand-carved and finished with linseed oil, the sculpture takes full advantage of the haptic qualities of natural material to engage the viewer’s sense perception.

The structure of both the luklukan and laklakan radiates from a central armature that joins legs, seat and backrest support. This is a departure from the four-legged post-and-rail or the Windsor-type chair construction employed to make sculptural chairs. The construction of these sculptures allows for a functional program that enables the sculpture to support the body comfortably in different seating positions.

The carved seat of the luklukan allows the lap to fall away from the torso. This prevents the compression of the internal organs when the lap is perpendicular or at a more acute angle to the torso. The forelegs of the sculpture are positioned to allow the sitter’s feet to align with the body’s center of gravity. This forces the sitter to support himself on the sitbones, straighten the spine and thus relieve the lower back of stress. The pre-eroded form of the seat eases the constriction of the femoral arteries on the thigh. The back is supported by a curved backrest. Used as a chair, the sculpture affords a feeling of well-being. The renewed awareness of the body lends a sense of personal power to the sitter.

What about the laklakan?

The laklakan is configured specifically to allow sitting astride the sculpture. In this manner of sitting, the forearms lean on the backrest and support the forward thrust of the upper body. Contours of the seat and position of the legs accommodate the feet as they tuck under the sculpture. The sculpture is an attempt to overcome the stigma of impoliteness of splayed-leg sitting against the backrest.

The laklakan is a cardinal chair. The sculpture’s form is designed to accommodate the four cardinal positions of sitting: facing forward, backwards and sideways.

"Luklukan" means "a position of honour or power." "Laklakan" alludes to the excessive guzzling of liquor. Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds to form words that contain the sound’s meaning. "Laklakan" and "luklukan" both have the onomatopoeic quality of drinking. "Laklakan" implies drunkenness with alcohol. "Luklukan" implies drunkenness with power. The functional program of the sculptures is a commentary on the consequential relationship of power and excess in present Philippine social practice.

What about the title of the exhibit ‘Salumpuwit’?

"Salumpuwit" is an old Tagalog word that refers to an autonomous seating implement. It could be a stone, a stump, stool, bench or any backless surface where one sits autonomously on the sit-bones. The term is equivocal and obscure: equivocal as words like "upuan" and "silya" have more force in common usage to refer to chairs and other seating furniture; obscure as the term traces its origins to archaic Tagalog colloquialisms. "Salumpuwit," with its anatomical reference to the backside, is now only used in a joking or denigrating manner.

The sculptures in the series "Salumpuwit" make the word unequivocal and obvious. They feature carved seats that depict the anatomical part that corresponds to the activity of sitting. The word gives life to the artwork; art renews the meaning of the word. The descriptive title is actualized by the prescriptive sculpture. Language and art correspondingly confirm each other. The word is the genesis of the artwork while the artwork is the revelation of the word.

The series are objects that give form to a handle with which to wield a word that is about to exit Philippine lexicography.

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For comments, send e-mail to ruben_david.defeo@up.edu.ph or dododefeo@yahoo.com.