Carlito Ortega’s unconventional path to art

Carlito Ortega did not follow the typical artist’s path to pursue his passion. He points out, "I actually got a degree in electrical engineering. Then I was a businessman. We had a poultry farm and I was a contract grower and I also had a lending investment company… pautang."

But even before Carlito discovered his talent for art, he found himself unable to continue with his business even if he was turning in a healthy profit. "I was making a lot of money, especially the lending company. But there was one time that I was in the fiscal’s office with a couple who could not repay their debt. They had mortgaged everything and they still could not pay. It was then I realized that I could no longer continue in the business of lending money. I felt like I was taking advantage of other people’s needs. What values was I teaching to my children? So against my wife’s wishes, I closed the business and decided to pursue what both my mind and my heart really wanted me to do: art."

Most of his sculptural pieces for his current show titled "Indigenous Rhythms (Katutubong Kumpas)" are heavily influenced by his experiences growing up in rural Bukidnon. His figures are characterized by exaggerated body positions to amplify the sense of movement. He says, "Sometimes you have to really twist the figure’s body or head to get that sense of movement. Otherwise, the figures often look static." Carlito also spends a lot of time and pays special attention to his figures’ hands and faces which he considers extremely important to the final look of his works.

"The face and the hands are very difficult to do. Actually, people are very difficult to make. The carabao is easier!" Carlito adds: "I chose to work with brass because it is a good medium. If you make a mistake, you can fix it unlike when you are working with wood."

With a very spontaneous approach to his work, he devotes an average of 150 hours on each of his pieces. "I don’t really plan what I will do. Most often the best results just happen by accident or through experimentation. I never know what the final product will look like because I just follow my subconscious. The problem with many artists is they use too much theory. I think it is better to use your creativity and just use theory as a guide."

Carlito works almost every day because he feels that art – like any skill – is perishable and is something that you have to constantly work on. "Artistic creativity is like a jealous wife," he says. "If you leave it for a few days or a week, when you come back, it will no longer be there. It will leave you and it is very difficult to start again."

Asking him what it takes to be a successful artist, without hesitation he says, "You have to be brave and be willing to take risks. If you don’t have the courage, you will be too safe and conventional and your art will never develop. It is difficult to make art your whole life because you will often have to follow what the market dictates instead of doing what you really want. You cannot think about selling your art first. It must be what you feel first."

Fortunately for Carlito, because of his sufficient savings, he can create art the way he feels it should be. This immunity from commercialization is part and parcel of what sets his sculptures apart from others. He can afford to live the artist’s life without actually having to risk the difficulties that this may entail.

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"Indigenous Rhythms (Katutubong Kumpas)" by Carlito Ortega is on view until tomorrow at Gallery Nine, fourth floor, SM Megamall Bldg. A, Mandaluyong City.

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