JJ Calma Gets An Art Attack

He builds it – his art, that is – and he hopes they will come. Let’s take a look into the motivations of a bold young artist who is blurring the lines of architecture, sculpture and painting.

JJ Calma is "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." (Thank you Winston Churchill. OK, I know it’s not original, but in this case, it’s totally applicable.)

A young art collector who purchased some of his abstract framed sculpture told me, "When you go see him, he will barely say 10 words to you." True enough, he wasn’t exactly loquacious when I went to see his work for the first time. But a batchmate from high school also characterized him as the class clown.

He is a 28-year-old artist just beginning to explore his artistry, and he already counts among his fans Arturo Luz and Impy Pilapil. When he put up an art installation at the showroom of his uncle, modernist master architect and designer Lor Calma, the revered Mr. Luz marveled at his use of color with modern art forms. When sculptor Impy Pilapil saw a house he designed, she termed it as "sculpture as architecture." He enjoys doing paintings, but ultimately he also wants to design houses and interiors and go into free-form sculpture. And yet, when he has to fill out a boarding pass, under the box "occupation" he writes "businessman."

Will the real JJ please stand up?

Stick Drawings

Through all these endeavors, it is a love for the creative process that comes through. "I grew up in a family that appreciates art," JJ begins to explain his initiation into the art world. His uncle Lor is a recognized pioneer in modern architecture in the Philippines, and his dad Joe is renowned for furniture design and building modern houses as well. "I live in a house with all forms of modern and classical artworks. I also remember my mom buying newsprint paper in bulk because I drew all the time. I knew that I had it. Just didn’t know what to do with it and I got distracted for a while during my teenage years. It was only when I went to study abroad that I got back to it."

JJ’s original goal was to become an architect. He went to the Nottingham University of London to study architecture. When asked why he chose London, he just shrugs and says, "Wala, change venue lang." But he adds, "I get bored easily." He came home to Manila to study industrial design at La Salle. And then the travel bug hit again. He flew off to Florence and enrolled at the Lorenzo de Medici Institute to study architectural design, and one summer, he also flew to Boston and enrolled at the Boston Arts College. Through all these studies, two things remained constant: his father’s support and his need to draw. He reminisces, "I would always buy (art) materials, and paint my walls or make murals." How did his dad feel about his wanderlust? "Whenever I would call him, and tell him that I would try something new, he would say, ‘O kung saan ka masaya,’ but you could hear some disappointment in his voice." Very much like that scene in the PLDT ad, where the dad says with a touching mix of love and resignation after his son has told him that he wants to quit med school to go into fine arts, "Suportahan taka."

Return Of The Native

Through all these travels, many ideas were brewing in his head, and JJ realized that the only way to see these ideas come into fruition would be to come home to Manila.

He set up a design office in his dad’s building and tried to build a practice. The clients weren’t exactly coming in droves but he wasn’t idle either. One of the dads of his friends was building a motel and asked him to design a room. The room’s theme was "adventure." How did he interpret "adventure"?

"I designed a jeepney bed, and I made a mural of ‘Wallpaper’ like people," he describes. He then adds, a little naughtily, "I’ve heard it’s become very popular."

He also designed a house for his sister in Alabang. He describes it as a "short building, a white box with a lot of glass." He then admits, "It’s for sale but no one wants to buy it. Maybe they find it too weird or something. If I could afford it, I would buy it."

In the midst of these design projects, he never stopped doodling and drawing. He noticed that he was accumulating quite a heap of scraps, and one day, decided that he could paint them and integrate them all into a frame, creating a kind of three-dimensional art. He would take slim pieces of wood, stick them into the paintings. He also combined round pieces of wood, punctuating his geometric compositions with the round smooth circles."It’s a challenge to me, to balance (the elements), create texture."

JJ doesn’t title his works. He explains, "I don’t put meaning in my works. I just love playing with colors, lines, shapes, especially putting them together and creating balance." He also has no objections to clients saying, "I like this, but could you change the color?"

Instead of seeing these requests as compromising his integrity, he just sees them as part of the artistic process. "Once I’ve made it (the painting), I’ve already done it. So if someone sees it another way, or wants part of it to be a different color, then it’s OK." He also knows that once his clients have bought a piece, they will be the ones to enjoy it. "I understand that the art will be an accessory (for the way they live)." When his clients have chosen a piece, he will deliver the piece himself, and will even suggest where the paintings can be placed.

He does say that with his next collection he will title his works. A client told him that she was having a tough time remembering his works and she had to invent titles for his pieces so he now wants to make life easier for the people who view his works.

One of my art collector friends has told me that people who see her JJ Calma piece have commented, "You can really see the youth." They say that the fact that he puts his signature right in the middle of the piece is youthful, egoistic bravado. All JJ says is, "In some of the pieces, the signature is there just to add balance to the work." Some of his pieces also have a signature right on the frame instead of the corner of the piece like most artists. He concedes. "I’m young, so my work is young. I don’t expect old people to like them. Maybe, as I get older, and my work matures, more people will like it. There are some things I’m still trying to perfect, like making the lines. I want to have more control."

Though he is in a creative field, JJ insists, "I’m normal. I know I have some weirdness in me, but I just let it come out in my work. I grew up seeing artists like Arturo Luz and Ramon Orlina and they look like normal people, so people respect them." To prove how "normal" he is, JJ says, "I gimmick. I jog. I box." He admits that the profession of artist does lead to some stereotyping. "There are times, when I meet people, they find out I’m an artist, and I’m quiet pa, so some girls ask, ‘Are you gay?’ I know what they’re doing, they’re just trying to get my attention, so I just act gay to make them stop asking."

JJ doesn’t see art as anything angst-ridden. He is just matter-of-fact about it. "It’s what I do. So I don’t really think of it as a decision. I love art. I crave for any form of art, especially modern art. May it be paintings, sculptures, design and architecture." He doesn’t separate his interests from his art, it’s all just part of his life. "A lot of things inspire me. Music, for example. The funky weird ones that don’t have any meaning. I love listening to them while designing. It keeps me going." He is also a Philippe Starck fan. "His designs are fun, crazy, and, in a way, carefree. That’s what I’m trying to achieve. But as much as possible, I try to make my art my own."

As the interview was winding down, I asked him if he wanted a peek at what I was going to write. He then shrugged his shoulders and said, "No, just keep it a surprise." I realized then that that was the key to his design. He likes to surprise himself, and in the process, he surprises others as well.

* * *

To view JJ Calma’s artwork, call Jcalmadesigns at 843-3361, 843-3366, or 893-9402.