The Long Distance Runner: Culture Shock Philippines

Recently acquired by Marshall Cavendish, “Culture Shock! Philippines” has again been updated and reprinted. This book, which I co-authored with my daughter Grace, was first published 24 years ago in 1985. It has never been out of print. We have continuously revised and updated the work. It has been reprinted 6 times (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2009). German and Korean translations have been published. That is much more than I can ever say of any of my other published books.

All the other 15 books I have published, including four that have won the Manila Critics Circle’s National Book Awards, had simply gone out of print after their initial run. You can understand why I feel a special fondness for “Culture Shock! Philippines”. In the last update for this book I even contributed some of my photographs simply because I had become conditioned to be on the lookout for typical Filipino situations and images for future updates to “Culture Shock! Philippines” whenever I visit the Philippines.

For a podcast interview with yours truly by John Cloutman in San Francisco, click below:

http://www.sacramentobookreview.com/alfredo_roces.php

First publication by Times Printers International in 1985

It was while in Singapore, working at Times Printers on the production of the 10 volume Filipino Heritage series, that I was approached by editors of Times Printers International to do Culture Shock. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time for such a project. In the early 80’s I was adjusting and settling down to a new life in Australia heightening my Filipino identity while sharpening my awareness, in a very direct and personal way, about the differences between cultures.

Of course my experience with Filipino Heritage then served me well, but even more so were all those 12 years of writing a daily column for the Manila Times until Martial Law brutally took away my typewriter (that’s the instrument one wrote with in those days). To include insights from a younger generation and assure an empathy between genders I asked my daughter Grace to co-author the book. She gave it the right touch.

Culture Shock! Philippines translated into Korean

By now you know that much of my writing and painting (i.e. "Filipino Heritage", "Adios Patria Adorada", etc. ) focus on the Filipino identity. Culture Shock! Philippines was one opportunity to examine this with a mixture of light-hearted notes and practical applications. What can I say about my professional experience with Culture Shock! Philippines? First of all I learned that one never knows which work that you do will survive and enjoy a long life span; second, even when you address your art themes and expressions for Filipinos inside the Philippines, these get very limited and narrow response and therefore have a very fleeting run, but when you go global, you may get lucky and connect with many more who would be responsive to your work out there. Lastly, but most important of all, when you deal with a professional organization, you get professional results.

Book review by John Cloutman: San Francisco Book Review/ Sacramento Book Review

October, 2009:

Culture Shock! Philippines By Alfredo Roces; Grace Roces

Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 352 pages. $15.95

Culture Shock! Philippines is one in a series of guides for travelers and would-be residents, emigrants and the like. This is the most comprehensive and up to-date guide I have ever seen for traveling to the Philippines. As an American who is often embarrassed by the behavior of other Americans in foreign lands, 1 would recommend this guide to all who plan to travel to the Philippines. For that matter, a guide this comprehensive should be required reading for all Americans traveling to any foreign lands, and I might even go so far as to suggest a test for them prior to stamping their passport and allowing them out of the USA.

Culture Shock! Philippines' holds countless useful insights into local culture, cuisine, traditions, and more. It gives very valuable advice for those wishing to blend in (as much, as that may be possible) to the local environment, and goes as far as detailing the things one might need to consider when planning a longer-term residence in the Philippines, including business considerations. I imagine that many countries' version of the Culture Shock! guide was easier to produce than the one for the Philippines. After all, the Philippines is a rich, diverse nation comprised of more than 6000 islands with major Islamic, Catholic and Christian religions, dozens of regional dialects, colloquialisms and traditions. The amount at information packed into this volume is truly amazing, and I must say it was written with just the right touch of humor, sensitivity to and respect for the traditions of the people and the nation.

In my opinion the Philippines is a kind of "Asian Melting Pot," similar to America in that it has been colonized repeatedly over the course of centuries prior to gaining its independence, and an incredible array of folk from all over the world have settled there and called the place home.This guide takes into account much of that history and deals with it in a very respectful way. The politics of the region, and even some of the behaviors there which judgmental Americans might otherwise find objectionable are a11 treated and explained in a way that allows one to understand the culture at its root and ultimately embrace it. An example is the discussions of a "Querida" system in which Filipino men appear to be empowered to have multiple mistresses and grow multiple families. This behavior is a part of society that is more complex than it appears on its surface, and the guide does a fine job of describing it in both positive and negative terms without judging it.This style at writing tends not to beg the reader to judge the culture too quickly or harshly, a tendency for which we Americans may be unaware. There is much humor in this guide and reading it along with my Filipina wife, we found that there are many details, quotes, and suggestions as well as analysis of the culture which are truly entertaining to each of us. I'm sure much of the stuff we find so entertaining is not intended to be that way to the uninitiated. hut having been to the Philippines and now having family there, the guide takes on a whole new light for me and is really worthy of repeated browsing. I can wholeheartedly recommend Culture Shock! Philippines to anyone planning to travel there, in fact ! recommend you re-read it after you return - you'll be surprised at how helpful and accurate this guide was for your journey - and this guide will definitely be with me when I return again, lest there were any details I'd. forgotten over time.

Reviewed by John Cloutman

—The Long Distance Runner: Culture Shock! Philippines—

The Sari Manok & The Rainbow Serpent: 5Lands Walk. Terrigal, Gosford, NSW

The challenge was to recreate an indigenous Filipino ikon in interaction with Aboriginal artist Kevin Duncan who would in turn design his own aboriginal subject. A land art —or earthwork if you like—it would be created on a grassy hill overlooking the sea in Terrigal Gosford. This project is in it’s third year. The first artist to collaborate with Duncan was American Indian, Daniel Dancer, who designed a whale in 2007. The second artist was Chinese-Tibetan Di Wu who came up with a mandala in 2008. Now a Filipino artist had been invited.

I worked out various studies, and after some discussion with Gosford’s cultural officer Elio Gatti we agreed on the sari manok while my fellow artist Duncan would design Gurrea, the rainbow serpent. I limited the sari manok's intricate plumes and color to suit the hillside "medium".

This Photo by Menchie Montierro

It took almost a week to physically translate the work onto the hillside, and this was only possible because most of the work was carried out by members of the Filipino community in Gosford, among these: Bob Anderson (president of the Ugnay Kabayan), Milan M. Rose, Christian Philip Rose, Manuel Del Rosario, Delia Del Rosario, Michael Alao, Jayson Saavedra, Harvey Lippl, Sonia Lippl, Emily Rudd, Zeny Sproule, Kathy Hadden, Eden Price, Marivic King. Menchie Montierro, Irene and I assisted on Friday, mostly with the finishing touches.

The materials for the work are red and grey-yellow wood chips, black compost soil, and white sand. Earthworks are not meant to stay forever, so this artwork will revert to nature in a matter of months. In the end, all that will remain will be this blog record of the event.

Kevin (Gavi) Duncan shows some preliminary studies

The Skillion hillside "canvas" on which we would "paint" our interaction sari-manok and rainbow serpent art.

A marker with our artist's statements as work begins on the site

I have a brief go with the shovel with the harder working Milan Rose

Menchie Montierro with shovel. She also drove us from our home to Terrigal

The Filipino community along with Cultural officer and project director Elio Gatti and other volunteers at work.

Bob Anderson and members of Gosford's Filipino community.

The Awakening

Winter Solstice. 6:00 am - 7:00 am. June 20, 2009

The 6:00 am ceremony called “The Awakening” began while the quarter moon still clung to the black sky. It had been raining for the past few days and it looked like we were going to get more of the same. It was a simple ritual. With the Winter Solstice the days would now grow longer to awaken the spirit of the land; the coming of the sun would be a return to light, warmth and growth. The rainbow serpent would pass through the earth full of water and life.

The small gathering was also a spiritual rite for a safe walk. A lady minister, Rev. Jones read a blessing. Artist Gavi Duncan set his the didgeridoo buzzing and then performed a solo dance and a chant to greet the morning star. Gavi’s rainbow serpent artwork had indeed brought the rains in abundance streaking and washing off some protions of the landart work. Nature is a merciless art critic.

Distinguished guests were Gosford City Mayor Chris Holstein and Councilor Laurie Maher, aboriginal elders, and leaders of the Filipino community. As the light began to fill the sky and bathe the hillside, the brief ceremony ended with a song composed by Gavi Duncan sang, to a drumbeat, softly but with much feeling by the gathering.

As it was dark, the moon was still hanging onto the sky, I used a flashlight to light the artwork

Irene inside the rainbow serpent's resting site

Gavi Duncan and didgeridoo

The morning star ceremony (note intrusive dog)

The two artists

This photo by Mario Aldeguer

Gosford Mayor Chris Holstien with the artists

This photo by Mario ALdeguer

The Land Art On The Skillion

Terrigal, Gosford NSW

2009

As it turned out, the land art was in a much better condition immediately after we had completed it the week before than on the day of it’s launch following a week of steady rain. The white sand elements suffered the most as Nature expressed herself on the artwork. That is of course part of the essence of Land Art. It will be restored and maintained for two months after which the art will be allowed to return to the earth it came from.

All I can show now is my earlier photographic documentation of the art which I took that Friday. It had been a sunny day. Good omens visited us. Three monks were having a picnic on the hillside. I chatted with them and persuaded them to pose with the art, giving it somewhat of a blessing. And seagulls came to inspect the artwork in progress. The bird’s have a better view of the artwork as you have to be high overhead to take it all in. All I could manage was long sideways shot from a high point facing the hill. Not really high enough to give you a good look at the full design. Until the offical photo to be taken from a cherry picker can be organized, it will have to do.

You will find Gavi’s and my artist’s statements at the end.

View from the top of the hill

Irene the queen of my heart

Your aging heart throb

A trio of Thai Buddhist monks on each of the heart motifs in the fish

A visitation of seagulls

Glimpse of the work still in progress

Viewing the Land art from afar. You really need to be a bird to eye the full image.

Thanks to Menchie Montierro for bringing this project to me and taking us twice to Terrigal; to Marivic King for taking us into her lovely home for the night, and our good friend Mario Aldeguer for his company.

Artist’s Statement

Gurrea the Rainbow Serpent in Aboriginal legend represents the creation of Mother Earth.

Bayami the Creator had awoken Gurrea from the depths of Mother Earth. Gurrea travelled across the land creating the mountains, the rivers, the waterholes and the oceans.

Alfredo Roces Sari Manok and his traditional Filipino interpretation of the mythical bird being a messenger of the Gods inspired my traditional Aboriginal interpretation of Gurrea, the Rainbow Serpent. She too is regarded as a mythical creature and messenger in Aboriginal Lore and Creation. There are many connections between the Indigenous Filipino deity and Aboriginal deity in the spirit world as Bathala and Bayami —both Gods —being responsible for the interaction with the Sari Manok and Gurrea in the creation of man and woman.

The red represents the blood of the Earth, the yellow represents the sun (the giver of life) and the white is the spirit.—Kevin Duncan

Artist’s Statement

To the lake-dwelling Maranao in Southern Philippines, the sari-manok is a mythical bird; a colourful effigy perched on rooftops and boat prows. It graces gold and silver betel nut containers and other brass ware and appears as well on cloth designs. Sculptured in the round—painted red, yellow, purple, black, green and white—the colourful magical bird (a kingfisher according to some) sometimes grasps a fish in its claws. At times, this fish dangles from its beak.

This mythical bird is a messenger of the gods. The fish conveys the message of good fortune and prosperity. The ikon has graced national postage stamps. Folkloric dance groups have choreographed dances on the sari manok theme.

Working on the traditional concept of the bird as a messenger with the fish as bearer of this message, I have expressed the sari-manok’s message to the 5 lands walk and the people of Gosford inside the fish motif. The black, red and white hearts symbolise the diverse peoples of Mankind and of course,—love. It is a call for a fraternal spirit among all peoples of this world, for love and good will to all races on this one earth.

The bird as a deity or a symbol of the spirit world is ingrained in indigenous Filipino lore. To the Tagalogs a thrush (Irene cyanogastra Meyer) is Timmamanukin, sometimes even addressed as Bathala their name for god; to the Visayans it is manaul, the mythical bird who pecked open a bamboo node that brought forth from within it’s nodes the first man and woman.

It is a great honour and privilege to work with Aboriginal artist Gavi Duncan (with his image of Gurrea ,the rainbow serpent) while also representing the Filipino community with this sari manok artwork. On a personal level this is something of a homecoming. Fifty years ago, as a young Filipino writer-artist researching on indigenous Filipino art in the Philippines, the sari manok was one of the motifs I helped bring to national awareness. In April of 1960, this artist introduced the sari manok to Australia via a magazine cover for Hemisphere (an Asia Australian magazine, published by the Commonwealth Office of Education). By the sheerest of coincidences, I find myself bringing the bird to life once more. It has been a long flight through time, but now—by some divine destiny—I am once more, the instrument that brings the sari manok to roost in Terrigal. May love and peace reign on earth. Mabuhay! —Alfredo Roces

-The Sari Manok & the Rainbow Serpent-

Sketching Caridad

Standing several feet away, I sketch her hastily. I then move nearer, sit next to her and work on a more carefully colored close-up. The drawings all look hopelessly unfinished. I always seem to run out of time; or maybe it's just that I sense the work is as far as I can take it under the circumstances.

She remains oblivious of my presence and what I am doing, not striking any kind of pose at all. She moves her head freely and goes about her business which is usually being spoon-fed her meal.

Now I pick up my camera. A fiftieth of a second is more than enough for a digital camera whereas the simplest of sketches on paper require more time. Whether camera or chalk, I am always after the immediacy of the moment. Switching from photography to chalk crayons as I go along, I work as quickly as I can.

***

Whenever we pay my 103 year old mother in law a visit, I bring camera and sketchbook. —Hey, how many people do you know who are 103? —You will find some of the photographs (Life at 103) in my “From My Cyberjournal” blog site:  http://dingrocespo.blogspot.com/

These sketches of her—on view here in this “In My Studio” blog—form a companion piece to the photographs. While the photographs and the chalk sketches complement one another, I feel that they are best viewed separately. Seen together, the two distinct art expressions clash and invite unhappy comparisons. They are in fact different and must be looked at with a different frame of mind. Photographs appear intimate, even invasive, but drawings are personal; photographs give much information including background surroundings, but sketches at best imply. The sentiments of the photographer are veiled, but line drawings reveal the artist’s feelings.

This is not to say that one medium is superior to the other, or that one does not cross the other's boundaries. Some photos I have of her are so powerful and raw, I have refrained from showing them. They are different, that’s all; —like watercolor is different from oil. So here are an artist’s modest notes on being 103. 

Why do I sketch and photograph every visit? I suppose it’s my way of communicating and empathizing with a venerable 103 year old. What comes to mind when I sketch her are the quatrains from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam as translated into English by Edward J. Fitzgerald. I have borrowed some Khayyam/Fitzgerald's verses to go with the drawings. My mother in law is a devout, religious lady, so let me stress these are my thoughts not hers.

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring 

Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling: 

The Bird of Time has but a little way 

To flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.

The above sketch is undated but I believe 

it was done last year, 2008

Some for the Glories of This World; and some 

Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come; 

Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go, 

Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!

Whether at Naishapur or Babylon, 

Whether the Cup with sweet or bitter run, 

The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop, 

The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one

.

And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press 

End in what All begins and ends in--Yes; 

Think then you are To-day what Yesterday 

You were--To-morrow You shall not be less.

February 15, 2009

 And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before 

The Tavern shouted--"Open then the Door! 

You know how little while we have to stay, 

And, once departed, may return no more." 

October 27, 2008

Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! 

One thing at least is certain--This Life flies; 

One thing is certain and the rest is Lies; 

The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

6:00 PM, February 22, 2009

Yet Ah, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! 

That Youth's sweet-scented manuscript should close! 

The Nightingale that in the branches sang, 

Ah, whence, and whither flown again, who knows!

From a 1927 black and white photograph taken when she was Miss Mindoro.

Painted in 1995  for her 90th birthday in January of 1996

Verses from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam as translated by Gerald Fitzgerald.

Some scholars contend that Khayyam's references to wine and lovers refer to "mystical wine and divine love. 

—Sketching Caridad—

Ako

Lord, remember me when you enter into your Kingdom

Pastel on black paper-2008

Narcissism, vanity , ego—these are the frivolous trappings that color a self portrait. But if one can get past these self-indulgent demons, there is much to savor in an honest self portrait.

Two great self-portraits I most admire are: one, Diego Velasquez’s Las Meninas where the painter portrays himself standing behind his easel, staring —across a gaggle of ladies in waiting, the Infanta Margarita, two dwarfs and a dog— directly at the viewer and at whatever or whoever it is he is painting, (a mirror behind the painter reflects the faces of the King and Queen). You can’t tell an artist's biography better than that; and two, Rembrandt’s self portrait at 63 in which he celebrates his old age with a paint brush loaded with rich texture and color. You can’t be more honest than that.

Incidentally, Rembrandt holds a world-record number of auto-portraits with about 50 paintings, 32 etchings and seven drawings of himself on the official scoreboard. Art historian Manuel Gasser observed that for Rembrandt self-portraiture was “a means for gaining self-knowledge, and in the end [self-portraiture] took the form of an interior dialogue: a lonely old man communicating with himself while he painted.” For over 40 years this master portraitist pieced together an impressive visual autobiography

Okay, now that I have got your attention and placed myself in such august company, let me offer my own self portraits. One reason I do auto portraits is because I make a willing model; one who is immediately available, extremely cooperative and uncomplaining, and one with whom I am very familiar with.

When I get the urge to draw or paint — to test a knew medium or paper, or simply to release bottled-up energy—the quickest most accessible and direct subject matter is yours truly. Sometimes I have this urge to record or express a certain emotion or moment. Sometimes I am just feeling playful. Other times I want to take an idea out for a drive. Still other times a dark mood roosts on my shoulder like Edgar Allan Poe’s raven and it seems only the act of drawing can set free.

I am sure I have clumsy student-day attempts at self-portraiture in some bodega somewhere, but the earliest I have on hand is an ink wash and blue watercolor preserved in a black and white photograph dated 1958 (that's still half a century ago!); while the most recent is a pastel sketch (top) done last year. So, in the end, after more than 50 years of this tomfoolery, what do they all have to say? Haha. You tell me.

In a Blue Mood-1958, ink wash & watercolor

The Hat 1972, watercolor, exhibited at one man show Galerie Bleue

I traded the painting for the hat,  but the owner of the hat says she never got it. 

So where the hell is this painting?

Black-eye 1974, pastel & charcoal

Following a basketball sandlot game where

Ed Castrillo dug his elbow into my eye,

I could not sleep, so I did this sketch.

Anxious -1972, pentel pen. It was Martial Law

Portrait of my back 1976, charcoal

I used two mirrors. It's still a self-portrait friends recognize.

Myself Drawing- circa 1956, two colored ball pen.

I started by drawing my foot all the way up to 

my hands and  paper, then I improvised the rest.

Self portrait, pentel pen

Cover of my monograph on my drawings

exhibited at the Cultural Center 1974 

Transition 1977. charcoal

We had moved to Australia. I was looking at the 

shadows and light.Perhaps I caught myself morphing.

Ako, 60, oil 1992

A look at myself when I hit 60. This was exhibted at one of 

my one man shows at Ayala Museum (1992) and later it was 

included in a grand show of self portraits by Filipino  artists 

entitled "Ako"at the Metropolitan Museum. This painting is in the 

collection of Paulino Que. All I have is this black and white photo.

When I was very Young

digital art from scanned objects 1998. Photo of myself as a boy 

and I whimsically included a photo of Irene 

Dark Moon, oil 2004

View from below, pastel 2007

Mirror was on the floor

Side Glance

Pastel on black paper 2007

Page from a sketchbook

pastel 2007

Study, pastel 2007

—AKO—

Launching "Rage"

"Rage! Juan Luna/Antonio Luna/Trindad Pardo de Tavera"
was launched October 30, 2008 at Powerbooks, Greenbelt 4, Makati. A week before, right at the frantic printing stage, there was a bit of drama caused by an incompatibilty between my Mac and the printers PC. In the mechanical electronic process a cluster of text errors somehow crept in. Sorry. I will know better next time.

Nening Pedrosa Manahan—gracious master of ceremonies

To add a touch of musical cool at the launch, I appealed to my nephew Jaime Pineda to croon a few songs. He opened the ceremonies with "Mona Lisa". This ice-breaking musical number was then followed by the inimitable and irrepresible Frankie Sionil Jose who kept the audience wide awake and in good spirits. Jaime then sang a soulful version of "If you Go Away" after which I inflicted a short blah-blah-blah on everyone. The rest of the afternoon was happily spent signing books.

Pardon the name-drops falling on your head. Three national artist friends added class to the launch by their presence: Frankie Jose, Bencab and Arturo Luz. Also: Beniting Legarda, Jimmy Laya, Bambi Harper, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Lourds Montinola, Tiny Nuyda, Romulo OLazo, Sym Mendoza, Romulo Galicano, Toti Villalon, Patrick Flores, Sylvia Mayuga, Sonia Ner, Pandy Aviado, Wig Tysman—obviously it is impossible to name them all and definitely there were as well many extremely good and very special friends and relatives who made the affair delightful. Thank you—each and everyone of you—for coming.

Frankie Sionil Jose unleases his WMD on all and sundry

Purely in the spirit of good fun and humor, with malice towards none, I offer samplings of Frankie’s WMD gems that afternoon:

FSJ: "I have known Ding Roces for so many years and for one the relationship has been marred by very serious disagreements, but on the whole I think we make wonderful music together...

" You know, you walk down that street in front of the Ayala Museum and there is a piece of sculpture there —twisted decrepit—that is supposed to be modern art. I have a very dim view of such antics. And I go by the simple saying that: ‘If I can do it, it isn’t art’.

“...We had Solidaridad Galleries way back in the ‘60s—from ‘67 to ‘77. And one of the artists which we exhibited was Ding and I assure you that Ding can do much much better than that twisted paper-clip there. I know for a fact that he can draw... As I said way back, there are some monuments I would like to dynamite. Ding has not done anything yet which I would like to dynamite.”

Kindly note Frankie’s qualifying addendum “yet”, meaning it’s just a matter of time before I manage to create something worthy of Frankie’s dynamite. Mercifully for all, Arturo Luz arrived late and missed the critique on his sculpture or there would have been two national artists throwing dynamite at each other at the launch. That would have made the launch “Rage” talaga.
I have resisted the temptation to quote Frankie's highly flaterring comments about my writing and "Rage" to spare you the horrors of shameless self-advertising.

Arturo and Tessie Luz

Toti Villalon and Ben Sanchez

Tiny Nuyda  and Jimmy Laya

Artists Arturo Luz and Bencab

Excerpt from my brief remarks:
"In his book which I have entitled “Rage!” I simply wanted to tell a good story. What intrigued me about the lives of these three famous nineteenth century personalities is how somehow, in some perverse way, success crosses over into failure. It seems to me Life is a hit-and-run driver and we wayward pedestrians walking blissfully in an open highway are easy targets. Unfailingly, Life catches us unawares. Antonio Luna rose to be a general and secretary of war in Aguinalido’s army, only to be assassinated by Aguinaldo’s elite guards. Yet we place him in the pantheon of national heroes. Just what is success, and what is failure?"


About the book : excerpt from book’s Prologue:
In Autumn of 1892, in the fabulous city of Paris, three men figured in a dramatic and tragic incident on Rue Pergolese. The famous painter Juan Luna, in a fit of rage, shot and killed his wife Paz and mother in law Doña Juliana Pardo de Tavera. At the time Juan’s brother Antonio was living with him at his studio home in Villa Dupont on rue Pergolese. Throughout their years in Paris a special bond had long been cemented. between these two brothers. Today, Juan and Antonio Luna are, of course, legendary figures of the Philippine landscape. The third man in this story, Juan’s brother in law Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, is less familiar to the generation of today, his reputation having gone into nationalistic eclipse. In his day. however, Pardo de Tavera was a formidable Filipinologist who enjoyed the highest Filipino office as President of the Federalista Party in the early years of America’s period of benevolent assimilation.

This is a tale of these trio of ilustrados whom fate had placed in Villa Dupont in Paris that fateful time, and whose intertwined lives then unravelled in different directions after Paris,1892. To bring you their stories I have carried the writer’s craft to a strictly historian’s terrain; one immediately obvious writer’s device being the use of first person perspectives. While it reads like a novel, I have not strayed in any manner from the historical truth. In fact, several whole chapters are not my words but those actually gracing historical documents and published reportage. While it was tempting to rewrite these chapters to make them my very own words and thus avoid any insinuation of plagiarism, I have opted instead to step back and yield to the authentic voices of these persons of those times in place of any feeble attempts of mine. I believe the reader will savour fully the sense of being there by reading the real thing verbatim. In this sense it is the historian’s craft not a writer’s that I have put to work.

Note: First top two photos in this blog sent to me by Marvs Pineda.

Provided by marketing degree guide.

Explorations: Crucible Gallery/October '08

We Are Not Amused, assemblage, 2008

A modest show of 15 paintings in oil and pastel. The works go back a few years when I worked on the spot with oil and palette knife (My Catch-2001/ Window-2004) but also my most recent work, including a return to my assemblage technique (We Are Not Amused/Offering) harking some decades back to my one man show at Solidaridad Galleries in 1968. It was a chance to look at the overall direction I was taking, as well as a chance to simply let people know I am still around.

On reflection, the other highly figurative direction is also a going back to getting down essentials as simply as possible. The roots come from traditional Asian paintings of fruits, flowers, birds and insects. I hope viewers will sense some ethereal qualities in the depiction of the simplest of subjects through this direct and spontaneous approach. There are those who may fault the gentle restraint applied to these paintings, well it is deliberate.

Those unfamiliar with my exhibits and paintings, specially those looking for a readily recognizable trademark "style" will find this collection runs in various directions. This multi-faceted approach has always been my style. One confused critic, Armando D. Manalo once wrote "Will the real Mr. Roces stand up, please?" (Chronicle Magazine, December 28, 1968). Haha. The real Roces is alive and well in all those varied and multi-faceted approaches to painting and continues with his confusingly many-splendoured style. Why should an artist package himself with a brand-recall to make it all easy for the critic? Go figure.

Offering, Assemblage, 2008


Moonrise, Pastel, 2008


Study In Pink And Blue, Pastel, 2008


Invitation with painting Purple Symphony, oil, 2008


Window, oil. 2004


My Catch, Oil, 2001


Yellow Fruit, Oil, 2008


Three Darts, Pastel, 2008


Solo, Pastel, 2008

Playing With Water

It’s spontaneous, fragile, ephemeral. Don’t undervalue watercolor. Most people think it is child’s play; a medium for hobbyists, with images of old ladies painting flowers or field scientists documenting flora and fauna. So subtle and difficult is this medium, that I always advise those who want to take up painting to start with oils and go to watercolors only when they are far more advanced.

The reputation of watercolor as aesthetically lightweight is undeserved and very likely comes from the fact that it is on paper and generally of a small scale. Perhaps also because it’s delicate qualities lend themselves to tranquil subject matter that is far removed from the gravitas and raw power of oil paintings in mural-sized blood and gore epics. But that's precisely it's very essence, simplicity.

Watercolor is ethereal, almost mystical. In keeping with the qualities of water which is the vehicle for the paints, it is fleeting and elusive. You have to grapple with happy accidents as the colors run into each other and dry willy-nilly in puddles. These are the qualities to savor in a good watercolor painting: transparency, luminosity, and the quicksilver traces of running and drying paint.


A sketch of Baby on our honeymoon in Hongkong 50 years ago in May 1958.

Another unique and important characteristic of watercolor is the source of light. Unlike oil painting where light is formed with mixtures of white paint on the surface of the painting, in watercolor the light comes from the white paper itself and therefore shines from underneath the painting. The light emanates from within the painting. Whereas, in oil or pastel, light comes from pigments applied on top of the canvas or paper. With watercolor, one must be aware from the very start where to preserve passages of light, keeping these wet virgin paper areas free from dark heavy paint. Of course there are those who mix white in watercolor, but the effect is never the same as a pure translucent white pigment-free watercolor.

Watermelon Notes 1976

Another bias collectors have against watercolor is that the work has to be displayed behind glass thus creating a problem of reflection when viewing. Pastel and drawings have the same drawback. Well, you just have to live with that.

Though I always work in many diverse mediums and techniques, mixing and experimenting along the way, I am partial to pure "wet-on-wet" (paper is soaked in water and kept wet as you paint) watercolor. It’s a superb vehicle for still life because here the subject matter and scale are highly suited to the medium. Over the years I have played around with water and paint and I can tell you that while it’s a liberating joy to work with, it’s not for the timid. Your brush stroke must be decisive as there is no room for reworking. You must know when to stop. It is easy to overwork a watercolor. The magical expressiveness of watercolor lies in understatement.

Bouquet 1976

Kangkong 1976

Tinapa And News 1976

Banana Grove 1975

Banana Chillies 1981
Excerpts from two critics’ comments:
Bibsy M. Carballo: Layman’s Viewpoint. The Manila Times, March 20 1972: “...it is difficult to convince an audience overwhelmed by the brilliant blues and greens of pechays floating in space; of tuyos on a Ming plate, and repollos and sitaws rendered in almost mystical terms that these are merely exercises.”

Barbara Mae Naredo: Reverence For Form: Graphic, May 24, 1972: “This composition nevertheless derives for itself a summary of how things look like in a delight of simplicity. It does not even have to be simple but it is precisely the pictures of simplicity that brings about his heightened perceptive insight on what is simple and casual. And simplicity acquires a noble quality.”