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MENTION
“Florante at Laura” and the average Filipino will
probably take his cellular phone from his pocket to
check on new messages or to fake a phone call. Call it a
glitch in the way lessons were taught in high school,
but talking about an epic poem from the 19th century,
written in 19th-century Filipino, is a sure way to make
people of the 21st century vanish into thin air—at
least, mentally.
Then
again, “Florante at Laura,” written by Francisco
Baltazar, the most famous and influential poet of his
time, is considered one of our more enduring literary
masterpieces, not only because it is required reading in
school but given the right “packaging” for the legion of
new readers engrossed with boy wizards and magical
kingdoms, the epic poem could become a bestseller.
Project
Art, an outfit that specializes in curatorial services
and exhibition management, came up with the most
brilliant thing—put sensible images done by experts to
complement the text. Not the usual stuff we can find in
graphic novels or comics, but real artworks done on
canvas to be exhibited and, later on, integrated into
book form.
Early in
October last year, the group approached National Artist
for Literature Virgilio Almario regarding the project.
The ever-prolific Almario happens to have already come
up with the modern version of “Florante at Laura,”
published in 2003 by Adarna House. We use the word
“modern” because it was pointed out how the original
version—usually recited in town fiestas—had been altered
many times. Almario was able to get a copy of the
original 19th-century version and edited it for the
modern readers, without altering the plot.
Project
Art asked 23 visual artists to come up with a figurative
interpretation of selected scenes in the epic poem. One
artist, one scene. They were given two months to finish
each artwork.
The
chosen 23 are a combination of the veterans and
promising upstarts: Mark Arcamo, Buen Calubayan, Cana,
Salvador J. Ching, Convocar, Marc Cosio, Cris Cruz,
Leonilo Doloricon, Egai Fernandez, Alfred Galvez, Sajid
Imao, Jon Jaylo, Jerome Malic, Wilfredo Offemaria Jr.,
Vincent Padilla, Jonathan Ranola, Laya Roman, Don
Salubayba, Fernando Sena, Rex Tatlonghari, Roger
“Rishab” Tibon, Inna Vitasa and Janice Young.
In an
initial meeting after two months at the UP Vargas Museum
in University of the Philippines-Diliman, we saw how the
different renditions brought life to memories of boring
afternoon lectures some decades ago. We won’t divulge
who did which but let’s just say, the resulting
artworks—for lack of a better term—make for an exciting
journey back in time, when kingdoms were kingdoms, not
some game on a gaming console or on a wooden board. It’s
like a painting contest without losers.
For a
refresher to the common reader, “Florante at Laura” is a
love story set in the kingdom of Albania. It tackles
friendships among people of different political beliefs
and religious backgrounds. It was said that Baltazar
wrote it to awaken the Filipinos’ sense of nationhood
and independence, to free their minds from the Spanish
colonizers.
Some
readers even went as far as describing it as “Romeo and
Juliet with a happy ending.”
Now
comes the exhibit. The location will be at the Edge
Gallery of the UP Vargas Museum. The concept of Project
Art will have each painting accompanied by the stanza
from which it was based. For the visual backdrop, the
artistic team of Alfred Galvez Mural Designs and
Finishes will feature trompe l’oeil (fool the eye)
effects. On the walls of Edge Gallery there will be faux
columns and moldings in manner of the Roman Empire.
The
exhibit is a component of the “Komedya Fiesta 2008: The
First National Festival, one of the major activities
celebrating the UP Centennial. Florante at Laura the
exhibit will run from February 8 to March 31 at the Edge
Gallery. After the exhibit, there is a plan to
incorporate the artworks in a coffetable book version of
the epic poem. Now, that’s chic Florante at Laura.
Shakespeare has never been this cool. And I mean that in
a positive way. |
