Pop Art According to Jopunk

Essay 4. POP ART ACCORDING TO JOPUNK

By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Pop art may no longer be called pop nowadays, but the artists belonging to the North American newbrow and Japanese superflat movements share the same goal as their 1960s predecessors---the celebration of kitsch and its elevation to high art status. By celebration of kitsch, I refer to these artists`s usage of popular mass media icons, animation, manga and cartoon-like characters, and images of consumer goods as subject matter for their paintings. 

Pop`s family tree shows the direct line of descent all too clearly; Andy Warhol spawned Jeff Koons, and Jeff Koons spawned Takashi Murakami. I don`t know if we Pinoys already have our own term for it, but pop art Philippine-style is visibly resurgent hereabouts. I`m not sure if I remember right, but right off, I can cite as the more visible practitioners of this genre here, Ronaldo Ventura, Farley Del Rosario, Luis Lorenzana and Anthony Palo. I`m adding Jojo Garcia, a.k.a. as Jopunk, to the list.

He was a classmate at the University of the East School of Fine Arts in the early nineteen eighties, although he transferred later on to the Philippine Women`s University (PWU). The reason for the transfer is still unclear to me, although rumors were rife that he and his group of UESFA "punkistas" got the ire of our Director, Florencio Concepcion, for their indulging in an overt manner in an activity that was part and parcel of the punk lifestyle. And that wasn`t their dressing the part and listening to punk music, if you know what I mean. 

Now, Jojo Garcia is a changed man. Don`t let the unruly hair fool you, because Jojo really takes his life and art seriously. He works in animation and paints during his free times. His output, true to the pop art ethos, depicts Converse sneakers, Coca Cola cans, and jeepneys, faintly reminiscent of Andy Warhol`s style. 

But while Warhol, or rather, Warhol`s numerous assistants, employed the silk screen technique in his artworks, Jojo did his by his own hand and by the old-fashioned method using oil paints and brushes. And he is quite generous with his oils, too, because he slathered them on in thick impasto. His fondness for distortion, swirling brush strokes, use of garish colors and employment of the repeating image device as composition format may turn off many painters and other art lovers still un-weaned from the influence of Amorsolo and the Mabini School of Art. 

But I am impressed. I am so impressed, that I`m now trying to resist the urge to do similar paintings. But, to no avail it seems, because Jojo`s paintings already showed their influence on me in my use of intense colors in my latest works and my adding to my brushwork repertoire the laying on of colors also in swirling impasto.

Jeepneys as painting subject were popular among Filipino artists. Vicente Manansala, Antonio Austria and Rock Drilon were the most prominent among the artists who`ve tried their hand in using jeepneys as recurrent motif in their works. Jojo Garcia`s close friend, Junjie Verzosa, also did a suite of jeepney paintings. It may be from him that Jojo got the idea to come up with his own version.

Nothing wrong with that.As I have said in a previous write-up on Isagani Fuentes, there`s nothing degrading in being influenced by the artists we admire. Painters, for centuries, have done deliberate copying of the styles of the paintings that so impressed them. I cited Picasso as an example. Now, I also add the great Michelangelo to the list, because he was said to be very much impressed and subsequently influenced by Luca Signorelli`s series of frescoes, The Last Judgment. 

And Raphael, too. He was forced to chucked his lean Peruginoesque figures when he saw by stealth Michelangelo`s work in progress on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Raphael`s mural, "The School of Athens", executed after his eye-opening encounter with Michelangelo`s robust humanity, revealed the older artist`s influence on him. 

Because of its sheer visual impact, I see no reason why Jojo`s art won`t make it as a favorite of interior designers and art collectors. Jojo`s paintings will surely look good hanged on the pristine walls of modern condominium units. 

Now, now; the purists among you may accuse me of espousing commercialism. But let`s be honest and stop the hypocrisy. If an artwork is for sale, and has a corresponding price tag, that artwork becomes a commodity, and is therefore commercial. 

The truly non-commercial artworks are the installations, and art of the conceptual kind shown in non-selling exhibitions. And also the paintings that are so gross and so badly painted that the artists won`t sell because no one will buy them anyway.

 - 2010