It was elevenish when we finally finished with the Blanco Family Museum. My guest was busy snapping away with her camera taking photos voraciously with her Nikon D-7000 camera. She took photos of jeepneys, pedicabs, ambulant vendors schoolkids and the entire neighborhood, basically. As our van made a right turn to get to the main highway, I spotted the local tourism office. I decided to make an official call on their officers and one of them, Lito, ended up showing us around town. I have maps of the sites as well for the guest and myself.
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| Third generation visual artist Carlos "Totong" Francisco |
Lito accompanied us on the van to the home and studio of National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos "Botong" Francisco. This spot should be easier to find for anyone who's a first-timer in Angono. There are twin markers of the busts of both Lucio San Pedro (National Artist for Music) and Botong Francisco. Incidentally, they're cousins... so I guess, despite the difference in discpline, genius runs in their family. But I digress...
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| Totong Francisco in his grandfather's studio |
These days, it is Carlos "Totong" Francisco who has taken up his grandfather's legacy. Totong showed us around to his grandfather's old home and studio... Again, the home is no longer original. Concessions had to be made for the children to establish families of their own. The old home has been annexed into a concrete structure now used by Totong and his family. An entry way to the original studio is a small gallery where Totong entertains guests and prospective buyers.
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| Alley cum gallery leading to studio |
Oddly, Carlos "Botong " Francisco is the only artist who never kept any of his artworks. He was so in-demand in his hey-day that he was always commissioned to do gigantic murals to adorn public buildings and offices. If you want to view his works you'd have to visit the likes of GSIS or Manila City Hall. In his honor, his brother in law, who was once a barangay captain used his fund allocation to make bas relief of Botong's works along the walls of the neighborhood. The Angono artists collaborated with him on this effort. This is about the only street I know that displays the works of Botong from end to end.
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| Gallery of Totong Francisco fronting the studio of his grandfather |
I mentioned to Lito that I am now disoriented as far as directions around the town are concerned. Nothing seemed remotely the same...I mentioned to him that many years back when I was still dancing, we would come to Angono periodically. I remembered Orville Tiamson's home. And as luck would have it, Lito knew where Orville had moved to.
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| Orville Tiamson's new studio |
Artist Orville Tiamson is one of the more progressive contemporary artists of our time. He was first invited to a collaborative fundraising project by Ballet Philippines. They were welcomed to witness ballet class and rehearsals and allowed to use the dancers as subjects. Since then, Orville has had a love affair with the subject of dance. The man is multi-faceted. Since then, he has created scenography and even music for dance. My guest was surprised that Orville knew me. He has since created a wide open studio on land he inherited from his grandparents. The high walls seem daunting but once inside, there's a zen-like ambience that seems to make visitors want to paint. Much as we'd like to reminisce on good times, we left Orville's studio with a promise to come back. The guest on the other hand fell in love with an acrylic painting of a candle vendor which she hopes she might be able to ship back to the US. She purchased a smaller acrylic painting that wasn't framed. This one she can easily slip into her suitcase. Orville promised to send the authentication once they have exchanged email messages.
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| Contemporary artist Orville Tiamson showing studies of Pres. Macapagal's commissioned portraits |
Didn't I mention that the guest was an avid art collector? The small artwork behind Orville in the above photo was the piece my guest bought to add to her collection at home in Montana. By the time we had made our leave at the studio, it was way past lunchtime.
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