Lot description
Ano Kamo? (Pakil Series) signed and dated 2010 (lower right) oil on canvas 40" x 48" (102 cm x 122 cm) Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot LITERATURE Last Full Show: Danilo Dalena Retrospective, Cultural Center of the Philippines,10 December 2016 to 4 March 2017, © 2018 Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Dalena Research Initiative. Full-color illustration, page 41. EXHIBITED Last Full Show: Danilo Dalena Retrospective, Cultural Center of the Philippines, 10 December 2016 to 4 March 2017 The work at hand is situated on the footsteps of the grandiose stone church of St. Peter of Alcantara, mystic and reformer, who was so wise that he served as an adviser to Sta. Teresa of Avila, who sought his help in reforming the Carmelite order. The church dates from 1776, or a good 250 years ago, and it rises vertiginously from the narrow street of Pakil. Along the front of the church, from its corner to the adjacent convent house, is a narrow stone bench, beloved by the Pakil townfolk as a meeting place and rendezvous point, and, most importantly, as the perfect perch to take in the comings and goings right in the center of town. “Ano Kamo?” (or ”Say What?”) takes place at precisely this location, the coral-stone blocks of the church once visible in the background. It captures a pair of wizened characters from Dalena’s youth, exchanging hard-to-believe opinions and never-heard-before news. It’s a snapshot of the Filipino character — his love of personal details and his penchant for gossip. It’s the heartbeat of Filipino life: the passing around of rumors. Idle talk has become the national sport (from small towns to big cities), made even more omnipresent by the Filipino addiction to social media. Dalena presents two of Pakil’s senior citizens, one with old-fashioned long nails and grizzled white hair, wearing a scarlet basketball jersey and shorts that show his bare arms and legs. He whispers conspiratorially into the ear of another ‘miron’ (onlooker) in a yellow shirt and loose trousers, cane in one hand. Rubber slippers, symbols of the proletariat, are strewn on the sidewalk. He could be filling his companion’s head with false information and fake news — one finger pointed in the air. The title ‘Ano Kamo” (Say What?) conveys the incredulity of the listener, as he leans closer and tugs on his ear. In today’s chaotic times, it’s a modern-day parable about the evils of calumny and a testament to the continuing relevance of the works of Danilo Dalena, thanks to his incisive and unique commentaries on the Filipino condition. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil)
