ARTICLES:

Bert Monterona: An Artist's Vision of Hope, Justice and Peace

By Catherine M. Febria
2005

------

Beyond Colors and Strokes are Messages of Dreams and Hopes

By Gingging Avellanosa-Valle
07-02-2005

------

The Fil-Canuck-Chilean Connection

By Alfred A. Yuson
The Philippine STAR
10/04/2004

------

On the Works of Bert Monterona:"Can a Man be a Feminist?"

By Alan Haig-Brown
Mindanao Culture
2004

------

Bert Monterona: An Artist's Vision of Hope, Justice and Peace

By Catherine M. Febria

“Can a man be a feminist?”
“Brilliant”
“Intoxicating visual impact”
“Energetic”
“Thought-provoking”
“Vibrant”

These are all statements used to describe the amazing artwork of Norberto “Bert” Monterona after a few exhibitions near Vancouver, Canada. Bert paints with bamboo stick and brushes on natural, hand-made canvasses to create expressive, mural-like tapestries. His compositions reflect his views on many issues including: colonization, religious diversity and the exploitation of women, aboriginal experiences and environmental resources.

As a female graduate student in environmental science, it was his portrayal of environmental destruction and the exploitation of women that immediately resonated within me. His depictions of religious warfare between Muslims and Christians are eerily applicable in today’s global state of affairs. It is remarkable that his beautifully created compositions seem to transcend all cultures and people of all walks of life. In each individual, a different feeling is invoked within, a calling to any one of his many themes, a certain connection to Bert’s artwork that is unique to the human experience.

In the Philippines, he’s been labeled by many as a “political artist.” After seeing his work for myself, I can’t help but ask the question: Why? Is it because his artwork portrays the true historical struggle of Filipinos? A hope for unity and peace amidst religious diversity and war? An undeniable exploitation of women and the environment? Or is Bert Monterona labelled a “political artist” simply because he makes us think?

A CHANCE MEETING WITH BERT MONTERONA
I first met Bert at his first North American exhibition, which happened to be at my university’s gallery. At a new university, in a new city, I was already experiencing a feeling of separation from my friends and family back home. As an active member of the Filipino student organization during my undergraduate years, I was especially disappointed to find out that in Vancouver (one of the most multicultural cities in the world), a Filipino student association didn’t even exist at my university. So I was thrilled to find out about the gallery exhibition of Mindanao visual artist, Bert Monterona.

Over the next few weeks, I made sure to visit the gallery a number of times as I trekked back and forth across campus. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but what I felt was some sense of connection to this work that seemed to encompass my cultural, social, feminist and environmental values. Luckily, I noticed a sign advertising a bamboo stick painting workshop with Bert and quickly signed myself up. It was a chance to meet this remarkable artist in person. During the bamboo stick workshop, it was evident that Bert was an extremely humble man with extraordinary talent. Upon introducing myself as a former Filipino student association organizer and activist with a genuine interest in Filipino issues, he immediately lit up with a conversation in tagalong and we made plans to keep in touch.

PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL ARTIST
We met and chatted on a sunny and warm spring afternoon in Vancouver. We chatted in great deatail about his life as an artist, father and Filipino. I soon realized that this chance meeting gave me the opportunity to meet and get to know one of the most inspiring Filipino artists of our time.
Born and raised in Mindanao, Bert recalls being a creative kid, causing mischief with his school friends and being part of a strictly Catholic family. His mother and grandfather were of indigenous descent and he easily recalls stories passed onto him from his grandfather about hunting and their native traditions. He witnessed massive deforestation and pollution that was the result of urban development and industrialization in Mindanao. One of nine children, Bert was the only sibling to receive a college education and he received accolades of being a top “Young Scientist” and a prestigious scholarship to the Mindanao State University to study engineering. However, he soon discovered that visual arts were his passion and political activism soon followed. Looking back, he laughs heartily about his decision to leave engineering, “I took engineering and I didn’t like … calculus. The book was too thick!” However, there was no doubt in his mind, that even back then he loved creating art and being “in the art world.” Similar to my own personal experiences, Bert’s days as a student largely shaped his world views and opinions, “…it just so happened that my political principle was molded when I was in the university.” In particular, it was the realization of local injustices that called him to political action. During the height of Marcos’ infamous martial law period, Bert became “concerned with the issues”, witnessing widespread inequalities for industry workers and within the educational system in Mindanao.

After completing his studies, Bert’s artwork took him throughout the Philippines, eventually leading him to join the Katipunan movement (a movement rooted in the historic fight by Filipinos for liberation from Spanish colonizers, which now represents the struggle for social and human rights). Bert is credited with starting and popularizing the use of mural paintings as a form of political protest in the Philippines. For Bert, it was a point of no return. It was then that he began “painting as a full-time artist”. “That’s the time I was always… concerned about human rights and the economic condition in the Philippines.” It was the start of a body of work that expressed his sentiments towards feminist, tribal and environmental issues. His work became popularized throughout the Philippines, leading to grants and commissions within the country and to countries worldwide.

“WOMEN ARE POWERFUL”
There is no denying that women’s issues are what many remember about Bert’s artwork. It is a theme that, many years later, Bert still feels strongly about and continues to express in his work. He claims that his consciousness of gender issues began in the late 1980s when he began working with the Gabriela Women’s Organization. “I protested the macho society and looking at women as sex objects … Because for me, Women are powerful.”

The 2001 National award winning composition, Plight of Women (photo 1), is one of the artist’s personal favourite. What is immediately captivating is the serene face of a woman with a traditional Filipino headdress. Two piercing blue eyes stand out, and with a closer look, one sees a dove in the pupil of the right eye and scales (symbolizing justice) in the pupil on the left. Numerous interwoven colours and images of women make up the larger composition. One notices a tightrope with women of various trades walking across it and a spider remaining affixed underneath the rope. As Bert explains, the spider represents man and the repression of women’s life which can be synonymous with walking a tightrope. A closer look reveals that each woman holds different tools, representing the multi-sector repression of women, from technology to the trades. Affixed to the center of the headdress and forehead is an image of a globe, subtle images of satellites and cellphones, entwined with different colours, forms, shadows and human profiles. The overall image culminates in a visual commentary on globalization, preserving indigenous culture, the repression of women, while the piercing blue eyes remind us that peace and justice can be achieved. Bert explains that “you can attain peace when there is justice… even in women’s issues.” It is work such as this that has garnered much praise both in the Philippines and overseas.

The imagery of protest led by women is a recurring image in most of his work, “I use women [as a symbol] because it is more effective… and also to encourage women not to just stay in the house [but to] get out and participate” in the protest against the injustices of exploitation and war. He admits that his use of women to convey his ideas and visions has led some critics to question his sexual orientation. He simply shrugs it off light-heartedly stating “I love women … I have a daughter and of course I don’t want her to be a victim of exploitation … to be a victim of a macho society.” He also recollects that in the indigenous tribes, it is the women who carry guns and are fully engaged in battle.
A composition entitled Vision of Hope, Justice and Peace (photo 2) resonates with themes such as women empowerment and Bert’s vision of gender equality. Three women are portrayed as representing different struggles. One bears a gun, representing the ongoing struggle of women in society. Another woman wears a historical battle uniform, representing the historical role of women in the liberation of the Filipino people from Spanish colonization. She holds the historical Katipunan flag in her hand and two K’s are emblazoned as part of the background. And to represent hope, a woman placed at the centre carries an unborn child in her womb. “My concept is that the woman is the one who produces a more concerned generation, because it’s from their womb. The child inside the womb will observe the principles of the mother.” The three women’s hands are grasped tightly around the fetus, strong and pulsing with inner and physical strength. Interwoven images bring the vision for justice and peace together that include many facets of the human experience: environment, agriculture, economics, education, technology, faith, culture and hope. On issues of gender equality, Bert is optimistic, “I visualize equality and … there is always hope.”

NO TO WAR
Bert acknowledges that he never intended to be a “political artist”. His life experiences seemed to always lead him down the path of political activism. “I cannot just stay in my studio while I can see the people dying of poverty and victims of human rights violations that the government is always denying.”

He’s also been criticized by fellow artists for accepting non-political or “commercial” jobs to support his young and growing family. He remains unapologetic for accepting commercial art projects stating “I sometimes sacrificed. Because I needed financial things … because you need some work for your bread and butter.” He honestly justifies those choices by stating his commitment to his children with whom he is extremely close. “I love to liberate the people [of the Philippines], but my family belongs to the people. I want to liberate them also from that system.”

Acknowledging the sentiments of disconnect felt between the people of Mindanao and the Philippine government, Bert is pleased with his efforts to address the disparity during his time as commissioner with the Philippine National Commission for Culture and Arts during the late 1990s. This proved to be extremely rewarding. He recalls: “I [was] criticizing the national offices in the Philippines where there name is “National” but their scope is just in Manila. So … the National commission for culture and arts’ congress [became] regionalized. I organized festivals going to Muslim areas [in Mindanao]. That was the first time it was participated by tribal groups, Muslims and Christians.” It was part of his hope and vision for a unified country despite religious diversity. Growing up in Mindanao, Bert is all too familiar with the complexity and severity of Muslim-Christian conflicts in the Philippines. “There should be cultural action. The prejudices could not be just solved with just peace talks because the issues that they are discussing are not just to stop war … it’s historical.” The appropriately titled tapestry, No To War (photo 3), represents his ideas towards a multi-sector protest against war. He uses both men and women as part of a protest against warfare. Unsurprisingly, women are at the forefront of the protest and mass action.

Another well-known composition called Continuing Revolution (photo 4) addresses Bert’s sentiments towards the Philippine Centennial in 1998. When invited to submit a composition, he noticed that artists were portraying the historical revolution of the past. However, the irony was immediately apparent to Bert. “For me, I painted the revolution, the continuing revolution because the revolution is still going on! ... Instead of just celebrating the past revolution, [I believe that] it’s not yet over … problems still exist … struggles and protests are still going on.” The social ills of the Philippines remind us that “it will be an unending revolution. Generation to generation” until the problems are resolved. As political artists, Bert maintains that it is their responsibility to educate and advocate.
In terms of a solution to the social and political troubles in the Philippines, “I think the cultural aspect of human life is very important. And you cannot change it … A cultural problem can only be solved through cultural work.” In one case, his creative involvement with an Islamic group involved in peace talks quickly became complicated after 9/11. Still a sensitive issue for the artist, he maintains that he truly believed the peace talks to “be the last peace process. I thought that that conflict would be solved. But it’s not.”

Free the Bird, Cage the Warhead (photo 4) speaks to the issue of warfare and American warheads in the Philippines. The tapestry, at first glance, seems to portray dancing women adorned with the traditional Filipino headdress and costumes with a Mindanao mountain landscape in the background. Then one quickly notices a circular cage at the forefront, encapsulating a warhead and a single bird resting atop the cage. “I like this idea”, Bert states regarding his notion of “caging” the warhead, “because it’s beyond the normal imagination”. The message passed on to the audience is subtle but nonetheless effective: “The protest should be as strong as that … Put the warheads in a cage, and free the bird.”

MULTICULTURALISM & GLOBALIZATION: HEART OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY
More recently, Bert’s career took another international turn. He was one of thirteen Philippine artists invited to Canada to present at a festival focusing on the issue of peace and the peace process. The goal was simple: “We wanted to show the richness of the culture. It’s not only war happening [in Mindanao].” It was this opportunity that led him to make the decision to start over and move to Canada. He left behind his family and gallery in Mindanao and has been living and working out of Vancouver, Canada ever since. “It’s a big sacrifice for me to stay away from my family… It’s really hard … I decided that I will go on just for my children.” Like every parent, Bert is dreaming of a better future for them: “I want to send them to first class schools and to give them the basic needs, give them a happy life. I don’t want them to experience what I experienced.” Blessed with many rewarding international opportunities through his art, he admits that: “I just want my children to have an option … I traveled a lot, I represented the country [Philippines] in different countries from Australia, US, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and other countries. I want also them to experience this kind of life. For me, this is the kind education you cannot learn in university.”

Human struggles, culture, diversity and a hope for the future have always shaped Bert’s artwork. It seems likely to continue into the future. He is currently venturing into a new body of work that will focus on globalization and multicultural issues. This is the result of his years of travel, his multicultural experiences in Canada and new realizations on the subject of globalization. His creative projects are not only limited to his tapestries and oil paintings, but also will include sculpture and installation artwork. “My next body of works is … about peace building and arts.” He believes that “we can preserve the indigenous culture and live with globalization.” In one tapestry, Heart of Unity in Diversity (photo 6), the message of unity is clear – the heart of the solution lies in embracing our diversity. Around the image of the heart, religious images including an Islamic mosque, a Catholic church, a Christian rosary, an Islamic religious necklace (tapis), a dove (representing peace) and human figures and profiles (representing dialogue) all connect seamlessly in this striking composition. The lizard, a symbol he commonly uses in his artwork is just one part of this message, “The lizard is the soft creature but can climb to the highest building. But during sunset, it will go down and kiss the land to thank the earth for a good day. If human beings were like that, it would be a wonderful world.”

In Canada, he has explored the notion of art as a therapy with the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute. “I’m going to … widen my views on my ideas of peace building and art as a therapy because I was doing that in the Philippines for victims of war, the children of war … I worked with some institutions [that offer programs to] women who are victims of rape.” Moreover, the struggle of Filipino issues remains at the core of his convictions. Although he has experienced his share of criticism from fellow Filipino artists, many personal hardships, discrimination and racism during his international travels, he does not seem to dwell on the negativity of those experiences. Instead he appears to have a calm sense of self, committed to continue his life long career as a visual artist with the goal of helping to improve the quality of life in the Philippines, because “I belong to the Philippines and Philippines is part of the world.”

What impresses me the most is how this incredibly humble, extraordinarily talented man is continually inspired by the human experience. Moreover, he uses this inspiration in his work continuously and believes in using his art as “a tool for advocacy”. When asked why, he simply states that it is “because life is so short that you must maximize it for good”.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
It’s been six months since Bert and I first met. What lies ahead for Bert the artist, or me, the environmental scientist is unknown. Since I first sat down with him, many events have transpired in both our lives. Kuya Bert has welcomed me into his life here in Vancouver, and he is also a part of mine. His time in Canada is quickly coming to an end and he is soon returning to Mindanao, to his family and studio. But he is too busy to have time to reflect. His day job, two back-to-back gallery exhibitions and teaching an art workshop keep him fully occupied. When asked if he was happy about the well-deserved attention, he humbly shrugs it off. He tells me of tiring days between job and exhibition. He tells me about how the amount of time and energy spent at the galleries takes time away from his real passion, his artwork. After three years of tireless work overseas, he just wants to go home and finally reunite with his children.

And after all this time, I revisit the question: why is Bert Monterona labeled a “political” artist? I’ve realized that this seemingly political artist is simply and truly a personal artist. An artist whose work invokes a personal truth within us all. His time in Vancouver has been full of critical acclaim and accolades, personal struggle and lifelong inspiration. He has left behind a lasting impression among the hundreds of unknown people who saw his work, a legacy with the University of British Columbia Centre for Southeast Asian Research and respect and appreciation from the Filipino community of Vancouver. One can’t help but be inspired with their own vision for the future. And I ask myself, what do I see? I see a country, the Philippines, that with a rich history and the potential to be great. I see a future that is bright, multicoloured, where gender equality, global peace and environmental sustainability are possible. I have a vision of Change. A vision of Hope.

(This article was first published in Bamboo Girl zine.)

Catherine M. Febria's personal website.