By pioneering a form that paved way for a renewed art appreciation in the country, Junyee has become a creative force to be reckoned with since the 1970s.

(Tatler Philippines) In celebration of his presence in the local arts scene for over 50 years, the so-called “Tatay” (Father) of many artists today took a visit to an exhibition dedicated to his legacy. Together, we looked back at some of his important milestones, his insights, and realisations that he wants to impart to the new breed of artists.

Luis Enano Yee Jr., who is more commonly known by his pseudonym Junyee, has been based in Los Baños, Laguna for most of his active creative life. He is the first of his generation of artists who braved mounting an exhibition of works made out of indigenous materials and in a wide scope of areas. Being the father of Installation Art and Indigenous Art in the country, nature was both his canvas and material. At the height of Modernism challenging the so-called “school of Amorsolo” to best express the tumultuous socio-political period of the time, Junyee emerged as a social realist artist fighting for the preservation and conservation of the environment and a voice of the oppressed by the dictatorial regime.

Luis “Junyee” Enano Yee Jr. / Image courtesy of the Cultural Center of the Philippines

Born in Agusan del Norte in 1942, Junyee moved to Metro Manila to study Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. One of his mentors was Napoleon Abueva, who was dubbed the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture and was later conferred as a National Artist. His Mindanaoan heritage has been evident in his art even today, and perhaps, it was one of the key things that made him break conventional and conservative art forms and use organic and indigenous materials for his site-specific works.

“I was born an artist,” he said when I asked him how his passion for the arts came about. “My early memories [include me] making drawings,” he recalled. “I joined my first art competition at a school art contest when I was nine years old, and I won first prize.” Junyee attributes Michaelangelo, the renowned Italian artist from the Renaissance period as his most influential teacher. “[But] I was not influenced by his works. Instead, of his passion in doing them,” he said. Indeed, Michaelangelo and Junyee share the same relentless spirit. Both made gargantuan masterpieces with such intensity and emotions, defying the conventions of art, as well as the powerful individuals in control of the people, of their eras. “But my constant teacher is nature,” the artist quickly said, picking up memories from the farthest corners of his mind. Indeed, he made a mark in the country’s contemporary art scene by building installations that are made of, inspired by, and speaks for, the environment.

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In The Creative Legacy of Junyee write up of Riel Jaramillo Hilario, the author wrote, “This keenness to work with organic elements, upcycled refuse of the plant world, or the opportunities presented by the environment set Junyee apart from the rest. No one paid attention to the ravages of global warming 40 years ago. And yet Junyee, on his own, pursued this direction.”

Besides his longstanding career in the Philippines, his body of work includes his participation in several international exhibitions like the 12th Paris Biennale in 1982, the 4th and 7th Havana Biennale in 1991 and 2000, and the Asia Pacific Triennial in 1993, Australia. Last 2020, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) gave him its highest accolade, the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining (CCP Award for the Arts), making him the first Mindanaoan artist to earn such recognition.

His lasting legacy on Philippine art dates back to his historic installation at the UP Diliman Campus. Entitled, “Balag“, the massive trellis made of bamboos and tree branches awakened the students’ and art connoisseurs’ notion of art as they finally see a masterpiece made of indigenous material in an outdoor setting away from the white walls of a gallery. And it was not for sale.

“My friends expected me to do a sculpture for my first one-man show because I have [received] awards in sculpture and it was also my major in college. In my first coffee table book, Wood Things, [I wrote there that with Balag] I answered a burning question of my time during my college days of ‘what is Filipino art’. I went back to nature to help me articulate my answer,” Junyee explained.

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I survived hunger and homelessness because to be an artist was, and still is, the burning pursuit of my spirit. It made me stronger and strangely more creative.

— Junyee

Another momentous installation art of Junyee was “Angud” in 2007, which was a landscape of numerous tree trunk parts where holes were drilled in order to haul the log from the mountains. They are considered junk, being the discarded part, and could no longer be sold. It was a protest installation Junyee mounted at the front of the CCP lawn.

“A social realist artist is one who speaks for the people who have no voice to speak their aspirations and dreams,” Junyee said. “It’s more than just defecting in canvas of their mysteries and hardships. I’ve been doing installation art in the social realist vein, and to do it, one has to dig deep in the experiences of how to be an underdog and down in the ring of social standing.”

An archival photo of Junyee’s “Cluster of Light” (2016) / Image courtesy of the artist

A photo of the artist’s “Bird of Fire” (2021) artwork made of soot and paint on board, similar to his 2012 “Dark Matter” series

100 Filipino contemporary artists joined forces in mounting the grand exhibition in homage to Junyee at Altro Mondo. However, the gallery space can accommodate only 90 of them. Ultimately, 87 made it to the premiere due to time constraints. Nevertheless, it was a success. It was a gathering of today’s finest artists, with their works inspired by Junyee’s legendary installations, exhibitions, and artistic spirit. But more importantly, its success is measured by how it touched Tatay.

 

“To see many of nationally renowned artists, many of them are my friends that I respected and admire was emotionally overwhelming, to say the least,” Junyee heartfully said. “But to see that two-thirds of them are young artists that I don’t even have the opportunity to know deeply but all admire my works and very much eager to meet me personally… I was like, am I that old already?” he quipped. True, some young artists actually paid him a visit in his quaint studio in Los Baños and sought his artistic wisdom. “But more truthfully, I ask myself, have I really influenced the new generation of artists? Many of them are still studying art studies. Something I tried very hard not to experience is this thing called self-importance. Nevertheless, I am thankful and amazed!”

 

Hilario in his write up praised Junyee for remaining unfazed by trends in the contemporary art scene. The writer said that Junyee’s impact on the local and international art scene is the discourse his works have brought upon. Where art collectors visit art fairs and auctions to purchase ready-to-hang and easily digestible artworks, Junyee remained in his seclusion and continued doing what he believes in: modernist works made of indigenous materials to raise awareness on environmental degradation as well as socio-political unrests brought upon by people of authoritative power squandering our natural resources. He wrote, “The consistency and conviction of his creative praxis is a lesson on artistic dignity and erudition. Junyee is the counterpoint to the group of pandering painters who fill up their clients’ homes and coffers with portraits, investable assets, and whimsical fantasies of Western Art.”

 

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Junyee took his time appreciating each work in the gallery. He would look closely at one and try to analyse the artist’s process and technique. Even at his age and iconic status, it seemed he is learning as well from the young artists.

 

“There is one by young artists who I have not met yet, Elbert Caballero whose control reminds me of the early works of H. R. Ocampo,” he said, sharing which work in the exhibition captivated him the most. “A 4 x 3 feet artwork titled, ‘Pintuang Bukas‘ is so controlled that you cannot imagine the amount of his focus in making those thousand ‘dots’ of different pastel colours. At first sight, it hides the image until you refocus your vision and see an image in a haze. It took me a while to recognise that it is an image of the monument ‘Open Doors’ that I erected in Israel! I like his painting not because of the subject which I have made but because of his control in making his piece.”

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“Wood Things” (1981), photo taken at the retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 2013 / artandmarket.net

“Open Doors” monument (2009) located at Tel Aviv, Israel / Israel Preker (from streetsigns.co.il)

“Kwarantin”, a temporary outdoor installation in 2020 at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus / UP Vargas Museum Facebook page

Going back to his installation works in the past, Junyee admitted that like anybody else, he was not spared from discouragements and disappointments. “You will never believe how many difficult things I had to surmount in my 55 years of art-making!” He remarked. “Starting with leaving home to study art against the judgment of my businessman father… I survived hunger and homelessness because to be an artist was, and still is, the burning pursuit of my spirit. It made me stronger and strangely more creative.”

Though the years already show in his face, Junyee is still far from stopping. I asked him what does he think was his most memorable and intimate work but he answered that it would be the next one. Befittingly titled, the “Next One” exhibition of the Philippine art icon would be his first sculpture garden, and he is doing this in the campus of UP Los Baños. “It’s a 1,600-sqm garden with a pavilion that I hope to finish by mid-2022. After this, I will make the first permanent installation of garden art in the country beside Vargas Museum at UP Diliman. Hopefully, I start on that before the year is over.”

With the rise of digital art technology, NFTs, and virtual exhibitions, Junyee, as Hilario wrote it before, remains unfazed. “Public art? Why not?” He said, throwing my question back at me. “We still travel, like my wife and I, to visit or see beautiful places in the country or in abroad. Nothing beats standing in front of art in real-time!”

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Junyee at the Altro Mondo group exhibition

 

Junyee, with his trellises of bamboos, wood soots, and upcycled ‘wood things’, has chiselled his identity as an artist with adamant faith to the next generation. His masterpieces, though some have been for temporary viewing only, transcended through time with its relevant themes and brave questions it radically attempted to answer.

“I have done my works and they are all there for people to admire or criticise. It would be redundant to say in words what I have actualised for the people to see,” he said. “Still to be courteous to those who admired my work for years, wish me luck that the ‘Next One’ is the best yet. To the young artists, be true to yourself. Don’t think like a businessman! Art making is not a ‘hanap-buhay‘ (work for a living), it’s a calling.

Do what you love to do even if the world will not understand you. If you’re good enough at what you love to do, you’ll earn. If you are good enough, the world will take notice. I’ve been doing installations for over 50 years now and it sells very little but I love doing it and I have survived. I am happy! To the country and its people, support the artists, especially the young ones. All of them are articulating who we are as a people.”

 

Images ALTRO MONDO