“Perhaps the most powerful image of despair at the beginning of the 21st century is not found in art or literature, or even popular music. It is found in a single photograph.” Theologian Mark D. Thompson was referring to the so-called “Falling Man,” a photograph of a man plunging headlong to his death from the burning tower of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City. It was taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew.

The act or sight of man falling from the heavenly heights goes as far back to the ancient Greek myth of Icarus, celebrated in poetry, music and painting, of which the most famous is the one attributed to the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel.

A German contemporary expressionist painter, George Baselitz was made famous by his allusion to the “Falling Man” theme with his “Upside Down” figures which courted notoriety by which some critics denounced as gimmickry.

On view at Altro Mondo Gallery is the solo exhibition of prize-winning artist Ronald Jeresano. It is billed as “Highness,” a teasing and tantalizing reference to the Icarus or “Falling Man” theme. The word “highness,” of course, alludes to both spatial height as well as the honorific title to royalty or some such exalted figures. Depending on the context used and the manner of delivery “Highness” can seek of both deference and sarcasm. As well, Jeresano’s exploration of heights and the downfall of the proud and the mighty is technically a journey into space and spiritually a meditation on the virtues of humility and self-abjectment.

In the work “David,” the magisterial sculpture of Michelangelo is witness to the swift descent of a man, an allegory of the downfall of Goliath. Jeresano puts a crown on the head of David even as, a pan de sal floats in air. It is a sly subtle reference to the admonition that when one has been struck with stone…

Bow to Baselitz

In what would seem like a bow to Baselitz, “Feel the Ground” is a world that has been toppled upside-down, with the moon swooning on the ground. With his arm outstretched, recalling the landmark Oblation, a man is buoyed up on Cloud Nine, singularly an archetype of humanity that must ever be reminded of his origin, returning to bite the dust, stripped of any illusions.

An untitled work, that must surely beg for the title of Pinoy Icarus, is a man vertically plunging into a bed of rocks.

The largest piece, measuring 5 ft x 8 ft, brings back the subject which initially brought attention to Jeresano: the building scaffolding. In this work titled “Begin,” (an unintended allusion to the start of the artist’s career), the scaffolding rears up from a sumptuous bed. Intriguingly there is no human presence in this vessel of dreams where visions of grandeur immense wealth and absolute power must have been conjured in the imagination.

In the “Highness” show Jeresano has stripped his works of their previous lush and layered construction of florid imagery that has so seduced his audience. Instead, he has opted confidently to focus on sheer narration without depriving his work of the sensuous and tangible appeal of his streamlined execution.