This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of Asia Society (AS) with “inter alia,” a special lobby installation of six decades in photographs, and an art exhibit entitled “In and Out of Context,” highlighting selected historical and contemporary works from the AS collection presented in a manner to “trigger new ways to understand them.”
There were also panel discussions, including “Asean: The next 50 years,” and “Performing Asia: Legacy of Performing Arts at Asia Society.”
AS and the Philippines have not always had the closest relationship, even though there have been many former US ambassadors to the Philippines, such as Nicholas Platt, Richard Holbrooke and Stephen Bosworth, who have served on its board in various capacities.
Its founder, John Rockefeller III, was a pioneer in the collection of Asian art, with an initial concentration on Chinese and Japanese art. Southeast Asian art, including Buddhist sculptural art, would later figure, making AS a selective but important center for the study of Asian art.
Philippine art has always been problematic for Asian art collections. It is barely (if at all) represented in major art museums in Paris, London, Zurich and San Francisco. It has no representative window in the New York Museum of Natural History, even if similar ethnic groups such neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia are both duly represented.
The reason for this is that the Philippines’ colonial Hispanic heritage seems to make it an anomaly in Asia. It has no great Hindu, Buddhist or even Sinic art that links it to the mainland. As Dr. Fernando Zialcita points out, our culture is “authentic but not exotic.”
Its unique style of “earthquake baroque churches” and bahay-na-bato—although some are now recognized by Unesco as world heritage monuments—have not stirred the attention of denizens of Asian art who tend to think of Borobodur, Bagan and Angkor Wat.
Gold
It was only in 2015 that Philippine culture was featured in a major exhibit in AS, with Philippine gold as focus. This served to emphasize the fact that the Philippines already had high art, which could rival that of Java and Cambodia, in the 10th century.
The Boxer Codex clearly documented this, as well, as the now famous collections at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Ayala Museum, pieces of which were featured in the Asia Society exhibition.
With the establishment of Asia Society Manila in 1999, the Philippines is now firmly on the map of audiences of Asian art and culture.
This will be reinforced by the reopening of the renovated Philippine National Museum in 2017.
Philippine personalities have been featured nevertheless. In the photo exhibit, President Corazon C. Aquino is featured alongside Asia Society president Robert B. Oxnam during her visit to New York in September 1986. She is quoted as thanking the organization for being among the first to give her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., a forum while he was in exile during the Marcos era.
In the photo, Aquino stands beside Mr. Oxnam and responds to a question about the role of women in the revolution and in Philippine politics. “My favorite song,” she quipped, “is ‘Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.’”
There is also a picture of President Diosdado Macapagal and Eva Macapagal with King of Thailand Phumipon (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit.
In 2012, a lifetime achievement award was given to Washington Sycip at Asia Society’s Annual Dinner in New York. He was recognized for being a long-time supporter and active advisor to Asia Society, for founding the organization’s Philippine Center in 1999, as well as helping establish the Asian Institute of Management and Sycip, Gorres and Velayo in Manila.
Philippine craftsmanship has also been featured in the Asia Society’s Shop AsiaStore, with Wynn Wynn Ong’s creations and Jewelmer golden pearls. A beautiful capiz floral lamp hangs above the cashier’s desk in the popular, trendy store.
