Julie Lluch is often seen attending season concerts of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, raving over a Swiss soloist and a Filipino cello prodigy who took her breath away after a Dvorak concerto with the Manila Symphony Orchestra.
The itinerant concertgoer happens to be one of this year’s recipients of the Gawad CCP in the field of Sculpture.
The award is a recognition of her unique output in the realm of terracotta “that mirror and reflect the wisdom she had acquired as she took on different life roles (thus) initiating a resurgence in artmaking in the Philippines.”
Lluch after being informed of the CCP award: “This award means so much to me. I really wish my parents could be there when I receive it. I imagine my mom would tell me, ‘Congratulations, Palanga. But come home now, stop playing with mud and start working decently for your future.”
She adds: “The Gawad CCP is a validation of my life’s work. The mere thought of it makes me happy. I have always championed clay, arguing for its nobility and strength against the nobler and harder bronze or marble for its great potential and viability as a major medium for sculpture. I’ve defended it against the biases which regarded it as being lowly provincial and folksy like the palayok. It is a sweet vindication of my wondrous medium which is ubiquitous in all regions of the country.”
Life for her has been providentially good as she took on the challenges of an artist’s life. “The joy of the creative impulse is reward in itself. There was never a day that I did not give thanks to God’s faithfulness. I thank the CCP for considering my work worthy of the incredible honor and for recognizing its significant contribution to our culture and society. I accept this honor with deep humility and gratitude.”
Since her medium involves use of clay and endlessly massaging them to meet her required artistic outcome, she turns to music to make sculpting a source of gratification. Her symphonies and concertos were her refuge and work companion as she does all the banging, grinding, welding and hammering of her chosen subjects.
Not surprising since music is part of her growing up in an ancestral house in Iligan City. She lived in a house overflowing with music. In her fifth or sixth grade while taking piano lessons, she remembered the large vinyl discs her father brought home. “He played it on the phonograph and lo and behold, it was a recording of the Piano Concerto No. 2 of Rachmaninoff and with Rachmaninoff himself playing on the piano! I’ve always thought Artur Rubinstein was incomparable and he looks like my father. But for me, Rachmaninoff is still the best interpreter of himself!”
She discovered dance in the dark, rickety cinema in Iligan. “I watched a black and white film of the legendary Anna Pavlova performing Le Cygne (The Swan) to the music of Camille Saint Saens. It was part of a newsreel after the cartoons during the break before the next double movie feature. The fragile grace, the mournful music, the ethereal beauty of it all was indelibly etched in my soul forever.”
In an interview with the CCP Time Capsule, Lluch retraced how she became an artist which was not surprising since she was married to another artist (Danny Dalena).
It all began when she saw this potter on television demonstrate his craft. “That had me mesmerized. It was magical! Seeing a lump of clay turning and rising from the potter’s hands—I was so inspired. The next day, I rushed out to buy a bag of clay, instinctively mixed it with water, and started kneading and kneading. I guess until today I’m still kneading clay.”
That started her long love affair with clay as a medium. “I wax romantic every time I describe it as a very sensuous medium, so wonderful to the touch and so good to be playful with. You become like a little child again when you work with clay. I’m not surprised that God chose it as his medium to fashion the figure of Adam and Eve, the very first sculpture ever, the Book of Genesis tells us.”
Sculpting was her life in the last 50 years.
Her first exhibition was in the Sining Kamalig Gallery along Taft avenue. It was her tribute to her literary idols, José García Villa and Nick Joaquin. “I gave it its title that sounds like a syllogism: If Joaquin, then Villa; or Busts!”
Apart from Villa and Joaquin, the show included portraits of her daughter, grandmother, brother, husband, some nudes, figures, landscapes—all in baked terracotta. “The show was simple and innocuous enough, nothing hefty or sensational, but it was enough that Nick Joaquin showed up to open it and I was completely happy.”
What followed was her Cacti and the Hearts series followed by the Georgia series which she found rather provocative and tacky in character. “These series marked the beginning of a string of the feminine or the feminist consciousness in me which later in time became more ideological, refined, and expository.”
She later focused on women’s issues like housework, equality, culture of dependence, empowerment, etc. “The feminist art movement which flourished in the 70s and 80s was political in that it called for the equitable distribution and democratization of power and opportunity, in this case, between men and women. We certainly have seen the gains of the movement, albeit still far from becoming a worldview. Its impetus continues, however, and [has] expanded into many branches like health, government, spirituality, along with the larger, horrific, and seemingly insurmountable issues that beset our planet today: wars, pestilence, the pandemic, the threat to nuclear and environmental devastation, drugs, killings, mental breakdowns, fake news, and dictatorships.”
Of course, these affected her on a personal and artistic level especially during the dark days of the Duterte presidency made worst by the pandemic. “In the face of such unrestrained evil, I felt our country was in the grip of a sinister dark spell cast across the land, while the Prince of the powers of the air lords it over the airwaves, radio, TV and social media spreading obscenities, lies and blasphemies. On the streets, the killings go unabated, the mortuaries could no longer contain the dead bodies that pile up so they dig pits where the unclaimed bodies are dumped and burned. Like an apocalyptic image straight out of science fiction but for real! I was consumed with anger and weakened by a feeling of helplessness. Our recourse was to pray. We didn’t lose hope. We fought back with our art.”
What pained her was the sudden deaths of two poet-activists who are close to her daughters and who happen to be the author’s daughter and son-in-law.
The memory of the two is commemorated in two busts in her latest exhibit Chronicles on Skin at Gallery Stephanie early last year.
The sculptor recalled: “Kerima (Tariman) and Ericson (Acosta) were good friends of my daughters. I enjoyed the times they came to visit with their son Eman. The couple teamed up as screenwriters in the making of The Guerrila is a Poet, a film co-directed by (my daughters) Sari and Kiri. When I was doing a bust of Gregoria de Jesus for the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, I asked Kerima if she would model for me. We dressed her up in an authentic Filipiniana baro’t saya, propped her up carrying a wooden rifle for a photo session. With her brown skin, long black tresses, slender figure and comely face, she was a picture of calm loveliness. Little did we know how precious those moments were and how much the photos would mean to posterity. My family and I were so deeply heartbroken when we learned about her demise. Too soon, so young, we cried, knowing what risks, sacrifices and courage she lived through, putting service to country above all else. Ericson left tragically, not long after. We found comfort in the thought that the two are reunited forever.”
Her friends in Resbak (a human rights organization) found an original work by Ericson, a fine pencil drawing of a man lying on his back, bare-chested and with tattoos all over his body. He supposedly did this in his detention cell (in Samar). She transposed this piece of drawing on her sculpture using the title he gave it himself: ‘Badi Grapiti.’ “Ericson is softspoken, one of the gentlest men I’ve met.”
She admits the tone and temper of her work radically changed when she turned to biblical Christianity. “It didn’t really contradict the feminist slant of my art-making, and woman still remained at the heart of my sculptural works.”
She laments the limited exposure for women artists as Western art history highlights the male figures of Michelangelo, Rodin, Donatello and Bernini as pioneers or canons in the field of sculpture.
Lluch reflects on women artists of that early time.
She told CCP Digital: “How frustrating life must have been for women in times past, when only the men were allowed to learn and practice the arts. These are the women who must have painted, sculpted, or made music in secret, and hid behind the names and signatures of their fathers, husbands, or their brothers, and were not permitted to reveal themselves in public. But unknown to many are accomplished women artists who became famous through sheer talent and sheer determination who refused to be suppressed by society.”
She cites her favorite Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi (born July 8, 1593). “She didn’t hide behind the cuffs of her father or the false wig of her husband. She just went ahead and did what she wanted to do. There is always a way of making obstacles work for oneself, of turning disadvantage to advantage if one only believes hard enough in what one is doing and not lose sight of one’s goals. I was plain lucky, I guess. Way back in my time, when I was just starting out, the art critic played a clear and strong role in the art community and in the development of the artist. I remember then, when an artist would hold an exhibition of his works, and after his opening, he would wait anxiously to know if the art critic saw his works, took notice, or wrote about it in the newspapers, if he praised it, damned it, or totally ignored it. There was such a connection between the artist and critic and it was quite healthy if not quite dramatic. I remember with great respect the likes of Leo Benesa, Alice Guillermo, Jolico Cuadra, and a few others to whom I am deeply indebted.”
When she got married, she told her husband in jest that she married for art. Indeed, there was huge truth to it. “At least I said I didn’t marry for money. I gave birth to three babies, one after the other, and fell into deep depression. It was a turning point, because unless I was being creative, I might as well be insane or dead.”
Pills and downers were no good and one shrink after another didn’t ease her suffering.
In desperation, she turned to her husband and announced: “Starting today I will be an artist!”
She surprised herself. She realized that all it needed in the end was a firm decision.
The discovery of clay as her medium was a pivotal moment, coming as it did “like a flash of lightning in a dreary day.”
Earlier, she recalled the hubby say, “Only one painter under this roof.”
Lluch recalled switching on the TV and saw a potter’s demo in one program. “The hands of the potter gently and firmly grasped the lump of clay that was rising with a turning wheel, moving this and that way to the slightest pressure of his strong, steady hands.”
The prophet Jeremiah came to her mind and her heart skipped for joy. “Early the next morning I rushed off to buy a bag of clay, and the rest is, shall I say, history?”
(The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has announced the recipients of the prestigious Gawad CCP Para sa Sining 2024. The awardees for category A are Generoso “Gener” Caringal for his choreographic works that integrate ballet, modern dance, and folk dance. Jose Iñigo Homer “Joey” Ayala for his works as a composer, songwriter, and singer who uses indigenous musical instruments. Maria Lea Carmen Salonga for her achievements as a performing artist who has been recognised internationally, bringing the Philippines onto the world stage. Jose Lacaba, Jr for his great works of writing as a poet, essayist, screenwriter, and journalist. Miguel “Mike” De Leon for his work as a director, writer, producer, and cinematographer. Julie Lluch for her terracotta sculptures that mirror and reflect the wisdom she had acquired as she took on different life roles. Awards night is on September 20, 2024, 7 p.m. at the Samsung Theater for Performing Arts in Circuit Makati.)