BANANACUE
REPUBLIC
Vol I, No. 14
Dec 08, 2004
by Dulz Cuna
CONTENTS
Website:
A
Guy Named Florence
When I attended the Conference of Women Painters in CCP in the year 2000 “Women Imaging Women: Home, Body, Memory”, they called the roll of participants...Florence Cinco? Calbayog?...(no answer)...any Florence Cinco? Calbayog? Great, another Waray woman painter here! I could use my women dialectics on rhapsodizing artmaking with a fellow waray painter...So I waited for Florence to arrive.
At lunch break after the 1st plenary session, May Datuin whispered to me: “Your 'kababayan” artist has arrived..but it's not what we expected...”
Florence turned out to be a GUY.
But of course! What's in a name? I knew his persona from the Sarakiki Festival I attended in Calbayog...the spunky painter with oodles of talent (a performance artist too). His name escaped me, they called him “Flor” over at Calbayog. No, he was pure, hetero male...spunky (diminutive height), alert and charming...
He strode, much to the arrested surprise of the Forum participants, their forks on air, jaws dropping...amongst the tables of women eating lunch, while the Moderator announced: “Ladies, could you make room for the delegate from Calbayog who just arrived? I think Ms, er Mr. Cinco, you'd be comfortable beside your co-regional delegate over there.” Smiling, I beckoned him to occupy the empty seat next to mine in the table.
Warmly, aware that his name was the culprit, I asked him why he attended a WOMEN's Conference. He said: “They invited me, why not?” From that time on Florence became my special art buddy and a friend I cannot help admire...
This year, Florence won the prestigious Metrobank Foundation Art Awards for Sculpture. I couldn't help my pride that I spent a hundred pesos worth of e-load text messages in my cellphone to announce to everybody that Florence won the Award...the Cebu Art Association, the Calbayog artists, the Tacloban Artists..best friend Noli, Japamala, Nick, Eli Manongas, Rudy Manero and many of the VIVA (Visayan Islands Visual Arts Association).
I witnessed as Florence metamorphed his spunk, devil-may-care, hometown-jeprox, “laki-sa-layaw” attitude whose ears mom used to tweak because of his reckless past...a failed live-in partnership, a shady pastime, and finally trying his luck in the Queen city Cebu.
He became my significant other Noli's best friend...they connected well in the heart and art. Noli interpreted Florence's magnanimous paintings with guitar music, I hold in reverence those times we (Florence, Nol and me) had in Calbayog, where everything we had was in artistic abandon...we wanted to try all the things noisy, restless and exciting...exhibits, fests, nude sessions, gigs and night life, barbeque at the beach, kidding around in the sidewalk, jamming in the wee small hours with beer and more beer....It was the heady, potent life of the Youth...
In Cebu, it was Florence who connected with my old friends there. But there was a great big change...Florence became a Margi (Ananda Marga), he teetotalled, his eyes brightened with a more enlightened vision and he egged me to do yoga and be health conscious...I was mesmerized. He was infectious...
He became calm and his art became more sublime. I relished as he picked up a discarded toilet seat and transformed it into a work of art with deep spiritual meaning; small bottles he filled with 'orasyones' (magical prayers) which he framed in a grid became a statement to folk religiousity. Florence, whose Margi name is “Paramesh” means “the Supreme Lord”, won prizes for his artworks. He became prolific and productive...His Karma cleansing charmed me...
Florence does not know anything but way up now in life. His aura was soothing as I met with him again in the Maharlika Arts Festival. (I couldn't forget the back massage he gave me!) He did an installation work of the Chakra energy centers of the human body using gasoline tanks. He posed for posterity for the cameras lying down beside it like the Vitruvian man..Manila has caught up with him, after doing a performance art in Henri Cainglet's show, he enjoined with other Margi artists in “Inner Journeys”, which is ongoing at the Pasig City Museum..
Winning the MbFoundation Art Award did not change Florence's spunky little-boy composure. He looks at life now with guided connection...I mean...his connection to the Divine.
Posted 12/08/04. Send comments to: bananacue_republic@yahoo.com
"I
witnessed as Florence metamorphed his spunk, devil-may-care, hometown-jeprox,
“laki-sa-layaw” attitude whose ears mom used to tweak because of his
reckless past..."
Big Guy Florence