Art As A Reflection Of The Unconscious

For approximately 50 years now the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program has been allowing U.S. ambassadors worldwide to select, for installation in their Residences and offices, works by young and promising, contemporary American artists. The most apparent objective of this program is to enable American ambassadors to enjoy original artworks on their walls. The subliminal objectives are to elevate the spiritual consciousness of American ambassadors by constantly exposing them to original art, and for the American artists to gain exposure to viewers in different countries around the world.

Significant changes occurred when Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg arrived in the Philippines. For the first time, the Department purchased works not only by contemporary American artists but by contemporary Filipino artists as well, and installed them in the many interiors of the buildings on the U.S. Embassy compound. Ambassador Goldberg furthermore selected, for installation in his Residence, only works by his favorite Filipino and Fil-Am artists.

Seven of these works were opened to viewing during a reception showcasing Art in Embassies, renamed, for this occasion, "U.S.-Philippine Friendship through Art," at the Residence Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The seven works are Leo Abaya's Negotiating Space (2005, acrylic and oil on linen) and This Can Happen Elsewhere (2004, oil and acrylic on canvas); Jeff Huntington's Jose Rizal (2014, collage and acrylic on canvas); Athena Magcase Lopez's Weavers in a Cave (2007, oil on canvas) and A Home Between (2009, oil on canvas); and Johanna Poethig's Isang Gabi (2009, digital print) and Lapu Lapu and Manong Benny (2014, digital print of a detail of her 1984 Ang Lipi ni Lapu Lapu mural).

I should mention that another of Ambassador Goldberg's favorite Filipino artists is National Artist for Visual Arts BenCab. It was, however, most difficult to obtain any of BenCab's works because he had none available for installation--like Elmer Borlongan and Emmanuel Garibay, he is paid up well in advance for a line-up of paintings he has not yet even begun working on.

Ambassador Goldberg was too kind to give me a few minutes to discuss his seven choices of artworks. While I would have preferred a more intensive interview, there was a crowd of other guests that evening, including representatives of the art community in Angono, Rizal, who presented him with his portrait delicately rendered in lovely pastels.

Of the seven works in the Residence, I focused on four; it is these that most reflect the Ambassador's intriguingly deep Unconscious.

Ambassador Goldberg has consistently expressed a keen interest in Philippine history. That his choice of Leo Abaya's This Can Happen Elsewhere was located in the most frequently used room, known as the Oriental Room, was no surprise to me. The iconic image of the ancient Filipino is really an alternative image of the map of the Philippine Islands, usually depicted as a woman. Abaya's use of a picture frame over which the image overflows conveys the modern need to think of the Philippines as going beyond borders. It is a commentary on immigration, a portrayal of the Filipino as a citizen of the world and eternally in an Elsewhere on this planet.

Athena Magcase Lopez's Weaver in a Cave and A Home Between are really a diptych, and I felt that it was unfortunate that the former is located in the dining room and the other in the den. The Ambassador himself explained, during my brief conversation with him, that, like Abaya's piece, the two paintings also address the theme of immigration. They indeed depict dichotomies and unities of time, space, culture, and sensibility. They have a secondary message about gender, and, to me, are the most visually appealing of the seven.

The final piece I admired in this collection is Jeff Huntington's Jose Rizal. Though different in style, it is as haunting as a Rene Magritte. When asked as to why he chose this piece, the Ambassador said, "Of course, it's Jose Rizal," almost apologizing for the fact that, of the seven pieces, it has nothing to do with the theme of immigration. It is, nonetheless, what one does not see that is truly most important. This is a masterpiece of a portrait. When viewed with the lights on, one sees the unmistakable face of National Hero Jose Rizal. When the lights are turned off, the face morphs, in the semi-darkness, to the face of international boxing hero Manny Pacquiao. As such, it is truly another painting of the Filipino as being in an Elsewhere.

Art unites peoples because it goes beyond words and because it is always an immediate experience to its viewers. It grounds its viewers while transporting them to another place, to an Elsewhere.

Ambassadors are always in an Elsewhere too. But the ambassador who is fully aware of it is the ambassador who is of true service not only to his country and his government but also to all of humankind.

Members of the Angono art community present a pastel portrait to Ambassador Goldberg.

An interesting cartoon in the dining room, though not part of the collection.