A STRONG sense of nationalism characterizes the art of venerated visual artist Nemi Miranda, one that is only challenged by his words.
“I cannot imagine myself doing European art, American art, or any other Asian arts. I can only work with how I feel, and I cannot feel the culture of other countries,” said the 70-year-old savant. “I will grow old and die painting the Filipino subject.”
Scenes of Philippine countryside life in vibrant and textured depictions have come to define the art of the master also known as Nemiranda. A son of the country’s “Art Capital”—Angono, Rizal—he is regarded as the “Father of Imaginative Figurism,” a style in which concrete forms such as human subjects and environments are drawn through pure imagination, sans references.
Miranda’s process starts by observing his subjects. He then imagines them with eyes closed before beginning to paint, saying this process “purifies” the figures in his memory. The artist believes that in doing so, in creating something from nothing but his mind, he leaves a piece of his soul in each work.
“What you see in my works is the product of my soul,” he said. Miranda admitted that sometimes he goes out to do on-the-spot painting sessions. But even then, the artist maintained, he does not “copy” what he sees but “recreates” them.
Some of Miranda’s more renowned pieces are the relief sculpture in the parade ground at Fort Bonifacio, titled History of the Philippine Army; the Edsa Shrine Mural, a People Power I painting and Edsa II relief sculptures, to name a few.
Miranda credits his nationalistic artistry to three people he worked with who were all driven by a burning passion for the flag. First is Francisco Coching, regarded as the “Father of Philippine Comics,” whose works gave identity to Filipino pop culture. The others are fellow Angono artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco and Philippine neo-vernacular pioneer Arch. Francisco Mañosa. All three have been conferred with the National Artist Award.
“I admire them so much,” Miranda said. “These three are very nationalistic, at ’yun din ang nasa puso ko, ’yun din ang kaluluwa ko.”
A total of 35 works that express Miranda’s nationalism are showcased in an ongoing exhibit, titled Nemi Miranda: Visual Diary in Pure Imagination, at Gallery C in Conrad Manila, which runs until June. The show is the 8th edition of the hotel’s “Of Art and Wine” series, mounted for the first time in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 4A Calabarzon.
Conrad Manila General Manager Laurent Boisdron said he hopes the partnership with DOT will lead to more showcases of art masters around the country whose works proudly display the Philippines’s finest. Meanwhile, DOT Region 4A Regional Director Marites T. Castro added that a goal for the exhibit is to introduce to viewers “not just the artist but the region that provided him with [inspiration].”
“This exhibit is a diary of my experience as an artist,” Miranda said. “This is a product of a long painting career—it’s 50 years of my visual journey.”
The 35 works of oil or acrylic on canvas are divided into five categories. The “Harvest Series,” for one, presents 10 pieces featuring Miranda’s favorite subject, women, in traditional Filipino clothing while gathering crops.
The artist said that from repeated practice, he has mastered painting women in different angles, forms and subjects, especially the mother and child, as seen in most pieces under the series. Two of these are the Sonata sa Diwata ng Ani, featuring a child dancing to a flute that summons a fairy which his mother worships; and Palay Harvest, showing a mother clutching a basket of rice with her son beside her, lending a hand.
All the pieces in the exhibit feature a bird in the frame, the artist’s signature touch. Miranda explained that the bird represents himself as the soul of the work. “Again, my paintings are products of my imagination,” he said. “I want to put myself inside the paintings, and each carries a piece of my soul, which is in the form of a bird.”
The other four series in the exhibit are “Fantasies Painting,” where Miranda takes on the whimsical; “Myths and Legends Series,” “Marawi Homecoming” and “Traditions Painting.”