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| THE HANDMADE MONASTIC-INSPIRED ART OF CHRISTIAN LACAP |
When monasteries became centers for learning and
religious training, there rose a need for houses of worship, books and
devotional objects for the daily life of the community.
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SAMPLES OF OLD MONASTIC ART
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Religious houses became
enthusiastic patrons of the arts, and the strict commitment to manual work
balanced with prayer, allowed many monks and nuns themselves to serve God as
creative artists. Thus originated the so-called monastic arts created by men
and women of the cloth.
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| AN ART CLASS UNDER A NUN, 1933 |
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| STUDENTS IN ART CLASSES, 1930s |
When religious orders began putting up schools in the
Philippines, art education became part of their curriculum. Most of the
teachers were nuns themselves, and so they introduced many forms of devotional
art to their students that require embroidery, painting, decorative paper
tooling such as tole and quilling, and assemblages of sacred scenes in shadow
boxes.
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| SAN PEDRO, APO IRO OF APALIT |
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| FRAMED ESTAMPITAS |
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| VIRGEN OF ANTIPOLO |
Many of these artistic outputs from the 1920s thru
1950s were used to decorate home altars and rooms, showcases of skilled hands
and religious fervor. In antique shops, elaborate
pieces command quite a tidy sum—like those that feature exquisite wired mother-of-pearl
floral arrangements that must have required long hours of deft work.
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| SAN AGUSTIN |
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| STA. ANA, FATIMA, LOURDES |
The creation of such art have ceased to be with the
advent of modern education, but a few artists are quietly reviving the
tradition. Christian Lacap of Mabalacat is one such self-taught artist who is
slowly building a portfolio of contemporized monastic art that is gaining notice
among a small circle of collectors.
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| STA. FILOMENA |
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| VIRGEN DE PORTA VAGA |
His decorated shadow box art, 2-dimensional
representations of dressed santos and biblical characters, old estampitas
bordered with quilled paper, among others—are truly inspired creations, cleanly
executed, neatly-laid out and beautifully composed.
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| VIRGEN DE LOS REMEDIOS |
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| SAN JUDAS TADEO / SAN MARTIN DE PORRES |
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| VIRGEN DEL CARMEN / SAN VICENTE FERRER |
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| SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA |
His creative flair began years ago as a teenager in
Mabalacat when he was asked to help decorate the Divine Grace Parish Church
during the annual fiesta, Holy Week and Christmas celebrations. Soon, he was
also assisting in the dressing up of santos and floral decorations of carrozas.
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| STO. NINO DE MALOLOS |
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| SAN LUIS GONZAGA |
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| SAN GUILLERMO |
At age 22, he landed a job in the Middle East, working
at the King Salman Bin Abdulazizal Saud Palace in Jeddah for the royal
household from 2009-2011. As part of the housekeeping staff, Lacap was tasked
with the floral arrangements at the social events of the princess.
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| LA PURISIMA / VIRGEN MILAGROSA DE BADOC |
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| LA DIVINA PASTORA / STA. CATALINA DE SIENA |
After the contract ended, he stayed for 5 more years,
finding employment in a flower shop in Riyadh, before working as cashier/waiter
in a Filipino restaurant in Jeddah. He returned to the Philippines in 2018, and
was hired to work under the City Tourism office in 2019.
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| LA PRESENTACION |
Lacap’s visit
to the Archdiocesan Museum of San Fernando which has quite a big collection of
Shadow Box Art, introduced him to an old
art form which became his fascination. He studied how to dress up flat pictures
using real fabric, folded to simulate real drapes. He also observed the kinds
of decorations used, which consisted mostly of paper flowers. These, he learned
to make from scratch.
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| QUILLED ANTIQUE SCAPULAR |
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| 1ST WORK: QUILLED ESTAMPITA |
It was at this point too that an acquaintance
introduced him to the old art of paper quilling. By looking at examples online,
Lacap copied and perfected the technique of rolling paper strips, crimping them
to form shapes, and then assembling these using glue. His first two attempts of
framed quilled art were sold immediately. In time, he was also asked to show his works in religious exhibits.
Through referrals and word of mouth, Lacap managed to
get commissions from customers, mostly sacred art collectors. He did a lot of
experimentation in the absence of materials. For example, he simulated “lagang”
flowers (mother-of-pearl) using ordinary masking tape. He has also looked into the use of feathers, flowers
made of strung beads, and found objects such as twigs, embroidery scraps, old
metal halos, and even human hair!
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| RETOOLED LEAVES & PAPER FLOWERS |
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| MASKING TAPE FLOWERS |
By mixing and combining quilling, fabric manipulation,
appliquing and unique floral decorating, he could transform a flat base paper figure
in one or two weeks, into a treasured work of art, worthy to be a museum piece.
In the absence of old holy pictures to frame, he uses pictures and prints from
old religious programs, calendars, and similar sources. The antique frames are
mostly provided by his patrons. His basic tools are the usual glue gun, paper, floral tape, fabrics, trimmings--and lots of patience.
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| STO, NINO DE MALOLOS |
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| VIRGEN DE CANDELARIA |
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| SAN JOSE |
Recently resigned from his government job, Lacap has decided to pursue his creative
passion full-time. At the moment, he is still finishing some commissioned
works, and he hopes to open his on-line FB-based small sacred art business
soon, under the name “ARTE SAGRADA”.
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| MINIATURE STO. NINO |
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| SAN PEDRO / STO. NINO |
On this spread are some of the works completed by
Christian Lacap, who, in his own special way, without formal training and
background in fine arts, is reviving the
vanishing tradition of monasteries from centuries past.
CREDITS: ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN LACAP
For inquiries, contact: https://www.facebook.com/xtian.lacap.5
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