Monday, September 6, 2021

342. CHRISTIAN LACAP: REVIVING ARTS IN THE MONASTIC TRADITION

 
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. 

SAMPLES OF OLD MONASTIC ART

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.

AN ART CLASS UNDER A NUN, 1933

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.

SAN PEDRO, APO IRO OF APALIT

FRAMED ESTAMPITAS

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.

SAN AGUSTIN

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.

STA. FILOMENA

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.

VIRGEN DE LOS REMEDIOS

SAN JUDAS TADEO / SAN MARTIN DE PORRES

VIRGEN DEL CARMEN / SAN VICENTE FERRER

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.

STO. NINO DE MALOLOS

SAN LUIS GONZAGA

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.

LA PURISIMA / VIRGEN MILAGROSA DE BADOC

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.

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.

QUILLED ANTIQUE SCAPULAR

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! 

    RETOOLED LEAVES & PAPER FLOWERS

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.

STO, NINO DE MALOLOS

VIRGEN DE CANDELARIA

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”.

MINIATURE STO. NINO

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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