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

314. Reconstructing a Shadow Box Santo: SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA

One vanishing art that is taught in mostly Catholic schools is the construction of 3-dimensional religious images from flat pictures, encased in a shadow box. This art form has its origins in the monastic arts of yore that were created by nuns to while away their leisure time, that often includes embroidery, painting, shellcraft, paper tole and paper curling. When religious-run schools were established, nuns passed on this shadow box art to their students, as part of the art education classes.

This small vintage, 1950s 3-D picture of San Antonio de Padua with the Child Jesus, was found assembled in a cardboard box, its frame gone. To achieve the 3-D look, the colored figure of the baby-holding saint is first cut out,  then is “clothed” with brown fabric that is folded, creased and glue to the figure, to simulate the natural drapes of the robes when worn by a real person. 

The cincture was fashioned  from a piece of string, and the vestments decorated with sequins. The Child Jesus is dressed using the same process. The saint’s paper hands, and the Baby’s arm and feet, which have been cut separately, are then set appropriately to complete the 3-D illusion.

The whole ensemble was pasted on a cardboard backing, decorated with cotton,  fabric flowers and foil leaves. The backing, as it turned out, was from a bakery carton packaging (Plaza Bakery) that may once have kept a pie or a cake for Christmas.

 

The well-preserved San Antonio cut-out was carefully removed from this backing, and the most of the fabric flower decorations were saved.   The cutout, together with the rewired flowers and foil leaves, were then assembled on a new, thicker cardboard backing.

Meanwhile, a new cardboard box was constructed from foam board and the lined with brown, ruffled fabric to form the matting. The cardboard containing the 3-D San Antonio was then glued onto the inside of box. 

The whole assembly was then encased permanently under a vintage glass frame, the last step in the shadow box art reconstruction.

272. THE AMAZING ANTIQUE ART RE-CREATIONS OF KING NIKOLAI VIRAY

CANOPY BED FOR A NINO DORMIDO. Made from a trinket box, silver
charms glued together, and other metal scraps. Trimmed with lace.

The works of young artist King Nicolai Viray are largely unknown except for his postings on his facebook page—and this was where I chanced upon him and his amazing vintage-style sacred art creations that beautifully captured the old-world feel of religious colonial art.

Viray, a fresh 2016 graduate and philosophy major of Mater Boni Consilii in San Fernando, Pampanga is a shy, unassuming 22 year-old, who was drawn to religious arts early.

His artistic leanings may have come from his genes—his maternal grandmother crafted shadow box arts that were taught in Catholic schools at the turn of the 20th century. His paternal grandmother was a Manansala-a relative of national artist Vicente Silva Manansala of Macabebe.

A school project, depicting a stained
glass, made from colored cellophanes

 As a kid, Viray drew figures of saints; even his art school projects had religious themes. It was no surprised that his early interest influenced his calling: he was accepted as a seminarian at Pampanga’s premiere seminary, Mother of Good Counsel seminary.

 Viray used to visit the Archdiocese Museum in San Fernando, which led to a chance meeting with Msgr. Gene Reyes, then parish priest of Sta. Rita (now with San Fernando), and the museum director.

Msgr. Reyes recalls that Viray was fascinated with the religious shadow box collection there, and so he asked him if could replicate one for his small Sto. Niño. Msgr. Reyes liked what he did and, pretty soon, he asked him to try his hand at some other old paper art forms like quilling (paper roll art).  Viray not only mastered that through self-study, but also quickly learned paper fretwork, tole and miniature art. Here is a survey of some of his outstanding vintage-style religious art:

 DRAWINGS. Viray’s intricate sketches evoke the style of old religious black and white engravings. Santos and santas are his favorite subjects—featured alone or shown enshrined in the altar niches or baldachins.

SAN FERNANDO, pen and ink.

SAN AGUSTIN DE HIPPO. Pen and ink drawing.

NTRA. SRA. DE LOS DESAMPARADOS.Pen and ink.

MATER DOLOROSA. Pen and ink.

PAPER CUT ART. The art of paper cutting dates back to the 4th century after the Chinese invented paper. Some of their earliest uses for papercutting were for religious decorations or stencils used in holy pictures or estampitas. Several Philippine crafts employ paper cutting-including cut paper fretwork decoration used in Christmas lanterns or parols. There is also the art of pabalát (wrapper), where paper is meticulously cut with small scissors to wrap pastillas (milk candy) and other traditional sweets. During the Victorian age, cutting out silhouettes of people and sceneries became a favorite pastime.

VERONICA'S VEIL. replicated antique estampita. Cut and pierced paper,
photocopied image of the Holy Face.

SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA. Fretwork background from cut  paper.

INMACULADA CONCEPCION. Replicated antique lace estampita.
Scanned copy, handcut paper.

 PAPER QUILLING. Quilling or paper filigree involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, looped, shaped, and glued together to create decorative patterns and designs. These were used to decorate religious pictures that were then encased in boxes . During the Renaissance, European nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. They used strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes. Quilling often imitated the original ironwork of the day.

AGNUS DEI PAPER QUILL ART. Cream colored paper strips were rolled and
manipulated into shapes, then glued to form the background for the Lamb of
God paper cutout.

VIRGEN MARIA. Scanned copy of holy picture, with fretwork background,
trimmed with paper roll art and metallic foil flowers.

IVORY NINO. Adorend with quilled paper rolls arranged in floral patterns,
trimmed with lace paper and encased in oval frame.

RELIGIOUS SHADOW BOXES.A shadow box is a glass-fronted case containing thematic religious object presented in an artistic grouping with artistic grouping. They are the most common example of so-called “monastic” art found in Philippine homes, usually home-made or done as school projects. The simplest involves decorating prints of religious figures with paper, fabric or mother-of-pearl flowers, accentuated with beads, foil, cork birds and glass. Others entail “dressing up” individual figures by manipulating pieces of fabrics to simulate the folds on their vestments. Viray’s shadow boxes includes paper tole—in which he cuts and pastes parts of identical religious prints, building up these cutout portions using glue, to create a three-dimensional picture.

ALTAR TABLEAU FOR VIRGEN DE TURUMBA. 

SALVADOR DEL MUNDO. Paper cut out of Nino, dressed in folded and
pleated fabrics, surrounded by paper cherubims and paper flowers.

SOLEDAD DE PORTA VAGA 3-DIMENSIONAL ART.
Decorated with assorted plastic gems from craft stores.

SAN VICENTE FERRER. Tole art, with paper quilling decoration.

STO. TOMAS DE AQUINAS. Paper cutout of
the saint, dressed in real fabrics.Cotton, lace, flowers.

STO NINO DELA PASION. Dressed paper cut-out figure,
old cross pendant. chains. 

RELIQUARY ART. A reliquary is a container for relics--actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. Many relic casings are simple, but when they are presented before an audience, they are encased in magnificent monstrance-like holders. Others are framed in groups, and decorated for display purposes.

RELIQUARY MONSTRANCE. Made from the handles of
a silver spoon,  old halo, crystal gems, old ribbon brooch. 

PAPAL RELICS, with added pictures of Pope John Paul II
and Pope John Paul XXIII and metallic mini-decor.

SANTOS AND SANTO VESTMENTS. Another hobby of Viray is fashioning and dressing up santos—many received as gifts from friends. Some of these santos are commercially made, but this does not deter him from giving free rein to his creativity, while sticking to dressing traditions.

LORETTO KINDLEIN OF SALZBURG. A Nino replica of the Holy Child
of Salzburg, Germany.

VIRGEN DE CAYSASAY. A resin image of Our Lady of Caysasay was placed
on a gilt base, wigged and dressed with acape trimmed with appliques.

STA. MARIA MAGDALENA DE NAGASAKI. Ingeniously
fashioned from an Japan surplus Japanese doll.

PADRE PIO. A wooden figure of the stigmatic saint dressed in a
chasuble and alb.

MINIATURES. Viray has managed to replicate retablos (church altars) in miniature, using available materials—resin statues of saints, wood, cardboard, foil and paper scraps.

RETABLO MAYOR. A main altar made from cardboard, wood,
and other paper trims. Small iamges are store-bought.

 Of late, the young artist has been accepting a limited number of commissions, despite his busy schedule. He is currently taking his regency (time off from the seminary ) and is working at the local DPWH as administrative aide. Meanwhile, Viray continues to amaze his facebook friends (and fans) with his regular postings of his creations. His body of work is very impressive, considering that he does these beautiful objects in his spare time, and only at his leisure.

CHURCH BANNER. Sta. Maria de Cabeza. 

 What’s more extraordinary is his use of everyday materials and found objects to create exquisite treasures. In his hands, cheap charms bought from Divisoria become decorations for a Niño Dormido’s canopy bed, while a silver-colored plastic container is transformed into an elegant santo base. Even plain paper, when painstakingly pierced and cut by Viray, becomes a delicate lace background for estampitas. His works are destined to be priceless treasures, worthy to be collected and enjoyed.

 Indeed, the future of devotional art looms bright, thanks to the amazing gift of King Nikolai Viray.