Even at 78 years old, Cid Reyes still continues to write about art and gets involved in many art events and projects. The painter, advertising executive and art critic and writer has been writing about Philippine visual arts for about five decades now, producing an abundance of articles for newspapers and magazines and several coffee-table books including Malang: Paintings and Drawings (1981); Conversations on Philippine Art (1989); Arturo Luz (1999); J. Elizalde Navarro (2008); and Abueva (2010).
In writing his articles and books, he has interviewed numerous artists, and his interviews are perhaps the most extensive in the country. His interviewees would become National Artists and legendary figures in Philippine visual arts.
Many of these raw interviews, recorded in cassette tapes, were “lost.” Reyes admitted that many tapes were reused again for another interviews or to record music. Some tapes were shelved and forgotten over time.
Recently, Reyes unearthed these tapes of interviews. The dedicated chronicler and TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, an ad agency, conceptualized a project of digitizing and remastering the 50 years worth of audio interviews, collectively called “The Lost Conversations,” and made them available online through the YouTube channel ArticulatePH. With the support from the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, the original tapes were donated to the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) for safeguarding.
Constituting a substantial part in the oral history of Filipino artists and Philippine visual arts, “The Lost Conversations” included interviews with Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Napoleon Abueva, Victorio Edades, Vicente Manansala, José Joya, Hernando Ocampo, Arturo Luz and Ang Kiukok, who have been named National Artists. Others are those with luminaries Malang, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Juvenal Sanso, Nena Saguil and Pacita Abad. These were used for the book Conversations on Philippine Art.
The turnover ceremony, as well as the launch of the ArticulatePH, was held on 7 March at NMP’s National Museum of Fine Arts. The event was graced by National Artist Virgilio Almario, gallery owner and patron of the arts Silvana Ancelotti-Diaz, several artists, and relatives of some of the interviewees.
In his speech, Jorell Legaspi, NMP’s Deputy Director-General for Museums, emphasized the importance of the interviews.
“These recordings allow us to step beyond the canvas, and into the creative minds of those who shaped Philippine modern art. Recorded media such as these are invaluable in understanding artistic intent, process, and philosophy. They enrich the way we experience the masterpieces housed within the National Museum of Fine Arts and beyond, offering deeper insights not just to scholars and historians but to the wider public,” he said. “They remind us that art is not only about what is seen, it is also about what is heard, remembered, felt, and shared across generations.”
He added, “These materials will not only enrich our collections but will also serve as a enduring resource for artists, researchers, and the Filipino public in deepening our understanding of Philippine art. We are honored to be part of this ongoing conversation, one that connects the past with the present and ensures that future generations will continue to learn from the voices of our greatest artists.”
Reyes himself wanted to establish an archive but “I am not young anymore,” he said. “If I were younger, my dream would be to establish an archive of Philippine art, such as what they have in the Smithsonian Institute. You Google it, and you will see hundreds of transcribed interviews on American artists.”
The turnover ceremony coincided with the commemoration of the fortieth death anniversary of Edades, who was one of the first artists Reyes interviewed upon the suggestion of art critic and writer Manny Duldulao. In 1972, Reyes, who was writing for Times Journal, was assigned by the lifestyle editor, Jullie Yap-Daza, to interview Duldulao, who just came out with the first coffee-table book on Philippine art, Contemporary Philippine Art: From the Fifties to the Seventies.
He related, “And at the end of the interview…he told me, ‘Hey, Cid, why don’t you go and interview Filipino artists? So, I heard that from him and never really gave it much thought until in one opportunity I had, I was sent by my advertising agency to Davao. And in Davao, I realized that here was Professor Edades had retired. So, I looked for Professor Edades, not knowing where he lived.”
He continued, “And, you know, I asked a tricycle driver, just anyone….Did you know, by some miracle, by some destiny, that tricycle driver changed the history of Philippine art? And so, sabi niya sa akin (he told me), ‘Professor Edades, kilala po siya (I know him).’ I said, ‘Oh my God, can you imagine a tricycle driver knowing the founder of the UST College of Fine Arts?’ Fantastic…. I met Mr. Edades, and he — this was around six o’clock, and the old man was in pajamas, about to go to bed. And he introduced me to the American wife, Miss Jean Edades, who had this wonderful column in the Manila Times, entitled, ‘How’s Your English?’….So, I met the couple, a wonderful couple, and we had a nice, long, warm, engaging conversation with Edades. It lasted almost midnight. Can you imagine? And the old man had so many stories. So, he told me, ‘Hijo, come back tomorrow night.” Pinababalik pa ako. Marami pa siyang kuwento (I was asked to return. He had more stories). So I came back, and brought more cassette tapes. And that was the start of it. And I thought, what a beautiful beginning for a series of interviews….”
Reyes’ stories about the encounters and interviews with his subjects are equally interesting and fascinating as the interviews themselves. His impressions, observations and experiences afford peeks into the lives of these artists as well as their creative processes. These anecdotes can very well serve as annotations or introductions to the recordings.
A memorable interview was with Manansala, one of the first Filipino abstractionists known for his “transparent cubism” and depictions of both rural and urban scenes.
Reyes shared his encounter with him: “The one who brought me to Manansala was the art critic Eric Torres… We went to Binangonan, and we had a wonderful lunch, eating kanduli, which is a classic dish of Angono, Binangonan. And right there in the corner floor, there was this stack of canvases, and I said, ‘Mang Enteng (Manansala’s nickname), ano po iyan?’ O, sabi niya, mga canvases iyan na pinapinta sa akin (what are those? He said, these are canvases that I am commissioned to paint on). These were canvases, empty canvases, at the back of which were inscribed the names of collectors. These collectors were waiting for their unpainted Manansalas. In the first solo show of Manansala, walang nabentang isang painting (no painting was sold). And Manansala told me he walked home — wala raw siyang pamasahe (he did not have any money to pay for a ride) — from Manila Hotel, going down to Rizal Avenue, to Reina Regente. And he swore to himself that time will come, and the collectors will fall in line to get a Manansala. And true enough, that has happened. Amazing.”
Reyes met Saguil in Paris, France, describing her to be “in a totally different realm, something very spiritual, something ethereal.”
He related: “When asked questions about painting, the physical art of painting, Saguil was instantly on a totally transcendent level, on a very spiritual level, and would come up with beautiful quotations that staggered me. And I thought, she was like a religious, you know? Totally beyond the physical act of painting. She knew she was engaged in a totally different realm. And she was living in this tiny, tiny attic apartment. There was no place to sit down, really. There was a basic bed, a basic table, and she served wonderful, steaming Chinese tea. And I thought, it was a transcendent moment because a simple ceremony of this Filipino artist, offering me a cup of tea, placed me in a different perspective. And I thought, this is really interesting.”
On the other hand, Reyes met Magsaysay-Ho at her residence in Forbes Park, an enclave of the rich in Makati City.
“She was a beautiful portrait of a Filipina as a woman artist, and have established in life, a woman born to privilege. But being a married woman who puts…by training, by culture, you put husband and children ahead of yourself. And there was Anita Magsaysay-Ho, in all, who kept all her painting equipment out of sight hangga’t hindi nakakapasok sa trabaho ang kanyang mister (while her husband has not left for work). Can you imagine that? And when the husband was out, in the office, she brought all the paints out, and she painted,” he related. “And when the husband was about to come home at about five o’clock, six o’clock, she cleaned up the table and put away the painting instruments. So symbolic. As if her being an artist did not play a part [in her life]. Always, always the role of a mother, a Filipina mother, a Filipina wife.”
He continued: “So, it’s so different now, generations later, decades later, when I got to meet Pacita Abad….And I asked her once. I said, ‘Pacita, how lucky you are that your husband allows you to paint.’ She was so taken aback by the question….She looked at me, and she said, ‘My husband should be so lucky that I allow him to be a corporate consultant.’ I said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is fantastic.’”
Reyes described Joya as “a combination of talent and brains,” and Malang as “very expressive, very irreverent, no-holds-barred.”
On Abueva, he said, “Very interestingly, he turned his back on the tradition of his mentor, Master Guillermo Tolentino.”
On Kiukok, who he said “spoke in very terse, laconic quotations,” he revealed, “But in my interview with him, it lasted, surprisingly, so long. He came up with some really beautiful soundbites, as we call them now.”
Reyes considers himself privileged to be welcomed and given time by these artists for his interviews.
“Of course, I did not know these artists at all, not at all. And through being resourceful, asking people…I was able to eventually, one by one, got to know all of these masters,” he admitted. “…And these artists were not aware of their greatness.”
He is also fortunate that he was involved in the arts, giving him an edge when interviewing artists.
“I was in my twenties, and I was driven by what? Actually, by sheer enthusiasm,” he reminisced. “And as I was painting myself, my questions were really the questions of an art student — how did you get this technique? How do you mix these colors?”
“If you are not really involved in the arts, but you are assigned by your editor, either refuse the assignment, or come prepared. Do a bit of research,” he added.
He elaborated: “And another tip to the young media writers of today on assignment from your lifestyle editors: Artists, when they give an appointment, we should be so grateful because they are very guarded about their time, their privacy. And they’re very sensitive creatures, being artists. They know immediately if this young man or young woman is just there on assignment and is just doing a job. We sense that immediately. But once you really express your enthusiasm, your passion for the subject, your ignorance will not affect them. In fact, they will so be touched by your enthusiasm, by your ignorance on art. I mean, not everybody is expected to know about art. But when you show your interest in their work, they will share even their great secrets with you. As I have experienced when I was 20 years old.”
Reyes wants young journalists writing on the arts to realize how important their works will be, as exemplified by “The Lost Conversations.”
“History is being made right now… and I know that the youth as they stand now have no concept of what history is. Fifty years ago, I never knew that 50 years later, I would still be here talking to this distinguished audience. So to the young writers, the young critics, go and interview artists, and you will find that it will change your life as it has changed my own life,” he said.
He added: “It is so important that we realize that history is being made right now and that as the years pass, history is bypassing us and the opportunity to record history being created must not be let go and so it is my fervent wish that more young historians, more young writers and more young art critics would emerge and come up to the challenge of documenting some of the most exciting art being created by Filipino artists. Now, we need documentation because without documentation, with no literature, there is no history.”
With “The Lost Conversations,” Reyes also wants the young Filipino artists to be aware of “the rich tradition that has been handed down to them.”
He enthused, “They have a legacy that they are obliged to continue, a level of excellence that they must pursue and aspire to, and that way before their lives, we had Filipino artists who worked in the same way, went through the same struggle that they are going through now. These artists triumphed against the difficulties and challenges and managed despite these problems, to create tremendously excellent works of Philippine art, and this is really amazing.”