FIGURING ABSTRACTION: The Shifting of Reality in Lindslee’s Art

“Modern art touches a sore spot, or several sore spots, in the ordinary citizen of which he is totally unaware. The more irritated he becomes at modern art the more he betrays the fact that he himself, and his civilization, are implicated in what the artist shows him.”

-William Barrett, Irrational Man

Published at Manila Bulletin, Lifestyle Section (Art & Culture)

In his insatiable quest for aesthetic meaning, Lindsey “Lindslee” James Lee questions whether abstract art is the end in itself defaced and bereft of figurative elements on a flattened surface of canvas. Or is it an indefinite medium open to a more concrete signification in relation to the image man amid his changing society.

In his provocative paintings and installations with thematic title “Figuring Abstraction”, the artist challenges the normative concept of abstract art as a medium. In the same way, as po-mo (post-modern) art questions whether the image of man is confined within the traditional and conventional belief, or is it shifting toward a more concrete definition in the post-modern society.

In the “Wake-up Call” installation, for example, Lindslee nestled a taxidermal rooster on top of a backlit box. At the right side of the box is an inscribed text “Idealism” and on the left “Paranoia”. The rooster, in an elegant posture, is clothed with knitted pink apron in a fashionable manner as though the chicken is geared up to ramp before the audience.

Tinged with satire and sarcasm, the sculptural installation signifies the existential reality of man and his society. Lindslee dissects the darker side of human psyche torn between the pendulous tensions of idealism and paranoia. The haunting imagery symbolizes the two opposing sides of man’s perception of reality. He can either be fearful and suspicious of reality or he can be desperate to believe on something sublime, which is beyond the rational comprehension of man’s consciousness.

As indicative in his incisive use of symbols, the artist completely deconstructs the finitude of abstraction by substituting it with a more sensual and perceptible elements. The use of taxidermy, for instance, and the aleatory portrayal of figures, amplifies the inevitable reality in the context of his own image of man within and beyond the borders of his creation.
Figuring Abstraction: The Equivocal Meaning
Figuring Abstraction, as an ambiguous theme, is the artist’s discursive proposition from savoir-faire (conventional or commonly accepted norms) to savoir-vivre (the ability to live and explore beyond the conventions or the given sets of rules and values).

The savoir-faire, as employed by this writer in the context of modern aesthetics, is the inherent principle of art as an end itself with fixed essence and nature – i.e., material composition, form, color and texture – its capability to become in-itself and for-itself. The savoir-vivre, on the other hand, is the symbolic principle transcending beyond its material composition – the source of revelatory meaning in contrast to what is conventionally accepted as a norm.

For instance, in one of his abstract paintings titled “Defining Gravity”, the artist painted a varying tone of black, white, and grey colors. At the upper left of the canvas, is an undefined mass of crimson lake adjacent to the realistic figure of man (self-portrait) standing on his side. The textures and colors of the canvas are arbitrarily arranged, which is, evidently: the characteristics of abstraction.

What makes the artwork arresting amid its mass of undefined forms and colors is the portrayal of realistic figure within the canvas. Otherwise, without the figurative aspect of the composition, the canvas is bleak and dreary. Obviously, the artist intentionally infused the figurative element to create a pictorial tension. Hence, the title “Defining Gravity” literally creates a gravitational impact within the composition and from the perspective of the viewers.

The artist, subsequently, redefines and introduces new dimensions in abstraction. First, he explores the aleatory symbol of selected elements, i.e., the realistic depiction of man, chicken, ladder or bicycle, etc., as a shifting device to put gravitational weight on the surface of his canvas.

Second, the artist does not only explore what is abstraction in literal sense. He uses his auxiliary skill as a taxidermist to heighten the symbolic meaning of reality within the forms and structures of his creation.

The Taxidermal Elements

As an abstract and taxidermy artist, Lindslee skilfully concocted a more challenging formula in his art by integrating the two aesthetic entities into his works.

The unique use of taxidermal elements in Lindslee’s art is arbitrarily born out of the desire to explore and elevate his aesthetics into a more concrete expression of reality, a reality from which the artist wishes to reveal be it beautiful or ugly.

In his work titled “Ugly Painting”, an installation of taxidermal duck sitting on a bench painted with the figure of Jesus Christ (Sacred Heart); the picture is painted at one side of the bench. Below the bench is a huge white egg, which is five times larger than the life-size duck.

The symbolism of the duck, giant egg and a religious icon elicits a haunting reality. The poignant imagery signifies two realities. First, it symbolizes the complacency of man’s religious faith, still being hatched, as shown on the figurative symbol of giant egg. Second, the work itself becomes a symbolic icon of complacency in creating a more sublime aesthetics. It is a common experience among artists, who have already attained the pinnacle of their creativity; it is as though nothing is worth exploring anymore in art making.

The taxidermal elements did not only signify the reality that Lindslee wanted to portray in his art. But it also magnifies that same reality to a higher level of man’s consciousness and his struggle to create and to become. As a supplementary device to his art making, the artist has achieved his artistic freedom with magnificent force, creating a powerful medium in his quest for a highly sensitive aesthetics.

The Aesthetic Symbol as a Revelation of Truth

The use of symbolism in Lindslee’s art is generally coherent and rational but, at times, it can be capricious and satirical. In his painting titled “Vindicated”, the artist reveals a bleak symbolism – epitomizing his existential perception of life.

Typical of his abstract works, the canvas is pullulating with undefined mass of forms and colors. At the upper left portion of the canvas, is a realistic figure of a tilted diamond ring. An inscribed text is passing through the ring cascading down to the bottom of the canvas that says: "Things are made to be broken".

Obviously, the symbolic meaning is about a broken relationship. At a second look, however, one can feel that looming shadow of intangible sadness enshrouding his canvas. There is that feeling of resign and surrender that all things in this world, sooner or later, will pass away, and what remains is the awful reality of death and mortality.

“Everything is meaningless”, says the artist, “because someday, like man’s life, my art will vanish and disappear in oblivion”.

Despite the drab portrayal of reality, the artist’s symbolism persuasively touches the delicate part of human soul. His revelation of truth is a symbol of the here and now, penetrating the human psyche with urgency, anchoring man’s existence to his bleak but concrete reality.

The Unity of Art and the Vision of Reality

Is the interpretation of art limited to a particular medium or genre? Or, is it open to a more daring concept that reflects the shifting image of man in the post modern society?

As an artist of magnificent vision, Lindslee questions the parameters of abstraction, goes beyond its conventional form, and redefines his own modal structure of art making. The unity of aesthetic concept and his vision of reality culminate not from mere painting the surface of his canvas, but by integrating and fusing one or more mediums into his art.

Generally, abstract art is flat and abstruse, plane and simple. However, the artist goes beyond from its flattened surface to a more concrete signification of reality. He proposes, vis-à-vis, a dialectical concept of what it could become as a symbolic entity in contrast to the pre-conceived reality of art as a genre in-itself and for-itself.

In the end, the shifting of the artist’s vision, his dialectical concept and his departure from the normative practice of art making has become a liberating device to embrace the limitless possibilities of art rather than being confined within the conventional principles of aesthetics.

To sum, symbolism in po-mo art, be it visual, literary, film or music is boundless and metaphysical. It transcends the bleakness of the world and conquers the absurd by magnifying and revealing concrete realities so that the post-modern man may live with profound meaning and understanding of life in the midst of his changing society.

Creative freedom, like the infinite space of the universe, is boundless and eternal.

© Danny Castillones Sillada

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*ABOVE PHOTO: Photo of artworks coutesy of the artist; 2008 works.

Cid Reyes: The Parallelism of Art & Women

Cid Reyes’ Demoiselles de Manille

"Cid Reyes, like a passionate lover, extols women to the heights with respect and adulation, and places them like goddesses in his aesthetics. His women are self-assured, oozing with dynamism on the surface of his canvas, bedecked with undefined forms and brilliant colors."

Buena Familia by Sid Reyes, Acrylic on Canvas, 2005

The essence of a woman transcends beyond space and time and like a seasoned wine, the older she gets the more she defines and completes the meaning and beauty of being woman. However, like men, she has her own conquest too, that is, to be constantly desired and adored rather than deserted like an object when youth and physical beauty wilt away.

Cid Reyes, like a passionate lover, extols women to the heights with respect and adulation, and places them like goddesses in his aesthetic creation. His women are self-assured, oozing with ineffable power on the surface of his canvas, bedecked with undefined forms and brilliant colors.

Departing from his whitish abstract paintings, Cid Reyes ingeniously combines figurative and abstract elements: the juxtaposition of female figure emerges as muse or goddess, more imposing than the brilliant and craggy surface of his canvas.

Equally thought-provoking is how he redefines the parallelisms of art, literally and figuratively, and the role of women in his aesthetics.

Tres Marias by Cid Reyes, Acrylic on Canvas, 2005

Here, his art raises a discursive proposition in redefining the role of women in our modern society apart from her domestic role as a mother, a wife or a daughter. A woman, for instance, is not confined to a limited function much as art is not restricted to a particular style or movement. Both have endless possibilities of becoming in what the Greek philosopher Aristotle posited in his “Act and Potency”.

At the outset, art transcends beyond space and time in as much as the role of a woman does. Art is inexhaustible, per se, but it is also limited within the realms of the artist’s creative visions. The more an artist discovers the uncharted bastion of creativity, the more he or she becomes.

In essence, it is the inexhaustible possibilities of art that makes the artist constantly evolve in the process of art-making as a woman does in her indispensable role in the post-modern society as career woman, a mother, a wife or a lover.

Poetic and metaphorical, the suite of Cid Reyes’ Demoiselles de Manille poignantly appeals to the sensual perception of the viewers, stimulating the human reason and emotion. It is metaphorical because it addresses the definition of women in the post-modern society; poetic because it reasserts the symbolic role of women within our culture and society.

Similarly, like the boundless possibilities of art and the unrestricted role of women, the artist’s quest for meaning and self-actualization goes beyond the mere functions as he relatively excels in all his endeavors

La Viuda, Unica Hija by Cid Reyes (Acrylic on Canvas, 2005)

As art critic and author of several art books, the man’s austerity and discipline to his multi-profession pursuits is amazingly extraordinary. Assuming different roles as executive in advertising, art writer, author and painter par excellence, elevate him to the status of a superhuman literally and figuratively.

How can the man be so creative in his art, write a regular art column on the daily paper, launch a coffee table book occasionally, and work full-time as an executive in one of the leading advertising agencies in the country?

As a painter, he is constantly contriving a fresh and dynamic expression of his art. The artist is restless until his creative power is exhausted on his canvas and, then, he starts all over again. His creative passion is more assertive though on the dynamic textures of his canvas than in the presence of this gentle and soft-spoken artist.

Equally compelling is his style of art writing and criticism, in which he masters the lucidity of inductive and deductive reasoning in a way that an ordinary person understands. In similar manner, occupying a higher position in the corporate world is both mentally and emotionally exhausting especially of one is sharing a responsibility of running the company.

The bottom line and the competitiveness in the business world lie on the competitiveness of the leaders and their moral responsibility in maintaining the quality of services to the client and to their employees.

Portrait of Cid Reyes by artist Camille Dela Rosa, Oil on Canvas, 2004.

Photo Courtesy of Camille Dela Rosa. Posted by Hello

Cid Reyes, as the Vice President of an advertising agency, possesses the natural quality of a leader and goes out of his way by letting his subordinates come out their best creative outputs. He has his own style of leadership and his unique way of dealing with people resonates with his creative thinking.

Like the aesthetic quality of his art and writings, he infuses a creative style of management in his works, a unique quality that any corporate company should imbibe and practice.

Akin to the parallelisms between his art and his subject, the artist himself is not bracketed, in philosophical sense, to his facticity as an art critic or a painter or a corporate executive. He goes beyond all these labels and unveils himself to all the inexhaustible possibilities that a man can become within the span of his existence.

Cid Reyes is simply a creative artist of magnificent vision, a deep thinker that possesses the qualities of a Renaissance man.


© Danny Sillada

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Cover girl, Debutant by Cid Reyes Acrylic on Canvas 2005)

CID REYES: Nights in White Satin

nights in white satin

the vision of an insomniac

Photo by Jose A. Ibay. Graphic by Pia Layoso, 2004.Posted by Hello

“Periods of happiness are blank pages in it, for they are periods of harmony – periods when antithesis is in abeyance...”
German philosopher Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1770–1831)

A journey characterized by an insomniac’s dark passage, Cid has created masterpieces from inner visions, extinguishing his restive thoughts and passion to a more defined quest for artistic meaning.

His art emerges from within, to an unusual extent, and equally compelling as those written prose and philosophical essays by a Romanian philosopher E.M. Cioran, who suffered from the same nocturnal restlessness, and whose body of works are laden existential angst, but extolling the grandeur of life.

The inner vision of Cid Reyes searches its own light and reason amid its nocturnal environment। His inability to lull in dreams forces his mind and body to create a suite of riveting works, which he called – the Night Visions. And the images radiate and beckon from a distance defying the principles of po-mo (post-modern) art.

Vision II by Cid Reyes, Acrylic on Board, 2004

Photo by Danny Sillada, Copyright © 2004. Posted by Hello

While the contemporary generation of Filipino abstractionists tramp toward the Oriental and Western concepts of abstract art, Cid Reyes traverses, though still within the vein of abstraction, in the opposite direction - the antithesis of bleak and darkened surface of po-mo abstractionism.

By principle, Abstractionism is a deconstructive art movement, which emerges from the ugly face of World War II, as a protest to the angst-laden aesthetics of the period. From there, it evolves and continues to mutate in the present in a world of virtual reality and technologism.

In essence, the post-modern art today is relatively remote and distant. It alienates man from a bleak reality, a haunting reality reflective of his ambivalent and fast-changing society: bold, radical and, at times, irrational.

Cid Reyes bridges the gap of that alienation by bringing back the consciousness of his viewers to the metaphysical meaning of color, the color of white symbolizing the sense of wonder, innocence and beauty.

Mixed Media on Canvas, 2004

Photo by Jose A. Ibay. Posted by Hello

The whiteness of his painting epitomizes the essence of purity and harmony on a pallid plane richer with forms and textures. His canvas is like a satin night without darkness, a night without walls or barriers, like the wings of angels reaching out to the laden souls with gentleness and compassion.

As the foremost art critic and top executive in the leading advertising agency in the country, Cid Reyes is a highly respected painter among his contemporaries. His creative output as an artist is equally comparable to his achievements and contributions to Philippine art as critic and historian.

The development of his art is inherent as a gift and its fruition is borne out of necessity from those restive nights, which he transmogrifies into a more meaningful aesthetic pursuit.

Similar to the Biblical account of creation where God created light from the void of darkness, Cid Reyes in his dark sleepless nights, assiduously labored and delivered the sensual and magical beauty of his creation.

Portrait of Cid Reyes by Camille Dela Rosa

Oil on Canvas, 2004

Photo Courtesy of Camille Dela Rosa. Posted by Hello

Curious eyes could dither and linger behind those mystical pallid textures and colors; how one hungers for more within the boundless surface of his canvas without being too intrusive in his nocturnal passage from darkness to light.

Cid Reyes' 10th One-Man Show, The Crucible गैलरी SM Mgamall A, Level 4, Mandaluyomg City, Philippines

Photo by Jose A. Ibay. Graphic by Pia Layoso, 2004. Posted by Hello
© Danny Sillada