Sculptor in g-string wins big anew in Switzerland

By Ramon Dacawi

Cordillera expatriates beat the tribal  gongs  anew  in mid-June in far-away  Switzerland to toast the  repeat twin victory of an Igorot sculptor revisiting the 11^th International Sculpture Symposium in the Morges Castle by Lake Geneva.

            

That’s what the expats exactly did two years ago this month in the same venue, when the same home-bred artist,  Ifugao woodcarver-turned sculptor Gilbert Gano Alberto , turned a block of stone into an old man beating a gong. The figure earned him the “Prix du Public-Pierre” (Audience Choice-Stone) award  and the silver in the “Prix du Jury” (Jury Prize) in the stone category of the 10^th edition of the prestigious biennial competitions.

            

This year, Gilbert  shifted to wood to win  the “Prix des Artistes “ award through secret voting by the artist-participants, and the “Prix du Public-Bois” ( Audience Choice – Wood) through balloting by people who came to watch 32 artists from 16 countries fashion out what were on their minds.

            

There was no jury prize this year, e-mailed Andrea Suanding, the accompanying person to the Igorot artist.  She noted that “of the four plaques presented June 15, the “Prix du Public 2013-Pierre (Stone)” went to Harriet Daniel (of Switzerland) and the “Prix des Artistes (Stone)” was captured by PatoutAriane (of Spain)”.

            

The other two plaques will be brought home by Gilbert early next month, to add to his two in 2011.

            

Gilbert took off from his experience two years back, when Swiss alphorn players joined his victory celebration instantly mounted by his expat “kailians”. He played with them,  juxtaposing with their giant horns  a small nose flute he had fashioned out back in his patchwork shop at Twin Peaks, Kennon Rd.  

In lieu the smaller , uniform –sized oak wood  given the other sculptors, Gano asked for a two-meter long wood.  Working wearing a g-string, , as he did two years ago to observe Philippine Independence Day, he crafted a balloon-cheeked alpine horn blower, from alpine hat to shoes.

“Most of the onlookers were amazed with his work as ‘with an expressive face and tantalizing eyes’,” Suanding said. “Also, most the students (who visited) came back because Gano let them try his working tools. He even carved a sailboat for a boy who was attracted (to) his work.”

To explain his winning stone entry in 2011, Gilbert etched on the gong: “The Echo of an Old Man Laying the Sound of Wisdom, The Old Man will be You and Me”.

Gilbert’s debut in the international art scene became instant news among Cordillera expats in Europe after Netherlands-based Yvonne Belen, coordinator of the Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK Europe, posted his website address and his entry to the 2011 Morges Symposium. Igorots from all over Switzerland  and beyond responded by trooping to the venue  to support him.

Among them is former  world shotokan karate champion Julian Chees  and his secretary, Renate Doth, who drove 500 miles from their base in southern  Germany in time for the gong beat-driven victory celebration.

In her report to the Philippine Embassy about Gilbert’s 2011 triumph, Anny Misa-Hefti, another expat from Cebu, spoke of him as “an epitome of humility, mingles well without being boisterous and is friendly in a shy way”.

After his back-to-back victory, Gilbert, according to Suanding, plans to join the 12^thsymposium in 2015 as accompanying person to another Igorot artist he will train.

Meanwhile, Cordillera expatriates  turned the repeat victory into another instant canao-type  celebration at the castle courtyard, bringing in the gongs, food and drinks they shared with the artists and whoever came by.

“(Gano), together with (Cordi expats) Julio Monico and Violeta Passerini played the gongs at the Castle yard while Lolit Hafner and Teofila Picpican-Meier led the dance and were joined by the crowd,” Suanding recalled. “The festivities continued with lunch, also at the yard,  with the other sculptors and festival organizers who had a taste of Filipino food brought in by Gano’s supporters.”

It was an encore of the initial victory celebration in 2011, when Lolit brought out the gongs for what her brother Monico then described:  “A festival of its kind took place around the masterpiece of Giblert, as some of our ‘kababayans’, BIBAK members from far regions of Switzerland and friends arrfived with their home-prepared (food) and drinks.”

Coming home from  his first travel to Europe, Gilbert then also recalled how fellow Cordillerans, among them Letty Pilando, maximized his limited time to see the surroundings of Morges.

This time, Lolit asked Gilbert and Andrea to re-book their flight to July 3.

“They are now in Bern with us, and are scheduled to go southward to Italy (Milan and Como) to visit a friend of Andrea connected to the Don bosco schools international,” Lolit e-mailed.  “BIBAK Switzerland will be having the usual summer meet in Basel near the French-German border on June 29 so I thought of inviting Julian Chees to come to the party, (for) a chance to meet each other again with Gano, Andrea and other members who missed to come to Morges.”