IntroductionThe ArtistDante Enage was born on April 8, 1972 in
Tacloban City. He spent his grade school days in a local elementary
school in Fatima Village Tacloban and he studied in Leyte National
High school afterwards. He has a wife and a daughter. He is
currently residing in Brgy. San Jose in Tacloban City. Enage did
not proceed to college because he thought it was tiring. When asked
what he would be if he is not an artist today, jokingly said a
priest or a pedicab driver. He further explained that when he was
younger he didnt care much about what he would be in the future and
that he was not visualizing what he really would be. When he was in
high school, just like a typical high school boy, he would often
hang out with some friends.Enage is a vegetarian. He doesnt really
watch the news or read them because he thinks they just make him
dizzy, particularly politics. He uses social media, like facebook,
to broadcast his artworks and reach out to his buyers.He has been
working as an artist for almost 18 years. He started painting and
sketching when he was in his early 20s. He was exposed to the arts
of local artists such as Dulz Cuna and Leo Villaflor in his early
days as an artist. His mother was supportive about his career and
even helped him finance some materials in his first exhibit.
However, his father was not supportive about his choice of pursuing
his art career, for the same reasons that most people think about
the monetary income in it.Before he became a renowned artist, he
was fascinated with an art sign shop in his neighborhood. And so he
started drawing things, copying whatever he saw. Then time came
that he got to meet people from the art community. They invited him
to attend and participate in different art galleries and
exhibits.Dante Enage primarily uses tuba paint or pigment extracted
from coconut tree called coconut wine. His influence in making a
tuba painting was his predecessor Leo Villaflor. When they used to
participate in exhibits, Enage also painted but a few tuba
paintings. Later on, when Villaflor died, he painted a lot of them.
And people kept asking if he was going to continue what Villaflor
has made for the art culture (tube painting). So he just continued
it with the hopes that it wont be lost and forgotten in our art
culture. However, some artists question him about the longevity of
the medium (tuba) - considering its acidity which damages the
artworks original state. And so, he mixed it with barok (bark of a
tree used to tint the tuba darker). The medium he uses also demands
a proper location and enough exposure to sunlight or the artwork
will fade out.His inspiration painting is his daughter Yumi Enage.
He has made some artworks where she is the main subject. He gets
his ideas in painting from the surroundings and daily living. He
even brings with him a sketchpad all the time and sketches whatever
comes into his mind even when he is inside a moving jeepney.He
paints varied images. When he was starting as an artist, he painted
portraits of people. Pesently, he is more into abstract. But in his
early days as an artist, some of his paintings were also inspired
by the great Salvador Dali.As a true artist, despite the lack of
regular income in the industry, he doesnt leave it. He contrasts
himself to pseudo artists who just make art for a living. He makes
art because its what he love doing. As he describes it, its like an
essential thing for him. He likened not being able to paint to
being thirsty. However, he does not deny that at times, he gets
envious of what his classmates have achieved- owning cars, big
houses and high-paying jobs. But when he paints, the satisfaction
he gets is beyond anything. For him, he feels an inexplicable
feeling from it. He raises the issue about the Leytenos being
indifferent to our art culture. And in a way, puts the blame on the
government. He mentioned that the local government is not so
supportive about the art community. They get invited to events to
exhibit their works but the art community in Tacloban doesnt get
funded- or the arts and culture fund is allocated to other forms of
entertainment such as beauty pageants.Dante Enage is presently the
president of an art group in Tacloban called KasiKasi and a musical
band called Kulahig- in which he plays the jimbee. Among all the
exhibitions he participated in, his experience in Malaysia was the
most memorable. He said that it was self gratifying to be able to
represent not just our province but also the country and show
proudly show what amazing art culture we have.His artworks include
oil on canvas, tuba paint, mixed media and paperclay. He made a
regular price on all his paintings to make it fair for his buyers.
He sells his pieces 25php per square inch.
The Artist and the SocietyDante Enage shared his experience
during the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). We were here in San Jose. We
were upstairs. They were texting us to go downstairs but it wasnt
that strong yet, so we just stayed. And when the time came that the
house was like shaking, it was like going to break and the doors
were destroyed. We attempted to go downstairs when the ceiling got
blown away. But when we went out of the room, I got carried by the
strong wind. And so I got a good grasp of our closet. My daughter
held on to the wall so she was able to stand up while my wife was
hurled.After Yolanda, Dante Enage started painting again. This
time, his themes was all about Yolanda- from the time people were
struggling to survive up to the time when people stood up to their
feet and got back to their normal lives.And as a result, he was
able to make the Usbong (grow) series.
Arts of Dante Enage
Baybayin
Gamot
Hin-o Ako
Mulay
Rebelasyon
Peace
Usbong 4
Usbong 5
Usbong 6
Usbong 8Dante Enages latest paintingtitled I Survive Yolanda 1,
tubaand acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18Awards 1st Place Philippine
visual Arts Festival Painting Competition, 2013.
2nd Place An Waray Tuba Painting contest, 2008.
3rd Place Rotary Club of Leyte Gulf Mural painting Contest,
2006
2nd Place Spawn & Municipality of Tanauan, ots skimboard
painting contest,2005 2nd runner up Gov.Remedios L. Petilla Sail
Painting Competition,2004
3rd runner up Tacloban fiesta Sail Painting Competition,
2003
Artist Philosophy"Capture the things that tug your heartstrings,
move your soul and stimulates your mind. Do not be afraid to
explore, for the concept of time and space is merely a state of
mind. Your imagination knows no boundaries."
Artists StatementEach piece of my artwork touches the social,
political and cultural issues plaguing my people, the Waray Warays
and my fellow countrymen, the Filipinos. At times, it also tells my
story, my personal struggles and dreams. My current works are all
done using the natural pigment derived from the tanbark of the
barok, a mangrove, which is used to color and flavor tuba, the
local coconut toddy. The interesting thing about this pigment is it
darkens as it ages. I then inject clues about the context and
interpretation of the painting using baybayin, the pre-Hispanic
text of the Filipinos. The pieces I create are meant to educate and
raise awareness. It is meant to be a thought provoking conversation
work of art.
Rapporteurs Note
Photo
AppendixBibliographyhttp://jnbmpaperclay.com/dante-enage