Celebrating the beautiful and the powerful By Marge C. Enriquez Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 02:22:00 07/27/2008
MANILA, Philippines - Rupert Jacinto, once dubbed by the Washington Post as “Photographer to the Rich and Famous,” is at it again.
He is drumming up interest for his latest book project “Celebration,” which will consolidate his signature portraiture, mixed-media paintings, figurative studies and digital artworks. Until the end of August, he will be photographing subjects for his book and a photo exhibit that will be held in November at the Peninsula Manila.
It’s the very same hotel where he launched himself in 1980 and where he has held other exhibits and book launches.
“Celebration” marks his third project. The first book, published by Tuklas Foundation, “Filipino Women,” focused on achievers. His second, “Celebration of the Filipino,” a commemoration of the Philippine centennial, featured influential people from various fields.
The 170-page “Celebration” will include such high-profile subjects as honorary consul Mellie Ablaza, hoteliers Marilu Batchelor and Allana Montelibano, scions Marivic Madrigal Vazquez, professional beauty Heloise Romualdez, designer Lulu Tan-Gan, political wife Che Singson, charitable women such as Carrie Bautista, Eimee Cragun, financial expert Sandie Poblador, Inquirer founder Eugenia Apostol, real estate developer Divine Lee, socialite-turned-Bible study enthusiast Ruby Chiongbian Ang and prominent men such as Megaworld scion Kevin Tan, honorary consul Louie Ablaza, broadcaster Ramon Jacinto and businessman Manoling Poblador.
Asked how he chooses his sitters, Jacinto says he knows his subjects well enough.
“The face is not the final consideration. It’s the totality of their being.”
Related genres
Unknown to many, Jacinto has been intuitively exploring two related genres—color field painting and lyrical abstraction. The latter is typified by instinctive and relaxed paint handling, spur-of-the-moment expression, a nondescript sense of space, acrylic staining, and modern technological techniques.
He also admires Helen Frankenthaler, an exponent of color field painting, which is characterized by large and flat expanses of colors. Like her works, Jacinto is moved by the fleeting effects of light, and he explores the translucent and opaque qualities of color in his own work.
Last year, he introduced this technique in his project on Manila’s Bright Young Things. He also presented this style in a mixed-media exhibit of 40” by 60” murals which was a sell-out.
Hence, “Celebration” aims to show Jacinto’s expanded repertoire. In his new works, the trademark style is still evident in the foreground—the subjects appear resplendent in their finery, sitting amidst a formal environment.
He admits that a straight documentation of the subjects can get trite. So Jacinto experimented by adding another layer of his digital art, inspired by color field paintings and lyrical abstraction.
The backgrounds are composed of either billowy fields of vibrant, complementary colors or open expanses of overcast skies in deep hues of purple, magenta, pink, orange, blue. These create an aqueous or otherworldly feel to the image. Although a specific place is being depicted, the colorfully obscure, abstract background provides a sense of timelessness or an ambiguous suggestion of a place. The digital superimposition gives a surreal sense of depth.
Artist at heart
A Business Administration graduate from Ateneo, Jacinto has always been an artist at heart. His first subjects were his family members, naturally. He dressed his parents to the nines and set them against a magnificent background, reminiscent of British photographer Cecil Beaton’s society portraits.
He established his career through relationships and contacts. His early sitters included society ladies such as Remy Arguelles, Imelda Cojuangco and privileged friends of influential friends.
When he had exhausted the local market, Jacinto decided to try his luck in New York. He immediately hired an agent, Gustavus Ober, who presented him to the elite of New York and Washington such as Ivana Trump, Deeda Blair and Eileen Mehle, aka Suzy, the revered syndicated society columnist.
Jacinto impressed them with his portfolio and press clippings, such that he was introduced as “Photographer to the Fabulous in Manila.” Aside from getting an agent, he emphasized the importance of a portfolio. “It shows the best of what you can do and it helps tremendously in attracting new clients,” he says.
When Jacinto’s works landed on the front page of Washington Post’s features section, he became the talk of the town and envy of photographers. His patroness, Baroness Garnet Stacklerberg, then introduced him into her circle, where he got to photograph aristocrats and even held photo exhibits, graced by the crème de la crème of America.
Prudent retouching
After 12 years, he returned to Manila to take care of his father, and decided to settle here. When he’s not attending to the family businesses such as real estate, he pursues his passion.
Jacinto ventured into digital photography when he got disillusioned by the deteriorating quality of film processing. Many establishments were either using cheaper chemicals or hiring inept “technicians.” Although he misses the film medium and is excited about the advancements in digital technology, Jacinto uses a 12-megapixel Nikon T300 and is supported by two or three light sources during a shoot. He spends hours working in front of the computer, which has become his new darkroom.
In most shoots, sitters are wont to request having their insecurities such as wrinkles, sagging muscles, eyebags, skin pigmentations and veins completely retouched. But Jacinto is prudent about using Photoshop for enhancements, because too much correction of perceived imperfections looks unnatural.
At the end of the day, a good portrait is about capturing the soul at that special moment.
The launching of the new Rupert Jacinto coffee-table book and photo exhibit, “Celebration,” will be held Nov. 18-22 at the Gallery of the Peninsula Manila, with an invitational cocktail opening on Nov. 17, sponsored by The Peninsula. The book printer is Joey San Juan of House Printers. Graphic designer is Marc Steven Aguilar. Exhibit designer is Jaime Ponce de Leon, with the participation of Rey Ortiz of Metro One and Noel Maximo of Ground Productions. Pictorial dates close on Aug. 31. For details, contact Evelyn at 8444121.
Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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