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Sunday, December 12, 2004
Art by mouth (and foot too)
Postcards from the other edge. Who says art must spring from the hands? Ritchie Landis Doner Quijano proposes otherwise.
Don’t make premature judgements on the quality of these works until after you’re done reading this feature.
At first glance, these paintings may appear crude and amateurish, made by clumsy fingers; but the artists have none.
The paintings were made by artists without hands, grouping themselves into the Association of Foot and Mouth Painting Artists (AMFPA). The association is not a charity but is a company selling illustrated cards and calendars and, of course, paintings. The company is a self-help undertaking that’s entirely owned by seriously disabled association members.
The group members all have to learn the rudiments of drawing and painting with the brush held in the mouth or toes. Formed in 1956, they continue to help people of similar circumstance to develop artistic skills. They’re offering the works on artistic merit. By supporting and patronizing the disabled artists, we keep them productively employed. Inspiring them to create art makes them proud to earn their own living.
The work “Christmas Preparation” by Bernard Pesigan is a primitivist depiction of folk life in the country. In March of 1988 Pesigan had a motorbike accident that left him paralyzed from his neck down. He soon took up mouth painting with the encouragement of Jovito Sasutona, another mouth painter who lost the use of his hands through a diving accident. This Christmas, send cards that will help.
The disabled artist’s association can be contacted through this address: 64-G Kaliraya street corner Araneta avenue, 1113 Quezon city.
(December 12, 2004 issue)
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