In an effort to bridge the gap between Filipino art from the past and the present, a Filipino art critic and historian gave the National Museum of Fine Arts cassette tapes containing conversations with national artists.
Author, former journalist, and visual artist Cid Reyes donated taped conversations with deceased national artists from the 1960s, including Ang Kiukok, Vicente Manansala, Nena Saguil, José T. Joya, Jerry Elizalde Navarro, Napoleon Abueva, and Victorio Edades.
Oral history’s importance
These recordings, which are now included in Lost Conversations, offer a unique window into the thoughts of National Artists long before their names were inscribed in the annals of history.
“With Lost Conversations, I want the young artists of today, Filipino artists, to realize the rich tradition that has been handed down to them. That now they have a legacy that they are obliged to continue, a level of excellence that they must pursue and aspire to,” Reyes said.
Reyes said the recording would contribute to the resuscitation of Filipino art for upcoming generations.
“I have always believed that oral history is of paramount value, even though we have what you call written history, written by historians after the fact. But with oral history, which is history being lived at the very moment, is history as we say, straight from the horse’s mouth, from the artist’s mouth, and you cannot change that,” Reyes said.
Modernizing the tapes
In order to digitize the tapes, remastered audio interviews will be posted on the ArticulatePH YouTube account.
Reyes' 1989 book "Conversations on Philippine Art" was written using the stored tapes as its source material.
“Remember that I was interviewing artists who had a certain elevated stature in the community, and for me to ask [for] a couple of hours of their time is really an imposition,” he said.
