Empire state of mind
The art of seeing through a fresh pair of eyes
Julio Jose Austria has a fitting surname. He likes to travel. And through his arts and travels, he’s able to document the lives of the people in diaspora. “I want to get out of the fish pond. Everybody starts small, always in a small pond. If you won’t go out, you won’t know the creek, the river, the ocean. And in your journey, you gain experience. As an artist, my painting isn’t just about my journey but everybody else’s,” says Julio. In 2009, he ventured out, a small fish in a big pond. In Frank Sinatra’s words, his vagabond canvas was longing to stray somewhere. And Julio found himself in the very heart of, you guessed it, New York, New York. And he found himself thriving in the concrete jungle. While New York’s streets do make you feel brand new and its big lights would inspire you (thanks Alicia Keys), an immigrant artist’s life isn’t always as sweet as it appears to be.
“New York is very competitive. It’s an everyday battle scene and we are the warriors. But if, suddenly, you find yourself quitting, nobody will stop you. There will be instances when you’d ask yourself, ‘What am I doing here?’ New York will break you, but if you know how to adjust, you’ll love it,” says Julio.
And he persisted. He does two to three group exhibits every year. He says that the Big Apple has made him humble and kept him grounded. “You’ll see beggars in the subway who give Broadway-like performances. It’s a privilege to live with talented people. I became cultured, too. Now I appreciate other art forms like poetry, short stories, and theater plays,” he says.
But like Jose Rizal or any other Pinoy who has travelled abroad, Julio says he couldn’t help but put New York side by side with the Philippines, both in their arts scene and in people’s mundane lives. “They’re very different. I don’t want to sound boastful or unappreciative, but the artworks you find rare and beautiful here in the Philippines are commonly found in the streets of New York. It’s also one of the challenges in the Big City, you have a lot of input. The test is how you digest and process them,” he says. He also adds that he gets upset with the country’s slow progress. “I get frustrated every time I go home because the reality is different from your ideals. The problem with us is we don’t appreciate constructive criticisms. We get angry when get them. Tayo pa ang galit,” he says. But Julio doesn’t have a choice. As a “documentarist,” a term he calls himself, he has to paint what he sees, no matter how frustrating. He also likes documenting the journey of human beings.
Since getting residency grants in the United States, Julio has gone back home at least once a year to do shows. In fact, he has 11 paintings on view until Jan. 31 at the Art Cube gallery in Makati. Julio showcases paintings about immigration and journeys and the process of becoming an individual at his exhibit “Reroute.”
“The exhibit is inspired by the path of an incoming typhoon. It’s about migration, struggles, frustrations, and inner typhoons. Here in the Philippines, everyone and everything is relaxed. Abroad, besides thinking about your art, you think about surviving and paying the bills. When you go out of your comfort zone, it fuels your inspiration and pushes you to the limit,” he says.
One of his favorite paintings is Projected Path, an abstract representation of a typhoon about to make a landfall. “No matter how hard you prepare in life, there will always come a time when you’ll only get to make a game plan when the typhoon hits the ground,” says Julio.
His other painting Fresh off the Boat shows a picture of an immigrant about to set foot on a new land. Will he jump into the sea and go back to a fish pond? Julio says he’s heard stories of immigrants, pressured from the rigors of life, jumping off to the big blue sea. “FOBs (fresh off the boat),” says Julio, is a New Yorker’s term for foreigners. But he says he doesn’t mind stereotypes. He can handle it. What he won’t handle is making a decision in haste. “I am not in a hurry. For me artists are citizens of the world. I want a longer process, slowly but surely, then boom!”
Julio Jose Austria’s “Reroute” will be on view from Jan. 17 until Jan. 31 at the Art Cube Gallery in Glorietta 4, Makati City.
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