Ed Defensor: Turning simple materials into things of beauty
Defensor (5th from left) with the Hubon
Madia-as Artist Group
Ed has made a portion of the Defensor family compound a showcase of his prowess in sculpture and bonsai plants
One of the big names in the Ilonggo art scene is Ed Defensor, multi-media visual and theater artist.
He is the founder of Hubon Madiaas and the Visual Arts Association of Iloilo, a former board member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and associate professor for Art History at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas.
At the Rose Garden with Thai Performers,
Bangkok,Thailand, 1995
His solo exhibits had been diverse and were also held abroad. These include "Pahayag," a mixed media exhibition in New York; garden sculptures in his home in Mandurriao; Dancing for the Moon, in black and white, Bacolod City; Dance Sculptures in Wood and Nails, Metro Manila; and more. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions. He organized some of these for the purpose of bringing art closer to the public as well as inspire fellow artists to create more works.
Ed has made a portion of the Defensor family compound a showcase of his prowess in sculpture and bonsai plants. The vast lawn at the back portion of the compound shows his three-dimensional works wherein the influence of his favorite artist Napoleon Abueva in the modernist approach is evident. Most of the works were made of copper nails and wood. They are the Kneeling Dancer and Folk Dancer. "Coppernail Sculptures are actually sculptures first carved out of wood and then covered and nailed in all over with copper nails. I first saw these materials in a hardware. I was attracted to its beauty and texture but felt sad in that its only use was as nails for boats since they do not rust. I decided to experiment with these materials and came up with these artworks," he said.
The artist in Acropolis, Athens,
Greece, 1992
He makes use of glass, too. Dance Lantern combined sculpture and paintings within glass windows.
Meanwhile, his bonsai collection had been existing for 10 years and contains a hundred different varities of plants and trees.
Amid his popularity, Defensor remains humble. He still believes that being a good artist is not enough. "One should have a name and this is normally a product of consistency and connections. If not for my family's political connections, I wouldn't have survived as an artist," he said.
His advice to other artists? "There should be initiatives to grow. Expose yourself to world trends. One should have that 'suicidal instinct', the passion to remain consistent in one's art despite the economic difficulties that beset Ilonggo artists."