Jose Mendoza, sculptor for all seasons

It is said that one of the true measures of greatness is humility, and this is a virtue that Jose Mendoza possesses. All these years, the talented sculptor has remained rather unassuming, avoiding press interviews, shying away from the exhibition scene, content with letting his artistic outputs speak for themselves. And indeed, they talk eloquently, and in an elegant visual language that successfully communicates his intentions.

His aim to inspire nationalism and patriotism is effectively conveyed by the statues of Gabriela Silang along Ayala Ave., Pio del Pilar at Paseo de Roxas, Sultan Kudarat at Makati Ave., and the Bataan Memorial that used to be at the Ugarte Field. All are products of a decade-long patronage by the Zobel de Ayalas.

At the Magallanes parish church, his Risen Christ speaks of spirituality.

While the artist is accomplished at inspiring serious thought, he is nonetheless at ease at manifesting playful expressions. A fine example is "Tug-of-War," a sculpture depicting young boys engaged in a game of strength that is decided by pulling a rope and dragging the opposing team past a designated boundary. The work perfectly captures the excitement and ebullience of childhood.

Aside from the above-mentioned pieces, Mendoza’s other public sculptures include the tamaraw and carabao near the Quirino Grandstand of the Rizal Park , the Monument to Peace and Unity in Davao City and several sculptures at the Ayala Center, all of which culturally enrich the landscape of the places they are situated.

Majority of Mendoza’s works in public places were done in the classical style. All mirror the artist’s mastery of the tenets of ideal proportion and show his expertise in a technique called cire perdue, or lost wax process, used by old masters like Bienvenuto Cellini.

While classical sculptures comprise much of Mendoza’s commissioned output, he is equally accomplished, if not better, at tackling contemporary pieces. In fact, works done in the modern idiom have won for him the grand prize in the sculpture category of the annual Art Association of the Philippines competition seven times. Between 1969 and1979, "Bisig," "Population Explosion," "Taong Katauhan (Personification of a Year)," "Binhi ng Kabihasnan (Seed of Civilization)," "Perpetuation of Life," "Banyuhay," "Binhi" and "Metamorphosis" were cited by the AAP board of judges as the best among hundreds of entries.

Mendoza’s contemporary sculptures, such as "Embrace" bear influences of Henry Moore and Constantin Brancusi, while his kinetic pieces are inspired by Alexander Calder.

The artist traces his early dalliance with art to his childhood days in Manila, sometime in the 1950s. That time, his father Francisco operated a modest toy factory that turned out small jeepneys, calesas, guitars fashioned from tin sheets, bamboo snakes and wooden machine guns.

Hammering tin sheets into their intended shapes were Mendoza’s early training in object and shape perception, while painting on their festive decor introduced him to the nuances of color.

On the other hand, working on toy parts such as the accordion-type contraptions that allow the bamboo snake its slithering motion and the rotating wheel that hits a wooden slat that give the machine its rattling sound, served as his initial grounding in mechanical movement.

He made his first sculpture when he was in high school by taking number of toy guitars and piling them one atop the other in random fashion, thus creating one big assemblage.

After graduating from high school, Mendoza pursued an advertising degree at the University of Santo Tomas. Shortly after graduation, he worked in a printing press as a color separator for books and magazines, this, in spite of his being color blind.

Feeling this to be a dead-end job, he shifted gears and went into the fine arts. But feeling his condition would not serve him in good stead if he took up painting, he opted for sculpture.

He went to enroll at the University of the Philippines but, when he realized he would learn more through apprenticeship, he decided to work instead for National Artist Napoleon Abueva.

His first major work as an independent sculptor was the relief map of the Philippines at the Rizal Park, commissioned by the late newsman Teodoro Valencia, who then headed the park’s development committee. The large-scale metal relief was, for Mendoza, an exercise in three-dimensional cartography as every variant in elevation was scaled down to proper proportions and each river system clearly articulated. Though the work has largely been neglected of late, it was splendid in its heyday. Mendoza exhibited his meticulous attention to detail that even Mt. Mayon intermittently emitted smoke the way actual volcanoes do.

For his excellent work, Valencia sent him on a six-month trip around the world, a reward that gave him the chance to widen his artistic horizons through visits to various international museums and exhibitions. In his desire to further his knowledge, Mendoza apprenticed with Prof. Elden Deft of Kansas University. Here he acquired expertise in ceramic shell casting.

Upon his return the knowledge allowed him to further explore new materials for his sculptures. Today, so adept is Mendoza at manipulating a variety of material that he is able to orchestrate them into tight masterpieces. "Torso," "Liberation" and "Freedom" speak highly of the artistic duet Mendoza creates with materials such as glass and stainless steel, and brass and stone, among others.

After 30 years of quietly surrounding us wit the finest sculptures, the underrated Mendoza will now be accorded the recognition he truly deserves when he makes his formal debut in the exhibition scene via his first ever one-man show that opens tomorrow at The Crucible Gallery, SM Megamall A, Mandaluyong City.