“I am getting rich here though I’ve no money,” Davao surreal artist Bienvenido Bones Banez amusedly told me by cellphone. It has been more than five years since he left Davao to experience the world’s Mecca of modern art, New York. A little more than a year ago I joined him there, had seen, and shared his difficult situation for three months. I’ve been back in Pinas for almost two years since then; he stayed on.

Up to now he still stutters but behind the staccato of words, I detected the bliss of achievement. He has reasons for feeling so. Last December 21, 2007 he opened his second solo art exhibition in New York City, NY, USA, at the Amarin Café in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. One of his special guests during the occasion was the executive director and president of the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Terrance Lindall. If you don’t know who the guy is I’ll tell you: he organized in 2003 the largest-ever exhibition and gathering of living surrealists from all over the world. In effect Andre Breton has found a successor in this man for universalizing surrealism, or surrealizing the universe, as the case may be. Ben as we address him here in Davao, was blissful because, in his guestbook, Lindall wrote: “Ben is a genius!”


You think I may be putting forward too much? A lot of people remember Ben as somebody they could have their way with; certainly, not as genius. But Ben, founder of an art group called Idiot Savant Artists, now makes unbelievers think twice. To survive as artist in New York is not a breeze. However, when you get somebody like Sir Terrance to brand you as “the greatest living surrealist from the Philippines,” I tell you it’s no joke! Looking down at you with his six-foot two frame, Lindall commands respect as a person of well-rounded intellect who has been making art history these passing years. Behind him stood the 3-storey concrete structure of an 1867 Kings County Savings Bank which had played a role in America’s economic prosperity. A touch of vision coming from the right person, Yuko Nii, turned the old landmark in 1996 into what has been called the “epicenter” of Brooklyn’s artist community, the WAH Center. With Lindall running the center, one ought to realize he probably saw something in Banez which others did not. That does not mean I am endorsing somebody’s ingenuity. Putting things in proper perspective, what does “genius” mean, in the first place?

My definition is as good as yours, but what’s beautiful about this relative, postmodern world is that there is no limit to what we can imagine and accomplish, so that we witness the breakdown of definitions, opening up vast mental fields where consciousness can express uniquely without limitations. At least it is not boring as political speeches. I don’t know whether Lindall’s benediction is enough to make Ben a genius. What is sure, I observed, was that people generally don’t like viewing Ben’s work because it brings out their worst emotions: fear and awe. His is the kind of art only prophets of doom relish on. The resentment viewers feel for Ben’s work, I believe, is a defense mechanism that tells a lot who they are. Incidentally, this kind of reaction speaks of Ben’s art as a form of artistic expression perfectly fitting the surreal suit. All things considered, I suspect local art viewers may have lacked understanding what surrealism is all about, reason why Ben earns more ridicule than appreciation in his hometown. To settle my suspicion, I emailed Terrance Lindall, himself, and requested elaboration on his pronouncements about Ben. His reply:

Actually, Ben's work has certainly become even more powerful in the last couple of years. He paints as if he is plugged into a wall socket and the energy that pours forth through his brain and fingertips to the canvas comes out in pulses of scintillating colors. Another artist he is akin to is the great Alex Grey. But Ben has abandoned Grey's "control." Ben has, in the best exercise of surrealist dogma, let control go by the wayside and let his natural "Idiot Savant" genius have full sway. In this way he is towering above the others in captivating power. Sure, he is not yet recognized by the mainstream. But recognition by the mainstream can be the curse of mediocrity. As Isamu Noguchi said to our great art center founder and master artist Yuko Nii, "Once you are appreciated by the public, you have reached the lowest common denominator." Ben has reached the point where he is deserving of a museum show in his own country, not because he has achieved mediocrity, but because he has surpassed so many others. And those who can discern his qualities should give him that recognition. I believe he will achieve greatness.” Terrance Lindall 2008

Lindall also quoted Edgar Allan Poe: 

“I have sometimes amused myself by endeavoring to fancy what would be the fate of the individual gifted, or rather accursed, with an intellect very far superior to that of his race. Of course, he would be conscious of his superiority; nor could he (if otherwise constituted as man is) help manifesting his consciousness. Thus he would make himself enemies at all points. And since his opinions and speculations would widely differ from those of mankind – that he would be considered a madman is evident.  How horribly painful such a condition! Hell could invent no greater torture than that of being charged with abnormal weakness on account of being abnormally strong.

“In the like manner, nothing can be clearer than that a very generous spirit – truly feeling what all merely profess – must inevitably find itself misconceived in every direction – its motives misinterpreted.”

The above quotes should serve as food thought for the intelligent reader. Ben's second solo show in New York is not the only good thing going for him. He is also set to join the group exhibit of WAH Center's member artists in January 19 and the Paradise Lost Art Show is September of this year, which is WAH way of celebrating author John Milton's 400^th birthday. "Everything were passing in time 666 geniuses and inforseen occurrence, "Ben texted me what he says as his statement. Whatever he means by that, please visit www.welcomebones666artworld.com, www.artofimagination.org/Pages/Banez.html, www.wahcenter.net and kwigdor.proboards51.com/index.cgi?board=bbbb&action=print... for more Banez's artworks.

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About the author: Phillip Somozo is a visual artist and writer from Davao. As painter he has had two solo exhibitions. In March of this year, he spent a 1-month residency in America’s largest international artist community, the award-winning Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT., USA (www.vermontstudiocenter.org), where he had his second one-man show. From April to May, he stayed in New York City, joining Artisthood’s group art exhibition at the PhilCenter-NY in Manhattan, visiting museums, and interacting with Filipino and American artists, including Bienvenido “Bones” Banez. He co-founded the art group Artisthood in 2002, and has since been its writer and publicist. He was contributor to the Art Manila Quarterly Magazine in 2003.