Benjamin Valenciano and his santos at Asia’s first modern church
The Chapel of St. Joseph the Worker in Victorias, Negros Occidental, was built in 1950 and is considered the first modern church in Asia. Funded by the wealthy Ossorio family, its construction was part of the post-World War II recovery efforts on Negros Island.
Czech-American architect Antonin Raymond (1888-1976) used concrete and designed it in massive blocks distant from the traditional Catholic Baroque. This modern place of worship houses the “Angry Christ” mural painted by Alfonso Ossorio (1916-1990), the scion of the Ossorio family. The supposedly stern glare is housed behind the altar.
Alfonso Ossorio flew back for the construction, and it was his first time in the Philippines since he left in the early 1930s to become an American citizen as he pursued Art History at Harvard. He returned with fellow Belgian-American artist Ade Bethune (1914-2002), who did the colorful mosaics surrounding the church’s exterior. Bethune made it a point to work with townsfolks in this project.
In Ade Bethune’s letters found at the St. Catherine University’s Library and Archives in St. Paul, Minnesota, she shares her thoughts on working with ordinary townsfolks. She would ask the children to look for discarded bottles to use in the mosaics. She mentioned Negrense artist Benjamin Valenciano (1904-1963) among the numerous Filipinos involved in the construction.
The chapel would usually revolve around the names of Raymond, Ossorio, and Bethune. But Valenciano has significant contributions. He was the one who sculpted the Holy Family in the image of the Filipino.
Valenciano’s foray into sculpture was making the bolo handles bought by American soldiers as souvenirs. There was talk about employing the services of an Italian santos sculptor based in Manila, but that would be too distant and costly.
The style was in the traditional Catholic Baroque, and they would not blend in with the modern approach of the chapel. Valenciano and his cohorts were approached, and they provided the cohesive look of the saints and the Sagrada Familia that proved to be not just modern but revolutionary.
Bethune and Valenciano produced images of the apostles and the Holy Family that look like they are sakadas or seasonal plantation workers and mill laborers. The native Filipinos have become elevated figures to be revered.
Earlier critics and writers cited Valenciano as a “naif” artist or a naïve artist who is not academically trained or professional like Raymond, Ossorio, and Bethune. “Naif” is such a passive-aggressive word that would relegate him as “less,” “ignorant,” or “unencumbered,” painting him as a simple person, like a child. But Valenciano proves to be quite capable of standing on his own and has a legacy whose works genuinely resonate with the Filipinos.
In Bethune’s letters, she wrote about how she wanted to take a closer look at Valenciano’s works and that he is receptive to instruction. Bethune did not wish for Valenciano to produce what was usual but what he could produce with his skill set and experience. Bethune wrote that Valenciano had never seen a Jew and could not visualize the traditional portrayal of the Apostles, the Holy Family, and Christ.
Valenciano produced a beardless, crucified Christ. His Virgin Mary, wearing a simple slip dress, and infant Jesus look like they strolled in from town. His Joseph dons a polo barong with his hair shorn and a trimmed beard like the Filipinos. Valenciano has brought sacred images to modern times and the Filipino visual vernacular.
Making the sacred santos look Filipino cannot be blasphemous because nobody can point out what the Holy Family, the Apostles, and Christ honestly looked like. We have been fed with centuries of whitewashed saints and Holy Family in aid of white supremacist colonialism to make the brown natives feel inadequate. It must be said that this is not the first time sacred images have been racially reconfigured to their location.
Some works in Ethiopia are centuries old and have the Holy Family look African. What makes the brown saints in Victorias, Negros revolutionary is that these are figures of the sakadas who are among the most exploited workers in the sugar industry.
The sakadas are faceless, disposable, temporary workers at the mercy of exploitative plantations. Yet, there are, glistening as mosaics welcoming the faithful as they enter the chapel.
The sakadas are not seasonal here but are ingrained across stone. Bethune is instrumental in this visual approach because she is a stringent supporter of bringing the symbols of veneration down to earth among ordinary worshippers. Valenciano has been vocal in his appreciation for Bethune’s support. In a letter by Valenciano, he expressed how he has blossomed as an artist with her urging. Valenciano’s letter was written in lovely, florid penmanship, clearly showing that he is anything but a naif.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
