Manolito Tolentino Mayo (December 17, 1954 – May 4, 1983) was a Filipino graphic artist, printmaker, avantgarde poet, sculptor, and art professor. His prolific career was brief – it lasted only a decade, as he died at the age of 28. He was one of the active young artists who experimented, collaborated, and exhibited art works in the thriving hubs of modernist and contemporary galleries and art associations in the
Ermita
Ermita is a district in central Manila, Philippines. It is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of Manila, bearing the seat of city government and a large portion of the area's e ...
district of Manila. He was also credited by his peers and art writers as the "Original Punk" of Philippine arts.
Early life and education
Mayo was born on December 17, 1954, in
Lipa City
Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa (), is a component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people.
It is the first city with a charter in the province and one of five ...
,
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
, the eldest son and second child of banker and entrepreneur Sebastian Mayo and teacher and homemaker Belen Tolentino Mayo. He was born into one of the oldest and historic clans of Lipa City; the Mayo clan of Lipa City has claimed and has documented their roots from Spanish, Chinese, and Irish-British ancestry. His father was an employee at the
Philippine National Bank
The Philippine National Bank (PNB, ; ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Hokkien ) is a major Filipino bank based in Pasay in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the Insular Government, America ...
branch of Lipa City who had retired early to establish The Lipa Trading Company, a multifaceted family business that included insurance, financing, real estate, agriculture, tax preparation and a Suzuki motorcycle dealership and tricycle shop.
He attended De La Salle Lipa, one of the local high schools that was established by the Lasallian Brothers, and graduated in 1971.
He received a BFA from the
University of Santo Tomas
The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
(UST) in 1975. While at UST he received several art awards at the university: 1st Honorable Mention, Sculpture Contest (1973); 3rd Prize, Graphic Arts (1973); 3rd Honorable Mention, Graphic Arts Competition (1973); and Honorable Mention, Annual On-The-Spot Painting Contest (1974).
His years at university coincided with the
martial law under Ferdinand Marcos
At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Part ...
, and Mayo helped the resistance by joining the anti-CAFA (Committee on Anti-Filipino Activities) movement and using the printing presses he had access to, to help disseminate information. He was also a member of the philanthropy-oriented Tau Gamma Phi fraternity.
Art and career
Mayo's early work was heavily inspired by
Cubism
Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture.
Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
, wood print blocks, and sculptures. He established himself in
graphic arts
A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Intaglio, xerographics, and silkscreen processes were also incorporated into his early works. ''
Business Day
A business day normally means any day except a legal holiday. It may also mean a business day of operation, any of the days an organization operates. It depends on the local workweek which is dictated by local customs, religions, and business ...
'' writer Angel G. De Jesus wrote that Mayo was "a surrealistic expressionist with a satiric sense of humor".De Jesus, Angel G. "Vignettes" column; "Lito Mayo". 2014. ''
Business Day
A business day normally means any day except a legal holiday. It may also mean a business day of operation, any of the days an organization operates. It depends on the local workweek which is dictated by local customs, religions, and business ...
'', p. 12.
He was president of the Philippine Association of Printmakers from 1975 to 1976, and was a member of the board of directors of the Art Association of the Philippines in 1977.
From 1981 to 1983 he taught Visual Arts and Design at the Philippine Women's UniversitySchool of Fine Arts and Design.
Mayo's subjects and compositions usually embodied magical themes, amulets, animal people, and subconscious wanderings. In his work ''Pula Puti'', he depicted a
cockfight
Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...
scene with two roosters with muscular human forms readying for a gladiatorial fight. His 1981 self portrait, a work in etching, has many incantations, mystical orations, and ancient figures adorning his shroud and countenance.
Mayo was regarded as the progenitor of punk culture and movement in the Philippines. He infused art and punk as a subculture and influenced many young artists and musicians to explore the subversion and excitement of the genre.
Personal life
In 1971, at the age of 17, Mayo married Irma Hermano, the daughter of Philippine Air Force official Porfirio Hermano and Pacita Hermano who owned and operated D'Crowns Tailoring, which served the uniforms and flight suits need of the military student aviators and officers inside Fernando Air Base. The couple had two sons.
He died unexpectedly in 1983 at the age of 28.
Awards and recognition
1975
*2nd Prize (Mixed Media Category): Print Competition in Manila sponsored by Bancom, Eurasia Arts, and the Philippine Association of Printmakers
1976
*First Runner-up: Grand Art Competition in Manila sponsored by the Art Association of the Philippines
*First Prize: Graphic Arts award from the Art Association of the Philippines
1977
*Honorable Mention: Graphic Arts award from the Art Association of the Philippines
1978
*First Runner-up: Grand Art Competition in Manila sponsored by the Art Association of the Philippines
*First Runner-up: Graphic Arts award from the Art Association of the Philippines
In September 2018, when the well-respected printmaker and influential artist, Virgilio "Pandy" Aviado was awarded the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi, a prestigious "Filipino Cultural" award from Ateneo De Manila University, he dedicated the award to ten printmakers who were no longer living, included Mayo.
Museum collections and posthumous exhibitions
Tirada: 50 Years of Philippine Printmaking 1968-2018 (05/19/2018- 07/15/2018). Cultural Center of the Philippines. Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, 1003 Metro Manila
October 17–30, 2015: Hiraya Gallery. 35th Anniversary Exhibition, ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum
Ateneo Art Gallery
*Temptation, 6/10 (1974) – Etching – 32 cm x 27.5 cm (Gift from Emmanuel Torres)
*Untitled (1975) – Etching and aquatint – 20.5 cm x 20.5 cm (Gift from Mayo)
The Ateneo Art Gallery presents Print(Ed): The AAG Print Collection Revisited (July–September 2019). Selected works from Wilson L Sy Prints and Drawings Gallery collection, curated by Pandy Aviado