“La Barca de Aquironte,” “Espana y Filipina,” “Mi Hijo, Luli” these are some of the enduring pieces of legacy Juan Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo left to the Filipino people thru the auspices of no less than the Lopez Museum.

One of the more established museums (since 1960), the Lopez Museum boasts of a collection that has some of the giants in Philippine art. From the Luna’s to Hidalgo’s, to the Amorsolo’s and Legaspi’s, the Lopez Museum collection is most certainly one of the more formidable collections in the country.

Add to this collection is a library that probably has one of the biggest compilation, if not the biggest collection, of Filipiniana books. However, it’s current director, a Lopez herself, Mrs. Merceditas L. Vargas, wanted to inject new life to the museum. She realized this through her own children. “I noticed that I had to drag my own children to the museum. And because the collection had been there forever, they get bored since they have memorized it already. It was static.” Be that as it may, she also realizes that the museum has built its reputation on certain key pieces that some of its audience keep going back to. She muses, “I then realized that if I could contemporize the collection, then maybe it will appeal to a wider, younger audience, without losing the regular patrons who are so attached to the classics.”

This became the guiding principle that Lopez Museum is now building its reputation upon. Mrs. Vargas has taken it upon herself to “re-launch” the Lopez Museum into the 21st century. Youngish looking herself, Merceditas as she is fondly called, has found the right element by using the museum’s collection as a catalyst to its exhibitions that should have a notable 21st century flavor. A perfect example is a video installation that is playing in one part of the museum’s exhibition “Dime a Dozen.” For this particular video/installation-entitled “Frankenstein’s Monster”– the museum had to block off a certain part of its floor area giving the installation a contained environment. On the walls are the “bosettos” (study drawings) by Felix Resureccion Hidalgo for some of his monumental Pieces like “La Barca de Aquironte,” and “The Assassination of Bustamante.” What the artist Tad Ermitano did was to use “Hidalgo’s drawings of bodies and body parts (and animated them as they)…(come) into being…(leading) to the idea …of Frankenstein’s Monster…a central myth for our age...” (Exhibit guidelines)

This is the kind of exhibition where the old is made new. “We have used the collection as a spring board for new and contemporary works. This way it becomes more relevant to both those who adhere to the old and those who crave the new.” The video was, to say the least, compelling; complete with audio, it was a total experience. The young ones, who will be able to appreciate the video, can have access and learn from the old master’s drawings, while those from the old school might look at the classic drawings from a different perspective.

Other services that the Lopez Museum extends to the public are its lecture series and summer workshops. As of this interview, there are plans for a lecture on the Philippine culinary heritage, and one on architectural reconstruction. But it was only the talk by TeamManila that has been beefed up.

An independent video company, TeamManila will be tackling the history of graphic design in the country. A multi-disciplined outfit that produces anything graphic, they aim “to educate the eyes and taste of the public through its output and work. It is out to make a lasting mark on visual culture and to contribute to the graphic design landscape, both locally and internationally.” (TeamManila web site).

As part of the lecture series called “The Stories on Philippine Art,” TeamManila’s lecture about graphic design in the Philippines art landscape “aims to create more awareness of (the) various personalities, art forms and practices in the country.” With the many graphic art and multi media forms prevalent in today’s society, this lecture will be a very welcome insight into its future development.

An interesting area in the museum is one that is “devoted” to the development of mass media. Their on going exhibit called “Cut and Paste” is almost like a prequel to what TeamManila will be lecturing about. Culling material from their rare Filipiniana collection, “Cut and Paste” is an exhibition of print ads during the infancy of mass media. Devoid of any sophisticated technological innovation, the images were straight forward hand drawings that had all the nuances of the old printing methods during its infancy. For those who lived through it, it was fun to see ads that one used to be familiar with as they brought back memories of years past. But for the younger generation who are seeing these images for the first time, it was “interesting to see that such images can still capture the imagination of their generation. “In fact, there have been requests to tour the exhibit,” according to Mrs. Vargas.

If visual arts is not your cup of tea, then maybe the library will get your fancy.

The library of the Lopez Memorial Museum is one of the finest in Asia. With 16,000 Filipiniana titles, by 12,000 authors, there won’t be a shortage of reading materials when it comes to researching about the Philippines. Some of the more interesting reads are the “rare books (that) include such explorer’s volumes as James Burney’s A chronological history of the voyages and discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean (London, 1803-1817); Bartolome Juan Leonardo y Argensola’s The discovery and conquest of the Molucco and Philippine Islands (London, 1708), one of few extant copies; Pedro Chirino S.J.’s Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (Rome, 1604); and a rare gem, the institution’s oldest Filipiniana work, the first edition of Belarmino’s Doctrina Cristiana (Manila, 1620), translated into Ilocano by Fr. F. Lopez and printed by Antonio Damba and Miguel Saixo.” (Lopez Memorial Museum web site)

Aside from this very impressive collection of Filipiniana books, to those interested in rare maps, whether for research purposes or for its artistic value, the Lopez Museum also has its fare share. “With respect to the excellent map collection totaling 356, there are many old maps providing good coverage of the early world, Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia and Philippine historical geography. Some fine examples of the rare maps…will delight the scholars (because they are) the crossroad of technology, science and the arts.” (Lopez Memorial Museum web site)

Museums are undoubtedly repositories of who we are and what defines us as a people. But then again, if we sometimes feel that yesterday was a distant past, what more if it were history that we can only relieve through our imagination. It may seem totally irrelevant to our lives. The fact that the current director is youthful and is grounded to the current issues of the times, she has thus brought the museum to a stage where its collection could encourage young, fresh ideas and make HISTORY relevant again to today’s generation. Such perceptive cultural workers are rare. But all it really calls for is the want to make a difference.

So for those who are seeking significance from the past in relation to the present, and a respite from the usual summer pastime what better way to do it but through art and culture. The Lopez Memorial Museum will let you take a look at your past, and hopefully think about your future.