IntroductionThe ArtistDante Enage was born on April 8, 1972 in Tacloban City. He spent his grade school days in a local elementary school in Fatima Village Tacloban and he studied in Leyte National High school afterwards. He has a wife and a daughter. He is currently residing in Brgy. San Jose in Tacloban City. Enage did not proceed to college because he thought it was tiring. When asked what he would be if he is not an artist today, jokingly said a priest or a pedicab driver. He further explained that when he was younger he didnt care much about what he would be in the future and that he was not visualizing what he really would be. When he was in high school, just like a typical high school boy, he would often hang out with some friends.Enage is a vegetarian. He doesnt really watch the news or read them because he thinks they just make him dizzy, particularly politics. He uses social media, like facebook, to broadcast his artworks and reach out to his buyers.He has been working as an artist for almost 18 years. He started painting and sketching when he was in his early 20s. He was exposed to the arts of local artists such as Dulz Cuna and Leo Villaflor in his early days as an artist. His mother was supportive about his career and even helped him finance some materials in his first exhibit. However, his father was not supportive about his choice of pursuing his art career, for the same reasons that most people think about the monetary income in it.Before he became a renowned artist, he was fascinated with an art sign shop in his neighborhood. And so he started drawing things, copying whatever he saw. Then time came that he got to meet people from the art community. They invited him to attend and participate in different art galleries and exhibits.Dante Enage primarily uses tuba paint or pigment extracted from coconut tree called coconut wine. His influence in making a tuba painting was his predecessor Leo Villaflor. When they used to participate in exhibits, Enage also painted but a few tuba paintings. Later on, when Villaflor died, he painted a lot of them. And people kept asking if he was going to continue what Villaflor has made for the art culture (tube painting). So he just continued it with the hopes that it wont be lost and forgotten in our art culture. However, some artists question him about the longevity of the medium (tuba) - considering its acidity which damages the artworks original state. And so, he mixed it with barok (bark of a tree used to tint the tuba darker). The medium he uses also demands a proper location and enough exposure to sunlight or the artwork will fade out.His inspiration painting is his daughter Yumi Enage. He has made some artworks where she is the main subject. He gets his ideas in painting from the surroundings and daily living. He even brings with him a sketchpad all the time and sketches whatever comes into his mind even when he is inside a moving jeepney.He paints varied images. When he was starting as an artist, he painted portraits of people. Pesently, he is more into abstract. But in his early days as an artist, some of his paintings were also inspired by the great Salvador Dali.As a true artist, despite the lack of regular income in the industry, he doesnt leave it. He contrasts himself to pseudo artists who just make art for a living. He makes art because its what he love doing. As he describes it, its like an essential thing for him. He likened not being able to paint to being thirsty. However, he does not deny that at times, he gets envious of what his classmates have achieved- owning cars, big houses and high-paying jobs. But when he paints, the satisfaction he gets is beyond anything. For him, he feels an inexplicable feeling from it. He raises the issue about the Leytenos being indifferent to our art culture. And in a way, puts the blame on the government. He mentioned that the local government is not so supportive about the art community. They get invited to events to exhibit their works but the art community in Tacloban doesnt get funded- or the arts and culture fund is allocated to other forms of entertainment such as beauty pageants.Dante Enage is presently the president of an art group in Tacloban called KasiKasi and a musical band called Kulahig- in which he plays the jimbee. Among all the exhibitions he participated in, his experience in Malaysia was the most memorable. He said that it was self gratifying to be able to represent not just our province but also the country and show proudly show what amazing art culture we have.His artworks include oil on canvas, tuba paint, mixed media and paperclay. He made a regular price on all his paintings to make it fair for his buyers. He sells his pieces 25php per square inch.

The Artist and the SocietyDante Enage shared his experience during the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). We were here in San Jose. We were upstairs. They were texting us to go downstairs but it wasnt that strong yet, so we just stayed. And when the time came that the house was like shaking, it was like going to break and the doors were destroyed. We attempted to go downstairs when the ceiling got blown away. But when we went out of the room, I got carried by the strong wind. And so I got a good grasp of our closet. My daughter held on to the wall so she was able to stand up while my wife was hurled.After Yolanda, Dante Enage started painting again. This time, his themes was all about Yolanda- from the time people were struggling to survive up to the time when people stood up to their feet and got back to their normal lives.And as a result, he was able to make the Usbong (grow) series.

Arts of Dante Enage

Baybayin

Gamot

Hin-o Ako

Mulay

Rebelasyon

Peace

Usbong 4

Usbong 5

Usbong 6

Usbong 8Dante Enages latest paintingtitled I Survive Yolanda 1, tubaand acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18Awards 1st Place Philippine visual Arts Festival Painting Competition, 2013.

2nd Place An Waray Tuba Painting contest, 2008.

3rd Place Rotary Club of Leyte Gulf Mural painting Contest, 2006

2nd Place Spawn & Municipality of Tanauan, ots skimboard painting contest,2005 2nd runner up Gov.Remedios L. Petilla Sail Painting Competition,2004

3rd runner up Tacloban fiesta Sail Painting Competition, 2003

Artist Philosophy"Capture the things that tug your heartstrings, move your soul and stimulates your mind. Do not be afraid to explore, for the concept of time and space is merely a state of mind. Your imagination knows no boundaries."

Artists StatementEach piece of my artwork touches the social, political and cultural issues plaguing my people, the Waray Warays and my fellow countrymen, the Filipinos. At times, it also tells my story, my personal struggles and dreams. My current works are all done using the natural pigment derived from the tanbark of the barok, a mangrove, which is used to color and flavor tuba, the local coconut toddy. The interesting thing about this pigment is it darkens as it ages. I then inject clues about the context and interpretation of the painting using baybayin, the pre-Hispanic text of the Filipinos. The pieces I create are meant to educate and raise awareness. It is meant to be a thought provoking conversation work of art.

Rapporteurs Note

Photo AppendixBibliographyhttp://jnbmpaperclay.com/dante-enage