Three books were launched at the event: The Life and Art of Botong Francisco, The Life and Art of Francisco Coching and a book catalogue of Telling Modern Time with an extensive introduction by art historian and museum curator Patrick D. Flores who also edited the books.

The art books feature scholarly essays by respected art historians and critics chronicling Botong's and Coching's lives and works. Also featured in both art books and in the catalog, are five hundred full-color illustrations, paintings and sketches by both artists, in small-and large-scale formats and the comprehensive listings of each artist's works.

The book launch coincided with the opening of the exhibit “Telling Modern Time” that showcases the lives and works of Botong Francisco and Francisco Coching--two of visual art masters in our modern times.

This landmark exhibition traces the discourse between the high art of painting and the low media of komiks and graphic design in the works of Carlos "Botong" Francisco and Francisco Coching. It offers an intelligent account of the complex and often ambivalent relationship between art and popular culture, which signaled the emergence of Philippine modernity. 

From the hectic postwar years to the advent of Martial Law, Botong Francisco and Francisco Coching articulated the visual sensibility of their era. Botong transformed sly notebook caricatures and design sketches into sprawling murals. Coching delved into abstruse historical sources and the widely circulated Tagalog novels of his time to create stirring narratives of Filipino heroism and nationhood in his komiks. Together they forged an iconography of the folk and the popular, the mass and the national in kindred registers.

Telling Modern Time: The Life and Art of Botong Francisco Coching, on view at the National Museum of the Filipino People from 11  December 2009 to 11 January 2010 will feature approximately 100 works by  Botong and Coching, spanning a fascinating range of material, including komiks excerpts, murals, prints, sketches, and memorabilia.

A short film on the shared artistic sensibilities of Botong and Coching featuring interviews with family members and the contributors of the books was also premiered during the eventt

Special launch and regular prices:

The Life and Art of Botong Francisco
Hardbound Regular Price:    Php 2300
                  Launch Price:  Php 1840

The Life and Art of Francisco Coching
Hardbound Regular Price:    Php 2000
                 Launch Price:   Php 1600

Limited Edition: Telling Modern Time: The Life and Art of Botong Francisco Coching
                Regular Price:    Php 5000 
                Launch Price:  Php 4000

El Indio
Softbound  Regular Price:   Php 600
                Launch Price:  Php 480
 

To know more about the launch and exhibit  visit Vibal Foundation website.