 | Lisa's Stuff | Jan 30, 2006 |
Dear Friends,
For those who've followed me here on Multiply, I apologize for seeming to 'drop off' on this site. As most here who personally know me are aware, I was studying my Masters in Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne in Australia for the past two years and it put a halt to my process of documenting art events and exhibitions in Manila. I did take pictures of shows in Australia during the time I was based there - although not to the extent in which I would document the Manila art scene. This was because of copyright reasons - they are more anal and paranoid abroad than here - and for those same reasons, I haven't posted (and probably won't post) these pictures online.
Now that I have moved back to Manila, I am continuing to document shows that I go to. The reason why I have yet to post photos again is, as I understand, that Multiply is unfortunately a dying site. Most people are migrating to Facebook and do not check Multiply anymore. Also, Multiply no longer makes photos in their original resolution available on the site for free so I no longer find it practical to keep my photos here as my personal archive. I am still considering where to migrate my documentation to (perhaps Flickr?) but I should decide soon and will let you know.
To keep updated on my art writings and projects, please follow me on my blog http://writelisawrite.blogspot.com. To keep in touch with me, it is always better to email me rather than to send a PM as I do hardly check this site anymore. My blog/column email is letterstolisa@gmail.com.
For those following the projects of Visual Pond (the organisation I cofounded with friends), we are still updating our Visual Pond multiply although we have expanded to a blog http://visualpond.blogspot.com and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/visualpond.
I thought I would just post this to update people who followed me here for my documentation. It's still happening and I'll soon find a new online 'venue' to share it with you. Warm thanks and cheers!
best,
Lisa
|  | Invitation and public program flyer
Exhibition ongoing till 31 July 2009 at the La Trobe University Art Museum, Glenn College, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia
The exhibition, Fractions of an Intangible Whole: Philippine Social Realism in the Ateneo Art Gallery, draws from the strong collection of Philippine social realist works in the 1970s-1980s of the first museum of modern art in the Philippines, the Ateneo Art Gallery. The show looks at how historically significant works become animated with new meaning through the museum and its exhibits which include contemporary art sourced outside the collection. |
| Start: | Jul 22, '09 4:00p | | End: | Jul 22, '09 6:00p | | Location: | Glenn College Lecture Theater, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia |
Talk of guest curator Clarissa Chikiamco for the exhibition, 'Fractions of an Intangible Whole: Philippine Social Realism in the Ateneo Art Gallery'. The exhibition is ongoing at the La Trobe University Art Museum, Melbourne, Australia until 31 July 2009. The talk will be followed by a reception at 6-8 pm with guest speaker Raul V. Hernandez, Consul General of the Philippines.
| Start: | Jul 17, '09 11:00a | | Location: | Glenn College Lecture Theater, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia |
David Griggs is an Australian artist whose work explores the “darker undercurrents of human existence to make sense of the uncertain times in which we live”. His most recent show at Green Papaya Arts Projects in Kamuning, Quezon City, Philippines, caps off a four month Asialink residency in Manila, in which he worked with inmates of the Manila City Jail. David will talk about this project as well as his enthusiasm and extensive travels around south east asia, in particular the Philippines and the impact this has had on his work. This discussion forms part of the public programs for 'Fractions of an Intangible Whole: Philippine Social Realism in the Ateneo Art Gallery', an exhibition ongoing at the La Trobe University Art Museum in Melbourne, Australia.
| Start: | Jul 10, '09 11:00a | | Location: | Glenn College Lecture Theater, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia |
Starring Vilma Santos. Directed by Chito S. Rono. The story of a family caught in a tumultuous decade. Dekada 70 details a middle class family struggling with new changes that have empowered Filipinos to rise against the oppressive Marcos government. Witnessing the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, proclamation of Martial Law, bombing of Plaza Miranda, random arrests, radical citizens and political prisoners, Amanda Bartolome (Santos), a mother of five boys, awakens her identity to state her stand as a citizen, mother and as a woman. The film is part of the public programs for the exhibition 'Fractions of an Intangible Whole: Philippine Social Realism in the Ateneo Art Gallery', ongoing at the La Trobe University Art Museum until 31 July 2009.
| Start: | Jun 30, '09 | | End: | Jul 31, '09 | | Location: | La Trobe University Art Museum, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, Australia |
Fractions of an Intangible Whole: Philippine Social Realism in the Ateneo Art Gallery draws from the strong collection of Philippine social realist works in the 1970s-1980s of the first museum of modern art in the Philippines, the Ateneo Art Gallery. The show looks at how historically significant works become animated with new meaning through the museum and its exhibits which include contemporary art sourced outside the collection. Reception: 22 July 2009, Wednesday, 6-8 pm Guest Speaker: Raul Hernandez, Philippine Consul General RSVP 20 July 2009 +61394792111
Senate Bill No. 2464: A crime against Philippine culture ARTICIPATION By Clarissa Chikiamco Monday, September 29, 2008 (Conclusion)
Last week, I wrote about the controversial Senate Bill No. 2464, the Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act of 2008 introduced by Senator Manny Villar. The Senate should know that the bill’s approval means one of the worst crimes against Philippine culture. It is repressive to the arts with its aims to criminalize “obscene” and “pornographic” acts regardless of intention. No room for social commentary. No room for creative expression. Nothing.
With regard to objections to this bill on its repercussions to the art scene, two fundamental questions are raised: 1) Is art above the law? 2) Given that the law would allow some concessions for artists, couldn’t just anybody call himself or herself an “artist” to allow himself or herself to get away with truly punishable acts that masquerade as “art”? On the first question, the answer is no. Art isn’t, or rather, shouldn’t be, above the law. But the law should recognize the intrinsic value of art and culture and therefore should be created with room for freedom of expression. Artists are always trying to move past boundaries but, as people who usually seem to be on the cusp of the exceptional and transitional points in history, this is not without value and not without reason. Except in the most extreme cases (exceedingly rare), artistic intent is valid grounds to create material with transgressive content. In Australia, pornography laws consider educational, literary and artistic merit as part of the circumstances in determining if material is indeed offensive. There is no cause to fear that, without such a law, artists are going to run out of their homes in reckless abandon and perform wild sexual acts in the street in the name of art. Most of the time, any possibly offensive material is exhibited or performed within the realm of spaces, galleries or institutions, which are usually visited or witnessed by those who already recognize that there is something beyond such works’ face value. Also, artists and those working in the spaces with such material have little difficulty when it comes to finding a suitable arrangement in these matters. Museums abroad section off possibly offensive material with signage by the entryways alerting to the adult content of the work and that access is only for those 18 years of age and above. Such an approach could work in the Philippines provided that the material is truly of adult and potentially offensive content and not the absurd ideas the bill has of what is obscene or pornographic. On the second question, a real criminal could try to call himself or herself an artist to, for example, get away with photos of child pornography which he or she would claim to be “art.” But that doesn’t mean that he or she is really an artist. An artist does not simply become an artist because he or she declares himself or herself to be one. The designation of “artist” is regulated by art institutions and art experts within and permeating those institutions. Becoming an artist does not take one act but unfolds over a series of acts that show the person’s intentionality to participate in such a discourse. It is doubtable that real criminals with malicious intent would go through the tedious process of putting together portfolios and exhibitions proposals; going around the different galleries, hoping to get picked up to produce a show; and, if accepted, preparing several weeks or even months for the exhibition; facilitating and even funding such things as invitation design, mail-outs, press releases, food and drinks; then after or even before the show ends, doing it all over again. This is not even to mention all the networking he or she would need to do along the way, like going to fellow artists’ exhibitions and talks, participating and even initiating group projects, dialoguing with curators, talking with potential collectors and applying for local and international residencies. Those who think being an artist is so easy (which is not to discourage anyone from undertaking creative endeavors) do real artists injustice. A look at the curriculum vitae of the supposed artist and consultations with museum and gallery directors and curators will belie any false claims. Killing the Philippines’ Potential as a Cultural Power The Philippines has the ability to position itself as a cultural tiger. The nation is not lacking in talented artists, rather the country’s cultural community is lacking in funding and support from the government and the wider public. Artists in other Asian countries are getting more exposure, not because they are more talented but because their governments and more of their local private institutions recognize the intrinsic value in their contributions and back this up with concrete resources and support. Yet, even without as much government support and private patronage, the Philippine art scene has an enormous asset in being one of the most liberal, poising itself as a nucleus for cultural activity. This advantage will, of course, be stripped away with the passage of the bill and culturally position the Philippines behind its Asian neighbors. But what does a country that values its culture signal? A country that values its culture — and manifests this tangibly — signals a progressive nation that sees worth in its history, heritage, traditions and the creativity and dynamism of its people. Many governments in places around the world have realized the importance of culture not only in providing a sense of identity but in using it to engineer economic growth. It provides a major component in tourist attraction and boosts confidence in investors to invest in the region. The Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, conceived in order to stimulate economic development, has gentrified the area, generated thousands of jobs in employment and annually contributes millions of euros in additional income to the Basque Treasury. In Thailand, cultural tourism is one of the major sources of revenue while in Singapore, the government aggressively promotes and supports cultural activities for tourism and for campaigning the small country as a leading force in the world’s cultural stage. Then there is China, which has palpably been making waves worldwide with the increasing interest in its contemporary art market. Yet with this bill, as John Silva, commenting on the same issue, wrote in his blog, “Our tourism industry will suffer considerably. If our society loses its unique tourist branding as one of the freest and most liberal in Asia to be replaced with a monastic authoritarian state, then who in their right mind would come and visit a poor version of Saudi Arabia?” The long-term repercussions of the passage of the bill could be imagined in recalling one of the major cases of artistic intolerance of the 20th century. Adolf Hitler, despite being an undisputed patron and lover of art, particularly despised modern art, which was widely reflected in the Nazi’s cultural policy. These “forbidden” works of art were swiftly purged, sold (to fund the German war machine), burned or exhibited in “degenerate” art exhibitions with minors’ barred from seeing the works’ “obscene” content. Artists and cultural workers all over Europe fled for other countries more hospitable to their ideas. Many landed in New York and, post-World War II, they contributed in situating America as the cultural superpower of the 20th century, which became one of the US’s prime political tools — equating democracy with cultural freedom. It is not an exaggeration to see possibly similar consequences of Nazi cultural policy to this bill. While artists would probably continue producing as usual, select art activities could be forced to go underground, increasing its isolation from a broader public. In addition, Philippine artists and cultural workers, particularly over the long-term, may simply migrate to other countries that value their artistic contributions more than their own nation does. It is tiring enough for local artists and art organizations to find funding, support and appreciation. But it is simply sickening to impose on the country’s cultural community a bill as unjust as this one. * * * To read the full bill, download it from the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov.ph/lis/bill_res.aspx?congress=14&q=SBN-2464. The author may be e-mailed at letterstolisa@gmail.com. Visit her blog of art writings at http://writelisawrite.blogspot.com.
The first part of my article against Senate Bill No. 2464 the Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act of 2008 is out today in Star. I actually already finished the second part last Friday (deadline day) as well but seeing as the whole article was 2700 words long, I thought two parts might be more practical if the whole thing wouldn't fit.
I was planning to write this article weeks ago but felt it better if I had more time to think it through.
Many thanks to Igan D' Bayan for doing an illustration for the article!
Senate Bill No. 2464: ‘A crime against Philippine culture’ ARTICIPATION By Clarissa Chikiamco The Philippine Star Monday, September 22, 2008
Link active till Sunday 28 September 08: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Arts%20and%20Culture&p=49&type=2&sec=40&aid=2008092161
There has been some commotion amidst the local online art communities lately about Senate Bill No. 2464, the Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act of 2008. Introduced by Senator Manny Villar, the bill is apparently pending for approval. Before any approving, the Senate should know that the bill’s approval means one of the worst crimes against Philippine culture. It is repressive to the arts with its aims to criminalize “obscene” and “pornographic” acts regardless of intention. No room for social commentary. No room for creative expression. Nothing. The intentions of the bill are respectable: “It is the policy of the State to give special value to the dignity of every human person and to promote and safeguard its integrity and the moral, spiritual and social well-being of its citizenry, especially the youth in general and women in particular, from the pernicious effects of obscenity and pornography.” Sexual offenses to women and to children are indeed serious issues and the propagation of such material that could increase the risk of sexual crimes is something that must be considered. But the bill impinges on the creative right of artists to express themselves with its ridiculous definitions. The Bill Obscene is defined in the Act as “anything that is indecent or offensive or contrary to good customs or religious beliefs, principles or doctrines, or tends to corrupt or deprave the human mind, or is calculated to excite impure thoughts or arouse prurient interest, or violates the proprieties of language and human behavior, regardless of the motive of the producer, printer, publisher, writer, importer, seller, distributor or exhibitor.” Examples listed under this include, but apparently are not limited to: (1) showing, depicting or describing sexual acts (2) showing, depicting or describing human sexual organs or the female breasts; (3) showing, depicting or describing completely nude human bodies; (4) describing erotic reactions, feelings or experiences on sexual acts; or (5) performing live sexual acts of whatever form. The definition of obscene allows for a completely subjective opinion and the problem is whose opinion is it that matters? Who gets to decide and judge what is indecent, offensive, contrary to good customs or religious beliefs, principles, or doctrines, or corrupting or depraving the human mind? Is it going to boil down to one person’s beliefs in court even if it differs from the beliefs of the “offender”? Or shall it be whatever the majority thinks? What majority, though? The bill lists a number of government agencies responsible for the bill’s implementation but are they in the position to act as expert and critic of good customs or what corrupts or depraves the human mind? Pornographic or pornography is defined in the bill as “objects or subject of film, television shows, photography, illustrations, music, games, paintings, drawings, illustrations, advertisements, writings, literature or narratives, contained in any format, whether audio or visual, still or moving pictures, in all forms of film, print, electronic, outdoor or broadcast media, or whatever future technologies to be developed, which are calculated to excite, stimulate or arouse impure thoughts and prurient interest, regardless of the motive of the author thereof.” The definition of pornography, as with the definition of obscene, paradoxically has both “calculated” and “regardless of the motive.” One can’t say that the author’s material was “calculated” to excite, stimulate or arouse such “impure” thoughts without referring to his or her motive or intent. Again, this is unfairly biased towards the party that gets aroused from such material, which basically becomes reduced to individual preferences. Three of the six punishable acts under the law involve mass media. These are (1) producing, printing, showing, exhibiting, importing, selling, advertising or distributing obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media; (2) causing the showing or exhibition, distributing or the printing, publication or advertising, or the selling of obscene of pornographic materials in all forms of mass media; and (3) performing, demonstrating, acting or exhibiting any obscene or pornographic act in any form of mass media. Mass media is defined in the act as “film, print, broadcast, electronic and outdoor media including, but not limited to, Internet, newspapers, tabloids, magazines, newsletters, books, comic books, billboards, calendars, posters, optical discs, magnetic media, future technologies, and the like.” Not only does this encompass a wide range but the “including, but not limited to” part seems to give a rather large allowance for maneuvering in finding material in whatever format punishable. The other punishable acts include performing, or allowing the performance of, live sex or live sexual act in public, public places or any place open to public viewing; writing any obscene or pornographic article in any print or electronic medium; and showing, exhibiting, selling, or distributing obscene or pornographic movies in whatever format, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad, in any restaurant, club or other places open to the public, including private buildings, places or houses where the viewers are not limited to them owners thereof and the members of his family. The latter means one can still enjoy pornography but in the privacy of his or her own home (though it can’t be shared with friends or other outsiders, relatives are apparently okay). To say that this bill has no objective to include or pursue such censorship in the arts is untrue. It includes paintings, drawings and illustrations, which are predominant formats in the visual arts, and includes outright the art form of literature in its definition of materials covered under the act. Other materials covered are films, television shows, photographs, music, games, advertisements, writings, or narratives. Punishable Acts are Punishing Who? So what does this mean for the Philippine art scene? Under this act, many artworks in exhibitions, even conservative ones, could be deemed obscene or pornographic (National Artist Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings featuring nude maidens immediately come to mind), yet their inclusion in exhibitions may not necessarily be a punishable act. As long as the still images of “obscene” or “pornographic” artworks are not produced in mass media, there doesn’t seem to be anything that the artists or exhibiting institutions can be punished for. It probably means though that museums, galleries and other art-affiliated institutions cannot use any such images for invitations or exhibition catalogues, which is preposterous because it is next to impossible to fulfill educational roles and further scholarship without documentation or printed material on the artworks. Even if the image is censored, the text could not even describe the image as all text is also apparently subjugated under the act and could merit punishment for even simply describing a nude body. “Obscene” or “pornographic” artworks using film or video are going to precariously hang under the Act. Take Jevijoe Vitug’s video work “Classical Scandal” (2006), featuring clips of found homemade porn juxtaposed with Philippine classical paintings, a commentary on, as the artist provided in a statement, “the dividing line between pornography and fine art, between naked and nude… (questioning) the notion of originality and legality as well as mass production and public consumption.” The artist and those in the institution responsible for the exhibition of such a work could, under the bill, be slapped with heavy fines and even jail time. But why? Is the work really about and created for titillating the viewer? Or, like a lot of contemporary art, isn’t it an informed endeavor based on social and (art) historical observations which become an impetus to thinking of a confluence of ideas? Why should any artist, should he or she choose to use the human body (yes, even nude ones) to articulate an idea, be punished for doing so? Whatever the kind of art (visual arts, literature, dance, theater, film, etc.), it is only natural that some works are going to use and refer to the body. Human beings are embodied beings and this includes having sexual organs and experiences of sexual acts. To pretend otherwise by censoring any text or image with allusions to this is a foolish pretension. The bill poses that Philippine society is too immature to receive even just an illustrated depiction of a woman’s breasts. While the bill’s immediate implications seem to be to the media and arts communities, the Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act of 2008 is more an affront to Philippine society. It indicates that the nation is restrictive and closed-minded. The bill is less about human decency and more about catering to the elite group of the easily offended. (To be concluded) * * * The second part of the article next week includes the discussion “Is art above the law?” To read the full bill, download it from the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov.ph/lis/bill_res.aspx?congress=14&q=SBN-2464. The author may be e-mailed at letterstolisa@gmail.com. Visit her blog of art writings at http://writelisawrite.blogspot.com.
Dear "Old Girls" Please celebrate with us the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption on August 15, 2008. Attached is the schedule of activities for August 14 and 15, 2008. We hope to see you, your family, friends, classmates. Kindly confirm attendance with the AAA Secretariat at 894-3561, 894-3580 or cellphone numbers 0917-886-8695 or 0917-800-0931. Thank you. ALICE G. TIOSECO AAA - Admin. Officer
MEMORANDUM For : All Assumption Alumnae From : Baby Goyena Herrera President, Assumption Alumnae Association (AAA) Date : 29 July 2008 Re : Assumption Day Activities Our AAA celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady on August 15 will have the following schedule of activities: AUGUST 15 5:00 p.m. Mass at the main chapel to be celebrated by Fr. Ernesto Javier, S.J. 6:00 p.m. Reception (Assumption meat, cottage pie, siomai and tarts will be served at the school cafeteria) 7:00 p.m. “Voice of Hope” a 45-minute musical celebration of Assumption San Lorenzo’s Jubilee by the Marie Eugenie Theater of the Assumption (METTA) (Mother Rose Auditorium) Sr. Gertrude Borres, President of Assumption College - San Lorenzo, is also inviting all alumnae to join the institution’s celebration on August 14: AUGUST 14 2:00 p.m. Registration 2:30 p.m. Talk on the Eucharist by Bishop Chito Tagle (5th floor, Therese Emmanuel Building) 6:00 p.m. at the main chapel: Vespers Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 7:45 p.m. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 8:00 p.m. Mass (Mother Rose Auditorium) There will be daily novena masses at 6:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on weekdays from August 1 to 13 at the main chapel. The AAA will sponsor the August 4, 12:30 p.m. mass. Please pass on the information to your classmates as well as to your family and friends who are welcome to join our Assumption Day celebration. God bless!
Iowa judge rules nude dancing is an art State law allows nudity in theaters, museums and venues devoted to the arts DES MOINES, Iowa - Nude dancing remains an art in Iowa. A judge Friday ruled in favor of a nude dancing club owner charged with violating Iowa's indecent exposure law. Fremont County Judge Timothy O'Grady said prosecutors failed to prove the club wasn't a theater. Iowa law allows nudity at theaters, museums and other venues devoted to the arts or theatrical performances. The county's attorney, Margaret Johnson, charged club owner Clarence Judy after a 17-year-old girl climbed on stage at Shotgun Geniez in the tiny town of Hamburg and stripped off her clothing. "I think it's a little scary," said Johnson, who emphasized that the girl was still a minor. The club was sold Monday to Terry Rutledge. He expressed confidence that nude dancing would remain legal, referring to a 1998 case in Davenport that found it an art. "In all actuality, you don't have to be a theater hall, concert hall or anything. You can be a strip club that has nude dance," Rutledge said. The state attorney general's office will decide whether to appeal the case. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25972909/?GT1=43001
| Start: | Jul 30, '08 08:00a | | End: | Jul 30, '08 6:30p | | Location: | Escaler Hall and Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
2008 ATENEO ART AWARDS: ZONES OF INFLUENCE FORUM To celebrate the fifth year of the Ateneo Art Awards, leading artists, curators, art educators, art writers, gallerists and collectors discuss the state of contemporary Philippine art, and new directions for its future. 30 July 2008, 8 am - 630 pm Escaler Hall and Ateneo Art Gallery The Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Heights, Quezon City Free admission PROGRAM 8:30 – 9:00 AM Registration 9:00 – 9:15 AM Opening Remarks: Yael Buencamino, Managing Curator, Ateneo Art Gallery 9:15 – 10:45 AM Zone 1: Academe Escaler Hall, The Loyola Schools Chair Fr. Rene Javellana, Director, Fine Art Program, Ateneo de Manila University Speakers Tina Colayco, Dean, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman "UP College of Fine Arts: The Next 100 Years" Assoc. Prof. Jaime de los Santos, Dean, College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sto. Tomas "Tradition and Change : New Directions for the UST College of Fine Arts Program" Architect Juan Gerard Torres, Dean, School of Design and Arts, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde "Tradition and Change in the CSB School of Design And Arts" Architect Lorelei del Castillo - de Viana, Dean, Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts, Far Eastern University "Post Education : Careers in the Arts" Discussion and open forum 10:45 – 11:00 AM Break 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Zone 2: Curators + Art Writers Escaler Hall, The Loyola Schools Chair Ringo Bunoan, Researcher-Philippines, Asia Art Archive Speakers Eileen Legaspi Ramirez, Editor, Pananaw: Journal of Philippine Visual Arts "Pananaw : A view on the state of art writing in the Philippines" Ma. Victoria Herrera, Curator, Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines, Diliman "Site Specific Work : Questions of Space and Place" Gina Fairley, Regional Editor, Asian Art News and Juror, 2008 Ateneo Art Awards "Perspectives of Philippine Art Today" Joselina Cruz, Curator, 2008 Singapore Biennale Reactor Alicia Herrera, Editor, Life Section, Businessworld Discussion and open forum 12:30 – 1:30PM Lunch 1:30 – 3:00PM ZONE 3: Galleries and Collectors EscalerHall, The Loyola Schools Moderator Gina Fairley, Regional Contributing Editor, Asian Art News Round table discussion with: Cesar Villalon Jr., Director, The Drawing Room Vita Sarenas, Director, Finale Art Gallery Isa Lorenzo, Director, silverlens Gallery Discussion and open forum 3:15 – 3: 30 PM Break/ transfer to Ateneo Art Gallery 3:30 – 6:00PM Zone 4 : Artists Ateneo Art Gallery Chair Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, Editor, Pananaw: Journal of Phil. Visual Arts Speakers Karen Flores "Tutok" Ronaldo Ruiz "Tupada" Charlie Co "Contemporary art in the Visayas" Manuel Ocampo "The Difficulty in showing, promoting, and marketing art made in the Philippines" Yason Banal "Re-thinking: Conceptual Art" Kawayan De Guia "The Baguio contemporary art scene" Discussion and open forum The 2008 Ateneo Art Awards: Zones of Influence Forum is made possible by Asia Art Archive, Pananaw: Philippine Journal of Visual Arts and Asian Art News, together with 2008 Ateneo Art Awards co-presentors Shangri-La Properties, UnionBank, Metro Society and Y Style of the Philippine Star and 2008 Ateneo Art Awards sponsor Smart Communications. For inquiries, contact Sidd Perez via phone +63 2 4266488 or email sperez@ateneo.edu
Banksy: An Artist Unmasked
by Alex Altman Monday, 21 July 2008
For years the graffiti artist known as Banksy has been the art world's Deep Throat: a hugely influential figure whose identity remained shrouded in mystery. Now, like Deep Throat, he has been given a name.
Banksy is a 34-year-old native of Bristol, England, named Robin Gunningham, Britain's the Mail on Sunday reported on July 13. The thread that may have unraveled the mystery was a 2004 photograph taken in Jamaica, which many — including photographer Peter Dean Rickards — say is the only known picture of Banksy. (The artist's agent, Steve Lazarides, denied that the photo — which depicts a man in jeans and sneakers crouching above a can of spray paint — is of Banksy. A spokeswoman for the artist declined to confirm or deny the Mail's report.) With the picture in tow, the Mail canvassed Bristol, unearthing former acquaintances who identified the man in the photo as Gunningham. A former schoolmate interviewed by the paper recalled that Gunningham was a talented artist, while Luke Egan, an artist who has jointly exhibited with Banksy, told the paper that he shared a Bristol flat with Gunningham in 1998. Asked by the Mail whether Gunningham was Banksy, Egan reportedly replied, "Well, he wasn't then." Gunningham, whose middle-class upbringing bears little resemblance to Banksy's renegade persona, has vanished. Since striding onto the scene in the early 1990s, Banksy has vaulted from obscurity to international renown, all the while escaping detection. Among his catalog of greatest hits, Banksy has released an inflatable Guant�namo Bay prisoner doll at Disneyland, depicted England's Queen Elizabeth II as a chimpanzee, tagged the West Bank border fence and sneaked his own Mona Lisa — her inscrutable expression replaced by a yellow smiley face — into the Louvre. "He's kind of captured the zeitgeist," says Gareth Williams, a contemporary-art specialist at Bonhams auction house in London. "But he's done it in quite an accessible way, so it speaks to people." Even for a vandal, going mainstream has its perks: Banksy's handiwork has commanded millions of dollars at auction from acolytes like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But anonymity has been as crucial a part of Banksy's mythology as irony and wit. "Anything that's ever been written about him centers around the anonymity — that he's this Batman, this cult figure," says Pedro Alonzo, who curated an exhibition in England to which Banksy contributed. But that doesn't necessarily mean being unmasked would hurt Banksy's popularity. The intrigue over his identity has been a "double-edged sword," Alonzo says, since it has occluded the messages bundled in his art. "His work is a call to action. It's about hierarchies of power, social injustice and paying attention to issues that aren't being addressed," he adds. "There could be a bright side to this — the attention being diverted from his identity [could allow] people to really look at his work and consider it." Says Williams: "I don't think the Banksy story ends here." Pinpointing Banksy's identity has long been a popular parlor game, and it's yielded false positives before. Last fall, a passerby in the East London neighborhood of Bethnal Green snapped a camera-phone picture of a man spray-painting a mural later confirmed to be Banksy's. In May, the New York City–based media blog Gawker suggested that Banksy might be Nick Walker, a British artist who, after being spotted stenciling a mural on the side of a Manhattan restaurant, reputedly told an onlooker that he was the elusive artist. The precision and scope of Banksy's creations have led others to theorize that he may work with a partner or that Banksy serves as the nom de guerre for a group of conspirators. If Banksy has indeed been identified, Williams doesn't think it will puncture Banksy's ballooning sales figures. But Jeffrey Deitch, an art dealer with close ties to legendary graffiti artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, asks, "When you can buy a superb Picasso drawing for $500,000 and a work dashed off by Banksy for the same price, does that make sense to you?" Still, Deitch, who says he likes a lot of Banksy's work, adds, "I don't think it will have any effect on his output. He's established the brand." What exactly that brand represents has never been entirely clear. Banksy is a paradox: he used his anonymity to court attention and became a commercial success by condemning consumer culture. "I originally set out to try and save the world, but now I'm not sure I like it enough," he wrote in an e-mail to the New Yorker magazine last year. If his veil has been lifted, the world will have a chance to make an assessment of its own. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1825271,00.html?xid=rss-arts
Monet? Gauguin? Using art to make better doctors New courses improve powers of observation By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff | July 20, 2008 Dr. Joel Katz's class of Harvard Medical School students meets on Friday afternoons at the Museum of Fine Arts, where they discuss the Seated Bodhisattva, a towering figure carved in ancient China, Joseph Mallord William Turner's Slave Ship, and other artworks Katz believes will make them better doctors. On one Friday this spring, 24 of the country's most promising future physicians circled the limestone Bodhisattva as art instructor Alexa Miller posed a question: "What's happening here?" The students initially observed that the figure was made of stone and appeared peaceful. But she pushed them further. "What do you see that makes you say that?" she asked. After an hour at the museum, the class walked back to Harvard Medical School to apply what they had learned about examining art to diagnosing breathing problems, skin rashes, and neurological disorders, and to reading lung X-rays. Katz's class is one of a growing number of art courses offered to medical students nationwide and aimed at improving their observation and diagnostic skills at a time when doctors are increasingly relying on CT scans, Maris, biopsies, and other technology to do their work, even though it is far more expensive - and sometimes unnecessary to pinpoint illnesses. Nana Aqua Judah, who graduated from Harvard in June and is now an obstetrics and gynecology resident in Toronto, said the art class taught her to look more carefully at patients for clues. For example, if a young mother looks run down, it might indicate she's too stressed to take a medication that requires five doses a day, leading Judah to prescribe a once- or twice-a-day drug. Besides, said Judah, who was taking six or seven classes at the time, "to me it seemed like a relief. We were going to an art gallery for a class." At tradition-minded Harvard, many faculty were skeptical about the idea of using art to make better doctors when Katz proposed the class five years ago, especially since the first- and second-year students who enroll are already overwhelmed with work. But Katz's belief that physicians can improve their diagnostic skills by observing art was bolstered this month when he and his colleagues published a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine showing that after completing the class, students' ability to make accurate observations increased 38 percent. When shown artwork and photos of patients, students were more likely to notice features such as a patient's eyes being asymmetrical or a tiny, healed sore on an index finger. Observations by a control group of students who did not take the class did not change. "We're trying to train students to not make assumptions about what they're going to see, but to do deep looking. Our hope is that they will be able to do this when they look at patients," said Katz, an internist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a former graphic designer. He said several studies show that doctors' physical exam skills, which include observation and taking a medical history, as well as the hands-on examination, are declining. The most difficult part of the class for the high-achieving Harvard students, Miller said, seems to be letting go of their urge to find the one right answer. The Bodhisattva, for example, can spark a wide range of emotions, as the statue is towering and imposing when seen from the front but then "almost disappears into space" when looked at from the side, Miller said. As she pushes students to look harder at the sculpture, using a technique called visual thinking strategies, students' observations become more complex, and they notice that the Bodhisattva is powerful, but also small and poignant. While diagnosing a medical condition involves reaching the right answer, often, to get there, doctors have to open their minds to myriad possibilities. "When we get fixated on getting the right answer, we miss the diagnosis because it blocks the ability to think flexibly," Miller said. "We want them to puzzle through things." Educators at other medical schools that offer art classes have similar goals. Weill Medical College of Cornell University has offered a noncredit art course in collaboration with the Frick Collection in New York City for eight years, while Yale Medical School runs an art observation course for medical students that is now a required class. Students in the Harvard class study a wide range of original art, including oil paintings by Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, and John Singer Sargent, and sculptures from Iran and India. Students have the option of drawing a nude model as well. Instructors draw exact parallels between some artworks and diagnosing illness; students, for example, study texture and pattern in Jackson Pollack's abstract Number 10, and then return to the medical school to study how patterns in patients' rashes can indicate specific conditions. But the course primarily trains students to look at what they're seeing more carefully. Dr. Robert Brown, a pulmonologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a course instructor, gets undressed above the waist to give his lecture on breathing muscles. Three patients enter the classroom, including a quadriplegic man who also is shirtless, a woman with muscular dystrophy, and a woman with a deformed spine. Afterward, students list what they saw. Brown wants them to notice that his upper rib cage moves outward while the paralyzed patient's upper rib cage moves inward. Paralysis of the diaphragm is a diagnosis doctors often miss, he said, but inward movement of the belly while breathing is one sign. If they look carefully "during the physical exam they can begin to put the pieces together," he said. While research into doctors' physical exam skills is sparse, there is a consensus in medicine that those skills are waning. Some doctors believe medical schools are giving short shrift to the physical exam, but others believe these skills atrophy once doctors graduate and start practicing their specialty. "When I've been to Africa and the Amazon and there are no CT scans and X-rays and it's just you and a flashlight and a stethoscope and something to look into the patients' ears, you have nothing to fall back on other than your clinical skills," said Dr. Ronald Silvestri, a pulmonologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who runs Harvard's doctor-patient course, which teaches the physical exam. In the United States, he said, doctors turn more quickly to these widely available tests and tend to be very rushed when seeing patients. "If you have a 10-minute visit, how good an observer can you be?" While Silvestri believes the quality of care doesn't suffer from the widespread use of diagnostic tests, he thinks the overall healthcare system does. "It's one reason that American medical care is so expensive," he said. But whether art classes will have a lasting impact remains an open question. Students in the course run by Katz and Brigham neurologist Dr. Shahram Khoshbin were evaluated immediately after they took the course, not as practicing doctors, when they will face the threat of malpractice lawsuits for wrong diagnosis. Liz Kowalczyk can be reached at kowalczyk@globe. com. © Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
| Start: | Jul 23, '08 4:30p | | End: | Jul 23, '08 6:00p | | Location: | Ateneo Art Gallery, G/F Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines |
Talking Art with the Ateneo Art Gallery Lyle Buencamino, Wawi Navarroza and MM Yu exhibit their responses to their respective 2007 Ateneo Art Award International Studio Residency Grants experiences. Buencamino's "All the Symptoms But Not the Disease," Navarroza's "New Works" and Yu's "Standstill" will run at the Ateneo Art Gallery from 10 July to 9 August 2008. Accompanying the three exhibitions is ArtSpeak, the lively lecture series of the Ateneo Art Gallery which aims to increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of modern and contemporary art. Wawi Navarroza delivers her ArtSpeak lecture on Wednesday, 16 July, while Lyle Buencamino and MM Yu will elaborate on their shows on 23 July. Artspeak will take place at the Ateneo Art Gallery from 4:30 to 6:00pm. In addition to Artspeak, the 2008 Ateneo Art Awards: Zones of Influence Forum is also going to be hosted by the Ateneo Art Gallery to celebrate the fifth year of the Ateneo Art Awards. The forum is scheduled on Wednesday, 30 July 2008. This will be held at the Escaler Hall from 8:00am to 3:00pm, and at the SEC A Lecture Hall from 3:00 to 5:00pm. This one-day event will bring together leading contemporary visual artists, curators, art educators, art writers, gallerists and collectors, where various issues regarding the state of contemporary Philippine art will be presented, and directions for its future discussed. The 2008 Ateneo Art Awards: Zones of Influence Forum is made possible by Asia Art Archive, Pananaw: Philippine Journal of Visual Arts and Asian Art News, together with 2008 Ateneo Art Awards co-presentors Shangri-La Properties, UnionBank, Metro Society and Y Style of the Philippine Star. The Ateneo Art Gallery, Escaler Hall and SEC A Lecture Hall are located at the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. For inquiries, please contact Siddharta Perez at +63 2 426 6488 or via email sperez@ateneo.edu
| Start: | Jul 16, '08 4:30p | | End: | Jul 16, '08 6:00p | | Location: | Ateneo Art Gallery, G/F Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines |
Talking Art with the Ateneo Art Gallery Lyle Buencamino, Wawi Navarroza and MM Yu exhibit their responses to their respective 2007 Ateneo Art Award International Studio Residency Grants experiences. Buencamino's "All the Symptoms But Not the Disease," Navarroza's "New Works" and Yu's "Standstill" will run at the Ateneo Art Gallery from 10 July to 9 August 2008. Accompanying the three exhibitions is ArtSpeak, the lively lecture series of the Ateneo Art Gallery which aims to increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of modern and contemporary art. Wawi Navarroza delivers her ArtSpeak lecture on Wednesday, 16 July, while Lyle Buencamino and MM Yu will elaborate on their shows on 23 July. Artspeak will take place at the Ateneo Art Gallery from 4:30 to 6:00pm. In addition to Artspeak, the 2008 Ateneo Art Awards: Zones of Influence Forum is also going to be hosted by the Ateneo Art Gallery to celebrate the fifth year of the Ateneo Art Awards. The forum is scheduled on Wednesday, 30 July 2008. This will be held at the Escaler Hall from 8:00am to 3:00pm, and at the SEC A Lecture Hall from 3:00 to 5:00pm. This one-day event will bring together leading contemporary visual artists, curators, art educators, art writers, gallerists and collectors, where various issues regarding the state of contemporary Philippine art will be presented, and directions for its future discussed. The 2008 Ateneo Art Awards: Zones of Influence Forum is made possible by Asia Art Archive, Pananaw: Philippine Journal of Visual Arts and Asian Art News, together with 2008 Ateneo Art Awards co-presentors Shangri-La Properties, UnionBank, Metro Society and Y Style of the Philippine Star. The Ateneo Art Gallery, Escaler Hall and SEC A Lecture Hall are located at the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. For inquiries, please contact Siddharta Perez at +63 2 426 6488 or via email sperez@ateneo.edu
Text for Noel Skrzypczak's Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces Studio 12 exhibition, Love and Babies or Landscape from the Planet Tralfamadore. I don't have images from the exhibit but thought I'd post the text anyway :) http://www.gertrude.org.au/exhibition.php?id=620 Into the Fourth Dimension By Clarissa Chikiamco For her GCAS Studio 12 project, Noel Skrzypczak adds a new dimension in her visual art practice. Extending her painting prose into the sculptural, Skrzypczak’s latest work continues her recent explorations into the multidimensional. Skrzypczak’s paintings have always been, in a sense, sculptural. In an attempt to break the illusion of paintings being like windows into another world, Skrzypczak’s work continually attempts to free itself from the uniformly rectangular canvas. Using abstraction, either alone, or combined with the recognisable; odd-shaped canvases or no canvases at all, she paints with a constellation of different colours that simultaneously combine, meld, gravitate and levitate, so that her paintings act like the visible residues of an otherworldly realm existing beyond the human level of perception. Like traces of auric bodies, Skrzypczak’s work seems to tune into other frequencies, picking up radiations of the emotive, the relative and the surreal. Her paintings are inducements to the experiential—inviting contact with palpable drops of the metaphysical. Perhaps the paintings could appropriately be called ‘space invaders’ for their shambolic and unreserved occupations of space, their ostensibly extraterrestrial presence. Yet, despite these benign confrontations with the foreign and the mystical, the works remain essentially human, having a persuasive ability to stimulate contemplation into the very real world of the intangible. Love and Babies or Landscape of the Planet Tralfamadore runs in the same vein. Oscillating between the corporeal and the ethereal, Skrzypczak’s sculptural installation is another experimental foray into rendering the multiplicities of the invisible into the physical. Love and Babies or Landscape of the Planet Tralfamadore is inspired by the book Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. A tale of the bombing of Dresden, the book contains a subplot in which protagonist Billy Pilgrim is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. He is exhibited naked in a Tralfamadorian zoo and is later joined by kidnapped porn star Montana Wildhack, who is equally naked, save for a locket containing a picture of her mother around her neck. He later mates with her and impregnates her and, several years later back on earth, remembers her on the planet Tralfamadore, taking care of their baby. Skrzypczak’s work, originally envisaged as a temporary installation in a strip club, was meant to echo the book’s observation that the sex industry is really all about love and babies. Through capturing this desire for intimacy and the innocent yearning for tenderness through procreation, the piece moves beyond its initial beginnings in the realm of the erotic, to a very basic and universal longing for an other. Skrzypczak intuitively sculpts a partial landscape of Tralfamadore in which this mating took place, using various gradients of magenta that sensuously unfold and mushroom on Studio 12’s floor. Through installing a light within the landscape’s voluptuous swells and contusions in the darkened room, Love and Babies or Landscape of the Planet Tralfamadore can be seen to evoke a sense that life forms are incubating within its interior, transforming the sculpture into a protoplasmic sheath protecting its simmering progenies. In this way the delicate biomorphic quality resonates with the very organic and enigmatic processes in which babies are created, while its lush colouring and wide span seem to embody a mother’s, or a lover’s, embrace. Love and Babies or Landscape of Tralfamadore does not simply suggest an alien terrain, but describes the very mystifying and phenomenal astral ambit of love and babies. Slaughterhouse 5 describes the Tralfamadorians as being able to see in the fourth dimension, and find humans’ limited 3D vision limiting in the extreme. It is precisely a fourth dimension that Skrzypczak essentially brings to her works. Through employing materials that appear to escape from their confines, Skrzypczak incites the viewer to realise the presence of the extrasensory spectrum in which experience and emotions lie, and ultimately inviting the viewer to see into another dimension and beyond the 3D. This essay by Clarissa Chikiamco was produced as part of the Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces and Art and Australia 2008 Emerging Writers Programme.
| | pics from my week in Sydney last month
I didn't take that many pictures outside the museum/biennale hopping. I don't even have a pic of me with my cousins! But I enjoyed my trip very much anyway :) |
A Petition to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim: Please Stop High Rise Construction on R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, Manila Hello everyone, Please help the residents and friends of Quiapo, Manila. Simply click the weblink below and sign the online petition letter. Your signature will be of great help to preserve and protect Quiapo: the heart of Manila: http://www.petitiononline.com/rhidalgo/petition.html Thank you very much! Sincerely, Friends and Residents of Manila * Please forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues. * Attached are photos that you may include in your blogs or forwarded e-mail for reference. * This petition letter is spearheaded by Dr. Fernando Nakpil Zialcita, friends, and residents of Manila. ----- To: Hon. Alfredo Lim, Mayor of Manila A Petition to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim: Please Stop High Rise Construction on R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, Manila July 2008 Hon. Alfredo Lim Mayor of Manila City Hall of Manila Your Honor: We are a group composed of residents and friends of Manila. We congratulate you for having emphasized Law and Order as a basic pillar of your governance. Indeed without these two, Manila cannot move forward. We also thank you for paying attention to the preservation of the city's cultural heritage. This is a resource that is used by major cities abroad in attracting tourism and investment. In this connection, we would like to call your attention to a problem confronting the public on R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo. R. Hidalgo Street connects San Sebastian Basilica to Quezon Boulevard, and ultimately to the Basilica of Quiapo. On it are two important schools, Manuel L. Quezon University and Nazarene Parochial School, and two religious establishments, the Convent of the Holy Face and the Clinic of San Juan de Dios. Alongside it are remaining mansions from the 1880s -1920s, which bear witness to the time when R. Hidalgo Street was called "the most beautiful street in Manila." However, R. Hidalgo Street has many problems. Legitimate businesses are fleeing, enrollment in MLQU is down, and the street is grimy and very unsanitary. Faculty, students and legitimate businessmen blame the constant heavy traffic as well. There are five jeepney terminals that hog the streets and they make it difficult for customers to visit particular businesses in the area. They also make the streets dark and unsanitary, according to faculty and students. Some of the concerns regarding the construction of a high-rise building include the impact it has on the urban plan of the area. The past constructions show how the lack of a master plan led to the lack of harmony among buildings in an area. This is significant for the street and the area because a structure, which has potentials of being classified as a World Heritage Site, dominates the area. The tentative list for the Philippines notes that "San Sebastian Church is located in Quiapo, one of Manila's older districts. Surrounding it are rows of old houses." If the city will take lead in cultivating national pride through its heritage, proper protection should be accorded to the structure and to its surroundings. In order to make the city livable, sustainability should also be ensured in the community so it will continue to be habitable. Hence, the basic needs and services should be available to the people of the community. Balance can only be attained if the density of people is proportional to the basic needs and services in the community. A new high-rise is now being built on R. Hidalgo Street at the corner of Carcer. It is projected to have nine to ten stories. It is owned by New San Jose Builders (see weblink photos below): http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/6240/hidalgo1zx8.jpg http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/4811/hidalgosection1mv2.jpg http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1042/hidalgosection2fp2.jpg In this regard, we raise the following points: 1. What traffic plan has been devised for R. Hidalgo Street? The present heavy traffic will get worse with this high-rise. In fact this high-rise will create problems for itself. 2. Without a viable traffic plan, how will its residents get in and out of the high-rise without causing a traffic jam for themselves and for the rest of the street? 3. The water situation in Quiapo is bad enough. What will the impact of this high-rise be on the waterlines? 4. Will not the façade of the high-rise destroy forever the look and atmosphere of the street? It is in between two heritage mansions, the Paterno and the Ocampo. Both of these are two story dwellings from the 1880-1910. The tower is totally out of line. We propose suspending the construction until the following are done: 1. Come out with a workable traffic plan for the street to be funded by the owners of the high-rise. 2. A study as to the impact of the tower on the water lines. 3. Push the nine to ten story tower a few meters away from the street and at the same time have a two story façade in front with an arcade that will continue the arcade of the adjacent to Paterno house. Visual harmony reinforces a sense of order on a street. If the above-mentioned proposals cannot be granted, we propose full suspension of the high-rise construction. We trust in your good judgment. Sincerely, Friends and Residents of Manila
| | This was such a cool museum! My favorite cousin Bumbum and I popped over there to check out the museum's dinosaur exhibit. It was fantastic! It made use of mood lighting and large videos to great effect. Also took some pics of other things on display at the museum :) |
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