REBUKE

Rebuke as a theme in art? One’s gotta be kidding, but oh yes if art applies to everything under the sun, why not Indeed a unique theme that runs counter to the usual? It will always be worth everyone’s attention if only for the sake of the artist in all of us.

REBUKE is that intrinsic capability of the self to right the things that it sees wrong whether in itself or if “Brokenhagen” is anything to go by, its environs. And a lot more.

Rebuke of the self in an ultra egotistic society like ours is like telling a self-absorbed artist that his talent is not his asset but that of the collector’s, or like telling a tycoon wannabe that he should start his business education by figuring out who is a liar and who isn’t.

It isn’t any different either when you tell an aspiring author that a bestselling author doesn’t necessarily have to be a best writing author because clear as a midsummer day it says best selling and not best writing.

Things get even more complicated when rebuke as a society is tackled, it is akin to telling a whole society what the… is it all doing wrong like telling the masses that the country can only prosper under your watch if everybody did their frigging share in the middle of your expensive campaign for the presidency. Much to the audience’s chagrin you tell them that you can only give them food if they broke their backs in their farms day and night while you take care of the rest in Malacañang sitting on your comfy presidential chair.

There are a multitude of reasons to put self or the collective selves that forms a society into what it is- rich or poor, happy or sad…When society is in a mess, there is nothing to turn to but the rectifying attributes of a REBUKE. While everybody thinks that it is like telling a scientist that science is no different than religion and that science is as good only as the spiritual maturity of the scientists lest their science just consumes them, the whole society hangs in a balance.

Rebuke is that ability of the soul to see a thing for what it really is and call it what it is, it is the desire of all in us to right the wrongs that we have seen. In this regard we as artists would like to yell out our resounding rebuke against the society’s ills, and against the various cancers that are contributing to our downfall as a congregation of souls in this part of the universe.

Rezureccion Art Project
In partnership with
Outer Space Gallery
Presents

“REBUKE”

Opening on
June 4, 2010 (Friday)
8:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Outer Space Gallery
The Collective
7274 Malugay Street, Suite B,
San Antonio Village, Makati City

Featuring the works of AJ Omandac, AJ Tuviera Tolentino, Ambie Abano, Bobby Balingit, Buds Convocar, Con Cabrera, Heber Bartolome, Irish Flores, J.Pacena II, Jet Bernal, Katrina Dayrit, Kin Misa, Loren Marquez, Marius Black, Mica Cabildo, Mike Andaya, Niel Marcelino, Niño Hernandez, Noel Pocot, Raul M. Roco Jr, Rayan Ladyong, Recci Bacolor, Rhea Consorio, Salvador Ching, Sarah Geneblazo, Stella Kim, Tanya Escaler, Tomas Leonor, Xander Calceta, Zeus Bascon.

Exhibit runs until June 18, 2010
Curated by Recci Bacolor

SINING UGNAYAN: CREATING THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION VISUAL ARTISTS DIRECTORY

CALLING ALL VISUAL ARTISTS
FROM METROMANILA ONLY

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
FOR THE SINING UGNAYAN: NCR VISUAL ARTISTS DIRECTORY

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

“Sining Ugnayan: Creating the NCR Visual Artists’ Directory” is a project that will identify, locate, and record in writing and document in photographs the existing visual artists and artists’ groups all over the Metro Manila. There are 16 cities and 1 municipality that make up the geographical basis for the project’s methodology. National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila is composed of 16 cities and 1 municipality (the cities of Manila, Quezon City, Pasay, Caloocan, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Paranaque, Valenzuela, Makati, Pasig, Muntinlupa, Taguig, San Juan, Navotas and Las Piñas and The Municipality of Pateros).

Qualifications (any of the following):
1. Professional Visual Artists working in Metro Manila
2. Practicing Visual Artists who are residents of Metro Manila
3. Art Groups/ Organizations established in Metro Manila

Visual Arts/ Painting (Traditional Media/ Mixed-Media)/ Illustration/ Graphic /Digital Design/ Sculpture/ Installation Art/ Photography/ Animation/ Printmaking/ Art Educators/ Art Groups/ Organizations (and other related visual arts field)

Please sign-up before 31 May 2010.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
FOR THE SINING UGNAYAN: NCR VISUAL ARTISTS DIRECTORY

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS


PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION
TO OTHER VISUAL ARTISTS.

ILLUMINARE

ASIAN PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM

Creative Index by the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowships Program
May 28 - June 5, 2010

The Nippon Foundation Fellowships for Asian Public Intellectuals (API Fellowships Program) commemorates its 10th Anniversary Regional Celebration in the Philippines at the end of May 2010 with a multi-site exhibition, Creative Index, scheduled to open to the public on May 28.

Creative Index presents a range of expressions from among a group of individuals actively involved in the public realm and coming from various disciplines within the creative framework of an exhibition. The exhibition thus becomes a platform wherein greater social issues are engaged with and works as a catalogue of creative enterprise.

The works will be on exhibit at seven venues in Metro Manila: Ateneo Art Gallery, Loyola Heights,Quezon City from May 28 – June 13; Jorge B. Vargas Museum, UP Diliman, Quezon City from May 28 – June 5; UP College of Music Mini Hall, Diliman, Quezon City from May 28 – May 30, Silverlens Galleries, Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City from May 28 – June 5, Pablo Gallery, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City from May 28 – June 9; Art Informal, Mandaluyong City from May 28 to June 7; and San Agustin Museum, Intramuros, Manila from May 28 – May 30.

Creative Index includes a diverse range of works such as sound installations, video and film documentaries, performance art, photographs, and botanical drawings. The participating API fellows are Amir bin Muhammad (Malaysia), Colin Nicholas (Malaysia), Dave Lamenta (Indonesia), Dain Iskandar Said (Malaysia), Jonas Baes (Philippines), Kidlat Tahimik (Philippines), Phuttipong Aroonpheng (Thailand), Lalita Rochanakorn (Thailand), Motohide Taguchi (Japan), Nick de Ocampo (Philippines), Shigeaki Iwai (Japan), Tomonari Nishikawa (Japan), Jess Santiago (Philippines), Kaori Fushiki (Japan), Karnt Thassanaphak (Thailand), Michi Tomioka (Japan), Mohd Naguib Razak (Malaysia), Nadiah Bamadhaj (Malaysia), Ramon Santos (Philippines), Takako Iwasawa (Japan), Tan Sooi Beng (Malaysia) and Yeoh Seng-Guan (Malaysia).

The works shown in Creative Index comes from the intermingling of influences. Anthropologists use the structure of video documentation to create easy access to their research, while artists manage fieldwork to consider anthropological matters and social relations. Forays into film digest the current social temperature.

The API Fellowships is designed to stimulate the creation of a new pool of intellectuals in SEA and Japan, encouraging a wide-range of creative and intellectual articulations from composers to artists to video productions. Fellows who practice across the region and internationally have the platform of an exhibition to present their work. This wide remit of creative output from a group of intellectuals working on research to address contemporary social concerns and problems produces a variety of production that cut across media and intellectual persuasions. As a multi-site exhibition across Metro Manila, Creative Index seeks to address the concerns of each work within our local context. The exhibition will cut across Manila, thus giving its audience a wide experience of the city, while having access to significant social questions drawn from across the region.

Creative Index is curated by Joselina Cruz. An independent curator based in Manila, Philippines. She received her MA in Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art (RCA), London, UK and was Curator for the Lopez Memorial Museum in Manila, and the Singapore Art Museum. She was curator for the Singapore Biennale 2008.

Creative Index Curatorial Team: Exhibition Manager- Geraldine Araneta, Exhibiton Assistants/ Site Managers- Zaxx Abraham, Lara Acuin, and Harpy Valerio.

Creative Index opens May 28 with a private screening on May 30. For more information on Creative Index, contact Harpy Valerio at +63 916 461 3403, Zaxx Abraham at +63 917 895 7175 and Lara Acuin at +63 916 697 0220. For more information on the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship programme, check the website at www.api-fellowships.org or call +632 4266001 ext. 5205.

Image: Dain Iskandar Said

RESURFACE

"How does one interpret the word resurface? Is it coming back up underwater for precious gasps of air? Is it applying a new coat of paint on a wall or a new layer of asphalt to a pavement? Or is it knowing how to pick yourself up from your fall?

Thirteen different artists have gathered together to present to you an exhibit featuring thirteen personal interpretation to the word 'Resurface'. It will be held at Creations Cafe & Deli at Estrada St., Taft, Manila starting from May 14.

Who knows you may find your own personal definition to the word 'Resurface'. "

Rezureccion Art Project
in partnership with
Creations Cafe & Deli
Presents

"RESURFACE"

Opening on May 14. Friday. 7 PM
Creations Cafe & Deli
Estrada St., Taft, Manila.
(Beside St. Scholastica' s College)

Featuring the works of
Mike Andaya
Recci Bacolor
Jet Bernal
Marius Black
Xander Calceta
Rhea Consorio
Irish Flores
Rayan Ladyong
Tomas Leonor
Niel Marcelino
Loren Marquez
Brandon Pasedona
Noel Pocot

Exhibit runs until June 30, 2010

TRES FIGURAS

“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.” Ludwig Wittgenstein

Nothing exemplifies this better than the latest exhibit of Felix Jesus “Ely” Meimban IV, Angelito Balmes and Norlie Meimban.

Entitled “Tres Figuras”, this collection focuses on human interest, with an appreciation on scenes from everyday life. Brought together by their love for figures and painting, this clan of artists came together to make what is now a tribute to the magnificent creation that is humanity, in all its forms.

Each being highly regarded artists in their own right with years of experience under their belts; this exhibit which is a true family affair features a perfect assortment of each of their distinctive style.

Felix Jesus “Ely” Meimban IV, father to Norlie Meimban and father-in-law of Angelito Balmes, follows a more traditional convention. Coming from a family that is deeply immersed in the world of arts, it is no surprise that his interest in painting was sparked early on, even having relatives who have studied under Amorsolo. After working in an ad agency in the 60s, he went on to become a full time artist. Over the years he has continuously and consistently refined his style in oil through group shows and many exhibits. It is truly people that inspire him. Having a very classical approach, he leans towards painting scenes in the 18th century. Favouring earth colors over all others, his timeless and universal scenes of calesas and other rural settings with its quiet way of life brings about wisps of nostalgia.

Angelito Balmes first started learning painting as an apprentice to his father-in –law. Finding his creative well of passion being opened, he has since then never looked back. Also opting to become a full time artist, he has been in the art industry for 18 years now. Having had many group shows his style constantly evolved into what it is now. Vibrant and daring with his color palate with oil as his medium, his style is reminiscent of cubism but altered to become curve thereby creating a style that is uniquely his own. His subjects convey more folk scenes and everyday people doing everyday things such as vendors and fishermen.

Norlie Meimban, like his father and brother-in-law is mostly inclined towards figures. A graduate of University of the Philippines Fine Arts with Major in Painting, the canvas is his first love. He also got involved with work in animation for about 12 years, but in 2000 once again went back to his passion, painting. It was then that he diligently pursued his career as a painter, joining competitions such as that of Metrobank which earned him a place and two honorable mentions. It has also brought him 9 solo exhibits to date as well as international shows in the United States, namely Seattle and California. His medium of choice is a combination of oil and acrylic, and his style is surreal with a twist. This twist came about through incorporating his experience and methods in animation with painting, creating something new and truly innovative. Employing monochromatic and earth colors, the scenes that his works depict are very contemporary and relevant.

With each having their own distinguished career, a group show in 2009 inspired them to make an exhibit of their own bringing together their passion for figures and keeping it all in the family. Thus, “Tres Figuras” came to life.

Through this triumvirate’s singular originality they have managed to make something wholly special. In their own way they managed to give dimension and depth to the world, by employing their own styles and unique way of seeing the world through their subjects, indeed in their skill in painting figures they also paint the human soul.

FAITH AND REASON

MANILA CONTEMPORARY CONFRONTS THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE AROUND SOUTHEAST ASIA IN FAITH AND REASON

Religion and spirituality are two key influences in personal and cultural life, as belief systems occupy various positions in social strata through individual appeal. Faith and reason aims to cover the spectrum of religious iconography (as selected by artists within the SEA region), from its creation and abstraction through history and tradition, to the consumption of its supposed 'meanings' and 'uses'. Such iconography extends beyond the institutions from which they originate, and are finally appropriated by contemporary culture, only to produce 'representations' which subsequently, represent something entirely different.

With a variety of styles from Southeast Asian artists such as Ahmad Zakii Anwar (Malaysia), Mella Jaarsma (Indonesia), Agus Baqul Purnomo (Indonesia), Filippo Sciascia (Italianbased in Indonesia), Pintor Sirait (Indonesia), Manit Sriwanichpoom (Thailand), Sri Astari (Indonesia), Jason Wee (Singapore), and Made Wijaya (Indonesia). together with Filipino artists Yason Banal, Andres Barrioquinto, Frankie Callaghan, Valeria Cavestany, Roberto Chabet, Mariano Ching, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Kiko Escora, Patty Eustaquio, Maya Muňoz, Leeroy New, Mark Salvatus, Popo San Pascual, Gerry Tan and Trek Valdizno, Faith and Reason features artworks as varied as the exhibition's subject.

And to open alongside Faith and Reason is Catching The Spirit of a Heritage, a solo exhibition of Guy Custodio at the second floor gallery. Guy Custodio is a Bohol-based artist whose works depicts the religious heritage of his adopted homeprovince.

Faith and Reason will open with a Pagdiwata – a blessing ritual of Palaweno origins - performance by Billy Bonnevie. Faith and Reason and Catching the spirit of a heritage open on Saturday, 22 May 2010 at 6pm in Manila Contemporary. The exhibition will run until 13 June 2010. Manila Contemporary is located at Whitespace, 2314 Pasong Tamo Extension, Brgy. Magallanes, Makati City. For inquiries about the exhibition, please contact Sidd at 844 7328 or email to s.perez@manilacontemporary.com

THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM: LONDON BIENNALE 2010

UNE PLEIADE D' ARTISTES

SOUTHERN ARTISTS ATELIER

JOURNEY TO LOVE

DEPARTURE AREAS

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2010 ATENEO ART AWARDS: SHATTERING STATES

On its fiftieth anniversary, the Ateneo Art Gallery announces that "Shattering States" has been selected as the theme of this year's Ateneo Art Awards, in response to the museum's pioneering efforts in championing the cause of modernism in the country.

Traversing the range and scale of art practice, the 2010 edition of the Awards actively underscores the transgressive nature of artists, and resists the tendency to nurture ideas of stasis or permanence that usually accompany milestone celebrations. Ceaselessly challenging traditional media forms, this year presents an explosive array of artists whose works in one way or another hybridize manifestations that delineate and define the cutting edge.

Beyond the parameters of the object and its creator, "Shattering States" is also an ongoing reflection about time and place: a mental mapping of links that connect local and global concerns. As Philippine society finds itself yet again at the crossroads, art ultimately harnesses and realizes the potential of the imagination to create a wishing space that will effectuate lasting change.

The Ateneo Art Awards are given to Filipino visual artists below the age of 36 for outstanding works in an exhibition between 2 May 2009 and 1 May 2010. Nominations are accepted from visual artists, curators, museum and gallery directors, members of the present and former juries, art educators and art writers. Nomination forms are available at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City; at Casa Gorodo Museum, Cebu City; or from the website http://gallery.ateneo.edu

All nominations must be received at the Ateneo Art Gallery before 5 pm on 31 May 2010. For more information, please contact Ian Carlo Jaucian at +6324266488 or mobile +639178878956 or email ijaucian@ateneo.edu. Exhibition of the works of the artists short-listed for the Awards will be at the Grand Atrium of the Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City from 6 August - 16 August 2010.

LONDON BIENNALE 2010

INVITATION TO THE OPENING OF LONDON BIENNALE 2010
1 May / 30 August 2010 London

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings!

Come and bring friends to the opening of LONDON BIENNALE 2010 on the First of May at 5 p.m. at Soho Square in Central London.

Adam Nankervis, our international coordinator and the intrepid director of the nomadic MUSEUM MAN, will deliver the welcome address. After we welcome each other and exchange information about our diverse artistic activities and projects, we will take a short walk to the ANGEL PUB (beside St. Giles Church, behind the tall Centre Point building on Tottenham Court Road). In the saloon bar and in the garden of the Angel Pub we will continue our congenial conversations. Please bring with you cameras and darwing materials to document this event.

LONDON BIENNALE 2010 will run until the end of August this year. There will be many events and exhibitions.

Maddy and James Kinghorn will bring a group of artists from Barcelona, Spain to London. Mabel Encinas is organising events in homage to Brazilian educator Paulo Freire during the Latin American Cultural Week at the University of London's Student Uniion from 17 to the 20th of May 2010. Stephen Perkins, from the University of Wisconsin, will bring to England a group of American artists. Marko Stepanov will host a poetry recital organised by Sarah O'Reilly at Marko's bucolic allotment at West Hendon. Katie Sollohub will host another "Long Shore Drift" on the first week-end in August at Shore-on-Sea in Sussex.

There will also be many international satellite events celebrating LONDON BIENNALE 2010 including:
A tea party which Mary Sherman will organise with Trans-Cultural Exchange at the Taj Mahal Hotel and Cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Exhibitions and events which Dominic Cloutier will organise with the Hybrid Art Collective in New York City; 'SIGNALS' events in Berlin, Germany, and Kiev, Ukraine.

I would like to invite all LONDON BIENNALE ARTISTS (including Claudia Wegener in South Africa, Valerie Vivancos in Paris, Peter Oxley and Virgil Clalaguian in Cambodia, Raffaella Losapio and Vicenzo Ceccato in Rome, Antonio Sassu in Padova Gruppo Sinestetico, Nino Ruju in Naples, Roberto Scala in Sorrento, the Moraldi Art Conspiracy in Cremona, Martino Negrei in Florence, Joyce Rykman and Nasncy Petry in Montreal, Trolley in Vancouver, Rino Telaro and Michael Laird in Belgium, Sebastiaan Schliocher in Holland, and many others world-wide) to initiate satellite events/exhibitions wherever they are.

Please send me your new EROS ARROWS to my address below. Please E mail your EROS ARROW also to the LONDON BIENNALE Page in FACEBOOK.

Best wishes from David Medalla,
11 Naseby, Hanworth, Bracknell,
Berkshire RG12 7HD, Englland
www.londonbiennale. org


image David Medalla + Aaron Shepard London Biennale Arrow tattoo 2004

PASSAGES

"A marriage between painting and photography, printmaking and mixed media -- this is the kind of art I want to explore," explains art guru Rosscapili, in description of his 37th one man exhibition. Titled "Passages," the exhibition showcases some 30 paintings, photographs and mixed media works at FORUM Robinsons beginning May 13, 2010.

The seamless transition of one art form to another over decades of continuing artistic evolution shines through with every "Passages" piece. Energetic brushwork leaps, dances or surges across photographs of the human figure as though images from the artist's dreams or subconscious were somehow transferred and given tangible form on canvas. Though many of the human figures are in still poses, each work as a whole seems to move like a film noir or music video montage -- sometimes flowing like a prima to Prokofiev or frenetically like stop-motion animation to staccato.

Rosscapili sees "Passages" as a summary of a career that has established him as a master of one art form after another. Simultaneously maintaining strongholds in previously conquered territory, this veteran visual artist is now a sought-after signature in not one but four different art forms. Starting out as an award-winning painter in the early 70's, he fell in love with photography before the decade's end. After becoming a professional shutterbug and adding photography prizes to his trophy cases, the 80's saw him add works in traditional etching to his portfolio as he worked with the Philippine Association of Printmakers.

As his paintings moved into the realm of abstraction in the 90's, it was then that Rosscapili began to pursue digital artmaking. Today, he says, "I no longer put a boundary... It doesn't matter if I'm doing painting, traditional print, photography or digital printing… I end up combining them all during one thought process, creating my own art which doesn't really fit into any single definition of a particular art medium." A look at Rosscapili's work in the first decade of the new millenium suggests that his art will continue to develop in fresh and exciting ways as he melds his different media. He sees the creative process as an uninterrupted passage or voyage where "I can't tell if I've already arrived at my destination.”

"Passages" is open to the public until May 31, 2010 at FORUM Robinsons on Pioneer Street corner EDSA in Mandaluyong City. Mall hours are from 10am to 9pm daily. For inquiries, call Galerie OneWorkshop at 836-8799, 09176273193 or FORUM Robinsons at 3988058, 09228267945 or email one_workshop@ yahoo.com

PLAY FACULTY

Artis Corpus Gallery and Sining Kamalig: an art gallery will present the second of a series of exhibitions at the Inner Room of Sining Kamalig, located at Level 4 of The Oasis, Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Quezon City. Entitled Play Faculty, the group show features the following artists currently studying at the University of the Philippines: Rinne Abrugena, Francis Commeyne, Raphael David, Paola Germar, Kim Oliveros, Louie Talents, and Leo Velasco. The theme of the show revolves around the idea of creating art through play. It is only the mind at play that can truly be creative. The process relies heavily on experimenting, making the act itself as part of the process of creating art. Artists should be left to move and function freely at their own time and pace. The show will open at 6pm on Tuesday 11 May 2010 and will run till 2 June. For further details, please contact 0920-9537426: Enrico Manlapaz, exhibition curator.

PLAY FACULTY

Exhibition Notes by Enrico J. L. Manlapaz, exhibition curator, 15 April 2010

The Universal Mind (widely known as God) gifted humans with wisdom. Wisdom has two aspects: logic and intuition. Effective decisions are made with wisdom resulting from a balanced mix of logic and intuition. The seat of wisdom is the brain, where most thinking is done and accomplished. The brain itself has two hemispheres, each containing its own faculty: logic and intuition.

Traditional academicians assigned the faculty of logic to the sciences and the faculty of intuition to the arts. That is why we have a separation of the arts from the sciences. They say scientists are lousy in intuition. They say artists are poor in logic. Well, that is what they say.

I have facilitated several organization development sessions for business, the arts, and other endeavors. In these very short engagements with groups of people, I realized that the only way to get them out of their status quo is to make them relax for a short while and begin to think wild. During the visioning exercises, I just tell them to imagine a state which they like, a state completely desirable to them. I ask them to put logic aside and forget about how to achieve their visions. It is the obsession with the how tos that deter the free mind from achieving what it wants.

The same happens with creativity. I remember looking at the works of Lanelle Abueva’s daughter in the early 1990s even before she entered day care center. Boy, they were wild, full of spontaneity, full of joy and enthusiasm. A year later, I visited and saw the usual rainbows, houses, school buildings, teacher, etc. on a “new” album. Creativity lost, mimicking gained.

In January 2010, I received a proposal from a group of UP Fine Arts students stating that they want to show works in my gallery with the concept revolving around the idea of play. With a title Zero Century Play Faculty, I subtly raised an eyebrow. [Uh-oh, another pseudo-intellectual exercise coming from UP, I said to myself.] They continued: “The exhibition aims to generate output from selected artists regarding their interpretation of the word play. We are approaching this concept from the perspective of the experimenting artist as a free thinking individual, incorporating the importance of play in either subject matter or technique.” Brilliant, I said, as Emmanuel Garibay’s words in November 2008 reverberated in my brain when he declaimed: “Students of art have forgotten that art making must, first and foremost, be play.”

There were over thirty artists listed then and I requested to reduce the number to my magic six. I would rather see a body of works by an artist, rather than just one piece. I also requested to truncate the title to the essence of the show: Play Faculty. They obliged.

In her exhibition rationale, Rinne Abrugena, seemingly the force behind this exhibition, quoted A. L. Kroeber: “All the discoveries and innovations of pure science and fine art – those intellectual and aesthetic pursuits which are carried on without reference to technology or utility – may be credited to functioning of the human play impulses. They are adult sublimations, onto a largely super-muscular level, of the sensorily exploratory and kinaesthetic activities that constitute play in children and mammals. They rest on the play impulse, which is connected with growth but is dissociated from preservation, comfort, or utility, and which in science and art is translated into the realm of imagination, abstraction, relations, and sensuous form.” Please forgive the old English, it was written in 1957 and must have been translated from some foreign language.

Let me continue with Rinne: “We live in a highly advanced industrial generation where the product, commercial or otherwise, stands as the ultimate measure of any endeavor. People, specially children, are expected to churn out empirical observations here and there, with an environment that has little effort in instilling in them a sense of playfulness necessary for both emotional and intellectual growth. This is why I chose to reinstate the role of one of the basic human impulses: play. This show is about the painter’s definition of artmaking, manifested in how the artist interprets the idea of play. It includes the process of experimenting, how the said act can also be an end in itself, and why everyone, specially the artist, needs to move and function uninterruptedly albeit the coherence and glamour of academic, commercial, and critical jargon.”

Three months later, the final seven artists emerged: Rinne Abrugena, Francis Commeyne, Raphael David, Paola Germar, Kim Oliveros, Louie Talents, and Leo Velasco… and here is their show. Only the mind at play can be truly creative.

THE GODMAKERS

In this recent anthology of works entitled The Godmakers, JCrisanto Martinez reveals the grim face of human worship. With a set of highly detailed sculptures, he shows us the archetypes of "God" as conceived by man. Martinez exhibits an iconography all presented in an emblematic comportment, though despite its certainty of form, is evidently anthropomorphic. The figures are also enthroned in separate niches/kingdoms, and what binds them together are their crowned heads. At some perspective the figures in the sculptures appear to be mythological.

The major perspective of these recent artworks is the concept of demigods; human by flesh, treated and given the attributes of god. The demigod, as inevitably prone to the clasps of human worship and divination, is often dignified beyond mortal means. “We crown them, we worship them, we listen intently when they speak and we play servants to their beck and call,” the artist explains. With the church’s universal central dogma on the foreground that concentrates on preaching the evasion of the carnal transgressions; flesh-based iniquities which ironically are those that we paradoxically consider (or presume to consider) as what make us human. Contradictory then is the fact that there constantly and consistently parade in our midst the “deities” we covertly idolize the most. It indeed emphasizes the matter-of-fact that we worship the gods we crafted and pay reverence because of our own personal clandestine desires and urges.

By practice a multitude of the human race pays worship for images of those who they engage in prayers and acts of devotion. There is a representation of someone revered for chivalry, for the true, the good and the beautiful, and the like. Why is there not a representation of a persona which in reality and beyond hypocrisy people really patronize the most in their everyday grind? Perhaps an image that man idolizes and worship for his carnal cravings? Such raison d'être then becomes the central declaration in Martinez's artworks. These eidolons correspond to the ‘ramp’ models of society, the social chimeras that we adore much and exalt to a degree that is even beyond gods. We want them. We want to be them. These are the man-manufactured Gods complete with fake crowns and apocryphal kingdoms in which they habituate and rule. These faith-induced monsters, who suck everything that we are or what we own, like black, fat leeches with gilded crowns on their cranium, draining blood, dreams, and even freedom itself.

But then again, we are not in the position to blame because they did not create themselves. They did not install those golden tiaras on their heads. They never called themselves God.

Oh but we did. And continue to do so.


Image: JCrisanto Martinez, “Face of a Saint, Hands of a Sinner,” Mixed media on old wood, 2010
Text: Dave Lock and JCrisanto Martinez “OF GODS AND GODMAKERS”

NESTING GROUND

MAQUINA EROTIQUA