PERIPHERAL REVISIONS

“Peripheral Revisions”
Alexander Moscoso

Art is my platform for personal and social discourse. It is the product of my struggle and discipline in pursuit of transforming thought and energy into material form. My commitment is geared towards the materialization of ideas and transference of energy in this lifetime. Thus, it has been my resolve to create art as part of my daily practice.

Initially, Peripheral Revisions is a body of work that explores art history specificities and how it relates to one’s own practice. It first started as a response to the question of how could one make sense and non-sense of art history and its corresponding artifacts, or rather, art as facts?

Peripheral Revisions is composed of paintings that will use reproductions of historically significant paintings as its ground. In this way, I will be able to establish a discourse with a particular work of art, examine its structure, as well as attempt at gaining insights on the technical and conceptual momentum and trajectories of its creator.

While working on these paintings, I realized that these are not reproductions of the original works being appropriated per se but in the process has become impressions of the appropriated works and an imagining of the state of mind of these artists. Because of this process dynamics, the current works seem to have transcended the realm of reproduction/illustration and has morphed into an original in itself. Other than that, the original intentions of the works being a personal discourse in art history as well as paintings being phenomenological constructs or channels remain the same.

Eventually, the trajectory of the body of work has veered towards works of art as vehicles of perception. The discursive nature of Peripheral Revisions zeroes in on paintings, as well as video art installation, as contemporary phenomenological tools i.e. methods to observe and reflect on one’s conscious experience, or even attempt to access the subconscious. The polygons at the center of the works serve as demarcations of physical and symbolic space. The introduction of colored polygons other than black is an additional parameter I have set to widen the field and likewise as a response to a personal discourse on color theory, art history, politics, philosophy, and psychology which I encountered while working on the first few works. Furthermore, I realized that this set of work is just a start of a long-term topographical project to map existing art-as-facts and its possible relations. Process-wise, these works are finger painted. I had to forego the use of brushes and experimented with the notion of bypassing any mediating object between the hand and canvas in moving paint.

In sum, the works that comprise Peripheral Revisions are accessories to an experience. Its relevance lies not on technical or conceptual techniques and/or art history specific issues but on its capability to give its viewers a window to examine one’s self.


Artist Alexander Moscoso unveils his own version of famous modern artists’ works in his new show “Peripheral Revisions”. Utilizing his bare fingers, Moscoso plays around with famous modern artists’ works and presents them with colored polygon centers and upside down orientations. Moscoso’s courageous play on these works fosters a question on the artworks’ originality and a discussion on art reproduction.

Working with only his fingers, artist Alex Moscoso touches on famous modern artists’ works in his new show “Peripheral Revisions”. Moscoso turns the modernists’ works literally upside down as he manipulates them to a hundred and eighty degree rotation while plastering colored polygons on each works’ center. These changes the artist has inflicted to the artworks greatly provokes a discussion on originality of art and its reproduction.

The exhibit runs from 20 May to 10 June 2011 at NOVA Gallery, Warehouse 12A, La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Don Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.