THE SHOCK OF THE FAMILIAR

THE SHOCK OF THE FAMILIAR

Show by Bong Bellosillo, Ian Madrigal and Mitch Garcia

Form, design, and function: making a social or political statement through artistic presentation. Art and social issues have always gone hand-in-hand, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the Bauhaus to graffiti. The ocular and emotional impact made by Picasso’s Guernica forces one to think about the horrors of war. Munch’s The Scream, depicting despair and anxiety in 19thcentury Germany, is today a commercial icon used to sell sports drinks. In the latter half of the 20th century, the extreme revival of poster art branched into record album covers, and the debate over whether popular art is really art, once again posed the questions: what is art, and what is its purpose?

Does art have, and should it have, a message? Perhaps one of its functions is to identify groups, group membership, and political or social attitudes shared by the group.

Membership of subculture groups, whose ideas and lifestyles are at variance with those of the dominant culture, is usually dominated by the young. For some it is fleeting and forms a rite of passage; others move through a series of subcultures, and some remain committed to one, long term. Belonging to a subculture can be liberating, offering, for example, certain freedoms in lifestyle, sexuality, and politics. By defining their own geographical, social, and sartorial boundaries, subcultures also provide a sense of belonging that is independent of the family (Haye & Dingwall, 1996) and thereby establish a sense of empowerment and self-reliance that most young people strive for starting around ages 11-15. Subcultures express themselves through their own art, music, and dress. The subcultures of the latter half of the 20th century would most likely identify themselves as being outside of any norm.

- Ian Madrigal

opens Friday, February 27, 2009 at 7:00pm

ends on Friday, March 13, 2009

GALERIE ASTRA

2/f LRI Design Plaza

210 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air II, Makati City, Philippines