Monday, July 6, 2020

GOD-GIVEN COLOUR

 

  • The United States has a lot of historical sites that need review for their infringement of the rights of the minorities. "
  • 1. "Protesters in San Francisco tore down a bust of Ulysses Grant and statues of Spanish missionary Junipero Serra and “Star Spangled Banner” writer Francis Scott Key in a scene that was repeated across the U.S.
  • The San Francisco protesters arrived at Golden Gate Park Friday night, defacing the statues with red paint and writing “slave owner” on pedestals before using ropes to topple them and dragged them down grassy slopes amid cheers and applause...The San Francisco protesters targeted Grant, who led the Union Army during the Civil War, and Key because they owned slaves. "

  • 2. "Also Friday, anti-racism messages were sprayed on the sculpture of Revolutionary War figure and slave owner Nathaniel Rochester, the founder of Rochester, N.Y.

  • The hands of the bronze statue of a seated Rochester were painted red, with “shame” written across the forehead. Other messages around the figure included “stole indigenous lands” and “abolish the police.”

  • https://www.marketwatch.com/story/statues-toppled-throughout-us-in-protests-against-racism-2020-06-20

3. Mount Rushmore sculptures
Mount Rushmore - HISTORY

  • Mount Rushmore - Wikipedia
    Mount Rushmore with sculptures of George WashingtonThomas JeffersonTheodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln (left to right)
    In the hours leading up to President Trump's speech at Mount Rushmore Friday night, a group of protesters blocked the road to the national monument. 
  • The protesters were mainly comprised of Native Americans, angered at the staging of the political event in an area sacred to them. 
  • The Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the Black Hills — where Mount Rushmore resides — was unlawfully taken from the Sioux people. 
  • Jeff Ostler, a historian at the University of Oregon, told ABC News that the federal government had offered the Sioux people a settlement of $1 billion for taking the land. The tribe has refused, saying they will only accept their land back. "
  • https://www.businessinsider.com/native-americans-blocked-road-to-mount-rushmore-before-trump-speech-2020-7
What do these mean for the Filipino people? It means that History is not a formula, or a permanent interpretation of the past. Different generations will have varied responses to phenomena. It is the commitment of the people to long-lasting values that will define how long cultural products shall last. 

In the above, for a long, long time, the black people were considered second if not third or even no-class to the white people. When Obama arose, his presence was just a symbol of black assent to power, but the nitty-gritty spaces in American society did not reflect the equality that was needed to say that it is democratic. 

So when George Floyd died in the hands of a white American police, the American people found greater vigor to express themselves outwardly, no longer through songs, or capturing the coveted trophies in sports, but in the political arena as well, and not just in the halls of Congress. 

In the UK, an institute exists that studies Racism. I don't know in the case of US. But it shows that racism has been studied very well and equality is treated as a sensitive topic. 
However, racism still existed even in the 80's when the Brixton riots had occurred and black people were injured in their scuffles with the police. 

But I remember one Indian storeowner with a brown skin telling me, "You know the British do not like this skin," and he pointed at his arm. He was then having problems legalizing his business there. 

I think race is truly a sensitive topic but in our country, it is seldom talked about. In fact, it is laughed at. Haven't you counted the number of skin products that advertise themselves as for "whitening" the skin?" I shiver in terror whenever I see those, especially on the tall billboards of Edsa. 

How many Filipino scholars and professionals aspired to migrate to the States and work there simply because they wanted to belong to the white race?

It is time for us to look into ourselves and find beauty in our very own skin color, our God-given colour.  



Sunday, June 28, 2020

NORMALIZING THE ABNORMAL

What is new normal is actually what should be, what should happen. 1. We have soap or alcohol in public toilets; 2) alcohol is freely given at all establishments; 3.) there is not more overcrowding at malls which used to reduce oxygen in the air; 4.) vehicles are more cautious and gentle in the streets, giving way to pedestrians who are wearing masks; and 5.) wearing masks should really be done due to the pollution in the air.

The future use of non-traditional media should have happened a long time ago so that children in the countrysides could have benefitted from them. A transgender girl is 18 years old from San Pedro but she does not even know how to read, how to write. She complained of backpains and was surprised that she only has to drink water every hour to cleanse her body. Then I gave her methyl salicylate or oil of winter green. That was the first time she has seen ,heard and touched it.

In other words, San Pedro, Laguna, which is only an hour away from Manila could not raise the intelligence of a kid who has to come to Manila to work. So let's welcome all the innovative methods that the DepEd is coming up with. We need to exert all efforts at enlightening our children who will be future leaders of this country.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

KUNG NAKIKINIG ANG PINTOR


KUNG NAKIKINIG ANG PINTOR, NANGUNGUSAP ANG KANYANG PINIPINTA
WHEN THE ARTIST LISTENS, HIS PAINTINGS SPEAK                                                                                                                                                                              Unang lumabas sa Ingles sa Manila Standard, Nobyembre 11, 1996

Emmanuel L Cordova - Related Artist Discovery - Emmanuel L Cordova
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Sino ang tinatawag na artist? Ang kanyang gawa bag n nagbibigay ng titulo sa kanya? Ang estilo ng pagpipinta? Ang bumibili ng kanyang “painting?” Ang kritiko? Mahirap sagutin ang mga tanong na ito kung walang kaalaman na ang gawang sining ay dumaraan sa iba’t ibang bahagdan ng proseso ng pagbuo. At kahit pagnatapos na ito, kailangan pa ring baguhin ng pauli-ulit upang maging “perpekto” o “kaaya-ayang makita.

Diyan natin malalarawan kung paanong tingnan ni Emmanuel L Cordova ang sarili niya bilang isang tagawa ng sining o artistia at kung paano siyang naging isang painter.  
Sa kanyang exbit sa Ayala Museum kung saan may 20 paintings siyang in-exibit, na nagkakahalaga ng sampung libo hanggang walumpung libo para sa pinakatampok na “The Centennial.” Ang huli ay naglalaman ng mga shells at halaman ng mga nanganganib na mawala, ang jade vine at tinawag na centennial upang paigtingin ang kahalagahang maprotektahan sila sa ika sandaang anibersaryo n gating kasarinlan (1998.)

Nagubos ng sobra sa isang taon si Emmanuel sa paghahanda ng exibit na ito. At ngayon nga ay nabenta na ang higit sa kalahati at bayad na rin. Bayad na rin ang Centennial bago pa nagbukas ang exibit.

Marami sa kanyang gawa ang parang mga lumang larawan noong sinauna. Hawig ito sa mga paintings na nakapaloob sa aklat ni Fr. Blanco noong panahon ng Kastila na gawa ng iba’t ibang pintor. Aminado si Emmanuel na malaki ang impluwensiya sa kanya ni Sair Lawrence Alma-Tadena, isang taga Nederlanda na pintor ng mga fantasya at nanirahan sa Britanya kung saan siya ay naging tanyag.

Ano ang tampok sa mga paintings ni Emmanuel? Lahat ito ay tungkol sa mga halaman. Botanicals o patungkol sa mga halaman. Laman din ng mga paintings ni Emmanuel hindi lamang mga bulaklak, prutas kundi pati mga kabibe o shells. Kakaiba ang pagpinta ni Emmauel dahil pinapakita niya rito ang natutuyong bhaagi ng halaman, ang mga lupi, ang kanilang pagyuko na para bang buhay na buhay sila at malapit lang sa atin, na parang humihinga sila kaparis natin para mabuhay.

Produkto ng UST School of Fine Arts, si Emmanuel lamang ang nag-iisang pintor sa kanilang pamilya kung saan lahat ay marunong mag drowing pero nahikayat ng ibang larangan. Si Jovy ay nais sanang maging arkitekto pero tinukso ng mga lalaking kaklase niya kaya lumipat sa komersyo. . Si Joji ay isa nang dentist at si Danila ay isa ring tapos ng komersyo. Ang kanyang ina na si Liwayway, ay  may marble business ay may malaking impluwensiya sa kanya dahil ang mga paintings niya dahil ang mga paintings  niya ay may marbolizadong frame. Ang isang painting ay may mga tiles na maaaring gawa ng marble. Ang kanyang detalyadong mga paintings ay maaaring naimpluwensiyahan din ng trabaho ng kanyang ama na si Jose, na isang supplies officer sa Dept. of Education. Karamihan sa mga nagdo-drowing ay nagsisimula sa pagkabata pa lamang. Si Emmanuel ay hindi naiiba. “Natuto akong magdrowing sa paggaya ng mga coloring books. Tine-trace ko ang mga drowing sa pahina at dito ako natutong tumingin ng detalye. Tapos sa kolehiyo, nagenrol ako sa mechanical engineering pero nalaman ko na mas naeengganyo ako sa mga graphics subjects kaya nakatapos ako ng Fine Arts.” Tinuruan siya rito ni Mr. Santiago kung paanong magdrowing ng hawig na hawig sa subject. Si Mr. Alib naman ay nagfocus sa anatomy. Isa pang naggisa Frankng guro niya ay ang kilalang pintor na si Mr. Parial.
Bagaman, maganda ang pundasyon niya sa eskuwela, ang pagpunta niya sa Europa noong 1994 na higit na naging malalim ang kanyang pagtingin sa detalye at maging mas reyalistico ang kanyang mga drowing. “Nagulat ako. Punung puno ng mga estilo sa realistikong pagdo-drowing at pagpinta. At marami rin ang botanicals. Nagpunta siya sa Frankfurt, London, Copenhagen, Giverny, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Bergamo, at Lake Como. Nagpunta rin siya sa HongKong. Bumisita siya sa maraming museo at galerya tulad ng Louvre. Bumisita rin siya ng mga hardin upang mag-obserba ng mga halaman at bulaklak. Pero kahit na malaking hatak ang nangyari sa kanya sa Europa, si Emmanuel ay nagbalik Pilipinas pa rin. “Mas gusto ko pa ring gamiting subjects ang ating mga bulaklak at kabibe.”

Bilang isang botanical painter, nangangailangan humanap si Emmanuel ng mga rare (hindi palasak) at hindi ordinaryong halaman at kabibe. Nangongolekta siya ng mga specimens mula sa iba’t ibang lugar tulad ng Mindoro kung saan natagpuan niya ang bohemia flower; Laguna, at ang iba naman ay sa kanyang kapitbahay.

Bago naging botanical painter si Emmanuel, nagpintura siya ng mga murals, malalaking pintura ng mga dingding para sa mga art lovers. Siya ang nagpinta ng winemaking sa kisame ng Le Souffle sa Makati. Sa Hotel Intercon, mayroon siyang pininta na mural, 9 x 18 feet na nagpapakita ng mga halaman. Sa Subic Yacht Club naman, nagpinta siya ng isang eksena sa French Riviera. Gumawa rin siya ng pintura sa ng dingding ng isa malapit na kaibigan, si Mara Loinaz, ang jade vine na siyang unang nagturo sa kanya ng halamang yaon. “Naghanap ako ng jade vine  sa UP Los Banyos, Laguna taun-taon hanggang nalaman kong namumulaklak lamang ito tuwing Marso at Abril. Nakakalungkot, lumipat sina Mara at ang kanyang mag-anak sa ibang lugar at naiwan ang dingding,” ang natatawang nasabing ni Emmanuel.

Ang pinakamagaganda sa exhibit ay, sa tinging ni Emmanuel, ang mga sumusunod: “Daydream,” “Journey,” “Centennial,” at “Tropical Lantern.” Hinahamon ng paintings ang mga manonood na pag-isipan kung ano talaga ang ibig iparating ng pintor. Ang “Journey” ay may isang malaking nautilus na may mga bulaklak at nasa dagat. Ang “Shower” naman ay may malaking kabibe na may dumadaloy na tubig isang pagdiriwan ng pagdaloy ng tubig. Ang “Tropical Lantern” naman ay hugis ng isang Christmas parol pero mga halaman ang mga bahagi. Ang “Dreams” naman ay hawig sa “Journey” dahil ako yun, na parang isang kabibeng may dala-dalang mga bulaklak, naglalakbay kung saan-saan sa ibabaw ng karagatan.
Ang kagustuhang makatapos ng isang painting ay likas sa mga tapat na pintor. At kapag ganyan, magpupursigi siya kahit na lumampas na siya sa etiquette ng lipunan. “Kung minsan naiisip kong kailangan kong gawin ito kaagad at baka mawala ito bukas.” Minsan may nakita siyang isang buho at humingi sila ng pahintulot sa may-ari. Sa tagal ng pagtagpas ng buho, lumabas ang aso at hinabol sila. Napilitan siya at ng kasama niyang tumakbo. Minsan naman kumatok siya ng sunud-sunod sa isang bahay dahil may nakita siyang pomegranate. Lumabas ang may--ari na nakatapis ng tuwalya. “Hindi mo ba nakikitang naliligo ako?” Sa isang banda, nagalit na talaga ang may-ari na pilit niyang hinihingan niya ng aqua water lily.

Ang pinakamalaking tulong sa kanya ay ang mga kaibigan niyang may tahanan (resthouses) sa malapit sa kabundukan ng Katimugang Luzon kung saan maraming rare species. Isang mag-asawa ang nag-utos sa isang staff na kunin ang isang halaman na nakita nila sa isang tabi habang naglalakbay sila. Natutuwa na ang mga donors  na makita ang halamang nabigay nila o natulungang makuha na napintura sa canvas. “Tuwang-tuwa silang sabihing, ‘ako ang nagbigay niyan.’” May mga kabibe rin akong nahiram sa mga kaibigan at kung minsan sinasabi nilang may bago silang napulot na maaaring ipinta ko.” 

Passion, commitment at inspiration (matinding pagnanais o pagkahilig, katapatan at inspirasyon)  ay hindi sapat para maging pintor. Kailangan lalo ang pagiging dalubhasa o master ng sining. Dito tampok ang mga gawain ni Emmanuel. “Wasto parati kapag ako ay nagpipinta. Gumagamit muna ako ng lapis na magaan ang diin pag nasa papel. Tapos saka ko lalagyan ng watercolor. Buong araw nay yun na magpipinta ako. Habang nagpipinta ako, dagdag ako ng dagdag o nagbabawas ng (kulay o bagay) sa pinipinta ko hanggang sa kuntento na ako.

Dating nakatira sina Emmanuel at ang kayang pamilya sa Pasay, na maingay at maraming tao. Sabi niya, hinid niya mamaster ang botanical painting kung nagpatuloy sila roon. Pero lumipat sila sa Cavite kung saan may hardin siyang mapagkukunan ng inspirasyon.
Ang trabaho lang ni Emmanuel ang kaisa-isang trabahong pintado ng betel nut (nginunguya ng mga nakatatanda) na naipakita sa Shirley Sherwood Collection of Contemporary Botanicals na pinalabas sa Gran Britanya, Japan at Australia.

Pilosopiya sa sining

Hindi pabor si Emmanuel sa social realistic paintings na tumatalakay sa mga isyus sa lipunan tulad ng kahirapan, karahasan at iba pa. Ang nais niya ay mga paintings na nakaka relax. “Mas gusto kong ipinta ang kalikasan.”

Kahit ano pa ang sabihin ni Emmanuel, ang mga paintings  niya ay nagpapakita ng kanyang malakas na sagot sa mga nangyayari sa kapaligiran. Ang kanyang mga paintings ay pailalim na interpretasyon na ang buhay ng mga halaman at kabibe ay nanganganib. Tunay na natuto na si Emmanuel na making kay Inang Kalikasan. Kung kaya’t ang kulay na pastel na gamit niya sa painting ay nagpapakita ng kalungkutan sa mga nangyayari sa mga halaman sa kapaligiran. Ang mga mangga o ang water lily na nakalawit, nakabitin na wari’y lumulutang sa himpapawid ay nagpapakita ng kawalan ng kasiguruhan na mabuhay.

Kung kaya’t pag tinitingnan ang kanyang mga paintings  ay parang hindi tayo mapakali kasi parang mawawala, madudurog o malulusaw sila sa kalawakan. Kung kaya’t ang kanyang mga paintings  ay magandang tingnan sa kuwadro na nakadikit sa dingding at mahal ang presyo, wari’y bumubulong ang mga halaman at kabibe, “Maiksi ang aming buhay (ephemeral); sana’y  magpakita kayo ng kabaitan sa amin. “


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

WHEN BALUT BECOMES AN ART OBJECT

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco
What accounts for the significance of an artistic work? Is it the medium, the name of the artist, the content of the art object? The period when the artwork was completed?

It really seems difficult to pinpoint where a significant artwork begins and ends. So many factors could influence its creation and make the viewers appreciate it. But viewing Alwin Reamillo’s exhibit entitled “AngBalutViand” which features real balut and then cast into plaster with emulsion, is a study in high artwork. Reamillo has created an installation that speaks of the history, the cultural taste, as well as the economic state of a people that has seen various evolutions and revolutions in thought, word and deed.

Going through the pieces that he assembled at the Tin-aw Gallery at Makati City, the financial capital of the Philippines, one can find a bit of himself/herself in all of the items. Why because there is something in every piece that seems to exude a trait, a viewpoint, a quality of our race and even a question. Should we continue looking for change, or should we just flow with the historical tide?

An egg reminds us of something that will be born. In fact, we women have eggs that men’s sperms mix with to give life to a foetus or foetuses. In a similar vein, duck eggs are also birthing media. They give birth to ducklings but the process is cut short to produce something either as penoy – all yolk and albumin or balut, an egg with an unborn duckling, now both snackfoods in our country. Thus in this exhibit, a basket of balut reveals eggs cracked open and many more duck eggs hanging and flying here and there with a lot of things to say about Philippine life.

Now why did Reamillo choose a balut to signify the Balikbayan or the Balutviand? Is there a rebirthing process in his idea of the Filipino in another land and in this case Hong Kong where the art installation emanated?

The exhibit features many facets presenting what Reamillo ideates about of the balut. In the middle of the gallery is a table where lie silver saucers with plaster-hardened balut – half – and semi-cracked. From the ceiling hang several balut also and a few small helicopters with carapace bodies that swing in the air as the electric fan blows the air from the floor. Then at the right and left walls of the gallery are many more similar balut.

However, these are not ordinary balut transformations because they contain many messages. One egg contains a torn piece of a map of Hong Kong; two contain minute human male figures in orange and black suits. Other balut pieces contain a black and white drawing of the face of Christ, a clenched fist, the face of a woman saint, and Ninoy Aquino’s face in the 500 peso bill with serial number PS64655. Then in two other balut are, again, minute men in black and orange suits but this time with locks of black hair in disarray in the background.

Meanwhile on the left wall of the gallery are another set of balut – one containing a piece of “alambre” or barbed wire used for fences and reminding us of those used by the military and the police to seal off Malacanang from demonstrators. Another features a picture of a man’s face with eyes closed and drinking from a bottle. Still another, the carapace of the crab with Mao Ze Dong’s face. Such objects reveal a fragile existence manifesting an idea that cannot be sustained. They could also be Reamillo’s comments on a people that continually transforms to another kind of existence in another setting. This must be why his exhibit title Ang BalutViand has a caption “a transcultural balut project by Alwin Reamillo.”

Aside from poking fun at balut eaters, Reamillo also lightens up our view of the anti-Spanish period in Philippine history. In Tatlong Itlog (Los Indios Bravos), he presents a picture of three heroes – Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar the propagandist and Mariano Ponce whose face is superimposed with an “itlog.” Rizal’s hand also has an embedded egg with a small man in black suit and his back turned to the viewer. Why Tatlong Itlog? Probably Reamillo thinks these men possessed ideas which never materialized.

Now, why did he pick this picture among all so many photographs of our heroes? The poses are frozen in time – with Rizal looking at the camera, and del Pilar’s gaze somewhere else. The photo seems to want to make us look back to history but at the same time warns us of the pitfalls of revolutionary ideas, thus showing Reamillo’s half-hearted view of societal change. Why, is it because of its bloody consequences once carried to extreme the way Bonifacio and the Katipunan conducted the revolution? It is not so strange anymore that Bonifacio’s face does not figure in this exhibit at all.

Meanwhile, the image of Rizal is repeated in a “posporo” a large Phimco matchbox which is a common need in Philippine home-kitchens. On the other side of the matchbox is a painting of a human heart. Of this juxtaposition of ideas – Rizal and the heart - Reamillo shows his intellectual view of life– that a man who follows Rizal’s fiery heart could induce a change – but then the matchbox is transformed into a “maleta” or a luggage – that property of the Filipino Balikbayan who comes home for a vacation then flies to other lands to seek greener pastures. Thus the matchbox which could ignite change becomes a luggage, a tool for exiling oneself in another land.

Does the artwork show Rizal’s ideas being hatched in foreign lands or do they reflect the Balikbayan’s unending aspiration for Rizal’s love for a free Philippines even when abroad? Truly this artwork can evoke a lot of meanings and it is not for us to give a definitive explanation but rather to bring up many thoughts provoked by this artistic excursion of Reamillo.

At the gallery center wall is tacked “Sirangan,” a four-paneled wood almost two and a half feet high and three feet long shaped like a moth with a body and wings. Sirangan is a pun on Silangan, the East, where the Philippines is located, and is also a potshot at our country’s being labeled, “Perlas ng Silangan.” Embedded on this panel are chicken bones, feathers, a bahay kubo (nipa hut) and a man holding two fishes and whose feet are lifted up by a drawn forefinger of a hand reflecting the delicate situation of the poor folks as that of a moth.

Could this be an extension of Rizal’s story about a moth? Actually, Rizal wrote that children’s story told him by his mother, Teodora Alonzo. A moth gets attracted to the light of the gas lamp. It goes flying in circles nearer and nearer to the light until its wings get singed and it dies.

Over-all the exhibit does not transform us into revolutionaries nor into any kind of advocate. Rather it induces us to be a cynic --- cynical of institutions--- as can be found in one corner of the gallery floor, a 3-piece broken presidential seal with an inscription “Sagisag ng Ulo-pang ng Pilipinas,” an outright denigration of any kind of change emanating from the highest office of the land. However sarcastic this is, we need to know first when Reamillo did this – was it during this time of Pnoy or that of GMA whose administration brought us to the depths of moral degeneration, politically?

Also this exhibit tells us that we need not take life seriously as it could be just a temporary journey without beginning nor ending. Rather life calls us to immerse ourselves in it and to savor the big and small ideas that come our way, whether they involve an overhauling of institutions that deprive the people of a humane existence or just simply a case of enjoying the eating of balut. But be careful, the balut could contain a lot of messages ---consequential and inconsequential too.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

BALLET AND BEYOND

BALLET AND BEYOND
Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Why do we watch cultural shows? Why do our kababayan line up to buy tickets no matter how long the queue is? Why do they smile at the mere mention of their favorite media star? I think that’s the wonder of art and culture in general. The artistic products that the media stars put out provide the audience, the viewers, their fans with respite from the daily struggles to eke out a living. The messages they give, whether it is about their life, or their latest escapades with their romantic partners provide a glimpse of a starry life, maybe reachable or unreachable but nonetheless remaining attractive, interesting and inspiring for them.

Now there is such a thing as high or low brow shows. Classical ballet is one of those high brow elite arts that the masses generally shy away from watching as they have been used to the so-called “masa entertainment fare” on luncheon TV programs with gyrating dancers dressed in skimpy attire, or the acrobatic teenagers aping the crotch-catching steps of Michael Jackson. They are enticed no end to remain glued on TV no matter how repetitive, how monotonous the music coming from these programs are, as they also contain “Manalo ng milyun-milyun” promos, making their dream of becoming instant millionaires a possibility, whether as direct or home viewer.

But Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is not one to skip her dream of bringing ballet to the masses, no matter what the odds are stacked against her high brow field. Instead, she continues to produce shows that could generate interest, not only mere viewing but also educating the audience on what is great art. Her latest show, “Ballet, Band and Ballads” attests to this.

In this program, Lisa showcases Ballet Manila, her dancing ballet group with themes that are not commonly used in our everyday cultural entertainment shows. In “Less Sylphides,”, music by Frederic Chopin ‘s Les Sylphides, and choreography by Bam Damian III, the dancers are all male, with bare chests, and wearing half petticoat tied at the back executing vigorous ballet steps in very manly yet graceful ways, not one moment exhibiting any effeminate stance. It was refreshing watching that piece as if we were watching a group of swans floating on air and stepping down on the ground in gay abandon.

One of two paired pieces was “Grand Pas Classique” with music by Daniel Auber and choreography by Alexander Gorsky performed by Elena Chernova and her partner I don’t know which of these two: Nazer Salgado or Nino Guevarra. Elena, a Caucasian danced very lightly and made pirouettes that were too dazzling to count. The audience was so mesmerized by her dancing and of course her lone white beauty among the group of kayumanggi dancers that they gave her a loud applause.

The other piece was “Summer’s End”, performed by no less than the ballet icon Lisa, together with Rudy de Dios, with music by Chopin’s Concerto in E minor Opus 10 and choreography by Norman Walker. The story is the ill fate of two lovers whose feelings for each other are so passionate that they explored the heights and depths of romance, but in the end have to be separated from each other. The ending shows spotlights focused on the two and the rest of the stage in dark background thereby hinting at that great divide separating them. This was visual expression of romantic break-up at its best. Of course, the dance elicited great applause from the audience, a sincere appreciation especially at this time when Lisa would be rarely dancing on stage given her busy schedule of being the artistic director of the company.

“Alla Luce del Sole” with music by Josh Groban, choreography, concept, costume and light design and concept by Manuel Molina. has 31 male and female dancers, dressed in gray and black long robes, covered faces and heads dancing together, winding their way through the stage, molding themselves as humans, and later on as natural shapes as a mountain. “Alla” carries the theme of again, another kind of unfulfilled love, with the woman, rising up above this “human-made” mountain and then dropping down to her death. The man dances to retrieve her body covered by the group of dancers, lifeless, and then carries it on his shoulders, only to kill himself in the end also.

In between the various ballet pieces are the pop tunes sang by Side A band like “Hold On,” and “Got to Believe in Magic,” among others. This group was formed in 1985 and continues to produce albums, that carry songs popularized over the radio and in live performances by the band members who exhibit confident stage presence, at the end, making the audience stand for their last piece. Unfortunately, the audience is so tame that only a few swayed to the beat of the song which carries a message about a romantic person, waiting for love to fall his or her way.

Somehow, the repertoire that night of 17th February 2011 at Aliw Theatre shows an inclination towards heartbreaking love affairs, unrequited love, love abandoned, and all the ramifications of romantic attachments which are hot stuff among the majority of our cultural audiences. I guess, Lisa has captured the mindset of the Filipino viewers so that she prepared this program just to be able to make them appreciate ballet as well, an artform that usually appeals only to the highly educated and culturatti. Having been schooled in Russia with its educational program emphasizing not only expertise in the artform but also in social processes, Lisa has read the minds and hearts of the Filipino people and must be accorded our salute for her unending energy to bring culture to the masses.

Catch the program tonight and tomorrow night at Aliw Theatre again. Soprano Fides Cuyugan, our very own cultural music gem will be there tonight.

PS A legislative move exists to make another company the National Ballet Company of the country which is rather destructive and divisive of the current state of our culture. I think this move should not prosper because making a company lay claim to being THE company worthwhile being labeled as such is opening the cultural discourse to political wranglings. The arts should be politics-free – free from the manipulation of individuals, groups and government officials into nurturing only their chosen artists instead of making the arts reachable to everyone, especially the masses regardless of political color.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

AUSTRALIAN DESIGNER DR. RICK BENNETT

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Rarely do we find advocates who reveal the ins and outs of a project – from the time it is conceived to its financial resources and its implementation. Most of the time, we are already just presented the complete product, whether it be an activity, a service, or an object. But the process of realizing a project, especially one with social advocacy, is important to many people in society. A need exists to inform and educate everyone on how they themselves can be advocate, how they can replicate or conduct their own projects that will redound to a better appreciation and education of the public.

Hence, this was what Dr. Rick Bennett an Australian designer came here for and talked about at the Ayala Museum last Saturday, 29th of January 2011. Dr. Bennett is the Founder and Director of Omnium Research and a faculty member of the New South Wales University. Being a designer, his role has been to help in educating marginalized peoples and enhance the production of literacy materials through design like those for Africans - the need to guard against HIV-AIDS and malaria. In the Philippines, he helped the Lumbang, Laguna embroiderers create a public art, the sewn mosaic which now graces the wall of the College of St. Benilde. Another thing he did was the public installation of flowers made of recycled paper produced by the women from Dasmarinas, Cavite in order to emphasize the need to protect the environment.

In Uganda, Dr. Bennett’s project made stickers teaching the children to wash their hands with soap and water. In Kenya, his group donated uniform T-shirt for a baseball team with captions like “Use a condom,” “Choose Safe Sex,” and “Chung Aids” chung a word in Kenyan dialect meaning “get rid of.” Dr. Bennett mentioned how he had to hurdle government corrupt practices in Kenya too. When he sent the uniforms via parcel, the officials wanted him to pay $1,000 for the package. He demurred and said it was a donation. Later on it was allowed to be brought to the recipients, the students playing football in a school, free of charge.

The school has many black male children all aspiring to be big league football players. But sadly, in the picture he showed us, only one was wearing a pair of football shoes while the others were barefooted. And that was the custom in the place, he said.

From barong to mosaic piece
Dr. Bennett met a Filipina whom he had asked to direct him to a place where the people had some craft skills. He was brought to Lumbang, Laguna, where the women have been making barong since the Spanish era. Their works are very refined, done by hand on pina cloth; however, it takes several days to finish a barong and the income is not really big enough for the family. Hence, in one household, several women and girls could be involved in the undertaking.

When Dr. Bennett asked them how much it would cost to do a size of about 4” x 6” of embroidery on pina, and numbering 2,566 pieces, they were at a loss how to name their price. So, Dr. Bennett got the eldest of the group, gave her a piece of paper where he had written the price that he was ready to pay. Once the group had given the price then the lady would open the paper and reveal the amount. To Dr. Bennett’s consternation, the women merely quoted a price of P15,000 and even lowered it to P10,000 when he said, “What?” Then he asked the lady to open the paper and it read, “P50,000.00.” He later on told them that they should know how to cost their work or else they would get “s______” by middle agents who overprice the product once it reaches the market.

Actually, the embroidered product to be finished was based on an embroidery design of a photograph of the San Roque chapel found in Lumbang which Dr. Bennett included in the design after his visit. He found the place quaint, a typical Philippine town still with greenery and a Catholic chapel in it. He made a mosaic picture of his photographs, proposed to the College of St. Benilde the project and then went on to gather the embroiderers to finish it.

Numbering 79 the embroiderers, included young and even older women whose skills were handed down to them by their relatives. “I approached the women and asked, ‘Can you do this?’ They replied they are scared of doing it because it might not be correct. I replied to them, ‘ll take care of your scare but you take care of the embroidery,’” Dr. Bennette narrated. Actually, he just gave them the colors of each piece to be sewn and allowed the women to make their own designs. Some put in a bird, another a flower, and others the scenery of Lumbang itself. When it was done, the group helped Dr. Bennett look for a framing shop – two frames made of palo china and the mosaic piece sandwiched in between. Then on top was a hook to tack it on the wall.

At the hanging ceremonies at the CSB, the women were very much excited because it was the first time for many to have traveled to Manila. When they saw their pieces hanging on the wall from top to almost the ceiling of the building, they were overwhelmed. Why because their work can now be appreciated by more people; moreover, they are now recognized. Angelina Lagrosa said, “Napaiyak ako sa tuwa. Di naming akalaing kaganda at kalaki ang aming ginawa.” (Icried tears of joy. We didn’t know how beautiful and huge what we had done.) Ms. Osio said, “Nabigyan ng kahulugan ang aming gawa.” (Our work has now been given recognition.) Cory Maano said, “Lubos na kasiyahan at pasasalamat sa pag-promote ng aming gawa.” (Extreme joy and gratitude for promoting our work.) The project has continued for covers of cushions with orders coming from Australia through the connections made by Dr. Bennett.


DASMANILA –flowers at Ayala
Another project of Dr. Bennett, ecological in nature, took him to Dasmarinas, Cavite, a relocation place for residents of Tondo and other slum areas in MetroManila. He found there women producing bags out of recycled materials from tetrapak juices. To start the project, he asked them, “Do you know why Manila was given its name?” The women, most of whom hardly went to school, were surprised to know that the name Maynila actually came from the word, “Nilad, a kind of flower. Manila Bay during the Spanish era was covered with nilad and so when people asked where it was, they would answer, “Dun sa may nilad,” or where there are many nilad flowers, until it became “Maynilad,” and finally “Manila.”

Dr. Bennett showed us an old photograph of that time then when water was clear and the people still navigated through the waters using the casko. But now, that scenery is gone and the river is highly polluted, full of wastes of a consumerist society.

While the flowers were being made, Dr. Bennett looked for a place to display them in two months when the women would have finished all. He found the Ayala Museum with a fountain in its façade ideal for it. He informed the director there that his project is connected with urban pollution and that through art, the people could appreciate the need to act on it. Then he explained what the women had done. He was given only 3 weeks to prepare as his concept luckily coincided with a celebration honoring the Pasig River. So the women rushed to make several thousands of flowers.

During the launching of the project, sometime in November, 2010, each visitor was given a flower to put inside steel tube vases placed around the fountain which then recreated a beautiful scenery of a landscape with a river and flowers winding around it. The project was so successful that it was brought to Glorietta and to Cebu to highlight the need to face the ecological challenges facing the Pasig River and all surrounding urban waterways. It will also be brought to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia on March 15, 2011.

“Everybody needs art. Here in MetroManila, we see lots of concrete, cables, and hardly any kind of art. It’s quite depressing. England is the same – gray. Everyday it’s foggy there which is why I moved to Australia where at least you get to see blue skies,” Dr. Bennett opined.

Moving to Australia in 1990, Dr. Bennett became active in woodwork, sculpturing and then gravitated to studying how people learn and how to teach. Eventually, he taught design graphics which makes students focus on thinking creatively. His preference for design is rooted in the ideas of Paul Rand, “Design is a personal activity that springs from the creative impulse of an individual, ” and of Neville Brady who said that there are many designers who deal with what and how, but never ask “Why?” to which this author would raise another question, “So what?”

But the work of Dr. Bennett is closely connected with the technologies of today. His group, Omnium Research Group of the College of Fine Arts in New South Wales University connects online with designers, artists and theorists worldwide about creativity, and the need to be creative reaching out to the marginalized sectors of the world in every continent. Participants to this online connectivity now number 200 in 30 countries made up of teachers, students and professionals who contribute their ideas on how to use design when undertaking a social advocacy. His next project would bring him to Vietnam.

Public Art Advocacy gathers adherents who could be excited by the colors, shapes and meaning that the objects present. It provokes the viewers to ask questions, to find out solutions to social problems. For example, the flowers made from recycled materials produce a feeling that eventually, we may not be holding real flowers anymore in the future given the fast deterioration of our soils due to pollution. Or that sewn mosaic mural at the CSB shows us that simple women folks’ creativity could be harnessed to provide beauty to everyone, allowing us to appreciate the world and its surroundings. Then of course, literacy materials, like those on health that Dr. Bennett showed, could be better understood considering how colorful they are. (By the way, he said even the choice of colors had to be close to that which is indigenous to the group of beneficiaries.)

But one thing that is very gratifying he said was that the Filipino people can be counted upon anytime to produce something artistic despite the fact that we are always eating in between those periods of production. While watching the women produce the embroidery for a day, he found himself being offered snacks at 9 in the morning, lunch at about 11 am, and then snacks again in the afternoon.

Actually, eating is not exactly what the people are fond of, but rather the camaraderie of eating together and being able to get to know each other more. This is “social eating” which makes our culture highly personal and human-driven, rather than product-driven. For us, artistic collective undertaking becomes meaningful and important when the people are bound by human relationships. Nonetheless, Dr. Bennett’s projects showed us that single-mindedness in bringing about art can raise a people’s self-esteem, and generate public awareness of the significance of the project. Hence, thank God for people like Dr. Bennett who could raise public awareness about our people’s (especially women’s) artistic skills from local to international grounds.

For those who want to read more about Dr. Bennette, his works can be accessed through http://creativewaves.omnium.net.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

UNEXAMINED CULTURAL CENTERS

I'VE BEEN READING A BOOK ABOUT mEXICAN ART AND CULTURE AND came across perspectives of pride, originality and authentic existence of indigenous arts and artists. The Mexicans of Inca and Mayan descent are staunch protectors of their art. A story is told in the book that a westerner came to order a certain craft from a man. It was so cheap that he decided to sell it by the thousands in his country. But when he came back to clinch the deal so that the man would be producing it by the thousands, he was shocked: the man rejected the deal. Why because he did not want to lose his freedom, to breathe, to enjoy life, to enjoy his work. If he had accepted the deal, it would have meant his being at his working table all day and perhaps all night long just fulfilling the quota. And that is not his idea of life at all.

I won't say that we are far away from that authentic artistic inner life of the man mentioned above, but we could probably do more if only our cultural institutions were not so riddled with political wranglings. In one institution, a past officer continues to hold sway in the organization, practically running it again. In another institution, favorite groups, teams and artists are enjoying the budgetary allocations. Worse yet, officers are dipping their fingers into the pie instead of being nurturers of artists. Not only in government institutions but also in non-government groups, there are issues to be resolved. In an association the top officer grabbed the grand prize at the Christmas party despite the fact that he already enjoys lucrative perks like "uncontrolled and capricious" use of funds of the association which runs into millions of pesos. Yet the ordinary members can hardly afford to put out their artistic product for lack of funds to finance its production.

In other words, there seems to be a lapse in moral governance, a lack in democratic processes so that everyone enjoys the benefits due them.

It is time to sit back and reflect on what we can do. In the case of government cultural institutions, I suggest that all of them should undergo financial and management audit. Here are the standards:
1. Is the institution spreading the benefits to as many groups and artists as possible?
2. Are the artists being compensated fairly?
3. Are the administrators artists themselves and so presumed to be sensitive to the plight of artists?
4. Are the officials and officers of the organizations hands off the budget for artists and artworks? Are they doing their jobs as nurturers others instead of nurturers of themselves?
5. How free are the artists to voice out their comments and opinions in running the organization? (After Cory won the presidency, I was one of those who presented an idea into how the cultural program of the government should look like. Taking off from the Cuban experience, I presented one that shows in detail how each artistic grouping would be led by leaders who would then form the core of national officers of the cultural sector of the country. Unfortunately, most of those running the cultural institutions now are still carry over of the Marcos regime who hardly have changed the cultural make up of the country. We don't hear nor read of artistic movements that jar our sense of injustice, or heighten our sense admiration and love for our country. Instead we have cutie cutie presentations, hewing close to the entertainment we find on tv. It seems it is only Lisa Macuja who has been able to put direction in her field of ballet -- showcasing classics and now going to Filipino themes thereby showing a holistic view of culture.

6. How much is allocated for artistic production, for artists' honoraria, for administration?

7. Is there a feedback mechanism after every artistic event or program from the audience?

8. Has it contributed to developing our artistic views, contributed to the creation of an artistic movement, or deepen our understanding of life through the artwork?

Many more questions may be raised given a committee that will handle the audit with great dedication.

After all, the unexamined (artistic) life is not worth living, to paraphrase Socrates.