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.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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