Mónica

Free Art Friday (The Sequel)

SINGAPORE - Plastered on the building of Raffles City is Fantasmas (Phantoms) an artwork by Isaac Montoya, a Spanish artist. What passersby see is the psychedelic design of the portrait is of a woman screaming. Two very different images are revealed once one looks through a red and blue filter… like so …

…and these are the images which are revealed…

Pretty amazing isn’t it? This has to be one of the most unique and creative artworks I have seen in a while. Hopefully, I will manage to find the rest of the Biennale artworks around town.

Free Art on a Friday

I was riding the bus home at noon and decided to hop off for a bit and check out the SAM. Fortunate for me, all exhibits are free from 12 noon to 2 in the afternoon. I had seen most of the exhibit in my last visit to the SAM in June. However, there was one particular exhibit that I thought was quite interesting. It was by a Balinese artist, Masriadi. At only 34 he has accomplish quite a collection of contemporary art works. In my opinion, a few of his works were reminiscent of the oeuvre of Dali and Picasso. The painstaking attention to detail of his work is simply incredible.

His works are currently being housed at the SAM 8Q Building. Not quite as special as the main Singapore Art Museum, but still has its own charm. However, imagine my surprise when I walked in the lobby of 8Q and the first thing I see is this…

I must check out Biennale next.

vvvrrroooommmmm

“It Sucks To Be Me”

Ever wondered what’s your purpose in life?
Or, the word for ‘pleasure taken from someone else’s misfortune’?

Finally, the Broadway musical Avenue Q from NY and the West End, has crossed the oceans and is now in Manila to answer those queries. Who would have thought?

After seeing the musical last night, I can’t seem to get the catchy tunes out of my head! “It Sucks To Be Me”, “The Internet Is For… Porn” and “Everybody Is A Little Bit Racist”, are a few of the tracks off the soundtrack. You might be a bit puzzled, Sesame Street-like-puppets expressing depression, bigotry and sexual desires? Yep, one should even expect to see puppets fornicating on stage! Which I think is the kind of episodes they should have shown on Sesame Street (minus the sex bit). Learn from a young age, that there are times in our lives when life sucks because you can’t pay the bills because you can’t get a job or you are in your thirties and still don’t know what to do with your life, or that relationships are complicated and being an adult can get lonely, or that the world is not colour blind when it comes to race. The play addresses such issues — only light humoured. You can’t help but feel better after watching Avenue Q simply because it’s your life, only, in a fantastic theatrical production!

I was quite skeptical about seeing another play produced locally. I still have not recovered from my recent disappointments with the Rep. I was concerned that they would again, adapt the play to the local environment. However, this production was done brilliantly and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The casting was perfect, Rachel Alejandro played Kate Monster & Lucy The Slut and I thought she was quite impressive. The only thing I was not quite sure of, was Aiza Siguerra’s role as the character of Gary Coleman, but perhaps it worked out for the best as she too was a former child star, as was he.

I won’t say more, you will have to see it for yourself. Again, I really thought the play was absolutely fantastic and would definitely give it another go. I think people who grew up watching Sesame Street, like I did, would find the bits of parody really amusing.

For spoilers, click here. And here for the Swedish version.

Crime & Punishment

I have been immersed in Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment for weeks now, and although it’s weight hurts my wrist and the number of characters involved could fill an entire phonebook, it is indeed one of the most interesting books I have read. However today, I couldn’t help but wonder if it has had an subconscious effect on me. Almost a Descartian, ‘I think, therefore I am’ premise.

The story begins from my previous post about Frida’s centennial birthday and how much I admire the artist. Today, I attended my Spanish class and found out that there was an exhibit at the lobby of IC. Mainly works of local artists who has taken inspiration of Kahlo’s work, and in my opinion, bastardised it. However, I do like to post about art and exhibits in my blog and I thought, it would be quite good for me to talk about this exhibit. So I did what any blogger (aka le journaliste d’amateur) would do, whip out a camera and start writing the article in their head. I asked a friend, if he thought it was alright to take photographs, and seeing as it wasn’t really an art gallery, we assumed that it was alright. Just as I had taken a shot of the artwork, I heard someone say “NO PHOTOGRAPHS PLEASE!”. Ever so slightly humiliated by the attention brought forth by my actions, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at the illogical and irony of this situation. My reason being is that, a masterpiece such as the Mona Lisa is perhaps the most photographed piece of art in the Louvre! You would think photographing the works I saw today, would make people realised that this may gain them some recognition, as blogs have become the new means of marketing and advertising. Being an artist myself (on a very long hiatus), this would not bother me at all, but perhaps fill me with great gratification. Don’t get me wrong, I do respect that certain things must not be photographed, but what I find hilarious is that, the piece I photographed was a photograph as well of one of Frida’s most distinguished paintings, only converted into a different piece of work!

I am not about to let this post end without me sharing with you the photograph that caused my “punishment”, which also if I were in London would have given me an “asbo” (good God!).

(On the other hand, my Spanish teacher was quite amused with the story that I got told off from the management! haha!)

Kahlo

Today marks the centennial anniversary of the birth of Mexican surrealist artist and feminist icon, Frida Kahlo. She is one of the many artists, whose work I do esteem. Perhaps because, prior to viewing her exhibit at the Tate Modern in London in 2005, I had watched the film on her life and found her extremely interesting. From her unibrow, which at times I can’t help but sport as well, to her colourful paintings which as given her worldwide recognition. Her raw and vivid paintings reflect her unhappy history, which I feel a lot of us can relate, except never portray as she has done in her works. Eisenstein, Picasso and Breton share my fascination with her life and paintings.

“I am not Surrealist, I never painted dreams. I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint always whatever passes through my head, without any other consideration.” - Frida Kahlo

An Artist’s Cafe

I went to visit the gallery of Fabrice Sergent, the French Artist I met a few weeks ago, and stumbled upon the works of two amazing artists and a cafe. Located at the same building is Ricco Renzo Galleries and their lovely Ricco Renzo “The Artist’s Caffe”.

Ricco Renzo - The Artist’s Caffe

The Artist’s Caffe is a simple, yet very vibrant cafe/restaurant that is surrounded by brightly coloured table linens (which I am not sure I fancied), and some fantastic artworks. The one artwork that I thought stood out was the one by artists, Norly (or is it Norlie) Meimban (2nd Photo, 1st Painting on the left). At first glance, I couldn’t sus out what it was suppose to be. Perhaps because of the proximity of where I was seated. I then realised it was a nude painting of a man’s back. I never really was one for nude paintings, but this one I thought was exquisite.

Another artist that I understand usually exhibits his work there is Danny Sillada.. His works, unlike Sergent and Meimban, leans towards Dali’s surrealism with Khalo’s realism style. I have never come across a local surrealism artist before!

Thai Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Sauce

And of course, what is all the talk about a cafe without talking about to good stuff. The food at Ricco Renzo’s is really quite good and very reasonable. If the artwork is not your scene, it is worth the visit if only for the food.

Ricco Renzo Galleries
210 N. Garcia Street (formerly Reposo)
Makati City

Destino

Dalí & Film @ Tate Modern
1 June - 9 September 2007

Destino - Dalí & Disney collaboration, a six minute film without dialog but with only a Spanish song. Said to be a romantic story surrounded by Dalinian surrealism.

Also in the exhibit will be hundreds of his works including Dalí’s dream sequence for Hitchcock’s Spellbound, and his Buñuel films - L’Age d’Or, and the 1929 Un Chien Andalou.

Read more about the exhibit : When Dalí met Disney, Dalí @ Tate

Must make it before 9th of September!

Homage to Gormley

Antony Gormley - Another Place 1997

This post is to pay homage to an artist whose work I recently esteem. Antony Gormley an English sculptor whose work uses sculptures of men to express man’s existence and stillness. His work also refers to man’s relationship with his surroundings. These are reflected with sculptures suspended from ceiling and walls and his full use of installation space. It is evident in “Another Place”, found in Crosby Beach,

“The idea was to test time and tide, stillness and movement, and somehow engage with the daily life of the beach. This was no exercise in romantic escapism… They were all on a level and those closest to the shore were buried as far as their knees. The sculptures are made from seventeen body-casts taken from my body. The sculptures are all standing in a similar way, with the lungs more or less inflated and their postures carrying different degrees of tension or relaxation.”

If I am not mistaken, I understand that he has installed several of these figures which face towards the gallery’s three sculpture terraces, which form the main viewing platforms for the project as a whole. I didn’t realise that I was actually passing his work quite often when I was living with my sister in London. The Quantum Cloud (I think aka Millenium Man), found along the River Thames. And I was even more surprised to find out that I had actually seen an exhibit of his work 16 years ago when I was in Singapore with my family, The Asian Field, no wonder this piece looked so familiar!

Blind Light, at The Hayward Gallery is his recent work which seems dominate all art reviews in London. “… lose yourself in light and vapour in this cloud-filled glass room that is cold, wet and disorientating; a spectacular series of suspended figures in light-infused webs of steel; and a colossal 27-ton structure, Space Station, that  tilts precariously, dominating the gallery space.”
17th May - 19 August 2007

I wish I could be there to be part of this fascinating exhibit. But for now, I’ll leave you with clip which I found on the Tate Modern site - The Art of Everyday Behaviour, which is equally fascinating, in my opinion.

On Meeting Two Artists

(Previously in my last blog post… ) I mentioned that had been invited to an exhibit of two artist at the restaurant Mezze.  There was one painting which caught my eye immediately as I sat down, and it was done by the French Artist, Fabrice Sergent.  I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak to Fabrice about his work.  Painting is something he does on the side, as he works for the European Commission in the Philippines.  He has been living in Manila for three years and has exhibited his work a few times in various malls.  ’Aha!’, I thought.  That is why that first painting caught my eye, I had seen it when it was exhibited at the Power Plant Mall.  He gave me a few advices, from one artist to another.  I told him that I hadn’t painted in years, to which he responded “Me neither”. In my opinion, his works were Tate Modern worthy.  We spoke more about the Tate Modern, and we both agreed it is a must to visit when in London.  His response to when we asked him how often he visits London was, “I don’t, because I am French!”.  Haha!

Myself, Owner of Mezze - Maricar Velez and French Artist - Fabrice Sergent

I was also able to meet very briefly, the Spanish artist from Madrid, Cesar Caballero.  His works had an entirely different style and feel compared to Fabrice’s bold and vibrant colours.  Caballero on the other hand, in my humble opinion, comes across in his paintings as shy with the choice of colours he uses, but makes his bold statements with the use of red and orange strokes.  You can learn more about him on his site cesarcaballeroart.com.

Art & Wine

I am rather behind on stories to share on this blog. Mostly restaurant reviews. But I thought I would blog about today’s events, for reviews can wait for another day. Right.

So today, I decided to spend it on two of my vices, Art & Wine. I went to check out the Ayala Museum in Makati. I was keen on seeing the Chinese Diaspora exhibit. Tickets were Php 150 for Adult Residents, and Php 350 for Adult Non-residents. I actually had to show them an I.D. to prove I was a resident! “How, very, dare they.” I found the museum to have improved tremendously, since I last visited when I was art workshop goer, in my teens. They have very much followed the European layout of museums. However, the content in the museum could have been better, I must admit. Perhaps this is unfair of me to say as I have been surrounded by Asian art growing up, hence the loss of novelty for me. Having said that, I did quite like two paintings of Juan Luna that were exhibited there. I was even more impressed by some of Fernando Zobel’s work and background. They had copies of his correspondence with his friends from when he returned from his travels. His sentiments on how bored he was to be back in Manila and his constant search for culture here, echoed those of my own. There are many ways I could see the museum being improved, or perhaps the right term would be maximised. But then again, what percentage of this city actually visits the museum? It felt rather odd going to a museum and it being practically empty, when in Europe, it was the complete contrast.

After visiting the museum, and running a few errands. A visit to Santi’s Deli was the last stop. I was in the mood for some wine experimentation. I had been hearing about a Spanish grape called Tempranillo, and was quite curious to try it. I honestly am not a huge fan of Spanish wines. I tried one Spanish white wine once, which I was quite happy with, other than that, I normally lean towards French wines. You can’t really go wrong with them!

But today, I took a Php486 peso gamble on this bottle (not bad for U.K. prices, but a tad bit too steep for Manila). I came home a borrowed my Dad’s wine book to check how I fared in my wine purchase. I was quite pleased to find out, that the Tempranillo from the Rioja region is quite good. What pleased me even more was that the producers of this bottle, Marqués De La Concordia, was mentioned in the book deeming it one of the best producers on it’s list! This wine is aged in oak barrells and you can really smell it in it’s aroma as well berries. It is said that this grape is linked to be related to Pinot Noir grape! Scandal even in the vineyards! They must have heard it through the grape vine! haha! Verdict: I would definitely give this a go, if even just to try.

Foul Play

When I was a child, my parents would take us to the Repertory Philippines. It was one of my fondest memories as a child. I was one of those annoying kids in school was in the Drama Club, and had little shame what so ever to be up on stage. How times have changed! I now cringe at the thought! The old Rep used to be at the Insular Life Building in Makati, then moved to The Shangri-la mall and then back to Makati, in the old Greenbelt 1. There was something about the vibe at the old Insular Life building, that felt classier than the latter two. I don’t know why, since it was just very simple, but somehow felt rather exclusive.

Anyway, after having seen Nunsense with Monique Wilson, Little Shops of Horrors and many other plays in the old Rep, and remember loving it, I decided — why not start going again?! I checked out the prices of the tickets and found it very reasonable, specially compared to London prices! They were showing Gay Birds an adaptation of Jean Poiret’s La Cage Aux Folles. I had seen the hollywood version, Bird Cage, many years ago. Although I thought the movie was just okay, I decided perhaps the play would be a lot better. Let me just say, that the play was not really adapted, but murdered! The play started and I was rather shocked to hear the performer’s dialog in Tag-lish (Tagalog English). A play, in Tag-lish? You have got to be kidding me right?! If I was watching a playwright by a Filipino, I wouldn’t blink an eyelid, but for them to do this to a French one, sacre bleu! I think what bugged me more was that, while queuing for the play and reading their brochure, it said in the fine print : All plays in English. I was indeed terribly disappointed. How about other foreign tourists? Didn’t they take that into consideration? Okay, taking the tag-lish out of the issue for a moment. The whole play was set in Martial Law Manila in Ermita! I think the term adaptation was used rather loosely!

While I was sitting through the play, I couldn’t help think that this is the same rubbish I would have gotten on TV, so why did I bother. For once, I didn’t take it against my dad who had fallen asleep next to me! haha! Oh what has the Rep become? I am sure the late Zenaida Amador would have never tolerated such a thing. It was a complete disaster, it had to be the complete opposite of what the Repertory used to be.

After the play, my mom was curious to find out if all the plays for the rest of the season would again, be in Tag-lish. They said that, it was just for this particular play to give it a twist. Hmmm. Anyhoo, will I give the Rep one more shot? Yes, but two strikes, and they’re out! Let’s see if Glorious changes my impression of the new Rep.

España en Manila

Instituto Cervantes in Manila, Luneta Park and a Spanish Building in Intramuros

This has been a busy week for me. My brother arrived on Monday from Zagreb, which has filled our home with much happiness and joy. Although, we are missing the remaining pieces of our family puzzle. There has been quite a few meeting with friends and family during the week. In between everything, I have been sneaking some time to revise my Spanish. I had to arrange to take a level test in order to proceed to the next level which starts tomorrow.

So finally today, in between what seemed like a manic day. Thanks to my mom, I was able to squeeze in a few hours to get this sorted. I realised that Instituto Cervantes here in Manila, was not near my old university but even further! It is located in Kalaw which is near the real core of Manila, Intramuros. The drive there was hell! Jeepney’s were all over the place, stopping in the middle of no where to pick up passangers. People dashing into the streets like its nobody’s business. Crazy people walking about, and I don’t mean ha-ha crazy, I mean real mentally ill people! This made me think twice whether to push through with the course, since it was such a hell journey to get there. So different from my usual Jubilee line to Green Park to get to Victoria Station and a few minutes walk to the very plush Sloan Square area! Anyway, finally get there and the building is really nice and modern. I enter and found the building fantastic. The people working there were so nice and friendly. Spanish people walking past me kept greeting me “Hola!”. I was sold, this was the reason why I loved going to my Spanish classes. I am just going to have to bare that horrid journey once a week, and perhaps find a simpler and better route.

I finally speak to someone there, telling them I would like to take the level test. They then inform me that I had to wait as there were no teachers available to test me. I then asked if it was a written test. She said no, it was an oral test like an interview! Que Madre! Que horror! So I sat there trying to remember as much as I could. Having being at her end, I knew what she would ask me and so I tried to have my answers ready in my head. But even then, I know I stuttered like a fool! Speaking is my weak points as I have no one to converse with. Anyway, she was extremely nice and thought I was good enough for the next level. Phew! So I start level three tomorrow.

After that quick visit we headed towards intramuros as we had to pick up my brother from an errand he had to do. On the way there, we passed landmarks such as Luneta and Intramuros itself. On the way there, I saw one of the most beautiful buildings I have seen in Manila. It had such a European style to it and looking at it now in the photos, you could easily mistake it for a photo in Europe. I think it looks fantastic! I wish more buildings in that are were restored to this state and keep up to the beauty it once was. I think next week, my brother and I shall attempt to visit this area more and explore Intramuros to it’s fullest. I think this is the closest I am going to get to Spain at the moment. It is hard to not take advantage of it, since it is right on my finger tips!

I realised today, I don’t hate Manila for it being Manila. I am seeing it now through tourist’s eyes for some reason and I am seeing it’s beauty. But the reason I perhaps hate it is because I can see its potential to be this amazing place and it will never be that way. And it’s downfall makes life living here so difficult at times or most of the time. I like the fast paced of life or fast -ish, and here, it is the complete opposite! Life, people pass by so slowly. But I guess the mañana mentality will always be there, sadly it what also makes it such a good place to be in.