A (somewhat different) Art Talk

Join members of Epoch for a fascinating discussion on the inspiration behind their exhibit Somewhat Different: Contemporary Design and the Power of Convention with topics ranging from product concept and design, transforming design ideas, and the sustainability and marketability of products.  The talk will be on May 24, Thursday, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

Epoch is a group of six young international artists and designers -- Jinggoy Buensuceso, Martha Cech, Olivia d'Aboville, Daniel Latorre Cruz, Stanley Ruiz and Wataru Sakuma -- driven to show beauty and meaning in experimental designs.The group has evolved into a movement that challenges old concepts, provoking the mind to think of alternative perspectives.


Presented by Goethe-Institut as part of the exhibit Somewhat Different: Contemporary Design and the Power of Convention, the talk will be moderated by designer Tony Gonzales and Tes Pasola.


Designers Talk comes with admission: P100 for adults, P50 for students, P25 for children and seniors.  To register, contact Luisa Zaide of Goethe-Institut at program@manila.goethe.org or call (632) 817-0978.


Filed under EVENTS

The Gumby Doodle

Opening Google today intrigued me with the 'G' alphabet block and the 5 colored balls beside it. Knowing that Google doodles are interactive, I clicked on each ball and was entertained by the stop motion animation-like images it brought to life.

Google pays tribute to the 90th birthday of the father of stop motion clay animation, Arthur "Art" Clokey (October 12, 1921 – January 8, 2010). Back in 1955, Art began in a film experiment called Gumbasia that was influenced by his professor at the University of Southern California, Slavko Vorkapich. It was in Gumbasia that Art and his wife Ruth invented the main character Gumby, which since then have become a familiar presence on television and together with his horse, Pokey, has appeared in several series starting with Howdy Doody Show and later in The Adventures of Gumby.

The characters resurfaced in the 1980s when actor Eddie Murphy parodied Gumby in a skit in Saturday Night Live. In the 1990s, Gumby: The Movie was released.




Doodle art from Google


Filed under SIGHTS

UST sa BSP: An Exhibit

Being a UST Fine Arts graduate, this news is something close to my heart and I would like to share this with you. As UST celebrates its 400th year this 2011, this is another one of my Alma Mater's special events highlighting the Thomasian talents.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila presents UST sa BSP: Selections from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection of Thomasian Alumni Artists at the Upper Galleries.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, since its existence as the Central Bank of the Philippines, has collected paintings. The first accessions of major works by contemporary artists were made in 1971. In the 1980s, the scope of the collection was expanded “to the origins of Philippine paintings,” resulting, in the words of art critic Emmanuel S. Torres, “in the most encyclopedic public collection of visual arts.”

In the course of this mindful collecting and conserving of Philippine visual arts, paintings by mentors and students from the University of Santo Tomas joined the inventory of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Art Collection. Through time, these teachers and pupils have achieved admirably in their chosen art forms, and three of them, notably, have been conferred the rank of National Artist: Ang Kiukok, Victorio Edades and J. Elizalde Navarro. Many other Thomasians have become leading lights in the field of visual arts.

Selected works from some of these Thomasian artists are on view in UST SA BSP, an exhibition organized and realized as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s gesture of partaking in the celebration of the quadricentennial of the University of Santo Tomas this year.

UST sa BSP: Selections from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection of Thomasian Alumni Artists runs until September 30, 2011. For details, please call 523-0613 or 523-7855, or email info@metmuseum.ph.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is located at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Museum hours are from 9am – 6pm, Monday to Saturday; closed on Sundays, first Mondays of the month and on holidays.

For inquiries about this press release, please call Fralynn Manalo at 523-0613, 521-1517, or email fralynnmanalo@metmuseum.ph.

Filed under SHOWS

MRT Art

My first post for September is not about how the 'ber' months signal the onset of the Christmas season but rather some interesting street scenes, will I will start featuring here in my blog.

I'm not sure exactly when these parts of the MRT Ortigas Station (fronting Robinson's Galleria) was transformed into walls of art but it was only a couple of weeks ago that I noticed it. It showed soldiers and tanks in mosaic/abstract form reminiscent of figures during the 1985 EDSA Revolution.

They are a pretty and refreshing sight in that section of the busy and polluted highway and definitely better than the old "MMDA Art" that previously sprouted over the vandalized parts of walls along EDSA. Should there be enough paint budget for the metro's beautification, painting the rest of the MRT pillars (maybe by volunteer artists) will make traversing the length of EDSA a less dreary experience. It is FREE to dream anyway. :)

Filed under SIGHTS