Metal Junk

I just PMed Seido about my concept for a video and sound recording session in a junkyard using found scrap metals. We'll do it when he comes back from Japan this August. I've been thinking about it since this Feb but the fascination for junk has existed two years ago when I saw and visited a junk yard with a mountain-high pile of metal junk in R. Castillo. I documented the visit here.

Upcoming event: Easter Bookhunting Picnic Party

I had a blast during the last picnic I organized (See The Juju Bag and Streetkonect posts) that I immediately hit on another idea for another picnic. But I had to wait out some months to finally get to April--the month of reckoning er, Easter! I'm watching out for April 24 or Easter Sunday when I can hide some of the books I'm giving away in a public park and watch friends and friends of friends try to find them. No, it's not schadenfreude coz I'm sure they'll enjoy bookhunting. I've enlisted the help of my Davao Reader's Circle buddies in organizing the picnic party. It's been a long time since we've had our meeting! This can be our little reunion. :)

New Project: STICKEE zine

I got 13 submissions so far since the launch of this invite on FB last March 28. I still have no funds for this project but if there's a will there's always a way. Anyway, I got my future pays to rely on to get this project going. Until then, I've my will.

I've been thinking of doing this project since last year but my plans were only limited to the BLEH character . Then I thought of including works by other street artists in Davao like Rage, Cupcake, Use Me and Gam, until lately, I decided to just let go of limitations and open it to everyone. So far, 13 people have submitted works. I haven't counted those who have expressed interest in the project but it's good they're interested.

I'm trying not think about the costs yet, but I know somewhere I can get P2 per square inch of outdoor sticker. But I also have the option to do home printing or get a friend to print them for me (more like a sponsorship out of friendship--cue in The Beatles song "With A Little Help from Friends"). I just want the stickers to be of outdoor-quality. Might find a way one of these days.

Wait, I just remembered a friend in Cebu who works for a printing press. Crossing my fingers he can help me out :)

Juju Featured in BOMBA ZINE 3!

One of my earliest scannography works got featured in the recent release of BOMBA Zine. It's a scan of my nail clippings which I had shaped into a large nail. I entitled it "Nailed" which I thought was fitting for my state of mind then. The nail clippings were more than a year's collection.

Since the BOMBA issue is in mono, I inverted the colors. The resulting image looked like an airport scan.

Here's the BOMBA 3 issue which also features works by Krayon Jello,Skunk, Bek, Boyagimat, Blic, Odoygiant, Buritomachine, Flaime, !nodoro, Nemo Aguila, Deform, koloWn, Soi-soi Depektoy, Eleven, Bart and Sampipebomb

OOK KOO Interview for Street Konect

I did my first interview for Street Konect and I went for OOK KOO of Pilipinas Street Plan because I was drawn to her works. I'm stoked I want a part 2 but I'd like it to happen while we are hanging out after painting a wall. Geez, my fantasies. But I think she's a fun person to paint with and to talk to--her replies to the questions I PMed on FB were peppered with smilies and LOLs. I felt bad for cleaning them up so I can make the text readable.:( But really, if I get to meet her and interview her again, I swear I won't edit out a single laugh.

Read the interview here.

Going Without Exhibition Notes

I wrote the exhibition notes below for my good friends Kelly and Marlon Palaganas' 2nd two-man show called "Going Without" at Xavier University in CDO City last year. Kelly and Marlon are two of the coolest parents and married couple I know.

I had two versions of the exhibition notes, which I based on Kelly's concept of using the Morse code. I'm posting here both versions--the first one, the full text in English and the other one, the text with some words randomly selected and turned to Morse code. I strung the randomly selected or "found" words together into a "found poem".

--

Full text:

GOING WITHOUT
Exhibition Notes

In the Palaganas home, one takes each moment to discover. Walk through the small unkempt garden and find birds-of-paradise or bougainvilleas for picking. In the living room, look at the children's drawings and scribbles on paper posted on the walls or piled on the table. Toys and books on the shelves. Framed artworks hung on walls or stacked in corners around the house. Artists' brushes in cups, a press on a table in the garage. Go without anything. Come around with a keener eye for the ordinary. Pick up things, however small—a bird-of-paradise, some bougainvilleas, blades of grass, a child's scribbles on paper, candy wrappers, old carbon paper. Lay them before you and see.

What is there to see? In their second two-man show together, Marlon Palaganas and Kelly Ramos-Palaganas show you what they have seen in the ordinary—opportunities to communicate not only art, but a life together around and outside of art.

With each other or on their own, Marlon found objects and Kelly picked flowers and leaves from various plants about the house. In between or during times of taking care of the kids, the house chores and jobs, they worked their way through mind and matter. Marlon made collages of found objects and Kelly painted with plant stains.

For both of them, eschewing store-bought paints and the use of brushes to whip paintings on canvas is a conscious effort at exploring other media and artistic consciousness. Kelly's choice of medium confines as well as liberates her. New to exploring plant stains for painting, she finds it filled with potential. She also finds it an interesting medium to grow abstractions. On the other hand, Marlon's choice of using only found objects in composing his collages is an exercise in moderation. Little maneuvering is required, which to him preserves “the personal side of artmaking”.

With crammed lives, Marlon and Kelly go without in art to go and grow within.

Angely Chi


--

Some parts in Morse:

GOING WITHOUT
Exhibition Notes


In the Palaganas home, one takes each moment to discover. Walk through the small ..- -. -.- . -- .--. - garden and find birds-of-paradise or bougainvilleas for picking. In the living room, look at the children's drawings and … -.-. .-. .. -... -... .-.. . ... on paper posted on the walls or piled on the table. Toys and books on the shelves. Framed artworks hung on walls or … - .- -.-. -.- . -.. in corners around the house. Artists' brushes in cups, a press on a table in the garage. Go without anything. Come .- .-. --- ..- -. -.. with a keener eye for the ordinary. Pick up things, however small—a bird-of-paradise, some bougainvilleas, blades of grass, a child's scribbles on paper, candy wrappers, old carbon paper. Lay them before you .- -. -.. see.

What is there to see? In their second two-man show - --- –. . - …. . .-. , Marlon Palaganas and Kelly Ramos-Palaganas show you what they have seen in the ordinary—opportunities to communicate not only art, but a life together around and --- ..- - … .. -.. . of art.

With each other or on their own, Marlon found objects and Kelly picked flowers and leaves from various plants about - …. . …. --- ..- … . In between or during - .. -- . … of taking care of the kids, the house chores and jobs, they worked their way through -- .. -. -.. and matter. Marlon made collages of found objects and Kelly painted with plant stains.

For both of them, eschewing store-bought paints and the use of brushes to .-- …. .. .--. paintings on canvas is a conscious effort at exploring other media and artistic consciousness. Kelly's choice of medium confines as well as liberates her. New to exploring plant … - .- .. -. ... for painting, she finds it filled with potential. She also finds it an interesting medium to grow abstractions. On the other hand, Marlon's choice of using only found objects in composing his collages is an exercise in moderation. Little maneuvering is required, which to him preserves “the personal side of artmaking”.

With crammed lives, Marlon and Kelly go without in art to go .- -. -.. –. .-. --- .-- within.

.- -. --. . .-.. -.-- -.-. …. ..


--

The found poem:

(the words in bold strung together makes a found poem :)

GOING WITHOUT
a found poem

unkempt
scribbles
stacked
around
and
together
outside
the house
times
mind
whip
stains
and grow

Angely Chi

--

Samples of Kelly and Marlon's works from the exhibit:

Code A(dot-dash),11x15inches,Natural dye from flowers and leaves,2010
Kelly Ramos-Palaganas

Ode to Kaaro(14x18½inches),Found paper scraps,2010
Marlon Palaganas


To see more images of their works featured in the exhibit, click here

Filipino Pride: More Epic than Pacquiao

There is no escaping this: Blogging my thoughts on Pacquaio. This is in reaction to watching current news on TV that is composed almost entirely of Pacquaio (i.e. people’s reactions to his recent fight and win against Mexican boxer Margharito, people’s clamor for his fight with Mayweather—which a lot of people, including Justin Bieber, consider to be the next “EPIC BATTLE”, Pacquiao’s costly pasalubong to his kids—well, not that he’s complaining). Despite my non-violent self, the one closely related to Dr. Jekyll (which has its ironies), who would not want to enjoy a bloodsport, I am somehow glad Pacquaio won. I was grinning when he punched combinations into Margharito. Could it be Filipino pride? Is Filipino pride related to the German schadenfreude? Those are among the several questions I would like myself to examine and finally find answers that are hopefully satisfactory and would put myself to sleep.

The other questions are: What is Filipino pride? When does it happen? Why does it happen?

And ultimately: Should I be proud of Pacquiao?

(Anyway, pardon all the side comments.)

To be continued. Watch out. This could be epic. (As thinking aloud is.)