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one component of Documents is a video made up of over 800 photos taken within the production duration of this group of work

the photos function primarily as documentation of activities and occurrences external to, but ultimately linked with, my artistic practice

they also function as intervention and investigation into art as an exercise pervading all aspects - mundane or otherwise - of the doer’s life

the photos are arranged chronologically and they appear on the screen for one second each to convey an active awareness of the passage of time, as well as to play with the static nature of the “captured” photographic moment

#work #Documents

i've been thinking about the things that came up during my crit last week. something gary-ross pastrana asked was for me to determine what my work is - a drawing, a performance, a document - what was it? he said something along the lines of, we have to be aware what limb within art history our work falls under (however loosely). now, i still have no one-word, quick answer, and i'm comfortable with that, but this morning, i encountered this and i feel it merits a chuckle:

Making art is complicated because the categories are always changing. You just have to make your own art, and whatever categories it falls into will come later. (Frank Stella)

#relevant #frank stella #gary-ross pastrana #crit

russ ligtas performing Mdm B. Niyaan at b-side, the collective, makati

i found this to be a beautiful and painful piece exploring personal history, identity, process, gender performance, and the masculine and the feminine body

aside from the performance's strong butoh aspect, the expressiveness of his face and movements, and the parts he incorporated with voice and song, i was particularly moved by his use of props; one example was the white skirt with its zipper positioned in front, along with a red skirt underneath, which lent mdm b. niyaan a vagina to masturbate with and reveal to the audience

#mentor meeting #russ ligtas #mdm b. niyaan #performance

last tuesday, gary-ross pastrana came over and spoke to us individually about our past works, then he took part in our final crit for the projects to be included in the exhibition

i found his approach towards the whole meeting quite interesting because he offered us mostly questions instead of flat-out advice regarding our work - cluing us in on directions we could go but allowing us, encouraging us, to be the ones to figure out the way

overall, the crit was very productive and invigorating because the sum of the input i received from gary, arvin, mai, and my co-mentees enabled me to assess what i value in the work and what must be pushed and in which way

#mentor meeting #crit #gary-ross pastrana

what i proposed to show at the exhibition on nov 22 will be something i'm calling Documents

one part of it is, i've been photographing and noting down what i do, where i go, who i'm with, what i eat, what i read, and other ordinary events occurring in my daily life peripheral to, but also necessary for, the "artistic" work that i'm currently doing

last sunday, my sister bea came with me to the studio and i asked her to document me doing the work (and not doing the work)

#Documents #work #studio

Ang sarap mag-drawing.

#Ang sarap mag-drawing.#work

october 31 fell on a friday

we met with ricky francisco to go to the peta theater and watch a dance performance by the daloy dance company entitled dysmorphilia

aside from its subject, i found the performance magnificently intense; aside from the storytelling, what i loved most was the liveness of it, of being a direct and immediate witness, present with those bodies dancing and sweating and making sound

ricky, kat, pam, and i talked about the show afterwards; we also spoke at length about our current projects and he was immensely encouraging and insightful

one of the things he told us echoed from my experience working at the met - that in presenting and installing your work, you have to really consider the viewer and guide them and make your work open to their understanding

we also spoke about kindness, artistic maturity, the role of an "artist", and the accidental good fortunes in life

for our next meeting, we'll be going to the rehearsals of another dance performance and compare it to when we watch the final presentation for us to be able to look into the process of working with such an art form (exciting!)

#mentor meeting #ricky francisco #daloy dance company

yesterday, manila was gray and wet

between 12:30 and 13:30, pam and i met sandra palomar for lunch at a café along roxas boulevard

sandra is a "retired artist" and she isn't

we spent the hour talking about art but we also didn't

for lunch, she had orange-colored soup and left her coffee unfinished

#mentor meeting #sandra palomar #pamelaquinto

les-lee-blog

i like how humble drawing is - how it’s almost boring

les-lee-blog

i love how humble drawing is - how it’s almost boring

Drawing Number One (work in progress)

#work #Documents #photo by Kat Gosiengfiao

Drawing Number Two (work in progress)

#work #Documents

(for about 50 minutes)

last wednesday, i spoke to artist stephanie misa over skype

before learning about this encounter i was to have with her, i had never heard of her or her work; so the night before, i looked at her website, read about her work, and watched her videos

i really appreciate the almost academic approach she has to her art - how extensive her research goes and how she allows that to partake in her visual output - and yet retain an intimate and poetic quality

i also found it very intriguing how she often makes art about personal history and effectively expands it so that it allows others an opening for understanding (especially since she's based overseas in vienna, austria) and how she uses text, objects, and participation to adequately carry what she wants the work to relay

and of course, because she has experience incorporating conversations and verbal dialogue in her art (both in real time and in analog/digital format), i told her about my project of cataloging others' verbal accounts about art

she commented that my concern regarding the inaccessibility of art - its limited visibility and precarious lifespan - is a very existentialist concern - one to which she cannot relate to - and that i have to look into because "there's something there" with regards to this specific project and to my practice

we also spoke about storytelling as an integral part of making work - from its conception, but especially in its presentation or installation - which i enjoyed because i personally feel there's very little difference between my writing and my art-making

lastly, her take on "filipino art" was so simple, it made perfect sense: how she finds it strange that this is something that's asked of filipino artists - to have to explain and point out how their art is "filipino", or to be told by others how it's not - and her opinion is that, for her particularly, her art fits under that category because she is filipino, and whatever art is made by a filipino, however foreign its aesthetic, will still be filipino simply because of the artist's identity

#mentor meeting #stephanie misa

i like how humble drawing is - how it's almost boring

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