Underachievers Anonymous

Working where I do, I am fortunate enough to do at least one thing a day that is related to arts and culture. An exhibition opening, a visit to an artist's studio, be in a panel discussion, work on exhibit design.... it is a happy endless road.

On Thursday, I watched five photographers' slide shows at the Metropolitan Museum here in Manila. Reaction Shots to a Japanese contemporary photography show ongoing. I chose the five artists to be part of the project and to see them all come up with distinct and unforgettable images was a proud moment. And in the six years I've been doing this, this is the first time I felt incredibly confident that it would be good.

In high school, I didn't know anything about arts and culture. I was not an artist. The artists were M and B, the incredibly smart but painfully underachieving duo who drew and painted and dreamed. M has climbed her own Everest, B is creating her design empire one beaded bag at a time. It came naturally to them, mine was a switch I had to turn on. And then hone, and solder, and break through art school.

M and B are like Steve. It came naturally to them, it comes naturally to Steve. Steve is one of the best artists working with photography in the Philippines. Steve was one of the artists in the Met slide show. He had to react to an image on androgyny. He made a transitioning still video of a boy into a tranny, called 'Keven to XTina". It blew us all away. The eyes held the position through the thirty-second show. There was an elegance and sexiness to it, that made XTina who was in the audience whisper "oh my God, I am really as FABULOUS as I think I am".

But like M and B in high school (they are no longer under achievers, OVER na sila ngayon), Steve is painfully underachieving. So much potential! But so much work. We did a show for him a few years ago which was a minor bangungot! R, A (the curator), and I had to pick up the prints an hour before the show and cut them ourselves. Super photo-finish to install, while Steve was worrying about the DJ!

This year, we scheduled a show for him at the end of September, and for one reason or the other, it's not going to happen. He is not ready. He is somewhere else doing something else, then flying to do a two week job somewhere else. There are no images for the show. Rock star.

Then I see "Keven to XTina" and think, "God, he is good".


Image: "Empire", 2010, part of Bare Tactics, by me

Our Dear M

It is that time of year. The whole month has been very celebratory as three of us who squat in the warehouse are all Leos. A party the first week, a show opening the second week, a trip to somewhere drivable the third week. The BOOM, right before my birthday, heart break!!!

Our girl M who has been with us for the last four years, trained to invisible domesticity and treated as family, by T, R, and I needed to go home to Probinsiya to tend to father who is on deathbed. Fine, an emergency is an emergency. Go.

But roughly three hours after she tells us, she drops the bomb -- she wasn't coming back. Wow, that pulled the rug. Her father has assigned her to take care of her mother and stay in Probinsya. Personally, I think it's a little unfair as the reason they gave her is because she is the only single one left. Hello! She is the only single one left because she is the Smartest. And she can go really far with us, and substantially help her family the more she learns and earns with us.

Haaay naku.

We are not only losing our girl. We are losing our labandera, (primary) mother of the dog, reason we go to church, and friend.
My measure of a good friend is someone you can spend lots of time with and you are both fine ignoring each other. M ignored us for the most part but really took care of our little boy dog and our home.

The day she left was incredibly painful. We were all crying. It was traumatic. Her father being sick. The loss of a friend. The loss of all those years of training that we put in. Sort of felt like the last day of high school when you know you will never see each other again. At 6 am, the day before my birthday, I stood in our living and told her, 'ma-mimiss ka namin, huwag kang mahiya o matakot na bumalik', and CRIED. Then she said, 'Mam, Happy Birthday po'. Then she SOBBED.

More than the loss, its the suddenness of it.

So now the search for a new M begins.

I'll let you know if she comes back.

Meanwhile, my birthday passed. And now I have to do laundry and feed the Tiger.






Image: Tower, 2010, part of the Bare Tactics show at Blanc, Peninsula Hotel, by me

A Haunting, July, 1946... Roxas / Protomartir

The circus is packing up but by no means is it over. The big mystery, which has caught everyone by surprise, is how Binay is leading the VP race. The only one not surprised is Binay.

The photograph is by Protomartir. An urban legend among Filipino photographers, he was most active in the '30s to the '50s. The image is from July 1946, nestled among a stack of negatives collected by Uro dela Cruz, all dated around Independence Day 54 years ago.

The parallels between then and now are apparent. A physical destruction remained from the war then, a moral destruction leaves us from a battered and abused democracy now. The hope squarely on a free election brought a Roxas to the Presidency then, a hope squarely on an automated election brings a Roxas to supposedly a Presidency, but now a Vice Presidency. Is it going to happen?


Image: Teodulo Protomartir, 1946 / Uro de la Cruz collection

PLDT, Romy, RC, OD

The PLDT internet connection has been down at work for the last three days. Reports have it that the whole street and surrounding areas have been affected. The reason given: Eleksyon na, nanakaw yung kable (It's election time, the cables have been stolen). This explanation, supposed to be taken seriously, is up there with "my dog ate my homework". But I believe it. We all believe it. We also have no water at work as the pump is being "rewound". I have no idea what that means, but we supposed to take this seriously too.

Explanations given, grudgingly accepted, but with no solutions offered nor ends for both problems in sight. Thing is, neither the internet people (PLDT) nor the water pump person (Romy, our "super" in the building who is about as efficient as a rusty nail, whom R has threatened to run him over if she sees him bleeding on the street) seem to think that the lack of communication nor the lack of water are Problems.

Sigh...

On other more amusing matters, Pope Ratz has 'taken control' of the religious order Regnum Christie and their lay arm Legionnaires of Christ in an attempt to address the sex abuse scandals. We've known for some time now, actually since relatives have been affiliated, that the founder and head of said ultra-right- right-wing-conservative-order-friendly-with-Pope JP2 is a convicted Pedophile from Mexico with a history of not only molesting children, but fathering a number of puro panganays (first borns). Really, the stink is within.

Having grown up surrounded by another ultra-right-wing-conservative-order-friendly-with-Pope JP2, makes me really happy to know that my friends and I never really bought into the whole fire and brimstone, I am a sinner who deserves to be punished, life is about suffering mentality. Of course they tried to brainwash us with silly propaganda (sports such as soccer and volleyball are bad because they are harmful to the female reproductive organs), and threaten us with hell (because we crossed our legs in their chapels), but sorry we smarter than that. Way smarter.


Image: Leaves, Bashful by Eustaquio, oil on canvas, 2010, for the Silverlens booth, HKArt10, photo by RR

Teodoro - Roxas...

get my vote for President - Vice President come May 10.

We watched Tears for Fears on Sunday with the rest of the teenagers from the '80s. It was awesome.

What was awesome and an eye opener was what happened at the concert that had nothing to do with Curt and Roland. The crowd spontaneously and loudly booed Korina Sanchez... Twice! Granted that it was not the right time or the right place (even if Mar and Company own it) for politicking, and she got the brunt of the crowd's displeasure over the Edsa traffic caused by the Noy-Mar rally by Corinthian, the BOO was incredibly telling:

1. she really is unpopular
2. not everyone is going to vote for Noy-Mar. This because those who are for Noy-Mar take it for granted that other people are Not.

Noynoy is supposedly the non-corrupt vote and the vote that will put GMA in her place. Supposedly, he is the lesser of the evils. But after months of watching and thinking, and thinking of Cory's Presidency, did Cory really fix the corruption? Did she really "get the Marcoses"? If anything, the corruption was replaced with an updated version of divide and conquer. And the Marcoses are back in full force, and appearing politically robust at that. I'm voting for Bong Bong.

And Noynoy, how presidentiable are you? You may be quick on the draw now to answer questions, but dude, what have you done in Congress and the Senate? Not to mention, the lack of muscle tone and all around presidential demeanor. Hindi ka nakaka-bilib.

Gilbert Teodoro. I figure is the one who can keep the past in check while looking forward to our future as a country. I've heard it so often that people will vote for Noynoy because they don't want Villar to win. How about voting for the person who deserves to win?

As for Mar, I look forward to his Presidency in 2016, Korina notwithstanding.

Same Old Bananas

The post's title is the installation by Leslie de Chavez, currently on view at SLab's 20Square gallery. Leslie's show is called Buntong Hininga (rough translation: Sigh), and it is 14 pieces of amazing art commenting on the state of our Nation. Same Old Bananas. slab.silverlensphoto.com please

Last weekend, we went swimming with the whale sharks in Donsol, Sorsogon via a plane ride to Legazpi City, Albay care of Cebu Pacific. The whale sharks or butanding and Mayon Volcano, both stunning, will have to wait for another post. This is about Cebu Pacific and other issues starting with the NAIA 3 Terminal:

WHY ARE WE NOT USING IT? It is a beautiful airport made by the same guys who did the Hong Kong International Airport. It is a beautiful airport next to the decrepit NAIA 1. It is a beautiful airport that's got a great skyline view of Makati from the gates. Makes me want to fly Cebu Pacific more. What if they move just Cathay Pacific to NAIA 3? Wow.

After a night of paying twenty pesos to watch the Talent Portion of the Mutya ng Butanding 2010 (much effort, little talent), we stumbled onto a minor army of women in red t-shirts silkscreened with Imelda portraits. This is in the middle of Donsol, Sorsogon. What was going on? Our friend P said "time warp, it feels like seventies". We never figured it out, but we did see Bonget Marcos come in on our plane to Legazpi the next day, the plane we took out. And I took the seat he vacated. So I now have his boarding pass as my bookmark to Miguel Syjuco's Ilustrado. So in a round-about way, the second issue is about who is on MY TO VOTE FOR LIST come 10 May:

President: GILBERT TEODORO
Vice-President: MAR ROXAS

Mayor (Manila): Sonny Razon
Vice Mayor: Iskho Moreno
* Totally taking Carlos Celdran's recommendations

Senators (in no particular order):
1. Martin Bautista
2. Bonget
3. Manong Johnny (don't ask me why)
4. Tito Frank (Hi Eds)
5. Serge Osmena
6. Risa Hontiveros
7. Joey de Venecia
8. Ralph Recto
9.
10.
11.
12.

Party List: Ang Ladlad

Ang hirap buoin ang listahan.

Not Voting for

Villar

The election season has started unofficially. I went to a forum with several of the candidates present, it being the first time ever that Villar actually showed up. I walked away unconvinced to vote for any of them, but convinced to NOT vote for Villar. Something about him feels so manufactured. His answers were canned. He had a hakot audience which had planted questions in the Q & A that made the other candidates look bad. He could not give direct answers to many of the questions, often times being evasive, verbose, and tangential to the queries. And he has a very bad arm-shoulder tick (a bilateral arm flap-shoulder roll combo) + clears his throat often before he speaks.