‘Zero-In’: Constructing constructs of ourselves
October 3, 2005 | 12:00am
It’s amazing how, given our nation’s penchant for discord, our museums continue to serve as beacons of steadfastness: forging ahead in spite of tremendous pressure to focus on the bottom line. It has often been said that during times of economic hardship, culture and the arts take a back seat to what are narrow-mindedly referred to as "basic needs." Why bother with paintings, sculptures, denture marks on Styrofoam cups, or the self-expression of children, it has oft been asked, when there are simply tens of millions of mouths to feed and bodies to clothe and shelter?
Pardon me for presuming to speak on my colleagues’ behalf, but I think that our dogged determination – obstinacy really in the minds of the "suits" – stems from two things: the belief in the life of the spirit, and our tendency to see the larger scheme of things not in terms of the debilitating "now," but in the promise of "what could be." Call it wishful thinking, or christen us quixotic crusaders if you will, but the truth of the matter is that it is better to be mindful about the future and, more importantly, work to make seeming pipe dreams happen today, rather than dwell on the nightmare that most of us are refusing to wake up from. Contrary to what I have been hearing of late, museums are not escapist, elitist institutions that are out-of touch with reality. Indeed, they are perhaps the most significant, most populist institutions around because they dedicate themselves wholly to upholding the very best of what this nation stands for, pointing the way to what is perhaps the only thing left nowadays that keeps us competitive and allows us to hold our heads up high – constructing realities that inspire and edify in spite of our deconstructive selves.
It is in this spirit that the Zero-in consortium of the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Lopez Memorial Museum and Museo Pambata ng Maynila presents a series of exhibitions in the coming weeks inspired by a theme that hearkens to hypotheses – conjuring images of entities, templates and frameworks – at the same time that it posits action, permutation, transgression, and evolution. Now on its fourth year, the 2005 edition of Zero-in will revolve around a term that bifurcates and converges conceptually as imagined reality (’kän-"str&kt) and imagination made real (k&n-"str&kt).
Strengthening our partnership by building on each other’s areas of expertise, our goal is to harness the potential of our respective collections and public programs to create a unified front that defies social devolution: constructing constructs which, altogether, form a symbiotic, synergistic whole.
Opening at the Lopez Memorial Museum on Oct. 6, Juan Arellano: Drawing Space "explores the dynamics of space in relation to memory making and acts of self-imaging. Threaded through by pictorial anecdotes in the life of this often overlooked modernist painter-architect, the show coaxes visitors to consider Juan Arellano’s work by summoning intersections of relationships between geographies of built structure and psychological terrains visited and thus virtually (albeit fleetingly) possessed. It brings together landscapes and mindscapes, which make for disjointed accounts of flight/diaspora and restless habitation in pursuit of one Filipino’s constructed sense of self."
The Ayala Museum follows on Oct. 13 with an exhibition of recent work by award-winning visual artist Gabriel Barredo, who continues his explorations into kinetic sculpture and assemblage with a special installation titled (In)Visible. The show takes Barredo’s surrealist juxtapositions from the realm of the uncanny to the ether world of the sublime, combining icons from Christian and Eastern religions into intriguing emblems, creating objects which take viewers on a multi-sensory journey into the artist’s unique, fantastically baroque mental universe.
The state of contemporary art marked by its move towards cyberspace – in particular, the incessant digitization of images – inspired the nine printmakers behind Analog/Playground at the Ateneo Art Gallery – Virgillio Aviado, Benjie Torrado Cabrera, Ambie Abano, Pablo Baens Santos, Amiel Roldan, Sid Gomez Hildawa, Marina Cruz, Noëll El Farol, and Eugene Jarque – to take, in exhibition curator Jose Tence Ruiz’s words, a "contemplative pause" by proffering alternative modes of production/reproduction which straddle human and mechanical intervention. Challenging existing structures and strictures, their works take a determined step back by considering selections from the permanent collection of the Gallery, while simultaneously bringing forward a bold, new agenda for their praxis. The exhibit opens on Oct. 19.
Junk Art Carnival, an exhibition of works done by Romy Gabriel at Museo Pambata ng Maynila culminates the Zero-in series on Oct. 27. The show features carnival miniature rides made out of recyclable materials such as plastics, glass, and metals – a simple and creative way of presenting one of the most serious problems the country currently faces: waste disposal.
It is hoped that this exhibit will allow children to discover the importance of preserving the environment and its natural resources by combining the concepts of art and recycling: constructing value systems that will inspire future prospects and help to establish a new order.
I have yet to see the show, so I cannot make any comment regarding what the artists made out of their respective sojourns and, more importantly, identify who benefited from the experience, and who simply wasted much needed resources to go on an extended overseas holiday. But suffice it to say that this project is laudable because it hopes to raise funds to endow future grants. Travel and exposure are certainly a must for local artists and art professionals, who should never see their practices being confined simply to Philippine shores – if they have the mettle for it.
For those wishing to apply for the ACC Philippines Fellowship Program, awards are given in the fields of archeology, architecture (design, history, theory), arts administration, art criticism, art history, conservation, crafts, dance, design, film and video, museology, music, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and theater.
Interested parties may send a brief description of their plans to the ACC’s New York office by Jan. 1 of each year (post: 437 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022-7001 / e-mail: acc@accny.org). If the proposal meets the council’s guidelines, application materials will be provided. Completed materials will be reviewed by the ACC Board in New York and by the Manila-based ACC Philippines Foundation Board in June for final approval.
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