Remix revolution
May 6, 2005 | 12:00am
Some of the grandest masterpieces of our day are products of collaboration between artists who work in different fields. Björk and Alexander McQueen worked together to produce Alarm Call, a music video that had the singer floating down a river full of murky water, some very dangerous creatures, and one dangerously gorgeous dress. Several excellent team efforts continue to grace the pages of magazines in the form of fashion editorials. A great number of excellent Philippine collaborative works straddle different fields, blurring the lines that define fashion, art, film, music, and graphic design. Many of these pieces are the children of a multi-limbed design giant, whose name is only spoken in hushed, respectful tones: Team Manila.
Team Manila is quite an elusive entity, constantly credited for its style and technique, yet its members are very rarely acknowledged as individuals, mostly because practically no one knows who or what they really are. To the uninitiated, Team Manila could very well seem like a cult, given how it operates subtly and in silence, never giving away its position, accessible only to a number of extremely loyal constituents. Heres where we clear the smoke. Team Manila is really just a bunch of normal guys who happen to be extremely skilled at creating really awesome works using pens, paint, and pixels. Joseph "Jowee" Alviar and Raymond "Momon" Punzalan, considered the Teams founders, discovered their mutual creative chemistry when they paired up for a project in their freshman year at the University of Santo Tomas. The fact that they service a lot of high-profile clients, like BigFish, Human, and Bench/Time, is given. Its the immense network of willing accomplices they yank into their projects that truly serves to impress.
Set on establishing a graphic design firm that would promote and represent Manila, in a way similar to Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadins M/M Paris, Jowee and Momon continued to welcome collaborators to the firms fold, creating some very special ties along the way. Past collaborators, and consequently official Team Manila members, include top stylist and co-alumnus Millet Arzaga and Paul Guadalupe, a.k.a. Guadakomeda, Pulp magazines pixel surgeon-general.
Nearly any piece executed by the group has that rare quality of instant recognition. You can take one look at a shirt, photograph, poster, or invitation, and immediately tell if its a Team Manila. The boys very effectively use a couple of distinguishing fonts, stick to a highly characteristic style of illustration, and have a unique way of composing elements on a surface. Call it great design, call it excellent branding. What really matters is the intense impact and visually orgiastic nature of every single Team production.
Deciding that it was high time to slap their works onto wearable pieces, Jowee, Momon, and the others decided to set up shop in the front room of their two-storey house. Graphic Design Lifestyle features items that incorporate objects and images inherent to the canon of Manila culture. Bicycles, balut, jeepneys, Jose Rizal, and other such iconic elements are expressed as printed silhouettes on a wide selection of shirts, zip-bags, totes, laptop protectors, and limited edition prints. "We just wanted to revamp the look of old things, starting with tourist shirts," says Jowee."We saw some local ones that were really just ugly, so were trying to come out with worksna nakaka-influence ng tao. We want to influence the way younger graphic designers do their work, but more importantly, we want to change the perception of Manila, as a word and as a concept." A pretty noble cause, if you ask me. And you thought it was just a publicity stunt. For shame!
Team Manila has successfully carved out a place for itself in Philippine culture, filling in the gaps that exist between the various forms of art and creation. Heralded as heroes and exemplars of the graphic design scene, it wouldnt be much of a surprise if they did end up affecting the way we see art, fashion, and our home city. They enjoy collaborating so much that theyve even coined a term: every Team Manila collaboration is called a remix. So far, theyve got publishing, digital design, and rock and roll covered. Its safe to say that Team currently operates only on the fringes of fashion, but theyre quite interested in combining their delicate creations with haute couture. "We havent, as graphic designers, collaborated with fashion designers," says Jowee. "We want to do stuff like transfer designs to couture, you know, apply silkscreen prints to a suit." And who are we to doubt the myriad possibilities of artistic alliance? Team Manila, it seems, is ready for yet another rocking remix.
Check out Team Manilas stuff at Graphic Design Lifestyle, Unit 2, Ecoville 2, Ayala Extension, San Antonio Village, Makati City, or log on to www.teammanila.com for more information.
Team Manila is quite an elusive entity, constantly credited for its style and technique, yet its members are very rarely acknowledged as individuals, mostly because practically no one knows who or what they really are. To the uninitiated, Team Manila could very well seem like a cult, given how it operates subtly and in silence, never giving away its position, accessible only to a number of extremely loyal constituents. Heres where we clear the smoke. Team Manila is really just a bunch of normal guys who happen to be extremely skilled at creating really awesome works using pens, paint, and pixels. Joseph "Jowee" Alviar and Raymond "Momon" Punzalan, considered the Teams founders, discovered their mutual creative chemistry when they paired up for a project in their freshman year at the University of Santo Tomas. The fact that they service a lot of high-profile clients, like BigFish, Human, and Bench/Time, is given. Its the immense network of willing accomplices they yank into their projects that truly serves to impress.
Set on establishing a graphic design firm that would promote and represent Manila, in a way similar to Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadins M/M Paris, Jowee and Momon continued to welcome collaborators to the firms fold, creating some very special ties along the way. Past collaborators, and consequently official Team Manila members, include top stylist and co-alumnus Millet Arzaga and Paul Guadalupe, a.k.a. Guadakomeda, Pulp magazines pixel surgeon-general.
Nearly any piece executed by the group has that rare quality of instant recognition. You can take one look at a shirt, photograph, poster, or invitation, and immediately tell if its a Team Manila. The boys very effectively use a couple of distinguishing fonts, stick to a highly characteristic style of illustration, and have a unique way of composing elements on a surface. Call it great design, call it excellent branding. What really matters is the intense impact and visually orgiastic nature of every single Team production.
Deciding that it was high time to slap their works onto wearable pieces, Jowee, Momon, and the others decided to set up shop in the front room of their two-storey house. Graphic Design Lifestyle features items that incorporate objects and images inherent to the canon of Manila culture. Bicycles, balut, jeepneys, Jose Rizal, and other such iconic elements are expressed as printed silhouettes on a wide selection of shirts, zip-bags, totes, laptop protectors, and limited edition prints. "We just wanted to revamp the look of old things, starting with tourist shirts," says Jowee."We saw some local ones that were really just ugly, so were trying to come out with worksna nakaka-influence ng tao. We want to influence the way younger graphic designers do their work, but more importantly, we want to change the perception of Manila, as a word and as a concept." A pretty noble cause, if you ask me. And you thought it was just a publicity stunt. For shame!
Team Manila has successfully carved out a place for itself in Philippine culture, filling in the gaps that exist between the various forms of art and creation. Heralded as heroes and exemplars of the graphic design scene, it wouldnt be much of a surprise if they did end up affecting the way we see art, fashion, and our home city. They enjoy collaborating so much that theyve even coined a term: every Team Manila collaboration is called a remix. So far, theyve got publishing, digital design, and rock and roll covered. Its safe to say that Team currently operates only on the fringes of fashion, but theyre quite interested in combining their delicate creations with haute couture. "We havent, as graphic designers, collaborated with fashion designers," says Jowee. "We want to do stuff like transfer designs to couture, you know, apply silkscreen prints to a suit." And who are we to doubt the myriad possibilities of artistic alliance? Team Manila, it seems, is ready for yet another rocking remix.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>