I am leaving the museum.
Perhaps it is my fate to be transitory - I've studied in 10 schools (now 11, if UP Open University counts), and I've moved residences/apartments 13 times... BUT where I'll be working next, will just be my second job to date ;)
...so i guess, im not too f*cked up yet :)
I've been trying to post about my sentiments about leaving for the past a month now but work just required too much attention and- well, I really don't post personal stuff online ( I'm just not capable of writing well for the public when it comes to my feelings- you'll find out as you read further). I wanted to post about the exhibits that the museum has and is still exhibiting - ones that I feel, were exhibited in affinity to my departure. These are delayed thoughts.
Untitled (1996) by Shirin Neshat / b/w RC print and ink / photo: Larry BurnsCourtesy Barbara Gladstone
One of my guerilla dreams is to do experimental photojourn and paradocumentaries along with real photographs and documentaries. One inspiring artist is Shirin Neshat, an Iranian woman popular for her photographs and video art that hum issues of Muslim women and some aspects of Islam. I've been wanting to post something about her for a long time now but I never had enough time. Her photographs and films are contradicting and beautiful. Neshat is not on exhibit at the museum but the World Press Photo photographs were and they evoked my love for photography and for her work as artist and photographer. Click here to link to her photo essay.
The 2006 World Press Photo photographs were exhibited at the museum throughout May. You can check out the World Press Photo website for the photos but it makes a significant difference to be able stare at each photograph for a long time at a larger scale. Large scale paintings, according to American - Filipina/Chinese artist Emily Cheng when asked why she painted wall sized artworks, are "environments". I love Emily Cheng's paintings. They reveal wisdom through symbols, ethereal folds and colors that hold and reveal secrets at the same time. Her paintings seem to reveal the truth but contradictingly, cannot reveal it - which is the truth about truth. Emily Cheng's LotusCloudTreeMist runs from May 25 to June 8, 2006. The works featured at the museum are small paintings but are equally epiphanic as the "environment" paintings.
Here's a painting I really like. This is from her website.
She also did a mural project in Morroco :)
My last favorite farewell exhibit is the Parola: Colonial Lighthouses in the Philippines. This is part of the Heritage Festival series of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Limited Edition stamps were produced in tandem with the exhibit. You can purchase the set at the museum shop. Parola will run until June 18.
I will be volunteering as Teacher's Assistant for the art workshops on Saturdays so I still get to rekindle my hibernating painting skills. Full time work will be with the Center for Environmental Awareness and Education as their Communications and Distributions Director. CEAE is a non-profit organization that has pioneered environmental education initiatives in the Philippines. Right now we are producing and hosting environmental documentaries for screening at public places like bars, communities and schools. Our goal is to get airtime on television to fast track environmental awareness. Our upcoming project, the Moonrise Film Festival, is an annual competition for documentary film makers who feature stories on Philippine culture and environment. Please watch out for our screenings at the Gateway Mall on August 19 and 20.
Working at ayala museum is not as glamorous as one pictures. Its really like any other job - its tiring and it involves a lot of multi-tasking. The fun part though, is that you meet a lot of interesting people like artists, psycho parents of young students, imaginative children and having the privelege of previewing artworks even before they are shown to the public... among other interesting things - like reading for free at powerbooks or free music listening sessions at music shops during lunchbreak. i still have pending offers from some artists who promised to make me portraits like master portraitist Gig de Pio - but that will have to wait. Maybe when I'm pretty enough. hahaha :)
_______________________________
My last day for the museum is on the 16th. Last year, June 17 was an accident.
My heart is steeped with nostalgia and enthusiasm at the same time.
a moth for frida
I joined children in awe at a moth - fluttering outside a bookstore and when they left, it landed in front of me - across a book on Frida Kahlo.
yeah yeah yeah...
1 June 2006
