ART FAIR PHILIPPINES 2014: A COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY CREATIVITY

  This year’s Art Fair Philippines (AFP) seems to be targeting everything and everybody.

E! by Roberto Feleo made from acrylic on sawdust with eggshell

"Thinking" by Bencab

"Mother and Child" by Bencab

 

 "We’re trying to raise awareness and appreciation for art, we’re trying to promote its accessibility and we’re trying to create a market for art, artists, galleries and collectors,” shares Ms. Lisa Periquet, one of the fair’s organizers, in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.

And based on the impressive number of artists’ contributions, the art collectors’ purchases, and the many people who participated in the event, AFP 2014 may have succeeded in meeting its targets.    

An edible art metal work with pastries by Heny Sison and Gino Gonzales

"Candy Crush" by Machael Cacnio

  The AFP is a fitting opportunity to showcase Philippine Contemporary Art in the country and eventually find its place in the national psyche among Filipinos. And because of this, the fair reaches out, not only to the country’s elite society, but also to the average Filipino students, professionals, and office workers who are fascinated by art. It also helps that the event is centrally located in a car park in Makati City, which makes it accessible to the public, rather than hosting it in an old intimidating museum. According to AFP organizer Trickie Lopa: “Art should belong to everybody interested and we want to make sure this fair represents that.”

Ping Pong Table by Louie Cordero

  

   Now on its second year, the AFP reveals a lot about the bustling and vibrant contemporary art scene that truly impresses everyone. It exhibited various artworks in different forms--- paintings, photos tables, chairs, cupcakes, sculptures, among others. It also displayed art that used various medium and materials--- oil, glass, wood, brass sheets, copper wire, nylon fabric, and even egg shells---which turned out to be interesting art pieces.

Chair made of melted plastic spoons

"The Reaping in a Cosmos of Confusion" by Tawnie Tantay

   These artworks are proudly created by established and up-and-coming Filipino artists that provided diverse interpretations of their experiences about life, their impressions about time and history, and their perspectives about the world around them. They have ingeniously captured their sentiments in their creations that have provoked a lot of emotions and interests among the viewers. Some of these art pieces induce various feelings, which can be nostalgic, comical, disturbing, chilling, inspiring, and provocative--- yet all of these reflect the Filipino artists’ talent, imagination, and creativity.      

"Unnatural History: Ang Totoong Alamat ng Pilipinas" by Alwin Reamillo

  
 This year’s art fair also featured a lecture series sponsored by Christie’s, the world-renowned art auction house with its headquarters in London and New York. These talks titled “Christie’s Art Forum” discussed the art market and featured Filipino artists as they talked about their work. The participation of Christie’s in the art fair is deemed as a validation of the Filipino artists’ growing fame in the international art scene. It is also considered a valuable opportunity to further promote the country’s eminence and vibrancy in the field of arts.

"Which Way Do I Go?" by Daniel dela Cruz

by Marina Cruz

  
 The AFP is truly a remarkable endeavor to give Philippine Contemporary Art the utmost attention it deserves. Indeed, it has successfully advanced the awareness and appreciation of art among Filipinos to which we can all be proud of. Hopefully, as Filipino artists make waves in the international art scene, they will also have continuous support in the country through such art fairs that would allow them to share their creativity and promote Philippine artistry. 

    

LIFTING THE ‘PHILIPPINE SPIRITS’

       Interestingly, this was the title of the cocktail event hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs last February 13. Apparently, the event was named as such to showcase the best of Philippine wines and liquor.

     Organized by the DFA’s Cultural Diplomacy Unit, the occasion aims to promote the variety of locally-made alcoholic drinks to foreign diplomats and guests. It also seeks to raise awareness among the Department’s foreign service officers and staff to the different tastes and flavors of local wines and liquor. This can be considered both a campaign and a celebration of the invigorating and intoxicating warmth of the “Philippine Sprits.”

            It was indeed a very timely event, not because it was organized as a pre-Valentine affair, but because of a recently-published study that hailed Filipinos’ love for alcohol. According to Euromonitor (a research company on market strategies), Filipinos rank the third heaviest drinkers in the world after South Koreans and Russians. Its market research revealed that Filipinos drink an average of 5.4 shots of any spirit—vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whiskey, brandy, or lambanog per week. Based on the excitement among the DFA employees who attended the cocktail event, the Filipinos’ third place ranking may be true after all.   

Source: Euromonitor/ Photo Taken from: www.philstar.com

            The occasion features several native wines and liquors that highlight the many flavors of the country’s home-grown tropical fruits, herbs, and other organic products. The popular wines and liquor made in the Philippines include: Lambanog (wine made from coconut that are mostly produced in Quezon province), Tuba (the traditional bittersweet wine also made from coconut that is popular in Leyte and Samar), and Basi (wine made from sugar cane that are mainly produced in Ilocos Norte). Other local wines also use various local fruits such as mango, pineapple, guyabano (sour sop), kamias (ginger lily), duhat (Philippine black plum), and bignay (Philippine wild berry), sampalok (tamarind) and granadilla (passion fruit). There are also raw and organic products like coffee, honey, oregano, and tanglad (lemon grass) that are used to produce unique-tasting wines. 

            Given the unique flavors of these local wines, there is definitely a potential for the Philippines to get a bigger share of the world market. This is especially true for some international wine connoisseurs who want to expand their taste palette and go beyond the usual grape flavors.

            However, aside from its huge international potential, another prospect for the Philippine wine industry is to convince the mostly uninitiated Filipino drinkers of the soothing tastes and the luscious flavors of local wines. This is quite a colossal challenge for a nation that has icy cold beer as its first love because of its accessibility and affordability. The warm and temperate climate of the Philippines is another reason why Filipinos tend to favor beer over wine.

photo taken from www.rappler.com

         Though beer may be the first love for the majority of Filipinos, it does not have to be our only love. Wine can also be another source of infatuation that can be explored. This can be similar to Filipinos’ long-time love affair with coffee, which has since been expanded to include tea, based on the proliferation and popularity of milk tea in the country. If Filipinos are coffee drinkers who also love to drink tea, then definitely we can also be beer drinkers who can appreciate sipping wine. 

            It is hoped that locally-produced wine will appeal, not merely to foreigners but to the Filipino public as well. Filipinos patronizing their own liquor and making it part of their drinking culture will definitely go a long way in the global promotion of Philippine wines. After all, Japan’s sake and South Korea’s soju are famous outside of their countries of origin because of their own people’s “addiction” to it.  Hopefully, our very own lambanog can also appeal to more Filipinos and consequently charm the world over.

            Indeed, the DFA’s cocktail event has not only promoted awareness among foreign guests, but also awakened the consciousness among Filipinos of home-grown local wines and liquors. The significant number of participating local wine manufacturers in the event is a positive reassurance that the local wine industry is here to stay.

            The local wine producers that participated in the event include: Dory’s Distillery, Saint Ambrose Industries, Rachebeli Inc., Dielle’s Apiary and Meadery Enterprise, Vino de Coco, Philippine Fire Water, Yulaik’s Food Products, SJB Liberica Enterprise, Destilleria Limtuaco, Don Roberto’s Winery Corporation. Though they have a marked presence in the industry, they still need more support from fellow Filipinos--- diplomats, exporters, consumers--- to gain publicity and increase their sales.

            To encourage the long-term growth and expansion of Philippine wine, it is also critical to support scientific research on wine making and production in the country. The Food Science Cluster of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) and the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) have already conducted several related research, but more attention and funding should be given to such projects to further develop the potential of the local wine industry.

            Kudos to the DFA’s cocktail event for successfully “lifting Philippine spirits” and making everyone feel “high” about our local liquor. Hopefully there will be more people who will say “cheers” and “bottoms up” to Philippine wine. 

'STARTING OVER AGAIN': A MOVIE AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

This movie can be easily described in two words: “very relatable.” 

And most of those who have seen this blockbuster movie would agree. Star Cinema’s Starting Over Again has successfully portrayed love in its different phases: falling in love, being in a relationship, breaking up, letting go, and moving on--- which everyone can relate to. These stages of love were all narrated in a very creative story telling that did not seem to be predictable nor contrived. The story was intricately woven, which did not give any hanging questions but gave its viewers something to think about.  

The movie was brilliantly portrayed by Ginny (Toni Gonzaga), Marco (Piolo Pascual), and Patty (Iza Calzado), although everyone knows that the film is dominated by Ginny’s character. She ultimately represents the emotions of anyone who has ever been in love: passionate, hopeful, fearful, confused, desperate, and most of all crazy. And her depictions of such emotions captured in this film have made us all cringe, laugh, blush and cry---- as we all, at some point, see ourselves in her.  

 

There were several memorable scenes in the movie that made the audience feel like riding in an emotional roller coaster. The solo “bed scene” of Ginny made us all squirm in our seats. The hilarious “love scene” of Ginny and Marco made us all laugh our hearts out. The impressive “confrontation scene” between Ginny and Patty made us respect the poise of the “perfect girlfriend” and loathe the desperation of the “other woman.” The poignant “goodbye scene” between Ginny and Marco also made every one of us realize that we can never ‘unlove’ a person, but we can always love that person in a different way.

  

from starcinema.abs-cbn.com

The movie is definitely an exceptional romantic comedy that not only entertained, but also enlightened the audience. It is a very holistic take on love that portrays the romantic and cheesy side of it, but also depicts the hard trials and its painful realities. It presented not only the romantic possibilities of a second chance, but also underscored the valuable gift of a final closure. Overall, it is an ingenious movie that made everyone of us reflect on the mistakes and lessons of our romantic experiences, and yet allowed us to be comforted with the thought of PSP--- that “past is past.”   

 

 The movie’s blockbuster success can be credited to its creative story- telling and its boldness not to succumb to the conventional “happy endings” that are typical of Filipino rom-coms. Credit goes to Director Olivia Lamasan and the production staff for creating a very intelligent movie that does not bore, idiotize, or turn off the Filipino audience with none of the unnecessary cheesiness and corny spiels prevalent in most local films. Hopefully, the movie’s record-breaking performance at the box office should motivate the local film industry to produce similar quality movies that affirms the increasing maturity and discerning tastes of the Filipinos. 

However, the movie is not without its Pinoy clichés and commercial formula present in most local rom-com flicks. To those who have seen a lot of these films, these questions are almost always asked: 

Why do these movies need to be titled after a song? 

Why do rom-com flicks employ so many “friends” for their lead characters who are not given enough exposure and substantive roles except as comic relief?

Why does it have to be mostly the female protagonists who have to go through a lot (humiliating and embarrassing situations) for love? (Think Sarah Geronimo with her movies with John Lloyd Cruz). 

And why do these flicks have to end in a “happy ending”? 

Apparently, it is hard to do away with this tried and tested blueprint for local rom-com films. Though admittedly, Starting Over Again provided a happy ending with a different and unexpected twist. It may be a very surprising ending but it actually revealed a lot of realizations for exciting possibilities and presented a semblance of reality. Nonetheless, it satisfied the Filipino audience’s expectation of a light-hearted finale to a simple yet complicated love story.   

Yet despite its theatrics and clichés, the movie appealed to a wider audience and reached out even to the elitist crowd. It also helped that Star Cinema aggressively advertised the movie and released it in time for Valentine’s day. Its efforts surely created so much buzz  for the movie that cinemas were still full even after the Valentine weekend. Ultimately, it all boils down to the film’s romantic appeal and its “relatability” to the Filipino audience that made everyone of us feel that, no matter where we are in our lives, we always have a chance to “start over again.”