Whenever it comes to romantic comedy genre, I always find the “boxed concept,” comforting. But, when it comes to Prime Cruz’s latest film for Star Cinema—Can We Still Be Friends?, starring Arci Muñoz and Gerald Anderson—it brought me to an uneasy realization that the formula story can me unformulated; and that there’s a need for…
Memoirs, history, and heritage: The Art of Fidel Sarmiento
There was a Tagalog dictum which says, Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan. And the art of Fidel Sarmiento is all about that–going back to your roots, remembering who you are as a person, a human being who is a part of a living society, which is continuously evolving. And…
Malang: Paggunita at Pasasalamat
Malinaw pa sa aking gunita, bagama’t humigit-kumulang 27 taon na ang nakalilipas, nang una kong “makatagpo”, sa isang aklat sa sibika at kultura, si Mauro “Malang” Santos.
Saturday, and it’s raining beauty, hope, and happiness in BGC
Inside the BGC, something marvelous has happened, two days before the Philippine Independence Day. Artists and creators join together to show the world who beautiful the Filipino spirit and mind is.
Art Fairs, Art Fairs, Art Fairs!
Last Friday, June 9, 2017, there’s a big happening in the local art scene in Manila.
Of contradictions, unity, and paradoxes: A reflection on the art of Irish Glori Alvarado Galon
Bohol, a province in the Visayas, is known for its beautiful sceneries, exotic wildlife, and warm people and creative people. Its name, according to Bohol Provincial Government website, supposedly derived from the word Bool, the place in Bohol where the sandugo or blood compact between Datu Sikatuna and the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi took place…
Dipping into the Soul of Valen Valero
It was September of 2016 when I have first “encountered” the work of Valerie Ann Feliza Valero, known to the local art scene as Valen Valero.
Let’s Dream with NeMiranda
June 4th, Pentecost Sunday, at the Galería Alvero in Katipunan, Quezon City—the son of Angono, Rizal, Nemesio “Nemi” R. Miranda Jr. (b. 1949) has opened his solo exhibit. Aptly titled Dreamworld, the exhibit showed the newest creations of Nemiranda, all done in acrylic except for his studies, which were rendered all in watercolor.
When the cities sleep, and you can’t…
Last Sunday, 28 May 2017, my wife and I have had a chance to see the two-year old movie of Prime Cruz, Sleepless, a rom-com (romantic comedy) which was a part of the Cine Lokal–a joint project of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. (SMLEI). In an article published by the…
Machinist of Beauty: The Creations of Iyan de Jesus
In the art of Leah Anne “Iyan” De Jesus, there is a literal fusion of machines and human beings. Gears, axles, and wheels are either attached directly to the body of a woman (the central figure that holds the entire artwork together); or she is being surrounded by these machines, together with the other natural…
Betwixt Dreams and Realities: The Art of Michael Pastorizo
“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened,” says African-American novelist, playwright, poet, social critic, and…
Obra Filipinismo 5: Celebrating Diversity, Celebrating Filipino Artistry
Last May 28, at the Art Asia Gallery in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, the local art community has witnessed another feat in the Filipino art industry, when Kunzt Gallery headed by Virgilio Cuizon, gathered few of the finest artist in the Philippines in an annual art show called Obra Filipinismo. This is their fifth, and…
