Visual Pond Artspace, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to the visual arts. Based in Manila, Visual Pond aims to be a dynamic player in the Philippine contemporary art scene through projects that engage and promote local artists both here and abroad.

We at Visual Pond envision a contemporary art scene that is vibrant, open to experimentation and supported by the community. By taking initiatives and creating opportunities for Filipino artists, we work towards this realization for the visual arts locale.

Asides from Manila-based projects, we are also interested in regional and international exchanges on ideas, concepts and possible collaborations with definite end products.

Email: visualpond@gmail.com

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Visual Pond supports Chatsilog

Visual Pond is delighted to support
CHATSILOG
at Green Papaya Art Projects
this December.














Chatsilog
Mail Order Brides/M.O.B. + Carlos Villa

December 10 – 17 (6pm-12am)
Closing Reception, December 17 (6pm-12am)


Green Papaya Art Projects 
41B T. Gener (corner Kamuning Rd.), Quezon City 
Sponsored by visual pond, kokoro-works.com

For "The Ephemera of Disposable Goods" series, Mail Order Brides/M.O.B. and
Carlos Villa offer the delights of CHATSILOG, a reflection on the desire to
connect across distance and time zones, a meditation on the shortcomings of
digitally-dependent communication and the false sense of security it provides,
and an effort at long-distance collaboration between 4 artists inhabiting 4
different places in the world, with the goal of producing a remote project in a
5th location.

Carlos Villa is an artist and professor at the San Francisco Art Institute. A
contemporary of, and much like, Manila's own cultural treasure Roberto Chabet,
Carlos Villa has mentored and encouraged numerous California artists over the
years, all while continuing his own art practice. He brought the 3 members of
Mail Order Brides/M.O.B. together for a research project in 1994, and things
have never been the same since.

Mail Order Brides/M.O.B. (Eliza “Neneng” Barrios, Reanne “Immaculata” Estrada, Jenifer “Baby” Wofford) inevitably formed into something of a three-headed monster, and have been collaborating on performative photos, videos,
installations and public spectacles ever since. Since 2003 however, they've been
increasingly hampered by time-space considerations, with one member or another either living out of immediate reach of the others.

The challenge of this collaboration is not a simple one. The artists reside in
disparate places (Prague, Los Angeles, two different neighborhoods in San
Francisco) and are tasked with creating a project for Green Papaya Art Projects
in Manila. Technology comes to the rescue: laptops with built-in cameras,
high-speed internet, iChat. But it turns out that technology isn't perfect. And
neither are they. So they make do.
 

CHATSILOG is a bittersweet, comedic attempt to cohere fragmented interactions
into an illusory, temporary space that, for the duration of the project, the
artists can share and jointly occupy. M.O.B.’s participation in “The Ephemera of
Disposable Goods” series marks the group’s first exhibition in Manila. Sadly,
neither they nor Carlos Villa can attend in person to celebrate the occasion.
This project is the fourth installment of the current program by resident curator, Lian Ladia for “The Ephemera of Disposable Goods”, a curatorial platform presenting collaborations between two artists or artist groups investigating social sculptural projects based on context of time/place, relational works and encounters.
THANK YOU Visual pond, Kokoro-works.com, 24HR Art (Darwin Australia) and Melissa Ramos for making this collaboration possible.


Green Papaya Art Projects

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The One Minutes Awards 2011: Call for Philippine Entries



CALL FOR PHILIPPINE ENTRIES
The One Minutes Awards 2011


VISUAL POND, as the Philippine partner of The One Minutes Foundation and with the support of the UPFI Film Center, invites artists and video/filmmakers based in the Philippines to submit entries for The One Minutes Awards 2011.

The One Minutes (TOM) is a brand name for moving images that last exactly one minute with its core activity being the annual competition, The One Minutes Awards. Launched in 1998, it has developed into a global network with makers from 100 countries and an archive of 10000 video works that are shown (inter) nationally on many podia. It is organized by The One Minutes Foundation, a non profit organization hosted by the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The One Minutes Awards 2011 have the following categories:
- Video Performance: you and the camera
- Cut and Paste: technical miracles
- A Small History: small stories about matters we should not forget about
- Micro Commercial: small companies run by passionate owners
- Fairground Attraction: surreal details of a visual dream world
- Mini Road Movie: travel from A to B and add your road movie to a world network of travels
Please observe the following technical requirements:
- Entry must be exactly one minute in length.
- Entry must be of broadcast quality.
- Please use 16:9 HD format. Export your movie as Quicktime or .avi at 720x576 pixels with dv-pal compressor, anamorphic, 25 frames per second and 48kHz sound.
- Burn this dv-file on a data-cd or dvd

Per category 6 videos will be nominated for the Tommy awards plus cash prize. From each category a larger selection of 24 videos will be used as a series for the new One Minutes magazine to which a selective group of podia can subscribe. The annual awards night in February 2011 will also mark the launch of this new video art magazine.
Drop off your entry with the 3-page Philippine submission form which can be downloaded at this link and drop it off at The One Minutes box at the UPFI Film Center c/o Yason Banal, Magsaysay and Osmeña Avenues, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Telephone: (632) 926-3640, 926-2722.Deadline for Philippine entries: 25 November 2010
Submission period: 15 November to 25 November 2010

For questions relating to The One Minutes Awards, contact The One Minutes directly at info@theoneminutes.org.
For questions relating to submission of Philippine entries, contact Visual Pond at visualpond@gmail.com

Friday, July 9, 2010

ARTiculation S01E03: Ronald Caringal


Visual Pond presents Ronald Caringal for the third episode of the Philippine contemporary art series ARTiculation. After leaving his advertising studies at the University of Santo Tomas, Caringal taught himself to paint and pursued a process which results in even and crisp visuals that are further intensified by the use of fashionable colors. His paintings' pop-sensibility and superficial looks coat the artist's personal experiences and memories which lay behind his works. He challenges audiences to look into deeper meanings behind seemingly facile images, including the environment of the mass media. Caringal, who is also the director of the independent art space Cubicle Art Gallery which will reopen later in the year, recently launched his latest solo exhibition, Puff the Magic Jargon, on view at Blanc Peninsula Manila till 24 July 2010.

Created and produced by Visual Pond,
ARTiculation is the only series of its kind locally. Consisting of ten videos released online throughout the year, each episode features an artist talking about his/her body of work such as themes, influences and motivations. The series, shot and edited with a low budget, aims to be a critical and easily accessible resource for curators, writers, students, academics and anyone who wants to learn more about contemporary artists from the Philippines.







RONALD CARINGAL
Born 1980
Works and lives in Manila, Philippines

Solo Exhibitions
2010 Puff the Magic Jargon, Blanc Peninsula Manila
2009 First Impression Lusts, Hiraya Gallery, Manila
2008 Sigh, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2008 COMMITMENT ReISSUES, Utterly Art Gallery, Singapore
2005 I Hardly Recognize You, Store for All Seasons, Manila
2005 Fuck Art, Sex Sells, and the Science of Body Language, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009 The Silence of Meaning, Metro Gallery, Manila
2009 Critical Thinking, Whitebox Gallery, Manila
2009 18 x 24, Metro Gallery, Manila
2008 TutoKKK, Blanc Gallery, Manila
2007 The December Show, Blanc Gallery, Manila
2007 BOXED, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila
2006 BOXED, Big Sky Mind, Manila
2005 On Paper, Mag:net Gallery ABS-CBN, Manila
2005 Flippin' Out, Goliath Gallery, New York
2005 Quit Playing Games with my Art, Alliance Francais de Manille, Manila
2004 Everyday Fools, UFO Gallery, Manila
2004 Generating Preview, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2003 Go Chop Suey Go!, Big Sky Mind, Manila
2003 Lift Me Up, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2003 Pag-ibig Findings 2, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2003 Dog Show 2, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2003 Dog Show, UFO Gallery, Manila
2002 Pag-ibig Findings, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila
2002 One, The Cubicle Art Gallery, Manila

More images of Caringal's work at ronaldcaringal.multiply.com

ARTiculation © 2010, Visual Pond Artspace, Inc.
Series Director: Clarissa Chikiamco
Producers and Curators: Clarissa Chikiamco & Rica Estrada
Associate Producer: Tenten Mina
Series Coordinator: Rica Estrada
All artwork images courtesy and copyright of Ronald Caringal
Additional photographs taken by and courtesy of Sunshine Reyes, Kadin Tiu and Buck Pago
ARTiculation opening and closing music by and courtesy of Aljar3D http://www.myspace.com/dnbjared
Additional music courtesy and copyright of HUH!
ARTiculation logo by Cheska Tanada

Friday, April 16, 2010

ARTiculation S01E02: Christina Quisumbing Ramilo




The second episode of Visual Pond’s exciting new series on contemporary artists from the Philippines presents Christina Quisumbing Ramilo. A graduate of University of the Philippines and New York University, Ramilo’s art has in recent years shifted from drawing and painting to sculpture and installation using found objects. The shift an outcome of her transition back to Manila after twenty years in New York, Ramilo employs a reactive approach to art based on her surroundings. Her most recent work, Karaoke Art Project, is currently on view at the group exhibition, YOUtubia, at Finale Art File in Makati, until 2 May 2010. Ramilo is also the founder, creative director and project coordinator of Martinez Art Projects (M.A.P.), a group of mentors and prodigies that do collaborative art projects based in Father Martinez Street, Quezon City.

Created and produced by Visual Pond, ARTiculation is the only series of its kind locally. Consisting of ten videos released online throughout the year, each episode features an artist talking about his/her body of work such as themes, influences and motivations. The series, shot and edited with a low budget, aims to be a critical and easily accessible resource for curators, writers, students, academics and anyone who wants to learn more about contemporary artists from the Philippines. A catalogue featuring the ten artists will be made available at the end of the year.







CHRISTINA QUISUMBING RAMILO
Born 1961
Works and lives in Manila, Philippines

Education
Master of Arts Degree in Studio Art and Art Education, Major in Painting, New York University, New York, NY
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Communications, Major in Editorial Design and Illustration, University of the Philippines, Metro Manila, Philippines

Other Courses
Lithography, Art Students League, New York, NY
Lithography, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Ceramic Sculpture, State University of New York at Stonybrook, NY
Children's Book Writing and Illustration; Illustration; Photography, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY

Grants & Awards
2009Valentine Willie Art Residency (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
1997Astraea Foundation Video Grant, New York
1997Astraea Foundation Video Grant, New York
1985University of the Philippines Merit Award for Editorial Design and Illustration

Solo Exhibitions
2009 PENCILWORKS, Manila Contemporary, Metro Manila, Philippines
2008 Domestic Bliss, Green Papaya Art Projects, Metro Manila, Philippines
2008 MADRE, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippines
2008 Palimpsest, West Gallery, Metro Manila, Philippines
2004 NENA, Corredor Gallery, University of the Philippines
2003 Powerlines, The West Gallery (Ayala Center), Metro Manila, Philippines
1998"1998", Cendrillon, New York, NY
1996 closet series, Cendrillon, New York, NY
1996 Ritual, The West Gallery, Metro Manila, Philippines
1993 Guni-Gunita, Philippine Center, Philippine Consulate, New York, NY
1988 GraduateThesis Exhibit, New York University, New York, NY

More images of Ramilo's works at http://tibok.multiply.com.

ARTiculation © 2010, Visual Pond Artspace, Inc.
Series Director: Clarissa Chikiamco
Producers and Curators: Clarissa Chikiamco & Rica Estrada
Associate Producers: Cheska Tanada & Tenten Mina
Series Coordinator: Rica Estrada
All images courtesy and copyright of Christina Quisumbing Ramilo
Music by and courtesy of Aljar3D http://www.myspace.com/dnbjared
ARTiculation logo by Cheska Tanada

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Visual Pond launches ARTiculation

Created and produced by Visual Pond, ARTiculation is a series on contemporary artists from the Philippines. The only series of its kind locally and consisting of ten videos released online throughout the year, each episode features an artist talking about his/her body of work such as themes, influences and motivations. The series, shot and edited with a low budget, aims to be a critical and easily accessible resource for curators, writers, students, academics and anyone who wants to learn more about contemporary artists from the Philippines. A catalogue featuring the ten artists will be made available at the end of the year. For foreign audiences, Visual Pond will eventually be releasing English transcripts.

For the first episode, Visual Pond is delighted to feature Mark Salvatus. Born 1980 and a BFA Advertising Arts cum laude graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, Salvatus is interested in urban and community-based art as demonstrated in street art, the Wrapped project, the Accidental Contemporary Art series and blogging. He has participated in a number of international residencies such as the Asia Cultural Artist Residency (Gwangju, Korea), the Shatana International Residency (Shatana, Irbid, Jordan) and the Can Serrat Centro de Actividades Artisticas (Barcelona, Spain). He will soon be going to Melbourne, Australia as an artist for the Next Wave Festival 2010.








MARK SALVATUS
Born 1980, Lucban
Works and lives Manila, Philippines

Education
MFA, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, PH (ongoing)
BFA, major in Advertising Arts, Cum Laude
University of Santo Tomas College of Fine Arts & Design, Manila, PH
Diploma in Commercial Arts
University of Santo Tomas, College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Manila, PH

Grants and Residencies
2009 ACAR Asia Cultural Artist Residency, Gwangju, KR, Daedong Culture Foundation
2009 Shatana International Residency, Shatana, Irbid, JO
2009 W.O.P. Residency at Green Papaya Art Projects, Quezon City, PH
2008 Arts Network Asia (ANA)
2007 Residency at Can Serrat Centro de Actividades Artisticas, Barcelona, ES
2007 Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation (SPCC), Ministry of Culture of Spain
2007 Travel Grant for young artist, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, PH
2007 Residency at IASK Goyang Art Studio, Museum of Contemporay Art (MOCA) Seoul, KR

Selected Solo Exhibitions & Projects
2010 (Upcoming) Species, The Drawing Room, Manila, PH
2009 Court Yard, Pablo Gallery, Fort, Taguig, PH
Wrapped, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, MY
2008 Good Morning Sickness, Nospace Gallery, Bangkok, TH
2007 Embolicat, Ajuntament del Bruc Regidoria de Cultura, Barcelona, ES
Wrapped, Goyang Art Studio Gallery, Seoul, South KR
2006 Jumbled Sequence Connection, Cubicle Gallery, Pasig City, PH
Eyes Wide Open, Pablo Gallery, Cubao Xpo, Quezon City PH

Awards and Recognitions
2009 Nokia-Inquirer 10 Most Exciting Young Artist
2008 Short-listed, Ateneo Art Awards Zones of Influence
2008 Finalist (Book Design), National Book Award; Dissonant Umbrellas: Notes Toward a
Gesamtkunstwerk
2007 National Book Award, Manila Critics Circle for The Cat Painter
2005 Finalist, National Book Award, Manila Critics Circle, Papa‟s House, Mama‟s House
2004 Grand Prize, Philippine Board on Books for the Young-Alcala Illustrator‟s Prize
2004 Honorable Mention, Art Association of the Philippines
2003 Finalist, Philip Morris-Philippine Art Awards
2003 Benavidez Outstanding Achievement Award conferred by UST
2003 First prize, UST inter-school on-the-spot painting contest
2002 Grand Prize, 2nd Artpetron students‟ art competition
2002 Second Prize, Art Association of the Philippines Art Competiton
2002 Third Prize, Printmakers Association of the Philippines Open Fine print competition
2002 First Honorable Mention, Philippine Long Distance Telecom-DPC national students‟ art
competition

Public Collections
Asian Culture Complex, Gwangju Metropolitan City, South KR
Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines Diliman
University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences, Manila, PH
Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, PH

More information on Mark Salvatus at his blog http://marksalvatus.blogspot.com/

ARTiculation © 2010, Visual Pond Artspace, Inc.
Series Director: Clarissa Chikiamco
Executive Producers and Curators: Clarissa Chikiamco & Rica Estrada
Associate Producers: Cheska Tanada & Tenten Mina
Series Coordinator: Rica Estrada
All images courtesy and copyright of Mark Salvatus
Music by and courtesy of Aljar3D http://www.myspace.com/dnbjared
ARTiculation logo by Cheska Tanada

ASEUM: The 1st International New Media Art Festival in the Philippines



ASEUM: The 1st International New Media Art Festival in the Philippines

On July 21-25, 2009, SABAW Media Art Kitchen (Philippines) in cooperation with KIBLA MMC (Slovenia) and the Asia-Europe Foundation brought together the largest delegation of new media artists for ASEUM - the first international new media art festival in the Philippines – that kicked off 6:00PM at Gweilos, Makati for everyone to experience what new media art is.

Leading new and inter media art practitioners, researchers, curators and producers from all over the globe such as Peter Tomaz Dobrila [si], Jerneja Rebernak [si/sg], Emma Oto[jp/gb], Aether9 [global], Tad Ermitano [ph], Malek Lopez [ph], Angelo Vermeulen [be], Diego Maranan [ph], Brian O’ Reilly [us], Rick Bahague [ph], Lirio Salvador [ph], Visual Pond[ph], Tim O' Dwyer [au], Darren Moore [au], Vanini Belarmino [de/ph], and Noel de Brakinghe [ph] held lectures, workshops and discussions among the most versed of Filipino students in new media art to encourage them to pursue degrees in such field.

Topics such as Open Source Advocacy, Technology and Cultural Practices, Open Structures and Remote Real time Storytelling, Intersections of Art, Ecology, Gaming and Advocacy, Data Visualization: Making meaning in an Info-rich World, Computer music and video in a live setting, Media and the Creation Process, Sound Mapping: Circuit Bending, Pure Data:Practical Programming for Sound Art, Video Art and Experimental Moving Image, Electroacoustic improvisation, Mono- Multi- and Inter-Media, The Value of Exchange in Creative Interdisciplinary and Cross-Border Collaborations, and Why Numbers Make Sounds: Basic Introduction to Patching and Audio Synthesis using Max/Msp were covered.

A Transformative Sound Experience
Change the way you perceive sound with five nights of rapid electrofringe experimentation on sound and moving image with VJing, intermedia performances, cutting-edge experimental music and related visual arts at ASEUM’s Ear2Eye Program.

Catch performances by Iron Egg, Rubber Inc, Caliph8 , Gangan Ensemble, Inconnu ictu, Tengal, Aether9, Elemento, Ugong, Blend:er, Minister Zero, DJ Drumlander, Sgt. Vez, Edsel Abesamis, Tad Ermitano, Mannet Villariba, Drip, Eggboy, Autoceremony, Etniktronika, Angelo Suarez, Costantino Zicarelli, Nyangbinghi, and Terraformer at Gweilos, Green Papaya,Penguin Café and Mogwai Cinematheque.

ASEUM is a project by SABAW Media Art Kitchen (Philippines) in cooperation with Multimedia Center KIBLA (Slovenia) and is supported by the Asia-Europe Foundation as a follow-up project of the Asia-Europe Art Camp New Media series. For more information on festival fees, schedule, and guests email sabawmediahub@gmail.com or call/SMS+639166188191 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +639166188191 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and visit the ASEUM website at http://aseum.tk.

This event was brought to you by with partnership of Media Arts Manila, House of Natural Fiber (HONF), Experimentation in Sound Art Tradition (EXIST), Visual Pond Artspace, Inc., TAOINC, Computer Professional’s Union (CPU), Biomodd [LBA2] Un.Plug UP Linux User’s Group, UP Asterisk, Sweetspot Studios, Expansions, Aether9; with the support of UNO Magazine, Status Magazine, Circuit, Advocacy Photographers, PinoyCentric, Metapixel, YOCard, Juice.ph, Flippish, Click the City, UR 105.9, NU 107, Stonehouse Hotel, ICAII, Ginebra Premium Gin, Philippine Society of IT Educators and International Open Source Network, Belarmino & Partners, N3krozoft Ltd.

MORE INFO ON: http://aseum09.tk/

Sinemusikalye




Sinemusikalye closed the 2008 Philippine Art Festival festivities on 14 March, Friday, at 8 pm in Remedios Circle, Malate, with a massive new media audio-visual concert curated by Tengal with SABAW Art Projects.

For the Sinemusikalye program, three projectors and three screens were combined to make an expansive panoramic view; while the country’s best sound artists, electronic musicians, and instrumentalists will perform live music at Remedios Circle, Malate in this never before attempted performance of this scale.
The multi-channel projection of video images and panoramic images by Lyle Sacris and Mark Mijares, were controlled and manipulated live by video artists, Tad Ermitano and Blums Borres (courtesy of New Media Arts Manila). The main performances included electronica pioneers Malek Lopez and Caliph 8 scoring Mowelfund animation films in three movements; while Tengal and The Gangan Orchestra (composed of 16 of the best local improvising sound artists, electronic djs and musicians) will be performing Tad Ermitano’s video graphic score with algorithms by Tengal as part of the GANGAN SERIES; and the evening culminated with a full-orchestral sonic blast combined with the panoramic videos manipulated live by Tad Ermitano. Also performing were seminal new media artists, Elemento and The Children of Cathode Ray who scored animation films by underground legend, Rox Lee, as well as a film by Tad Ermitano. The new generation of electronic musicians, Moon Fear Moon and Trojan Whores performed their unique brand of sound deconstruction alongside video deconstruction by Blums Borres.

Starting off the Sinemusikalye festivities at 7 pm, filmmaker John Torres screened the three-screen version of his feature film, Years When I was a Child Outside. Previously premiered at the Berlin Forum, in Berlinale international film festival, this was its Philippine premiere.

Sinemusikalye was under Sinemaleta, the National Commission of Culture and the Arts' Cinema Committee offering for the Philippine Art Festival 2008. Visual Pond acted as conduit for the Sinemaleta activities.

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Click here for more images.

Sinemaleta



Part of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Cinema committee's offering for the Philippine Art Festival 2008, Sinemaleta was a portable film festival of NCCA-funded films that was shown in pre-selected barangay centers around Metro Manila on weekend evenings. Sinemaleta aimed to bring Philippine films out of the theater and into the streets where these specific barangay communities could enjoy them while expanding their taste of Philippine cinema.

These were the venues, films and dates shown:

> Camarin, Caloocan City: 'Mudraks' directed by Arah Badayos (8 February, Friday, 7 pm)

> Barangay San Jose, Navotas: 'Rotunda' directed by Ron Bryant (9 February, Saturday, 7 pm)

> Angono Municipal Hall, Angono, Rizal: 'Death in the Land of Encantos' directed by Lav Diaz (15 February, Friday, 8 pm)

> Barangay Bagong Lipunan, Cubao: 'Saan Nagtatago si Happiness?' directed by Florida Bautista (16 February, Saturday, 7 pm)

> East Rembo Park, East Rembo, Makati: 'iSNATS' directed by Mike Dagñalan (22 February, Friday, 7 pm)

> Penguin Bar, Malate: 'Voice, Tilted Screens and Extended Scenes of Loneliness: Filipinos on High Definition' by John Torres (23 February, Saturday, 7 pm)

> Rizal Park Auditorium, Luneta, Manila: 'Barako' directed by Manolito Sulit; 'Siglo Filipino: Odyssey of a Nation' and 'Lakas Sambayanan (People Power)' both directed by Butch Nolasco (three films as an EDSA/People Power Revolution special, 23 February, Saturday, 7 pm onwards)

> Barangay Buwayang Bato, Gawad Kalinga Concepcion Village, Guadalupe: 'Balikbayan Box' directed by Mes de Guzman (24 February, Sunday, 7 pm)

Sinemaleta was also the name of the larger program offered by the Cinema Committee during the Philippine Art Festival 2008. The program included Sinesilip, a showing of NCCA-funded films at the auditorium at the NCCA office every Wednesday of the month during the month of February, and Sinemusikalye, a massive new media audio-visual concert curated by Tengal with SABAW Art Projects in Remedios Circle, Malate on Friday, 16 March 2008.

Visual Pond acted as conduit for the activities.

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Click here for more images.

masarapmatulog



solo video art exhibition by Andre Salud
curated by Clarissa Chikiamco
24-30 January 2008
2nd floor, Cubicle Art Gallery

masarapmatulog!
by Clarissa Chikiamco

The exhibition title, masarapmatulog, refers to the name by which the artist goes by his video work. Certainly, it captures the character of his video art pieces well—frank, snappy, and with both the relish and flippant air of youth. This first solo video art exhibition of Andrei Salud shows a body of work which represents his unique aesthetic in the medium.

So what is a masarapmatulog video?

A masarapmatulog video is marked by being crisply short. Most works rarely reach a minute while some are just five to thirteen seconds long. Their briefness delivers a “hanging” quality. They are like incomplete sentences—or in a word: bitin. These suspended thoughts though are all Salud cares for—just a few seconds to deliver an idea—but they are really all the audience needs. Viewers can complete, ponder or even swat at these dangling impressions, whatever may be the reaction to what the artist has begun. This can be seen in At the Races, a 29-second work that closes with shots of a gasmasked guy in midair, about to pounce on his binocular-ing roommate, and the view from the front seat of a speeding car.

A masarapmatulog piece is often distinguished with its deliverance of irony and satire. Salud’s work can whimsically lampoon political/social/cultural figures. Stolen footage from the movie Imelda is given new flavor with the tune In Da Club by Beyonce. The catchy music includes such fitting lyrics as “My nails my hair my diamond rings/Shining with all my fancy things/My crib my car my clothes my jewels/Why you mad? Cause I came up and I ain't changed.” The image of President Marcos briefly at the start of the work hints as well at a deeper meaning as Beyonce croons, “So come give me a hug, sexy little thug.”

A masarapmatulog video artwork also at times incorporates the use of toys. These can be dolls, clay or Lego. Toys, of course, are associated with play, which is what the artist does as well. It’s undeniable that several of the artist’s works are simply experimental and indeed very random. But collectively these videos strike off into a compelling dynamic, even if it may be comedic at the same time.

There are others who also “play” and add hints of irony to their video artworks but none come as refreshing or as original as Salud. Who, after all, can suddenly come up with the idea of syncing a dated footage of our current President to a recorded sound of “I’m not wearing any underpants, you know”? Or make Barbie dolls paint a swastika sign and a fanged face on a dollar bill before setting it on fire? Or use a flashlight to mimic scuba diving in the deep or in the dark?

There is something about Salud’s works that are a bit twisted Nickoledeon or wry Mtv. Yet, unlike Nickoledeon, masarapmatulog videos happily delve into the political. And unlike Mtvs, his videos don’t try to sell you anything—not music, not toys, not a lifestyle, not even the artist himself who merrily continues to produce his work regardless of having exhibitions or not.

It may be argued that Salud’s pieces are done simply for amusement. Perhaps there is some truth in the statement but, if so, then why not? Who says art can’t be amusing? Like the recalcitrant and indulgent name by which Salud and this exhibition go by, his works ultimately challenge art as a dignified and solemn affair.

Masarapmatulog? Eh, di matulog nga!

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Click here for more images.

Garish Barish



Sigmund Skard
Leonor Torres
Hanna Boyesen
Ragnhild Johansen
Endre Tveitan
Tom Daniel Reiersen
Margarida Paiva
Mattias Cantzler
Iselin Linstad Hauge
Silje Linge Haaland
Jet Pascua
Sara Korshøj Christensen
Cristina Pedreira Perez
Lucia Rivero

a collection of video art projects by artists based in Norway
curated by Jet Pascua
1st floor, Cubicle Art Gallery
24-30 January 2008

In the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, Joel Barish (played by Jim Carrey) decides to erase the memory of his girlfriend, after he has discovered that she has done the same about her memory of himself. In the middle of the process of erasing his memory, he becomes half conscious and able to hear what was happening around him, although his body was unable to move. Realizing and regretting what he has done, he struggled to find and hold on to the beautiful memories he had of his girlfriend, creating in within his mind an interesting mix of the real and imagined.

Garish Barish is a collection of video art projects by artists based in Norway, which deals with subjects that are halfway between memory and insanity. It is about displacement, and a space between reality and imagination. Collected by Filipino artist Jet Pascua, the participants come from Norway, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Palestine.

Jet Pascua is currently studying and living in Norway. His works deal with displacement, immigration, memory and identity. Garish Barish is closely connected with his own struggle to hold on to his memory of his past, as he attempts to embrace an unfamiliar present.

Two Video Art Shows: Garish Barish & masarapmatulog

Two video art shows opened simultaneously 24 January at the Cubicle Art Gallery.

Garish Barish is a collection of video art projects by artists based in Norway, which deals with subjects that are halfway between memory and insanity. It is about displacement, and a space between reality and imagination. Collected by Filipino artist Jet Pascua, the participants come from Norway, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Palestine.

Masarapmatulog , curated by Clarissa Chikiamco, is a solo video art exhibition of Andrei Salud. Salud's original pieces are marked by satire, brevity and element of play, incorporating toys, music and political/cultural figures.

The shows ran till 30 January 2008 and were organized by the non-profit initiative Visual Pond. The Cubicle Art Gallery is located at Stella Maris corner C. Raymundo, Maybunga, Pasig.

End Frame Video Art Project II: Daily Disclosures

End Frame Video Art Project II: Daily Disclosures, a Philippine video art festival, took place on 12 – 16 October 2007 at The Fifth, 5F, Shangri-la Plaza, EDSA corner Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong. Presented by Visual Pond, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Listening in Style, Shangri-la Plaza and Rodriguez de Alba Foundation for Creative Advocacy in partnership with Pablo, Festival do Minuto, The One Minutes and Metro Home magazine and with support by the Ateneo Art Gallery, the End Frame Video Art Project aims to call attention to and create discussion on video art done by Filipino artists and experimental filmmakers, both here and abroad.

The theme of the second edition of the video art festival, Daily Disclosures, calls attention to art in the everyday, particularly the increasing relevance of video art in the face of the constant bombardment of heightened technology in people's daily activities. Adding an international dimension to the project was the collaboration with The One Minutes, an organization based in the Netherlands that collects one minute video artworks all over the world. As the Philippine partner, Visual Pond collected Philippine one minutes through End Frame to enter in The One Minutes Awards in November 2007. All one minutes entered in End Frame will also be eligible for a screening of Philippine one minutes for the Olympic One Minutes exhibit to take place in Beijing in 2008 right before the Summer Olympics. End Frame also partnered with Festival do Minuto in Brazil where the Philippine one minutes submissions for this year's festival will be exhibited in December.

54 video works answered the call for entries last August and were screened by a selection committee composed of Peque Gallaga, Fatima Lasay, Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, Jun Sabayton and Kidlat Tahimik. The exhibition showed 33 video artworks by the following artists/experimental filmmakers: Ivy Baldoza, Elvert de la Cruz Bañares, Romeo Candido, Antonni Cuesta, Ivan Despi, Tad Ermitaño, Nelson Florentino, Mitch Garcia, Gabriel Gomez, Lea Lim, Ian Madrigal, Jemille Maog, James Mayo, J. Pacena, Jet Pascua, Claudine Rodriguez, Dohna Sarmiento, Rosevie Sevilla, Christina Tulay, Josemaria Lorenzo Valdez, Leo Valencia, Pauline Vicencio, JJ Christine Villamarin, Mannet Villariba, Jevijoe Vitug and Angelo Suarez & Costantino Zicarelli.

As part of the festival's activities, talks were held at the Home Theater of Listening in Style. On 13 October 2007, Atty. Louie Calvario of Intellectual Property-Philippines discussed copyright issues of the video art form while an open forum on video art particularly in the Philippine context, featuring as panelists artist Tad Ermitaño, End Frame Selection Committee Member Jun Sabayton and National Commission for Culture and the Arts Film Committee member Teddy Co, was held on 16 October 2007.

End Frame Video Art Project




Visual Pond and Power Plant Mall, in partnership with the Listening Group of Companies, the Cubicle Art Gallery, The One Minutes Foundation, and with support from the Ateneo Art Gallery,
presented the End Frame Video Art Project, the first Philippine video art
festival, which opened on 25 September 2006 at the North Court, Power Plant Mall. The festival ran until 28 September 2006 at Power Plant Mall and 30 September – 4 October 2006 at the Cubicle Art Gallery at Stella Maris St., Maybunga, Pasig.

The End Frame Video Art Project calls attention to the video art scene in the Philippines – creating opportunities for artists to show their works and furthering discussion on a medium that is quickly gaining popularity among Filipino artists as a contemporary art form.

Over 40 entries were received from around the Philippines with 18 being selected by the End Frame curatorial team composed of Clarissa Chikiamco, Cofounder, Visual Pond; Teddy Co, Member, Cinema Committee, National Commission of Culture and the Arts; Anne Marie de Guzman, Director, UP Film Institute; Rica Estrada, Cofounder, Visual Pond; Eloisa Hernandez, Assistant Professor, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman; Fatima Lasay, New Media Artist and Curator; Marinella Mina, Cofounder, Visual Pond and Raymond Red, Independent Filmmaker.

Artists whose works were being shown in Power Plant are Adjani G. Arumpac, Ramon A. Bautista, Jasmine Bernardino, Bea Camacho, Dante Luel R. Dizon, Tad Ermitano, Rodel Gadapan, Miguel G. Gonzaga, Mitch Garcia and Ian Madrigal, Antoinette H. Jadaone, Richard Soriano Legaspi and Claro Ramirez, Jr.

The Cubicle Art Gallery featured video artworks by Kacey Pamintuan and Jevijoe Vitug and video installations by Poklong Anading, Gary Ross Pastrana, Andrei Salud and Rembrandt Vocalan.