Repository of my thoughts and images of art, literature, travel, and life.
https://instagram.com/p/XHgEjOFbFg/ Being online is a very distracting process. Years before, we existed without the consistent need to check things online. But things have changed, and sometimes, I feel addicted to that sensation--of having to check on whatever is happening online. It is unhealthy. It can be a very isolating process as well. This reminds me... Continue Reading →
Former west brown bag from Portia Placino The Former West Congress: Documents, Constellations, and Prospects was participated in by around 150 students form all over the world. The levels of engagement in the Congress differed from the particular research focus and interests of the participants. The Learning Place, as programmed by Boris Buden, was focused... Continue Reading →
by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino What is a woman? What defines her? Is she different? How so? These are some of the questions I asked as the strength of my character was challenged and measured today. Things were on track. My paper was working out in its own way. Everything was relatively fine. And... Continue Reading →
by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino Once again, I am staring at a blank sheet of paper as I struggle with the topic I am working on--psychoanalysis and phenomenology. Neither of the two are my favorite. I certainly do not want to unearth the writings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, again. As an undergrad,... Continue Reading →
by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino "Iskolar ng Bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban!" This is a familiar battle cry. What kind of UP student are you, if you have never heard this chant, everywhere in the university. They even chant it outside of the university--to the senate, the congress, the palace… This often shocks or at least... Continue Reading →
Soft lighting, generic jazz music, cheap wine, flowing beer, canapés, dimsum, finger foods and pretensions—that pretty much describes the stereotypical gallery opening in the “modern” art world of Manila. People laugh, smoke, kiss each other’s cheeks and throw in art words as they toast to the success of the exhibiting artist and gallery. They are... Continue Reading →
by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino This specific topic has been troubling me. After pondering long and hard about it, I am stuck. I’ve read all of the reading assignment. I’ve thought, reflected and questioned myself. Yet, no answer came to me. What exactly is my concept of beauty? Until such time that I finally... Continue Reading →
The Social Production of Art: Neo-Marxism in Aesthetics and Art Criticism by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino Janet Wolff provides a neo-marxist take on aesthetics and art criticism. Neo-marxism involves the principles of marxism and applying it to various practical forms, in this case, in artistic forms. This differs from orthodox marxism wherein there... Continue Reading →
Art as Performance: Performativity in Aesthetics and Theoretical Practices by: Maria Portia Olenka C. Placino “Artworks must be conceived not as products (decontextualized or contextualized) of generative performances, but as PERFORMANCE THEMSELVES.” Art as Performance by David Davies is a challenging book that uses philosophical and logical approaches towards aesthetic practices. His main thesis, as... Continue Reading →
Portia Placino 