Repository of my thoughts and images of art, literature, travel, and life.
My students are always fascinated when I point out that Juan Luna’s Spoliarium isn’t his only work, nor academic painting his only style. Two examples currently hang in the Vargas Museum, right inside campus. One is a study of The Trial of Galileo and the other is Picnic in Normandy. If these two painting could talk, … Continue reading Day 7, A conversation between two paintings
I walked around in a cold, darkened room, and there it was—Gustave Courbet’s The Painter’s Studio. I stood in awe for a moment, taking it in. I walked near it to see the details of the paint. I moved back so I can see its entirety once I again. I sat down on the bench … Continue reading Day 2: A Room with a View, Remembering Gustave Courbet’s The Painter’s Studio
Well, this is my first writing project of the year (outside of the 2013 backlogs). Aside from that, this is also a first for me to create an exhibition note for a gallery exhibition. Thanks to Leslie de Chavez for providing this great learning moment. It was fun working with him and meeting a number … Continue reading Concurrence at West Gallery
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 Reflections on Former West Propositions
I stumbled into this interesting piece as I was looking for new movies to watch. Since The Artist was such a success, I decided to look for more Academy Award winning films. Watching Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase is a revelation. Youtube people are calling this a 7-minute Art History lesson, specifically, I think this is a 7-minute … Continue reading Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase
Modern ideas are often applied within the aesthetic imagination of the Filipinos. F. Sionil Jose’s obsession with the significant form and the greatness of the art of the masters echoes Clive Bell in his The Aesthetic Hypothesis, “It is the mark of great art that its appeal is universal and eternal. Significant form stands charged … Continue reading Art Conversations: Ideas and Aesthetics of Modernism
As revealed in the discussions on Poleteismo, Filipino people are still looking for beauty in art. Numerous articles are looking, not just for beauty but also for the ennoblement of the soul. It almost appears that the Filipino aesthetic valuation and theory remain still with the “great masters” echoed by F. Sionil Jose. In another … Continue reading Art Conversations: The Concept and Question of “Beauty” and “Sublime”
The earliest cries on the aesthetic value of Poleteismo is its position as art. It is the root cause of the controversy and debate when the issue of religious offense was set aside. Various definition of art was propositioned from various sectors, including two of the most popular and opposing editorials--F. Sionil Jose’s Hindsight: The … Continue reading Art Conversations: What is Art? Problems of Defining Art
A hundred and fifty years after Jose Rizal’s death, about a hundred years after Marcel Duchamp’s The Fountain, where do we actually find ourselves? We are still stuck in the conventions of the great masters of the great museums all over the world. At least, it appears that we are. How did we get here? … Continue reading Art Conversations: Critical Art Practices in the Philippines
Portia Placino 