A Refreshing Day at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art

hunter's moon 2007 by jim dine

hunter’s moon 2007 by jim dine

 

With the rich and complex history and events that took place that resulted to a worldwide belief, culture and conviction, Israel in itself can be revered as a living or breathing museum.  Every street corner seem to have a history connected either to Islam, Judaism or Christianity.  Every crook, bend or junction seem to have something interesting to tell.

And when I was in Israel, I thought visiting a museum seem no longer noteworthy unlike the way I would usually require myself to visit at least one museum every time I got to go to a foreign country.  The feeling of being in Israel itself was like being in a museum 24/7.

But when I got a good window of a time to go to an actual museum, I was hesitant at first but nevertheless, pursued with my commonly known “cultural day”.  I did visited the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The vibrant mix of pieces featured in Tel Aviv Art Museum are poles apart from the arts and artifacts seen in the old streets of Israel.  The art pieces were not of a biblical, dogmatic or spiritual in nature.  Instead, featured art were more of an intense personal expression, more of an eclectic retrospect and view and more of a strange emotional articulation.  Its novelty-ness, freshness and innovation are awesomely high!

awesome collection!

awesome collection!

super pop art entitled "shit boy showers" part of the rosenfeld gallery collection

super pop art entitled “shit boy showers” part of the rosenfeld gallery collection

sensory overload!

sensory overload!

refreshing!

refreshing!

cool ink works by justine frank. i want these printed on shirts and wear it!

cool ink works by justine frank. i want these printed on shirts and wear it!

my personal favorite entitled: "construction workers" by moshe matosovsky

my personal favorite entitled: “construction workers” by moshe matosovsky

the hallways of the museum are already a modernism form of art itself

the hallways of the museum are already a modernism form of art itself

the massive entrance hall along with some of the awesome art pieces!

the massive entrance hall along with some of the awesome art pieces!

The modernism are so breath-taking I could not control myself from saying “Wow!”  The visual art pieces were so cool and fresh, I want it printed on shirts and wear it!  Tel Aviv Museum of Art indeed is a remarkable representation of modern Israel.

Kakaiba ka!

The Abe Wing of the National Museum

Last Tuesday night, the few pieces of artistic neurons present inside my cranial cavity were happy to have witnessed one historical event in the “Philippine art scene”.  I was present during the formal turnover ceremony of artworks of Emilio Aguilar Cruz to the Philippines’ National Museum for Fine Arts.  The event was coined as the biggest donation in the history for an art collection by an artist to the country’s national museum.

And from the poignant speeches I heard during the ceremony, this generous and selfless act was decided upon so that future generations of the Philippines would be able to see and appreciate contemporary yet refined works of Filipino visual art. This is aside from the fact that these valuable pieces would definitely be protected, preserved and maintained by the state.

EAC Gallery (Abe Wing) photo grabbed from National Museum FB page

EAC Gallery (Abe Wing)
photo grabbed from National Museum FB page

Aside from the formal turnover of donation of EAC art pieces, the program also includes the formal inauguration of the Emilio Aguilar Cruz Hall. Also known as the Abe Wing inside the National Museum, this hall exhibits the donated paintings, sketches and water colors done by EAC.

Activating the art connoisseur in me, from among all the art pieces hanged inside the Abe Wing, the two works of art that charmed and bewitched me were:

portrait of a lady, 1989 (oil on canvass)

portrait of a lady, 1989 (oil on canvass)

This painting is a true representation of a Filipina beauty.  Though the only color used was the varying colors of brown, the monochromatic shades – from lighting, to the clothing and to the color of the woman’s skin – were all so fascinatingly beautiful and captivating.

Paris, 1980 (watercolor on paper)

Paris, 1980 (watercolor on paper)

This watercolor is small but very engaging.  The colors are so alive you would wonder whether such piece was recently been done when in fact it is already 35 years old. Onlooker would be able to appreciate it more if seen from a considerable distance (which for me is a typical EAC style).

Like any other great works of art found in the museums around the globe, EAC’s art pieces would someday, in some foreseeable future, shall become valuable tools for the next generation to better understand its past.  Kudos to the family of Emilio Aguilar Cruz for such a generous donation!

Koloring buk ko kaya tanggapin kung i-doneyt ko sa nashonal myusiyum? 

My Brain Break Colored Pieces

Here are three additional art pieces that is the fruit of my recent brain breaks.

still can't believe i made this...

still can’t believe i made this…

love your own...

love your own…

i know my color wheel...

i know my color wheel…

The Secret Garden coloring book has definitely made my time and concentration within a relaxing bubble.  Choosing the right shade of green, avoiding going over the lines and slowly filling up the page has at least temporarily fades my intense concerns.  It shuts me off from the rest world and brings me to a different level of calmness.

And it is good to know that based on neuroscientific research, Art Therapy to human beings can physically change, grow and rejuvenate the brain.  Another benefit of this activity is that, it unplugs me and kept me away from the world of the worldwide web for some considerable time.

Pang myusiyum talaga ang peg!

Being So Immersed in Coloring My Secret Garden

My presence into the world of internet has been reduced for the past week.  This is because I have been busy utilizing my brain’s right hemisphere for the past few days.

No, I have not been reading a book but instead – believe it or not – I have gone crazy with a coloring book.  I know it sounds like another childish silliness, but this coloring book seem to relax me.

the book itself, uncolored, is gorgeous!

the book itself, uncolored, is gorgeous!

my first venture!

my first venture!

Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford has so far been completely entrancing!  It has been the book that surprisingly calms me and at the same time enabled me to squeeze a lot of my creative juices.

I have yet to know or read an actual science that proves coloring in a coloring book makes the person happier or reduce stress.  But for me, it has been an effective tool for a blissful meditative escape from stress and pressures of daily life.

flowers and the "ipis" (as per nengkoy)

flowers and the “ipis” (as per nengkoy)

primary colors!

primary colors!

my next project...

my next project…

And after finishing three pages by simply coloring away to my heart’s content, I was chilled out to realize that there exist some creativity in me.  This book is so engrossing, it is like being so immersed in your own Secret Garden…

Aminin! Pang Nashonal Myusiyum ang gawa ko!

Meeting the First King of the Philippines in New York

Filipinos nowadays have developed the extreme love and proud-ness towards the Philippines.  It is so extreme, some would already categorize it as being conceited.  Some of the Filipinos are even fed up and would even go nuts when they would see “Proud To Be Pinoy” comments in a social media post that depicts success and triumph of a “kababayan” (fellow Filipino citizen)

But have you ever wondered how does the man whom the Philippines was named after looked like?  We proud Pinoys, I guess, never had the interest and curiosity on how King Philip II of Spain looked like.

In the whole duration of my student life – that honed my nationalistic stance – never was there a chance that a teacher, an instructor or a professor showed me the photo of the man whom my country was named after.  Considering that the academic world would be the most likely place where to see the image of this man, this regrettably never happened.  I never saw a single photo of the guy whom I consider to be the first king of my country.

And while I am on my post-student life, I actually am not familiar about the life of this king and much less I actually have zero idea on how King Phillip II looked like.  If he looked like a weakling chap, a skinny dude, a hunky fellow or a lumbersexual guy?  I have no idea at all.

patio from the castle of velez blanco

patio from the castle of velez blanco inside the met

That is why when I saw the bust sculpture of a man at the Patio from the Castle of Velez Blanco inside the Metropolitan Museum in New York City I did not right away recognize it.  When I read the label, indicating that it is the bust sculpture of King Philip II of Spain that was the only time I thought that this could be the same man whom my country was named after.

My inquisitiveness led me to right away google the words “Spain, King Phillip II, and Philippines” from my mobile phone.  The image I saw in my mobile was the very same image that was in front of me.  When I further read the information indicated in the net, it was the only time I knew how my first king looked like.

king philip ii of spain

king philip ii of spain

a great thanks to this lumbersexual chap!

a great thanks to this lumbersexual chap!

After recognizing, knowing and finally confirming the image, I stood right in front of the bust sculpture, I smiled and simply uttered “Hi!” Before I left the patio square to visit other galleries within The Met. I walked back to the same sculpture I took a photo and say “Thank you dude!”

Syet nakalimutan ko mag-selfie sa Unang Hari ng Pinas.

Good Art at the MET

cultural day at the met

cultural day at the met

I am no authority on classifying what is good art and what is not.  But good art for me is like porn.  You just know it when you see it.  It is the piece from across the room that is full of art pieces yet you’re attention gets sucked by it.

Good art is personal.   It is the piece that commands gaze, shake your brain cells and delivers pleasant feelings even after days has passed.  It is the piece that does not need your convincing by anyone to appreciate it.

These are exactly my thoughts during my “cultural day”, the day of my traditional visit to a museum every time I got the chance to travel out of my country.  And during my stay in New York, my “cultural day” of course ensued at no less than the largest art museum of the United States, the world renowned, MET or the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

With the vast selection of superb art pieces featured in the MET, the pieces that commanded my gaze, sucked my attention and shook my brain cells were the following:

pix-cell deer by kohei nawa

pix-cell deer by kohei nawa

dvarapala (doorman with a bow from pakistan)

dvarapala (doorman with a bow from pakistan)

petrus scriverius by frans hals

petrus scriverius by frans hals

chinese mural with some spectators... i love my instagram shot...

chinese mural with some spectators… i love my instagram shot…

Though my New York journey has concluded weeks ago, these are the very art pieces that got stuck in my brain which emits lingering feelings of pleasantness.  So I guess, these are my self-classified “good art” pieces found at the MET.

Grabe! Super hay-end ang Kuchural Dey kong yan!

Morning In Binondo by Sym Mendoza

After having been at awe by the magnificence of the paintings featured in The Dimasalang Artists Collection Exhibit at the National Museum of the Philippines, it would obscenely be unfair if I would only have one post about it.  Here’s my initial post about this event: Fixated with Café Scene

first time to see a lettuce-green-colored gallery. i love it!

first time to see a lettuce-green-colored gallery. i love it!

catch it while its there...

catch it while its there…

dimasalang group

It has exactly been a week already, yet I could not expunge in my thought the need to write about a 1970 oil painting done by Sofronio “Sym” Mendoza entitled Morning in Binondo.  I don’t know why but this painting seem to have quietly caught my attention during the night of the exhibit’s formal launch.

beautiful!

beautiful!

I would like to believe that it is the alluring streaks of color as well as the glowing pigments that has attracted me most about this 44 year-old painting.  Also, I guess it is the easy-going yet serene approach in the depiction of a specific space in Manila that has caught my interest.  This vibrant yet soothing tableau truly exemplifies an excellent portrayal of Philippine life and scene.

 

The Dimasalang Artists Collection Exhibition will run until July 27, 2015 at the Museum of Fine Arts of the National Museum of the Philippines.

Super nays!

Fixated with the Café Scene

cafe scene: my fave eac painting

cafe scene: my fave eac painting

Without clicking a single brain cell, my automatic response was the “Café Scene”.  This was when I was asked which among the Emilio Aguilar Cruz (EAC) paintings featured in the newly launched Dimasalang Artists Collection was my favorite.  The Dimasalang exhibit is a newly launched exhibition of gorgeous paintings by 6 artists at the National Museum of the Philippines.

photo grabbed from national museum of the phiilippines fb page

photo grabbed from national museum of the phiilippines fb page

In fact, before this painting made it inside the museum of all museums of the Philippines, a lot of people actually owns a mini-copy of it tucked inside their wallet.  This is because a couple of years ago this painting was chosen by Mastercard to be one of their credit cards’ cool designs.  Here’s a link when I wrote about this: A Painting In My Wallet.

pautang!

pautang!

To even prove my point that I indeed is a fan of this painting, the cover of my 2011 journal which I brought on my second trip to Australia was the photo of this magnificent painting.

my 2011 journal

my 2011 journal.  this notebook kept me sane during a long train ride from sydney to gold coast.

Maybe the reason why I love this painting is because it captured the feeling of people who loves to celebrate food with friends and family.  I guess, it can basically represent my being a social person.

Sosyal kasi ako. Kaya layk ko ‘yan. (saying this in pa-sosyal tone)