I love the website Stumbleupon.com. Today I Stumbled Upon this online article that features amazing paper art.
See more paper art here!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Remembering Lee Aguinaldo
Last night I attended the book launching of The Art and Life of Lee Aguinaldo in Ateneo. To be honest, I didn't know who Lee Aguinaldo was. I simply attended the launch, not because I was a fan of the artist's works, but to support my professor who was one of the authors and to cover it for Mega Magazine.
I soon discovered, as the organizers showed us a short documentary on him, that Lee is the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism. Let me repeat: the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism.
Now, in all the time that I've been loving art, reading about it, studying it, discussing it with friends, why the heck did I not know who the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism was?!
According to the documentary, Lee was born to wealth, but he gave it all away for a life of art. Lee's father disapproved of his work as an artist and wanted his son instead to carry on the family business (selling high end furniture) and, thus, help carry on the family legacy. I'll skip all the details since it would be better to read about Lee's life story by reading the book. But what I would like to share is that in the end, as the family business folded, it was Lee's legacy as an artist that ended up continuing the family name. Ironic, right?
During the program, Lee's son shared that his father lived life with a devil-may-care attitude--and, by looking at the retrospective exhibit of Lee's works in the Ateneo Art Gallery, one can surmise that it was this attitude that fueled the fire he put into each artwork. Each piece was an awakening to me, literally. The strokes, the colors, the subjects--all the elements in his works just scream at you, they beckon you, they affect you.
But I won't go on anymore about my personal experience of Lee's works. I'm posting photos of several of his pieces so you can experience them for yourself. Enjoy!! (I apologize in advance for the low quality shots; I wasn't allowed to use my camera's flash)
I soon discovered, as the organizers showed us a short documentary on him, that Lee is the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism. Let me repeat: the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism.
Now, in all the time that I've been loving art, reading about it, studying it, discussing it with friends, why the heck did I not know who the father of Philippine abstract-expressionism was?!
According to the documentary, Lee was born to wealth, but he gave it all away for a life of art. Lee's father disapproved of his work as an artist and wanted his son instead to carry on the family business (selling high end furniture) and, thus, help carry on the family legacy. I'll skip all the details since it would be better to read about Lee's life story by reading the book. But what I would like to share is that in the end, as the family business folded, it was Lee's legacy as an artist that ended up continuing the family name. Ironic, right?
During the program, Lee's son shared that his father lived life with a devil-may-care attitude--and, by looking at the retrospective exhibit of Lee's works in the Ateneo Art Gallery, one can surmise that it was this attitude that fueled the fire he put into each artwork. Each piece was an awakening to me, literally. The strokes, the colors, the subjects--all the elements in his works just scream at you, they beckon you, they affect you.
But I won't go on anymore about my personal experience of Lee's works. I'm posting photos of several of his pieces so you can experience them for yourself. Enjoy!! (I apologize in advance for the low quality shots; I wasn't allowed to use my camera's flash)
Lee's Portraits:
Lee at 52, taken in 1985, by Wig Tysmans, 1985, C-print, print in October 2010, 51cm x 50cm
(I added the maple leaf. Just want to maintain a PG-rating with my blog)
Explosion in Earth Colors, 1963, oil on fiberboard, 122cm x 243cm
(I added the maple leaf. Just want to maintain a PG-rating with my blog)
Pollock-inspired Works
In front of Explosion No. 141 with my newly (self) trimmed bangs!
Monday, August 10, 1959, oil on canvas, 88cm x 131cm
Monday, August 10, 1959, oil on canvas, 88cm x 131cm
Spring No. 2, 1958, oil on canvas, 76.5cm x 111.8cm
Painting in Brown, November 10, 1961, oil on canvas, 116cm x 116cm
"I paint in sections, you see. I fill in the top section first, then the center, then the sides. It's all very calculated." -- Lee Aguinaldo
Color and Linear Works
Painting in Brown, November 10, 1961, oil on canvas, 116cm x 116cm
"I paint in sections, you see. I fill in the top section first, then the center, then the sides. It's all very calculated." -- Lee Aguinaldo
Color and Linear Works
Some of Lee's linear paintings that reminded me of Mark Rothko's works
Yellow Circulation No. 2, July 29, 1975, acrylic (Aquatec) on marine plywood, 58cm x 58cm
Yellow Circulation No. 2, July 29, 1975, acrylic (Aquatec) on marine plywood, 58cm x 58cm
Linear No. 3, March 23, 1965, acrylic (Aquatec) on marine plywood, 117cm x 132.5cm
Untitled (unfinished linear painting), undated, acrylic on marine plywood, 122cm x 152.5cm
Untitled (unfinished linear painting), undated, acrylic on marine plywood, 122cm x 152.5cm
Galumphing Eye, August 2, 1964, oil and collage on marine plywood, 60.5cm x 60.5cm
(Curator's Note: The Galumph Series was inspired by Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, are gestural like his Pollock and flick series of paintings, but in bolder strokes of color. Collages by Robert Motherwell inspired some of the Galumph paintings wherein Lee incorporated paper collage images, often of nude women taken from glossy magazines)
(Curator's Note: The Galumph Series was inspired by Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, are gestural like his Pollock and flick series of paintings, but in bolder strokes of color. Collages by Robert Motherwell inspired some of the Galumph paintings wherein Lee incorporated paper collage images, often of nude women taken from glossy magazines)
Lee's Love of Jazz
Lee's Photographs
"What keeps me alive is knowing that I am capable of surprising myself of being able to delight myself... of being able to find out that you're still capable of being creative and inventive and energetic." -- Lee Aguinaldo
These were really nice seat covers. I wonder where you can get them? I want them for my house!
The tent outside the Ateneo Art Gallery where buffet and drinks were served
Some venue pics:
These were really nice seat covers. I wonder where you can get them? I want them for my house!
The tent outside the Ateneo Art Gallery where buffet and drinks were served
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Romantic Black Lace
Before my main topic, first is this: Wow, I have not blogged in so long. To be honest, I've been so busy at work that I haven't had any time to do anything else but work. I haven't been attending classes for my museum studies masters degree and I haven't been able to take care of my artists for my small one-woman-run art agency. 2010 was really a busy year. Apart from planning my wedding, the magazine I work for really just got hectic because of all the revamping we did (for the print version, marketing events, TV, etc.). But the stress paid off--our magazine is at the top of its game and our competitors are scrambling to keep up. We just closed our February 2011 anniversary issue (19th) and we have a big surprise for our readers. All I can say is that we have MULTIPLE covers.
But despite the stress it gives me, my work has its many perks--one of which is keeping me in tune with what's hot in the fashion world. And yesterday I wore to work one of my favorite fall/winter 2011 trends--black lace:
Hence, inspired by my wardrobe, I decided to dedicate this post to this romantic-gothic look. Here's another photo of me at my wedding last April 2010 wearing black lace tights (My mother was not pleased that I wore colors other than white to my wedding, but I was never one to really follow convention):
And here's another one of me, wearing black lace gloves sourced in Carolina's Lace Shop (given to me by fashion editor Teej Nepomuceno):
Being a new wife, one of my favorite pastimes is looking at design blogs for inspiration for our home. One of my must-have finds are these black lace light bulbs by BrowneHsieh from the company's MothEaten line:
Blogger Candy Dizon posted photos of The Peninsula Manila Hotel's newest resto, Salon De Ning. One of the photos that caught my eye was this one of the these beautiful lace chandeliers:
And, of course, since this is an art blog, I Googled "black lace artwork" and found some really nice creations:
But despite the stress it gives me, my work has its many perks--one of which is keeping me in tune with what's hot in the fashion world. And yesterday I wore to work one of my favorite fall/winter 2011 trends--black lace:
Hence, inspired by my wardrobe, I decided to dedicate this post to this romantic-gothic look. Here's another photo of me at my wedding last April 2010 wearing black lace tights (My mother was not pleased that I wore colors other than white to my wedding, but I was never one to really follow convention):
And here's another one of me, wearing black lace gloves sourced in Carolina's Lace Shop (given to me by fashion editor Teej Nepomuceno):
(Photo taken by Mai Kaufman at Mega Magazine's September 2010 issue wrap party at Members Only; I'm wearing neckpiece and dress by Chris Diaz for Myth)
Being a new wife, one of my favorite pastimes is looking at design blogs for inspiration for our home. One of my must-have finds are these black lace light bulbs by BrowneHsieh from the company's MothEaten line:
Blogger Candy Dizon posted photos of The Peninsula Manila Hotel's newest resto, Salon De Ning. One of the photos that caught my eye was this one of the these beautiful lace chandeliers:
And, of course, since this is an art blog, I Googled "black lace artwork" and found some really nice creations:
("Black Lace" by KainApophysis)
("Petite Kokeshi" by Caracarmina)
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