Friday, July 25, 2008

EDSA Billboard

The EDSA is one of the main drags through Manila with a constant flow of traffic and as such it edges are heavily decorated with billboards. In the main they are the graffiti of competing brands but from time to time, which with the interesting use of English that happens here in the Philippines, one comes along that can't be ignored.

I have no idea who this guy is, it is just my fervent hope that he is a polly. And like at a 70's concert of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll he would tape a pre-rolled reefer of L.A. Confidential under each seat of the congress before getting up to speak.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Grafitti on the move - almost

Something to blow away those Monday blues.
The Inner City Snail - a slow moving street art project by British artist SLINKACHU.

See a lot more of SLINKACHU's work here and here.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Two for One

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Except for retrospective exhibitions, where an artist’s life’s work is displayed, an exhibition is usually developed around a theme be it subject, style or technique. The better exhibitions combine these elements but invariably the works displayed are discrete as the artist explores their chosen theme. But from time to time an exhibition comes along that through its presentation extends its potential so that it becomes more than the sum of its parts.

And so it is with one of the current exhibitions at Silverlens Gallery. Johann Espiritu’s “Duality/Symmetry” exhibition is as much a conceptual installation as it is a series of photographs that explore the semiotics of pairs of signifiers that lead to an Eliotesque “overwhelming question”.

Like a modern narrative poem, it starts with a prologue of 8 colour Duratrans depicting childhood diversions entitled “Bored Games” 1 to 8. These are followed by 10 untitled diptychs, mostly in black and white with the odd splash of colour and sepia, arranged like poetic stanzas. The architecture of the gallery has been incorporated into the display and like the turning of a page provides a pause in the flow of these pairs of disparate depictions combined by a legal mind. And although a particular pairing may capture the eye like a quote that resonates, the challenge of decoding the duality of symmetry, from prologue to final stanza, is that which provides the mental gymnastics.

Sharing the Silverlens space is Frankie Callaghan’s “Stranger” exhibition. A series of 12 colour photographs taken at night which explore the sense of nocturnal otherness, the alienation of imagination caused wonderings from an urban perspective. These are discrete works with each piece existing within its own aesthetic.

In 3 of his works Callaghan has used Chromatic Aberration, coloured lines introduced by a lens that photographers traditionally spend their way to eliminate, as a design element. In “Rooftop Gardener” and “Guarding the Woods” it provides balance to the composition by increasing prominence to an otherwise overwhelmed section of the image. But in “Clothes Lines” it seems to be overdone capturing the eye at the expense of rest of the image. That being said “In God We Trust” and “Nightfall” are two strong works that speak directly to the artist’s concerns of things that go bump in the night.

“Duality/Symmetry” and “Stranger” are on display at the Silverlens Gallery, 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City until the 9th of August. More information can be found at www.silverlensphoto.com.

Friday, July 18, 2008

The Eagal & the Dragon - A Reprise

The 4th Part of the series (see 6 posts down) from the Telegraph about America and China can be seen here

I'll Support Obama

Bill Clinton, former US president and hubby of the unsuccessful Hilary says he will support Barack Obama and his tilt to become the really big cheese in US politics.

But bugger me doesn't Bill look just a bit like Geppetto's favourite son Pinocchio?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Monday, July 14, 2008

Three New Images

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Broken Spaces # 3


Broken Spaces # 4


Broken Spaces # 5 (A Thin Green Line)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

How Little Things Change

Had the good fortune to catch Joseph Mankiewicz's 1953 version of Shakespeare's "Julius Ceaser" with Marlon Brando, James Mason and John Gielgud in the lead roles and not a bad rendering. Interesting to note that in near on 500 years a good body count hasn't gone out of favour as well as the setting up for sequel.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

A Hypocrite's Dinner

Here are the menus for the G8's nosh ups as they discuss the food crisis.
And to think Marie Antoinette lost her head over the "Let them eat cake" crack.

The Eagle and the Dragon

A series of 4 articles in London's Telegraph contrast and compare the home of the brave and the Asian tiger. From 'Apple pie, Mom and Chevrolet' to 'Harmonious', Mick Brown with photographer Alex Soth in tow, look at the differences between China & America.

First installment - freedom fighters
Second installment - Requiem for a Dream
Third installment - onward and upward
Fourth installment - Higher, Faster, Stronger

It's not a bad read, shame the pics are so ordinary.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

An Interesting Series

I have just watch the full 6 hours of "the Genius of Photography". If you're interested in making drawing with light type pictures it's a bit of a much see. From the first days up to the stars of today as only the BBC can do it.

Episode 1, Fixing the Shadows, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Episode 2, Documents for Artists, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Episode 3, Right Time, Right Place, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Episode 4, Paper Movies, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Episode 5, We are Family, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Episode 6, Snap Judgments, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6