I've never been a rocker. In fact, I’ve always liked to say that I am the typical
classical music geek who usually gets beaten up by rock musicians. Well, I’ve never
been beaten up by rockers but it’s just my way of saying that I’ve never been
comfortable attending rock events. But a few months ago, the Embassy of Italy
gave me my rock star moment and since then, I haven’t been as apprehensive as I
was regarding rock events. Thankfully, their latest event was a fusion of rock
music and visual art and not a full blown rock event so I had no problems going
there. My knowledge about art specifically paintings are so minimal so I think
that the exhibit Faces of Pinoy Rock
by Nino Quartana (a Sicilian who has been based in Manila for five years) was
another opportunity for me to learn more about visual art. And I’ve always
liked seeing the people from the Italian Embassy and the Philippine-Italian Association since they’ve been so nice and kind to me.
Unfortunately,
morning activities during this day finished a bit late and I wasn’t able to
make it on time to see the formal opening of the exhibit at My Little Art Place.
I missed the prepared programme, the speeches, the opening remarks, the
messages and also Ambassador Fornari and Madame Silvana. But I still was able
to make it and I arrived at the gallery already teeming with a good sized
crowd. As I was making my way through the gallery and searching for people I
know, I recognized Erwin Armovit aka Armo from the band Sponge Cola. And lo and
behold, the rest of the band was also there.
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| Nino Quartana with Sponge Cola |
It
was only right then and there that I came to realize that Filipino rock
musicians were the subjects of the paintings featured in the exhibit. I confess
that I had no idea what the exhibit was all about coming in and I just went
there since I was invited by the Italian Embassy. As expected, Sponge Cola was
one of the artists/bands that had their portraits done. It was interesting to
see that their painting, based on their Araw
Oras Tagpuan CD cover, was done with bright aqua and hot pink colors
reminding me of cotton candy. Based on my experience with the band during their
Blogger’s Night, I can imagine lead singer Yael Yuzon eating cotton candy with
delight especially now that the band recently got a Diamond Record
certification.
Other
artists/bands featured at the exhibit were Raimund Marasigan, Bamboo Mañalac,
Arnel Pineda from Journey, Razorback, Wolfgang, Urbandub, Franco, Parokya ni
Edgar, and Kamikazee. I was amazed to see how the works captured the character
of the artists and bands like the playful and naughty nature of Kamikazee and
Parokya ni Edgar. As an added experience, MP3 players were also attached to
each of the paintings so that the viewers can hear the music of the artists
while looking the art. And as I was examining the painting of Bamboo while
listening to the music, I reminded myself that I need to get hold of a copy of
his new CD as well.
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| Manila in the Night |
Oddly,
the one work that really spoke through me was part of an earlier series. The
painting, entitled Manila in the Night,
utilized volcanic ashes from Mayon volcano and it depicted a lone, colorful
jeepney traversing an empty road while tall buildings stood in the background
like sentinels. The juxtaposition of the quaint yet colorful and moving jeepney
with the imposing yet immobile buildings really appealed to me and I kept
looking at it throughout the afternoon/evening. If only I could afford it, I truly
would be a happy camper.
I
stayed at the gallery for a long time and enjoyed the food and drinks in the
company of old friends and new acquaintances. And I also got the chance to know
more about Nino and was quite surprised that he had a previous work based on
the very popular Filipino axiom “Bahala na si Batman” which is what the locals
say in times of helplessness and when a favorable resolution is in the hands of
Batman, of all people. Nino, along with other people from the Italian Embassy (Isis, Giovanni and Antonio), some friends (Lorena and Patrick) and I still went out to have a bite and have some more drinks. And this was
when we were able to discuss more about Italian music, literature and comics
and also about the infamous Metro Manila traffic. Looking back, I guess that it served me well when I said to
myself “bahala na si Batman” as well when I decided to go to the opening of
this exhibit.
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| Nino, RAd and Isis |
Faces
of Pinoy Rock is a visual arts marketing promotion (vamp) project of GAPS, Inc.
(Guia Acosta Publicity and Special projects) pioneering in the advocacy of
arts, culture, education in cooperation with My Little Art Place and with the
cultural participation of the Italian Embassy, the record companies and the
artists’ management. The exhibit at My Little Art Place 222 Wilson St.
Greenhills, San Juan runs until December 16, 2011. The gallery is
open from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
