Lopez Memorial Museum: Bridging traditional and digital

March 6, Lopez Memorial Museum, Benpress Building, Ortigas Center, Pasig City - It's been awhile since I visit a museum aside from the gallery and exhibits in malls and other activity centers. "After The Facts" exhibit at the Lopez Museum is the theme of LMM's 50 years celebration, combining the works of the famous painters like Juan Luna and Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo with the works of the National Artists like Vicente Manansala, J. Elizalde Navarro, Botong Francisco and others. Juxtaposition, this is the idea of the After the Facts exhibit at the Lopez Museum, combining the works of the traditional painters with the non-conventional to create a connection of different generations of the artist and how their works can communicate to present times. LMM is divided to different major rooms, including the gallery of maps, Luna and Hidalgo's collection, Rizaliana section, national artist section and the Filipiniana Library. Here are some paintings and visual arts shown in the LMM exhibit.

El Asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante y su Hijo by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo (1853)

Flautista by Juan Luna (1883)

Espana y Filipinas by Juan Luna (1886)

Untitled by J Elizalde Navarro (1975)

Centennial Flag by J Elizalde Navarro (1998)

Crucifiction by Vicente Manansala (1971)

Soldiers (Heroes of the Past) Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera

Recuerdos by Benedicto "Bencab" Cabrera (1985)

The Lopez Memorial Museum was founded in February 13, 1960 was by Don Eugenio Lopez Sr. in honor of his parents Benito Lopez and Presentacion Hofilena. The primary goal of the museum is to reach out to students in providing them an access to the large collections of Filipiniana books, paintings, maps, manuscripts and artifacts which are personally owned by the Lopez’s. From the usual collection of the Lopez’s, LMM is now open for other artist to share their works from paintings to visual arts to expand the museum’s collection, works of Fernando Zobel, Nena Saquil, Macario Vitalis, Jose Joya and Romeo Tabuena, here are the samples of their works displayed at the Lopez Museum:

Flotsam by Ann Wizer

A Flying Machine for Icarus by J Elizalde Navarro (1984)

Musmos by Imelda Cajipe Endaya (1990)

Spanish Steps by Leon Pacunayen (1966)

La Vision by Fernando Zobel (1961)

Topless Victorian by Jose Tence Ruiz (2009)

But the Lopez Memorial Museum is unique from other museum where it offers both traditional and digital arts that will encourage appreciations from all ages. According to Claro Ramirez, the curator of LMM he says they are working on collections that will cater in all visitors of the Lopez Museum. At the same time they wanted to instill challenge in the minds of their guests on how they mix collections in different rooms, also they wanted to combine traditional to digital by offering the Lunas and Hildalgos back to back with the works of National Artists and other modernized visual arts. Watch the full interview of Claro Ramirez, LMM’s curator:

Claro Ramirez with his work where he called it Totem

For as low as 100 pesos for adults, 80 pesos for high school and college students and 60 pesos for elementary students, they can access the Lopez Museum and Library, where the library has over 19, 000 Filipiniana books.

In its 50th anniversary they launch Unfolding: Half a Century of the Lopez Memorial Museum and Library is a limited coffee table book that contains information about the history of the Lopez Museum, painting, visual arts and book collections. The book only cost P2,500.00 without a box and P2,800.00 with a box.


Lopez Memorial Museum is locates at the ground floor, Benpres Building, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center Pasig City and operation time is from Mondays to Saturdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., except holidays for more info please call 635-9545 (Museum) and 631-2417 (Library).

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LRI Design Plaza proudly presents Ferdinand Cacnio’s Connecting with Greatness exhibit

In celebration of the 6th anniversary of LRI Designs Plaza, they will showcase the works of Ferdinand R. Cacnio in his Connecting with Greatness exhibit that will show the table-top sculptures and functional art piece of Cacnio starting March 12 to March 27 at the 210 Nicanor Garcia St. (formerly Reposo St.), Bel-Air II, Makati City.

he Connecting with Greatness exhibit will contain Cacnio’s new collections of sculptures of small human figures and graceful tress perfect for a table top decoration. Cacnio is a visual artist with diploma on B.S. Psychology and B.S. Civil Engineering at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Despite of not having a formal training in the arts his aesthetic talents is nurtured by the help of his father is visual artist and some few friends from the Philippine art world. With his imagination and styles he created sculptures like dancing images, and fishermen. He combines fluidity and grace on his works to give more life on the branches and leaves of the trees to compliment to small human figures and bring out the greatness on his artworks. Cacnio is thanking God for the talent He gave him and Cacnio considered it as the greatest thing in his life. Cacnio is a member of numerous art groups in the Philippines such as Tuesday Group of Artists, Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), Sining Tambobong and Society of Philippine Sculptors (SPS). Here are samples of Cacnio ‘s Connecting Greatness collection and Dance collections:

Flamenco - Mona

Flamenco - Cristina

Ballet - Sophia

Ballet - Lisa

Ballet - Bianca

Meeting of the minds

Learn

Greatness

Flamenco - Rowena

Right now LRI Design Plaza became the design hub for upcoming and established designer and artist giving them the chance to show their works. With 30 showrooms/galleries that features world class furniture and artworks, LRI Design Plaza actively supports the promotion and designs and during its annual anniversary celebration it features homegrown designers and artist like Ferdinand Cacnio who will be showing his works on March 12 to 27.

LRI Design Plaza is located at 210 Nicanor Garcia St. (formerly Reposo St.), Bel-Air II, Makati City. For further inquiries, please call tel. nos. 895-1772; 895-7949.

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9 Works Theatrical stages Rent the rock musical on February 5

La Vie Boheme! The multi-awarded Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” will be staged on February 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28 (Fridays at 8:00PM, Saturdays at 3:30PM and 8:00PM & Sundays at 4:30PM and 8:00PM) at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Building, Makati City. It’s made possible by 9 Works Theatrical Production the same group that brings Songs from a New World last May here in the Philippines. Last January 18, during the press conference of Rent at the Palm Restaurant at the Rockwell Club, one floor above the rehearsal area of the group, Joselito Tolentino, and Robbie Guevarra with the new cast of Rent for the Philippine version share's their views and excitement from the audition, rehearsal and actual performance on February.

Rent Manila director Robbie Guevarra said that he didn’t like the musical before because he finds it noisy and loud, compared from the usual musical play he joined like the Miss Saigon Philippines 10 years ago in the Cultural Center of Philippines. He tried listening to the CD of Rent but he end up pausing or changing the CD during the first act. Accidentally he discovered the song “Seasons of Love” on the second CD that made the play famous. The song “Seasons of Love” makes Guevarra fell in love with the musical. The 9 Works Theatrical production will be working on detailed set and small changes with the songs and the choreography to make it more up to date to the new breed of theater fanatics.

From 302 auditions and 72 call backs, here’s the list of the final cast of Rent who will be performing this February;

• Fredison Lo as Mark Cohen, an independent filmmaker and Roger's roommate
• Gian Madrigal as Roger Davis, a songwriter who is HIV positive
• OJ Mariano as Tom Collins, a gay philosophy professor and anarchist with AIDS
• Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist
• Noel Rayos as Benjamin 'Benny' Coffin III, the local landlord and a former room mate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Maureen
• Job Bautista as Angel Dumott Schunard, a gay drag queen percussionist with AIDS
• Jenny Villegas as Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer, who is Maureen's partner
• Cara Barredo and Nicole Laurel Asensio, both will be doing Mimi Marquez an exotic dancer who has AIDS

Ensemble members include Ring Antonio, Peachy Atilano, Johann Dela Fuente, Harold Cruz, Gary Junsay, Raul Montesa, Anna Santamaria and Mark Tayag.

Here’s an example of their performance:



Rent, the rock musical with music and lyrics of Jonathan Larson, is based from the novel of Giacomo Puccini's opera “La Bohème.” The play won prestigious awards like 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Awards (1996), New York Drama Critics Circle Award (1996), Drama Desk Awards (1996), Theatre World Awards (1996)and Obie Awards (1996). 9 Works Theatrical presents Rent production group is composed of Executive Producer Santi Santamaria, Director Robbie Guevara, Production Manager Weng Lopez, Musical Director Ceejay Javier, Vocal Coach Onyl Torres, Vocal Consultant Lionel Guico, Scenographer Mio Infante, Lighting Designer Martin Esteva, Sound Designer Rards Corpuz, PR / Publicity Director Toots O. Tolentino, PR Manager Jonjon Martin, Cast Photography by Jojit Lorenzo, Production Photography by Sandee Guevara, Marketing Manager Shelyn Tayanes, and Stage Manager Jojo Amboy.

RENT is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) 421 West 54th Street, New York, New York 10019 Telephone No.: +1(212) 541-4684 www.mtishows.com. For tickets and reservation please call 9 Works Theatrical at 57.58.60 or visit www.9workstheatrical.com or call TicketWorld at 891.9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.

Related blog entry

• La Vie Bohème Rent is here

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Deep Thoughts over “Zero in Periphery”

Paintings, sculptures and photos, maaaring magkaiba sila ng pamamaraan ng paggawa at hitsura pero mayroon silang iisang bagay na pareho at iyon ay mayroon silang message na gustong i-communicate sa tao. Pero paano kung ang mensaheng gustong i-abot sa mga tao ay isang bagay na maaaring makapagbago ng views nila sa buhay? Zero in Periphery ito ang tawag sa isang exhibit na makikita sa Ateneo Art Gallery at sa apat na museum dito sa bansa; Ayala Museum, Bahay Tsinoy, Lopez Memorial Museum, at Museo Pambata. To make the idea simple, ang concept ng Zero in Periphery ay pagbibigay pansin sa mga bagay na usually hindi natin nakikita, napapansin or naisasantabi na lang because of two reasons, it is not that popular or it is presented to us as part of our culture which I’ll be discussing sa blog entry na ito.

When we say periphery, the synonym of that word are fringe and edge. Like the word edge which means provocative or discomforting quality, most of us we are used of seeing lovely paintings and photos like portrait and scenic canvas, but at the Lopez Memorial Museum paintings shows pain, anger and rage at the group Social Realists. The painting represents the harsh look of poverty, hunger and greed for power na makikita mo sa gawa ni Al Manrique. These are things that we skip because of our everyday busy lives, the gruesome and painful situation of poverty and hunger in the country where the fact is that there people really lives under bridges, inside the tunnel and on push carts and trying to survive in a less than a dollar budget which includes 2 meal a day this one stated on the research on United Nation Millennium Report. Through the paintings as the Social Realists I hope it may strike the youth to be aware on the current situation of society.

Periphery is also the same with the words fringe which I define as a not conventional in form. And who can say that trapo or basahan can be considered as an art, and it was shown on Poklong Anading’s presentation at the Ateneo Art Gallery with the use of trapo or basahan she makes some visuals that will blend on the subject which is the basahan. Anading creates an art from what is conventionally a housemaid’s cleaning tool to something unconventionally beautiful and artistic with proper lighting, color blending and proper visualization. There is a variety of visual arts in Ateneo Art Gallery for the Beyond Frame: Philippine Photomedia exhibit for the Zero in Periphery.

After Periphery, we also use the term Zero in which is similar to three words, converge, aim and adjust. When we say zero in pertaining to gun, we are adjusted by history and situations we encounter, these are the things that Bahay Tsinoy, Museum of Chinese in the Philippines offers. Stories as told by those who witnessed and survived the dark days brought by war, all documented and presented at the Bahay Tsinoy’s Remembering collection.

Our aim is to learn culture and arts, pero bukod sa kulturang Pinoy, Ayala Museum offers a variety of ceramic arts done by different artist all over Asia. Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines for The Ring of Fire: The First Southeast Asian Ceramics Festival.

Lastly when we Zero in, we say converge, we touch and unite the lives of children in the Invisible Children gallery of Museo Pambata, these are children who lives their life fighting for another day to live. These are children who grow not ordinary like other who can play and go to school. They working children, the children with disabilities, the children caught in armed conflict, the children affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS, the children living in the streets, the prostituted children, the indigenous, the malnourished and the abused. Ito ang mga batang nangangailangan ng pag unawa, pag iintindi, respeto at pagmamahal, dahil ito ang mga batang simula nang kanilang pagkamulat ay ipinagkait na ang kanilang mga karapatan as stated by the Convention of the Rights of the Children which includes peaceful living, proper education, right to play and enjoy life and safe from any form of abuse. These are the things that Museo Pambata offers, an eye opener the current situation of the youth, who will be the future citizen of the country.

Zero in Periphery serves as an eye opener for us to acknowledge the past and history and learn from it, to comprehend the symbols and warnings in the present, and to act accordingly what should not be done on the future. Things that we should learn are not always in the center or popular topic, we should converge to the periphery and if only we zero in we will learn a lot.