Mag:net News
GERRY TAN’S FLATBED STORIES OPENS AT MAG:NET GALLERY
Former UE College of Fine Arts Dean Gerry Tan opens his recent exhibition at Mag:net Gallery in Katipunan this Saturday, 18 August. The show will be on view up to 8 September. Some 8 bands have been lined up by Romeo Lee for the night (Free Admission- Compli food and drinks downstairs, full pay bar upstairs) to absorb and entertain the huge crowd expected to attend Gerry’s opening this Saturday. Titled “Flatbed Images” the exhibition consists of collage-based oil paintings one measuring 7x7ft which Gerry “explores with processes that involve the mechanical and manual replication of images”. Read article and view paintings> http://www.magnet.com.ph/exhibition/katip/2007/08-18.htm
MAG:NET ARTISTS IN ATENEO AWARDS 2007
Three artists associated with Mag:net bested the Ateneo Art Awards this year. They are Lyle Buencamino for the exhibition "A Bowtie for John Lyle" shown last year at the now defunct Mag:net Gallery in ABS-CBN compound, Wawi Navarroza for the exhibition "Saturnine: A Collection of Portraits, Creatures, Glass & Shadow" at the Silverlens Gallery and MM Yu for the exhibition "Thoughts Collected, Recollected" at Finale Art File. Though Wawi Navarroza has not shown yet in Mag:net Gallery she has been performing in Mag:net Cafe as the lead singer of the band called The Late Isabel. MM Yu aside from holding shows in Mag:net, also curates her Table Gallery at the café in Katipunan. To the 3 artists, our warmest congratulations!
GALLEON TRADE SHOWS END BUT EXPEDITIONS TO CONTINUE
The Philippine Daily Inquirer published an article about the Galleon Trade Art Exchange chronicling how the project went through this past 3 weeks which the visiting “galleonistas” enjoyed very much. Galleon Trade curator and main organizer Jenifer Wofford has already been apologetic, “we will never be able to reciprocate the enthusiasm, the support and the hospitality accorded us when it’s our turn to host in the US”. All the 9 visiting artists have gone back to the US but we were told Gina Osterloh is coming back soon for a 3-month stay in Manila as a Fulbright fellow. Written by Pedro Dumancas, one of the café’s regulars and witness to the Galleon Trade “expedition”, the article dwelled more on the project than the works of the galleonistas”. Read article> http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/08/06/html_output/xmlhtml/20070806-80769-xml.html
THE MO THE BETTER
We welcome the opening of another art space, Mawen and David Ong’s MO at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig just across Mag:net Café High Street. It’s always great to have more art spaces opening that are committed to support cutting edge art. With Silverlens now in place and doing good work and with MO’s coming into the picture, Manila is in for another great and promising period for the visual arts. It was also nice seeing the opening crowd ending up in Mag:net Café High Street after MO’s opening last week. Next time we will organize a Lee’s Night or S.A.B.A.W. Night at Mag:net High Street to coincide with MO’s opening if that is OK.
KIRI DALENA AND KHVAN DE LA CRUZ OFF TO KOREA AND AUSTRALIA
We will be missing two indie filmmakers closest to Mag:net’s Cinekatipunan. Both are leaving the country to attend International Film Festivals and Conferences. Khavn, who curates a weekly Cinekatipunan program “SHORTFILMANIA!” is off to attend an Australia Film Festival while Cinekatipunan Project Director Kiri Dalena is leaving for Korea to attend the Migrant Workers Film Festival and to be a resource person at a conference that aims to facilitate film dialogue and international media solidarity. It will be attended by media activist groups from developing nations. Held Mondays to Saturdays Cinekatipunan screenings start at 5PM. View Cinekatipunan August Calendar> http://www.magnet.com.ph/schedules/2007-08-Cine.JPG
LOS CHUPACABRAS’ MIKAEL CO WINS PALANCA
Mikael Co, that tall, pogi, fair and longhaired heartthrob guitarist of the band Los Chupacabras won First Prize in the recent Palanca Awards for Poetry. Los Chupacabras, a band composed of poets plays at Mag:net Katipunan every first Monday of the month. They hold their gigs with poetry readings called Happy Mondays Poetry Nights which is organized by another heartthrob, multi-awarded poet drummer, Joel Toledo. No wonder why always full house and so many beautiful “things” attend Happy Mondays Poetry Nights (Happy Mondays also precede the Radioactive Sago Project / Wajihuara back to back on third Mondays). LOS Chupacabras is about to finish making their first album, “one more song to go”, says Joel. They are looking for an angel to produce their album. Anyone interested to produce the first music album of a band composed of award-winning poets may call Joel at 09279952977 or email him at ramblingsoul@yahoo.com . To Mikael Co and the Los Chupacabras, congrats!
MAG:NET CAFÉ IN TIME MAGAZINE
Mag:net Café has been cited by Time Magazine as “Manila’s influential live venue.” Hmmm…we never thought of that but thanks to Lara Day who made the comment and wrote the article “The Way of Dharma” which was published in last week’s issue of the international magazine. Up Dharma Down one of the bands that play regularly in both Mag:net venues was pegged by BBC radio DJ Mark Coles as the Manila band most likely to cross over to the lucrative Anglophone market of North America. Read article> http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1644902,00.html?imw=Y
PROTEST AGAINST PERSECUTION OF THE BAYWALK BANDS
The recent decision by Mayor Lim to get rid of the Baywalk bands is anti-musicians and anti-artists. According to the widely circulated Philippine Daily Inquirer, the mayor’s reason for banning the bands is because some of the girl-musicians wore sexy clothes. It took decades for the perception to be corrected that bands are synonymous with drugs. Now a mayor is associating bands with pornography. That is so absurd. His proposal is even more absurd- replace these bands with “talented students who play native instruments”.
This is a case of artists persecution. If the mayor is really worried about those sexy clothed girl musicians, why doesn’t he try stopping those gyrating noontime TV dancers, they’re the ones who are lewd, their boobs and puwets keep popping out of the TV screen like formula, a nation’s daily doze that insults women using women, an act happening in broad daylight, their wide coverage reaching living rooms for children to see, including the farthest tribes where real native instruments are played by real natives.
The mayor’s thinking that talent means playing native instruments is simplistic and insensitive or maybe he was ill-advised by an uninformed mind capable of seeing only the surface- a very, very dangerous thing indeed.
The bands or musicians that play along baywalk are varied and not at all the same as described by Mayor Lim. Some of them in fact are serious and respected musicians in the bandscene and if the mayor visited more often and listen closely some do play “native instruments”. Yes, we have observed most of them do covers, the so called “viajeros”, but for the mayor’s information, the “viajeros” are the same Pinoy musicians who perform in hotel lobbies, cruise ships and bars all over the world, something that we can be proud of. Like the OFWs the “viajeros” have contributed in keeping our economy afloat. If they are performing in Baywalk, it is either because they’re waiting for the next contract or simply just honing their skills for the next luxury ship to dock. For the love of music the “viajeros” are all willing to perform in Baywalk for a pittance compared to what they would be paid performing abroad. For a meal or drinks and a few hundred, these musicians have opted it is better to keep playing than end up getting rustic and what is a few weeks of sharing the music to the kapwa pinoys, particularly, the masa.
But then, comes this mindless decision by a mayor whose real motivation could actually be to erase anything that is associated with his predecessor. It reminds us of how one administration after another after Marcos would shun anything that had the stamp of Imelda even if they were hospitals and cultural centers. It’s ugly politics that destroy this nation and in the case of Baywalk, its ugly politics in motion to the detriment of the helpless musicians.
People didn’t stroll along the Baywalk at night in the past. Most likely one could get mugged. Since it became well lighted and establishments started incorporating live music into their operations, Baywalk became fun and has never been safer. Where in the world would you see live bands playing every 50 meters? Metro Manilans welcomed it. Any visitor from the province love it. Foreigners love it. People enjoy listening to the bands and what joys of experience seeing the musicians connect with the people live. We see families, barkadas, lovers and yes, tourists. We see musicians, spilling over, which attests to the natural musicality of the Pinoys and which explains the Pinoy’s growing world domination of the bandscene in which the “viajeros” are paving the way. And what does Mayor Lim see? He only sees sexy bodies. Could it be that the mayor is the one with the dirty mind?
What the mayor could have done or could still do is just get rid of the excesses of some business establishments and retain the good stuff including the “tugtugan”. As for the students who could play native instruments, we think it is better for them to concentrate on their studies and leave the Baywalk night life to the “viajeros” and maybe occasionally, on special events, musicians the likes of Grace Nono, Joey Ayala, Pinikpikan, Lakbay Lahi, Makiling Ensemble, shalaM, Talahib, Sruvaleh, Kadangyan and more…
For more Mag:net News and Events>
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Performances at Mag:net Café Katipunan in August>
http://www.magnet.com.ph/schedules/2007-08-Gig.JPG