Self – Portrait without … –> Self

Hello everyone! Yeah It’s me again. Your blogger neighborhood ha-ha-ha 😛 Anyway, this could be my last entry for now but still I will post some new entries here if I’m not busy with my schedules.

My topic today is about me. Yeah Me! Definitely Me! Lucky Me! ha-ha-ha 😀 But the few difference with this is that, I didn’t include myself in those pictures that I will show to you later. The challenge, then, is to tell the reader or viewer about myself via photographs of objects, places, moods, situations, and or people. Ready? Let’s Start!

 

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If your already done looking at those pictures above then you can describe me based on them and of course you can post them on the comment section below so that I can explain or briefly discussed to you what you think about me. Thank you! 🙂

Portrait of the Other

Code Name: The Slasher

Age: Range from 50-60’s

Bio: She is a dress-maker for almost more than 50 years. Her husband was died last September 15, 2010 because of liver cancer and now that September 2011 is near to come, she and her existing family will prepare food for the 1 year death anniversary of their dad. When she was young she already know how to face the difficulties in life about to their financial status and family matters. She still enjoy life no matter what happen. When one time, her auntie decided to asked her to live in Manila and study there. Her mom and dad agreed to her decision since she also want to experience the life in Manila and the beauty of an urban area. In lieu of going to Manila she must also need to work as a baby sitter of her auntie’s baby and take care of  her auntie’s house. Her auntie knew that she is also great in dress making so after doing all those task that her auntie’s given to her and continuing her studies in secondary level, her auntie and her uncle decided to give her a dressmaking equipment. She didn’t finish her studies because of lot of works assign to her. So she just decided to go on with her studies and continue to what she have now, being a dressmaker.

Her uncle knew lot of people in Manila and their families have a connection with the armies of the Philippines. One of her uncle had a problem because his business became bankrupt so he decided slasher (codename of our subject) to takeover and continue the started business, the Restaurant. After long months working as a Manager of her uncle business, the Restaurant increased sales and earn lot of money. Slasher still continue being a businesswoman. While she’s not around on their restaurant, she is in her another business. She is on her dress making shop. Still lot of people visited her shop because of her skills in doing different kind of clothes. So when she reached the age of 19 she already have 2 businesses that she handles.

She found her husband in the field of Forces. Specifically, Philippines Air Force. There she had three children and established a new dressmaking shop near in their house. She knew that college fees are expensive and her children courses are exorbitant so she work abroad as a dress-maker. She and her husband work hard to earn for their living and after all those hard works they overcome their needs. But when her children already reached up their professions and started to earn money also,  for some reasons, her 2 children died. She didn’t know why God need to do that to her and to her family but still she didn’t forget God. She and her husband continue to live and enjoy life. Her only one daughter left, in exchange had three children also. She and her husband became good grandparents and spoiled sometimes their grandchildren. It just so sad because her husband died last year (2010) but her daughter and her grandchildren were still there to continue the beauty of life.

 

While I’m talking and asking some questions to her, our conversation looks like just an ordinary talk. A usual talk on which such as you and your parents talk about when you ask money for your school. But when I analyzed her life about the statements she gave to me, I learned that life is just isn’t how you carry out something or recognizing your name for what you’ve done but it’s about how you give time for you special love ones because life is short and you don’t know if they will always be there for you in the end.

After I submitted a consent letter to her to informed that I’m going to do this project, at first she was in doubt but when she read what is inside the consent letter (“It will be look like a story in Maalaala Mo Kaya with pictures”) she agreed in the end. And so, I take some pictures of her but because of private life that she still want to emphasized, I still hide her identities and continue with my task.

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Philippine Art : “Baybayin” (Alibata)

Well then, I’m here again for my another blog entry. I plan to post this blog last week but I’m still working on how can I improve more the details about Alibata and the sub-topics I’m going to put in here. I’m also busy about to my deadlines projects because our finals is coming this September so I hope I will not failed any of my subjects this term. Anyway, go back to my topic to discuss, I chose Alibata as my subject because it is also part of the Philippine Art and moreover it is related to the history about Filipino writings and how it all started.

Alibata based on fatoprofugus.net said that Alibata is an ancient writing system that was used in what is now the Philippines. Although it was all but extinguished by Western colonization, variants of it are still used in parts of Mindoro and Palawan, and it is also increasingly used by Filipino youth as a way to express their identity. Others call this as Baybayin.

One of those Dr. Jose Rizal (Philippines National Hero) written articles, he managed to introduced how important the Filipino language was and it is from his old entries “To My Fellow Children”.

This language of ours is like any other,
it once had an alphabet and its own letters
that vanished as though a tempest had set upon
a boat on a lake in a time now long gone.

“To My Fellow Children”,
attributed to Jose Rizal, 1869
English translation by P. Morrow

The tempest in Rizal’s verse struck the Philippines in the 16th century. It was the Spanish Empire and the lost alphabet was a script that is known today as the baybayin.

Contrary to the common misconception, when the Spaniards arrived in the islands they found more than just a loose collection of backward and belligerent ethnic groups. They found a civilization that was very different from their own. The ability to read and write is the mark of any civilization and, according to many early Spanish accounts, the Tagalogs had already been writing with the baybayin for at least a century. This script was just beginning to spread throughout the islands at that time. Furthermore, the discovery in 1987 of an inscription on a sheet of copper in Laguna is evidence that there was an even more advanced script in limited use in the Philippines as far back as the year 900 C.E.

There where lot of Alibata histories that can be found in the internet but then If I’m going to post the articles in here it will seem to be boring and you will easily get tired reading all those stuff so I will just share some of the best reference to know more the Alibata or the Baybayin History later. Moving on since Alibata is still my subject that I want to share to you, here is my other explanation on which and why Alibata still running in Philippine Cycle of Writings and Livings.

Hanunóo Script is one of three forms of the Baybayin that is still use in today.

The bamboo document and the dagger used to write it.

The Alphabet we used daily and which we are familiar now days are somewhat different in Alibata. Since many of the writing systems of Southeast Asia descended from ancient scripts used in India over 2000 years ago. Although the baybayin shares some important features with these scripts, such as all the consonants being pronounced with the vowel a and the use of special marks to change this sound, there is no evidence that it is so old. The shapes of the baybayin characters bear a slight resemblance to the ancient Kavi script of Java, Indonesia, which fell into disuse in the 1400s. However, as mentioned earlier in the Spanish accounts, the advent of the baybayin in the Philippines was considered a recent event in the 16th century and the Filipinos at that time believed that their baybayin came from Borneo. This theory is supported by the fact that the baybayin script could not show syllable final consonants, which are very common in most Philippine languages. This indicates that the script was recently acquired and had not yet been modified to suit the needs of its new users. Also, this same shortcoming in the baybayin was a normal trait of the script and language of the Bugis people of Sulawesi, which is directly south of the Philippines and directly east of Borneo. Thus most scholars believe that the baybayin may have descended from the Buginese script or, more likely, a related lost script from the island of Sulawesi. Whatever route the baybayin travelled, it probably arrived in Luzon in the 13th or 14th century.

Sample Text in the Baybayin alphabet

Sample Text in the Latin alphabet

Ang lahat ng tao’y isinilang na malaya at pantay-pantay sa karangalan at mga karapatan. Sila’y pinagkalooban ng katwiran at budhi at dapat magpalagayan ang isa’t isa sa diwa ng pagkakapatiran.

Hear a recording of this text here:

Baybayin Sample – Translate

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

As I go through some research, I found some people who use Alibata as part of their life and how it also become art aside from its style which looks like calligraphy.

There were some celebrities used Alibata as their own tattoo. They use this maybe as a kind of symbol that maybe represent them and form as a hidden message to some who doesn’t know how to read Alibata.

UFC Light-Heavyweight contender Brandon Vera has 4 big Baybayin tattoos on his back signifying Mundo (Earth), Hangin (Wind), Tubig (Water) and Apoy (Fire). Based on the photos above, it looks like the MU character is missing a kudlit below it. Without the kudlit, it would read MA-N-DO. While Mundo is conversational Tagalog for Earth, Lupa (Dirt) is probably more proper.

PAOLO OF MOONSTAR88

KARL ROY

OYO SOTTO

Also after I watched the Nestle: Kasambuhay Habambuhay 2011 an Independent Short Film Anthology Movie Entry from Cinemalaya, I noticed one of the scene from “Oh! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!” They used Alibata scripts and formulate their own Alibata Book on how to easily you can catch and make someone you want fall for you – Ang ABAKADA ng matamis na OO.

You can watch it here:

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: \”OH! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!\”

I enjoy the fact that Filipino people still used and recognized the ancient writings system Alibata. And what I can comment more is that even though we don’t use it regularly because the modernization invades us 😀 Ha-Ha not totally invade, what I mean is that we our now civilized. We still put some time to discussed and learn it in some other ways.

If you think you want to publish more of those Alibata or Baybayin style of writings in your site or in your social networking sites, you can translate your messages using the websites below since Google Translate didn’t formulate this kind of translation yet to their system 😀 Enjoy!

Alibata – Baybayin Translator

 

Reference(s):

http://www.pinoytattoos.com/

http://fatoprofugus.net/alibata/index.html

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tagalog.htm

http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm

Masterpieces in Motion

It was raining so hard but still the concert of masterpieces in motion that was held last Friday night at the Aliw Theater can never stop. It was a special back to back ballet concert featuring Ballet Manila

and Singapore Dance Theater

which were presented by Ballet Manila, Bank of Singapore International Private Banking, Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) and Aliw Theater.

Lisa Macuja – Elizalde who is a Prima Ballerina and the first Philippine ballerina, and first foreign soloist who ever joined the Kirov Ballet in 1984 was also there since she is the Artistic Director of Ballet Manila and Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission. She was also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Macuja-Elizalde is also Directress and faculty member of the Ballet Manila School – a training center for ballet professionals who are steeped in the Russian Vaganova method.

The stunning performances of the ballet had a non-stop clap from the audience. That night was the Premier Night of the Masterpieces in Motion and mostly the ballet dancers from Singapore Dance Theater released their original stunts. They performed their ballet talents and amazing acts. More trivia about the Singapore Dance Theater (SDT)  it was founded in 1988 by Goh Soo Khim and the late Anthony Then. Under the directorship of Goh Soo Khim, SDT has developed into a premier professional dance company that has grown from seven to 24 dancers. Over the years, the Company performs five to six seasons, including the widely popular Ballet Under The Stars (BUTS) at the Fort Canning Park.

The Repertoire which may mean repertory, a system of theatrical production and performance scheduling are composed of the following:

Allegro Brillante

Choreography by George Balanchine

Staged by Else Borne

Music by Peter IIylich Tchaikovsky

{Piano Concerto in E Flat Major, Op. 75}

The ebullient Allegro Brillante, George Balanchine once said, “contains everything I know about the classical ballet — in thirteen minutes.” The ballet is set to a single movement by Tchaikovsky, the planned forst movement of his never-completed third piano concerto. Choreographed in 1956, Allegro Brillante demonstrates the dramatic possibilities inherent in pure dance when coupled with Russian romanticism of Tchaikovsky’s score.

Love Beyond Goodbye

Choreography and Concept by Manuel Molina

Costume and Lightning Design & Concept by Manuel Molina

Music by Josh Groban

A love that is true and immortal…

INTERVAL

As Above, So Below

Choreography by Edwaard Liang

Music by Tomaso Albinoni, Bach, and Vivaldi

Loosely based on the Buddhist notion of  “bardo” – the world between heaven and earth. It expands on the idea that was first explored in “Distant Cries”, a pas de deux created for New York City Ballet in 2005. The new work goes further in creating a larger universe of wayward spirits and souls, and seeks to capture the essence of  “bardo” and develop an emotional expression of dance language.

Arachnida

Choreography by Agnes Locsin

Music by Fagher

An interesting and exquisite pas de deux about spiders mating. BM’s modern piece entry to the 5th Helsinki and 10th Moscow International Ballet Competitions, and to the 5th Nagoya International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition. This choreography is also performed in BM’s US Tours of 2004 and 2005.

Aguila

Choreography by Agnes Locsin

Music by Joey Ayala

An Eagle soaring… This solo was commissioned by Ballet Manila for its contemporary solo variation for the New York and Tokyo International Ballet Competitions in 2003.

Ilsa-Dyur

Choreography by Augustus Damian III

Music by Peter IIlyich Tchaikovsky

Designed in the great tradition of the grand pas de deux but still very much committed to the neo-classical signature of the choreographer.

Maninyas

Choreography by Stanton Welch

Music by Ross Edwards

A series of pas de deux and pas de trois for 10 dancers. The piece depicts the process of  “unveilling” that takes place when individuals get to know each other better: as people become familiar with one another, “they take off their veils”, so to speak. They “undress” themselves spiritually, as well as physically.

For 30 July 2011, Allegro Brillante will be replaced by

Concerto Barocco

Choreography by George Balanchine

Music by Johann Sebastian Bach

Thought by many to be Balanchine’s signiture work, revolutionary in that it was instrumental in inspiring 20th century neoclassical ballet.

It was ended with a loud around of applause from the audience. That was also my first time to watched Ballet Live and to see the performers personal. I really enjoyed the show and the ticket because we had the chance to change it to Ride-All-You-Can at Star City located beside the Aliw Theater.

 

Reference(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Macuja-Elizalde

Ballet Manila Magazine

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_11/aug11/gw_rev_ballet_manila_0711.htm

http://www.pinoytexas.com/balletmanila/bmpage05.htm

http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/2011/06/update-from-edwaard-liang.html

http://www.nzballet.org.nz/repertoire/allegro-brillante

http://adaale.blogspot.com/2010/11/simona-noja-principal-dancer-of-vienna.html

http://www.noypitayo.com/2011/06/22/lisa-macuja-elizalde-receives-lifetime-achievement-award/

http://lisamacuja.com/?page_id=67

http://app.mica.gov.sg/desktopmodules/simplegallery/SlideShowPopup.aspx?PortalID=0&ItemID=29&Border=white&sb=0&sd=0

http://www.clickthecity.com/arts/?p=9031

http://www.klpac.org/?p=1131

http://www.ballet-dance.com/200504/articles/Sing20050316.htm

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=707146&publicationSubCategoryId=79

Field Trip Experience at National Museum – Intramuros

It  was an amazing day that our section visited Manila last Saturday (July 23, 2011) since were busy in our school works, projects and exams. We don’t even have time to relax and enjoy because we are also at Makati and mostly of historical places are in Manila that is why I’m glad that I’ve become part of seeing those historical paintings, art, sculptures and many more in our Field Trip.

Inside the National Museum wherein i found lot of art, there are new exhibits established and the persons who still manage to take care the museum really do their duties to improve more the tourism in Manila. There are also lot of galleries of known Filipino Painters and Sculptors like Juan Luna, Felix Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo and many more.

While we are inside the National Museum the tourist guide explained to us the meaning behind the painting of Juan Luna’s Spoliarium.

The painting shows fallen gladiators being dragged to an unseen pile of corpses in a chamber beneath the Roman arena. Beyond this Juan Luna wanted to depict the suffering of the people of his native country from colonial rule. He wanted the audience to be touched emotionally. I think this painting was joined in an art competition in Paris during the late 19th century where he gained high regognition and the painting even won first prize.

I’m not contented about the facilitator explanation about the Juan Luna’s Spolarium painting so i searched some historical finding behind this painting and i found interesting facts in this site: http://tambayan.1.forumer.com/a/spolarium_post3708.html

First of all, it is a Luna. Juan Luna gained fame for himself and his country for his painting of the 1884, Spolarium, which won the Exposicion Nacional Bellas Artes in Madrid.

Second, it is rare that Luna would include himself in his paintings. He has done many portraits and self-portraits, but he hardly ever included himself in the scenes he has portrayed.

Lastly, the painting depicts some of our most prominent patriots. Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines, aside from being a renowned doctor, writer and a scholar. Dr. Ariston Bautista was a noted physician and was one of the main financiers of the Katipunan. He was also an influential adviser to succeeding generations of Filipino leaders.

There are several interpretations of the meaning of the painting. The simplest of all being that the lady was a whore and that the three patriots were contemplating sampling her goods. However, upon closer scrutiny, the lady illustrated in the painting doesn’t look like a whore. She is modestly dressed and looks more troubled rather than seductive. Also she seems to have a companion as indicated by the beer mug opposite her and the top hat and cape on the seat beside her. Perhaps she has quarreled with her lover and he left her to contemplate things. The three patriots, could have overheard their quarrel and sympathized with her plight.

Also another interpretation is that perhaps Luna empathized with the woman’s troubles as he was having trouble with his personal life as well. The year Parisian Life was painted was also a very tumultuous year in Luna’s life. It was during that year that he discovered his wife Paz Pardo de Tavera in an act of adultery and killed her in fits of rage, later pleading temporary insanity.

The most interesting interpretation is highly symbolical. The lady is seated in an unusual place, and looks highly agitated while the three patriots are contemplating her in a wistful way.

In a lecture about the painting, Eric Zerrudo of the GSIS Museum demonstrated when a map of the Philippines is overlaid onto the painting, the shape is an perfect copy. Thus it could be surmised that the lady symbolizes the Philippines which is in distress (which is reflected in the troubled lady’s expression) and that the three patriots are contemplating ways to ease her suffering.

I have noticed that there are lots of artifacts collection in the Philippines and most of them can be found here in Manila. And the artifacts collection i saw really captured my taste of art. I appreciate all of them, the paintings of our Filipino painters, extinct animals and their keep bones, and even the structural design  of modern house and church before on time of Jose Rizal and Spanish Colony.

The three (3) artworks i chose which are best to describe their different elements of arts, subject and medium used by the artist are:

1. Spoliarium by Juan Luna

It describes the fallen gladiators being dragged to an unseen pile of corpses in a chamber beneath the Roman arena. Beyond this Juan Luna wanted to depict the suffering of the people of his native country from colonial rule. Juan Luna used oil on canvas painting for this huge size portrait and he won the gold medal for this particular painting on the Exposicion Nacional Bellas Artes in Madrid on his artwork. This serves as a treasure inside the National Museum Galleries.

2. Assassination of General Bustamante by Felix Ressureccion Hidalgo

Two hundred years ago, the Catholic Church incited a similar People Power revolt against Governor General Fernando Bustamante y Bustillo. Bustamante was murdered by a mob of friars. The event was illustrated in Felix Ressureccion Hidalgo’s “Assassination of Governor Bustamante” which is on display at the Hall of the Masters at the National Arts Gallery (formerly known as the National Museum). – http://traveleronfoot.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/assassination-of-general-bustamante/

Felix Ressurreccion Hidalgo won a silver medal award for this painting. He also used an oil on canvas painting. His artwork also serves as one of the Galleries in Hall of the Masters Section joined with Juan Luna’s Paintings.

3. Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March (Batān Shi no Kōshin (バターン死の行進^?)) was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoner.

The 60 mi (97 km) march was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, and resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon prisoners and civilians alike by the Japanese Army, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime. – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March

This artwork used an oil on canvas painting. This can be found inside the National Museum – 2nd Floor joined with the other Filipino Artist artworks.

Moreover, because it was also my first time to visit National Museum and other galleries in Manila, (i don’t know if i seen them before in my childhood days, i can’t remember :P) We took some pictures of the following and here are some of the pictures inside the wall city:

a. Palacio del Gobernador

b. San Agustin Church

c. Manila Cathedral

i. Colonnade

ii. Arcade

iii. Dome

iv. Pieta

d. Dr. Jose Rizal’s footsteps

Since the storm attacked in our way our professor decided not to go to Fort Santiago anymore. So we didn’t have the chance to take some pictures there and take a snapshot of Dr. Jose Rizal’s footsteps but since there is an internet, here is the picture i found in Google:

These footprints were brass covered, but I guess time has seen them be lifted.
The footprints show the path taken by Jose Rizal from his dungeon in Fort Santiago to his last execution place at Bagumbayan in Rizal Park.

e. Casa Manila

f. Plaza San Luis Complex corner Gen. Luna and Real Streets

We liked to take more pictures in our field trip so here are some of those pictures we took that amazed our insight

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