Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals

The Japan Foundation and the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum are accepting proposals for curatorial projects for a workshop on curating contemporary art from November 24 to 25, 2009 at the UP Vargas Museum. The project aims to provide a platform for interaction among young curators, their peers, and established practitioners in the field.

The curatorial proposal of 500-800 words should include a working title; a brief explanation of the project, with reference to artists, space, and relevant logistical details; and conceptual issues or theoretical reflections. Only individuals 35 years old and below may submit. After the proposals are selected, the proponents will be advised to write a more detailed essay for the workshop.

This initiative is set against the broader interests of the Jenesys Program for Art Curators, which seeks to develop curatorial resources in the region.

Deadline for proposal is on November 16, 2009 and may be e-mailed to vargasmuseum@yahoo.com, vargasmuseum@gmail.com, or bdiaz@jfmo.org.ph under the reference “Curatorial Development Program.”

Pangatawanan Mo Nah!

Pangatawanan Mo Nah!
5 November- 19 November 2009
GF, Lobby and West Wing Galleries
UP Vargas Museum

The UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum opened Pangatawanan Mo Nah! last 5 November 2009. The exhibit was graced by Mae Paner herself, also known as Juana Change, with guests of honor, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Ms. Cheche Lazaro, Bro. Armin Luistro, and Ms. Gilda Cordero-Fernando.

The exhibit features Mae Paner, performer and social critic behind Juana Change. The character is the creation of a pool of writers. A cross between “Wanna Change” and “Wa’Na Change” (No More Change), she is a You-Tube sensation, best known for exposing the many issues of the country in satirical form. Curated by Marian Pastor Roces, Pangatawanan Mo Nah! features paintings, photographs, sculptures and installations by a roster of acclaimed Filipino visual artists interpreting Mae Paner posed in the nude. Featured artists include Kiri Dalena, Brenda Fajardo, Kawayan de Guia, Nap Jamir, Julie Lluch, Jim Paredes, Wig Tysmans, among others.

Unlike the vulnerable Mae Paner, Juana Change’s attack is upfront, hence the naked poses. She is an extreme figure, “completely acted, completely put on, but completely truthful”. In line with this project, Juana Change has committed to herself and to the public to opt for a healthier lifestyle.

Pangatawanan Mo Nah! will be on view at the Vargas Museum until 19 November 2009. For more information, please contact the Museum at numbers (+632) 928-19-27 (direct line), (+632) 981-85-00 loc. 4024, 9+632) 928-19-25 (telefax) or send an e-mail to vargasmuseum@gmail.com. The Museum’s official website may be viewed at www.vargasmuseum.org.

Persistent Visions

Persistent Visions
15 October 2009 to 30 March 2010
3/F, South Wing Gallery

In line with its aim to strengthen the network among art and cultural institutions, the UP Vargas Museum opens Persistent Visions, an exhibition co-organized with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum, on 15 October 2009 at the 3/F South Wing Gallery. The exhibition features the video installation by London-based Singaporean artist Erika Tan, to be exhibited simultaneously at the NUS Museum, and selected materials from the UP Vargas Museum art and library collections.

Drawing from amateur videos deposited at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Tan’s installation work presents a moving imagery of various British colonizing missions in the East and explores the concept of the colonial archive as a site of contestation and power. Materials from the UP Vargas Museum relate the Philippine colonial experience to the video. Photographs of American soldiers and officials serve as vivid journals of the American civilizing project in the Philippines and offer a glimpse of how a colonial power represents itself through its own gaze to reinforce their role in the Orient. Two paintings from the art collection elaborate on the complex relationship between the bearer and object of the gaze in visual representations. Juan Luna’s Picnic in Normandy projects the gaze toward the colonizers, and illustrates the colonized native’s fascination with idyllic life in the West. Day Begins by Vicente Alvarez Dizon presents an image of the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation when Pax Americana was disrupted and a dawn of an East Asia sphere would be ordained.

Exhibition runs until 30 March 2010. For more information, you may contact the UP Vargas Museum at 928-1927 (direct line), 981-8500 local 4024 (UP trunkline), 929-1925 (fax), or send an email to vargasmuseum@gmail.com. You may also visit the Museum’s official website at www.vargasmuseum.org.

Gallery Walk Through with Duddley Diaz

Gallery Walk Through with Duddley Diaz

25 September, Friday, 2pm
G/F Lobby and West Wing Galleries
UP Vargas Museum

In line with the exhibit
Messenger of the Gods
A Duddley Diaz Retrospective
8 August to 30 October 2009

The UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum (UPVM) in cooperation with Galleria Duemila, Inc. presents a Gallery Walk Through of the exhibit titled, Messenger of the Gods: A Duddley Diaz Retrospective on 25 September, Friday, 2:00 pm at the G/F Lobby and West Wing Galleries of the Museum. Learn more about the artist and his works as the artist himself gives enlisted guests a tour of the exhibit.

Duddley Diaz, "Angel with Owls", 2007, Wood and acrylic

The exhibition represents significant themes and periods in the development of sculptor Duddley Diaz as an artist and as a Filipino working in Italy. The exhibition brings together four decades of artistic work which includes his childhood works and student works at the UP College of Fine Arts. As a scholar of the Italian government, works which he did during his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti are also featured in the exhibition. The show also highlights Duddley’s technical prowess in working with different sculptural media–wood, cast bronze, marble, silver, and ox bone.

The tour will accept a maximum of thirty guests. Admission to the tour is free. For reservations, please contact Ms. Louise Marcelino or Ms. Susie Garcia of the UP Vargas Museum at numbers 928-19-27, 981-85-00 local 4024 or send an e-mail at vargasmuseum@gmail.com. Deadline of reservations is on 23 September 2009.

The exhibit is also made possible with the support of its major sponsors: Philippine-Italian Foundation, Tantoco-Rustia Foundation, Jul B. Dizon Jewellery Salon, and also brought to you by FurniItalia, Icon Graphics, Metrobank, UP Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, Ralph’s Wines and Spirits, and Café Ianna.

Messenger of the Gods Exhibit Opening

Messenger of the Gods
A Duddley Diaz Retrospective

8 August to 30 October 2009
GF, The Lobby and The Edge Galleries

National Artist Napoleon Abueva with Duddley Diaz for the opening ceremony

The UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum in cooperation with Galleria Duemila opened the exhibit Messenger of the Gods: A Duddley Diaz Retrospective last August 8, 2009, Saturday. The opening was graced by National Artist Napoleon Abueva and National Museum Director Corazon Alvina as guests of honor. Together with the Curator, Dr. Patrick Flores, and other distinguished guests, they marked the opening ceremony by the strike of the bell.

The exhibit highlights various works representing significant themes and periods in the development of Italy-based sculptor Duddley Diaz. It features the recurring images and symbols of his works for the past four decades (1967-2009) – the messenger of the gods. His sculpted and painted works are rooted in spiritual beliefs, from the established religion of Christianity, which is norm rather than expression, to the mythologies and indigenous rituals. The characters and figures represented serve as vessels of sacred messages. Some of these messengers are embodied by Haliya, messenger of the soul, being the goddess of the moon who oversees the world above the sky. The owl is usually a messenger totem that delivers omens, hallowed messages and spiritual signs. Some believe that the hooting call of the owl is a summoning call to the spirit world. For the Christian faith, angels and saints also perform as messengers of God.

The exhibit also presents Diaz’s technical prowess in working with different sculptural media – clay and terracotta, wood, cast bronze, brass, marble, silver, ivory and ox bone. He also works in extreme scale — from large single relief panels and in the round bust or free-standing figures, floor to ceiling height assemblages to intricately carved ox bone and silver jewelry. But his artistic ingenuity does not end with sculptural works; his drawings, prints, jewelry, and paintings embody the consistent character in his art making explorations.

The exhibit will run until 30 October 2009. The Museum is open on Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 am to 4 pm. For more information, please contact the UPVM at numbers 981-8500 loc. 4034 (UP trunkline), 928-1927 (direct line), 928-1925 (fax), or send an e-mail to vargasmuseum@gmail.com. The Museum’s official website may be viewed at www.vargasmuseum.org.

The exhibit is also made possible with the support of its major sponsors: Jewellry Salon, Philippine-Italian Foundation, Tantoco Rustia Foundation; and also brought to you by Furn Italia, Icon Graphics, Metrobank, UP Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, Ralph’s Wines and Spirits and Café Iana.