In a theatrical posture, Kahon tackles the torturous and complex issue of enforced disappearances, where artworks are fraught in individual loss, grief and tragedy. According to the organizers, “The show is never intended to wallow in agony, but is an exhibit of creative rumination replete with outrage, courage and resolute call for redress, critically bent…
Category: Culture
Ex-‘Tagaytay 5’ Detainee Launches Book of Poems
A literary critic described the former political detainee’s poems as ‘among the best to have come from the ranks of Philippine protest poets.’ A National Artist for Literature also praised Axel Pinpin’s courage to write poems while in detention. Tugmaang Matatabil (Mga Akdang Isinulat sa Libingan ng mga Buhay) is Pinpin’s second full-length book of…
Thinking Over a Cup of Coffee
A post “meditation” of the recently concluded solo exhibit of Ms. Bunch Garcia – A Cup of Memory – at the Sigwada Gallery, 1921 Oroquieta St., Sampaloc, Manila; November 14 – December 5 BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent Bulatlat Carl Gustav Jung said, “Dreams are a way of communicating and acquainting ourselves with the unconscious.”…
Poets, Rock Bands Converge in Gig for S. Tagalog 72
The convergence of poetry and rock music characterized Down with the Crackdown, a concert held Nov. 22 at the Ten 02 Bar in Quezon City. Organized by the Artists’ Response to the Call for Social Change and Transformation (Artists’ ARREST), the concert was staged in protest against the political persecution of activist leaders from Southern…
Call to Defiance
Review of Rights v. 2, a collection of public service announcements on human rights Initiated by Southern Tagalog Exposure Featuring various artists Rights v. 2 begins and ends on a defiant note – as if telling the viewer that what is needed amid escalating attacks on human rights is not despair, but defiance. BY ALEXANDER…
Amid Repair of Rice Terraces, Other Ifugao Cultural Masterpieces Face Destruction
While the provincial government of Ifugao through the Ifugao Cultural Heritage Office exerts efforts to repair the damaged portions of the Rice Terraces, other historical and cultural masterpieces here face extinction. BY JEREMY M. GAWONGNA Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat CULTURE MAYOYAO, Ifugao (536 kms. North of Manila)– While the provincial government of Ifugao through…
Karaoke Koersyon: Politikal na Protesta sa Kulturang Popular
Sa karaoke, dalawa ang isinasaad ng pagbabago ng kulay ng sinusundan titik—ang kapasidad umalinsabay, at ang pag-alinsabay na may lakas o tikas ng paninindigan (tandaan ang karaoke score ay nakabatay din sa lakas ng boses). Maging ang politikal na protesta ay itinalaga na lamang sa praxis ng pang-araw-araw at pagtanggap na nga sa pluralidad ng…
It’s Good to Misbehave Sometimes…
A review of MissBehaving, a two-woman exhibit by Con Cabrera and Bunch Garcia at the Lunduyan Gallery, 88 Kamuning Road, Quezon City from October 4-22, 2008. BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA CULTURE Bulatlat According to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, a Jungian psychoanalyst and a cantadora (teller of stories), there’s a wild seed inside each and every…
Kahirapan at Kulturang Popular
At ito ang afinidad ng kulturang popular sa kahirapan, ang muling pagtatatag ng gitnang uring fetishismo na magpapasuka sa mababang uring pinagmulan. Fetishismo ito dahil walang panahong mapapatid ang fantasya at tunay (real) na ugnay ng utak (psyche) ng indibidwal sa artiFice na isinusuot at magpapatungo sa kanya sa gitnang uring fantasya. Pag nasimulan ang…
Beyond Remembering
Review of Nilikhang Kasaysayan Visual Art Exhibit Sept. 21 – Nov. 28, 2008 Bantayog Memorial Center Quezon Avenue cor. EDSA, Quezon City The martial law that Ferdinand Edralin Marcos imposed in 1972 left a tragic imprint, snippets of terror and malevolent signs. In the visual art exhibit Nilikhang Kasaysayan, the violence of the tumultuous years…
Indie Cinema Bilang Governmentalidad
Lampas-lampasan ang indie cinema sa indictment kay Arroyo at sa naghaharing uri at sistema sa bansa. Hindi man ito binabanggit o direktang may referensya sa pelikula, ito, tulad sa panahon ng diktaduryang Marcos, ang organizing signifier sa klase ng pagpapahirap at imposibilidad ng pagkamamamayan sa filmikong realidad. At kung gayon, malinaw-linaw ang dapat tahakin para…