Skip to main content

Art After War


Art After War: 1948-1969 is a new coffee-table book from publisher The Modern Reader, which contains works of Filipino artists who produced significant pieces during that era. It's the first in a series of books called The Philippine Artscape, which aims to map the history of Philippine art from the 20th century onwards. This is my first encounter with the work of Patrick Flores, who has authored and edited several books on Philippine art, and is considered one of the country's most active curators and art historians. I opened the hardback at random and was easily attracted to Leon Pacunayen's Anguilara.

"This volume covers the period immediately after the Pacific War until the glorious era of the Sixties. It includes the works of over 50 Filipino artists who produced significant works during that span, ranging from Vicente Manansala to Lee Aguinaldo. With almost 200 images of artworks and contextual photographs, and vastly researched material culled from 30 individual collectors and 18 institutions from all over the world, this period in Philippine Art has never been presented as extensively as it did in this volume. The discussion and themes range from essays about the rise of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), the conception of the so-called '13 Moderns,' and to the involvement and prominence of the Philippine Art Gallery in Manila. 
The carefully designed book is a testament in itself to the harmonious interaction between image and text. The generous number of photographs is counter-balanced with the rich discussion about the works and the forces that shaped each movement. Chapters include key moments during 1948, captured by memorable phrases like 'To catch up with the rest of the world,' or, like in 1964's, 'Attuned to the frenzied escalation of events in the world scene.' 
Art After War: 1948-1969, represents the most interesting artworks that help define that period. It is an invaluable compendium, being the first of the series that charts the history of Philippine Art through elegant, well-crafted books."




It is now available for purchase at Finale Art File, Tin-Aw Art Gallery, West Gallery, Artbooks.ph, and Fully Booked (Rockwell and Bonifacio High Street branches).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where Bad Space and Good Music Collided

My first apartment was in Malate, and calling it “small” would be generous. I lived there with two girls and one guy, and to this day, I genuinely don’t know how we all fit. It felt like a magic trick. Or a health hazard. We were a musical mess. One roommate lived and breathed ’70s classics. Another was permanently blasting Korn and Slipknot. One survived solely on cheesy love songs. And me? I was floating somewhere between new wave and folk rock, pretending that made sense. Somehow, despite the noise and the chaos, we all lived together in this weird, mismatched harmony. No murders. No lawsuits. A win, honestly. My music taste now is nothing like it was in my twenties. Not even close. But I’ll always be grateful to Jacqueline for introducing me to this song in particular. It was playing when I woke up from a very memorable sleep in 2002. I was 21, half-awake, probably confused about life, and that song stuck. It still hasn’t let go.
Post a Comment
Read more

Weirdly Charming

If you’re a fan of art that makes you do a double-take, you need to check out  Richard Brener . Based in the UK, Richard is an internationally collected artist who works primarily with ink, fineliners, and gouache. When you first see his pieces, they actually look pretty playful. Then you realize the entire canvas is packed with thousands of tiny, ghost-like shapes he calls "champs." They’re all squeezed together like commuters on a rush-hour train, and the level of detail is honestly mind-blowing. Richard spends hundreds of hours drawing these little guys over and over. It’s obsessive, very intentional, and a little bit wild. The cool part is that the longer you stare, the more the vibe shifts. Check out more photos below:
Post a Comment
Read more

Rapid-Fire

I was watching a replay of The Graham Norton Show the other night when this singer I’d never heard of completely grabbed my attention. Her name’s RAYE, and yes, I know I’m embarrassingly late to the party. I only discovered her a couple days ago, and now I’m a full-on fan. Her funk-soaked anthem hooked me right away. Her vocals are rapid-fire and confident, with just enough rasp to give the whole thing a playful, gritty kick.
Post a Comment
Read more