Largest Outdoor Gallery in Asia
Last Thursday, Mom invited us, my sister and I, to an event at the Top Shelf of Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street. It was a launch party of this project called The Manila Outdoor Gallery Art Route by the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP). What they did is that they gathered 29 artists, and with the environment as their theme, challenged them with billboards as their canvas. (Although only 10 artists had their works on billboards, the other 19 had them on electronic billboards) These billboards can be found in the major highways in Metro Manila like EDSA, NLEX, etc.
I really like their concept! More so because I am a Fine Arts Student. Art is usually viewed as something expensive, something middle class and lower class people can not afford and can not obtain. Art is also viewed as something limited to rich people’s homes or in museums. We learned in FA101: Introduction to Aesthetics, with Fr. Rene Javellana, that art isn’t something limited to these common descriptions or definitions. In fact, art can not be defined because it is constantly changing. Art is anything and everything. Art was once viewed as only those inspired by the Classical era, but now, even scrap metal can become art! (Refer to my previous post about Ral Arrogante)
Art is available for everyone and you don’t need to go to museums to find art. Art is all around you, in the environment. You see art everyday without knowing it; from shops to furniture to advertisements… You just have to change your own definition of art. Besides, “Beauty is the eyes of the beholder.”, right?
So this project was something I considered really great. Art should be available to everyone and what better way to communicate your ideas than to showcase them on billboards which people see everyday especially when stuck in traffic? And the theme was a common but important one, environment. Traffic is a cause of stress, and is a health hazard because of all those car honking, smog, and minutes of not doing anything. The artworks then become stress relievers, as well as a way to communicate, for those on the road.
The launching was simple yet elegant. They had this cool fountain made of wine glasses with a champagne bottle pouring red liquid over the glasses. They also served a small dinner, and gave a short but concise talk about the project. There were also miniature versions of their artworks available for viewing that night, and a few of the artists were also present at the launch.
We got to meet MM Yu! I didn’t remember her name at first but my sister reminded me. We saw her artworks at the Ateneo Art Gallery before. My sister got her autograph for me and we got to take pictures with her.
We also met Kuya Az. In fact he was the only person my sister and I truly knew that night. We go way back since high school when he coordinated a drawing class workshop during one of our fairs for the Computer Club. The last time I saw him was probably… back during the time when I still cosplayed. That was probably 2-3 years ago. How time flies~
After the event, we went downstairs to go book hunting. Oh how I love bookstores! But it makes me sad also bec there are so many things I want, and my list keeps on getting longer, but I am unable to buy them bec I’m poor. There were a lot of design books I wanted to invest in and buy… but I didn’t have the money. Defeated, I sat down at Starbucks on the 3rd floor and read their magazines (specifically Meg Magazine) while waiting for my mom and sis.
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