Fete dela WSK halfway through and other arts news

The third Fete dela WSK, an alternative arts event started by impresario Tengal Drilon in 2008 as a parody of the Fete de la Musique, opened last Thursday at RONAC Arts Center in Greenhills. It continues till Dec. 18. 

 

Focusing mainly on experimental sound art, the festival features lecture/workshops, exhibits, and performances. 

 

The exhibits, which include work by noted contemporary artists Kawayan de Guia and Charo Ramirez, are currently on display at Light and Space Contemporary in Fairview, Quezon City, RONAC, and Nova Gallery. 

 

“[There aren't] a lot of festivals about sound experimentation,” Drilon said in an interview with GMA News Online, “but there are a lot of festivals about music [and other performing arts]. And this is totally different.” 

 

He added that the festival differed from last year in terms of having more intimate gatherings rather than large public spectacles. 

 

Lovers of music who are open to the possibilities of what lies beyond need not fret, though. On Dec. 14, a synthesizer “orchestra” will perform at the Blackbird Cafe in Makati, and on Dec. 15, there will be a gig in conjunction with Number Line Records at Saguijo. The event closes with a performance at Nova Gallery on Dec. 18 at 10 p.m.

 

Last weekend featured the first of two lectures staged at the Lopez Museum. Presenting her work was Yuzuri Maeda of Japan, whose Zentai project combines music, performance art, and skintight body suits. 

 

Also speaking was Prof. Ian Parker of the Manchester Metropolitan University. A practicing psychoanalyst, Parker discussed the work of the controversial Slovenian art movement NSK, and its relationship to former intellectual patron and contemporary theorist Slavoj Zizek. 

 

For the curious crowd, the next festival lecture (“BedroomLab Series”) will be at the Ayala Museum at 4 p.m. on Dec. 17.

 

In remarks given on the opening of the festival, Drilon described the term “wasak” in the festival's context. “[The word suggests] destroying our preconceived notions of what music and sound and their relationship to other art would be.”

 

Christmas exhibits on Pasong Tamo

 

Visitors to the gallery district on Pasong Tamo Extension may want to check out the new shows at Manila Contemporary and Department of Avant-Garde Cliches. 

 

Manila Contemporary's “12 Days of Christmas” show, curated by contemporary artist Valentine Willie, features work by, among others, Bjorn Calleja, Dina Gadia, Marija Vicente, MM Yu, and Leeroy New. One of New’s works, incidentally, was featured in Lady Gaga's latest music video. The small gallery upstairs features “Exposition”, highlighting new work by Luis Santos. 

 

Manuel Ocampo's Department of Avant-Garde Cliches features French artist Herve di Rosa in his first show in the Philippines. This is presented in cooperation with the Alliance Francaise de Manille. Di Rosa, known mainly as one of the key figures behind the “Figuration Libre” art movement in France, is known for creating colorful characters sometimes bordering on the strange. He was featured on GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho” recently where some of his artworks were shown.

 

The Department of Avant-Garde Cliches is also the new site of the Pablo Gallery that was once in Cubao Expo.

 

A very vinyl Christmas

 

This weekend, Metro Manila's two major vinyl art spaces open new shows. 

 

Vinyl on Vinyl at The Collective brings back Indonesian artist Arkiv Vilmansa for a second solo exhibit. Known for his whimsical homages to icons of popular culture and his “bunny” character, Vilmansa began his Manila stint with a live art demonstration at the M Cafe on Dec. 8. The exhibit opens at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16. 

 

Meiday's Christmas event “Ho Ho Hoe Let’s Go” also takes place that same night at the B Side Courtyard at The Collective.

 

Secret Fresh and Blanc presents the exhibit “Munnyfestation”. This features the work of dozens of contemporary artists customizing Munny toys. Customizing toys is among the first ways contemporary artists enter into the vinyl designer toy scene, and this will be the biggest exhibit of its kind so far. 

 

The show will open on Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong City, and it will run until Jan. 7, 2012. –KG, GMA News