topic

Environment

“Eating is the act of ingesting the environment.” -- Naomichi Ishige (qtd. in Fernandez, "Culture Ingested")

 

"[S]low violence ... occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all. ... [Slow violence] is neither spectacular nor instantaneous, but rather incremental and accretive, its calamitous repercussions playing out across a range of temporal scales" like "[c]limate change, the thawing cryosphere, toxic drift, biomagnification, deforestation, the radioactive aftermaths of wars, acidifying oceans, and a host of other slowly unfolding environmental catastrophes." -- Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor (2011)

Urban Landscape 1

Alfred Marasigan

2015 Found objects Dimensions variable Courtesy of Alfred Marasigan

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Alfred Marasigan

b. 1992
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Alfred Marasigan is a visual artist from the Philippines. Born and raised in Lipa, Batangas, he graduated magna cum laude and Program Awardee from the Ateneo de Manila University (2013) with a BFA in Information Design, a Loyola Schools Award for the Arts (Graphic Design), and an Outstanding Scholar Award. Last June 2015, he became a First Round Winner (General Category) of Art Olympia: International Open Art Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His other artworks have also been included in various local and foreign exhibitions such as Galerie Métanoïas's Un Seul Grain de Riz: A Small format Graphic Art Competition (2014-15), Metropolitan Museum of Manila's MET Open 2014, Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) Painting Competition Exhibition (Semifinalist, 2014); and in publications like Fordham University's CURA Magazine, the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art's Tumblr, and Ateneo de Manila University's Heights. He has been a faculty member of Ateneo's Fine Arts Program for two years, and is now an MFA student in the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

The process of capturing relationships between the personal and the spatial fascinates me. Through painting, conceptual art, and installation, I often explore associations between identity, personal narratives, and myth-making, with context, landscape, and environment. In particular, I like how human subjectivity lends value to 'space' as concept, and transforms it into 'place' as experience. Just as well, I am intent on grasping the essence of placelessness. Whenever I travel via different modes of transportation, I gain valuable insights regarding myself and the world. I treat such experiences as sites of introspection. Ultimately, finding groundedness in transit motivates my art-making.

location

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  • Born: Batangas City
  • Based: Manila, Philippines

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Urban Landscape 2

Alfred Marasigan

2015 Found objects Dimensions variable Courtesy of Alfred Marasigan

contributor

X

Alfred Marasigan

b. 1992
image description
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Alfred Marasigan is a visual artist from the Philippines. Born and raised in Lipa, Batangas, he graduated magna cum laude and Program Awardee from the Ateneo de Manila University (2013) with a BFA in Information Design, a Loyola Schools Award for the Arts (Graphic Design), and an Outstanding Scholar Award. Last June 2015, he became a First Round Winner (General Category) of Art Olympia: International Open Art Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His other artworks have also been included in various local and foreign exhibitions such as Galerie Métanoïas's Un Seul Grain de Riz: A Small format Graphic Art Competition (2014-15), Metropolitan Museum of Manila's MET Open 2014, Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) Painting Competition Exhibition (Semifinalist, 2014); and in publications like Fordham University's CURA Magazine, the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art's Tumblr, and Ateneo de Manila University's Heights. He has been a faculty member of Ateneo's Fine Arts Program for two years, and is now an MFA student in the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

The process of capturing relationships between the personal and the spatial fascinates me. Through painting, conceptual art, and installation, I often explore associations between identity, personal narratives, and myth-making, with context, landscape, and environment. In particular, I like how human subjectivity lends value to 'space' as concept, and transforms it into 'place' as experience. Just as well, I am intent on grasping the essence of placelessness. Whenever I travel via different modes of transportation, I gain valuable insights regarding myself and the world. I treat such experiences as sites of introspection. Ultimately, finding groundedness in transit motivates my art-making.

location

X
  • Born: Batangas City
  • Based: Manila, Philippines

comments

X

Urban Landscape 3

Alfred Marasigan

2015 Found objects Dimensions variable Courtesy of Alfred Marasigan

contributor

X

Alfred Marasigan

b. 1992
image description
  • See All Works
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  • visit website

Alfred Marasigan is a visual artist from the Philippines. Born and raised in Lipa, Batangas, he graduated magna cum laude and Program Awardee from the Ateneo de Manila University (2013) with a BFA in Information Design, a Loyola Schools Award for the Arts (Graphic Design), and an Outstanding Scholar Award. Last June 2015, he became a First Round Winner (General Category) of Art Olympia: International Open Art Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His other artworks have also been included in various local and foreign exhibitions such as Galerie Métanoïas's Un Seul Grain de Riz: A Small format Graphic Art Competition (2014-15), Metropolitan Museum of Manila's MET Open 2014, Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) Painting Competition Exhibition (Semifinalist, 2014); and in publications like Fordham University's CURA Magazine, the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art's Tumblr, and Ateneo de Manila University's Heights. He has been a faculty member of Ateneo's Fine Arts Program for two years, and is now an MFA student in the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

The process of capturing relationships between the personal and the spatial fascinates me. Through painting, conceptual art, and installation, I often explore associations between identity, personal narratives, and myth-making, with context, landscape, and environment. In particular, I like how human subjectivity lends value to 'space' as concept, and transforms it into 'place' as experience. Just as well, I am intent on grasping the essence of placelessness. Whenever I travel via different modes of transportation, I gain valuable insights regarding myself and the world. I treat such experiences as sites of introspection. Ultimately, finding groundedness in transit motivates my art-making.

location

X
  • Born: Batangas City
  • Based: Manila, Philippines

comments

X

Fallen Star

Do Ho Suh

2012 © Do Ho Suh, Courtesy of the Artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York and Hong Kong Stuart Collection, University of California, San Diego Photo credit: Philipp Scholz Rittermann

contributor

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Do Ho Suh

b. 1962

Do Ho Suh is an internationally renowned Korean artist. Suh constructs site-specific installations and meticulously crafted sculptures that question boundaries of identity, conventional notions of scale, and space in both its physical and metaphorical manifestation.

Suh studied oriental painting at Seoul National University in the 1980s, and in 1991 he moved to the United States to study painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and sculpture at Yale University School of Art. He settled in New York in 1997, where he lived and worked until relocating to London in 2010. He currently maintains studios in London, Seoul, and New York.

Suh represented South Korea at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001 with his iconic work Some/One, constructed of military dog tags exploring individual and collective identity. Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, New York, 2001; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 2002; Serpentine Gallery, London, 2002; Artsonje Center, Seoul, 2003; the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, 2005; Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, 2010; DAAD Galerie, Berlin, 2011; Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore, 2011; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2012; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, 2012; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2012–13; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2013; The Contemporary Austin, Austin, 2014; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 2015.

Suh’s work has been prominently featured in major group exhibitions and biennials worldwide, including the Istanbul Biennial, Turkey, 2003; Psycho Buildings, Hayward Gallery, London, 2008; Your Bright Future, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2009; Liverpool Biennial, 2010; Venice Architecture Biennale, 2010; Gwangju Biennale, 2012; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2013; Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2014; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2015; and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2015. His work is included in numerous museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Tate Modern, London; Leeum Samsung Museum, Seoul; Artsonje Center, Seoul; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, among many others.

location

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  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: London, England, UK

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Fallen Star

Do Ho Suh

2012 © Do Ho Suh, Courtesy of the Artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York and Hong Kong Stuart Collection, University of California, San Diego Photo credit: Philipp Scholz Rittermann

contributor

X

Do Ho Suh

b. 1962

Do Ho Suh is an internationally renowned Korean artist. Suh constructs site-specific installations and meticulously crafted sculptures that question boundaries of identity, conventional notions of scale, and space in both its physical and metaphorical manifestation.

Suh studied oriental painting at Seoul National University in the 1980s, and in 1991 he moved to the United States to study painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and sculpture at Yale University School of Art. He settled in New York in 1997, where he lived and worked until relocating to London in 2010. He currently maintains studios in London, Seoul, and New York.

Suh represented South Korea at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001 with his iconic work Some/One, constructed of military dog tags exploring individual and collective identity. Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, New York, 2001; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 2002; Serpentine Gallery, London, 2002; Artsonje Center, Seoul, 2003; the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, 2005; Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, 2010; DAAD Galerie, Berlin, 2011; Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore, 2011; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2012; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, 2012; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2012–13; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2013; The Contemporary Austin, Austin, 2014; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 2015.

Suh’s work has been prominently featured in major group exhibitions and biennials worldwide, including the Istanbul Biennial, Turkey, 2003; Psycho Buildings, Hayward Gallery, London, 2008; Your Bright Future, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2009; Liverpool Biennial, 2010; Venice Architecture Biennale, 2010; Gwangju Biennale, 2012; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2013; Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2014; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2015; and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2015. His work is included in numerous museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Tate Modern, London; Leeum Samsung Museum, Seoul; Artsonje Center, Seoul; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, among many others.

location

X
  • Born: Seoul, South Korea
  • Based: London, England, UK

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X

contributor

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J. Lorenzo Perillo

J. Lorenzo Perillo is a son, brother, ninong, dance theorist, perfomer, researcher, and boardgame enthusiast. More than forty years ago, his father left Bicol University College of Education, enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and blazed a trail for his parents, thirteen siblings, and four children. Lorenzo was born in Honolulu and raised in San Diego, where he spent much of his time rehearsing with the Mira Mesa Co-Ed and All-male dance teams. In the early 2000s, he was a member of Culture Shock, professional Hip Hop dance company and a non-profit organization dedicated to youth outreach. Culture Shock introduced him to the potentials of dance as community activism.

At Cornell University, Dr. Perillo is the Andrew W. Mellon Diversity Postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Performing and Media Arts, and affiliated with the Asian American Studies and American Studies programs. He earned his PhD in Culture and Performance and Concentration in Asian American Studies at UCLA. He also holds a MA degree in American Studies and Graduate Certificate in International Cultural Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His research interests include Asian American Studies, Global Hip Hop studies, Dance Studies, Critical Race Theory, and postcolonialism. His current book project uses ethnography and choreographic analysis to explore the role of Hip Hop aesthetic practices in Filipino communities in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Dr. Perillo is featured in Theatre Journal, International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, and Hip-hop(e): The Cultural Practice and Critical Pedagogy of International Hip-Hop, and has received generous funding by the Asian Cultural Council, Ford Foundation, Fulbright Group Projects, and Fulbright-Hays. In 2011, as the first Fulbright scholar to research Hip Hop in Asia, he collaborated with faculty and dancers at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and partnered with Akap Bata (embrace children), an advocacy organization for women and children. In 2013, his essay "'If I Were Not in Prison, I Would Not Be Famous': Discipline, Choreography, and Mimicry in the Philippines," was recognized by the Society of Dance History Scholars with the prestigious Gertrude Lippincott Award, an annual award for the best English-language article in Dance Studies. Dr. Perillo has taught courses at the University of California- Berkeley, University of Hawaii-Mānoa, California State University Dominguez Hills, and UCLA. At Cornell, he utilizes the Cornell Hip Hop Collection in his curriculum and teaches hybrid practice and theory courses entitled "Hip-hop, Dance, and Asian America" and "Choreographies of Race".

contributor

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Johanna F. Almiron

b. 1978

Johanna F. Almiron was born in the Bronx and raised in the ‘burbs of New York City. Her Ilokano parents immigrated from Baguio City in the early 1970s at the eve of Marcos’ declaration of martial law. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College where she initially forged her political and intellectual commitment to Ethnic Studies as a member of Third World House, a program house founded on the principles of Third World Liberation Front and also an African American studies major with a focus on Asian American Studies. She received her M.A. in Performance Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and subsequently worked as a writing and creative arts educator at the Saturday Program at Cooper Union and Center for Family Life at Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She obtained her PhD. in American Studies at The University of Hawai’i at Manoa where she led multiple artistic productions collaborating with social justice and community organizations including the Pilipina Rural Project & Domestic Violence Clearinghouse (Artistic Director, Filipino Vagina Monologues), Urban Babaylan, Filipino College Youth Summit and Local 5’s Unite Here! (Hotel workers campaign) and KTUH-FM radio. In 2013, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa where she participated in the contemporary art and design scene such as regularly hosting The Design Share Party directed by Neo Trinity Rakajane.
 
Dr. Almiron is currently the 2014 Nellie Y. McKay Fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the Department of Afro-American Studies.  Based on her doctoral research, she is completing a manuscript that examines the social statements and persistent cultural relevance of the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Her cultural studies and interdisciplinary scholarship has been supported by various awards including most notably the pre-doctoral fellowship at the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African American Studies at the University of Rochester. She has written catalog texts for Rush Arts Gallery (NY), LAX Arts (LA) and Saltworks Gallery (Atlanta). She happily joins the Center for Art and Thought team with the hopes to nurture the ties that bind between Filipinas and Filipinos throughout the digital diaspora and beyond.
 
Photo credit: Victor Dlamini.

location

X
  • Born: Bronx, NY, USA
  • Based: New York, NY, USA
  • Also Based in: Honolulu, HI, USA

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American Studies Association - "The Fun and the Fury" - Flashmob - November 8, 2014

Raffy Piamonte

2014 Digital photographs and video Duration: 2m 45s Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Raffy Piamonte

b. 1986

Raffy Piamonte has been dancing since the age of 4. However, it wasn’t until the age of 15 that he decided to take it seriously and audition for teams locally in San Diego. Since then, he’s danced in companies like FORMALity, The Effect, CADC & Boogiezone’s Breed. Currently, he is one of the Artistic Directors for Boogiezone’s Offspring Young Directors Program and a newly indicted member of Culture Shock Los Angeles. Aside from dance, Raffy serves as a Flood Control Engineer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and enjoys his work as a public servant. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, going to concerts and riding his bike.

location

X
  • Born: Vallejo, CA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • Also Based in: San Diego, CA, USA

comments

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Tulong

Franz DG

2014 Illustration Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Franz DG

b. 1984
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I was born in 1984 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. My parents are both artists. My dad Danilo Garcia is an abstract visual artist. My mother Lolita Garcia is an educator. She was a visual communications and fine arts professor at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman. It was natural that I picked up the arts. I started with pencil and Crayola crayons. My parents did not want an artist’s life for me because it is difficult especially in the Philippines. They’d hide my pens and pencils because I was drawing ninja turtles. Ninja turtles made me want to draw! My mom said “Uh-oh.” They wanted to stop me but they could not. When they saw that my passion for art was unstoppable, they introduced me to Fernando Cena. They took me to a class every Sunday at The Heart Center, a kind of hospital. The lessons took place in their big hall and it was there that I learned the foundations of art. Although my father definitely influenced my work ethic, his abstract style of art is his own. I am more drawn to traditional fine arts. 

In terms of content, I draw social justice art. I was almost 17 years old when I left the Philippines. Since my mom was a professor, I would see students drawing on placards messages like “No to Student Hikes!” I wondered why they were writing that. What was going on? I began to comprehend the balance of society in the Philippines through the perspective of students’ protests and activity. They opened my eyes and made me question things. My mom also helped me develop that social consciousness.

At the end of high school, I won an art contest in which the grand prize was a full scholarship to a fine arts school in Texas set up by a Lion’s club. One week after I graduated, I took the art exam in high school to qualify for the University of the Philippines in Fine Arts. That very day, my mother told me, ”Oh yeah, you’re flying to Texas, America, in one week.” I was totally taken by surprise by the news. I didn’t even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my friends. My initial experience in Texas was complete culture shock. I barely spoke English. After a couple of weeks, I told my parents that I wanted to move to L.A. where I could attend vocational school and also link up with my father’s college friends. And that is when I met the chair of Habi Arts, Danilo “PAPO” De Asis in early 2001.

Under De Asis’ influence, I returned to the questions that began with my exposure to the students from the Philippines.  I began to connect that history to the present. What is really going on in the Philippines? Papo showed me everything. I realized things about the Philippines that I didn’t know when I was actually there. Many years later in 2012, Habi Arts co-curated my solo art exhibition “Kiskisan” which means "to clash.” In this exhibition and my art in general, I try to show the richness of the struggle and history of the Philippines.

As an artist, I work hard to develop illustrations that speak to me and to others about the beauty that exists in the struggles within society. Part of my process before I begin drawing is reading as much as I can about the specific set of issues that I am about to recreate on paper or canvas. I do not merely want to capture the image with my brushes; rather, with careful, colorful strokes, I want to challenge, question, and create dialogue.
 
With every finished work, I try to breathe life into a forgotten culture so that its designs, ideas, innovations, and lifestyle are displayed in my illustrations. The challenge with any recreated moment from the past is to not caricature the moment and instead capture it in all its rich history. My artwork speaks not only for me but for people that are silenced.
 
That is why the project Storm is important.  My illustrations question and expose the causes and legacies of this devastating tragedy.

location

X
  • Born: Quezon City, Philippines
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Ahon

Franz DG

2014 Illustration Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Franz DG

b. 1984
image description
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I was born in 1984 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. My parents are both artists. My dad Danilo Garcia is an abstract visual artist. My mother Lolita Garcia is an educator. She was a visual communications and fine arts professor at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman. It was natural that I picked up the arts. I started with pencil and Crayola crayons. My parents did not want an artist’s life for me because it is difficult especially in the Philippines. They’d hide my pens and pencils because I was drawing ninja turtles. Ninja turtles made me want to draw! My mom said “Uh-oh.” They wanted to stop me but they could not. When they saw that my passion for art was unstoppable, they introduced me to Fernando Cena. They took me to a class every Sunday at The Heart Center, a kind of hospital. The lessons took place in their big hall and it was there that I learned the foundations of art. Although my father definitely influenced my work ethic, his abstract style of art is his own. I am more drawn to traditional fine arts. 

In terms of content, I draw social justice art. I was almost 17 years old when I left the Philippines. Since my mom was a professor, I would see students drawing on placards messages like “No to Student Hikes!” I wondered why they were writing that. What was going on? I began to comprehend the balance of society in the Philippines through the perspective of students’ protests and activity. They opened my eyes and made me question things. My mom also helped me develop that social consciousness.

At the end of high school, I won an art contest in which the grand prize was a full scholarship to a fine arts school in Texas set up by a Lion’s club. One week after I graduated, I took the art exam in high school to qualify for the University of the Philippines in Fine Arts. That very day, my mother told me, ”Oh yeah, you’re flying to Texas, America, in one week.” I was totally taken by surprise by the news. I didn’t even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my friends. My initial experience in Texas was complete culture shock. I barely spoke English. After a couple of weeks, I told my parents that I wanted to move to L.A. where I could attend vocational school and also link up with my father’s college friends. And that is when I met the chair of Habi Arts, Danilo “PAPO” De Asis in early 2001.

Under De Asis’ influence, I returned to the questions that began with my exposure to the students from the Philippines.  I began to connect that history to the present. What is really going on in the Philippines? Papo showed me everything. I realized things about the Philippines that I didn’t know when I was actually there. Many years later in 2012, Habi Arts co-curated my solo art exhibition “Kiskisan” which means "to clash.” In this exhibition and my art in general, I try to show the richness of the struggle and history of the Philippines.

As an artist, I work hard to develop illustrations that speak to me and to others about the beauty that exists in the struggles within society. Part of my process before I begin drawing is reading as much as I can about the specific set of issues that I am about to recreate on paper or canvas. I do not merely want to capture the image with my brushes; rather, with careful, colorful strokes, I want to challenge, question, and create dialogue.
 
With every finished work, I try to breathe life into a forgotten culture so that its designs, ideas, innovations, and lifestyle are displayed in my illustrations. The challenge with any recreated moment from the past is to not caricature the moment and instead capture it in all its rich history. My artwork speaks not only for me but for people that are silenced.
 
That is why the project Storm is important.  My illustrations question and expose the causes and legacies of this devastating tragedy.

location

X
  • Born: Quezon City, Philippines
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Build a Brighter Future

Franz DG

2014 Illustration Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Franz DG

b. 1984
image description
  • See All Works
  • visit website

I was born in 1984 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. My parents are both artists. My dad Danilo Garcia is an abstract visual artist. My mother Lolita Garcia is an educator. She was a visual communications and fine arts professor at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman. It was natural that I picked up the arts. I started with pencil and Crayola crayons. My parents did not want an artist’s life for me because it is difficult especially in the Philippines. They’d hide my pens and pencils because I was drawing ninja turtles. Ninja turtles made me want to draw! My mom said “Uh-oh.” They wanted to stop me but they could not. When they saw that my passion for art was unstoppable, they introduced me to Fernando Cena. They took me to a class every Sunday at The Heart Center, a kind of hospital. The lessons took place in their big hall and it was there that I learned the foundations of art. Although my father definitely influenced my work ethic, his abstract style of art is his own. I am more drawn to traditional fine arts. 

In terms of content, I draw social justice art. I was almost 17 years old when I left the Philippines. Since my mom was a professor, I would see students drawing on placards messages like “No to Student Hikes!” I wondered why they were writing that. What was going on? I began to comprehend the balance of society in the Philippines through the perspective of students’ protests and activity. They opened my eyes and made me question things. My mom also helped me develop that social consciousness.

At the end of high school, I won an art contest in which the grand prize was a full scholarship to a fine arts school in Texas set up by a Lion’s club. One week after I graduated, I took the art exam in high school to qualify for the University of the Philippines in Fine Arts. That very day, my mother told me, ”Oh yeah, you’re flying to Texas, America, in one week.” I was totally taken by surprise by the news. I didn’t even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my friends. My initial experience in Texas was complete culture shock. I barely spoke English. After a couple of weeks, I told my parents that I wanted to move to L.A. where I could attend vocational school and also link up with my father’s college friends. And that is when I met the chair of Habi Arts, Danilo “PAPO” De Asis in early 2001.

Under De Asis’ influence, I returned to the questions that began with my exposure to the students from the Philippines.  I began to connect that history to the present. What is really going on in the Philippines? Papo showed me everything. I realized things about the Philippines that I didn’t know when I was actually there. Many years later in 2012, Habi Arts co-curated my solo art exhibition “Kiskisan” which means "to clash.” In this exhibition and my art in general, I try to show the richness of the struggle and history of the Philippines.

As an artist, I work hard to develop illustrations that speak to me and to others about the beauty that exists in the struggles within society. Part of my process before I begin drawing is reading as much as I can about the specific set of issues that I am about to recreate on paper or canvas. I do not merely want to capture the image with my brushes; rather, with careful, colorful strokes, I want to challenge, question, and create dialogue.
 
With every finished work, I try to breathe life into a forgotten culture so that its designs, ideas, innovations, and lifestyle are displayed in my illustrations. The challenge with any recreated moment from the past is to not caricature the moment and instead capture it in all its rich history. My artwork speaks not only for me but for people that are silenced.
 
That is why the project Storm is important.  My illustrations question and expose the causes and legacies of this devastating tragedy.

location

X
  • Born: Quezon City, Philippines
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X