MADRUGADA

me and some artist friends organized this group back in our avellana days. we did this to escape the 'boxed-in' life of advertising. you know i've been painting while doing my 9 to 5 job as always. this was what i was doing during my 9 years at avellana and associates and I’m quite thrilled to say that at least in my mind I influenced some other avellana graphic artists to do the same. It felt ‘illegal’ doing stuff that’s not related to our work but in this case we got the license.

I think it’s because what we were doing was what we got to know as ‘art.’ You know the heaviness of that word. You can get away with almost anything with it. You can do drugs, be a bad boy if you’re an artist. So I guess this was the reason why we got away with it. Besides, art really is an exercise of the mind and when you exercise your mind, you get more creative so it’s a win-win situation. Of course we didn’t really paint while working. We painted during our free time.

Me and my friends realized that we need to formalize the group and we named it madrugada. Cris Villanueva thought of the name. I think it means ‘dawn’ or madaling araw in tagalog.



We deliberated on how to initiate new members. I suggested there should be no initiation. The criteria should be his/her dedication to his craft. As long as the person produced any kind of art, that person could be a member. Plus new members should be able to survive drinking with us. I think this got vetoed to a more structured kind of background check which did not materialize either so I guess the former is the unwritten rule we follow.

All members were excited about the group. Each member produced a lot of art and we really had fun doing it. We held exhibits in any venue who allowed us. We did 2 at the city gallery in luneta. I think we did it 2 times at the windows café because we knew the owner. You know how hard it is to look for venues because all gallery owners think of profit first before art. This was one of the reasons why art becomes 50% less when you hang it in a gallery. This didn’t stop us though. We pushed through and we’re still doing it today.

Once in a while starting today I will feature a madrugada member on this blog so I hope you enjoy. I will not ask for each members’ background. I will write and feature their art based on how I see and know them.

Joel Fabonan

Si joel fabonan po, dating full time rock star na ngayo’y part time na lang dahil art na ang mas pinagkaka-abalahan nya ngayon. He just did his second one person show in a gallery in timog. Fabo and I worked in the creative department of avellana and associates. He was one of the founders of our madrugada art group. I’m going to feature each members’ art on this blog.

We almost formed a blues/rock band where he sang and I played guitar but nothing happened because we always got drunk before we could play.



Fabo is a highly creative person and has a great sense of humor. I love his grafitti-style art where he tells random stories of perceived ‘baduy’ stuff. For me it’s important to expose the pinoy’s real mentality. The essence of the majority. Not just the elite’s point of view. Most art I see in manila are inspired by the collectors because they are the buyers so most artists tend to make art that cater to their tastes.

Fabonan’s art are honest. I know it came from deep in his heart. Here are some of his paintings done in discarded cardboards.

King's Crown

This is a drawing ariel asked me to do. he told me to design a tribal style king's crown. i'm not sure if he did the tattoo.

we just did the tattoo expo at the cow palace. it was a drawing marathon. i'll tell you the story soon.

Filipino Heritage At Logan

ninerbyos ako bago ako magsalita sa logan high school (union city) dahil baka may kumontra pero awa ni lord ay sumang-yon sila lahat. nirekumenda ako ni oscar penaranda kay ms. tina bobadilla, isang teacher sa logan to speak in her pinoy heritage class. narito ang ilang larawan at ang aking pinagsasabi...

...I am a self proclaimed artist. My art education is my life experience. It took me 30 years to call myself an artist. no institution or person can give me this title. It just came to me. I have decided. Unlike doctors or engineers, they need some kind of certificate to be official. I did not. that’s one of the things that excites me about art.

Art is my bridge so that I can go as close as I can get to freedom. Problem is that our system is in an all-out war to control everything. They want my art in a gallery which is confined so that they can measure and institionalize it. For me once you hang an artwork in a gallery it becomes 50% less art. The other 50% are showbiz and politics. So if I hang my art in a gallery, at least I know.

‘Freedom’ is a manipulated word just like the word ‘god.’ They promised freedom to captivate our minds. To have control. ‘God’ and ‘freedom’ go hand in hand in hustling our minds so that they can fulfill their interests. Once you think you’re free, you will defend it with your life and even kill for it. But in actuality, nobody and no one is free. Nobody is free in a school or a 9 to 5 job. All corners of our lives have rules so how can anybody be free?

Maybe we should name it ‘freedom lite.’ As in miller lite or budlite. But that cannot be because the word free is absolute. No ifs and buts. Unless you check the meaning in an American dictionary. It will say what they want you to believe about the word. They defined it according to their desires and made it ‘official.’ How can Christopher Columbus discover this land when there are already people here when he came? They fed this to the people… everybody believed and no one questioned it.

My point is that life is full of deceptions so it is important to be awake. It is full of junk that is dangerous and this is what I want to say in my art. My art is the truth between the lies they speak. I want people who look at my art to know that I know. You don’t have to accept it. It’s just my way of expressing myself about the truth. They may say it’s not art, it’s politics… because they cannot realize that art itself is politics because they are burried too deep in their dogmas.

They were made to believe that art should be cubist, expressionist, impressionist… all the isms. Being accepted in a gallery is a game of politics. Going to art school is part of the political game. It doesn’t mean that if you have a masters degree in art that you are a superior artist. Art cannot be measured. Art degrees were just instilled in the mind and all people who feel the truth knows it. It is the person who must decide. Our life experience is way more important.

I like what Andy Warhol said. He said that while the museums and critics are deciding what you created was real art or not, make more art.

If we follow the critics, nothing will change. Everything will be redundant because their criticisms were mostly based in existing knowledge.

Everybody can be an artist. Engineers and doctors can be artists. The thing I think is that you have to master your craft before you can produce art. Once you know, no priest or any high minister can decide for you. I said ‘once you KNOW’ instead of ‘achieved’ because knowing is awakening. You may achieve everything but still remain ignorant. knowing is truth.

amen.

ngayon ko lang napansin na wala akong sinabi tungkol sa pagkapinoy ko but my art speaks for itself. alam kong di ko nabigyan ng hustisya ang mga trabaho ko sa speech na ito. bwisit! ang hirap gumawa ng speech! there's no way i can describe my art thru words. masyado nang madaming pasikot-sikot. pwede ba mag-inuman na lang tayo?

Malmon Kong

just finished this for my cousin dandoy. malmon is the name of their fraternity mascot.

Fly On My Windshield

i took this shot while waiting for millette at the school for the blind. first time i took a shot of a fly from underneath.

Ninong

narito ng sagot ko sa liham ng inaanak ko. natanggap ko last week ang sulat na ito mula kay mary ann. anak ni pareng ding na di ko alam na inaanak ko pala. nalaman ko dahil sa liham na ito. narito...



kumusta mary ann. ang laki mo na. kumusta si diding? alam mo ay mauubos ang papel na ito kung ikukwento ko lahat sa yo ang pinagsamahan namin ng tatay mo. isa syang tapat at tunay na kaibigan at ikinagagalak kong maging ninong mo. pakiabot na lang sa kanya ang aking pagbati at sana maliban sa walang trabaho ay nasa mabuti rin kayong kalagayan.

ako sa ngayon ay wala ding trabaho. magi-isang taon na akong laid-off pero sa abot ng aking makakaya ay ikakagalak kong makatulong sa yo. di mo isinalaysay ang halagang kailangan mo kaya wala akong idea kung gaano kalaki ang iyong kailangan. isa pang problema ay di ko pwedeng ilakip sa sulat na ito ang pera dahil baka mawala.

kung makakatawag ka sa numerong ito 681-5760 ay magagawan natin ito ng paraan. numero ito ng bahay namin sa maynila. hanapin mo si kuya jess o kaya si ate florence. ipapasabi ko na ang dahilan at paki paalala na lang sa kanila.

kung makakapag-iwan ka ng cell phone number ay maganda rin para makontak ko kayo ng derecho.

di ko maiipangako na kakayanin ko ang halagang kailangan mo pero sana’y sapat.

musta na lang sa kumpare ko, sa kumare at sa iyong mga kapatid. sana magkita tayo at ulit kami ni diding pag umuwi kami. narito ang ilang letrato namin ni diding at ang pamilya ko. - millette ang pangalan ng misis ko at miro naman ang anak namin. lalaki. ninong nya sila bandong, nanding at reden. kilala ng tatay mo ang mga yan.

paki sabi sumulat din sya.

paki paalala rin... mga yumaong tropa na sina pareng noy, si osbourn o usi, si bokyo, at dennis black.

NONO

my homeboy NONO and forest whitaker.



whenever i see forest whitaker's face. he reminds me of my homeboy nono.

Lucban, Quezon

Shot of a house in Lucban, Quezon using my pentax k2.

I Saw Mang Gene Last Night

i was having this art exhibit in my old classroom. they hanged works that i thought somebody did for me. it was all red in theme like a chinese silk cloth. the only reminder that i did the paintings was because of its huge sizes.

when the reception was over we went home of course but the next day i had to check the artworks again just to make sure it was mine. it was a weekend so i know the classroom/gallery will be closed but there should be somebody there to open the door.

as i went in the classroom/gallery i noticed mang gene at a corner sweeping. i was shocked. i know mang gene passed away 2 years ago. i shouted in excitement and called him - PLEN!!! (meaning friend). that's how we used to call each other. mang gene was our janitor during my 9 years at avellana and associates. he was struck by a bus while riding his bicycle in antipolo. that's how he died. he was about 60 and as strong as a carabao.

i asked him why. he told me that that's the way things are. shit happens - he didn't say this but it's what he meant.

we hugged each other. nangingilid pa ang luha ko... then i asked him if i could take his picture so that i can show it to living people. fuck! i didn't bring my camera but mang gene handed me this mini digicam so i pointed it to him but it didn't work. i tried shooting again but we were distracted by children playing outside the classroom/gallery. when i looked at mang gene outside the camera he was gone. and that's when i woke up.

wow! thanks PLEN for the visit. i'm very happy.

i will post mang gene's picture once i find it.

i remember some other dead people visiting me thru my dreams. my best friend apol visited me during his birthday. my lolo and lola also did.

by the way those paintings were really mine.