exhibit a at the gallery of the College of St. Benilde School of Design and Arts "roots out notions of the contemporary in recent works" by 11 artists.
This laudable initial effort offers proof that the local can be global. Personal
favorites are the sayas over a colored background, Tony Perez's paintings of the Cubao MRT station (one of my hubs as a commuter), the clipboards on the wall, and the poetic lines on the floor. It's like being in Hoxton again.
However, other ways of displaying works could still be explored and pieces should be placed much higher than eye level only when there is enough space for the viewer to move back.
That the aircon was not working because we were the only visitors that Saturday afternoon diminished the impact of the experience and I felt like nitpicking about the tarpaulin. You'd expect contemporary design to neatly tack hangings such that the corners are flat on wall.
The building is another story in itself. CSB-SDA is a forward-looking structure in an area of Manila stuck in a time rut. But that's its new world charm. White walls and high ceilings give artists that openness and light that the shadow of the LRT robs from the main campus. The lack of sidewalks on Vito Cruz still bothers me. Then again, designers and artists could also be inspired by the flaws and quirks of their environment.
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