10.17.06 kulturnatib

Bringing together, again

In March of 2002, we headed for Manila, for an exhibit at the Surrounded by Waters (SBW) art space, at that time, across the Galleria Towers, along EDSA.

This was an exhibit that we had agreed with the SBW group which they were to reciprocate with an exhibit at our space, the Lunâ Art Collective art space, several months later.

While prior to this there had been little by way of formal communication between our groups, we were both aware of the existence of the other, though there was much more to know about their group as they had been in the scene as a group much earlier than we had been.

Both our groups were involved with Artist-Run Spaces (ARS). We both realized that running or managing our own spaces for exhibits and other art activities was central to our similar visions of nurturing an art – much of it our own, we have to admit – that was less commodified or even commodifiable as it was more meaningful to our personal and collective reasons for our engagement in art.

Artist-Run Spaces were not new in the art world. Most famous, perhaps, of these spaces would be Andy Warhol's, 'The Factory.' Early on in Warhol's rise to fame, he hit upon the idea that since art was already a commodity, a 'hot' commodity even – an idea that he literally exploited with his works on popular commodities, Campbell's Soup cans, Brillo boxes, etc., -- why not try to produce art the way commodities were made; in a factory and in some kind of assembly-line system?

While recognizing the point that Warhol was making, and in a way that, while, ironically, it was a critique of the 'art system', it made him extremely rich and successful, we also recognized that having our own space would allow us to mount exhibits and engage in other art activities supporting our vision of art that admittedly was and still is not quite supported or supportable by the present system of preferences of local art collectors and commercial galleries.

Still, we also recognized that, important as that was, the physical space was actually much less central to our groups as much as keeping the group together around some shared vision for art.

The SBW group had more experiences with art spaces. They had, in the course of their existence, several spaces in different circumstances of their occupation and tenancy. We only had one space, though in two configurations. In the end, the fact that spaces are real estate, an always rising commodity value and price-wise in an urban setting, prevailed.

The trajectories may have been different, but both us and the SBW group are now space-less.

Still, the SBW's and our experience will be shown to have many parallels, most important of these would be how, in the end, a group's vision will prevail over circumstances and will continue to keep a group engaged.

These are my thoughts on the way to the, 'Tipon: Artists Organizing,' exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila where we have been invited and which will open today. I have to wonder, though, why the SBW is not part of this exhibit. Are they still around? More likely as individual artists and not much anymore as a group. They might very well show up at the exhibit opening. And it would be fun to meet with them once again and to keep up.

As it will be fun and, hopefully, instructive to meet up with the other groups in this exhibit. We know many of these artists and groups, some closely and others through the grapevine of the national art scene.

This is, somehow, a homecoming exhibit for us. It will be a bigger, more prestigious and longer home stay than our first one at the SBW space. But, it will, in many ways, be the same home. Our vision when we started and how it has continued to keep us together through the difficulties of personal circumstance and group dynamics has contributed to our continuing art engagement. In turn, this has been what got us invited.

This exhibit is an honor for us. Hopefully, it will be more; it will be a challenge.