Venice Biennale 2023

Society of Divas

jsongco — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:30:24 +0000

I just watched “The Reunion: Part 1” of Bravo’s awesome reality show The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Since I was born and raised in a town not far from where the ladies reside, I’ve been a loyal fan of the show since it first aired a little more than a year ago. I’m not going to spoil the episode by recapping — I just wanted to say how interested I am in the over-the-top personalities that were displayed. The ladies definitely had their diva moments this evening.

It reminded me of an article I read last Friday on ARTINFO.com regarding a new exhibition at the Centre National du Costume de Scène in Moulins, France. Titled “Vestiaire de Divas: De Maria Callas à Dalida” (“The Divas’ Closet: From Maria Callas to Dalida”), the show is displaying costume gowns of celebrated opera divas. I always forget that our notion of ‘diva’ had its roots in opera.

I like the idea that is brought up at the end of the article by Maurizio Galante, one of the show’s organizers. He states that the diva is “a response to the collective imagination… and ends up representing something or someone that doesn’t really exist.”

I know the ladies of TRHNJ definitely exist—a friend of mine met one of them at a book signing in my hometown. But, I am super fascinated by the idea that the television character of Caroline, or Danielle, or Teresa, or Jacqueline, or Dina, could be fictional! The way that Bravo painted each character could very well be a response to the massive response from a loyal and participatory television audience. With Bravo surveys online and via text messages regarding “who is your favorite housewife” or “who would you want as your mother,” the production company could just be collecting data to help describe the ideal Caroline or Danielle that viewers want to tune in to see. Again, the idea of co-authorship — I love it!

This all makes me think about the Society of 23. Should I begin collecting my own kind of data regarding the construction of the brothers’ identities? In fact, I already do, albeit skewed from my own perspective on American culture. And that harks back to Maurizio’s comment. The Society of 23 represents something that doesn’t really exist, but by being present as art in our lives, you better believe its going to have some existential effect.

Tagged: artinfo.com, bravo, Grégory Picard, maurizio galante, opera, the real housewives of new jersey

OMG, Miss Universe

jsongco — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:46:45 +0000

I just watched the Miss Universe 2010: “Live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas”. I think it’s hilarious that the pageant has a tagline.

Pageants are always fun for me, albeit sometimes embarrassing to watch, especially the interview portion. As I was simultaneously reading my just-arrived Psychology Today, texting with a buddy about his game, and cleaning my apartment, I thought about how I’ve probably seen more beauty pageants than Super Bowls. Gay!

Here are some thoughts about the Miss Universe pageant:

The entire broadcast is a promotional spot for Las Vegas. It’s a promotional video for the greater Las Vegas area flanked by images of half-naked contemporary beauties and big name entertainers. I like to think of tourism as a proper means of financial gain, but in the context of the Miss Universe pageant, I would like to see it as a sort of sharing of ‘cultural’ identity rather than a shopping catalogue. Maybe America is appropriately analogous to all that is Las Vegas, so I’ll let you think of those similes on your own. And perhaps the international pageant happens to be rooted in an American brand, so this broadcast of an American city in America translates more like a commercial rather than a documentary. (When broadcasting “Live from Las Vegas!” promote the specifics like Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, and when broadcasting “Live from Bangkok!” promote the general cultural differences like music and fashion.)

I use that word ‘contemporary’ in the previous paragraph because through the 20+ years I’ve watched pageants, the ideal physical image (and thus average) within the pageant has definitely morphed. Miss Universe (the Donald Trump brand that encompasses Miss USA and Miss Teen USA) definitely subscribes to the Maxim aesthetic. (Maxim is a dude magazine that projects a very specific type of female physical beauty.) With this particular broadcast, I was surprised how thin the final fifteen contestants looked compared to say, the 1990′s. Imagine watching a 1992 promotional video for Las Vegas with hot sexy ladies of the day swimming around an indoor pool. I bet it would be hilarious.

The usual ethnic spread of the final fifteen is: eight from Central or South America, two from Europe, two from the Caribbean, one from Asia or Africa, USA, and the host country. This evening, I was surprised when Europe stole from the Americas including USA and the Caribbean!

I’ve been thinking about nationality recently because I was working on my short biography paragraph for my website. Why should I state that I’m an American born to Filipino parents? What does my nationality matter? What does my ethnicity matter? Who do I think my audience is that I have to define myself in such terms? I don’t mention that I’m gay or a Libra or a lover of puppies.

I mean, what is so important about nationalism? Well according to Miss Universe, it’s all about the dollar bills. And according to this blog, it promotes the country I would like to represent at the Venice Biennale 2023.

Tagged: donald trump, maxim, miss universe, miss universe 2010, psychology today, super bowl, venice biennale

My Work is On View

jsongco — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:12:00 +0000

…at the Diego Rivera Gallery in the historical building of San Francisco Art Institute. The work is on view this week with a reception on Wednesday, August 25th from 5 to 7 PM. Click the image below for more information!

Post-Studio Artist on Work of Art?

jsongco — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:53:12 +0000

Many questions have recently bubbled to the surface regarding my personal take on Bravo’s Work of Art. The most disconcerting one so far is: Are contestants allowed to research? Sure, I’m all for an artist’s research being defined in multiple ways, including the actual execution of the artwork. But seriously, do the artists get an opportunity to surf the web or read some books or chat with friends? I remember an episode of Project Runway where a contestant got in trouble by other contestants and by the producers for having a patternmaking book. So because he had a textbook for reference in a fashion design competition, he was cheating. Is there any kind of cheating in terms of research and reference in an art show? What if I brought up “post-studio artist”? Where does he/she fit in on Work of Art?

Tagged: bravo's work of art, post-studio artist, project runway, work of art

Method Artist

jsongco — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:14:19 +0000

I just watched an episode of The Antonio Treatment on HGTV and Antonio Ballatore mentioned that he was a Method Designer. I <3'd it. Aside from his amazing designs, I liked what he meant by being a method designer (regardless of whether he was sarcastic or not). In this episode, part of his interior design included a baby nursery. Instead of just flipping through magazines to get ideas, he called up a friend so he could hang out with his friend's twin babies and really experience baby life. Awesome.

I'm gonna start calling myself a Method Artist. The first thing I can think of is my beer pong piece. I definitely had fun playing beer pong with my classmates as a brother of the Society of 23, but I did get so in it that I got really drunk and puked on a Muni platform on my way home. Cheers to the method!

Tagged: antonio ballatore, society of 23, the antonio treatment

Something Has Come Up

jsongco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:05:50 +0000

With my last full week of Summer Break between my first and second years of grad school at hand, there’s a little bit of soul searching and proper goal setting that needs to come into some kind of clarity for me. I want to clarify some of the ideas within my artwork, too, so that I can concentrate on my final thesis piece. My classmates enrolled in departments like Urban Studies or Exhibition and Museum Studies spend more than a year working on a single paper. I’ve taken the same work ethic to my own thesis, but lately, new ideas have been sprouting up that have shifted my initial perspective. I’m nervous that I’m losing valuable time but I’d rather develop something I have confidence in and genuine interest in doing instead of polishing a giant turd.

Natural Photoshop

jsongco — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:34:51 +0000

Ah, the view of San Francisco from my place.

Notice anything missing? On a clear day I’d be able to see Clarendon Heights, and atop one of those hills would be Sutro Tower. You can kind of see the legs amid the trees on one of the hill peaks, but alas, nature has taken it’s creative license to photoshop the tower out. Hilarious! Also, the dots in the sky are just from my dirty camera lens. Sigh.

I Write Like

jsongco — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:51:14 +0000

For the past two weeks, I’ve been stepping up my critical writing practice. However, it’s not so much from the art criticism angle, but rather the food criticism one. An ice cream shop named Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous opened on the first floor of my graduate school building and I’ve been writing reviews for each flavor I try. I’ve been posting those reviews to my Facebook feed for all my classmates and surrounding friends. Here’s a taste of how my review reads (which is always accompanied by a pic):

After watching a baseball game from a private company skybox (like I’ve done a few times), there’s really nothing that can top the experience of watching my country’s national sport with good friends, good beer, and endless peanuts—unless of course you throw all (or rather most of) that into an ice cream maker. The shop downstairs has hit this one out of the figurative ballpark. With a combo of Anchor Beer, peanuts, and chocolate pretzels, I could care less if my home team was losing ‘cause this flavor’s got me dancin’ on my feet.

I was reading my favorite blog, Towleroad.com, and a post linked to a cool website that analyzes your writing style and tells you who you write like. So, I punched in the ice cream blurb above and I got this:

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Sweet! But, I don’t know Vlad at all. I wiki’d him, obviously, and boom, found out he wrote Lolita. I like this, too: “Nabokov is noted for his complex plots, clever word play, and use of alliteration”. Anyway, I’m sure if I put another block of text from a random post somewhere on my blog, I’d be pinned as another person. Well, cheers to Vlad!

OMG I Have Plants

jsongco — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:29:14 +0000

When I lived in Brooklyn, my mom thought it would be a good idea to give me some plants to freshen up my place. The plants died a week later. I’ve never had the urge to have plant life in my own life—until now! I’m happy to announce that I’ve gotten a few plants to chill on my fire escape. I’ve got ivy, fuchsia, salvia, strobilanthes, and the ultimate kicker: an olive tree. I just read the little tag thing that came with the olive tree and it says it can grow up to twenty feet. Uh oh. Well, regardless, I can’t believe I have plants, especially one that could possibly bear edible stuff. Who am I? An extra dirty vodka martini lover, that’s who.

Slow Blog Day, for Everyone?

jsongco — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:00:23 +0000

Slow Blog Day, for Everyone?

Is it me or has the blogosphere called in sick today? Maybe this is my shout out for you all to share what you read (you can list them in the comment section). Maybe it’s my overwhelming interest in American publications, and, well, everyone knows Americans love to party on Fridays. And, this is America’s birthday weekend, so the last thing any American blogger would do today is, well, BLOG.

Let’s see, some of my Art blogs are: Art Fag City, Art21 Blog, ARTINFO: News, ArtsBeat, C-MONSTER.net, edward_winkleman, Hyperallergic, the PIT, T Magazine, and tryharder.

Some other fun blogs I read everyday (or when they are updated) are: The Winger, Ahoy Hanoi!, Josh & Josh are Rich and Famous, Towleroad, !! omg blog !!, Joe. My. God, Outsports, SoundSpike News, Uncrate, JAK & JIL BLOG, Male-Mode, Gawker, and SFist.

What do you recommend?