Thursday, November 03, 2005

Art Palabok Artists at the Philippine Center 2005


From left to right:

Julian Oteyza, Maria Madonna Davidoff, Dulcie Dee, Luis Caraos, Linda Pirrone, Melissa Nolledo Christoffels, Consul General Cecilia Rebong, Emilia Monroy and Jeffrey Berman

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

What Is Art Palabok?

Art Palabok is a creative feast for the eyes and soul with ingredients from talented artists to demonstrate diverse styles of expression.

Show dates: February 28th through March 11th, 2005
Opening Reception: Monday, February 28, 2005 6-8 pm
Location: Philippine Center
556 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10036

INGREDIENTS OF ART PALABOK

Lito Ballesteros, Jeffrey Berman, Luis Caraos, Maria Madonna Davidoff, Dulcie Dee, Joe Dureza, Manuel Gamboa, Marielle Mariano, Jon Melegrito,
Emilia Monroy, Julian Oteyza, Linda Pirrone, Melissa Nolledo Christoeffels, Mel Vera Cruz

Sponsored by: The Philippine-American Foundation for Charities, Inc., (PAFC) is a nonprofit, nonpolitical tax-exempt 501©3 organization formed in 1997 to focus on community-based charitable, educational and cultural projects that will improve the quality of life of the Filipino American community and the larger mainstream community. For more information about the art program, please contact, Julian Oteyza. E-mail: joteyza@erols.com Phone: (703) 536-3173

What is “Palabok”?

A popular Filipino dish made up of noodles and a tasty mixture of seemingly unrelated exotic spices, vegetables, shrimp, meat, fish and sauces. When the ingredients are mixed together they provide a wonderful feast.

Ingredients of “Art Palabok”

Take one group of talented artists, add a pound of creativity, one cup of “kababayan spirit” (sharing), a generous serving of diced gratitude, a dash of appreciation, 2 ounces of sensitivity, a large serving of joy and laughter, and serve with a half cup of quality control in a large bowl of cultural celebration.

GOALS OF PALABOK

This show brings together some of the finest artists from the Filipino-American community:
[ To challenge a unique group of artists to push their creative skills to the limit and shock the art community to leave a lasting impression;
[ To help artists succeed in the art world efficiently through sharing successful personal experiences;
[ To develop well rounded artists who not only create but also promote themselves and mentor fellow artists;
[ To find revolutionary ways to promote art by pushing the creative envelope and encouraging artists to expand their vision to put Filipino-American art in the forefront;
Each Palabok artist is encouraged to unselfishly and freely exchange venue opportunities and show appreciation by offering reciprocal arrangements. Simple gestures of caring for each other’s artistic creations, transporting to different locations, offering to assist with the installation and de-installation of a show, and supporting each other at opening events are designed to enhance the experience of the artists as well as the audience. Our ultimate goal is to create a mentoring “safety net” for emerging artists to expand their creative outreach and enhance their ability to pass the skills on to other artists.

Palabok also attempts to highlight ingredients in show presentation that are sometimes overlooked, neglected, or taken for granted by the artists and curators. Artists concentrate their energies on completing their work and often overlook important “show” details such as frames, titles, medium descriptions, pricing and incomplete or outdated biographical and contact information. When these ingredients are omitted the creative feast does not fulfill the potential to satisfy the creative appetite.

The “palabok” artists will support each other and help to create inspired exhibits by:

ü inviting friendly and interesting palabok artists to participate;
ü exposing artists to the art of promoting through networking and exchanging ideas and venues;
ü instilling the “kababayan” spirit by helping other artists who may be unable to attend show hangings by making sure their works are presented and properly displayed, and help promote their works at the actual openings;
ü providing brochures and business cards for maximum exposure at each venue;
ü offering to assist with de-installation of shows, and deliver or store art work whenever possible.

The most important traits for a Palabok artist are to develop and show appreciation to each other, share information, support and encourage emerging artists and offer assistance at venues to enhance each show. A Palabok art show is blended to provide all of the ingredients for a fulfilling creative experience that combines all of the rich flavors to enhance the artist and the viewer’s experience.

If you know a potential Palabok artist, or want to become a Palabok artist, please contact Julian Oteyza, joteyza@erols.com (703) 536-3173.

1/28/05

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Some Palabok Art (more photos will be added)





Art Palabok Comments

COMMENTS:

*Congratulations to your untiring effort to keep the arts alive in the community. But please, let me point out a disturbing thought about your choice of name. The word Palabok is used as slang or has conotations as in: full of air, hollow, sugar coating, covering up, icing in the cake, meaningless, nonesense,"borloloy", fake, etc. Not meaning to discourage you. your Brown Strokes, i think is great. May you consider another name? just a thought. More power to you.
Paul

*Hi, Julian!
I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you soon enough because I had to get a few things out of the way these past two days. You might get to wonder what in heaven's name do I still keep myself busy about here in Vancouver??? Well, let's just say that when most people choose retirement to end a career, this"old" hombre chose retirement to start a new career: I'm doing management/marketing consultancy work for small business entrepreneurs, primarily Filipinos, to help them get an even chance in the mainstream market. I also write business plans and corporate communications as I strive to professionalize the businesses of our compatriots here. Just like your goal for some of the finest Filipino-American artists there, mine is also some kind of missionary work, galvanizing a segment of Filipino business entrepreneurs here into a force beyond just putting up sarii-sari stores and turo-turo carinderias, and improve their image as well, etc., if you know what I mean.
I'm glad you didn't cave in to Paul's comments even as I suspected you won't. Just remember that nothing or no one has to keep us off track from what we believe to be right, except by our consent. Otherwise, we have abdicated our position to the likes of the Pauls in this world. Obvious naman, he was leaning on the negative side but, then, that's part of our humanity and no reason for us to be critical too, we can only respect their views just as we would expect them to respect ours. Alam mo naman (your mom knows this too), there are many lives in this world that painfully creak and grate as they go about their daily work. Often nothing seems to go right with them and they need lubrication through our own thoughtfulness and affirmation of them. Kaya cool ka lang, ituloy mo yang ginagawa mo, just stay the course, I'm with you and I'll try to link you up with some artist friends in Manila for your planned exhibit there. God-willing, this June I'll also try to include an exhibit of Filipino artists here for the Philippine Independence day celebration in hopes that you might also want to link with them here in the future (I'm being asked tp make a proposal).
I've noted your goals for the Palabok exhibit and I commend you for the crusading work you are doing for them there. My sincerest hopes are for your efforts to bear fruit . . . from Washington and beyond! Good luck! --- pio

*Julian Oteyza is bringing this art palabok on the road and I'm looking into a couple of venues here in Oregon and Los Angeles. Si Mel I think will look in San Francisco. Sama kayo dito???? Mukhang we even have a potential Las Vegas venue, let me know what you think, Melissa

* I hope this comes as a pleasant surprise, having lost touch with each other for quite a awhile since you last visited me with that nicely packed Paul Blanco painting I brought along. Very neatly done, and I'm still keeping the box while the painting is now hanging on my wall. I still do miss my Joya and Zalameda paintings though.
Anyway, i hope everything's fine with you and the gallery despite the economic problems you're facing there and that your exhibits continue to prosper, especially in terms of fulfillment and art appreciation with our local folks there. It is in this context that i am forwarding below another forthcoming art exhibit among our "exiled" artists in the US of A, this February 28 (a special day for me, coincidentally!) and a chance as well to introduce to you, Julian Oteyza (whose email also appears on this page, should you wish to communicate with each other directly later on) from Washington, DC, who is among the leading lights of this movement. Julian is also the son of a former dear artist-friend, Victor Oteyza who was also a friend of national artist Nanding Ocampo, and both are now in the great beyond where "there are no more tears and no more sorrows." The exhibit and its objectives are self-explanatory and I'm sure you'll feel a common bond with its aspirations to challenge and raise the quality of creativity among its members. Julian is also planning to conduct his own exhibit there in the near future, showcasing his works and those of his father (he still has 15 of Vic's paintings), on a Father and Son theme. And here's another surprise for you: I'm coming back for a month's visit there this first week of March and perhaps explore possibilities on how we can establish links for Julian. We'll have so much to cover, Arnel, and it certainly would be nice to see you again. In the meantime, take care! -- pio

*Palabok makes a tasty dish... dahil maraming "palabok". Title apt to achieve unity in an xhibit for artists with differing perspectives. Puede ring Pinakbet ... I'll be the bagoong!Josie