ManilArt 10 Winners! // July 25, 2010

Was supposed to post the winners yesterday, but I had server issues, so apologies for that!

Anyway, because my parents are amazing people, I have drawn 5 names, instead of 2! So, I’m giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the ManilArt 10. I used http://random.org to draw the names.

1. #2 Mara
2. #8 Krinessa
3. #23 Jeric Rustia
4. #25 Nante
5. #29 Tim

Because I drew Tim’s and Krinessa’s names first (so they are, technically, the original winners), they will be the only people I can probably LBC/mail the tickets to. Please send me an e-mail to yankee@nothingspaces.com. To the rest of the winners, let me know if you can pick up the tickets from West Gallery, 48 West Avenue, Quezon City. Gallery hours are 10am – 5pm, Monday to Saturday. If not, send me an e-mail so we can arrange something.

Yay, congratulations!

For other ticket concerns, please send an e-mail to jonsy@manilart.com. I’ll ask about the tickets (if they will sell onsite, etc) and make an update for everyone else interested.

 

Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them. // July 23, 2010

… LOL not really. But this post is about a fantastic book, so the title half-counts! So, I’m sure that y’all have books that you love so frakking much, but come by so infrequently, that whenever you see them, you buy it and think of a wayward soul to give it to. A friend of mine buys Franny Billingsley’s “The Folk Keeper,” and he gave me a copy a few years ago. (It’s a gorgeous children’s book, really.)

While I do have a lot of books that I feel this way towards, I’ve only done it twice, and both times, I bought the same book. It’s not “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” because, while that is My Favorite Book In The Entire World, it’s not that hard to come by. Also, for some reason, it is expensive. But anyway. The book I am talking about is John Green’s “Looking For Alaska.”

“Looking For Alaska” kind of shot up to Internet popularity, when this particular quote invaded Tumblrverse. I was floored, and I wanted to read it immediately, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I found Green’s “An Abundance of Katherines” and “Paper Towns,” no problem, but I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for “Looking for Alaska.”¹ Finally, however, out of the kindness of his heart, Armando who is a Tumblr friend from the UK, sent me a copy of “Alaska” and okay, finally, I understood what the fuss is all about. It’s overposted, and has somewhat reached a “Perks”-esque² notoriety, but I get it.

Anyway. I gave the book away on this site, when I first found a copy here in Manila. (Still haven’t figured out what to get the runner-ups, oops.) And I found another copy of the book two weeks and sent it to Raymond. He got it earlier this week and has been reading it and is reportedly liking it so far.

Because it had a dinky, girly cover, I made a sort of book sleeve that I held back from posting until the book got to him. I’m posting pictures because I worked hard on it, damn it. Behold, my masterpiece!:

Looking like a serious craft project with a cutting board. It wasn’t. I just needed to cut stuff.

Close-up of the lettering! Kinda badly rendered, but at least it is not pink.

The back!

The quote on the back goes: “I’m not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they’re gonna do. I’m just going to do it.” And, you know, it’s a promise I intend to keep.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you had any books (or anything, really—albums, films, what-have-you) that you love so much, you’re willing to shell out a few bucks or spend some time to let someone know about them? Would love to hear about them, if you please.

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¹ See what I did there? (back)
² Where haven’t you heard, “And I swear, in that moment, we were infinite”? Stephen Chbosky’s book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” is really, honestly beautiful, so it’s kind of sad how this quote has turned into a little joke. I still love it, though. (back)

 

ManilArt 2010 Ticket Give-Away! // July 21, 2010

I’ve got four extra tickets to ManilArt 2010 that I’d like to give away to 2 lucky art-lovers. (2 tickets for each winner, so you can bring a date, or go on two different days, if it turns out that you have no friends.)

What is ManilArt anyway? MANILART10 is the second international art fair hosted in the Philippines, featuring the country’s leading art galleries. This is a place where art collectors and enthusiasts can view some of the finest examples of Philippine Contemporary Art today. (Here is a confirmed list of exhibitors.) There are also lectures and talks held over the duration of the art fair.

MANILART10 will be open to the public from 11 am to 8 pm, from July 30 to August 1, 2010. Admission tickets are priced at Php200 or approx. US$4.50 each. (You can buy tickets by e-mailing jonsy@manilart.com.) It will be held in SMX Convention Center.

Well, what’s so great about this? Well, my cynic-friend, the excellent thing about this is that you will be able to see some of the best works of art made by some of the best Filipino artists, curated by the some of the best galleries in the country today. That’s what’s so great about it, man-friend¹. You don’t even have to buy anything (but buying art is good for the soul—both yours and the artists’, since they get to eat and live another day); you can just go there to see all the pretty things!

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:

• You can use the tickets on any day of the exhibit duration, but they will only be valid once.
• They are complimentary tickets and cannot be sold. (Don’t be a douche!)
• You must be in Manila at the time of the exhibit, or else we are just wasting time.
• You have a valid mailing address. Gon’ ship these tickets to you, if you win, is why.

So, just leave a comment, and I’ll use an Internet randomizer to pick the winner. Since the event is going to be in a few days, I’m going to leave this post up until the weekend (July 24th, 3pm Philippine time!) and announce the winner then.

Yay for art!

Click to visit their Facebook page, where there is a gallery of some of the featured art. Here’s a few:

Kapitbisig” by Elmer Borlongan, 60″x48″ , oil on canvas, 2010 from 1/of Gallery

“After Yves Klein” by Annie Kabigting, 48″ x 72″, Oil on Canvas, 2010, courtesy of Finale Art File

“Growing A Peach Tree” by Amy Aragon, 36″ x 60″, Oil on Canvas, 2010, courtesy of Manila Contemporary

Please comment if you have questions, etc. I’ll be glad to answer them if I can. For basic information about the event, visit their official website.

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¹ If you get where this is from, then you are automatically cool in my book. Unless you are an asshat.

 

 

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