Psychedelic Adventures: An Hour At The BenCab Museum

Jim and I went to Baguio at the beginning of February, wanting to level up from the sweater weather we've been enjoying here in Manila. His high school friends started planning a quick weekend roadtrip to the North and of course traveling to anywhere for the weekend is always my cup of tea.

I have a sort of love-hate relationship with this highly urbanized city. While it is famous for pine trees, strawberries and cool weather, no one can deny that he traffic is horrible, the roads are confusing and the streets are crowded in Baguio. But despite the chaos, as it is the same with my Manila, there's still a lot to love about this city.

For one thing, there's art.

Lots of amazing art.

Since it first opened its doors in February 27, 2009, it's only  my second time to visit The BenCab Museum. The last time I went, I was with my cousin Mayel back in September 2009 and we had the whole day to look at all of the wonderful works displayed. From the permanent installations, to the contemporary galleries and even through the collection of Bulol (Ifugao rice god) Sculptures and indigenous artifacts, I took my time and basked in the awesomeness of it all, even managing to do some museum sketches of the National Artist's original works.

That was back then, but this time around, we arrived at the Museum pretty late, around 5 pm. Its doors would be closed by 6:00 PM so I didn't have the luxury to really look at the paintings one by one and examine the works very closely, but I was determined to make the most out of my visit. 

Museum reception and Benedicto Cabrera's "Anito/Ninuno" painting.

The museum has 4 levels which houses the artworks and contemporary collection of National Artist Ben Cabrera. With the limited amount of time we had, I only had a chance to browse through the galleries, and managed to take photos of the works that caught my eye.

Homage To Sabel 9, the iconic muse of Ben Cabrera

 Of course, I had to grab a quick picture of Sabel, the recurring subject in the artist's paintings. She is depicted in many different ways, and it intrigues me up to this day why he had such a fascination for this female character. I did a bit of research, and the real life Sabel was really Ben Cabrera's memory of a woman draped in plastic back in the 1960's. He was inspired by this woman's way of draping the plastic around her body to protect herself from nature. I found it quite poetic--a beggar becoming The Great Artist's muse, immortalized in his paintings and imagining an unlikely love affair with a memory. 

BencCab's Woman with Fan

Apart from the National Artist's work, there were some notable works from other Filipino contemporary artists. This shows Ben Cab's willingness to share his influence and resources to younger artists instead of showcasing only his own work in the gallery.

Joel Welbart Bartolome's "Spin Doctors", Oil on canvas 2008

Romeo Mananquil's "Morning Bath", Oil on Canvas 2008

Lynyrd Paras' "Huwag Mong Damdamin Ang Mga Bagay Dahil Ang Bagay Walang Damdamin", Oil on canvas 2011

Jordan Mang-Osan's "Tradition & Religion", Acrylic and solar drawing on plywood, 2004

Froilan Calayag's "After Heironymus Bosch", Oil on canvas, 2004

Emmanuel Garibay's "Nakidueto (Kay San Miguel), Oil on canvas 1994

Joey Simsim's "The Harvest 17", Oil on canvas, 2010

Photo op with the Bul-ol Collection

On our way down to Cafe Sabel, the Restaurant and Cafe located at the basement level of the museum

I didn't get to taste their food, but Our Awesome Planet gave a great review of the dishes. The prices have increased since 2012 though. 

Colorful benches at the Cafe

Another thing that I loved about The BenCab Museum is this beautiful garden and duck pond at the back of the main building. All floors have a veranda where visitors can enjoy the open space and the awesome view. I was amazed at the vastness of the whole property! I read somewhere that BenCab actually bought the forest area in front of the gazebo to preserve its current state. I think it's pretty rad. At least now we can be sure that the mountain overlooking the museum will remain that way as long as Ben Cabrera is there to protect it.

Almost sunset view of the artist's studio. The museum building was designed by Architect Raymund Sarmiento. Loved his use of space and natural light.

Jim and I with our requisite selfies on the second floor of the museum. Perfect lighting!

This stenciled graffiti wall was not there when I visited in 2009. You all know how I am smitten by murals and street art, so Jim and I just HAD to pose in front of it! 

To pay tribute to the genius of Ben Cabrera, here's a museum sketch that I did back in 2009

BenCab Museum Directory
Km. 6 Asin Road, Tadiangan,
Tuba, Benguet, Philippines
Telephone: +63 74 442-7165
Get updates on their up and coming exhibits through their Facebook Page

Admission fee
General: PHP 100.00
Students and senior citizens with valid ID: PHP 80.00

Museum hours:
Open daily except Mondays, Christmas Day & New Year’s Day
from 9:00am to 6:00pm

Read more

Bucket List: The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Even before my flight was confirmed for New York, I was already dreaming of this day. A lot of people would say that when you travel, you shouldn't just be stuck in the confined walls of the buildings and museums, but explore the unknown corners of the place. I'm guilty of this, because whenever I travel to a major city, I make it a point to check the museums and the art galleries. In my long list of things to do in New York, visting the MoMa came in first, but it was actually the last major thing that I did before I went back to Manila. Visiting The MoMa and seeing the artworks in person is close to being able to listen to a Beatles Record in Abbey Road Studios. Perhaps I'm exaggerating but that's exactly how I felt. I was on fan girl mode, to be honest.

Weeeeeee!! Kinikilig agad, entrance pa lang!

The Museum of Modern Art, built in 1929 founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Mary Quinn Sullivan, Lillie P. Bliss, is considered to be one of the most important art institutions that develop and collect modernist art. Aside from contemporary paintings, drawings and sculpture, it also houses different works of design, architecture, photography, film and other media. It was originally located at 57th corner 5th Avenue in Manhattan's Heckscher Building until 1939 when they relocated to 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue building which was donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr.. The first loan exhibition was held in November 1929 with works by Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaughin, Paul Cezanne and Georges Seurat. The museum underwent renovations and expansions over the years, but still continues to consistently grow and develop to be able to show contemporary art works from all over the world.

I arrived there in the afternoon around 3:30 PM on a Friday, and was lucky enough to get free tickets. The original ticket price is 25 dollars and unlike the pricing system at The Met which was 19 dollars suggested (but you can give a dollar if you're feeling stingy), ticket prices at The MoMa was fixed.  Perhaps the art gods were smiling upon me that day, because apparently, they have this promo called Target Friday Nights held between 4:00-8:00 pm where you can get in for free. I had to painstakingly go through an anaconda line and wait for 30 minutes to get tickets, but it was still worth my patience considering that I was about to see works by the rockstars of the modern art world. I was of course excited to see paintings and studies by Klimt (my current and perhaps all time favorite), Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Cezanne, Gaughin, Lichtenstein and featured for early spring, Edvard Munch's The Scream, but I also got to view works of other artists such as Freida Kahlo, Fernand Leger and Jackson Pollock . I finally was able to go inside at around 4 and devised my viewing strategy. Top to bottom was the plan, so that if I run out of time, I can take photos and ogle at the art works while going down. I also thought about the galleries that I could skip--conceptual art, and the strange abstract art weren't really my cup of tea.

Here are my MoMa highlights:

Pop Art love! The famous Campbell Soup Cans by Andy Warhol, all 32 varieties of the soup completed in 1962. This was displayed at the entrance of the Painting and Sculpture Gallery I on the 5th floor. A LOT of people were having their pictures taken (including me). When I was looking at photos online, I initially thought that this is a single artwork on a single canvas, but they were actually 32 individually framed canvas displayed side by side as you would see in a grocery store. 

Silkscreened portrait of Gold Marilyn Monroe, done in 1962, the same year Marilyn committed suicide. The gold background is actually bigger than it looks in this photo.

Starstruck moment with Gustav Klimt's Hope II, painted 1907-1908. This artwork contained gold and platinum and it shimmered! This poor photo doesn't do it justice. I was in front of it for like 15 minutes just admiring the colors and lines. I was especially fascinated at how the painter did the faces of the women at the bottom and the position of their delicate hands.

Paul Cezanne's (above) and Henry Matisse's (below) still life paintings. I don't know why, but I am a huge fan of impressionism. I would've wanted to see Auguste Renoir's paintings, but I wasn't able to come across one.

Fernand Leger's Les Trois Musiciens (The Three Musicians) which was probably the only Leger work that really caught my attention since his early works were mostly Cubist-derived but I was more drawn to more realistic renditions of his work. Obviously the musical theme contributed to pique my interest, but the contrast of the dark suits against the yellow background was also very striking. This was actually located at the far end of the lobby of the 4th floor and not within a specific gallery, but I had to take a closer look. This also reminded me of Jim. Yihee. 

Oh Monet Monet, Monet, your water lilies are beautiful! One has to really step back to appreciate his work. Thank you girl with a red bonnet for making my photo more interesting by passing right by me. 

Edvard Munch and his paintings of anxiety and melancholy. The photo on the left is actually just a print, but the original painting was also displayed at the Museum. People crowded around The Scream and there was actually a museum personnel that made sure that people didn't touch or go too near the famous painting. 

Paintings of Mr. Cubism himself, Pablo Picasso.  

Van Gogh's Starry Night -- I had to squeeze my way into the crowd to get a photo thus the angled shot haha.

Amidst the crowd and all the frenzy, I decided to take a break and capture photos of the garden named after Lillie P. Bliss who is one of the founders of the museum. Since it was already spring, people were able to tolerate the weather and get out to breathe some fresh air. I sat on the stairs and read a little excerpts from my souvenir which contained 350 works displayed in the museum. During my trip in the U.S., I had a real penchant for buying books, and this wasn't an exception. 

I wish I could post all the photos that I took and share them all here! It was such a remarkable experience to be seeing all the works of these renowned artists up close. Photos do not do them justice, so it's best to visit and check the works for yourself.

The Museum of Modern Art is located at 11 West 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Ave, New York City.

Check out the collection here and the museum hours here. 

Read more

Botong Francisco at The Ayala Museum

Last week before going to the DFA in Megamall for my passport renewal, Jim and I went to Ayala Museum to check out Carlos "Botong" Francisco's "A Nation Imagined" Exhibit. The last time I went to Ayala Museum, their Third Floor Gallery was closed, so I contented myself with the Diorama Experience and the Crossroads of Civilizations gallery on the second and fourth floors respectively. It was Jim's first time to go to Ayala Museum so he enthusiastically visited all the galleries starting at the top floor.

Botong's Pista sa Nayon, image from  thegridcrosser

The stunning Crossroad to Civilizations Collection showcased archaeological artifacts from pre-colonial times. It's a 3 part exhibition of textiles, ceramics and gold pieces that made us want to go back in time and see how our ancestors wore and used these items before the Spanish arrived. I especially enjoyed looking at the treasures from the Gold of Ancestors Exhibition which displayed more than 1000 pieces of excavated gold from several parts of the country such as Surigao and Butuan from the 10th to 13th Centuries. It gives the audience a clue of how Filipinos expressed social prestige, spirituality and aesthetic preferences and it makes one wonder (and generally accept) how humans have this innate desire to create and express no matter what the culture or era we live in.

The highlight of our visit was the showcase of National Artist Botong Francisco's artworks.  The exhibit was a collection of 40 artworks including large scale paintings and sketches and studies that were never before displayed in public. His works usually depicted Filipino folk traditions like Pista sa Nayon, Harana and Bayanihan sa Bukid  and important historical events such as the famous Martyrdom of Rizal, First Mass at Limasawa and Blood Compact. You're probably familiar with his more famous murals in Intramuros, National Museum and UST but it was surreal to be seeing his sketches and studies up-close. It somehow shows you a glimpse of the artist's creative process and allow you to connect the dots on how the he was able to conceptualize the image from his head down to a small scale study, then to a larger scale painting. While the massive oil paintings were spectacular, I was more enamored by his smaller watercolor artworks. The precise lines and the technique of his washes is nothing I have ever seen! Mukhang vector art sa sobrang linis! I was really itching to take photos, but as an obedient spectator, I kept myself from using my Lumix inside the premises and respect the rules of the museum. Here's a photo from outside instead.

Nakaka OC lang yung second "O", tagilid!

The Botong Francisco's A Nation Imagined Exhibit runs until March 31 at the Ayala Museum, located at Makati Avenue corner Dela Rosa St, Makati City.
Entrance fee: 225 Php

Read more