Documents for Performance Art

14 November – 5 December 2018

Archivo 1984
Pasillo 18, La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City

Performance art is an art form wherein an artist makes use of his body, time, space, and energy in order to create and present a specific action or actions. It can occur in any space and it always has an audience. It may occur in an empty alley, a busy sidewalk, a road full of vehicles, on stage, or even inside art institutions. It can be anywhere as long as it fulfills the artist’s mission or message. As to understanding the form, this type of art has deep and complicated roots and motivations. Artists explore the the potentials and limitations of their bodies to undertake experiences that may be rare to them and to the viewers. These unlikely actions capitalize on the degree of unfamiliarity generated among audiences. It is manifested through the engagement between the artist and audience within a limited space and time. Performance artists do employ significant processes, some would use visual tropes or props, but what is common to them is that all of their actions are intended to be appreciated experientially and/or that a message may be put across despite the refusal of viewers.

Performance art doesn’t really ring a bell among many in the Philippines. Although modern and contemporary art has made its mark here, visual arts was the one that excelled the most, leaving performance art practice in the shadows. Aside from this practice hiding in the limelight, one of the reasons why it isn’t known is that, in its early years, performance artists didn’t really encourage the taking of photographs or videos, or the general act of documenting the performance itself, as this was then seen as taking away from the essence of the art practice which then required you to be present physically and mentally.

The lack of documentation due to its spontaneity has led to the creation of “Documents For Performance Art” exhibit. “Documents For Performance Art” will display the rigorous documentation output from Ronnie Lazaro’s recent performance art pieces: Breathless, held last July 21, 2018, and Pagsibol ng Hiling, last May 17, 2018, which was the commemorative performance to 1996’s Bayang Ginigiliw. It will showcase performance art through the lense of media, specifically photography and videography.

Artists

MM Yu

A photographer who has obtained numerous local awards including the Ateneo Artist Award in 2007, and Cultural Center of the Philippines’s Thirteen Artist Award in 2009. Apart from this, Yu has had a number of solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in the Philippines. Yu received her BFA in Painting from the University of the Philippines. In addition, she completed residencies with Big Sky Mind, Manila (2003), Common Room Bandung Residency Grant (2007) and Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France (2013). Yu’s photographs present the reality of life as it tackles the everyday, nomadic, and mundane urban living in Manila.

Larry Manda

A multi-awarded cinematographer, editor, and actor. His most known films are Bayani(1992), Maling Akala (2007) where he won best cinematographer, Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (2011), and I Do Bidoo Bidoo: Heto nAPO Sila! (2012). In 2014, he won Best Cinematography for Norte, the End of History at the Gawad Urian Awards. He has also worked on numerous corporate advertisements and has been nominated for Best Cinematography at the FAP Awards, Gawad Urian, Golden Screen Awards, and Star Awards for Movies. Manda was also the director of photography for Edna (2014), a film directed by Ronnie Lazaro.

Ben Razon

A photojournalist who took his undergraduate photography studies at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has worked with studio advertising photographer Michael Nelson in New York City. His career in the Philippines was at its pinnacle as he assisted Steve McCurry in documenting the country for National Geographic. Razon was tagged as a standout shooter by Cristina Garcia Rodero and admired by Hiroji Kubota. His prolonged photo documentary has covered numerous significant occurrences in the Philippines, while capturing its beauty. He has been documenting most of Ronnie Lazaro’s performances since the 90’s and is now involved in freelance editorial work.

Archivo 1984 Gallery, in cooperation with the Benilde Arts and Culture Cluster (BACC) Department of Arts Management students under the supervision of faculty member Sandra Palomar-Quan, cordially invites you to the exhibit opening of Documents for Performance Art on Wednesday, 14 November 2018 at 6:00PM featuring photographs and archival documents of a recent performance by veteran actor Ronnie Lazaro.

The BACC launched the Performance Art Initiative last July 2018, resulting in Lazaro’s Breathless as its pilot project. Students and artists from various disciplines collaborated with the actor who revisited the genre. The exhibit includes the work of cinematographer Larry Manda, photo journalist Ben Razon, visual artist MM Yu and archival snippets from performance art work in the Philippines.

Documents for Performance Art will benefit the BACC Performance Art Initiative. A collectors’ viewing of works by key Filipino performance artists since the 70s will be held on Saturday, 24 November. The exhibit will run until 5 December 2018 at Archivo 1984, Pasillo 18, 2241 La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. For more details on the artworks email info@archivo1984.com