We're all geared up for Manila Design Week! We're sponsoring the Wall Lords Event on the first day of the week, that's August 7. 8 crews will battle it out for wall lords supremacy and represent our country for the international showdownat Shanghai, China.
70s rock gods collaborate with young artists and designers to give you their new rendition of their old albums. You have to see all the great works in MANILA SOUND VISION at THE CLOTHING in CUBAO expo! See works of Okto, K.o. , Bulb, CHICHI,KD DRAGON, Mark Salvatus, Poklong , Dex Fernandez , Jason Mossand many more!
When this late entry came in, and as the picture slowly downloaded...My jaw dropped when I saw the final piece. This was it, i said. Nice touch on the background and the effects on the eyes as well. and I like the addition of the police hat. Good job Jumbo... you pulled it off well. (insert applause)
And for some reason, the image made me remember this song
Congratulations. Email me your size and you can claim your price next week!
To all those who joined, thank you...try again next time!
Color in the muse is an idea i had to weed out the best illustrator painters out there... I provide the image, you provide the colors... It's a free for all. You can use photo shop , illustrator , water color... whatever way you want! Just do it!
Here's a drawing of half Japanese , half Filipina model Leah Dizon. I made out of boredom last night.
This was made with pure pen and ink, If any body wants to color it in, feel free to do so... the competition lasts for about a month.
I will announce the winner second week of January!
Send your entries to: BLACKBOOKDESIGNPILIPINAS@GMAIL.COM
You have to see this film. not only do you have to see it, you have to see it in 3D. It was seriously a life changing impact on my visual senses. Avatar made me see colours i did not even knew existed. I don't believe i had ever been happier to see an artificial world stimulated by 3d glasses compared to my first time taking LSD. Actually it was a lot better than LSD. Maybe for some, the combo would be the best thing ever.
At first, I admit to have been skeptical about the whole 3d experience, thinking that the glasses would have been resembling that of the classic red and blue 3d glasses found only in cereal boxes. But no, the glasses themselves were actually quality stuff. Not only that.. It did it's job good. Realizing as how i was at the edge of my seat with my back firmly on the back rest, i looked around me and saw almost everyone in my immediate vicinity with jaws ajar and just in awe.
In Avatar, James Cameron has pulled a Tolkien in this one, creating a whole world deep into detail, backed by scientific research and fact and fused with endless imagination. The result is a mind blowing alien planet of beauty called Pandora, which made me wish it were real just in case , we humans really fuck planet earth and mother nature up. Pandora is inhabited by people called the Na:Vi who are connected literally to their planet. You could feel in the movie that the natives really love their planet...they know the benefits they get with just taking what they need. At the same time they give back by praising their planet as their mother. The Na vi were forever grateful people to nature, and that was very obvious. In terms of their human colonizers, you would see the exact opposite; industrial , greedy , almost on edge from greed. But not all of them.. some still had their heads out of their pockets.
So in line with this, Avatar was well thought of, from the character design , where in basically each character was a stereo of how humans would naturally react to a setting such as Pandora's. The set design (deeply rooted to nature's imagination, and the story was rich , full, and relate - able...actually, very relate- able. The main character Jack Sully was groomed to be somewhat of the observer character (like the audience) in relation to the movie. Initially, curious and excited to explore the horizons of what he was to experience, assumed he was going to get rid of the natives but ultimately gets involved and drawn in to the action and the passion and ends up being the hero.
Yes, Avatar was awesome. Period. There was a movie when I was a child about a logger who was magically transformed into a thumb sized man. He initially wanted to destroy the forest until he fell in love with a fairy and as he wanted to get into the faerie's world, he fell in love with the world as he ended up protecting the land he fell in love with. This movie was Fern Gully. Avatar is a modern rendition of this classic. Avatar reminded me of Fern Gully. Fern Gully on steroids.
Based on a children's book written by Brad Bischoff. This short film is about an artist who falls in love with a girl and wishes to be her eyelids more so than a partner. Giving a bigger meaning of presence in a person's life rather than just a partner... who would have ever thought that just being a small part in a person's anatomy, could mean so many things? What more if they were part of your life? Eyelids is a story about relationships. To me, it is a confession of being content by just being a part of someone's life.
React is an exhibit my good friend Mano Lotho invited me to work on. Stay tuned for more news. I am always very flattered when somebody invites me to exhibits as I am used to just putting out my stuff randomly anywhere I please and galleries / exhibits to me are untamed circus lions for me to conquer (which essentially excites me).
Here's a paste up near the Makati police station done by Chichi as a reaction to the police brutality on students and members of the anak bayan group when they started a "flash - rally" in front of Malacanang on August 2009.
For more pictures of the beatings / police brutality click here
November 27, 2009
I love everything about this song and video combination. If life had cheat codes, this most probably is how it would look like if we were all in GOD mode. "Treat Me Like Your Mother" for The Dead Weather directed by Jonathan Glazer.
Composed. An adjective that will sum up the number of emotions that I can not relay into pulse - driven type written words as I stare with my jaw dropped, my eyelids, slightly stretched bigger. The stimulus for this reaction is of course the photographs you see above taken by Regina Belmonte. Don't think that as I used the adjective Composed that I just used it as per it's convenience. Rather, let me explain to you why I used the word or at least the idea of the word and at the same time, i may be relieved of my lack of articulation.
To be composed means serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress. The same can be said about the photos above. Each one is a powerfully controlled and peaceful capture of the stressful world that surrounds her. Stress releases powerful neurochemicals and hormones that prepare us for action (to fight or flee). If we don't take action, the stress response can lead to health problems. But Regina does neither. She neither fights or flees for moments that will catch her eye. She settles and captures the stimulant of stress and she is able to express it through her photography and makes it look like the most serene thing. This captured serenity seems to not only be external but also internal as well, as Ms Regina is one of the most pleasant people I've met. Now you see a balance between and relevance between the work and the artist.
It seems mathematical in such a way, an equation to capture these images that I will never understand. But what I do understand is the beauty and grace in them. One has been a secret fan of her work since my current girlfriend showed her tumblr (VivatRegina) to me.
I'm listening to Silversun Pickups' Lazy Eye as I am writing this and I swear to God, This song best soundtracks Regina's photos. Now I have three adjectives based on this song that I wish to add to "composed": raw, nostalgic and epic. Now that's three and that's the magic number.
The legendary block by block / brick by brick brand , Lego has recently collaborated on a set with minimalist product makers Muji. This set plays on a person's imagination and creativity rather than forcing the person to play with the obviously capital driven and commercialized Batman or Indiana Jones play sets.
Muji has provided different color papers and a hole puncher to combine with the legendary Lego blocks. Now, people are left to actually play with their toys with a almost limitless capabilities. Ever since I could remember, I had been playing with Lego. And anytime that is used in an innovative way , I am dealt with a nostalgic but happy feeling. This move brings Lego back to it's original form of suggesting creativity rather than imposing brands upon you. I'm glad to see Lego back on it's peg leg. To see more pics click here .
As the month of November ends, I feel as though life is moving faster. Things are improving. And although the pace is changing I feel as though it's better like this than ever.The goal is to change, change and evolve. I suggest you listen through the whole of it as with the concept of a mixtape.
Here's the tracklist: 1. In A Little Spanish Town- Lester Young 2. Ad Lib Blues- Lester Young with The Oscar Peterson Trio 3. Blue Rondo a la Turk- Dave Brubeck 4. Salt Peanuts- Dizzy Gillespie 5. Captain Marvel- Stan Getz 6. Crazy Chords- Stan Getz 7. Blue In Green- Miles Davis 8. Israel- Miles Davis 9. To Impress The Empress- Scott Matelic 10. Under The Hood- Specifics 11. Notice- Smith 12. Creeper- DJ Deckstream Feat. Junji Chiba 13. Sun Fran to Tokyo- King Most 14. samura's optic- CYNE 15. Adhara- Fat Jon 16. DROME produced by Himuki- Himuki 17. Spartacus- Ino Hidefumi 18. Midnight At The Oasis- Ino Hidefumi 19. Marie Aël- Hadrien Feraud 20. Shall We Love ?- Hadrien Feraud 21. Lila's Dance- Mahavishnu Orchestra
With this thought I collaborated with my friends the Del Prado Brothers (it just sounds awesome), specifically Julio Del Prado on this mixtape (NUMBER 4). This is a tribute to all those who strive to improve...to those who work hard. This mixtape is heavy with JAZZ. . . all kinds of jazz. As with the theme, it is an ode to the legend of the music and it's progression is a metaphor for change, growth or improvement (which ever way you want to put it). It's about time you switch your foot work.
It's a busy week ahead of me.. These videos ought to keep me inspired. Hope you all be inspired too. Enjoy!
Thank you to the people of Gestalten.tv for sending me this video!
I haven't seen many dreamers around lately. I think dreamers have been washed away by the currents of time and the repetition of routines. A dreamer has been over - shadowed by the problems of the world. It's slowly being flushed down by every generation, growing old - and slowly relying on survival rather than imagination. What is survival? Survival is a noun. Survival is the habit of being. Go ahead and argue with me, a dream is not reality. I say make it reality. Make it what it should be. I say dream with bright colors and dream with a themed setting like a movie. Dream in black and white and see things clearly. But when awake, dream of dreams that can be reality. I talk about survival, and i talk about dreaming. But what about the survival of dreaming? They say to dream is dead. No one talks about it so they assume that it is forgotten. Well it it's been forgotten. No one teaches it so they think that it isn't real.
Everyday, I meet new people and everyday I talk to people I already know. Still they make me dream. Dreamers have been blotted out. I want to change all that. I hope you do too. . Change it by dreaming. Dreaming everyday. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. There are changes in our world everyday...scientific findings and daily occurrences that ultimately lead to the most exciting time in the existence of our planet. This is absolutely the most exciting time to be alive. So whatever you do, don't be bored. Ever. Dream.
Good Morning! Here's another mixtape (mixtape 3) for everyone who likes spending they're sweet time honey dipping with their honeybee or honeybees. What does this mean? Well i mean here's something for the ladies. This week's theme is a guy and a girl, spending some quality time... wherever they may spend that. This mixtape is by JuliusValledor ( I must commend him for the awesome jacket also)of Bee Eyes
The songs are down tempo and chilled-out... Perfect for a walk and a cup of tea. I swear to god I listened to this mixtape from start to finish. This mixtape mixes some indie, hip - hop and some opm (which i think is pretty awesome). Support your local I say. But anyway, it features Mayer Hawethorne , who is an up and coming soul soother who was influenced by the motown bands. He was also given the stamp of approval by Snoop Dogg himself. Count Bass D's How We Met , is a must listen. And I realized that Narda was an amazing band before. Sad they had to go the "dancy" direction, says Julius. And then, it flows to Cibo Matto and just ends smoothly. I hope you enjoy this mixtape, next week's mix is on the burner.
This one's for the ladies. And for the pursuers and lovers out there, always remember; "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"
"You say you want a revolution Well, you know We all want to change the world You tell me that it's evolution Well, you know We all want to change the world" - John Lennon's Revolution
There are different times in history where in an incident sparks a war. There are sometimes in history where in a signature on a memorandum drops a bomb and gives the world their first glimpse of the power of human creativity as a tool for what could be a man-made apocalypse. But there are some strokes in life where - in a single gesture of the hand accompanied by just a passion for being , leaves an imprint on the planet. Or in this case, people's awareness. It takes time... It takes persistence. It takes real human dedication focused into a certain aspect in life to create even just a tiny snowball. But when this snowball gets bigger just keeps rolling, there is no way in hell you can stop it.
So I guess now, two years into it... KST and PSP the philippines, or at least the immediate media is now taking into consideration what these people have been fighting for. And yes, some may argue that two years is not a very long time, I never said the fight has burned out of them. The fight for the rights to express street - art and graffiti culture is young here in the philippines. The soldiers, fresh and plentiful. But albeit the metaphor of war, there was a light of hope in the shape of an article (one which reminds me of the stories told of the days of TAKI in NY / how the graff scene exploded.) ironically, involving the child of revolutionary parents acknowledges the presence of graffiti and street - art here in the phillipines. In a nutshell, author Alfred A. Yuson writes about NOYNOY Aquino addressing the presence of graffiti. click here : READ THE ARTICLE ON PHILSTAR.COM TO KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
November 9, 2009
I heard a little news this morning from my friend Mestizo, that this month of November, the Gas Lamp Killer will be heading here to Manila.
A new month has arrived and another month towards the end of the year. This is the second mixtape in the running of the Blackbook Mixtape project. In this edition, I collaborated with Milkriddles and he compiled this mixtape based on the theme Paint Music. Once again I had designed the jacket. This mixtape starts with "Impending Doom" a track collaborated ob by the prolific Daedalus and one of my favorite emcees MF Doom. It slows down around the semi-soulful "Tree Leaf Dancers" by Flying Lotus and speeds up again as you'll hear some dub beats and it ends rightfully so with a track called "Eat White Paint" by Cornelius who is a japanese DJ.
This mix is not only for those who paint but also for those who want to keep their minds moving all in the name of creation and inspiration. Enjoy!
We're all geared up for Manila Design Week! We're sponsoring the Wall Lords Event on the first day of the week, that's August 7. 8 crews will battle it out for wall lords supremacy and represent our country for the international showdownat Shanghai, China.
70s rock gods collaborate with young artists and designers to give you their new rendition of their old albums. You have to see all the great works in MANILA SOUND VISION at THE CLOTHING in CUBAO expo! See works of Okto, K.o. , Bulb, CHICHI,KD DRAGON, Mark Salvatus, Poklong , Dex Fernandez , Jason Mossand many more!
