new exhibitions in LOPEZ MUSEUM features contemporary art

In celebrating 50 years of foundation, the Lopez Museum features new exhibits featuring contemporary art. These displays eye-opening and liberating expressions from the artists and on a deep assessment of the masterpieces are unknown stories from the artists' perspective. The exhibits are entitled Extensions - a perspective beyond the Lopez Museum's existence, and Loob at Labas - a multimedia documentary presentation of the Philippine society.

When entering Gallery 1, you will find Maya Muñoz's works Calendar and Coming It Going. Maya is one artist who loves to travel. In her works, she shows or "documents" her travels and puts it into canvass. Calendar tells us how she reflects on the days of her travels. Others may be from looking back of her past adventures.

From my point of view, Maya may be a little sad in her expressions. The strokes of her pencils, the force she puts on drawing and the erasures displease her of traveling alone. It's sad to see someone leaves or for you to leave someone. Maya puts in her drawings that it's sad to be alone.

From a gloomy gallery, we proceed to a very scribbly and liberated form of art. Extra-normal doodles of monsters, celebrities combine into pop art. Here, the Lopez Museum encourages people to express what they feel. Plataporma and Pilipinas Street Plan play along with any type of material making the surroundings into a big graffiti canvass. The colors and images play in the imagination of today's generation somehow suggests that there is noise, and they need proper guidance. Religious images and cartoons have been merged with celebrities which seem to be rebellious. I don't know what really is their message and to whom are they addressing it to. For me, success really comes to the individual and social dependence comes next.

Going further with the exhibit gives as a critical view of the Phillipine justice system from the inmates' perspectives. Convicts may have sinned to others but sometimes, even if they paid their dues in the jail, their rights were also been taken from them. Loob at Labas tells their stories presented in a multimedia manner by Rock Ed. A video documentation provides unknown information of how prisoners are treated inside the jail. Somehow the society benefits from them by selling their arts and crafts made inside the prison. But the proceeds somehow are not going to go to jail development and rehabilitation of the inmates. Instead, the big problem of corruption still extends inside the cages.

Loob at Labas and Extensions are part of the 50th anniversary of the Lopez Museum. A different look into the modern history and encouraging us to observe, learn, and reach out. The exhibit closes on April 16, 2011.

The Lopez Memorial Museum is at the ground floor, Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City. See the exhibits from Mondays thru Saturdays, except holidays, from 8AM-5PM. For details, please call 6312417 or email pezseum@skyinet.net. You may also look into blogsite pezseum.blogspot.com, find them over Facebook, or follow the tweets here.

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