Kwatro Kantos is an art collective that works under a desire to question and explore the fil-am identity, often touching on the commonalities in cultural experience. The collective consists of curator Lian Ladia and artists: England Hidalgo, Marcius Noceda, Carlo Ricafort and Mel Vera Cruz. Their more recent works share a communal interest in “subversive” semiotics. Semiotics, similar to the artistic understanding of iconography is a nuanced ability to communicate through the use of imagery and signs. And Kwatro Kantos uses this study of symbols as a means of upsetting the accepted meaning behind objects, creating a new perspective for viewing both social and cultural experiences.
Lian’s presentation was interesting but simultaneously dry, revealing that despite their contemporary flare, kwatro kantos’ themes find much inspiration in a historical understanding of art, referencing Dada, pop art, surrealism, etc. Given my own interests in art history it definitely helped me contextualize their process and come to terms with their mission as a collective. Having presented on the group, I was able to look at a range of their works and read into their history and exhibitions. So hearing the views of both artist and curator was interesting in comparison to not only how I responded to their art but also how I presented the their work. I had hoped that a larger number of the artists could have come in as their work was very personal and at times hard to decode without outside information, which was evident as a attempted to lead a discussion and analysis of some of their pieces. But I did find it helpful to hear their take on working within a collective and the dynamic between the group and the artists as an individual.
Despite cultural commonalities, it was difficult to come to a concrete conclusion without any real point of reference. and as a result Mel’s video was very appreciated and it was interesting to go into his studio and see how he displays his work. It’s fairly unusual so see gallery spaces exhibiting working in such a way but it was also somewhat reminiscent of the older salon style of exhibition. Due to both my study and creation of art, I’m always very interested in seeing physical spaces / work and discussing process. Overall I really appreciate having guest artists such as the kwatro kantos coming into the class.
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Yeah, the presentation was a bit dry, or stiff, no? I was a bit afraid of that! But I think it was helpful, and did jibe with the particular history you also presented. I was glad for Mel Vera Cruz's video (though it was like he was reading a speech); I walked through his exhibit and was so interested in its presentation. I was almost afraid to touch stuff, the way we're generally discouraged from doing so at art exhibits, though his exhibit really needed us to touch it, fold back layers to get to the layers of images beneath. That was almost like peeling back the layers of billboards on city walls, where new handbills are posted on top of old ones. I think of palimpsest.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to hear how much history/historical movements in art have informed their work. I appreciate artists who do this (I guess, rather than claim they've sprung up out of nowhere and are creating something never seen before).
Finally, re: collective, it did make sense, about navigating the gallery scene as a group. It also feels very Filipino too, as Filipinos are traditionally group oriented, and hence even as artists, working as a group is a necessity.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and input in class this semester. You've got a very mature voice and clear perspective. Good luck with everything, BJR