Monday, June 23, 2014

The Museum Experience

Surrounding myself with works of art has always been a dream for me and I'm glad I was able to fulfill it even if it was only for a few months. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I've been keeping myself pretty busy during my really long (April-August, hi.) summer vacation.

If you're my friend/follower on most social networking sites, you'll most probably notice me sharing a whole lot of posters and works of art from a particular museum. Working as an intern for The Lopez Museum and Library (LML) is not something I was required to do for my university. I just really wanted to spend my time doing something worthwhile while waiting for classes to start again.

It's really difficult to fully sum up the whole experience and articulate it because in the official 204 hours (++ pa!) I clocked in as an intern, I was able to do and learn a lot. But the best thing I can probably say is that the experience was both educational and fulfilling.

During the last few months, I was able to put into good use what I've been learning in my classes and what I've picked up while working in an organization. I also learned a lot and was given the opportunity to see how a museum would function. It was a great experience--something like watching a dance production backstage.

As an intern, I did various tasks in order to help the museum with its PR & Marketing (as it was the department I applied for). One of which was to design several posters for their events.

 

This poster happened accidentally actually and it took me the longest to make.This garnered the most views in the LML Facebook page. I never thought that anything I made could reach that many people. (My boss said that the poster was viewed about 3000+ times. Wild.) 


I've been having a lot of "last days" as an intern. My official official last day was last 14 June, but I went back last Friday to help the museum out with touring a huge group of guests. Last Saturday, I went back to take photographs around the museum. I have a feeling I'll just keep going back because I really enjoyed my experience in LML.


L- Merienda with our bosses, Ms. Ethel and Ms. Tina;  R - Before Intl. Museum Day with fellow interns Val, Thea and Jem. The little kiddo in the middle is Ms. Tina's adorable daughter, Cianne ♥ (Photos from Val's instagram)

I really enjoyed doing the guided tours the most aside from the various tasks I had to do as an intern--one of which included making something that felt like a mini thesis. haha. The training I learned as an Art Studies major came pretty handy then though.

 
Welcome to the Lopez Museum and Library and its current exhibition, Complicated! I will be your tour guide for today. :) (ew omg cue my face all over this post because I took shameless selfies. Because I can. WHOO)

LML changes its exhibition every six months. The Complicated exhibition examines the complex relationship the Philippines has with its different colonizers through the works in the collection of LML and other contemporary works by guest artists Mike Adrao, Leslie de Chavez and Ea Torrado.

 

Doing the tours never felt like work for me. I always felt like I was just sharing stories to the guests. I was happiest whenever the guests would feel comfortable enough to question and share stories with me as well.


The King by Leslie de Chavez

 

I Just Can't Stop Loving You by Leslie de Chavez


 I Just Can't Stop Loving You detail.

 
 
Juan Luna's España y Filipinas

I remember spending a long time in front of this painting when I started my internship, meticulously going over each detail. It's amazing how vibrant and beautiful this painting is. I learned quite a lot from this painting--from doing the condition reporting and the Teacher's Guide.

 

Vicente Manansala's Noli me Tangere illustrations

 
KKK by Brenda Fajardo

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of my professors had a work in the exhibition. Ma'am Brenda was my professor last year for my Modern Art class. If I'm not mistaken, this work is part of her Tarot Card series.

 
I actually ended up loving a whole lot of works for entirely different reasons. I guess it's inevitable because the more I talked about each work, the more I appreciated them. 


 (Study) Per Pacem et Libertatem by Felix Resurrección Hidalgo

 

I ended up loving F.R. Hidalgo's works. I really thought I wouldn't after I wrote a paper about one of his works (because of Hidalgo overload. Haha) but I really enjoyed sharing to people about Hidalgo because more often than not, people wouldn't know him (but they knew Luna. :( ). That and his studies are just really beautiful. Look at how soft yet detailed his studies are.

 
 
 

State of Your Liberty by Leslie de Chavez

  
State of Your Liberty detail 
 
 State of Your Liberty detail
 
La Barca de Aqueronte by Felix Resurrección Hidalgo 
 


This is one of my favorite parts of the tour. :) 



One of Jose Rizal's letters


Rizal's book catalog


Aliwan  Komiks

 
 
My favorite map detail of Indiae Orientalis (1570-1574)  by Abraham Ortelius. 

 
   Mike Adrao's Colony and Infectious series.

 I love watching the reactions of the guests when I tell them about this work and how it was made. I've spent a lot of time going through all the details in the pillars and I would always spot something new hidden in the charcoal.

 
Sisa by Ea Torrado

 I wrote this as my favorite work in the exhibition. It was really hard to choose but I ended up writing about Sisa because it's really something that one can watch over and over again without getting sick of it. Dancing will forever fascinate me (she's so graceful!!!) and the aesthetics of the film is just lovely.


Prints by Juvenal Sanso.
Inspired by Charles Baudelaire's A Carcass.


Litanya ng Tatlumpu't Dalawang Sumasampalataya by Leslie de Chavez 

 

This work creeped me out the most yet I love talking about this work as well. 

 

I can finally say the whole title properly (yay!)

 
(Study) El Asesinato del Governador Bustamante y su Hijo by Felix Resurrección Hidalgo

I'm really quite fond of this study after I researched and wrote a major major paper on the final mural last semester. You can imagine how detailed my description is about this study and its context.The final masterpiece can be found in front of Luna's Spoliarium in the Hall of Masters in the National Museum of the Philippines.

 
The Lopez Library.

It's a really great place to research about Filipiniana topics. I had difficulty looking for information last semester about Governor General Bustamante's assassination and Hidalgo's mural on it but I found quite a lot of materials here. The librarians are incredibly friendly and they'll really make sure that you find enough for your research.

 
My internship is so awesome. :(


This tumbler design is one of their newest products!

 
 ♥

  
(Left photo from Val's instagram
Thank you very much to everyone in the Lopez Museum and Library for this wonderful experience ♥ 

 
(1st photo from Ms. Lacdao's instagram, 3rd photo from LML FB, 4th photo from Hillary)

And finally, a huge, huge THANK YOU to everyone that took the time to visit me during my internship. It truly meant a lot that you passed by and wanted a tour from me. I didn't get to take a photo with everyone that I toured but thank you nevertheless. If you still want a tour, feel free to message or text me a few days before you plan to go. I live a few minutes away from the museum and I'm always game to tour. :)

 
(last hirit as this is the last poster I made)

Visit the Lopez Museum and Library on July 5 for Leslie de Chavez's Artist Talk! I might be able to go and I can give tours afterwards. :)

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The Lopez Museum and Library
G/F, Benpres Building, Exchange Road cor Meralco Ave, Pasig City
Open Mondays to Saturdays: 8:00AM - 5:00PM

1 comment:

  1. *sniff* *sniff* i think i'm going to cry! We miss you already

    ReplyDelete