Kwatro Kantos In Oakland

We set up our art at 21 Grand in Oaktown. Kwatro Kantos is made up of Marcius Noceda, Carlo Ricafort, Engalnd Hidalgo, our curator Lian Ladia and me.



I manipulated this Ginebra image 2 years ago for one of our exhibits at Bindlestiff. I guess that image stuck with us because England suggested it to be the name of our group and everyone agreed. I came from adverising so I like using pop images. Ginebra San Miguel is an icon in the Philippines and it’s one of my favorite drinks. It’s cheap, tastes good and potent. I used to drink a lot and I can say I personally know what it means to drink Ginebra. I know all you pinoys in P.I. know this too. Like I said, it’s cheap and potent and that says a lot.

It’s basically what we’re trying to say. Art could be cheap and potent too. You know how those institutions elevate ‘art’ into this unreachable pedestal. I don’t like buying those expensive materials in art stores. Why should I do that when I can buy it at any hardware store. What’s important for us is getting our messages across regardless of what kind of materials we use. We ARE the artists so they don’t have much choice.

Art is a luxury in the Philippines. Only the rich and the middle class get interested in it because it means nothing to the majority. They have to fill their stomachs first before getting into ‘art.’

I was just contemplating and realized that there’s no tagalog translation for the word ‘exhibit.’ The closest I can think of is ‘palabas.’ It’s just a ‘show’ like a circus. Nothing serious so why give meaning to a piece of s___. Excuse my French.



We got noticed by East Bay Express and wrote something about us. Flavorpill said Kwatro Kantos is what was happening in the art scene (August – September 2008) in the San Francisco bay area and I think they’re right.

EastBay Express link.

Thanks to barbara jane reyes for her article.

WORKS























RECEPTION







Some pictures in my garage. Preparation for the exhibit.