Inspiration Over At The Ayala Museum Part 2

(Continued from: Inspiration Over At The Ayala Museum Part 1)


The Paintings

The third floor was an exhibit by the painter Fernando Zobel (1924-1984) entitled Journey into Space: The Visual Odyssey of Fernando Zobel. He's a Spanish - Filipino painter and businessman, and the uncle of the famous Jaime Zóbel de Ayala. His father was a patron of Fernando Amorsolo, and this exposed him to Amorsolo's tutelage and art at a young age.

I have always loved visiting art galleries but I'm really not one to pretend that I actually understand what they're trying to say hahah! This was more of an abstract/ impressionist kind of set, and when you do these things, you do not try to communicate concrete thoughts but you try to invoke a certain kind of emotion. Sometimes it's hard to understand what the painting is trying to say because you're like 'uh okay what's that straight red line doing in a sea of muddled blue and green?' LOL.

And in this aspect, I appreciate the Ayala Museum's attempt to bring paintings closer to the common audience (e.g. non-art intellectuals and shiz) by adorning the walls with some of Zobel's famous quotes and perspectives. This way, the audience is able to connect the man with the painting and somehow is able to understand the medium better.

I particularly liked the Black Series because Zobel was able to come up with dynamic images by simply using the color black as the 'muse'. It really appealed to me how the concept of 'nothingness' can come up with something beautiful (emo not intended :p). It draws you and it pulls you away.

Photo from the Ayala Museum website

The guards were super protective of the paintings by approaching random people who attempted to snap photos and asked that they erase them. I appreciated them that way because photos can never really give justice to the paintings anyway, and these items really deserve respect.

"I don't paint a scene, I paint my memory of it" - this was scribbled across the wall of Zobel's exhibit. And all of a sudden the paintings made more sense. Don't you get the feeling that sometimes your memories are too blurry and messed up and all that's vivid are the emotions? That's what he was trying to achieve. Well I don't know but from what I've seen I felt like he was a pragmatic man. I can only assume though.

I really wish I took more art appreciation classes back in college, but really I don't think that art primarily seeks to make you 'understand', instead they seek to make you 'feel'. And by feeling, that's when you eventually understand. So when I step into an art gallery I just breathe in the space and the atmosphere and the play of colors… and somewhere between one painting and another, a story unfolds.

The first floor was also all about paintings but this time it was a collection from different artists. There were graffiti on the walls  that added to the 'cool factor' of the exhibit. Thankfully, we were already allowed to take photos so everyone just snapped away!

History Diorama

The second floor was one of Ray's favorites because it depicted the significant moments in history in full 3D dioramas. One can request for headsets to listen to  but we found out about it too late heehee.

Up Dharma Down

Okay what really drew a lot of people from the crowd was the promise of getting to watch Up Dharma Down at the end of the long day. I'm not a super fan, but man the voice of Armi is just ooohlala! I decided I'll get myself an album of theirs mainly because I'm sure they'd sound awesome on headphones.

Yey to free museum days!! 

The Gold of the Ancestors exhibit inspired me by reminding that we, as a Filipino people, had a grand culture with us even before the colonizers took over. We had an identity that came from our own set of values and traditions, and some of them have even endured centuries of change and suffering. And yeah we have really cool ancestors!

Viewing paintings always inspire me because I think that's what beauty does to us. It may take on different forms, but a painting is almost always fueled by a certain passion. And somehow, by being a mere audience, this passion reaches you in the form of emotion and inspiration. We don't always really 'get' what we see, as the meaning varies from person to person because we all use a different set of lenses, but it's not stopping us from experiencing the joy of beauty anyway. :) 

I'm really just grateful that we got to enjoy this. Thanks Ayala Museum! :)