Amusing Museums

Jeju is rife with museums.

Mark and I were joking that in Jeju, there's a museum for everything.

And that joke was not just half-meant, it was meant-meant.

Here's proof:

See, they even have a museum for sex and health.

Interesing.

Gimme More(no)

There's a lack of fashion retrospectives and exhibits in the country.

This was one of my observations that was shared with Jo a few years ago during a visit to SG.

I've seen quite a number of fashion exhibits in SG. One of my personal faves was the Christian Lacroix exhibit from more than a decade ago. Then, there's the Issey Miyake exhibit in Japan. And of course, the Carolina Herrera exhibit in SCAD.

When I read that there was a Pitoy Moreno fashion exhibit at the MET, the first thought in my mind was "finally!"

Went there yesterday, and it was such a joy to be there. 

His work from different eras were all represented. From his time as costume designer for the Bayanihan Dance Troupe, to his love for the terno, to the gowns of first ladies, to the wedding suite, to his beautiful reinvention of the Japanese obi - they were all there to be enjoyed.

It's awesome to see his work up close, and some of these pieces I've only seen in books or in magazines. No question, Pitoy's work is truly wearable art.

Bonus points for the fact that they capped off the exhibit with this iconic line from "Bongga ka 'day."

And as the exhibit name says, it's truly Timeless.

We should have more exhibits like this.

Baby Talk

At the King Sejong Museum, there was an interactive activity where you type in your birthday and they’ll give you your personality.

For my birthday, here’s what came out:

Yes, my personality is like a “Quiet and Leisurely Sleeping Baby.”

Strange as it may sound, but it’s actually quite accurate. Harhar!

Wintour de force!

It's the Met Gala! And with this year's theme - which is "Camp" - you can expect the guests to really go over the top. (Though I think it's hard to top last year's religious theme.)

As expected, Anna Wintour outshone them all.

She's the perfect balance of creativity, class and camp. Especially with this fully beaded, overly feathered number.

Being the host and purveyor of The Met Gala, you can't expect anything less.

Carolina in my mind

Since I only had more than a week to spend in GA, I decided to spend as much time as I could with family.

But there was one thing I knew I had to do while I was there. There was an exhibit of Carolina Herrera's work at SCAD, and who would pass up the chance to see that, right?

I'm a huge fan of Carolina Herrera. In fact, I've written about her several times on this blog. The opportunity to see her work up close and personal isn't something that happens often. And I'm glad that I had the chance to do so.

The great thing about the exhibit is that it dates back all the way to her beginnings in fashion. I wasn't familiar with her work back in the 80s, and seeing her creations from that decade was a thrill. It goes to show that she had a strong vision and aesthetic even as she was just starting.

(Some Carolina Herrera originals from the 80s)

Another thrill came from the fact that some of the gowns I saw in person were famous gowns worn by some of my favorite celebrities. Gosh, I used to just look at these gowns in magazines, and now, I was in front of the actual thing!

One of those gowns was Taylor Swift's! And it's no secret that I love me some Taylor!

(Taylor Swift wore this!)

Another memorable piece was the wedding gown worn by Bella Swan (aka Kristen Stewart) in the film "Twilight."

(When I first saw this gown in the film, my first question was "Who made that?")

For hours, I just went around and around and around the exhibit, marveling at all the gorgeous creations of Carolina Herrera. And having seen a lot of her work in magazines and photos, they're no way as awesome as the original.

This museum visit was so inspirational, I think I'll bring out my chicken scratch pad and chicken scratch something very soon.

A Night at the Museum

The Mind Museum, that is.

It was Mark's birthday weekend and we opted to do something new. We've been to a couple of museums in Japan, but haven't really explored any of the museums here in Manila. (Except maybe that art exhibit/museum in Ateneo.) So, I decided to indulge the geeks in both of us and checked the place out.

Since we were looking for some peace and quiet, I opted to buy the evening tickets instead of the usual daytime ones. My objective was to avoid the noisy kid crowd which would flood the museum in the morning or afternoon. They were the same kids who were making a ruckus at Jollibee that same afternoon. I've never heard so much noise in just one place.

I'm a big fan of museums, so I have a tendency to mentally compare and contrast. Size-wise, The Mind Museum is a bit small. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for activity. There's a lot to see and do in the museum, especially if you're into science. (And science was one of my favorite subjects in Grade School and High School.)

You can eat a giant chocolate bar:

You can come up with your own atomic structure:

You can solve problems: (needless to say, Mark's favorite subject was math.)

You can also get chased by a dinosaur! Well, dinosaur bones, if you want to be technical about it.

You can even see dinosaur poop! Oh crap!

You can also watch a 15-minute 3-D movie about how life on earth was created, destroyed, created, destroyed, and created again. Surprisingly, it was a heart wrenching film - especially the part when the dinosaurs died. *sniff*

You can also go whale watching, and see whales up close. Without even diving or going near water. (Yes, that's a whale behind us.)

At those are just the natural science parts. There was a lot more to see in the museum, like how things work and how things are made. But overall, what The Mind Museum taught us - yet again - was the fact that science is a fascinating, yet often forgotten subject. Especially if you're in a non-scientific job, like me.

One thing I also liked about The Mind Museum is they had a lot of clever signs scattered throughout the place. And among the lot, this one is what resonated with me the most:

Yes, kids, please read!

Overall, it was a wonderful night at the museum. And this is just going to be the first museum with many, many more to come.

Disturbia(rt)

During our visit to the Modern Art exhibit at the National Museum, my classmates and I found ourselves in front of this very haunting and disturbing painting.

It was entitled "Drowning" and shows a family of 8 as they're submerging in floodwaters.

According to the description, it's an antithesis of the usual images of drowning. When people drown, they're usually in a state of panic, disarray, hands flailing and trying to hang on to anything they can put their hands on.

But if you look at the painting, the drowning family is calm and serene, as if trusting and waiting for someone to save them from death. You can even see the mother's hand as she clutches a rosary.

It was so disturbing, we left the gallery all pensive and quiet. And it took us about an hour and a half before we could talk about our feelings about the painting.

Now that's one powerful piece of art.

A day at the Museum

Yesterday, I decided to bring my classmates and one of our instructors on a mini-tour around Manila. 

Since our seminar started, all they've seen was their hotel, our school, Harrison Plaza, and the occasional trip to MOA or Roxas Boulevard. So, I promised them that I'd bring them to some of the more interesting historical sites in Manila.

And one of the places where I took them was the National Museum of the Filipino People.

Since I was in High School, I've always enjoyed going to the National Museum. And it provides a good snapshot of our history and culture - which they asked me to explain a lot of. Thank goodness I was attentive during our Kasaysayan 1 and 2 classes.

One of their favorite parts of the museum was the exhibit of the Philippine Art Awards.

They really took the time to study each piece and discuss among themselves. Also, they were impressed at the quality of creativity and the technical skill that went into each piece. 

And that's just the modern art. When I brought them to the National Art Gallery, they were even more impressed.

I should take my classes here next time.