When my brother and I were kids, our mother enrolled us in piano class. It was a dreaded weekly ritual – our teacher was an evil woman who held fang-sharp pencils under our palms while we did the drills. "That's it, THAT'S it!," she would yell. "Keep your hands ABOVE the keys! KEEP THEM UP! UP! UP!"
Mother said with a laugh, "Don't mind her, boys, she's just a bit grouchy 'cause she's a spinster. You'll get used to her."
That's how I learned of the theory that
spinsterhood = grumpiness. So when I got to college, I then made it a point to enroll in classes taught only by married teachers. My best friend during freshman year explained it to me: People get cranky when they don't get enough sex!
Thus the equation became:
sexlessness = grumpiness.
Haha! I snickered then, though today I consider that pronouncement as wisdom. Whenever I realize that I've been mean to people, I tell myself: Get. Some. Sex! :-)
Unfortunately, the subject of sex is often regarded as taboo by many, and much of its portrayal in the media aggravates this perception. Sexual acts are sanitized or censored. Porn is viewed as cheap. Prurient literature or movies are dismissed as lacking artistry. Good thing, there are those who continue to elevate the status of erotica. The trick is to inject a certain amount of artistic value – oftentimes an intellectual concept – to the erotic material or work.
I'm taking part in such an endeavor. From July 24 to September 22, I will join 14 other artists in an exhibition entitled '
ARS EROTICA'. It will be at the
Sison Art Gallery on Taft Avenue corner
Remedios Street in Manila, Philippines. I've included some samples of the works here: 'Strap-On' mohair penis by
Riza Manalo (above, right), '
Vu-l-
va' by Gerardo Tan (left) and one of my own photoworks entitled 'Flaccid' (below, right).
Gallery hours are from 2pm to 6pm, Thursdays and Saturdays. If you find yourself in the area, drop by for some sex. It'll do you good. :-)
The Sun Sex Be@rbrick is by Madsaki, a Japanese artist who graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. After 25 years in the US, he moved back to Tokyo and now is part of the artist group, Barnstormers. He has exhibited in New York City, Paris and Tokyo, and has made films, worked for publications, and collaborated with brands such as Levis, Clot, Isetan, XBox, and Commes De Garcons.
Info from www.madsaki.com
Sometimes a good cry at the movies is like a great workout. You come out of the cinema feeling tired and spent yet strangely purged of stress – like you just finished a 60-minute aerobic session. For me, the five best Kleenex movies of all time are:
The Crybaby Bearbrick of Series 8 (above, left) was designed by Umino Chica, an award- winning mangaka (comic book artist) from Tokyo. Her most famous work to date is Honey and Clover, a manga and anime series about the intertwined lives and loves of five art students (above, right). Before this series, anime catered mostly to male viewers and featured action-packed story lines with beautiful young heroines. Female fans soon increased due to this animated version of a modern day soap opera.
