Curb your enthusiasm

In one of this year’s most anticipated events, it’s easy to fall into the trap of Instagram spamming and impulsive buys.

Here are tips on how to immerse yourself in the world of art.

You would be right to be excited about going to the Art Fair this year. After all, who wouldn’t be? If last year’s was any indication, there is nowhere else you can go where you get to see the best of contemporary Filipino art in one go. And even for those who are regulars at exhibition openings, there will always be something you haven’t seen yet. If you’re already beside yourself with excitement, then read on.  

 Though it should go without saying, going to the Art Fair though should be for the art. It isn’t an event that happens to have some very interesting set design. It also isn’t a place for you to improve your social media image or just have something to post on your Instagram account. Neither is it a place just to find décor. If anything, it can be a very rewarding experience and can be enjoyed simply if one is eager and open enough. Those who do will have everything to gain.     

Don’t take pictures

Too often, the urge to document everything ruins the whole experience. You should try to experience art as raw as possible, with no filters in between, and allow its full impact to take effect. The simple act of holding up a gadget and putting a lens in front of your naked eye creates a barrier between you and the work. And, more often than not, you won’t do justice to what you’re photographing anyway (though it might provide a relief to your followers to look at something more interesting than another selfie). If anything, after leaving the Art Fair, you should be able to take home something more substantial and lovely than a bunch of bad pictures.

Don’t buy

…Or at least don’t come in with the mentality that you have to. Though the lines in between them are becoming blurrier these days, art should and can be enjoyed without commerce. A lot of the joy of just seeing gets lost when you start to look at paintings with price tags attached to them. And that runs contrary to the true spirit of the Art Fair, the fact that for the price of admission you get to see the best of what our best local artists can offer, presented with the care and consideration that their works deserve and under the appropriate light to view them. If you want to go shopping then go to the mall instead.

Don’t believe the hype

With that said, everyone seems to be selling something these days. And they all want you to buy. Be suspicious. Be skeptical. After all, the work should be able to sell itself. The harder the sell, the less it probably is. (Though admittedly, there are a lot of overeager art dealers of excellent works that just can’t help themselves.) With so much noise, it gets even trickier to listen to your own thoughts, but it is well worth the effort. It might even save you from acquiring something that’ll just be in your bodega one day. Though it may be even trite to suggest it nowadays, please listen to your heart. Or better yet, trust your gut. Art that has the power to move bowels can change minds.