Kitty’s anti-social calendar

February being the National Arts Month, there were plenty of artsy fartsy options that occupied adventurous couples and predatory singles in Mondo Manille. As I am somewhere in-between the two status (among other things), I delighted in the bacchanalia of bodies, objects and images during this season of stupid cupidity.

My favorite art gallery, movie theater, bookstore and club this month has been my apartment, thanks mostly to my nu black metal pussy Pilar (namesake of Bea Valdes’ sister), a beautiful gift from two equally beautiful friends Marta Lovina and Toni Bernardo. A true diva like movie legend Pilar Pilapil, this cat dislikes the company of other women when I’m around – she wants attention like Mitch Dulce but is not curly and cannot belt a tune nor sew a dress, so for Valentine’s I gave her three balls of yarn in different neon colors. A hot shower later and I find her bandaged in a stunningly color-coordinated and anarchically-knitted ensemble, like Lulu Tan Gan having a catfight with Siouxsie Soux’s needles.

In ’80s lingo, "cats" means "guys." Men, in general, are otherwise referred to as dogs.

* * *

Like Pilar, as well as some cats and guys, museums intimidate because they appear stifling, authoritarian and elitist. One could mistake their structures for banks or giant refrigerators ready to freeze the audience with nippy, boring art, or cast them in cold, hard cash. A friendly and warm alternative is an open rice field, such as the one in San Rafael, Bulacan. Add a welcoming security staff like these guys and you have a more interesting cultural "no center" – Trek, Pipoy, Alvin, Eton, Hogan, Eugene – they are the boys of Bulacan soon to take part in my version of Batch ’81. The film (often cited in the Top 100 of world cinema) by Mike de Leon uses "fraternity" as a metaphor for fascism, torment and dejection. The idea to re-work the original began a few weeks ago, when I met my friend’s Bulacan posse: a bunch of teenage boys ranging from 14 to 18 years old. We hung out, drank beer and talked about many things, including adolescence, peer pressure and superstitious beliefs. As it was a long visit, I brought music, books and films with me, one of which is Batch ’81.

The guest room was packed with wide-eyed teenage boys. They were not shocked by the violence shown in the film; these neophytes were, in fact, seduced. Word got around so fast that two more screenings followed immediately (one guy, Alvin, even sat through all three). What made this small art house experiment curiouser was not so much the film itself but the boys’ reaction to it. They all enjoyed Batch ‘81 immensely and wanted to join a fraternity after watching the film, thinking the message was pro-frat. This generational gap creates a new kind of ‘mistaken belief,’ since all of them are post-Martial Law and out-of-school kids, and unaware of the historical context in which the film was originally situated (Marcos dictatorship).

* * *

Having communed too much with a black cat, cogon trees, nature spirits and kids half my age, I felt my flakey city social skills slowly slipping away. I am cleansed again.

* * *

Art is a strong magnet for brotherhood, that is for people, ideas and forms to socialize, hook up and get stuck with no escape in sight. The good things about gallery or exhibit openings are manifold: you can wear slippers and tattered clothing; you don’t have to talk about spa treatments, The Buzz or house music; you can look at a painting for a long time until your crush becomes available for a quick tryst. Such pleasures were all present mingling with the pah-arty crowd during Mag:net Gallery Katipunan’s inaugural show on February 13, just a smack off Valentine’s. One thing about art critics is that they can achieve what they do best if they only kept their mouths shut and eyes (plus brains and legs) wide open. So instead of talking about the art, I’d rather focus on the artyphiles in this chi-chi event!

Handsome and hard-bodied Rock Drilon, owner of the Mag:net Galleries, organized a simple but definitely happening night of beer, peanuts and baked mushrooms! Artists and friends from all over jet-setted to see the show and the newly-refurbished space: Juan Alcazaren, Poklong Anading, Pablo Biglang-Awa, Louie Cordero, Nilo Ilarde, Jonathan Olazo, Jayson Oliveria, Gerry Tan and MM Yu were all there, plus the polo set and the Bora crowd too!

Fondly called Mag:net Katips by its habitues, the Katipunan location functions as a living and active meeting place bringing together artists and their audiences, students and teachers not only in the visual arts but also in other creative communities as well. Its café bar and restaurant at the second floor have nightly performances from Monday to Saturday. Though it has been a venue mainly for musical gigs it also schedules poetry readings, improvisation theater, sound art, fora, talks and workshops. Its shop adjacent to the gallery downstairs offers books – at 80 percent discount – by Filipino authors, Filipino indie music CDs, DVD films, accessories by young designers and the usual comprehensive collection of current issues of foreign and local magazines. Recently launched is the CR Gallery (the café toilet space) which features a different artist each month.

As almost everyone came early except me and a band of reporters, I coaxed uber artist and ultra-glam socialite Lena Cobangbang into filling me up with the sordid details in this exclusive interview:

Philippine STAR: What cattiness has happened so far? And what are you wearing?

Lena Cobangbang: We just had the chance of watching Anading remove the glass from the recessed box just outside the door and replacing what used to hang there – a yellow shirt with "This is what a destabilizer looks like" printed on it – with his video installation.

Wow, that sounds really cool. Who else is here?

It showed shots of a performance where he, dressed as a Mag:net staff, asked guests to sign/write in air with a paint brush with a small camera attached to it. It was like reclaiming space with one’s signature. Or since it was installed in said white box, Anading somehow is also defining space for the literary set – the poet’s alcove.

What else? Any other anti-social behavior?

I didn’t get to watch the performances by sound artists Pow Martinez and Ria Muñoz, electronica-based Drip, and drum-and-bass ensemble Nyco Maka that night as everyone’s so boozed out, the café so packed, the tables and seats all occupied. Oh well, there’s a month and a quarter year to catch them anytime at Mag:net café again. Just take note of the weekly schedules of performances posted on the website.

Great, I’ll bring Pilar next time. She definitely needs to quit being anti-social and go out there and meet more "cats."