Shifting from the Monotones

#130: Family Roots, Art, Michael Paraskos, Subanan Buklog, Pope.L, Tina Stefanou, Handful of Mastodons, Art Ranger, and Harana (Florante Aguilar).

HERE & NOW

I submitted to the needle and received my COVID-19 vaccine today. I feel like a tortoise “racing” to complete this newsletter before the usual vaccination effects overtake me.

I’m learning about the indigenous roots of my father’s family, the Subanen “people of the river” who have lived in northwestern Mindanao for centuries. The Subanen are well known in the area for their elaborate, community-wide gratitude ritual, the Buklog. It involves (among many other related activities) the building of a giant platform out of wood and plant fibers, which is used simultaneously as a community dance floor and a trampoline with built-in percussive effects!

Also, a Facebook group devoted to inhabitants of Dipolog (where my father’s side of the family are from) recently posted the old wedding documents, c. 1888, of my grandmother and her first husband, whose children were the half-siblings of my father. I was surprised to see that online. Grandmother Narcisa’s first husband died young. The document was written by a Catholic priest in a delicate, cursive script in Spanish. 1888 was a time when revolutionary ideas were being expressed by some Filipinos. While the Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal, was not “revolutionary” (he was a nationalist) his satirical and critical novels, Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo (The Subversive), caused him to be viewed as a troublemaker by the Spanish authorities. By 1893, he was exiled to Dapitan, just a few miles from Dipolog, and finally executed in Manila in 1896.

From communal celebrations and offerings of gratitude, to marital unions and executions documented by colonizing authorities: the irony is not lost on me. That said, the legacy of colonialism can be a mixed bag. See for example, Harana, in the Soundings section of this issue.

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ART

Lately, I’ve been shifting from the monotones I used frequently during the last several years, to adding more color and working with colored pencil and pastels again. I’m interested in patterns of flow, emergence and dissolution.

Untitled. Ink, colored pencil, and pastels on handmade paper, 1/2024. By Jean Vengua.

Untitled. Ink and colored pencil on Shizen paper, 1/2024. By Jean Vengua.

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RABBIT HOLE

• In “Talking and Listening to Rocks,” art historian and novelist Michael Paraskos’ ideas about listening, transcendence, and openness to the “materiality” of art and this world resonates strongly with me right now.

• About the Subanen Buklog (a UNESCO film):

• Pope.L, a visual and performance artist and educator, talks about his commitment to art and the risks he took in order to carry out that commitment. Sadly, he passed away in December 2023.

  There is a spiritual level to capitalism, I think (laughs). —Pope.L

• Tina Stefanou is a Greek-Australian artist, performer, and researcher. In the video below, she discusses her performance work, “Horse Power”:

• Handful of Mastodons

Note: if you want to visit the Mastodon server where an artist is located, just paste the two.words after the last @ in your browser, e.g., wandering.shop or mastodon.art. Click on “live feeds” or “local timeline” (top right) to see what the community is posting.

• Collage artist and painter J G Orudjev: @nineteendegrees@mastodon.art

• Painter and illustrator Joey Deruy: @JoeyDeruy@mastodon.art

• Multimedia artist Matthew M. Conroy: @matthewconroy@mathstodon.xyz

• Tailor and artist Elfkin: @elfkin@mastodon.art

• Grumpy Gryphon makes fantasy critters and merch: @grumpygryphon@mastodon.art

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SOUNDINGS

• As we head into the dreaded Election Year, it’s good to take a breath, and keep in mind some important points about the U.S. Constitution. The Art Ranger (Department of Homeland Inspiration) found a typewritten document in her father’s briefcase that is very helpful: “Love Letter to the Constitution” (podcast).

• Harana, a beautiful full-length documentary on the serenade tradition of the Philippines,¹ by guitarist and composer Florante Aguilar:

I’m beginning to feel those vaccination effects now! Thanks for reading/listening to Eulipion Outpost. As always, special thanks to my supporters for donations to my Ko-fi!

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1. The harana first gained popularity in the Philippines during the early part of the Spanish colonial period.