Iggy Rodriguez, "Toxin", acrylic ink on arches paper, 45x34 in.
In the November 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, an article on Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, makes passing mention of three schools he set up to run programs that keep traditional arts alive. One of them is the Prince’s Drawing School, organized as a means of “reviving traditional methods that had largely been abandoned by the art-education establishment….” The article goes on to say that the idea for the drawing school came about because “…the Slade, the Royal Academy, the Royal College—all the big graduate schools in London— were closing their life rooms.”
Mike Adrao, "Demakina 5", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.
In our part of the world, art enthusiasts maintain a healthy respect for the technical skills of our artists. Perhaps because most notions of what comprise art still veer towards the traditional. Paintings, however, tend to receive the bulk of attention. So when Iggy Rodriguez and Mike Adrao decide to mount a show of purely drawings, majority of them no bigger than a standard A4 bond paper, it feels like a novelty. Mano Mano makes us pause and appreciate this return to the basics. Both, as we can see from the images, are clearly masters of drawing, of capturing the most minute details while working with ink and charcoal. Prince Charles will definitely approve.
Iggy Rodriguez, "Delusions of Grandeur", acrylic ink on arches paper, 48x48 in.
Mano Mano runs from 16 to 30 November 2010 at Blanc Compound, 359 Shaw Blvd. (Interior), Mandaluyong City. Phone (632) 752-0032 or visit http://www.blanc.ph
Mike Adrao, "Demakina 4", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.
Iggy Rodriguez, "Sa Kaibuturan ng Pag-unlad", acrylic ink on arches paper, 24x24 in.
Mike Adrao, "Demakina 8", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.
Mike Adrao, "Demakina 10", ballpoint ink on paper, 11.5x8 in.
Mike Adrao, "Mekanismo 3" and Iggy Rodriguez, "Coming of Age"
Mike Adrao, "Mekanismo 2", charcoal on paper, 48x48 in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFV-GALrZfc
First encountered Mike Adrao’s work at this year’s Art in the Park. It was A4 sized, although I don’t quite remember now if it was an ink or graphite drawing. All I know is that I loved the cute little monsters he created and impressed by his undeniable deft drawing skills. I arrived early for this year’s Art in the Park, but too early it seems, that when I saw Adrao’s work I was told that the pricelist hasn’t arrived yet and that I will have to wait. Not wanting to miss out on what other goodies the other booths might have in store, I left it. Of course, by the time I came back, it has already gone. Such is my sad life at the Art in the Park(cue violins).
I wouldn’t put the Royal Academy in the same bracket as the Slade and the Royal College of Art as Prince Charles would, unless, the Royal Academy schools are now run by conceptual artists? I don’t know when the Slade started leaning more towards conceptual art but I still managed to find some painting students when I was there 5 years ago. I used to go to the art schools’ degree exhibitions. You read in magazines that that’s the best place to find good affordable art. There are still art schools in London that don’t frown on painting. Through the years I’ve discovered where to find them. If you have blank walls then you go to The Royal Academy, Chelsea School of Art, Byam Shaw in north London and the Wimbledon School of Art. Now, if you have a house the size of a museum(or an actual museum!) that could house installation, video or half a cow in a tank of formaldehyde, then your best bet will be the RCA, Central Saint Martins and Goldsmith. Slade is somewhere in between. There are schools that still celebrate the art of drawing and painting, although most of them are outside London. There’s the Ruskin in Oxford, Gray’s in Aberdeen and almost all Scottish schools of art.