mano mano | Manila Art Blogger

Iggy Rodriguez, "Toxin", 45X34 in, acrylic and ink on paper

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