I was really lucky enough to catch sculptor Leeroy New preparing for his Opulescence exhibit before he flew off to Singapore! His work is absolutely amazing & definitely progressive... you just can't stop staring at his art pieces. I'm totally lusting after his Sacred Heart wall pieces! Hehe. :)
Check out the space where artist Leeroy New's creations come alive!
Leeroy New (Quezon City, Philippines) Occupation: Artist/Sculptor/Designer
Favorite toy as a child: I didn't really play with toys but instead I had your typical art materials... and I climbed trees a lot.
Favorite toy now: Clays and Polymers Turn-ons: Humor, vision, articulate x substance and extra large toes...?
Turn-offs: No humor, no vision, no substance, short toes What are 5 things that inspire you right now? The latest technologies overlapping with contemporary industrial design, architecture, and fashion. Does that count as one or four?
Top 5 movies: I don't really have a top five, I feel it would be unfair to the other films I like... Top 3 books: The same concern applies to books...
Music you listen to: It really depends on my current empire state of mind 5 Favorite websites: I don't really surf that much to have a top 5
When you're not busy with work, what do you do in your free time? Bum around, eat a lot of really good food, and drink like there's work tomorrow but you just don't care If you were to choose a different job, what would it be? If it were really up to me, I'd be a ninja assassin. The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon X Naruto kind.
If you can have any super power, what would it be? Jumper! What is the biggest problem of the world right now? The insecure human condition as inhabitants of this infinite universe... and potholes
What do you think is the solution? Threatening alien life forms (as illustrated in Alan Moore's Watchmen) What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far? Most inspiring statement/moment (heard/said/read): I feel these two questions have more or less the same answers for me... "Everyone has to choose/have their own battle to fight", "Excellence in everything you choose to do", & "With vision comes responsibility"
Can't believe Anik-Anik Love won Best Culture and Arts blog at the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards!!! :D Thank you PBA for the recognition, thank you to the anonymous supporter who nominated the blog, thank you to the avid readers, and a heartfelt thank you to the artists who willingly open their space & life to Anik-Anik Love!
*Congrats to Von Cuerpo for winning one of the Top Three Posts of the Year! Check out his winning post here. :D
Her story "A Wilderness of Sweets", a heartbreaking tale of a young girl's experience of war, blew me away when I read it back in college... been a fan ever since. I was really excited when she agreed to have her place photographed.
We spent an an entire rainy afternoon just talking about life, love, and art. She asked me if I can contribute a picture to support an article she was writing, of course I said yes! Check it out here. :) That afternoon was one of the most enlightening days of my life! She's an award-winning writer, artist, cultural icon, and an inspiration. Enter the realm of the colorful, warm, and utterly hip Gilda Cordero-Fernando!
*Tita Gilda is so original that she created her own questions to answer in the blog! Hehe. ;)
Gilda Cordero-Fernando (Quezon City, Philippines)
Age: 80 going on 30
Sex: Female (latent cougar)
Status: In antique relationship with same old boyfriend for 58 years
Occupation: Writer, late blooming artist, erstwhile publisher, and theater producer (lugi, of course)
Interests: The arts, Filipiniana in all forms, fashion, learning from young people
Favorite toy as a child: A teddy bear that we buried 30 years after because the stuffing was coming out Favorite toy now: The boy-toy I married 59 years ago and still love above all
Aversion: Boxes and labels
Top 5 movies: La Strada (Fellini), Babette's Feast, Seven Samurai (Kurosawa), Ganito Kami Noon (Eddie Romeo), Andg Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros Books presently on my bedside table: Rage by Alfredo Roces, Tagbanwa, Palaspas
Book read lately: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Pulitzer Prize), Reinventing the Body Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra, the trilogy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Music you listen to (and dance to): The classics, tangos, Phil. bands, Susan Boyle, Norah Jones
What frightens you most: Any machine! Ambition: To join a cosplay
When you're not busy with work, what do you do? Hang out with young friends. Why? You learn so much from them as long as you know how to listen. I prefer them to old people whom I'll soon see anyway, while it will eons before I see my friends again in my next lifetime. If you were to choose a different job, what would it be? I'd be a fashion designer of cuckoo clothes.
If you can have any super power, what would it be? I'd be a billionaire and fund all ground-breaking theater pieces and projects.
What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far? Not to follow everybody else's advice. To always be true to one's own self.
Most inspiring statement/moment (heard/said/read): "Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."
I was lucky enough to capture artist-activist Kiri Dalena's sculpting space (shared with her mother Julie Lluch and sisters Sari & Aba) while she was preparing for their family's first four-woman exhibit "Home Works", shown at the Alliance Francaise de Manille last October. Check it out! :)
Gabriel Krista Lluch Dalena (Kiri) (Quezon City, Philippines) Occupation: Filmmaker and Sculptor
Favorite toy as a child: It was a pink pink plastic doll with eyes painted silver and none of her parts were moveable. My sisters tell me she was creepy but I loved her dearly. I named the doll Waling-Waling, after a flower. Favorite toy now: A gun metal toy and another doll. The gun hangs over my bed. The doll is in my closet. My parents surprised me with the doll on my 6th birthday. I've moved around all these years but I insisted on keeping her even if she has lost her eyes and most of her hair. That birthday is still the best day of my life.
Top 5 movies: Biyaya ng Lupa Red Balloon Forbidden Games I Am Cuba La Strada Top 3 books: Philippine Cross-Section (edited by Maximo Ramos and Florentino B. Valeros Almanac foe Manilenos (Nick Joaquin) Salvaged Poems (Emman Lacaba) Music you listen to: I'm listening to Kundiman now. Nicanor Abelardo. Or rather I tinkle with the piano keys every so often pretending I can play Mutya ng Pasig.
When you're not busy with work, what do you do in your free time? I love to sleep. I also enjoy having coffee near the breakwaters in Manila during sundown. If you were to choose a different job, what would it be? I'll probably enjoy working as a cook. Or an archivist.
If you can have any super power, what would it be? I don't mind having China. What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far? Protect the center
Most inspiring statment/moment (heard/said/read): The Future is Unwritten from Joe Strummer
I was instantly blown away when I met Ian Carandang --- he is the creative mind behind the mouthwatering & unique flavors of Sebastian's Ice Cream! An afternoon with him is total ice cream overload from flavors like vodka, beer, coconut, and blue cheese with nuts & honey.
A love for ice cream, a Ben & Jerry's book, an old-fashioned churner from his aunt, and his desire to create new flavors were the ingredients that motivated Ian to be Ice Cream Artisan.
Check out what inspires innovative Ian. :)
Ian Carandang (San Juan, Philippines)
Occupation: Head Sorbetero for Sebastian's Ice Cream
Favorite toy as a child: Nintendo Famicom (too many games to remember)
Favorite toy now: Super Street Fighter 4 for the PS3
Turn-ons: Being comfortable in one's own skin. A stocky, chunky guy with a good nature. A nice double chin.
Turn-offs: Being unkind.
What are the 5 things that inspire you right now? 1. OPM singers Ebe Dancel from Sugarfree and Aia de Leon of Imago - to be a musician playing original music in the Philippines is to constantly fight an uphill battle. 2. The French Laundry's Thomas Keller - quest for perfection 3. Mario Batali - his playful, indulgent outlook on food mostly closely matches mine 4. GamerBee - Taiwanese SSF4 player who uses Adon, a low-tiered character and recently won a tournament in the US where he beat the best players from the US and Japan 5. Eric Stonestreet - kept plugging away in Hollywood doing work and never losing hope, finally becoming a star as Cameron on Modern Family with huge ratings and winning an Emmy the first time he was nominated
Top 5 movies: 1. Ratatouille 2. Kill Bill Vol. 1 3. Unbreakable 4. The Incredibles 5. Spaceballs
Top 3 books: 1. Blade of the Immortal manga series by Hiroaki Samura 2. Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman 3. Kingdom Come by Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Music you listen to: A mixture of OPM, country, folk, pop, rock, and hip-hop: Indigo girls, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Sugarfree, Imago, Cynthia Alexander, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne. I also listen to stand-up comedy albums like Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Patton Oswalt.
When you're not busy with work, what do you do in your free time? Go online. I can watch TV shows that otherwise wouldn't be available locally, read up on any of my interests, check the news, keep up on food trends and ideas. It's an infinite source of information, entertainment, and porn. And it's pretty much free. What could be better?
If you were to choose a different job, what would it be? Cartoon voice actor. I could have the thrill of acting without having to diet.
If you can have any super power, what would it be? Green Lantern's power ring. Versatile power set and open to the imagination of the user.
What is the biggest problem of the world right now? Poverty. Pretty much every problem in the world can be traced back to people not being able to think about anything else since they're too busy worrying about having roof over their heads and getting something to eat.
What do you think is the solution? Education. Quality, non-sectarian Education to the world's children to be precise. It gives us higher standards in choosing our leaders, where we will no longer settle for the same old politicians but want for true, visionary leadership. It teaches us that taking care of the environment is not an optional scenario. It teaches us that using books written 2,000 years ago to justify bigotry, intolerance and a distrust of science is ridiculous; that we have more that unites us than separates us. Education gives people the tools and the confidence to rise up and attain their full potential. A good education is everything to a young mind, no matter what country or situation you are in.
What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far? Take nothing for granted. Nothing is so powerful or unshakable that it can't be taken away from you in an instant.
Most inspiring statement/moment (heard/said/read): The movie Ratatouille, in the pivotal scene when Anton Ego writes his review of Remy's food. It had tears in my eyes when he was done: "The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its make have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realized, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
