Project 1: Barbarian Arrival

For Project 1, I am going to concentrate on the arrival of the Portuguese into Indonesia. In particular, I want to focus on the moment when the Javanese first see the large galleon of the European spice-trade ships.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the shores of Indonesia. When the traders landed on the islands, they had been coming from a newly conquered Malacca. On top of this, their success in spice trade and other various victories throughout southeast Asia fueled a fire to continue their colonial trade conquest. They hoped to expand the spice trade that was successful out of India and the Middle East, as well as spread their religious ideals of the Roman Catholic Church. The Portuguese's colonization of the islands such as Java took a toll on both the foreigners and the Indonesian natives.

So, as I'm not a great artist, I would like to do this in a manner of a small painting. The landscape is set at the beaches of the Javanese natives, the Sundanese. Standing around on the shores, they gather close together to point and discuss the large vessel that has parked itself on the shores of the islet.  I remember hearing once that the natives of America were unaware European ships were at the shores as they didn't know what to look for, but this will be improbable in my art piece as an ominous cloud trails behind the European trade galleon.

I'm using acrylics with rather bright, tropical color. Following these ship though, will be the tremendous change in atmosphere and colors, much darker with greys, blacks, greens and blues. This idea was inspired by Thomas Cole's painting of the expansion to the west during "Manifest Destiny."

My piece would be intended for an exhibit. I believe the painting is very direct and easy to understand. While there isn't much to dwell on, nor the detail -- or skill for that matter -- to really dwell in for the audience, it is effective in foreshadowing the cruelty and somber tales of the colonization of Indonesia, and all the world for that matter. It is something a child could look at and understand that with this Portuguese trading galleon there too comes something dark and malevolent.

Other sources for references:

 Indonesian beach

 Martin Johnson Heade

Portuguese Trading Galleon

Jennifer Retener: Project 1

As stated in my preliminary idea for Project 1, I decided to focus on Spain’s colonization of the Philippines, particularly on Spanish missionaries’ efforts to convert the Filipinos in to Catholics.

To show how the Spaniards forced the natives to convert to Catholicism, I chose to incorporate the Filipino folklore of anting-anting. According to most sources, anting-anting is a source of magic that is anchored in an item, most popularly in the form of a necklace. According to legend, Manuelito was a warrior who was nearly immortal to weapons because he wore such a necklace. However, Manuelito finally met his death when a bullet, made out of the silver of the Virgin Mary, was able to penetrate the magic of anting-anting. Manuelito's necklace was penetrated in the center by that bullet.

My art piece is going to be in real life scale. On a stone floor are five rows of basic wooden church pews that could be found in any modest Catholic church. In the rows are various white wax figures of everyday Filipino people. While Spanish missionary work began in the 16^th century, I want the time period of this piece to be fairly ambiguous, since the Philippines was under the rule of Spain for such a long period of time. So the white wax figures will not appear to be wearing anything from a distinct time period, but be dressed in very plain clothing.

In the very back row in the center is a wax figure in true-to-life color of a native, tribal Filipino. Around his neck is a replica of an anting-anting necklace. On the left side of the pews is a wax figure of a Spanish priest completely dressed in Catholic vestments, who is also in color, holding a real aspersorium and using an aspergillum to sprinkle holy water on the people. The holy water coming from the aspergillum will be made of silver, suspended on fish wire from the ceiling in an arch, mainly directed at the native figure. The end of the holy water's trajectory is a silver bullet that has made a hole in the center of the native's necklace, just as the silver bullet of the Virgin Mary penetrated Manuelito's necklace, and just as Catholicism penetrated the native belief system of the Philippines.

During a Catholic mass, the people solemnly wait until they feel the holy water hit them, and afterwards do the sign of the cross, which is what the white wax figures will also be doing. The people in the pews are unaware of the scene going on between the priest and the native. This is not to say that the Filipinos were completely complacent or unaware of the Spaniards’ effort to convert them, but that since the vast majority of Filipinos are Catholic, it is an accepted part of the nation’s history.

I plan for my art project to be an exhibit in a museum, so the viewer will be any person that finds the piece interesting enough to analyze it. I want the viewer to walk around the piece and imagine and feel as if they have been transported to a church in the Philippines and are witnessing the scene. I want the piece to be a testament to how the native belief system is virtually unknown because the Spaniards were so successful in converting the population to their belief system. I hope the viewer realizes the large impact Spain’s colonization had on the people of the Philippines. The Philippines has pretty much been a Catholic nation since the 16^th century, and written accounts from this time period primarily come from the Spanish. I want the piece to emphasize the lost history and identity of the Filipinos due to Spanish colonization, and how Catholicism (a consequence of colonization), is such a large part of the Philippines’ culture to this day. 

A few reference images:

Church Pews


Stone Floor



Anting-anting Necklace (Left)


Aspersorium and aspergillum

Project 1 Preliminary Ideas

So, for my project, I chose to focus on Spanish missionary work in the Philippines. I haven't exactly narrowed down the time period yet, since Spain's colonization of the Philippines was such a long period of time, but I want to write my essay from the perspective of a Spanish priest trying to convert the native people of a small village.

For my project, I want to show how the Spaniards converted the Filipino people to Christianity by incorporating the Filipino folklore of anting-anting. According to most sources, anting-anting is a source of magic that is anchored in an item. The most popular form of anting-anting is in a necklace. According to the legend, Manuelito was a warrior who was nearly immortal to weapons because he wore such a necklace. However, Manuelito finally met his death when a bullet, made out of the silver of the Virgin Mary, was able to penetrate the magic of anting-anting. Manuelito's necklace was penetrated in the center by that bullet.

So for my art piece, everything is going to be in real life scale. On a stone floor are five rows of basic wooden church pews, that could be found in any modest Catholic church. In the rows are various white wax figures of people: mostly Filipino, a few mestizos, and a few Spaniard officials. I'll better know the crowd and their attire once I pin point a time period. In the vary back row in the center is a wax figure in true-to-life color of a native, tribal Filipino. Around his neck is a replica of an anting-anting necklace. On the left side of the pews is a wax figure of a Spanish priest, who is also in color, holding a real aspersorium and using an aspergillum to sprinkle holy water on the people. The holy water coming from the aspergillum will be made of silver, suspended on fish wire from the ceiling in an arch, mainly directed at the native figure. The end of the holy water's trajectory is a silver bullet, that has made a whole in the center of the native's necklace, just as the silver bullet of the Virgin Mary penetrated Manuelito's necklace.

I hope I described my vision in enough detail that it makes sense, and in a way that gets my message across. Thanks for your feedback!

Project 1: The Spirit of Lapu-Lapu

Hello! I hope you guys like this because I really didn't think of a plan B.

So here’s how this image came about…The country I chose to focus on is the Philippines. One of the first things I learned when I started my research was stuff about the Battle of Mactan (April 27, 1521). Essentially, The Battle of Mactan was a significant event in Philippine history, when the Philippine natives put up a successful resistance against Spanish colonization. The hero of this battle was, without question, the Mactan ruler Lapu-lapu. Not only did he defeat the Spaniards, he is also responsible for the death of Magellan! Needless to say, the excitement of this event is what ultimately led me to choose the Philippines.

As I continued my research, I learned that it was on the same date, 44 years later, that Miguel Lopez de Legazpi of Spain, stormed the Philippine province of Cebu, effectively overtaking the island for Spain. Kind of ironic…right? Before he successfully took over Cebu, Legzapi’s men made a prior attack that was quickly dispatch by Cebu king Rajah Tupas’ army. However, on April 27, 1565, Legzapi returned. His men left their ships and boarded smaller boats. Initially the natives were going to fight back. But as Legzapi’s boats approached the shore, they used their firearms against the Filipinos of Cebu, who where only armed with shields and lances. Of course the people of Cebu where no match, so everyone who hadn't already evacuated, ran up a hill into the fields. At least according to Legzapi’s personal accounts of the incident… And Rajah Tupas surrendered to Spain shortly thereafter.

So any way, since I wanted to actually do something visual (and I am really into video games) the thought occurred to me that going in a 3D graphic design direction was my only option. I was sort of inspired by the likes of Red Dead Redemption and Assassin's Creed.  They’re both "open world" role playing narratives, focusing on the life and adventures of a specific character as they navigate through/ try to survive in a historical setting. Since the essay has to be a first person narrative, I though it only fitting that I make a still image as a sort of “screen shot” in this fictitious game based on historical events. And have my essay be the frame work/narrative of my main character. If this were a real video game, imagine it happening in two arcs. The first arch would be played through as Lapu-Lapu; the objective being to defeat Spain, and the big finish would be defeating Magellan at the Battle of Mactan. Then the second arc would be a time-skip. You’d play as a native of Cebu (i.e. the fictional character who has to voice our essay), having to defeat Legzapi twice as the overall objective. In the game, once you've reached the second arc, you’d be able to call upon the spirit of Lapu-Lapu to help you to victory. Conceivably, in a fictional video game retelling of these events, you could change the outcome. But if you were to fail, Cebu would fall to Spanish colonization…

Well I hope all of that made sense. The image I tried to depict was the second coming of Legzapi. His ships with a few small boats can be seen in the distance. The Cebu people are lined up on the shore apprehensively awaiting their fate; and there are some hills and greenery in the background. Most importantly a ghostly Lapu-Lapu stands behind the people. And with that, I leave you, 

                                            The Spirit of Lapu-Lapu

If the link works, you can click the title to see it bigger. 

Project 1: Preliminary Idea

Hi everyone! :) Hope you all have been having a good semester so far! Anyway, here's a longer-than-expected post on what I've been thinking about so far for our first assignment:

The country I decided to focus on is Vietnam. And, since one of my favorite hobbies is eating, I wanted to investigate its colonial history from sort of a culinary perspective, specifically through the representation of bánh mì. Saigon-style bánh mì is arguably one the most popular modern-day Vietnamese dishes in the United States, and it stems from the French colonial period when baguettes were introduced to Vietnam. According to an article in the New York Times, the first bánh mì followed “the traditional, minimal Parisian sandwich” and consisted of simply the baguette, butter, and pâté or ham. However, the Vietnamese transformed it into what we now recognize as bánh mì by incorporating aspects of Vietnamese cuisine, such as adding rice flour to the baguette recipe and garnishing the sandwich filling with pickled daikon, pickled carrots, and cilantro. So even though bánh mì is French in origin, it is now distinctively Vietnamese, which I think is an interesting aspect of postcolonial Vietnam to examine because it exemplifies how French colonialism impacted Vietnamese society but has since been revolutionized into a sort of ‘new’ identity that integrates Vietnam’s colonial experience with its traditional culture.

For the visual part of the project, I thought about constructing a three-dimensional figure holding an enlarged bánh mì in one hand, indicating that the sandwich is the focus of the piece. The figure, a blank mannequin, would be dressed in Ho Chi Minh’s trademark “faded khaki suit and rubber sandals” outfit in order to serve as a suggestion of Vietnamese nationalism but not be a representation of Ho Chi Minh himself. As for the bánh mì itself, the French ingredients—aka the baguette, pâté, etc.—would be made of transparent glass while the Vietnamese ingredients would be their typical vivid colors. It would essentially demonstrate what bánh mì would look like if French influence had been completely purged after colonization ended, with the glass ingredients representing that absence. Thus, when the viewers see the sandwich, I want them to note the lasting impact that France had on Vietnam and the fact that colonial history cannot simply be erased.

I’m concerned, though, that this message might come across as pro-colonialism, which is definitely not my purpose. Rather, what I’m attempting to convey is the idea that the Vietnamese took charge of their colonial experience by using and integrating French influence instead of letting it dominate them or trying to ignore that it happened in the first place. Another concern of mine is the fact that pretty much none of our readings discuss the impact of French colonialism on Vietnam’s culinary history, so most—if not all—of my sources of information are external. Moreover, since it isn’t exactly a popular topic as a whole, even those external sources are somewhat scarce and a little repetitive. So I’m worried that my project might not fulfill the “historical accuracy and comprehensiveness” criteria of evaluation.

Anyway, sorry about the long post, but I would really appreciate any comments, criticisms, or feedback in general!

(My ‘backup’ idea, in case people think the original proposal doesn’t accurately convey what I want it to convey, is to construct an interactive model of a bánh mì wherein the French ingredients are opaque and the Vietnamese ingredients are made of glass. When the viewer presses a button or pulls a lever or something, the glass would fill up with appropriately-colored sand, thereby making the Vietnamese ingredients solid as well. In this model, the emphasis would be more on how the Vietnamese essentially overhauled the original French bánh mì and developed it into something greater by adding aspects their own culture, which hopefully better expresses the message that they ‘took charge’ of their colonial experience.)

The Biennials

The biennial has become a common form of international art exhibition that brings together a number of artists and purportedly showcases important international work. Whether or not we consider the work "important" is up to us to determine. Regardless, having a single exhibition with so much work from different artists is a great way to survey what's going on in art. Here are two recent biennials that feature contemporary artists and work from southeast Asia. Follow the various links to see works by and learn about individual artists.

Singapore Biennial 2013

Biennale Jakarta XIII 2009

Fictionalized accounts of colonial narratives

Here are the novels we mentioned in class this week (links with supplementary information).

Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal

This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie