The month that was March

So what did happen in my first month in this United States? I can do a week by week summary.

First week: Arrival March 8 to 15
Things happened fast on my very first week. Upon my arrival there was a freak snow storm: a surprise of winter weather. It was still snowing when I checked out of Pod 51st to meet the people at the ACC Office at West 48th. I have to say this: the ACC office is one of the warmest places in New York. Met Tess Rances there who gave me a bit of an introduction. Jeremy helped me open a bank account and the move into my apartment on East 44th. But this was after I tagged along to the Guggenheim where we saw the Gutai show and a walk-through of No Country show curated by June Yap. Over the weekend I met with my uncle and my aunt who lives in Queens and met Reymar Gacutan who is also doing a residency in NY and together we reunited with our Makiling mentor John Cinco, over at his house at Staten Island. The week ended with me attending a performance by Racquel de Loyola, at the John Jay College where I met Mideo who is staying for some projects and for the Armory show. I was able to catch up with the Armory show's last day and this flurry of activity drained me a lot. I had to make up for the overspent energy by slowing down in the next few weeks. Bought my very first smartphone, a Samsung S3 with a monthly unlimited plan, from funds I brought in from a sale of a work in Manila and a small Samsung tablet. Gadget heaven in NYC.

Second week: March 16 to 23
More reunions. Freddie and Isabel Aquilizan arrived from the Hague and together we strolled 5th Ave and Times Square. We also met Melody Gobolos, an old batchmate from Makiling and we had lunch in a pizzeria in Hell's Kitchen. I also saw Jeho Bitancor at Bliss on Bliss projects in Queens where I also met Ernest Concepcion and a bunch of other Filipino artists based here. Bliss is a gallery space run by Ged Merino, a kumpare of Freddie's. I attended at opening and a performance on the 16th and I do not know if it was my jetlag or my constant tiredness (I still feel it now), I almost went home after a minutes, but allowed myself to enjoy a jazz performance. On my way out I said hello to June Yap, who came in, and was surprised to be hollered after by Jeho, Mideo and Racquel from the street. So, I got back in and I am glad I did because I was able to catch up with June. We discussed the exhibit that she curated at the Guggenheim and was quite pleased that her direction still is very much grounded in interests offered and discussed back home in Southeast Asia, the Region. All this time I felt I was intruding because of this mental war that was brewing in my head, and my emotional resistance to conceptual art and relational aesthetics. It turns out in the end, after reading Bourriaud, I was in fact working along conceptual art paradigms as well, with only a preference to crafted objects in the vernacular and folk traditions. This is a matter not of aesthetics but of preferred modes of production. The end presentation is the same: the subject is not the object itself, but the triggered experiences associated with such. I am only bracketing off the object from its original contexts to allow aesthetic appreciation for it, then I put it back together using the glue of my personal narratives.

Also a week where I got a chance to see St. Patrick's Day. And my first foray into the Metropolitan Museum where I only checked out the Armor collection.

Third week: March 24 to 31 Holy Week and The Island
I finally got on Governor's Island last week for an orientation led by Clare of LMCC. Then I immediately moved my tools and materials over the course of three or four days. At first I couldn't get the hang of waking up early to catch the ferry and to maximize my day, but I learned to manage it and in fact, working with wood was the thing that drew the clouds of depression away. It was awful, this depression. It may have been triggered by a lot of things and my lack of groundedness due to my lack of sleep may be to blame. In fact, even though I have only been here for a month, my whole body, being so tired all the time, is giving me a far longer timeframe. (The reason why I took the day off today). I am also struggling with the problem of source-materials. Wood here is unbelievably expensive! So I need to change my plan for production or I will never be able to finish anything at all.

Fourth week: April 1 - 6 Pivotal week
It was as if March was a weird month: April came in and seemed better somehow. The last week I spent traveling and getting lost in New Jersey to meet with Melody and her husband, Jay. We had an interesting discussion on American life and politics. Also went to see Sir John again over Easter Sunday but I had to take leave also in that same morning. I don't know, but spending some time in other people's houses made me feel like an intruder or something. Then came April and this sense of alienation suddenly was gone. Is it the weather? Very productive over these past few days and during my meeting with Clare at LMCC I discovered insights in what I can do. Looking forward to next week for more defnitive work.