Welcome to my first blog entry for everydayelcamino. If you believe in the old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' then you can say that I've been blogging since my first photo post, and everyday since then. However, as I have great respect for language, this will have to count as my first. Don't get me wrong. My love for photography is not at all diminished by my previous statement. I guess there lies the difference: I love photography. I respect language. Each word should say something more than how the dictionary defines it. The construction of each sentence reflects the writer's purpose and talent. I respect it, and up to a certain point, I fear it as I don't have command over it the way Murakami & Auster do (my favorite writers). Hence, after 80+ days of just photos, I am only adding words now. Anyway, I digress.
During my last visit to Singapore, I managed to squeeze in some music & art in my itinerary. What? Music & art in Singapore? Believe you me, when I told several people about this, they thought I was crazy. In my defense, the music was provided by Australia's Laneway Festival, while the art is from different regions in Asia. This reminds me of a discussion I had with my Singaporean friend who proudly exclaimed "Everything in Singapore is imported so we only get the best. Yes, that includes domestic helpers from your country." I gasped.
Anyway, the acts that performed during the one day music festival included Feist, The Drums, Toro Y Moi & Chairlift. I knew a few of their songs so I was able to groove with the crowd. Highlight would have to be me screaming "But I don't have any money! I don't have any money!" So true, yet still so fun. The festival was slated to end at 2am, but my feet demanded rest as I just came from a flight that same day & a wedding the day before.
The Singapore Art Museum, although probably not rated as one of the best in the world, had outstanding pieces. Its Chimera exhibit featured Patrica Eustaquio's Psychogenic Fugue, an invisible piano covered with crochet fabric. With its lighting & black space, the overall effect was haunting, yet very familiar. By the way, Eustaquio is Filipino (only the best, right?), and this work could have easily been inspired by the countless Shake, Rattle & Roll movies. I would love to go on & talk about all the wonderful art pieces in the museum but I fear that neither my words nor photos will do justice. What I do want to say is this - I have visited several museums in Europe and I was pleasantly surprised by SAM.
For this trip, I decided to only take black & white photos in square format. Although I felt limited at times, especially during my SAM visit, I think working within parameters breeds creativity. Hopefully, I have taken good shots that you, my dear reader, would enjoy.
