Art and Photography: Robert and Edward Mapplethorpe

Sample of Robert Mapplethorpe Male Nude Photographs. I know I should rotate it, But I would not for art sake.

Another example of Robert Mapplethorpe Male Nudes in my coffee book

I just finished watching an HBO documentary of the life of reverred and controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe-Looking at the Picture. In this 60 minutes documentary, his younger brother Edward also a photographer worked for him as his assistant. Robert said there should only be one Mapplethorpe, so Edward has to change his name to his mother's name-Maxey.

Edward was born and raised in New York. He began his solo career in 1990 under the pseudonym Edward Maxey and was quickly acclaimed for his luminous nudes, portraits, and still lives that were evocative of his older and controversial brother, Robert Mapplethorpe. However, it was Edward's innovative work beyond the controlled environment of the studio (Undercurrents, 1992-94) that first distinguished him as a unique talent in bridging the gap between photography and abstract painting.

Two of the many of Edward's Mapplethorpe Female and Male Nudes Photos

E. Mapplethorpe continued to incorporate a painterly aesthetic in a number of subsequent thematic projects including: Stars and Stripes (1994), Transmographs (2000), Compositions (2002) and HAIR Transfer (2004). In 2004, Mr. Edward Mapplethorpe collaborated with New York City based orchestra EOS and produced a limited edition portfolio of images capturing musicians in a whirlwind of movement as they performed selected pieces from their repertoire. This adaptation of the cageian concept of integrating chance and time into the creative process became another integral aspect of E. Mapplethorpe's own artistic practice.

His older brother Robert died with Aids in 1989. Edward took care of him. Edward has now reclaimed the Mapplethorpe name.

After viewing the documentary, I remember I have a coffee table book on the famous photographs of Robert. I purchased this book about 25 years ago and It took some time finding it in my more than 80 collection of art books and paintings. Today, I am posting two samples of Robert's male nude photo(see above). Others nude photos of Robert are almost pornographic thus I can not post it in this blog. Here's a short video on Robert Mapplethorpe obsession for beauty.


Is this Art or Pornography? I like to hear of your answer, just write A or P!

Start the New Year with the Operatic-Pop Music of Jonathan Badon

Jonathan Badon is the Philippines' prince of operatic-pop. He is an Aliw Awardee for 2004 Best Male Classical Performer (Philippine version of Tony Awards). He just had a series of performances in Texas, California, and Southeast Asia. Badon is a Bachelor of Music in Voice graduate at the University of the Philippines College of Music as a scholar of the Music Promotion Foundation - Cultural Center of the Philippines.

He has performed lead roles in various operas, oratorios, sarzuelas musicales and has done numerous solo concerts in the Philippines as well as in the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Brunei Darrusalam. He also has represented the Philippines to different music and cultural festivals in Wales, Scotland, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Japan and the United States.

A versatile performer, Jonathan is one of the most sought-after stage and music personalities in the Philippines today. Also known as the Josh Groban of the Philippines, he is the ultimate cross-over artist in his effortless transition from classical to pop singing. It is no wonder that he is the favorite featured performer in Concert at the Park, Paco Park Presents, CCP-Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Concerts, Teatrino Concerts and Hard Rock Cafe to name just a few.

He is an award winning composer and arranger as well, winning the grand prize in the AFP National Songwriting Contest for “Dugong Pilipino.” His artistry is also revealed in the visual arts. He favors realistic sketches of architectural and historical landmarks of places he has visited. Quite aptly, his extra ordinary talents in music and art featured in a CD which was released in 2002 titled “Sketches and Melodies.” Jonathan had a very successful solo US concert tour last 2005.

Macrine and I first meet Jonathan in 2000 at our former residence in Silver Spring, MD. Since that time I have no contact or heard anything about him and his music until three years ago when we become "friends" in FaceBook(FB). Yong Nieva( Macrine's first cousin) and Alvin Fortuna are two of our mutual friends in FB, that I am aware of.

The other side( athletics and love of nature/travel)of the Prince of Pop-Opera of the Philippines

Jonathan had been to our former residence in Silver Spring, Maryland for a welcome dinner on November 16, 2000 along with several other Philippine opera singers with the Fides Santos-Cuyugan Asensio's group-"On Wing of Songs".

The other Filipino opera singers in the group are: Lorna Llames ( soprano), Bituin Domicel ( soprano), Nova Ramirez ( mezzo soprano), Marvin Gayramon ( baritone) and Reuel Tica (bass). I am wondering what had happened to the other singers besides Jonathan! I would like to hear news of the other singers besides Jonathan particularly Nova Ramirez and Lorna Llames. Nova and Lorna stayed with us during the "On Wings of Song" concert tour in Washington, DC that year( 2000).

My Childhood Polio is Catching Up with Me in the Winter of My Life

Me and My younger brother Erico( RIP), Jaro, Iloilo, Philippines, 1937

Just recently, I started feeling a continuous tingling pain on my knee and other muscles on my left leg. The pain is tolerable most of the time that I do not have to take aspirin or another analgesic. Lately, however when the cold temperature gets below freezing or near freezing the pain has bothered me more. So is this arthritis? I do attribute this to part of the aging process, that is the stage I will call the winter of my life.

Because of this I remember my childhood years. I was told by my parents I had polio when I was two years old. I was paralyzed for a year but recovered when I was three and a half years old. The polio resulted so that my right leg is shorter than my left leg, but not short enough to show A LIMP, BUT STILL affected my physical ability to run as a child. As a child I was frail and not athletic at all. I grew up feeling physically inferior and frail that resulted to some bullying in my teenage years. I compensated my being not athletic by developing my mind by reading a lot. My parents told me I was a precocious child that I was reading at the age of three, books and magazine for adults. I did indeed excelled in math and science and graduated top of my class( Valedictorian) in high school.

Here's a paragraph from Wikipedia about polio explaining the title of my post above. Note at the bold and last sentence in the paragraph.

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0.5% of cases there is muscle weakness resulting in an inability to move. This can occur over a few hours to few days. The weakness most often involves the legs but may less commonly involve the muscles of the head, neck and diaphragm. Many but not all people fully recover. In those with muscle weakness about 2% to 5% of children and 15% to 30% of adults die. Another 25% of people have minor symptoms such as fever and a sore throat and up to 5% have headache, neck stiffness and pains in the arms and legs. These people are usually back to normal within one or two weeks. In up to 70% of infections there are no symptoms. Years after recovery post-polio syndrome may occur, with a slow development of muscle weakness similar to that which the person had during the initial infection

Here's a short video and poem about the Winter of Our Lives-Macrine and I are in the Winter of Our Lives. The sea scenes remind me of the Amoingon Coast, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines where our beach house and retirement home-Chateau Du Mer is located. Typhoon Nina hit and slammed directly Marindique on Christmas Day. Damage of the typhoon had been published in my blogs the last couple of days.



Here's also is Chapter 1 of My Autobiography in case you have not read it: http://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2011/12/chapter-1-childhood-memories-of.html

I Do Not Believe in New Year's Resolutions

I am not a believer of New Year's resolution because I know 92% of it is broken before the end of the year if not sooner. Why resolve to get rid of bad habits such as smoking, drinking and gambling when 4 to 6 weeks later you are back to the same old bad habits. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually, both physically and mentally. According to some research only 8% of New Years resolutions are achieve.

A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior.

New Year Resolutions have a Religious origins. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.

In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.
This tradition has many other religious parallels. During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness.

Most people act similarly during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, although the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility. In fact, the practice of New Year's resolutions came, in part, from the Lenten sacrifices.

The most common resolutions are discussed in this article:
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/2017-new-year-s-resolutions-most-popular-how-stick-them-n701891

New Year Traditions/Superstitions in the Philippines

Twelve kinds of round fruits should be in your table by midnight to bring good luck and prosperity to the Household

When I was growing up in the Philippines, my parents will tell us kids that on New Years Eve and Day, we should do the following for good luck. Doing these things will help insure that the coming year will be a happy and prosperous one. Many of these traditions and superstition are of Chinese influence, I believe.

1. Turn on all lights so that the coming year will be bright.

2. Make as much noise as you can to scare away evil spirits.

3. Debts must be paid off. Fill you wallet with fresh peso bills.

4. Open all doors, windows, cabinets and drawers to let good fortune in.

5. Scatter coins around the house, on tabletops.... inside drawers...

6. Clean everything including your body by taking a long bath, the closets and the whole house.

7. Wear polka-dots, preferably black and white. Anything round signifies prosperity.

8. Jump twelve times at midnight to increase your height. (Observed by Filipino children.)

There are five things related to food that we must do for good luck as follows:

1. Prepare 12 round fruits, one for each month of the coming new year ( see photo above).

2. Have a very round grape in your mouth at the stroke of midnight.

3. Eat a native delicacy made from sticky rice to make good fortune stick in the new year.

4. Eat long noodles (pancit) for long life ( definitely of Chinese origin). We should eat pancit also during our birthday.

5. Don't eat any chicken or fish. They are associated with the scarcity of food.

Then on New Years Day we should not clean anything, otherwise we might sweep away the good fortune. In addition we should not spend money at all. Our being thrifty that day will help us manage our money very well for the whole year. Do you have any New Years Eve tradition in your family? Please share!

Happy 2017 to All of You, my dear readers and FaceBook Friends!

Over One Billion Pesos Damage from Typhoon Nina in Marinduque

Here's the latest news on the damage of typhoon Nina in Marinduque-our second home

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/857737/nina-damage-to-marinduque-at-p1b-state-of-calamity-declared

My Tamarind tree and Heron Statuaries after the Typhoon at CDM, Amoingon, Boac

Tamarind Tree Before the Typhoon

One of the mango trees at CDM-down and Nono statuaries scattered into pieces.

Mango tree and Nono Statuaries Before the Typhoon