From Assassination Attempts to Iconic Art: The Untold Story of Pacita Abad

Dear fans of Fashion Ecstasy, how are you? I have some good news to tell you. I have started a membership system on YouTube. No, it should be a fan system. As long as you join my fan club, you can get a lot of benefits. If you join my membership, you will get exclusive videos that will expose all my dark history. There are also some videos that can only be seen by fans. Big announcement! I am opening up to membership on my YouTube channel now. If you join my membership, you will get exclusive videos to membership-only videos, and you will get to dig out all the skeletons in my closet because you will have a chance to have a Q&A exclusive session with me. So join our membership today. Join Fashion Ecstasy's YouTube fan club. Bye bye. I can't believe I've never heard of her before. It's so cool. It's really pretty in there. These were just some of the praises for Pasita Abad, the newest exhibition currently on display at the AKO. This traveling exhibition, a rare opportunity to witness the works of the late Philippine-born U.S.-based artist, 1946-2004, showcases over 100 works. It has already been showcased at prestigious, internationally-renowned arts institutions such as the EFMOMA and La Biennale di Venezia, and can even be found at Tate Modern in London and Mplus Museum in Hong Kong. On Tuesday, October 8th, 2024, we at Fashion Ecstasy enjoyed a private guided tour of this retrospective. The tour started with opening remarks from Stefan Jost, the Michael and Sonia Corner Director and CEO of the AGO. In his speech, he shared that he never heard of her, but was taken aback by her wow factor and powerful life story. Little did we know then, but we would share the same sentiment by the end of the tour. Pasita Abad was so much more than a self-taught visual artist. She was a political activist, globetrotter, and feminist. Did you know she and her family survived an assassination attempt? This occurred during the Marcos dictatorship, of which she and her politicians were vocal critics. This near-brush with death and political upbringing greatly influenced her artwork. One of the largest trapuntos in the exhibition is called Marcos and His Cronies, 1985, from her Masks and Spirits series. This sky-high neckbreaker of a piece features the repetitive use of a sani, a wooden Sri Lankan devil dancing mask used in exorcism ceremonies. The central towering demonic figure is meant to represent dictator Ferdinand Marcos, while the dolls in its mouth represent the innocent children suffering under his regime. The demon underneath the towering figure bearing the glass bead adorned teeth represents his wife, Imelda Marcos. Yes, that Imelda Marcos. This piece was a brave, bold, and vivid critique of the greed, sycophancy, and corruption of the Marcos regime, a regime that permanently left a dark stain on the island nation's history. The exhibition is divided into seven rooms. Each room represents a different series or theme, such as the immigrant experience, social realism journeys, masks and spirits, and the final project. Display cases overflowed with old magazine clippings, scrapbooks containing old fabric scraps, and other archival material that provided further insight into her life and legacy. She was featured in a short documentary titled Wild at Art, which is available for viewing within the exhibition. The Underwater Wilderness series was my favorite section of the exhibition. Entering into this space was like entering into an art gallery in Atlantis. As previously mentioned, Abad was an artist, political activist, feminist, and globetrotter in her legendary life. She was also an accomplished scuba diver after learning how to scuba dive in the 1980s. According to the gallery, the flora and fauna she saw above and below sea level inspired this series. She wanted me to enjoy this being underwater too, she should have said. The deep aquamarine and seashell white of the lighting, along with the coordinated wall color, enlivened that underwater atmosphere. As one who loves art and derives continuous enjoyment from staying in and around water, this room gave me truly an unforgettable sensory experience. Strolling among the vibrant hanging trapuntos gave the sensation of swimming alongside marine life. One crowd favorite was the barracuda, a richly jewel-toned trapunto depicting a lone slender barracuda fish swimming amongst other deep sea creatures. Another crowd favorite was my fear of night diving, a dark, large-scale oil-on-padded canvas trapunto that features a giant octopus surrounded by menacing-looking fish. This would have been the stuff of my nightmares if not for the fact that there were rhinestones stitched on the shark's fin. That was a cool detail. Speaking of cool detail, take a close look behind the trapuntos. The stitching that went into making one of these gigantic quilted paintings was eye-popping. The last room was aptly titled Final Project. In Taosay, she was commissioned by the city of Singapore to paint the Alcoff Bridge over the Singapore River. The bridge was completed in January 2004 and featured over 55 different colors and over 2,300 circles. Despite her daily cancer treatments, she wanted to continue living life to the fullest and spread trademark vibrancy with others. She lost her battle with lung cancer later that same year in December. Pasita Abad was a fearless woman who lived life to the fullest until the very end. Her art reflects her grand and expansive view of the world, recognizing that there's inspiration all around if one looks hard, far, and wide enough. The exhibition is currently on display now until January 19, 2025. Don't miss this chance to experience the vibrant and powerful art of Pasita Abad. For more information, please visit attps://ego.exhibitions Pasita Abad For the full review, please click on the link in the description box below. 完整評價請看以下連結喔 And again, you're welcome. 還有,不客氣喔 Collaborations or if you want to join our next event, make sure to subscribe and hit the bell and share. You can also add me online at tinktbellessa, t-i-n-k-e-e-b-e-l-l-e-z-z-a. Make sure the T is capital and send us a message first so we don't miss you. You can also add us on Line app by our QR code. Make sure to follow and like us on facebook.com. Follow us on Instagram at fashionecstasy, also my personal account at tanya.fashionecstasy. We are also on Twitter at fashionecstasy and my personal account at hsu-tanya, H-S-U-T-A-N-Y-A. For more, just visit our website at fashionecstasy.com. Just google search fashionecstasy or in Chinese, 時尚高潮. Thank you for watching. Make sure to subscribe and hit the bell. 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