Brand new mirrored acrylic business cards! Yay!!! www.iamKiam.com
LATENT CONFRONTATIONS
KIAM MARCELO JUNIO
Reflection plays a key role for the works in this collection - both the intimate act of looking within one’s internalized history, and the physical act of seeing one’s presence on a mirrored surface. In this transmutation of lightwaves, how much is transferred? How much is lost?
Latent Confrontations brings the viewer to various thresholds between personal and public, between nostalgia and obsession, between the addressor and the addressed.
Letters I’ll Never Send
(Series of 5, left to right)
-Letter to the Bluest Eyes in Texas
-Letter to a Shadow
-Letter to My Dead Mother
-Letter to an Absent Father
-Letter to the One Who Got Married
(Acrylic)
by Kiam Marcelo Junio
Installation shots by Heidi Norton
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Letters I’ll Never Send was borne of the idea that there is so much we want to say and share with others but we either choose not to, whether due to impossibility or discomfort. These 8x12 inch mirrored acrylic pieces are etched in my own handwriting (scanned, flipped, and burned onto acrylic), and maintain a deeply personal affect. The letters were written in a poetic style with help from several people, including my dear friend, poet, and ex-pat, Annie Le-Moussou.
When seeing the works, the viewer can read the letter and see his or her own reflection on the mirrored acrylic. This creates a conversation between the artist, the addressed identity, and the viewer, who is free to take on any of these viewpoints.
During my critique last week, my classmates, instructor and TA responded favorably to the pieces. I believe I elicited the reaction I intended - a sense of identification with both the speaker and the addressed person. It was mentioned that the letters have a universal quality to them, and are also general enough that anyone can find identification with them.
Other comments that were brought up: consider the flow from one letter to another, from one color to another (I used bronze and slate grey mirrored sheets). This I actually took very much into consideration while setting up. I intended for a somewhat lyrical movement through the letters, from one tone to the next, but all with a similar undertone. There is definitely a deliberate order to the letters.
Another comment made, with which I agree is the “cramped” feeling of the first and last letters. Next time I print these, there will be more of a margin around the letters to allow them better legibility.
One other comment that I will take into consideration is the mention of “Facebook” in one of the letters. Someone said it was distracting and took the viewer out of the moment. I understand this and perhaps will simply use “online” in a future revision. We shall see.
Bodybuilding, a one year performance by Stuart Sandford. To support the project please visit www.stuartsandfordbodybuilding.com.
I’ve actually thought of doing this same project, but it felt so self-indulgent. When I was thinking of this, I was still at a different place in my life, where I felt constrained. As much as I valued myself and had high self-esteem, I didn’t think anyone would really care what I do or don’t do with my own body.
Things have changed. I’m finding how important it is for me to integrate art into my everyday life, and to live as if creating at every moment. The artist Sophie Calle has also inspired me in an opposite direction, to view the world and its inhabitants, including my self in an objective stance.
I just heard about this project today, and have that “Damn, he beat me to it” feeling. But I do have my own goals and plans.
In the next coming months, I aim to focus on my yoga practice and develop a stronger routine. I hope to find a nurturing studio where I can possibly get a job as a teacher. I am also moving to a focus on dance/movement and performance-based art in addition to my visual work. Hence, I aim to improve my body to make it more conducive to performance and dance. In addition, I’m beginning to explore issues surrounding sexuality and the commodification of the white male body, and this zeitgeist’s effect on the marginalized minority mind. I have much to say on this issue which has affected me my whole life, and am preparing to address it soon in my art. Like I said earlier, life itself, can be an artistic process, and I aim to live it as such.
Now on the point of narcissism. I was having a conversation with an instructor last week, and I wondered why it was that I feel so guilty to share my life and thoughts with others through my art. She observed that much of my previous work in the military, the healthcare industry, and volunteer work has been to serve others selflessly. Turning the focus on myself feels inherently selfish. But the types of art that touch me are those that are deeply and personally invested. Many artists will create works that question the larger scheme, or address the questions of the medium. Others will tackle the issues within and manifest it in whatever means necessary (but also addressing the language of the medium). I believe that complete honesty may be a bit abrasive, and can turn people off, but at the root of it, I think this is the way for me to go. Complete, unapologetic honesty.
