THE WRONG SACRIFICE

By Joel E. Ferraris

THE WRONG SACRIFICE is the newest painting that I finished just last Thursday night, a day before September 21, 2007 which is 35th anniversary of martial law in the Philippines under the Marcos regime.

Painted on canvas using acrylic and mixed media, the artpiece was a result of a collaborative idea initiated by the Philippines' running priest and activist Bro. Robert Reyes and myself. I spent two weeks to complete the painting and Brother Robert painted the green cross.

This project was triggered by the recent death by hazing of Cris Mendez, a student of the University of the Philippines. There are now a total of 12 dead students who were victims of either hazing or fraternity wars in UP alone since these Greek and Roman lettered brotherhoods were first established in this university.

Although I'm no longer a Catholic but a reformed Christian, I agreed to this collaboration because of our common advocacy against the culture of violence perpetuated by fraternities not only in the University of the Philippines but also in many of our country's campuses. Brother Robert Reyes has been the parish priest of our university for several years and I was once the head of our fraternity. And and we are both witnesses to these sick culture and its trail of deaths.

It is now a common and easily available knowledge, especially through the internet, that there exists an ongoing fraternity culture of violence not only in the Philippines but also in the US.

As a fratman myself and a survivor of those bloody fraternity wars in our university campuses during our time, I understand the nature of the problem not only of the frat system but of the fratmen themselves. Therefore I started another blog, A FRATMAN'S OASIS, in the hope of giving insights derived from my experiences that could somehow help in giving solutions to a lot of our society's problems.

With this painting THE WRONG SACRIFICE it is my hope that some kind of understanding would lead to enlightenment because art is a powerful tool for education instead of becoming just a mere object of idolatry.

This painting is now with the NCPAG (National College for Public Administration and Governance) in the University of the Philipines in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

For more images and readings about THE WRONG SACRIFICE kindly visit my new blog A FRATMAN'S OASIS.

Click here for news and video about the painting THE WRONG SACRIFICE.

This painting was recently unveiled at the NCPAG in UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines after a mass by the running priest Bro. Robert Reyes.

BLIND FAITH, DEAD FATE

BLIND FAITH, DEAD FATE
Oil on canvas
Artist: Nelson E. Ferraris

OPPOSING PRINCIPLES, FAITHS, IDEOLOGIES, BELIEFS AND ISMS….
WHEN ON CROSSROADS PERMEATE RESIDUAL FRICTION
THAT IGNITES ERROR AND UNCONTROLLABLY BECOMES “TERROR”.

OPPOSING FORCES ALWAYS END UP WITH GREAT LOSSES ON BOTH FORCES.

A CLOUDED AND BLURRY FAITH IS NO LESS THAN A DOUBTING FAITH
WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO A “BLIND FAITH”.
INEVITABLY IT WILL SUCCUMB TO THE PRICE OF DEATH.

DEATH DOESN’T END THAT SIMPLE.
IT IS MORE DREADFUL THAN EXPECTED.

“DEAD FATE”,

A JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD,
IS RIGHT AHEAD INSIDE OUR HEADS.

By Nelson E. Ferraris

(Nelson is my younger brother who is a very talented and prolific artist.
BLIND FAITH, DEAD FATE is one of his recent works and was exhibitied at the three-person art exhibition, entitled BODY & SELF, together his wife Pamela Reyes-Ferraris and Photographer Toto Tarossa at the V13 VodkaBar, Hong Kong in 2005 and at the big group show Unang Sulyap: First Glimpse, the First Philippine Arts Festival Hong Kong SAR in 2006. Joel E. Ferraris)

JOB VACANCY 1

(for more images of this series kindly visit FREE FLOW)

Painted on top of layers of newspaper daily headlines and stories that I directly transferred from old newspaper to the canvas surface are bits and pieces of images that represent the Christian religion. These antique-looking remnants symbolize the gradual weakening and continued decline of religion and spirituality as they float in the midst of fleeting stories of social, political, economic and even religious turmoil. These juxtapositions of strong currents of life's pressure are real threats that could even shake the strongly faithful at times.

(read full text at SPIRITUAL JOURNEY)

COOL BEACHES

By Joel Ferraris


Imagine living in a noisy, busy, crowded and polluted urban area where living quarters, offices, or even recreational facilities are placed in "boxes" arranged one on top of the other. The most you can have, if your flat is situated amidst tall buildings, is literally "a slice of the sky" where sunlight and sunshine are rare natural daily bonuses if you can't afford a room high up there on those more expensive upper floors. Even the fowl breeze could be absent once those taller buildings are erected and could surely cause the so-called "wall effect" on their immediate surroundings.

These are just some of the many problems of cities and the price one has to pay for joining the ratrace to avail more opportunities in these "greener...or greyer... pasture".

Cool Beach and Cool Beach 2 arouse my frequent longing to have a vacation with my family to the province of my birth. Iloilo, a few hours ride to the famous Boracay Island, boasts of many beautiful beaches aside from its claim to have the first millionaires' row in the district of Jaro, one of the oldest place in the Philippines.

My country the Philippines is an archiplego with more than 7,000 islands (depending on the tide) and just imagine a treasure trove of breathtaking holiday spots that offer natural beauty and relaxation. In these places I can forget about those gadgets, the modern world, artificial food, my fears, my discontent, the ratrace, wrong priorities in life, my other concerns and contemplate spiritually about my happy moments, nature and the love of God the Father Almighty and His blessings.

ALIBI

By Joel Ferraris

ALIBI is a mixed media artpiece using old CDs and CD cases painted with acrylic and other paints that I did on a Mahjong tabletop. It was included in The Gambling Show at the John Batten Gallery, Hong Kong SAR in September, 2001.

The hand of a poor child, a slum-dweller, dirty but projects innocence, reaches out for alms towards a city built on fragile foundations represented by the love for money. There, encapsulated in the temporal comforts and security powered by an artificial light that outwardly radiates the Yen, Euro and Dollar symbols that form the word YES, the city is busy with its fast-paced life pulsating 24 hours a day to go with the rhythm of globalization.

On the four sides of the frame, which is part of a mahjong tabletop, are the words CHARITY, LOSE, JACKPOT, WIN written clockwise in succession. They are placed there as if to give the viewer or the alms-giver the choice to either sincerely give to charity and win back his soul even if he loses the jackpot ... or ignore sincere charitable work, lose his soul but win the jackpot.

Scattered all over the whole picture are cracks exposing the golden serpents represented by the dollar sign. They symbolize the rottenness of worshipping wealth instead of the ONE TRUE GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY.

Born in a predominantly Christian country in southeast Asia, wherein majority are Catholics, I've been exposed to issues regarding immorality like prostitution, abortion, adultery, drug addiction, etc. and where one of them is gambling.


Jueteng, cockfighting, lotto, spider-wrestling, and all other forms of gambling, whether legal or not, are accompanied by questions, arguments and criticisms about charity receiving donations from gambling activities of any form and the dire effects of addiction to gambling where properties such as land titles were lost. We even have our local charity sweepstakes that contribute a sizable chunk of money to the needy.



My question is, if gambling is immoral why is it that charitable institutions accept and continue to accept donations from these dubious activities? Is the act of giving to charity gives gambling a good face? If one really wants to give as an act of generosity or love, why not give it directly, like what Lord Jesus Christ did, without going into the intricacies of regulating where the alms went or how were they spent? And why do we need to channel our donations through gambling? Is it because we always want something in return?



I’m tempted to think that actually it’s the jackpot people are aiming for and not the sincerity of giving to charity.



A friend of mine here in Hong Kong was hooked to lotto and mark six for years that he said he had already spent a more or less HK$ 65,000 in lotto tickets for several years. He could have bought a piece of land in the Philippines with that amount - a sure jackpot!



Gawad Kalinga in the Philippines is one big and significant effort in rectifying a morally bankrupt society and corrupt government. But more importantly it is deeper spiritual understanding about the real essence of Christianity for a Christian nation that needs to be encouraged. People need to see deeper what loving one's neighbor is and redirect their focus from the wrong practices of venerating or worshiping lifeless hand graven images, that God the Father Almighty hates, towards helping their spiritually and materially poor neighbors instead. If they so claim to love of God the Father Almighty that they cannot see they should express that love to their needy neighbors that they can see instead of giving special attention to lifeless, helpless objects that gather dust in one corner.



The alibis of many spiritually ignorant people to resort to immorality as a solution to poverty are a weak defense of their struggle to survive when in fact true Christianity, devoid of all misleading and deceptive teachings and actions of deceivers bearing the name of Christ since it was first introduced here on earth, have all the solutions for the taking.



Likewise the alibis of those religious authorities to use hand graven images as books to the ignorant to strengthen people's faith has to be rectified too because obviously, even if in the Philippines there is an abundant supply of these objects, there is no guarantee that people really love God the Father Almighty that much as reflected by how they wrongly treat and/or ignore their neighbors.

I do hope that the efforts of donor companies, political candidates, the rich and all other organizations jumping into the bandwagon of projects of charitable groups, like Gawad Kalinga for example, will really be sincere moves in support of the campaign for the good of those who have less in life rather than merely just another ploy to make their group or company look good while in close competition with their rivals. Otherwise it will be another shallow and hypocritical means of helping the poor. Gawad Kalinga's wide media exposure is an attractive cosmetics that could add to a donor company's profits.

As one good example of a bad practice, violent fraternities conduct free clinics in slum areas but at the same time engage their rival frats in bloody frat wars when in fact their constitution speaks of service to God, country and family and the brotherhood. Don't they realize that Satan is also a god and he is a murderer?


Again a conscientious Christian needs to go back to and open his Holy Bible and read Lord Jesus Christ teaching about alms giving and offering gifts to the temple of God the Father Almighty.



One thing more, where casinos are, there gravitates immorality where the sex industry flourishes. Ironically, as in the case of Macau where a new Las Vegas-like area is being constructed, a lot of talents are pouring in for the sake of lucrative jobs. This reminds me of the story where Lot was asked by Abraham to choose which direction he will go. Lot had chosen to live in Sodom.



Lord Jesus Christ gave food to the needy to fill their stomachs and most importantly because this is the kind of religion he wants people to practice. He gave them spiritual food to nourish their souls in order for them not to be corrupted by this world. He not only gave them fish but also taught them how to fish.



If Gawad Kalinga follows this best example by our Master, where the focus of one's faith and love of God the Father Almighty is to help the needy neighbors by giving them not only material but spiritual food as well, by becoming steadfastly holy people and not by focusing on lifeless, helpless objects for worship to strengthen one's faith, then this movement that has won awards will win the favor of the Giver of Life by making it strong and endure till the end. Most importantly, it is introducing God the Father Almighty to the people and to encourage them to return to faith, to obey and love Him above all that needs to be the focus of the mission and vision and not merely to alleviate the plight of the poor because, after all, there are affluent countries in the world that abandoned, ignored or have forgotten Him.



To alleviate the plight of the poor there is no simple solution. Material solution is not even the answer.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God the Father Almighty and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."

Read more on UPROOTING THE ROOTS OF DISCONTENT and HOW MUCH DO WE LOVE (part 1).

THE CHANGING TIMES (1997)

By Joel Ferraris

Ten years ago I did an artwork that was used on the cover of the souvenir program of the Philippine Association of Hong Kong (PAHK).

THE CHANGING TIMES is a mixed media on canvas artpiece which was exhibited at the John Batten Gallery here in Hong Kong. It was later bought by my compatriot and friend who works for the IT business.

1997 is a very significant year. It was the year of Hong Kong's hand-over to China. It was also the first year that I and another compatriot, Artist Justo Cascante, had our two-man show "Rapid Reflections" at the new art gallery of John Batten. My wife was also pregnant then to our first son while the Philippines was preparing for its centennial celebrations the following year.

The above confluence of events inspired me to produce a piece of art that shows the past, the present and the unknown future. THE CHANGING TIMES is also one of my first few artpieces done in Hong Kong since I joined my wife here in 1996.

Hong Kong, as well as the Philippines, is very rich in history. The proximity of these two places considered homes to some Filipinos living here made me use popular images of history of both places that adorn the periphery of this mixed media painting. I used a tricky technique of painting on top of purposely crackled paint to depict the past while the recent and existing glossy present in full color is vibrantly revealed by the fast-paced world of digital technology.

In the middle is the unknown future in white color. It could be subliminally signaling the thing that the whole world hopes for - WORLD PEACE.

BUY ONE TAKE MORE

By Joel E. Ferraris

My original idea of modular but transformable artpieces started with the oil on canvas painting entitled NEOPHYTE. Deprived of a studio at that time to do large artworks and with shipping costs for large artpieces becoming a real headache, I started to think of ways to do art in large scale without the need for a very wide studio space.

As some art collectors, art galleries and auction houses are falling prey to con-artists selling fake art and where cheap art reproductions compete with or facilitate the demise of original works of art I felt the need to go on and continue aiming for and doing artpieces that are original.

To reach this goal I believe that as an artist I have to avoid too much reading and surfing the web for ideas and concepts that dictate schools of art and thought and to be firm from being swayed by widely accepted trends in the art world. To me ideas will come even if there are no influences from others. The method of oil painting on canvas, for example, are western but the ideas and themes to be painted on canvas could still be original.

With many different art materials readily available in huge supply in the market and where original ideas in artmaking seem to be dwindling, it is therefore a greener pasture for artists, old and young alike, to brave new horizons in search for new ways to present ideas that only they conceived of without the fear of being branded as belonging with or not the existing schools of art.

To illustrate my point, innocent children have the freedom to express and draw on paper images from their thoughts. They are like a glass full of clean and clear water whose thoughts and boldly spontaneous ideas do not belong with any box of influence. But adults, especially those that studied a lot of ideas and concepts, are like glasses full of soft drinks mixed with juices as they tend to be tainted with so much knowledge, influences and concepts copied or learned from others.

With the coming of the age of information technology where the availability of research materials are conveniently possible and where intellectual property is abused because of excessive commercialism, artists could become weak to the lure of strong influences and could sadly become copycats who are comfortable with styles that sell. When this thing happens, those that believe that art is dead will tend to believe that they are right while the rich art collectors could become poor buyers of art when they cannot differentiate a fake from an original.

Therefore, the glass has to be emptied to be able to allow the clear, clean water of ideas to pour in. But this is not easy especially if artists are tied to their fame and the good salability of their existing but monotonous style. Worst, they become brand names identified by the kind of style they have and an attempt to deviate from that comfortably salable style would mean a blow to one's income.

Art collectors, who collect art not because the artists are media-hyped while producing art without substance, will be luckier to add to their wall another piece that is genuinely original. On the other hand struggling artists, who are true to their art despite the odds, could someday establish links with serious art collectors who want to get their money's worth and that is where a new kind of friendship and mutual trust and respect could be started.

With the new innovation that I discovered in 1997, when deprivation turned to an advantage, my art collectors are happy and lucky to be able to collect several pieces of art for the price of one simply because these modular pieces could transform or mutate whenever it suits the owners preferences and space requirements for some certain periods of time.

NEOPHYTE, I WANT THEM FRESH, BUSY DAY BUSY NIGHT and PREGGY AND SEXY are the first four art pieces that fall in the category of this new innovation followed by PRY, BUZZ, SEE GAME that introduces a novel idea of using contemporary images and icons in the game of chess.

Lastly, to me artists must work with integrity because their art collectors have developed trust in them. A piece of art may rot one day despite efforts of restoration but an artist must work and strive to live a wholesome, clean life that would lead to the kingdom of the Supreme Creator who grants the artist his talent to see the beauty of things and thoughts from a mind created by Him.