Design proponent Jose Maria Yupangco believes in making art out of ordinariness.
He has turned schematic drawings, diagrams and models—common methods used by architects to conceptualize their projects to show clients—into striking works of art.
His exhibit, “ArtDtecture” at the Galleria Duemila, encapsulates the beauty and design value of the creative procedure itself.
Processes
“The exhibit is based on what architects do when they design. The works are based on processes and we play with them,” says Yupangco, dean of the College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Art (SDA) and head of his design firm, Joey Yupangco + Associati.
He likens the approach to those of American artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, who started out with doodles that evolved into powerful social commentaries.
In the design process, architects render drawings with solutions to be presented the client. Done on the computer, these drawings help interpret concepts and space requirements of the project.
There are computer illustrations on how the space would be used and, subsequently, models to show the scale and dimensions.
In ArtDtecture, the viewer doesn’t see specific building projects, not even Yupangco’s proposal for urban renewal within the barangay. Instead there are triptychs of futuristic spaces and abstractions, some of them sculptural, inspired by diagrams, tessellations or tiles of geometric planes.
Striking imagery
It all began when Yupangco played with abstract collages that resulted in striking imagery.
Gallery owner Silvana Diaz was impressed that something done for fun had the potential for a unique exhibit.
“An architect sketches in or dabbles with his computer. These are tools for his ideas. We believe that something that is ordinary can become an art form. A guy like me can do this methodology using the computer, paper and cardboard and create art, a paper weight, a sculpture or an object.
“I don’t want them to become potential architecture. What is important is the impact of these things, the experience of what you’ll have on viewing the show,” says Yupangco.
“The best way to enjoy the exhibit is not to think about it seriously. I enjoy creative works. I never thought I’d do this exhibit. The materials started with foam board becoming models. We also made computer models stretched on canvases of photographic paper, and wood-and-steel installations in 3D.”
Yupangco leaves it to the imagination of the viewer to interpret each of the works. “It may or many not mean anything at all. It is what it is,” he says.
“ArtDtecture” is on view until Sept. 30 at Galleria Duemila, 210 Loring Street, Pasay City.