Sillada's Surreal World
"Beyond Realism," as surrealism implies, requires a good grounding in realistic art---it is, a fortiori, a multi-dimensional creation of all reality perceived by the artist. This aspires to create more "realities" than the eye can see. As an aesthetic experience, it tends to be more cerebral than visual. But objectified representations of reality (as those in photographs) is within the province of surrealism as it disfigures reality to discover other realities that more often than not "surprise the beholder" into recognizing more planes of reality. Danny Castillones Sillada is definitely a skilled surrealist.
~ Albert B. Casuga, Filipino- Canadian poet, fictionist, and critic
Listen to Danny Castillones Sillada Music
Highlights
Danny C. Sillada at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP): The Chromatext Rebooted Group Exhibition (2015-2016)
Title: Constipated Time, 2015
Category: Sculptural Installation (with light & sound)
Medium: Toilet bowl, wall clock with photographic print on photo paper, plasma ball, framed tiles, fluorescent light, industrial wheels, and loops of sound with music player
Dimension: H 81.28 x L 35.56 x W 58.42 cm (actual size)
H 132.08 x L 60.96 x W 83.82 cm (with pedestal)
Artist: Danny Castillones Sillada
_________________________________________________
This sculptural installation, the Constipated Time, was created in the late 2015 as part of the local group show of the leading Filipino artists and literary writers titled Chromatext Rebooted Art Exhibition (2015-2016) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), curated by Filipino poet and novelist Alfred Yuson and artist Jean Marie Syjuco. The artist uses appropriated works in Constipated Time as a satirical amplification, if not a parody, of Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur (1904) and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917). It is composed of found and discarded household objects that the artist recycled and carefully assembled to become a cohesive objet d'art.
Nestled on top of the sculpture, aside from the plasma ball, is the wall clock. In lieu of the toilet bowl’s water tank, he carefully placed a wall clock printed with the image of Rodin’s Le Penseur, albeit digitally altered by the artist with his humorous version of a naked thinker sitting on a moss-covered toilet bowl with pants down. Above the image of Le Penseur is a caption that says, “Time Constipates Waiting: Waiting Constipates Time.”
Other ancillary objects, like the pulsating light of plasma ball, the blue fluorescent light beneath the base (framed tiles), and the intermittent sound of ticking time and flushing toilet, give life to the ordinary yet imposing presence of the toilet bowl.
Arguably, there are various ways to interpret the artwork. However, from the artist’s perspective, it is a metaphorical portrayal for a creative process in conceiving an aesthetic idea, preparing the medium, and executing the final concept into a reality. The Constipated Time, as an artistic piece, amplifies the significance of the creative process, which is akin to the discomfort of constipation before an artwork comes into existence. Moreover, the most arduous process is the conception stage because it is where the artist can feel constipation, literally and figuratively.
(Excerpted from “Danny Sillada Collection” catalog)
Category: Sculptural Installation (with light & sound)
Medium: Toilet bowl, wall clock with photographic print on photo paper, plasma ball, framed tiles, fluorescent light, industrial wheels, and loops of sound with music player
Dimension: H 81.28 x L 35.56 x W 58.42 cm (actual size)
H 132.08 x L 60.96 x W 83.82 cm (with pedestal)
Artist: Danny Castillones Sillada
_________________________________________________
This sculptural installation, the Constipated Time, was created in the late 2015 as part of the local group show of the leading Filipino artists and literary writers titled Chromatext Rebooted Art Exhibition (2015-2016) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), curated by Filipino poet and novelist Alfred Yuson and artist Jean Marie Syjuco. The artist uses appropriated works in Constipated Time as a satirical amplification, if not a parody, of Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur (1904) and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917). It is composed of found and discarded household objects that the artist recycled and carefully assembled to become a cohesive objet d'art.
Nestled on top of the sculpture, aside from the plasma ball, is the wall clock. In lieu of the toilet bowl’s water tank, he carefully placed a wall clock printed with the image of Rodin’s Le Penseur, albeit digitally altered by the artist with his humorous version of a naked thinker sitting on a moss-covered toilet bowl with pants down. Above the image of Le Penseur is a caption that says, “Time Constipates Waiting: Waiting Constipates Time.”
Other ancillary objects, like the pulsating light of plasma ball, the blue fluorescent light beneath the base (framed tiles), and the intermittent sound of ticking time and flushing toilet, give life to the ordinary yet imposing presence of the toilet bowl.
Arguably, there are various ways to interpret the artwork. However, from the artist’s perspective, it is a metaphorical portrayal for a creative process in conceiving an aesthetic idea, preparing the medium, and executing the final concept into a reality. The Constipated Time, as an artistic piece, amplifies the significance of the creative process, which is akin to the discomfort of constipation before an artwork comes into existence. Moreover, the most arduous process is the conception stage because it is where the artist can feel constipation, literally and figuratively.
(Excerpted from “Danny Sillada Collection” catalog)
The Symptoms of Retrograde Cultural & Historical Amnesia: Changing the Filipino Perception Toward Social Change
Danny Castillones Sillada gave a lecture at the UPLB COMASS Symposium, University of the Philippines Los Baños, last April 13, 2015 with thematic title “SIKLAB: Reawakening Culture and the Arts to ignite Social Change,” Other lecturers were Dr. Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Jr., Jessica Zafra, and Vin Quilop.
Sillada’s lecture titled “The Symptoms of Retrograde Cultural & Historical Amnesia: Changing the Filipino Perception Toward Social Change.” With PowerPoint presentation, he discussed the brief cultural history of the Philippines from Pre-Hispanic to the American time, the colonial mentality of the Filipinos, and the principle of social change as a creative force toward a dialectical, analytic, and self-reflective transformation of culture and society.
Sillada’s lecture titled “The Symptoms of Retrograde Cultural & Historical Amnesia: Changing the Filipino Perception Toward Social Change.” With PowerPoint presentation, he discussed the brief cultural history of the Philippines from Pre-Hispanic to the American time, the colonial mentality of the Filipinos, and the principle of social change as a creative force toward a dialectical, analytic, and self-reflective transformation of culture and society.
To Let the Blood Flow | A Brief Documentary on Sillada's Works
A brief documentary on Danny Castillones Sillada's selected works presented during the 2013 Philippine PEN Conference under the topic "Literature and the Media Arts in the Quest for Peace," December 4, 2013, Henry Sy Sr. Hall, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines. Quote from a review of 2013 PEN Conference: "All-around artist, Danny Sillada, who resolved his phobia of war and conflicts through art. And he showed a film of his performance art and exhibit of paintings, titled "To Let the Blood Flow." (Amadís Ma. Guerrero, Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Crack on My Wall | Sillada’s Short Short Film
A two-and-a-half-minute short film presented during the 2013 Philippine PEN Conference under the topic "Literature and the Media Arts in the Quest for Peace," December 4, 2013, Henry Sy Sr. Hall, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines.
News & Events
Danny Castillones Sillada featured in GatheringBooks
Sillada's art is featured for the months of March and April 2013 in GatheringBooks. Please click the following links:
~ Oddballs and Misfits/Surreal and Peculiar
~ Installation, Nail-Art, and Hydrokinetic Sculpture
~ Landscape of Thoughts and Images: Beyond the Mind of An Artist
~ Phalluses and Vaginal Forms: A Sexual Repression or Sublimation?
~ Poetry and Drawings: The Tragic Story Behind the Artist’s Creation
~ The Agony of Living and Dying: Photographs from the Existentialist Perspective
~ The Vanishing Journey of Mandaya Poetry and Music(Bayok, Dawot and Oyog-Oyog)
Sillada, the New Member of Visionary Art Gallery
Invited by the VAG founder Otto Rapp, Danny Castillones Sillada is the newest member of the VISIONARY ART GALLERY (Visionary Art – Fantastic Realism – Surrealism), which is composed of surrealist and visionary artists across the globe.
Founded by the renowned international visionary and surrealist artist Otto Rapp, the exclusive members (by invitation only) of VAG have grown steadily since its inception in 2009. This community of international artists is one of the leading visionary and surrealist movements in the contemporary milieu, highlighting the recent developments with multifaceted array of works (a total of 9,000) from different artists around the world.
Six Filipino Poets at 'World Poetry Peace Festival' in Canada, 2013
Photo courtesy of Jaypee Belarmino
Link to the Third World Poetry Canada International Festival 2013
Albert Casuga, Felix Fojas, Danny Castillones Sillada, Joanna Allas, Santiago Villafania, and Jaypee Belarmino—the six Filipino poets to represent the World Poetry Peace Festival on April 4-30th, 2013 at the Ike's Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Albert Casuga - nominated to the Mississauga Arts Council Literary Awards in 2007; has won awards for his works in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Philippines.
Felix Fojas - one of the most decorated Filipino poets; a true legend in Philippine contemporary literature.
Danny Castillones Sillada - accomplished surrealist painter, sculpture, installation and performance artist, philosopher, multilingual poet, essayist, musician, photographer, and an indie filmmaker.
Joanna Allas - fashion designer and co-host of a literary website called 'Pinoy Poets' Circle' with over four hundred active members worldwide.
Santiago Villafania - Pangasinan's 2010 Asna awardee for Arts & Culture (Literature); author of Malagilion, a finalist in the 2007 National Book Award for Best Book of Poetry; has won the Gawad Komisyon (Gantimpalang Tamayo sa Tulang Pangasinan) in 2007, and the Writer of Year Award in 2004 from the Association for the Preservation of the Pangasinan Language.
Jaypee Belarmino - 2012 World Poetry International Empowered Poet and Artist of the Year; published writer, essayist, photographer, graphic and abstract artist.
Danny Castillones Sillada Live!
‘Danny Castillones Sillada Live!’ at Blot Art Studio with his blues harmonica, kudlong (two-stringed sitar), and rap on January 5, 2013, Saturday, 8PM. Blot Art Studio is located at 9726 Pililia, St. Brgy. Valenzuela, Makati City, Philippines.
Modern Vintage Illustration, a book by Martin Dawber
Danny Castillones Sillada has recently been included among the international artists in Martin Dawber’s book “Modern Vintage Illustration,” composed of some of the best illustrators across the globe.
The book is an exquisite and eclectic survey of modern illustration emanating from different artistic styles, genres, and expressions by artists around the world. Inspired from Art Deco and Soviet Poster Art to Blue Note record sleeves, from surreal graphics to comic books and punk, the book is a compendium of 420 illustrations (224 pages in paperback, Batsford imprint) evoking a sense of different time and place yet refreshingly witty, elegant and delightful to browse and read.
Martin Dawber is an internationally acclaimed author on contemporary fashion, style and image. A graduate of the prestigious Royal College of Art, he was the Principal Lecturer in Fashion at John Moores University for over 30 years and continues to be globally in demand as a recognized authority on fashion and illustration. He is the best-selling author of New Fashion Illustration, New Fashion Prints and Big Book of Fashion Illustration.
Stephen Bayley, author and one of the world's renowned commentators on modern culture and contemporary design and architecture, wrote the foreword of the book.
Journal
Revisiting and Recreating My Fear: The Mana'og Sculpture
The Royal Mandaya Mana’og, 2012, by Danny Castillones Sillada
The spirit-god of the night, my modern version and five times bigger from the original carved Mana’og, the emissary of Magbabaya or Mandaya God, is my tribute to my most feared Mandaya idol when I was a young boy. Every Mandaya household in daya (upstream or mountain) has either male or female Mana’og as a protector against the busaw (evil spirit).
Our ompô (grandparents) and ginikanan (parents) would often scare us of its abominable spell, that is, if we were mischievous or disobedient. We would cower in the corner of the house or slither under the bamboo bed to hide from the fury of the unseen Mana’og, unseen because we had none in the house, only its unutterable name.
I felt the same degree of fear toward the Gino-o (Christian God), as my mother would scare us of hell or the Gino-o’s wrath. I guess “fear” has no racial, religious, or cultural discrimination—the intensity of feeling is the same, either from a Mandaya god or from a Colonial God.
As a young lad, I would often go to the verdant mountains of my province with friends and relatives to commune and interact with the Mandaya villagers, aside from the NPA rebels. Their colorful rituals and practices fascinated me, as though I had always been part of the Mandaya culture and tradition. It was here where my art was born out of “fear” of my ancestors' beliefs and my fascination of the Mandaya tribal arts and literature.
I was born in this province and spent my entire childhood and adolescent life before I entered the seminary to become a priest at Queen of Apostles College Seminary and the University of Santo Tomas respectively, and later, the Ateneo De Manila University for my MBA.
Sadly, the last time I visited the Mandaya village in my province, I learned that my most feared wooden Mana’og was no longer revered as an emissary of Magbabaya. It is now carefully tucked at the corner of the house along with the framed photos of Justin Bieber, KC Concepcion, Angel Locsin, and some Korean teenage idols. The Mana’og was now replaced with television set, laptop computer, Android Tablet, and Apple MP3 player.
“Friend me on Facebook,” said a ravishing native girl before I left the Mandaya village, as I slowly tramped with heavy footsteps on an almost barren mountain down to the plane.
~ Danny Castillones Sillada, Inusara Journal (November 30, 2012)
___________________
Detail of Sculpture:
Title: Spirit-God of the Night
Dimension: 7ft. x 7ft. x 1ft.
Medium: Wood, Metal, Acrylic Glass, Wires, Beads, Fabric, Fluorescent Light and Synthetic Hair
Collection: Subangan Museum, Davao Oriental, Philippines
Our ompô (grandparents) and ginikanan (parents) would often scare us of its abominable spell, that is, if we were mischievous or disobedient. We would cower in the corner of the house or slither under the bamboo bed to hide from the fury of the unseen Mana’og, unseen because we had none in the house, only its unutterable name.
I felt the same degree of fear toward the Gino-o (Christian God), as my mother would scare us of hell or the Gino-o’s wrath. I guess “fear” has no racial, religious, or cultural discrimination—the intensity of feeling is the same, either from a Mandaya god or from a Colonial God.
As a young lad, I would often go to the verdant mountains of my province with friends and relatives to commune and interact with the Mandaya villagers, aside from the NPA rebels. Their colorful rituals and practices fascinated me, as though I had always been part of the Mandaya culture and tradition. It was here where my art was born out of “fear” of my ancestors' beliefs and my fascination of the Mandaya tribal arts and literature.
I was born in this province and spent my entire childhood and adolescent life before I entered the seminary to become a priest at Queen of Apostles College Seminary and the University of Santo Tomas respectively, and later, the Ateneo De Manila University for my MBA.
Sadly, the last time I visited the Mandaya village in my province, I learned that my most feared wooden Mana’og was no longer revered as an emissary of Magbabaya. It is now carefully tucked at the corner of the house along with the framed photos of Justin Bieber, KC Concepcion, Angel Locsin, and some Korean teenage idols. The Mana’og was now replaced with television set, laptop computer, Android Tablet, and Apple MP3 player.
“Friend me on Facebook,” said a ravishing native girl before I left the Mandaya village, as I slowly tramped with heavy footsteps on an almost barren mountain down to the plane.
~ Danny Castillones Sillada, Inusara Journal (November 30, 2012)
___________________
Detail of Sculpture:
Title: Spirit-God of the Night
Dimension: 7ft. x 7ft. x 1ft.
Medium: Wood, Metal, Acrylic Glass, Wires, Beads, Fabric, Fluorescent Light and Synthetic Hair
Collection: Subangan Museum, Davao Oriental, Philippines
Interviews
Surrealism in the Philippines
(An Interview with multidisciplinary artist and writer Danny Castillones Sillada)
FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, 2006, by Danny Castillones Sillada
by Paulo Villones
Paulo Villones: How would you describe surrealism in the Philippines?
Danny Castillones Sillada: Surrealism in Philippine art is an individual style rather than a movement compared to its development in Latin America, USA and Europe. We have no historical surrealist movement in the country with a cohesive manifesto that sprang from political or anarchic cause relative to its inception in the early 1920s by French poet and writer André Breton. Hence, I could say that Surrealism in the Philippines is a road less traveled by local artists, a personal pursuit of creative style and technique rather than as a popular genre in our local art scene.
READ MORE...
Symbolism, Culture, and Politics
(A conversation with multidisciplinary artist and writer Danny Castillones Sillada)
Menstrual Period in Political History by Danny Sillada
by Angelita Porteo
Angelita Porteo: “Menstrual Period in Political History” is your most “controversial” mixed media artwork in 2005. What is the parallelism of “Politics” and “Menstrual Period” and how does it relate to Philippine politics and culture?
Danny C. Sillada: “Menstrual Period in Political History” is a mixed media on metamorphic rock or slate, with painted and carved vaginal form at the center. The visual narrative of the artwork is not vociferous with bleak background in contrast to the vibrant colors of my typical paintings. However, I never expected that its inconspicuous presence along with the title would become controversial in 2005.
The parallelism of “Politics” and “Menstrual Period” is, obviously, the cyclical political turmoil in our country, which is periodic since the Marcos time up to the Arroyo regime.
Like a woman’s menstrual period, Philippines politics has its own menstrual cycle in our country in the form of corruption, economic instability, violation of human rights, the involuntary disappearances of civilians, the century-old war in Mindanao, insurgency, poverty, and inadequacy of political leaders to address socio-economic and political problems in our society, to name a few.
READ MORE…
Reviews
The Surrealistic Reality of Danny Castillones Sillada
The Mask in My Dream, 2001, (oil) by Danny C. Sillada
by Shar Matingka
Danny Sillada has established himself as a neo-ethnic artist, his masterpieces overflowing with vibrant incoherence, transcending movements spawned from legacies of surrealists. Not many of our contemporary artists can recreate a poetic replica of a disjointed reality captured on canvas as Sillada can, and that too with such wild abandon. Distinct geometrical patterns with ordinary objects, a signature characteristic of time fluidity injected with hallucinatory flows, the blood of his emotions fleeting in seamless strokes where a person can get lost forever in random speculation on what was meant to be conveyed. Minds are left bewildered and slightly disturbed yet visually gratified – these are some trademarks of Sillada’s work of art.
At the tender age of seven, Danny’s thirst for art manifested itself. Identified as a gifted child with the flair for immortalizing his emotions and the world around him through sketches and paintings, he began with portraits of teachers, classmates and relatives and landscape painting. Between 1977 and 1982 in Davao Oriental, he earned the Gifted Child Award in Cateel Public Elementary School and Award of Excellence/Artist of the Year Award in Maryknoll High School of Cateel. A proud native of Davao, he has earned and advocating ethnic culture in his paintings, music and other literary works.
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Past Events
Mindanaoan Artist Sillada Explores ‘Uncharted Border’ in New York
5th Avenue, NYC
PAINTER, POET, ESSAYIST, and performance artist Danny C. Sillada comes to New York for the ‘Uncharted Borders’ exhibit, his 13th one-man show. The exhibit opened last July 27 and will run until August 7 at the Philippine Center, 556 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
‘The event’s opening reception last July 28 was attended by guests of honor including Philippine Ambassador to the UN Hilario Davide, Jr. MORE... |
Uncharted Borders’ in New York, the 13th One-Man Show of Danny C. Sillada
Danny Sillada invite
‘UNCHARTED BORDERS', a one-man show by Danny C. Sillada at Philippine Center, 556 5th Avenue, New York, July 27 – August 14, 2009. Sillada performed his poetry and ethnic music at the opening of the exhibit, which was attended by the Philippine Ambassador to the UN Hilario Davide, Jr., Consul General Cecilia Rebong., and Acting Phil. Center Manager DCG Melita Thomeczek. |
Hain Yang Kanak Bay (Where is My Home)
(Music composed, written, and performed live by Danny Castillones Sillada)
“No man can fully grasp the profound feeling of homelessness until he loses his loved ones to tragic deaths respectively. Even if he were to build another dwelling, establish a family of his own, and find a community to belong to—he would no longer feel at home in this world. Because the existential sensation of homelessness that has already been entrenched in his being is no longer the absence or a quest for a sublime home, but how to contain its indelible presence from his soul”
~ Danny Castillones Sillada, The Homelessness of Being (Inusara Journal)