RUPTURE AS RAPTURE: A Painter Teaches Himelf to Write, in Full View of His Readers
My 1956 Rolleiflex 3.5E1 on top of a building.
ABOUT ME
I was a bum who woke up one morning as an art writer on fire. I wooed; I provoked. I wanted readers to gasp, “No one should write like that and remain unanswered.” And I succeeded. When a visionary editor asked me to write about people & issues as passionately as I wrote about art, I delivered, too.
But the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away: When I uncovered the real reason for the dismal state of Philippine art patronage, the gift of writing simply disappeared. I doubt that I’ll ever write like this again. I’ve changed so much in the interim, I don’t even recognize the madman who wrote these desperate essays.
And so I upload this archive, in guilt and gratitude, for all the artists & allied cultural workers whom I once advocated and later abandoned, for all the editors and publishers whom I once made proud but later disappointed. Our journey together has ended. Thank you for the trust & support.
Special thanks go to Eileen R & Yeyey for starting it all; to Teny & Sid for holding my hand for 5 years; to MMPI for braving the heavier/darker essays; and to Vanni most of all, for sending me forth into worlds I never knew existed. It was an honor to have served you all.
