STELLA TANSENGCO-SCHAPERO is a Filipino of Chinese descent with a background in finance and a passion for things Asian. She creates mixed media collages/assemblages, balancing images and works of favorite artists with antique and craft finds and other found objects. Her early works evoke the colors and textures of Orientalism and 19th and early 20th century Asia. The composites reflect a multi-cultural Philippines, with its strong Spanish, American, Chinese and Islamic influences, and a nostalgia for old Asia built up during Stella’s many years in New York and London. Her recent work has a social realism streak addressing some social and political concerns in the Philippines, always with wit and underpinned by a strong optimism that better times are coming. She is based in Hong Kong.
SEPTEMBER 2009 EXHIBITFAVORITE MARKETS & FLEA MARKETS
Flea markets are a great place to find souvenirs from many centuries of cultural exchanges. I am particularly fond of the period from mid-19th century to the early 20th century, with its pronounced East-West exchanges resulting from the forced “opening up” of China and Japan by gunboat diplomacy. The Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860) physically forced open China, and greatly weakened the Manchu rule. The US decided to "open up" Japan in 1853 with the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry’s naval warships in Tokyo Bay.
EUROPE – FLEA MARKETS
Austria / Vienna - Next to the Naschmarkt
Belgium / Brussels – At Place du Jeu de Balle
Denmark / Copenhagen - By Frederiksberg City Hall; on Israels Plads, Nørrebrogade or Gammel Strand
France / Paris - Les Puces de Saint-Ouen at Porte de Clignancourt; brocantes (roving flea markets)
Spain / Madrid - El Rastro street market
UK / London - Portobello Road; Camden Passage; Bermondsey Market; Covent Garden’s old Apple Market; Greenwich Market
ASIA - MARKETS
Cambodia / Phnom Penh - Psar Thmei
China / Beijing - Panjiayuan Weekend Market
China / Zhongshan-Zhuhai - A “village” with several hundred shops selling antique furniture and accessories
Hong Kong SAR - Jade Market on Kansu and Battery streets; Hollywood Road
Indonesia / Jakarta - Jalan Surabaya
Philippines / Manila – Tiendesitas; small shops along A. Mabini Street in Ermita
Thailand / Bangkok - Chatuchak Weekend Market
FAVORITE ART MUSEUMS
EUROPE
Austria / Vienna
Austrian Museum of Baroque Art at the Belvedere Museum
Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts)
Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts)
Belgium / Brussels
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Musée Horta
Musée René Magritte
Czech Republic / Prague
Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
Mucha Museum (Muchovo muzeum)
National Gallery in Prague (Národní Galerie v Praze)
France / Giverny & Paris
Claude Monet’s garden (Giverny)
Musée du Louvre (Paris)
Musée D’Orsay (Paris)
Musée Marmottan Monet (Paris)
Musée National Picasso (Paris)
Musée Rodin (Paris)
Germany / Berlin
Museum Island complex
Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie)
Hungary / Budapest
Netherlands / Amsterdam
Russia / Moscow & St. Petersburg
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow)
State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)
Spain / Barcelona & Madrid
Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces including La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Batlló (Barcelona)
Fundacio Joan Miro (Barcelona)
Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid)
Museo Reina Sofia (Madrid)
Picasso Museum (Barcelona)
UK / London
National Gallery
Royal Academy of Art
Tate Britain
Victoria & Albert Museum
USA
Boston, MA
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Museum of Fine Arts
Chicago, IL
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
Neue Galerie
Philadephia, PA
ASIA
Cambodia / Phnom Penh
China / Beijing & Shanghai
Capital Museum (Beijing)
National Art Museum of China (Beijing)
Shanghai Museum
Japan / Tokyo
Korea / Seoul
National Palace Museum of Korea
Seoul Museum of Art
Philippines / Manila & Baguio
Ayala Museum (Manila)
Bencab Museum (Baguio)
Jorge B. Vargas Museum (Manila)
Lopez Museum (Manila)
Metropolitan Museum at the Bangko Sentral Complex (Manila)
National Museum (Manila)
Yuchengco Museum (Manila)
Singapore
Asian Civilizations Museum
Peranakan Museum
Taiwan / Taipei
WORLD EXPOSITIONS & FAIRS
Among my favorite flea market finds are souvenirs from world expos and fairs from decades past. “World Exposition” or “World Fair” is the common term for large public exhibitions held since the mid-19th century. World Fairs originated in the French tradition of national exhibitions, a tradition that culminated with the “French Industrial Exposition of 1844” held in Paris. It was followed by other national exhibitions in continental Europe. London hosted its first international exhibition of manufactured products in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851 under the title “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations” or “The Great Exhibition”. An idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, the Great Exhibition influenced the development of several aspects of society including art and design education, international trade and relations, and even tourism. It was the precedent for the many international exhibitions. The main attractions are usually the national pavilions, created by participating countries.
ART NOUVEAU
“Art Nouveau” (French for “new art”) is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art, especially the decorative arts, that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905). Characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms, Art Nouveau was an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.
Art Nouveau was a reaction to academic art of the 19th century. In the UK, Art Nouveau developed out of the Arts & Crafts Movement, with its origins found in William Morris’ resistance to the clutter of the Victorian era. Arthur Mackmurdo's book-cover for Wren's City Churches (1883) with its rhythmic floral patterns, is often considered the first realization of Art Nouveau. Around the same time, the flat-perspective and strong colors of Japanese woodcuts, especially those of Katsushika Hokusai, had a strong effect on the formulation of Art Nouveau's formal language. The wave of Japonisme that swept through Europe in the 1880s and 1890s was particularly influential on many artists with its organic forms, references to the natural world, and clear designs that contrasted strongly with the reigning taste.
Art Nouveau's fifteen-year peak was most strongly felt throughout Europe—from Glasgow to Moscow to Spain—but its influence was global. It was manifested in various guises with frequent localized tendencies including: Hector Guimard's metro entrances shaped the landscape of Paris; Victor Horta had a decisive impact on architecture in Belgium; Japanese woodblock prints inspired artists such as Vincent van Gogh, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Gustav Klimt, Alfons Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mary Cassatt, and Claude Monet. Art Nouveau was also a movement of distinct individuals such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudi and Louis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own individual manner.
Art Nouveau fell out of favor with the arrival of 20th-century modernist styles. It is seen today as an important bridge between the 19th to the 20th century in art, thought, and society.
DECORATIVE ARTS
“Decorative arts” are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, textile, including ceramics, glassware, furniture, furnishings, interior design, and architecture. In general, decorative arts are functional and thus viewed to be distinct from "fine arts", namely, painting, drawing, photography, and large-scale sculpture.
“Victorian decorative arts” refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era (Queen Victoria's reigned in the United Kingdom from June 1837 to January 1901). The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the Middle East and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.
I use a broad range of market finds, including random decorative art pieces and crafts, to create my mixed media decorative arts collages.
ICM is a non-profit organization serving the poorest of the poor in the slums on the islands of Negros, Bohol and Mindanao in the Philippines since 1992. ICM partners with the existing infrastructure of the local Christian church that is found in most slum communities. ICM’s programs include feeding, medical, livelihood and pre-school initiatives. By addressing the real needs of those living in poverty, ICM empowers local pastors and their congregations to tangibly share the Christian message within their communities. ICM is a registered charity in the Philippines, Hong Kong and the US.
JACOB SCHAPERO LEARNING CENTER
Proceeds from my art sales fund our adopted ICM pre-school in Abadaescay Vista Allegre, a squatter relocation settlement three kilometers outside Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Our small contribution to the fabulous work that ICM is doing.
The pre-school provides free education for 25 students per year. The goal of the course is to enable all students to qualify for acceptance into the government-run elementary school in 12 months. The students who attend the preschools are identified after a survey of the entire community. The 25 most vulnerable students are invited to participate, with preference given to older children who haven’t started school. The kids in our pre-school are 5 to 7-year olds. The school has one full-time teacher and one full-time teacher’s assistant. The school program is recognized by the government; the government assists by giving the teacher free training and allowing the school to use the national curriculum.
All students are supplied with a school uniform, textbooks and school supplies. A balanced cooked lunch is provided to aid the children’s concentration and well-being; this meal is a luxury for many of them. The parents are involved to facilitate a sense of community involvement. The teacher and ICM also run courses year-round to raise the standard of education in the community, including health education, bible studies and community days.
Migrants: Prosperity
(2008)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Chop Suey
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Trial Marriage
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 46 in
There is no “I” in “BAYAN”: Ang Bagong Bayani
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Whistler’s Shamisen
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Procesion de Lechon
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
18 in by 24 in
Price of Faith: Bato-bato sa Langit
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
BAHAY: New Beginnings
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Migrants: Just like you imagined
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
Silk Mountains
(2009)
Mixed Media on Canvas
20 in by 20 in
