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By Excel V. Dyquiangco
Obsession is a term that’s often negatively used. It connotes desperation, envy and jealousy, hatred and sometimes rage. Think Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. But there’s also that obsession of a curious but wholesome kind. Just like for these Filipinos who have found joy and passion in their hobby of collecting.
After browsing through action figures in eBay, Charles Dominic S. Diño started collecting in 1999. A set of very detailed Lady Death figures caught his attention, and after going through all the eBay FAQs and disclaimers, he decided to try his luck and have them shipped here. They did arrive a month later, and from then on, he was hooked to these plastic wonders. “What sets my collection apart from others is that I chose to focus on female figures – Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy, Mystique, Black Cat, among others,” he says. “Name a female character. If they had made a toy of her up to 2010, I probably have a version of it, or a counterpart. Yes, I even have a Darna statuette.”
If there is one collection that stands out from the rest, he considers the Spider Woman life-size bust from the Alex Ross Collection as one of his favorites. It’s a limited edition (300pcs) figure made by Upper Deck back in 2007, and is one of the earliest life-sized female bust (or a pop-culture character) ever made.
He says that with all of his collections, he has a dedicated toy room and that he spends most of his Saturdays scouting malls for new pieces, going to toy conventions and exhibits, or meeting other collectors. There was a time when toy shop visits also became part of his out-of-town and country itinerary.
“I’ve actually stopped purchasing pieces two years ago after my first child was born – shift of priority I guess,” he says. “But I still pass by toy shops to satisfy my curiosity, or probably get a piece or two. When my child grows up, I’ll probably teach her a thing or two about these collectibles, and hopefully pass on the passion.”
Jonathan Blaza collects stamps and postcards and anything snail mail. Since he has started collecting in 2011, to date, he has nine cabinets and shelves filled with stamps, postcards and other philatelic materials. He has two more 5-layer drawers filled with items that he has for swaps. “Not a favorite item but a specific classification of philatelic materials,” he says. “Maxicards are postcards with a stamp and cancellation that are in concordance with each other; to show off the concordance, the stamp and cancellation are placed on the picture side. I love collecting Maxicards because making one is a creative activity. Although Maxicards may be purchased, the idea behind them is in realizing the concordance between the postcard, stamp, and cancellation. Maxicards stimulate the mind by making me remember the postcards that are available and the stamps that the PHLPost issued. Plus, it encourages me to actually travel to these places.”
He says that the fulfillment he gets from his collection is a tribute to art, heritage and history. “I get more ideas for my travels too,” he says. “They show places that are not usually included in travel packages. It enables me to design my own travels and improve my itineraries. I used to hate geography but now, my Google maps account is packed with favorites—places that I have been to or will be at. With this as a hobby I am able to meet people from around the country. In 2014, I met with other collectors in Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Ilocos. This year, we will be holding these meet ups in Cebu and Iloilo. Moreover, I am able to meet collectors from all over the world. I have made friends with collectors from Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Bahrain, to mention a few.”
In the near future, he hopes that his collection will eventually be maintained in a Jonathan Blaza Philatelic Museum even after he is gone.
Unlike most artists, Renz Baluyot didn’t have any formal training or attended any art workshops when he was young. He remembers that he has been drawing regularly, copying things he has seen on back pages of notebooks, scratch papers and even tables.
“I only started painting in college usually to create class-related plates,” he says. “That’s when I did my early acrylic and oil paintings. That meant that I made works for grades and not entirely for leisure or experimentations. But slowly, I did learn to create works for purposes other than school. I felt the need to create something. I started making works for competitions, exhibitions and for myself when I thought of something interesting for me to explore or an idea to present through visual outputs.”
The artworks in general that he has made are now more than a hundred. Their materials do vary but most of them are paintings. A few of them are back in his possessions since he has pulled them out from the galleries after the consignment period. He has browsed through them from time to time because most of the time he sees something that he has not been able to notice before when he made them. He finds this activity interesting and enriching.
“Entering the art scene is not that simple as others would say,” he says. “It requires a lot from the artist such as knowing about one’s narrative because I believe that for an artist to tell a story through artworks (if that is the intention) he or she must know about his or herself. For others they make artworks to explore their own psyche. For some with a different view, this is not needed. It is also not merely investing on materials; it is investing on knowledge and continuous practice. One must continue to create to be able to know which area to improve. A maker must not let him or herself to be consumed by doubts. Artworks are more suitable to be read and criticize than preliminary ideas.”
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