How do art and karaoke come together in a country who loves nothing more than good drinks and good time? We ask Ling Quisumbing Ramilo from Martinez Art Project six short questions about her recent work, the Karaoke Art Project.

ARTERI: Favourite pissed drunk songs to sing??

LING: Sorry, i dont drink and i dont sing :) haha If I did? hmmm, will have to think about it… I’ll get back to you on that.

ARTERI: Okay, if that’s not the point, then what is this project about?

LING: The karaoke machine is found mostly in bars and local neighborhoods. Nowadays, a karaoke machine can be rented and used for parties, weddings, fiestas and even wakes and funerals as a fundraising tool.
I have replaced most of the default images in the karaoke machine with images from artists, of artists, and their works. Participating artists come from different backgrounds and disciplines, mostly from my social networks including Facebook, Multiply and my neighborhood. Taking the Karaoke Art Project machine to different barangays is my way of bringing art to people who would not normally go to a gallery or museum to look at art. The karaoke machine has now become a traveling show of sorts, providing access to art.

ARTERI: Do the selected artworks correspond to the mood and feel of a particular song?

LING: That was my original concept but it got too complicated to do that. I didn’t have the budget or the time to do that. It worked out in the end because I replaced the images corresponding to the menu of the karaoke. For example, there are 5 categories: sexy, event, mtv, view, anime, i think. So basically, I selected the images for each category, pretty much like curating a show! I worked with over 4000 images!

ARTERI: Who are some of the artists who have their works featured in your karaoke machine?

LING: It’s a rather long list. Some of them are Alfredo Juan Aquilizan, Alwin Reamillo, Btoi Quisumbing, Cipra Kamatoy, Costantino Zicarelli, Gerry Tan, Lara de los Reyes, MM Yu, Mark Salvatus, Maya Munoz, Popo San Pascual, RM de Leon, Tatong Racheta Torres, Tintin Quisumbing, Wawi Navarroza and many others.

ARTERI: Any plans to run this in a karaoke joint? Take it out of the gallery?

LING: I would love that! if I had the budget to do so. For now, the karaoke art machine is in my living room. I
could use it to fundraise :)

ARTERI: Why do you think that visual artists harbour secret desires of becoming rock star or piano lounge chanteause?

LING: Because artists have huge egos and they love the attention and adulation! Besides, artists are risk takers. nevermind that you’re off key! It doesnt matter if you can sing well or not just as long as the passion is there! :)

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(SS)