Maganda

This video portrays an expanding and contracting bamboo forest seen from a birds eye view. The work is inspired by the Philippine mythical story of Malakas and Maganda – the strong one and the beautiful one. In it, the first ever man and woman sprung from a large bamboo tree when it was split open by a Sarimanok, a magical mythical bird called Magaul. maganda creates a visual rhythm where the center of the forest splits to reveal and hide natural forms. The use of the negative highlights the complexity of the natural patterns and a symmetrical composition is used to suggest beings and, or bodies generating from within. The rhythmic chanting provides the atmosphere for the contemplation of the work.

  • José Soto
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Other
  • Genres:
    Fine Art
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 3, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Puerto Rico
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - José Soto

Soto (b. San Sebastián, PR 1976) Soto was born in San Sebastián, a mountainous town in Puerto Rico. He lives and works in New York City since 2010. In 2013 he obtained an MFA in Photog- raphy at Parsons The New School for Design. Public Art: Retrancado, fist_ART.FOUNDATION, Dorado, PR (2014); Permm Stop Public Art Project, Museum of Contemporary Art, Perm, Rus-
sia (2012). Awards (selection): Dean’s Scholarship, Parsons The New School for Design, NY (2010-2012); Award for Special Events Photography, XIX Excel Awards, Association of Public Relations Professionals of Puerto Rico (2007); Gold Award, B&W Photography (2006). Group Exhibitions (selection): 2015 – Camera Work, Parsons The New School for Design, New York,
NY; Hot or Cold?, BronxArtSpace, Bronx, NY; Muestra Nacional de Arte, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, San Juan, PR; Art INCUBARTE 7, Museo Valenciano de la Ilustración y la Modernidad, Valencia,Spain; 2013, Under the Subway Video Art, Local Projects, LIC, NY; Región 0: Video Art Festival, New York University, New York, NY, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vigo, Spain; Puerto Rico: Doorway to the Landscape, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, San Juan, PR. 2012, Charterplay, Photoville Photography Festival, Brooklyn, NY. 2011, Pingyao Photo Festival, Ping- yao, China; The Culture of Now, Aperture Magazine, New York, NY; 11 del 2011, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, PR; 35 Years of Photography in Puerto Rico, Instituto de Cultura Puertorrique- ña, San Juan, PR. 2010, Arte y Azar, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, PR; Oriental Group Exhibi- tion Booth, Circa Puerto Rico International Art Fair, San Juan, P.R. 2009, National Art Exhibition, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, PR; prints 995, Gallery Nine 5, New York, N.Y.
Solo Exhibitions: 2009, José Soto: Recent Work, Walter Otero Gallery and Viota Gallery, Güay- nabo, PR; 2008, Dimensiones, Payá, Güaynabo, PR; Aquarius, Emporio Peroni, Condado, PR.

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Director Statement

I use photography, video, sculpture and installation to transform the complex visual structures of nature into artistic objects. Grounded in the formal and aesthetic strategies of Formalism, Mini- malism and the Gestalt principles, my work invites the viewer to consider his or her own percep- tion of form and light in the natural landscape.