• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

TRIX ROSEN PHOTOGRAPHY – TRIXSPIX

Menu
  • Biography
  • Galleries
      • HE-SHE
      • MAîTRESSE
      • THE LADIES ROOM
      • 100 % PURE HEROINE
      • STRONG & SEXY
      • CHANGED LANDSCAPES
      • CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
      • WHITE LACE
      • PORTRAITS
      • THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL
      • URBAN ARCHEOLOGY & MODERN RUINS
      • BET HAYYIM
      • LIGHT DRAWINGS
      • DIVINE LIGHT
      • DAHLIA AND OTHER FLOWERS
      • ILLUMINATIONS
    • Close
  • Exhibits
    • CLUB 57 EXHIBITION (MOMA)
    • HOME EXHIBITION
    • SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
    • QUOTES BY CURATORS
    • PUBLISHED REVIEWS, ARTICLES AND LECTURES
    • Close
  • Trixspix Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact

The Kalinga Tribe

AUTUMN EXHIBITIONS 2014

September 29, 2014 by trixrosen

HOME
Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery at the College of Saint Elizabeth
Morristown, NJ
September 25 – December 14, 2014
Opening Reception: October 9th, 4:30 to 7:00.

The word, “home” resonates with each of us in a particular way, depending on our upbringing, country of origin, and our sociological, psychological and/or physical experience of “home,” wrote curator Dr. Ginny Butera about the exhibition, HOME.

The Philippines, Luplupa, Tinglayan

‘Kalinga Vernacular Houses’ is an image from my documentary series‘ A Kalinga Journey through Time.’ For over a quarter of a century I have been photographing the dramatic transformation of an indigenous community set deep into the rice terraces of the northern Philippines. My work as a photojournalist initially brought me to the region. It was at the 1986 ‘peace talks’ between the new Aquino Government, the rebel soldiers and the tribal people where I first met a tribal woman who invited me to visit her village, Luplupa in Kalinga Province. It could only be reached by walking a narrow bridge stretched high over the Chico River.

When I returned again in 2013, I saw that the last of these original one-room octagonal huts perched high on wooden posts have all been replaced by two-story concrete, multi-room houses.

I am drawn to photographing the timeless nature of historic architecture because the sites and structures are a repository of collective memories – a record of the builders and the people who once inhabited the spaces they held dear.

IRONBOUND UNBOUND #5 – BRIDGING the VOID
Sumei Art Center Gallery at the Prospect Street Fire Station
56 Prospect St. Newark, NJ 07105
Gallery Hours: 12 to 5 pm Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and by appointment
Opening reception: October 10, 5 pm to 10 pm

05.PulaskiSkyway_08.26.14The curators for this show asked for the best work documenting the existing Pulaski Skyway structure and the best imaginative work using the Pulaski Skyway as inspiration or a point of departure.

This view of the Pulaski Skyway was observed during my daily walks with my dog in Leonard Gordon Park, Jersey City Heights. While standing on the highest hill in the park, I have been drawn to record the fleeting last rays of the summer sun as it isolates the Pulaski Skyway and lights it with a magical golden sheen. Five of my ‘Pulaski Skyway’ photographs that contrast the man-made landscape with the natural environment are represented in this exhibit.

SAME DIFFERENCE 
September 12 – October 17, 2014

William V Musto Cultural Center
420 15th St. Union City, NJ
September 12 – October 17, 2014
Opening Reception: September 12, 2014 from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm

dean paris bold fatty ladies photography by trix rosen
dean paris bold fatty ladies photography by trix rosen

Fred_Koenig_09.07.12

Beyond XY - Exploring the Masculine Continuum

My images record a biographical or historical moment, measured not as an isolated fragment of time, but revealing the narrative arc of my subject’s life, capturing past, recording present and projecting into the future. Whether an architectural site or a portrait, what haunts me is finding the essence of the visible and invisible timeline.

The portraits exhibited in SAME DIFFERENCE empower the viewer to question and challenge conventional definitions of gender and beauty.

.

Filed Under: Architectural Restoration and Preserved Memories - Trix Rosen Photography, DOCUMENTARY, EXHIBITIONS, FINE ART, GLBTQ, Historic Preservation, Indigenous Cultural Identity, The Kalinga Tribe, The Philippines, Vernacular Architecture

A Kalinga Village Journeys through Time

June 21, 2013 by trixrosen

It is October 1986, and I’m on a narrow metal footbridge suspended high above the rushing water of the Chico River.  On my back is a pack of heavy photographic equipment — two cameras, multiple lenses and more than 50 rolls of film.  I grip the handrails, trying to stay in the center of this suspension bridge. My gaze is focused dead ahead – don’t look down. The rickety footbridge swings, tilting wildly with my every step.

Ahead lies the Kalinga village of Luplupa, one of several isolated Tinglayan barangays built on a steep mountain slope, placed strategically across he river so that its inhabitants could see their enemy’s approach.

Built in 1915, Luplupa is nestled deep within the hand-carved rice terraces of the Cordillera, a landscape untouched by modern times.  Climbing up and into the village, I saw many octagonal houses perched on wooden posts. Walls are of wood or split-and-plaited bamboo, topped with cogon grass roofs.  Women, intricate tattoos covering their arms and chests, balance pots of dishes and clothing on their heads to be washed in the Chico River.  Roaming freely around them are chickens, dogs, native pigs and dozens of little children. The elders squat in small groups smoking tobacco.

It’s impossible to realize at this moment the radical transformation this village is about to experience — a change that within a quarter-century will radically restructure this tribal landscape.

(To see slideshow- click)

kalinga village journeys through time photography by trix rosen
kalinga village journeys through time photography by trix rosen
trix rosen and virgina Puyoc manaboabra
trixie rosen and virgina puyok manabobara photography by trix rosen
kalinga village old hut photography by trix rosen
kalinga village old hut photography by trix rosen
kalinga village luplula eryang house photography by trix rosen
kalinga village luplula eryang house photography by trix rosen
luplula maliwong house photography by trix rosen
luplula maliwong house photography by trix rosen
luplupa village hut kalinga village photography
1987 Luplupa Mariya House
kalinga village butbuttinglayan octagona house circa photography by trix rosen
kalinga village butbuttinglayan octagona house circa photography by trix rosen
kalinga village wood house photography by trix rosen
kalinga village wood house photography by trix rosen
luplupa rita ut an l charannon r house kalinga village journeys through time
2013. Luplupa. Rita Ut-an House (l) Charannon House (r)
luplupa tambalong lungnay pang captured by trixrosen photography trixspix
1994. Luplupa. Tambalong House (l) Lungnay House (r).
the Philippines luplupa tinglayan town
1986. Luplupa. Sigundo Grave (l), Is-yon House.
sigundo grave kalinga village photography by trix rosen
1987 Luplupa. Sigundo Grave Is-yon House
luplupa maliwang houser by trixrosen photography trixspix
2000.Luplupa. Maliwong House Construction.
luplupa sigundograve is yonhouse kalinga village photography
Luplupa. Sigundo Grave Maliwong, House replaced Is-yon House
luplupa women utensils wash
1993 Luplupa. Rica and Funay Washing Dishes.
tinglayan poblacion agunay and daughter photography
Tinglayan Poblacion Agunay and Daughter 2013
old tinglayan inside home view photography
Old Tinglayan
luplupa betty inside house photography
Old Tinglayan
butbut village hut view photography
Butbut Roofs kalinga hut view
luplupa town roof view photography
Luplupa Roofs 2013
luplupa mountain roof view photography
Luplupa Roofs 2013
luplupa river mountain photography
Luplupa The Chico River 2013
luplupa river boys bathing photography
Luplupa Boys Floating down Chico on Bamboo Rafts 2013
luplupa church photography
2013 Luplupa
old tinglayan rice terrace kalinga village photography
2013 Luplupa Granary and Rice Terraces
luplupa rice terrace kalinga village farming photography
2002 Luplupa Rice Terraces
luplupa mountain lining kalinga village farming photography
2013. Luplupa. Sleeping Beauty Mountain.
luplupa mountain lining kalinga village farming photography
Tinglayan Rice Terraces 1987

Fascinated by the story of this ancient indigenous culture, I returned to Kalinga in 1993, six years after my first visit. I was witnessing the birth of the province’s extraordinary metamorphosis, and knew immediately that what remained of Kalinga’s significant vernacular architecture must be documented before it was irrevocably lost. I had spent those intervening years as a photojournalist and a historic preservation photographer in New York City.

To pursue this quest I returned in 2000, 2002, and in March 2013, thanks to the generosity of donors –  who funded my trip.

During my first visit in 1986 and 1987, while working on a photo-essay for a newsmagazine, I met Virginia “Virgie” Puyoc, a Kalinga representative at peace negotiations between the new Cory Aquino government, the Cordillera tribes, and the local underground rebel forces. It was her invitation that brought me to Luplupa and we became lifelong friends.  After eleven years away, I was looking forward to seeing Virgie and her family, and revisiting  Luplupa and Bado Dangwa, the barangay located outside Tabuk, the Kalinga capital, where she had settled.

When I arrived in Manila, I joined my colleagues from Bakás Pilipinas, historic preservation architect Roz Li, anthropologist Pascale Montadert, and conservator Cristina Paterno, to present a lecture ‘ Dialogue on Historic Preservation.’ The all-day workshop was sponsored by TAO-Pilipinas and the Mapua School of Architecture, Industrial Design and the Built Environment. It was attended by close to 60 participants. My presentations included a slide show of images from my proposed book, ‘A Kalinga Village Journeys through Time’ and a short how-to lecture on ‘Photographic Documentation of Historic Sites and Structures.’ Roz, Pascale and I arrived in Tabuk the following week to continue our lecture series on ‘Cultural Heritage Preservation: Preserving the Traditional Culture of the Cordilleras’ at a dialogue/workshop sponsored by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) and the Provincial Tourism Council.

BakasWorkshop

Pascale joined me for next three weeks and together, we visited Bado Dangwa and travelled to Luplupa.  I continued my photographic documentation and taught Digital Storytelling classes in both places to the village youth.

Since my last visit, both Luplupa and Bado Dangwa have become densely populated, sprawling landscapes.  Villagers had constructed larger houses, some with five or more rooms. On this trip, I had my choice of bedrooms, whereas on earlier visits I stayed with the unmarried women—grannies, aunties and teenage girls—who slept on a bamboo floor in one room where they cooked and ate their meals.

Virgie feels little nostalgia for the older village houses. “As far as the old houses, baliwala,” she says, “we are not attached to them.” Compared to a hut with a grass roof that must be replaced every five years, new metal-roofed homes require less maintenance and are much more spacious and comfortable. But Virgie still displays a profound connection to her vibrant Kalinga culture – to the language, festivals, music, singing, dancing, foods, cooking and storytelling. She delights in sharing with me legends and folklore that were told to her as a child.

I showed a group of Kalinga youths my photographs of their village as it was 27 years ago, and taught them to take their own photographs of traditional artifacts still found in the villages. Their pride in their artistic and cultural heritage was evident. They could see that even when tangible things are mostly gone, photographs can provide a historic record of the heart and soul of the tribal traditions, and of their ancestors who built and sustained Kalinga culture over many centuries.  (end Part 1- to be continued)

Filed Under: Architectural Restoration and Preserved Memories - Trix Rosen Photography, DOCUMENTARY, EXHIBITIONS, FINE ART, Historic Preservation, Indigenous Cultural Identity, PRESERVATION, The Kalinga Tribe, The Philippines

A KALINGA JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

December 24, 2012 by trixrosen

I am very excited to share my project A Kalinga Journey Through Time with you.

In 1986 I was a freelance photojournalist living in the northern Philippines. An invitation by an indigenous Filipina from the Kalinga tribe to visit her village, nestled deep within the hand-carved rice terraces of the Cordillera Mountains, brought me into an isolated landscape that appeared to be untouched by modern times. Fascinated by the images of an ancient people beginning the process of a contemporary metamorphosis, I returned many times over 25 years to visit my friends, and to photograph their rapidly changing historic landscape.
17.Issoc1a180e24

I’m sharing this project with you because I’m hoping you might be interested in supporting the completion of this historic work. I’m aiming to raise $8,900 by mid-February 2013.

With support from this funding I would return to the Philippines for six weeks in March 2013. I’d bring with me earlier photographs that would be used as points of departure to trigger memories among the family members, photograph portraits and conduct video interviews and, with the guidance of the local population, would document the rapidly perishing vernacular architecture as I also record the newer buildings. After returning home, I would apply your support to cataloging the documentation, printing photographs, digitizing older film and editing my video recording. I would also be arranging for future lectures, exhibitions and a book project, A Kalinga Journey Through Time, that would aim to preserve the material I have collected. Photographing the changes that have impacted this community will also reveal much about how a tribal society evolves into the 21st century.

If you can support this project with a donation, in any capacity, together we can make this idea a reality! Sharing the project with others and sending me your thoughts are also very valuable ways to show your support.

Want to learn more? Click here

About USA Projects:
Founded by the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson and Prudential Foundations, United States Artists has supported the work of individual artists since 2005. Donating through USA’s micro-philanthropy initiative, USA Projects, supports the work of accomplished artists all across America and is tax deductible.

Filed Under: Architectural Restoration and Preserved Memories - Trix Rosen Photography, DOCUMENTARY, EXHIBITIONS, FINE ART, Historic Preservation, Indigenous Cultural Identity, PRESERVATION, The Kalinga Tribe, The Philippines, Uncategorized Tagged With: architecture, documentary, Exhibitions, fine art photography, historic preservation, Indigenous Culture, Kalinga Tribe, The Philiipines, vernacular architecture

Footer

About Trix Rosen

Trix Rosen was a visionary photographer known for capturing powerful narratives transcending the ordinary. Her work explored themes of gender identity, social justice, and architectural heritage. Notable projects such as “HE-SHE,” “CHILDHOOD MEMORIES,” and “URBAN ARCHEOLOGY & MODERN RUINS” celebrated the unseen and overlooked aspects of life.
  • 631-786-7300
  • [email protected]
  • TrixsPix
    10 Mount Cook Ave
    Farmingville, NY 11738

Quick Links

  • Biography
  • Trixspix Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact
Facebook Instagram Pinterest

Obituary

1947-2021

Featured Products

debbie harry trix rosen portraits photography in red suit
trix rosen calla lily light drawing
The-Sea-Change
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Preference
  • Return Policy
  • Trix Rosen Photography
Trix Rosen Photography

Let’s Connect

TrixsPix
10 Mount Cook Ave
Farmingville, NY 11738

[email protected]
631-786-7300

Copyright © 2017 · Trix Rosen Photography
Developed By Renaissance Web Solutions

Product
Just Purchased
About ago