Bren bataclan biography of donald

…like smiling!

Last night, J and I took the T into town, where we attended the Boston premiere of David Tamés’ Smile Boston Project, a short documentary on the work of Bren Bataclan. I’ve blogged about Bataclan before: first when he brought his whimsical paintings to Keene to cheer us after the dismal floods of October, 2005, and next when J commissioned him to paint charmingly cartoonish portrait of Reggie.

The premise behind Bataclan’s “Smile Boston Project” is simple enough, and he’s translated the basic concept to dozens of locales far from Boston. In an attempt to spread the love, Bataclan leaves original paintings of his brightly colored characters in public spaces–on benches, inside college student centers, and elsewhere–with notes attached telling people they can have the paintings for free if they “promise to smile at random people more.”

In Tamés’ documentary, a camera chronicles one painting as it sits on a bench in a crowded Boston park, passersby pausing to consider it while others go about their business and at least one homeless man sleeps on a nearby bench. In interviews with people who were brave enough to take one of the paintings, Tamés shows how most folks’ initial reaction to the notion of paintings free for the taking was one of disbelief: surely there isn’t someone out there who is handing out art in exchange for a simple promise!

And yet, the promise behind the paintings is true. Tamés documentary explains how Bataclan, who went to college in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, was surprised to discover when he moved to Boston that people here don’t make eye contact, smile, and say hello the way they do in the Midwest. More than 15 years after my own move to New England, I still share Bataclan’s reaction: when J and I walk with or without our dogs on the streets of lush and leafy Newton, we’re continually amazed at how many folks

By Taylor Reed VecchioContributing Writer

Since leaving paintings of colorful creatures around Boston and Cambridge a year and a half ago, Smile Boston Project’s Bren Bataclan made us blue-blooded east-coasters lighten up and left corporate America behind only to steal her insights.

Bataclan, originally from the Philippines, moved to sunny California before relocating again to study special effects in perpetually bland Ohio. How could someone survive such culture shock? Because people in the Midwest are so, so nice! Grocery store cashiers inquire about your spaghetti purchase, and gas station attendants actually do want you to have a nice day. For all its white-breadness, people in Ohio have something on all of us in Boston: they are not “too cool,” they make friends with strangers, and they smile to one another on the street. When Bren moved to Umass Amherst to take up a teaching job, our unfriendly nature got to him. After the fall of the dot.com empire, Bataclan was out of a job, sick of computers, and left a city of stone cold faces. To escape staring at a computer screen, Bataclan began to paint. His work premiered in September of 2003 at an art show where he sold 49 out of 56 paintings in two days. Such a success, completely unforeseen and unplanned, gave Bren an unexpected career opportunity and the confidence to continue painting. Using the money he had earned selling his work, he went out and painted several more paintings, leaving them around the city, to thank Boston for making him feel good again. There was a catch…..the paintings he left were completely free on the condition that the person who finds them has to promise to smile more at random people.

By taking his work to the street, Bataclan was able use his environment as an exhibit. With his corporate background, Bren was able to perfectly balance the tradition of some of his favorite street artists, whi

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October 2016. Dear Bren, This evening I thought a child had left a book open on a bench at the old NC State Capital. On closer inspection, I found your painting and the "terms" of accepting the free painting. It was getting near dusk. I was delighted, but thought someone else might be in greater need of the joy your painting and note provides. I sat nearby for a while and decided I could at least take the painting to show to friends and put it back in circulation, just as I found it. Now, I am so taken by your art and generosity (from seeing your website), I am compelled to enjoy this small treasure for much longer. I am a 60 year old female, in good health but somtimes dispiriting circumstances, perhaps due in large part to a mindset I've drifted into. You have inspired me to reboot and spread a bit of cheer myself. My hometown of Lumberton, and even my sister's home, was flooded in Hurricane Matthew. I have donated to help victims in Lumberton and in Haiti, but I hope to be more creative in helping them to smile. Thank you for such a joyful painting and such a generous act. Raleigh, NC Painting Recipient >>>

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June 2016. Moore, Oklahoma: I've had this for a while. I just saw the back and went to your website. Found it one day in Moore, OK when going to a sushi restaurant. It had a note and every time every time someone asks me about it I tell them the story about the note about you can take me if you smile...It's one of my favorite pieces...

Transcript

[MUSIC]

Kaitlin Milliken: Hello, and welcome to the BOSFilipinos Podcast. I'm your host, Kaitlin Milliken, and this show is obviously made by BOSFilipinos. 

In each episode of our podcast, we highlight a different aspect of Filipino life in the Greater Boston area. So today we’re back with a reading recommendation — Bren Bataclan’s Fe: A Traumatized Son’s Graphic Memoir. 

Bren is a Boston-based artist. He was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Daly City, California before making his cross country move to the bay state. Bren also spent time teaching design and computer animation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Today, Bren is a full time artist. This is his first memoir. 

Bren sent me a copy of his book before our interview and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The graphic memoir is an empathetic look at Bren’s relationship with his late mother. While the comic goes through the aspects that made their relationship tense, it also celebrates the things Bren loved most about his mom. Throughout, Bren also shares aspects of his identity — as an artist, as an immigrant, as a gay person, son, brother, husband. And with that introduction, thank you so much Bren for being here.

Bren Bataclan: Well, thanks for having me. I'm so excited.

Kaitlin Milliken: So to kick us off, tell us a little bit about your new book, Fe: A Traumatized Son’s Graphic Memoir, what inspired you to kick off the writing process?

Bren Bataclan: If you asked me just a year ago, if I would have a graphic memoir published or even have a rough version of it, I would have laughed. About a year ago, when we started to lockdown, all my mural residencies have either been rescheduled or cancelled. So I was really panicking. I had two choices, one to really freak out, and just being a corner fetal, worrying about everything, or be creative. So I tried a whole bunch of things. So I sta