Artists in CCP, Shame to the Race of Straight Primates!

Primates do have religions and no matter how philosophy tries to negate it, the tendency will always surface. In short, religion is but a primate culture where all individuals are drawn towards what is holy and finding meaning in doing it.

I am one of them. Just like the majority Filipino primates, I also belong to the Catholic Church worshiping Jesus, my God and my Savior. What others thought of me as heretic or apostate is definitely contrary to my true nature. I am rather a faithful Catholic who strongly defends the church yet remains respectful of other religions.

However, I can be as furious as my brothers in the forests of Congo if my faith is also under attack. That doesn’t mean I am less Catholic in doing it. It’s just that being a Catholic, you also ought to be firm in your faith and defend it.

For the past few weeks, the controversy on CCP had bruised that faith no matter how they try to justify that art is nothing but mere expression of the artist. But what do really want to express by cladding religious figures with condoms? Why can’t they express the meaning of their artworks? They just resort to defining art and evading the very message of their obras, which have gone overboard to what we coin as the ‘limits of freedom.’

I just couldn’t fathom for the life of me, why they keep on arguing the authentic meaning art as if they are the sole authority to define it. And why apply such art to what others revere as representation of their faith? I just wonder if pictures of Jesus will be substituted with images of their sisters, mothers, fathers, and members of the family loaded with lewd images around them – what do you think will they feel? Or let’s just substitute their subjects with the images of Mohammed and find out if they’ll remain standing at this very moment.

One thing for sure is present there: Maliciousness! Or shall I say, Disrespect? No matter how they try to justify their artworks, the truth that they offended 80% of the faithful is no less than denigrating in motive. If they really want to convey something, why not address it to the Christians themselves? If they hate Catholics, why not throw it in their faces? Fart!

The problem with the artist is they used to believe that subjectivity will always keep them free, that is why they keep on employing it in their side to justify their actions. Artists though they may be important in the primate world, are nevertheless prone to such mistakes. And what we witnessed in the CCP exhibit is one proof of that folly…and perhaps we need some objectivity in dealing with arts.

Maybe it’s time to re-define art with a tinge of practicality to avoid such incident again, of going beyond bounds of freedom. We have to be objective sometimes in order to put standards on what should be admitted in an art exhibit and what should be banned permanently. Unless we resolved such issue, cases like this will always surface once in a while.

But of course, these artists shouldn’t be left lose. Artists should be meant to spearhead changes in society, towards a better learning where respect should be the basic principle. Not otherwise! This is apparently contrary to what Suzanne Langer, a philosopher of art, said: “Art is the spearhead of society.” For as far as we know, what happened in CCP was not about spearheading changes, but a mere spectacle to gather public attention after having to create a little impact in the world of art. Shame on you, primates!

Dealing with Bad News

As a straight primate ruminating on the events happening around the country, it seems that all I read from the daily are nothing but bad news. There’s the heated feud between the pro and against RH-Bill; there’s the controversial allegation on bishops receiving luxurious presents from PCSO, which in the end have urged the CBCP to apologize before the faithful; and there’s even an anti- Azkals group trying to pull down the group not because of the rape case linked with them but because they caused traffic along Rizal Stadium for motorist. All of these are kind of news dominating the front pages. And whether you accept it or not, these are what make the sales boost up for newspapers.

Bad news makes money: Seems like a good catchy phrase. Definitely it makes a lot of sense. News isn’t news when it is not bad and it won’t even raise a penny when it is not controversial. That is the reason why press keep on spawning on them in a deceptive form as public service, which in actual nature is merely about making money.

Some may argue that Philippines is already a torn country to deserve an endless bad news from the press which is why we need to fill in the pages with good constructive news to give readers inspiration to love our country instead of loathing it. While that may be true in one point, it actually negates the other half of the truth. Whether you like it or not, primates like us need bad news as well. Having a world of two faces, we need to open our minds to weigh our judgments before we jump into a conclusion that bad news is naturally bad.

Not at all. It is not true that good news alone creates inspiration. In fact, some of the nicest ideas sprout from the sheer acknowledgment of the filth our nations have. Rizal may have not produced his magnum opus had it not because of the plight of the Filipinos under the Spanish rule; Marx may have not muster his idea on communism had he not been witnessed to the tension between classes; and Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa may have not changed the world without the need to change it.

That’s right, we need bad news to move on. We cannot make use of our creativity unless there is a challenge that lies ahead of us. We cannot find solution unless there is a problem that awaits us. Bad news helps us realize something beyond our comfort zones, to make use of our given talent to create an impact in the best way we can. Unless we acknowledge bad news as something that needs our attention, then we can always be primates waiting for a perfect world to dawn on us. It’s true that pure bad news could be very destructive at times. But unless we change our mentality towards it, then perhaps we can always assume that our country will never get out from the abyss to which it is trapped. I guess until we become answers to these bad news, only then will we truly deserve to read good news.

And oh, never mind about the press for by way of practicality they have served their purpose well and it is just right that they are compensated.

Got a New Site!

Welcome!

Well, this is ain't new to you: people do migrate. And in the web we call our second home, we also do that because we want something better, something like a safe environment in which we could freely express our thoughts without having to worry about violent reactions coming from the readers. This is my very reason why I opted to put up a new blog to resume my passion for writing; and as much as possible avoid stalkers prowling on my page, destroying my reputation by fabricating stories about me. Believe me, you wont love it when you have one.

But of course I will continue to cherish the good ones. Those who have become my friends will be linked here. As a gregarious primate, I have to behave like a real one after nature molded me millions years ago. I have to give justice to mother nature, you know! And besides I just cannot write for my self without inevitably dreaming that somewhere in the cyber cave, another primate is reading me. I need my friends to survive here. Hehe

Welcome!