An Art of Dissent in The Sanctuary of The Soul
An Art of Dissent in The Sanctuary of The Soul
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, February 11, 1987
PROBABLY the one most glaring fault of the current dispensation has been its obvious penchant for sainting all enemies of the previous regime. The current OIC controversy says it all. Raising the ire of the Marcos dictatorship in past confrontations did not necessarily make ideal administrators of the incompetent.
There are interesting parallels in the local artworld as well. For instance, much too much has already been said about the "plight" of Social Realism during the Marcos years — at least some of it bordering on the incredible. One wonders just how many Social Realists were actually lined up against a wall and shot outright for their paintings. Or, for that matter, how many of them had their licenses to exhibit revoked. To be sure, myth can be propagated deliberately for selfgain. The melodrama surrounding the folklore in this case may have some basis in truth, but it nonetheless smacks of artworld public relations. True heroes deserve better. And certainly, any art of strong leanings — political or otherwise — can expect some flack from a society raised in fear of its own shadow.
Then, too, one would have to rule out collective martyrdom through deprivation as just cause for all this noisemaking. All artists face the prospect of starvation. Ironically, Social Realism is said to have been big business on the open market long before our deliverance from evil, not a few examples of work in this genre finding their way to the walls of government institutions and into the homes of Marcos cronies. Would it be so wrong for us to surmise, then, that perhaps not all of these artists were motivated solely by their unwavering principles? Sainthood is powerful medicine against reproach and the common cold; it is not to be handed out indiscriminately, and certainly not to be conferred en masse.
The ongoing exhibition of nine leading Social Realists at the Cultural Center of the Philippines affords us still another opportunity to view this genre from up close, and thereby lay some of its more persistent myths to rest. It is argued in some quarters that Social Realism is more communist propaganda than art, being little more than rabble-rousing in disguise. Indeed, there are enough good paintings in this show to prove otherwise.
It is also said that Social Realism constitutes the loftiest of all artistic concerns, bravely addressing itself to the prevailing human condition. As with much political jargon to which the genre is sadly heir, such vainglorious pronouncements invariably equate good art with a restless conscience. And there are more than enough bad works in this mold — even in this venerable collection — to raise a few eyebrows in disbelief over such mindless banter.
Now presented in conjunction with the First Anniversary festivities commemorating the February Revolution, the exhibition itself is only vaguely apt. What small role Social Realism may have played in the downfall of the Marcos regime — if any at all — remains an issue for deliberation. Most of the gaunt faces that people these canvases had little or no part in the spontaneous defiance that made history at EDSA. And the men in uniform who were directly responsible for igniting the revolt itself fare badly in the light of the prevailing anti-militaristic hysteria.
Unless we are to believe that the woeful sentiments expressed in these artworks are directed only in hindsight, there seems to be more cause for alarm than for jubilation. You don't have to be an art buff to know that these paintings stare us in the face like dismantled skeletons from out of the closet, their brutal murder uncovered but as yet unavenged. Must we now revel in the failure of our own brave efforts to effect the beginnings of significant change within the turbulent context of Social Realism's rural and sub-urban nightmares? Or are we merely teasing ourselves with the enormous task that still lies ahead?
Answer quickly. When was the last time you were frightened by a landscape?
(To be concluded)
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “An Art of Dissent in The Sanctuary of The Soul” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, February 11, 1987
