Prescription for a new Golden Age
Prescription for a new Golden Age
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, August 13, 1986
NEVER before now have "popular thought" and "artistic thought" been so closely related in spirit and intention. Where once innovation and change were frowned upon by a complacent society inclined towards the preservation of the status quo, it is resistance to change that is now the object of that same public’s suspicion and ire. And art being the one activity that thrives on perpetual change and innovation, it would not be altogether unreasonable to surmise what a new Golden Age for the arts in this country may even now be within our grasp.
While generous funding for the various creative fields is something we may never see in this current administration’s lifetime, this unfortunate, almost vindictive inattention to the needs of our creative toilers may in fact be amply compensated for by the growing sense of dedication with which artists have applied themselves to the various inter-community problems that have confronted them since the February uprising. And while it can be argued that this militant groundswell has been exclusively directed towards the attainment of immediate goals that are at best shortsighted and self-serving — resulting in the possible diminution of public sympathy for the artist and in so much bad blood within the artistic community itself — the energy that has unwittingly been generated by such massactions to date has given rise to renewed vigor for the local artworld, rekindling its collective desire to actively participate in the determination of its own future.
The following, therefore, is a personal prescription aimed at cultivating fertile ground for an unprecedented flowering of the combined visual arts in this country:
(1) MAKE ART, NOT NOISE. And in so doing, let’s leave the lobbying to the professional lobbyists. While a number of our artists have recently discovered a talent for petty politicking — some in excess of their own creative prowess — the vast majority of Filipino artists should return posthaste to what they presumably do best. Too much time and effort is being squandered in arguing over imaginary subsidies and derelict venues, and at any rate, history has already proven that the avowed politicians among us will inevitably lose their way in the end.
(2) MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES. We are heirs to the dawning of the age of alternatives, an age no doubt hurried on in this country by the recent triumph of the popular will and by the bloodless revolution that toppled a 20-year-old dictatorship. Alternative venues, alternative media, and the search for alternative audiences have thus been accorded greater relevance and viability than ever before. This is precisely the area of concern to which our militant energies should be redirected. Concerned artists should explore a wide range of possible alternative spaces in which to exhibit their work, thereby liberating their creative aspirations from the tyranny of our established institutions and from the financial machinations of a discredited art market. On the other hand, concerned writers and critics should focus their attention on works exhibited in these alternative venues, and through such invaluable media support, should help to legitimize and encourage these activities. Likewise, brave new alternatives to traditional media should be investigated and popularized, a double-edged thrust that can only serve to free the artist from the rising cost of imported art materials, while putting him in touch with his indigenous sources. And there is no nobler cause than for our artists to seek alternative audiences for their work and for Philippine Art in general, the only answer to the genuine democratization of our visual arts.
3) MAKE GOOD WHILE THE GODS SMILE ON US. Anyone who has ventured abroad in recent months will tell you that the Filipino has never before enjoyed such attention and admiration overseas. Exhibitions of Philippine Art and Culture expressly organized for foreign venues can only pay off in handsome dividends, both to encourage and sustain world interest in our people and to spearhead alternative markets for our creative produce beyond the here and now. Merely as an example, contemporary art in the United States and Europe is even now veering in the direction of eastern thought and mythology, and a new wave of artists from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, China and India are quickly taking their places alongside those of revered western innovators. Indeed, there is very little we cannot do if we put our hearts and minds to task.
“Physician, heal thyself.” Sound advice, no doubt, for the crusading artist.
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Prescription for a new Golden Age” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, August 13, 1986
