The Uncertain Fate of Philippine Art
The Uncertain Fate of Philippine Art
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, November 05, 1986
OPINIONS regarding the future have never come as cheaply as now. Alliances are made and dissolved from day to day. And if far too many "isms" abound in the world of political affairs, the realm of the arts has been virtually smothered by them.
Rabid Filipinism and Socialist Realism may have already been major artistic undercurrents in the waning years of the Marcos regime, but they are now very nearly epidemic diseases. While our recent art's overwhelming tendency to fervent nationalism is a healthy response to the current political crisis, and is inherent to the Filipino nature by way of bayanihan and pakikisama, the complexion of this mega-genre itself is more than likely to change. Political polarization will almost certainly eradicate the celebrational timber in art born out of the February uprising, and artists everywhere will unwittingly gravitate towards the extreme left or right of the political spectrum.
Thus, liberal humanist art will find itself sharing tables with avowed Marxists, while the more esoteric and uncommitted will very likely be coerced into an unholy alliance with advocates of the old order. Where lines are drawn, the eclecticism so vital to the artistic development of a nation is sacrificed at the altar of political confrontation, and all artistic produce is thrown into the service of one opposing camp or the other.
The fate of Philippine Art, therefore — at least insofar as its future directions is concerned — rests solely on the outcome of the political battle now being waged. The triumph of the status quo will most likely be the death of Socialist Realism and other politically-committed art in general, whereas the establishment of a new socialist order will undoubtedly favor its perpetuity as a sanctioned artistic convention. Esoteria is virtually synonymous with decadence from the standpoint of Marxist dogma, while the elite can hardly be expected to hang wishful images of their own doom on their manicured walls. Radical polarization of political views does not accept a middle ground, and much of art exists in shades of grey.
To be sure, any artmarket analyst worth his salt can tell you that Socialist Realism is no investment at all. A right-wing victory will vehemently reject this genre as subversive and communist-inspired. On the other hand, a left-wing victory will eradicate any semblance of an artmarket rooted in speculative trading and free enterprise, and will ultimately negate whatever gains might otherwise have been forthcoming from an endorsement of this genre by a Marxist government. Being that a disturbing number of its adherents are notoriously concerned with the sale of their work in the galleries — in itself ironic because of their dependence for financial support from the very strata of society they wish to unseat — the future of Philippine Socialist Realism is in grave doubt short of an undisputed proletarian triumph.
Heads or tails, the options for local contemporary art will shortly be pared to one. Armed political struggle has never been kind to the arts, any more than it has been receptive to fence-straddling. That the recent events of our time have energized nearly all facets of our visual arts is certain. But the battle that rages beyond its borders will make either fools or heroes of its sons and daughters at the flip of a coin, and those who benefit from this tragedy shall have done so at the expense of the incorruptible human spirit.
To the dogs of war, therefore, the artists of this nation should speak clearly with one voice: "What you must do, do quickly!' Death and the phoenix are one.
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “The Uncertain Fate of Philippine Art” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, November 05, 1986
