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MULAT: Beyond the Canvas: Exploring the Impacts of Art in Real life Complexities
MAY 01, 2021 BY SARAH NICOLE D. ALBINA MAY 01, 2021 BY SARAH NICOLE D. ALBINA
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continuing war on poverty, scathing corruption of politicians, prostitution, and violence against women are some of the country's concerning and pervasive issues. The essence of art in addressing these issues comes to life with the use of the artists’ imaginative mind expressed through the rhythmic gesture of a brush on a blank canvas, showing the realities of life.
stands when it comes to socio-political realities and problems can be done in various ways. Artists of different art forms started portraying everyday conditions and representation of social issues, which led to social realism recurrence in the Philippines. It resulted in the creation of realism artwork pieces conveying several societal problems. Given that aside from violence and word of mouth, emotions of the people addressing these issues are revealed as they opt for a creative way of expressing.
EXPRESSING
resurgence of social realism is marked by the art of young artists to adults, individual paintings to collective and interactive murals, and the usage of different art styles to convey the struggles faced by the country. Here are a few creative manifestations of societal issues turned to be represented as art.
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Euphoric yet Sinister Depiction of Society
Salingpusa Collective, Karnabal, 1992, Acrylic on canvas, Photo credits: Berwin Coroza
In the 1990s, a group of collaborative young artists, mainly from the University of the Philippines, created paintings, specifically murals that delineate the society's social ills. In this painting entitled “Karnabal,” the setting shows a jubilant, bright, and colorful portrayal of a carnival. It sparks an elated ambiance that sets the mood of the mural. But behind these extravagant yet exaggerated creations lies the messages that the artists wanted to convey.
The mural landscape contains several characters that play a certain role in the carnival setting. Some of them are a levitating woman positioned at the above part of the painting that mostly captures the eye first with its body's bright green colors. It shows a woman controlled by someone that appears to look like the hands of Christ, which may portray an image of a magician and a rejection to physics. This reminds us of politicians who act and think as if they are above law. Shakes
the hands of the Filipinos during election campaigns yet when positioned in the government, corruption of people’s money takes place. Next, is a blindfolded man who spins a fortune roulette. We can come to a conclusion that the committed crimes, corruption of politicians, fraudulent acts of injustices are all rooted from the rusting justice system of the Philippines. The lower-left corner of the artwork shows three soldiers holding guns and shooting at dolls that wear a Filipina costume. This may portray the incident in the year 1987 which is the massacre of the farmers also known as “Mendiola Massacre”. The security forces used violence in dispersing the people which killed over a hundred famers. While the dolls represented the exportation of women to other countries. Lastly, is Darna a local superhero that is dancing by a red and white pole which clearly portrays prostitution through an image of a pole dancer. Recently, enacting of Anti-Prostitution was raised for its revision for the main reason of providing legal protection and supporting services for the victims and making those who exploit women in prostitution liable.
These are only some of what the artists wanted to represent and show to the people who see and will see the art. We come to see its correlation to the past and current events in the country even though the mural manifests the country’s societal events after the Marcos regime which is at least 35 years ago.
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Sanggawa is a group of artists established by the former members of Salingpusa Collective. They are artists who merge the art styles of each member and produce artworks that may seem like created and finished by a solo artist. This painting entitled “Kasal sa Hatinggabi,” depicts the sad reality in the 1990s where religious leaders and politicians come together to lure the people that appear to be violating the separation of church and the state.
The artwork shows two men under a church, a politician holding a gun and a priest holding a knife. The time of the paintings looks like it is set at night when no one will find it suspicious and will less likely gather attention. The two figures embracing each other with a single hand symbolizes their emerging alliance. A combination of an admired public servant and a religious leader who has believers look like a perfect partnership. Their union is unified under the church bell which is said to raise a question of “Are they committing and enact violence?”
This depicted a situation where the leaders of the country and the church come together for fame, vote, and people’s trust. A scene that results in societal issues of violence, corruption, and abuse of power. A concerning reality that has happened in the past and may still occur in the present because of the greediness of people in the position hindering their obligation of service.
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Violating Alliance of Church and the State
Sanggawa Collective, Kasal sa Hatinggabi 1995, Acrylic on canvas, Photo credits: Jennifer Haso
In this time of the pandemic, these social ills continue to hunt us. Resolution is what we need, including a competent government with good governance and collaborative citizens. When an issue arises, do not hesitate to speak and instead make your voice louder. Social matters are bespoken not through the mouth but by an artistic approach through the medium of art.