By
INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
MANILA — The chairman of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines
(CAP) and National Artist for Literature Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera
expressed strong disappointment over the decision of the Cultural Center
of the Philippines (CCP) and its Board of Directors to close the
exhibit Kulo long before its originally scheduled end on August 21.
In a forum in the College of Mass Communication in the University of
the Philippines Diliman campus, Lumbera said it was disappointing and
frustrating how the CCP bowed down to pressure from a few quarters and
in the process failed in its duty to uphold the rights of artists and
the freedom of expression.
“The CCP should have stood its ground and resisted the demands of
those who did not understand the implications of their actions when they
raged against an art piece. It did more than just shut the doors of a
gallery exhibiting Kulo, it surrendered the rights of artists and
allowed censorship in,” he said.
A dangerous precedent
The National Artist said the CCP’s action was also a cause for alarm because it sets a dangerous precedent.
“It sends a message to artists, that they should be more careful when
creating their art for fear of repercussions. This is an attack against
creativity and the freedom of expression; artists are being told to toe
a certain line and repress what they truly think and feel about society
and how they experience the world,” he said.
Lumbera also questioned how the CCP seemed to have caved in after
former First Lady and wife of ousted ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos gave
her views on Mideo Cruz’ controversial installation “Poleteismo.”
Commenting
on the issue of the closure of the controversial Kulo exhibit including
Mideo Cruz’s “Poletesismo,” National Artist for Literature Dr.
Bienvenido Lumbera says the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
and its Board of Directors should not have bowed down to pressure from a
few quarters. (Photo by Ina Alleco R. Silverio / bulatlat.com)
“Who is Imelda Marcos anyway? She was the wife of a former president.
What right has she, what authority does she have to lay down what
constitutes art and what doesn’t, what’s obscene and what’s not? It’s
most unfortunate that the CCP did not take the opportunity to clarify
concepts surrounding art, how to appreciate it and other related ideas
to foster healthy and productive discussions on matters such as this,”
he said.
The CAP and the loose artist formation Palayain and Sining (Set Art
Free) said they will hold a symbolic action on August 21 as the CPP
officially ends the exhibition run of Kulo.
Right to agree to disagree
Karen Ocampo Flores, former head of the CCP Visual Arts and Museo
Division of the CCP, tendered her resignation yesterday over the flop
surrounding the exhibit. She said she did her best to try and clarify
how everything connected to the exhibit went through the CCP’s
processes, but in the end, the political pressure mounted went below the
belt.
“First off, Imelda Marcos should not have been allowed media mileage
over this issue. Second, religion has never been the focus of whatever
fights that have unfortunately erupted over this. This is all about
politics and the right of artists and everyone else to express
creatively their beliefs. I resigned with my convictions intact; I
simply exercised my right to agree to disagree,” she said.
Flores called on Filipino artists to support the CCP and bring issues
of censorship and curtailment of the freedom of expression constantly
to its attention and in the process have the public collectively deal
with them.
Directly addressing those who used religion to attack the exhibition,
Flores said, “Religion should be there to nourish and sustain us, but
it shouldn’t be used to foster hate and conflict and widen the gap of
differences,” referring to those who attacked Cruz over the media and
the internet saying that he “violated their religious beliefs.”
A campaign for education
The chairwoman of the UP Art Studies department Prof. Cecilia Sta.
Maria de la Paz shook her head over how the CCP chose instead to close
the Kulo exhibit than engage in a campaign of education. She said the
whole controversy would not have gotten out of hand and could have
turned into something positive had the CCP taken a more proactive
stance.
“The CCP gave in to the deep-seated fears and lack of knowledge of
the public. On the other hand, the media could also have helped put
Mideo’s art in context and encourage discussions and debate instead of
directly or not fomenting arguments and fights. What is the nature of
the offense in this case concerning a piece of art? What did the artist
mean by constructing his piece in such a way that many deemed offensive?
There’s a need for visual literacy here, and we could have used this
opportunity to impart this,” she said.
De la Paz said that Filipinos should realize that the age when art is
considered only in terms of its entertainment and decorative value is
long over.
“What happened affects our rights as a whole. Threats against artists
are threats against the rest of us. We want discourse, not hysteria.
You just don’t shut doors just because you feel offended — let’s talk
about it,” she said.
Artists appeal to resist attempts at censorship
Writer and art historian Prof. Nick Tiongson of the UP College of
Mass Communication, in the meantime, said the Philippines already has a
history of censorship. He cited various instances wherein works of art
in the fields of film and dance have been censored by the government
since the 1930s. He said that in the 1950s, bishops called for a ban
against ballet because of its supposed “lewdness.”
“All these years we have been battling against censorship. Ideally ,
the media and the arts have a common goal: to tell the truth about
society with media doing this through exposition, and the arts through
creative expression. If we allow censorship or allow the distortion of
art and how it is appreciated, we allow the status quo to continue and
it is a state of things that goes against the interest of the Filipino
people,” he said.....
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Source: Bulatlat.com
URL:
http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/08/11/ccp-should-have-stood-firm-against-censorship-%E2%80%93-national-artist/
