Typewriter wired to the world (Teditorial 10/06/11)

Typewriter Wired to the World

Life and Art

(Photo of Mideo Cruz's installation at the CCP from emanzky88.)

OK, I’m no art critic, but I appreciate art in all its forms—whether these be painted canvases, sculptures, installations, even performance art. I remember how a former college professor in the mid-’80s once jumped on top of a table, then stepped down, then up again on the table, then down again, over and over, again. This was of course in Penguin in Malate, where all the cool artistes used to hang out.

People may not have understood it then, but that was her thing. She was a performance artist. Some said it was good art, some thought it was bad and a waste of time. I was just hugely entertained. I got drunk. And went home happy.

This controversy over the Kulo exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), specifically over the depiction of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, has been a pain in the butt for people like me who value freedom of expression.

And it just shows how far we Filipinos have fallen behind in terms of art appreciation, that our honorable senators even have to waste our taxpayers’ money to discuss “What is art?” (Good thing Sen. Edgardo Angara decided that one hearing was to be the first and last. The former University of the Philippines president probably could no longer take the uneducated comments of some of his colleagues which just exposed the Senate, not to mention his committee, to ridicule.)

Art cannot be all good and beautiful, like those painted flower gardens or seascapes on canvases regularly exhibited at SM Megamall. Many of our fellow Filipinos seem to be still stuck in the age-old concepts of art—the nudes of Juan Luna or Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, the fishing scenes of Oscar Zalameda and Fabian de la Rosa, the historical depictions and pastoral scenes of Fernando Amorsolo, etc.

If one just takes a look at modern Filipino art since the late ’60s, some ordinary folk would probably not even get what they mean, and also wonder if these pieces can be considered “art.” For instance, Raymundo Albano’s Untitled #575, a serigraph currently in the collection of Bank of the Philippine Islands, is just three blocks of colors—blue, red and orange splashed on top of one another. Is it art and will you pay a lot of money for it?

Then there is another serigraph, this time by Lee Aguinaldo, an untitled chest X-ray in brown. Is this art? Apparently it is because, again, BPI paid good money to have it in its collection. But what does it mean? And what does the person looking at it take away from viewing such a piece?

I don’t mean this to be another art appreciation course, but I think we need to be more open-minded about the new forms of art out there. It is not all swaths of blue skies, white picket fences, or rows of golden palay gently swaying in the wind.


(Photo courtesy from ucanews.com)
Art can be ugly and thought-provoking as well. The artwork of Mideo Cruz, like it or not, fits the bill. He stuck a huge penis ashtray (the one you get from Baguio I suppose), on the face of a haloed Jesus Christ. My gauge of whether it is art is what his colleagues say. Apparently, other artists respect him as one, so who can deny him that title? And the mere fact that it has been exhibited in the UP, the University of Santo Tomas, and the CCP means it is art.

Cruz’s works may be shocking perhaps to some people who have yet to even see Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes with a sword slicing neatly through the latter’s neck, blood spewing everywhere. Done in the 1500s, it is upsetting even in this day and age. But perhaps because it is a painting, the gruesomeness is minimized compared to Cruz’s art installation. I am not saying Cruz is on the same level as Caravaggio, but in terms of the shock level, they come pretty close.

The religious have said that Cruz’s installation blasphemes Jesus Christ and the other religious icons therein depicted in his other works. But as an artist, he has every right to question our own religious beliefs (if that was his aim), and comment about it. And whether it is considered good or bad art, there is a need to protect his freedom to express what he feels about a subject, in the same way that my freedom to write down my thoughts in this column should be.

For instance, there are excellent, superb writers like Teddy Boy Locsin with his clever and witty essays and columns. And there are columnists who mix up their metaphors and yet are allowed to say their piece in their prestigious newspapers.

There are radio commentators who regularly mouth off ignorant statements, and yet are allowed by their networks to keep their crap on the air. (One brilliant commentator even had the gall to ask, “Who is Raul Sunico?” at the same criticizing Cruz’s work without having even gone to see it. Just for your information, Mr. Talking Head, Mr. Sunico is a celebrated pianist, who has won acclaim both here and abroad. Next time, do your research before shooting off your mouth.)

It is this very freedom of expression that these critics would like to curtail in the wake of the CCP controversy, which allows these cretins to write freely and speak freely. Just because we don’t like what they’re saying, and they offend people, doesn’t mean we have to demand for the death of their newspaper columns and radio programs. If you listen to the amount of BS that is being said over the air, with a few radio commentators here and there regularly lambasting this or that government official, to the point of slandering them, then this art installation of Cruz doesn’t even come close to being offensive!

As I kept saying in the social-media circles, no one pointed a gun to anyone’s head to force them to see that Kulo exhibit at the CCP. You and I and everybody else had a choice whether to look at the pieces exhibited there. If you were offended, then neither the artist nor the CCP can do anything about it. You had been adequately warned before entering the space that your sensibilities may be offended. No need to deface the artwork or set fire to the CCP.

In the same manner, we don’t need to read that grammatically-incorrect columnist or listen to that slandering radio commentator. Even for stupendously inappropriate TV shows like Jersey Shore, for instance, we have the power to choose whether or not to expose ourselves to such stupidity.

(Originally published on Aug. 19, 2011. My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

Damn the Bishops! by Teddyboy Locsin

Damn the Bishops for taking it lying down!

Unforgettable, favorite Christmas gifts

FREQUENT readers of this space will probably know the answer to this. My favorite Christmas gift was a talking Barbie given to me by my Mama. It wasn’t the gift per se, but how I got it.

I was probably 7 or 8 years old then, and was tagging along with my Mama in Cartimar, Pasay, where Filipinos used to go to for their PX goods. Yes, I am a child of America, what can I say? Hahaha.

I saw my Mama looking over the Barbie which was in a fuchsia box (then everybody still called it “hot pink”), and I pestered her who she was buying it for. She wouldn’t answer me but I kept on nagging her about it, because I was so incensed that I, her bunso, wouldn’t be getting any gorgeous thing like that doll for Christmas.

She silenced me with that “wag kang makulit” look, and I shut up. (Yup, back then, kids were nakukuha sa tingin.) But I was seething inside, so jealous of that little girl—probably one of my Mama’s godchildren—who would get that Barbie for Christmas. I earnestly hoped and wished that I would get a Barbie as a present, too.

Of course, when Christmas midnight came, I excitedly opened all my gifts, and lo and behold! I got the very same Barbie! I couldn’t contain my joy over my new precious doll, and kept on pulling on the string behind her neck to make her “talk”. I thought then that my Mama probably got me the same gift as her inaanak just to pacify me. Silly me, I still thought she had given the doll she had earlier bought to another lucky kid, hahaha. Ay tanga.

But it made me realize then, which I still believe holds true today, if you deserve the present you have been hoping to get, you will receive it. The Secret? No. Just an eternal belief in how the universe just works for everyone’s benefit, and we all get what we deserve.

(DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo with his wife, Lovely, and their grandchildren.)

So for my Christmas and New Year columns this year, I asked several well-known personalities in government and industry what were their most unforgettable or favorite Christmas gifts of all time. Their answers, as usual, are heartwarming, a few terribly funny yet endearing, and give an honest insight into each person’s character.

Let me wish one and all a Happy Christmas with your loved ones, and peace and prosperity for all in the New Year.

(Antonio Moncupa, President, East-West Bank)

Secretary Alberto Romulo, Department of Foreign Affairs

All the gifts my grandchildren give me are unforgettable, whether it be a handmade card, a painting or sketch they made themselves, or a book they bought because they felt I would enjoy it—all of these are my favorites.

Antonio Moncupa, President, East-West Bank

In my grade-school years, I always looked forward to Christmas because it was the only other time (the other one was birthdays) when my parents would buy us a new set of nice clothes outside the simple T-shirts and short pants for daily public-school attire. While I thought they could afford to buy clothes more often, our parents always told us they needed to save for the bigger expenses for high school and college. It must have been hard to manage a brood of nine children for a couple who only reached second-year high school and who started with practically nothing.

(Bianca Gonzalez, TV host and model. Photo from her blog.)

While those clothes were not presented as gifts but a normal course for the season, I treasured those “gifts” the most. Although my parents wanted to be frugal, they also could not bear to see us without new clothes like other children. As I got older, it acquired a bigger meaning for me. I learned to appreciate the values it represented. It helped me realize what vision, firm resolve, and love could do to achieve an objective.

Bianca Gonzalez, TV host and model

My brother JC, who I love most and who hasn’t been home in five years, is coming home for Christmas. Nothing material can ever beat being with family during the holidays.

Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr., Writer and pundit, former congressman of Makati City

My most unforgettable Christmas gift was the model of the German battleship Bismarck which I specifically pointed out to my parents. I was trying to rebuild the Nazi fleet. Instead, I got an American battleship, the USS Missouri I think, which so enraged me that I stomped all over the box which had a picture of the wrong ship and tried to kick the Christmas tree down, but it stood on a wide X and couldn’t be shaken. At such a young and impressionable age, to expose me to such disappointment. Anyway, I never cared for any Christmas gift after that.

But the best Christmas gift I ever got was the long-distance phone call of Cory Aquino just before Christmas 1985, that I return home from San Francisco to join her in the snap-election campaign. I like fights and this looked like a good one. The gift package itself came a little over a month later, around the 25th of the month, when she turned to me upon being told by the US ambassador that Marcos had taken off on a plane for Hawaii—and smiled. I had almost forgotten that gift because joy is not as instantly recallable as disappointment. But it was the best gift ever. I hope to get the gift of another great fight because that is the only time I am happy. Several more would be nice.

Chef Chris Locher, C’ Italian Dining

As a kid, my most favorite gift must have been my Carrera racing track received sometime in 1975. Most sporting goods gifts were usually reserved for Easter. Also, my first sky blue bike “Flipper” in 1974 would be among the top favorite gifts I received.

As time went on, material things became less important. I love giving gifts as much as receiving them. I do love them even more if some thought was placed by the gift-giver. But today, a joyful and noisy evening with my loved ones, some great home-cooked food, and a glass of wine spell perfection.

Annabella S. Wiesniewski, President of Raintree Partners Inc.

My favorite unforgettable Christmas gifts have been from our boys. For example, when Martin was six years old, he made a “GC” with scribblings of a car, entitling me to three free personalized car washes! Andrej gave me a down duvet when he was about 14, and that was an enormous amount to save from a paper route. He had been hearing how I wanted a real fluffy down duvet but could not afford it! I guess what made them memorable most of all was that they truly came from the heart.

(Conclusion on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Photos courtesy of the interviewees.)

Plug gaps or nix poll automation

'Before the next automated election, all the loopholes in the PCOS and the automated election process should be firmly plugged by either the current provider or by another more assiduous supplier. If not, a reversion to manual elections with heightened vigilance by organizations like the PPCRV and NAMFREL would probably yield more credible and accurate results. Comelec Director Jose Tolentino is right. The problem is not automation but the people running the automation, which is to say, the same people whose perennial and persistent misconduct of manual elections prompted the conversion to automation in the first place. Guns really don’t shoot people, people shoot people. Machines don’t cheat, people do. Unfortunately, the same people are still running Comelec despite periodic changes of Commissioners over the years and the leadership of well-meaning chairmen such as the incumbent.' (Rep. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Chairman's Report on the Alleged Fraud and Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) Machine Manipulation in the May 10, 2010 Automated Elections, June 28, 2010)

Observations, Conclusions and Recommendations on the alleged fraud in the May 2010 elections (Rep. Teodoro...

The full report here.

The Martial Law debate (updated)

I DON'T necessarily agree with my former boss, Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, but here's the speech he made on the matter during the joint session of the Senate and Lower House this afternoon:

Teddyboy Locsin on Martial Law

Sen Miriam Defensor Santiago's speech urging the revocation of Martial Law in Maguindanao can be found here. (Thanks to baycas2 for the link.)

Tears for Tita Cory

I DON'T think I cried so much in one day, even for my brothers or father who have passed away. The necrological service for former President Corazon C. Aquino ("Tita Cory") was just so moving. There were so many heartfelt messages from her friends, family members and former colleagues in government, which showed just how much she was loved. How wonderful to listen to so many who have this much affection for her.

The most moving for me was I suppose, the eulogy of her PSG aide, Mel Mamaril. It was so simple, unrehearsed, and straight from the heart. He told people how much a part of the family Tita Cory made him feel. It was truly honest and touching. I hope someone is able to get a copy of his eulogy and post it on the web. (UPDATE 08/05/09 2:56 am: Click this link for Insp. Mamaril's eulogy via ABS-CBN's web site.)

In the meantime, here's the eulogy of Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, former speechwriter and an adviser of Tita Cory during her term of office. He has been one of her closest allies to the very end.

Eulogy for President Cory Aquino

Statement of Rep. Teddyboy Locsin on Con-Ass

TLL Statement on Con-Ass

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Great Book Blockade revisited

JUST for everyone's perusal, here's the order from the Department of Finance suspending the tax on books. It's by no means permanent, as the DOF is still finalizing the guidelines on book importation. But for the moment, I think everyone can rest easy and go buy their books at their usual prices. (Of course, if the peso devaluates, it will raise the prices of our books, which is another matter completely.)

Here's a shout out to the bloggers and journalists who made a ruckus about the issue, and especially to my former boss and a book lover himself, Makati Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, who bent the ear of the presidentita on this one.

Shouldn't we applaud GMA as well? Hmmm...let's see the final guidelines first.

DOF Order 27-09 Suspending Book Tax

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Taxes & Accounting Business & Law book tax book blockade

Thanks to Finance Secretary Gary Teves' PR crew at Great Wall Advertising for emailing us a copy of the DO.

Manolo Quezon's take on the issue. Many think that the fight isn't over yet.