"In an atmosphere of liberty, artists and patrons are free to think the unthinkable and create the audacious; they are free to make both horrendous mistakes and glorious celebrations."
Ronald Reagan
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I want the government to support the arts, whether through endowments or through securing the physical and artistic space it needs to flourish. But I also understand that it’s inherently counterintuitive to expect government support while wanting to keep politicians from being the arbiters of what is and isn’t art. If you want to dip into the government’s kitty, you’ll be damn sure they’ll have something to say about it.
It has the makings of a perfectly dysfunctional relationship. On one hand you have politicians, who as such, will almost certainly align themselves with the conventional and popular. Art, on the other hand, is the temple of the dissenter. It will always manage to offend. It’s an inevitable cultural flashpoint.
Of course, it never hurts to aspire for the ideal. Someday our leaders will have the courage to admit that they’re in no position to say what’s artistically acceptable. In fact, no one is. People will be able to look at a piece of work and think, “This is offensive. I hate it,” and move on knowing that it’s the price we pay. On that day, our conservative society will have come to grips with the fact that in a liberal democracy we won’t always like what we see and hear.
Until then, strap in your immoral-RH bill-loving-divorce-hugging ass for a grueling ride. Because art will continue to provoke. And it will inspire. It will push boundaries. It will introduce new ideas and it will reinvent old ones. It won’t always be comfortable and pretty, but in the end we’ll be better for it.
I was actually thinking of responding to all this hoopla, but the (uma-)artist in me wants to bear witness to the exhibit before I even say a word. Is there a photo gallery online where I could at least glimpse the exhibit?
ReplyDeleteI echo everything you said. Notwithstanding the fact that I haven't seen it, I still want to say that even just having this debate is a lamentable aspect of my identity as Filipino. Ergo, ayoko nang bumalik. (taray! but half-true.)
Well the exhibit has since closed, so no dice.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's lamentable we're having this debate. But I'd take having to debate the issue any day over not having the conversation at all.
I've been thinking more about this whole thing since posting the entry. If instead of Christian imagery, the artist depicted Muhammad or Allah in the same light, would I react differently? I don't know. Probably. But I guess that's the value of these works; we're forced to confront our own prejudices.