Curates vs. curators: Does art transcend 'blasphemy'?
KRIPOTKIN By Alfred A. Yuson (The Philippine Star)
Updated August 08, 2011 12:00
As I write this, a “Balitaktakan” or discussion is being held on a Friday afternoon at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, precipitated by a controversy over a current art display that has drawn censure from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines — as well as attendant busybodies sometimes derided as “Catolicos cerrados.”
Okay, from the tenor of that introductory note, one may deduce the quality of regard I have for the Church as we know it here, as well as for its typically vociferous minions. And it may be assumed that I would naturally be on the side of art and artists — especially since they are often hailed in this space.
Yet I think I can ruminate on this subject with at least a modicum of objectivity, if not fair play. Biases aside, we have to nitpick what we know — as received wisdom — and come up with a summary of sorts that has undergone just a bit of cogitation, rather than simply wade in with a strong emo response as what often deluges sosyal Networks in sheer juvenilia.
First off, the artist Mideo M. Cruz, whose installation work titled “Kulo” — part of his “Poleteismo” series — has drawn the prospect of fire and brimstone, even the threat of a court order and legal proceedings, does have worthy credentials to merit exhibit space in CCP. That it would lead to a remarkable CCP-contra-CBCP standoff wasn’t probably seen as part of the bargain. But now that it’s here, let’s examine how it landed on our balitaktakan laps in the first place.
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