Who is Mideo Cruz and why are people baying for his head?
09-Aug-11, 1:34 PM Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Bulatlat.com
MANILA - Off with his head!
Or at least boycott his exhibit.
Artist Mideo Cruz is now at the center of one of the biggest controversies in the Philippine visual arts scene. His latest work “Poleteismo” is being vilified left and right by various religious groups and influential leaders, with a columnist even suggesting that Cruz should be forced to drink muriatic acid.
Cruz’ “Poleteismo” is part of the exhibit “KULÔ,” group exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Gallery showing until August 21, 2011.It was launched on June 17 on the occasion of CCP’s celebration of Jose Rizal’s 150th birthday. (The exhibit has been shut down, beginning today.)
Cruz is somewhat bewildered and a little sad over the violent reactions. A self-effacing man who avoids direct questions about how he interprets his own art, Cruz said he never expected the negative reactions coming from various quarters.
“I never go out of my way to offend; but I do like to provoke debates and critical thinking. Art is a way of expressing one’s views about the world, culture and history, and this is what I do in my work. The audience is free to make their own conclusions and interpretations about the images I create, but I must confess I didn’t expect for anyone to react so violently against ‘Poleteismo.’ The worse that I would’ve expected is for no one to come to the CCP and see my work or those of the my colleagues in this exhibition,” he said.
There are those who might say that Cruz is being a bit too naive when he said he was surprised by the outrage generated by his work. He put up pictures of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary alongside condoms; he got plastic piggy banks and put them inside a glass display case, the sort that’s commonly found in churches; he hung crucifixes and rosaries next to wooden phalluses. Like reporter Logan said, “the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic Country,” so the reaction of some quarters could not have been such a shock.
“I wanted to provoke people into thinking. I titled my work ‘Poleteismo’ which loosely translates into ‘many beliefs’ or ‘many deities.’ Throughout history, humanity has grown to create new gods and these are not always religious figures but concepts and objects. Some have taken to worshipping money; some see politicians as godsend. People create idols and these idols whether or not they’re deserving of idolatry or worship affect our lives and how we function and see the world,” he said.
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