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The Calling of Samuel by Gustave Doré

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Druillet’s poster art for Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Quest for Fire (1981) and Name of the Rose (1986)

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The Name of the Rose (1986) | dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud

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"Now I realize that not infrequently books speak of books: it is as if they spoke among themselves. In the light of this reflection, the library seemed all the more disturbing to me. It was then the place of a long, centuries-old murmuring, an imperceivable dialogue between one parchment and another, a living thing, a receptacle of powers not to be ruled by a human mind, a treasure of secrets emanated by many minds, surviving the death of those who had produced them or had been their conveyors."

A quote from: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

I just really, really loved this! The book itself is sooooooo good!

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Poleteismo • Mideo Cruz

In 2011, a controversial exhibit was inaugurated in the Bulwagang Juan Luna of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

The Artist, Mideo Cruz, entitled the exhibit: Poleteismo. The exhibit sported many cultural and religious taboos, obscenities juxtaposed against religious imagery. Needless to say, the exhibit was met with uproar, not only from the extremely influential Roman Catholic Church, also from the wife of the notorious late Dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Imelda Romualdez Marcos. 

Most controversial, at least for the Roman Catholic Church, was the image of a cross, with phallic imagery and rosaries beside each other. The installation timed coincidentally with the debates spurred on by the proposal of the Reproductive Health Law which eventually passed into legislation the following year. 

When Medio was interviewed, he noted that the exhibit was meant to portray power and idolatry: how the Philippines was mired with identity politics, powerplays, and the delicate balance between institutions and the people. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he is quoted to have said: “I see it as a methodology: how people show their accomplishments, connections, attachment and devotion. It is also a process -- how we want to be recognised or be seen on the surface, with a bit of subtlety. The Philippines was named after King Philip II, a Spanish monarch with a great passion for relics. The work is composed of relics I personally collected since high school -- things that we grew up with and things that reflect our society and us. The uproar it created may be the unconscious denial of seeing ourselves truthfully in the mirror.” 

Clement Greenberg’s idea regarding the role of art in the modern society is a very timely proscenium to use in assessing the value and impact of the artwork and artist in question. He believed that art, like religion, should also be criticised. Going further, he asserts that “modernism criticises from the inside,” i.e., the modern paradigm is characterised by the utilisation of the criticised medium to deliver its critique. Mideo Cruz and his art embody this. 

As a fervent Catholic, raised within the four confines of the Church, even serving as an Altar Server in my old parish in Tondo, this exhibit was anathema. It was blasphemous and heretical. However, for those who do not hold fast to the Catholic Faith, I believe it has fulfilled its job: it has ushered in conversation, encouraged debate, and shed light on the topics most FIlipinos in the early 2010’s did not even dare speak that loud on. 

The best irony, perhaps, with the whole incident, is how Imelda, known for her imeldific and traditionalistic (albeit erroneous and blatantly corrupt) practices, became of the leading voices in support of the early closure of the exhibit installed in what many consider the crowning glory of her Edifice Complex. Imelda, known for her staunch Roman Catholicism, was herself denounced and opposed by the local Church Hierarchy for her husband’s brutal, inhumane, and undemocratic regime, still sharing in the Church’s sentiments regarding the moral depravity exhibited in the Cultural Centre, while herself being guilty of moral crimes — of which we still have yet to receive apologies from: modern critique and irony does not get better than that. 

In the end, Mideo made his point, and he used the Church and Imelda to prove it. 

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Pink • Robredo Campaign

Hume rejects the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He accepts that everyone has the capacity to see beauty, but not everyone has the same capacity to appreciate it. 

This is evident in one of the most simple components of art: colours. People associate colours with so many things, from ideas, to moods, some even use them as names. This is because colours evoke something in a person which is far beyond words can express. Colours are a window by which we can see the world. Someone wearing black to a wedding in the Philippines is considered disrespectful and a faux-pas. 

Thus, it is no longer surprising that many people have the same connotations with the same colours. 

In October last year, VP Leni Robredo expressed her readiness to take the helm of the country as she made her presidential bid official. VP Robredo herself said that with no specific colour in mind, they opted for Blue because of her daughters’ connection with the Ateneo, hence the blue dress. However, during the time for the official launching of her bid, supporters wore pink. Thus became the beginning of the journey which is now known as the Pink Movement. 

The Pink Movement has reignited the spirit of volunteerism in the Philippines. Robredo’s supporters are a grassroots-led initiative, which initially posed a challenge for the controlling of the proper messaging 

Applying Hume’s logic in the campaign, we can see that the choosing of the colour pink is not merely an aesthetic choice, but is also emotionally driven. Many people saw that pink was not only pleasing to the eye, but it was also a colour which was unassociated with any  movement in the Philippine Political Sphere which made it a prime colour for reinvention, innovation, but most of all, hope. 

Looking back at the campaign, the choosing of the colour pink was a call not only for the unification of people for the same cause, it was also a unification of the people by the people — which embodies the spirit of everything the Robredo Campaign stands for. 

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Since the beginning of human civilisation, man had yearned to worship. From the animistic gods of the ancients came forth monotheism — and from this system, Catholic Christianity. 

Claiming to be the first and true Christian Church (with the other Apostolic Churches united in communion), the Catholic Church has maintained the use of a church, sacred symbols, music, and ritual to reinforce its beliefs. 

By why do they use churches?

According to Catholic Doctrine, during the celebration of the mass, the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the real Body and Blood of Jesus. During the persecutions, this sacrifice of the mass was celebrated atop the tombs of martyrs, heroes who died for the faith. After the legalisation of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the erection of churches began. With a lot of Christians having been martyred in Rome, it is not surprising that the city enjoys a concentration of churches more than usual throughout the world. Inside these churches was one indispensable element — the altar. 

The Catholic Altar is used to hold the offerings of bread and wine during the mass. According to Catholic Doctrine, the altar symbolises Christ who is the eternal and living sacrifice. Numerous periods of art and history have progressed since the Edict of Milan, and innumerable Catholic Churches have been erected since, the altar remained. Over the centuries, more and more symbols were added to churches, from being simple meeting spaces with a dais and an altar, Christians began adding images of Holy Men, candles, decorated windows, paintings, colour, sculpture, and more details to reinforce the idea that what happens during the Mass is something more —something transcendent, eternal, divine.  

Walter Benjamin mourns the decay of the aura in the age of mechanical reproduction, he asserts that because of this reproduction, people lose the meaning of the artwork and substitute it with a fetishisation of what it represents. I argue that church architecture is a model by which to follow in the multiplication of something: despite the varying styles, it has retained its meaningful symbols. 

However, in a world growing more secular day-by-day, these churches are transformed into mere museums, rarely are sumptuous ceremonies held within its walls and the art is isolated from its true purpose. Regrettably, church art and architecture have been taken out of context, its traditions called out by people who have not immersed themselves within its well of meaning as elitist, oppressive, and counter-productive. 

What will be the fate of these churches in the future? What difference will they make when taken out of their original context? Only time can tell… 

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Magkaisa • Virna Lisa

The year was 1986, Ferdinand Marcos has been in Malacañan for 20 years and public unrest has been brewing because of the injustice of the Marcos Regime. Marcos called for a snap election on the 20th of February, rigging the election to proclaim him victor. The People have had enough.

Recorded on the 1st of March 1986 by Virna Lisa and composed by Tito Sotto, Homer Flores, and Ernie dela Peña, Magkaisa is considered the anthem of the People Power Revolution. A call to unity, the words of the song plead with the Filipino People to unite, in Filipino, magkaisa. In an interview with CNN, Virna Lisa, said that Tito Sotto specifically chose an unknown artist to sing the song because he wanted the message and not the artist to be highlighted. Magkaisa became the anthem of an oppressed people, a tired people, a revolutionary people.

With its timeless lyrics, the song has retained its importance and popularity, harkening to the days of the Marcos Dictatorship and speaking of the sense of nationalism that the song has fostered from then until today.

The song proved fruitful. When Cardinal Sin uttered his famous call from the Catholic radio station, Radyo Veritas, the people gathered at EDSA to protect the defectors from the forces of the military, then still loyal to Marcos, which wanted to arrest, and eventually, kill them. Soon after the gathering of people, the military stood down against Marcos. The Marcoses fled to Hawaii to escape from the wrath of the Filipino People, and Corazon Cojuangco Aquino took office as the democratically elected president of the Philippine Republic.

It cannot be denied that the Philippines Post-EDSA was not what EDSA promised it to be; there were misgivings, failures in governance, coups d’etat, and massacres as early as the presidency of Cory Aquino herself. Nevertheless, the promise of EDSA was realised: a free people, a government for the people, a country where the people’s will is honoured, heard, and given due attention. EDSA was not perfect, but its existence was a stepping-stong, it was necessary for the Filipino People to start to grow, to heal, and to right the wrongs of the past. The process of healing continuous today, as the Philippines attempts to grapple with its dark past, and reel from the desolation it has wrought on its people.

Certainly, this song proves the Aristotelian opinion on the importance and potency of art: it directs the emotions of the people, giving them an avenue to release their pangs and reorient themselves. Music became a potent symbol, a unifying factor which stirred the emotions of the people of 1986 to assert themselves, to fight for their country. Magkaisa is a testament to the power that only art could perform: the unification of a people and a bloodless revolution.

#NeverAgain

#NeverForget

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St. Peter's Basilica and Square

Outside the ancient city of Rome lies Christendom’s grandest Church: the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican — resting place of the Prince of the Apostles and the First Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

This magnificent edifice — and the piazza directly in front of it — however, were not always places of veneration and worship. During the rule of the pagan emperors, Vatican Hill was no more than a suburb with a cemetery, its only attracting feature was a circus oh which stood an obelisk from Egypt. In the outskirts of this circus, as Catholic Tradition maintains, the apostle Peter was crucified and subsequently buried.

Peter was just one of the thousands of Christian martyrs that Rome produced, indeed, as the centre of the pagan empire, the lives of many Christians perished within its walls. Despite centuries of persecution, however, the Christian religion grew and gained temporal influence and power. After the legalisation of Christianity by the emperor Constantine, the faithful in the city began openly practicing their monotheistic faith, coming out of the catacombs and erecting conspicuous places of worship to venerate their departed brethren and offer sacrifice to their God, Saint Peter’s was among these first martyr tombs to be built into magnificent edifices — by the emperor himself!

Since the building housed the remains of the first pope, it would come as no surprise that it became a focal point of pilgrimage and influence in the Christian World, Popes would conduct their ceremonies and liturgies within its walls. Saint Peter’s Basilica provided stability and continuity for the pontiffs that claim succession from the first pope — a person who is hailed not only as God’s physical representative on earth, but also as the head of the Papal States and of the faithful throughout the world.

Inside the basilica, and indeed, in most of the churches throughout Rome, burials and monuments have been erected to commemorate the saints, their relics are prized and esteemed as holy, believing that the holiness of their souls are apparent and intact in their remains; for if the soul is holy, so also the body which housed it is as well sacrosanct. Relics are a feature of the Catholic Church that has continued throughout the centuries, baffling some and scandalising others, while still capturing the attention and awe of many. These relics, factual or not, are after all, a reminder of the people and places which they venerate and attempt to imitate. Relics and edifices are attempts to remind the beholder of the physicality of their belief — that these were real people who walked the same roads they trod, and in so doing they remind the faithful of what matters; they remind the faithful of their goal: Heaven.

Saint Peter’s Basilica and Piazza are the aftereffect of the death of, at least in the eyes of the Romans, an insignificant and old man. From the tomb of the apostle rose the sprig of the faith, which, nourished by the blood of more and more martyrs, came to overcome adversity and assert its supremacy over the powers who willed her destruction. All this goes to show that we should never underestimate the life and death of even one person, as that one person could be the spark that would lead to the spreading of a flame still bright up to this day.

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Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus.

The past rose exists (only) in name, we hold bare names.

- “The Name of the Rose”, Umberto Eco (variation from “De contemptu mundi” by Bernard of Cluny)

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The Gutenberg Bible • Joannes Gutenberg

Being the contemporary world’s most highly purchased book, it may be hard for many of us to consider a world where the Bible was a scare resource. During the Medieval Age, however, this was such the case. The manual inscription of every page, followed by the binding and subsequent use and storage of such books fell unto the hands of monasteries, where monks laboured to copy the texts onto pieces of parchment. That all changed with the invention of the printing press.

Johannes Gutenberg, a smith from Germany, invented the first portable printing press in the Western Hemisphere. On the same press the first edition of the Gutenberg Bible came to life: Printing had changed the way information was disseminated. Eventually the Bible, once a text that was so scarce and inaccessible to the lay faithful, became a household book. During the Protestant Revolution, Martin Luther translated the book into German, making it more accessible to the unlearned. Though a significant progression, the dissemination of the Bible and its easiness to access also gave way to heretical and fanatical interpretations of the religious text. Passages were taken out of context, often to help justify and legitimise a worldviews and paradigms such as puritanism and slavery.

While the Roman Catholic Church does uphold the importance of knowing the scriptures, and indeed has encouraged its reading, it cautions against misinterpretation and subsequent espousal of heretical and oppressive views – tendencies that we, citizens of the third millennium, know so well to be prevalent among human societies. Such observations resonate with the ideas of Walter Benjamin, a German philosopher who lived during the Third Reich, characterised by the age of Nazism and Fascist rule in Germany. Though his works critique the enterprise of photography – a medium which was then just emerging – and its use in spreading political propaganda, the ideas he expressed are reconcilable throughout all eras of human development. Those in power will always utilised the means of art to reinforce, assert, and legitimise the authority they possess.

Thus, the prevalence of media in the age of collation, must be a reminder of its significance and power among us. In an age where fake news and historical revisionism are rampant and, indeed, are becoming the norm instead of the exception, we must be reminded to examine the content we consume, lest we fall into the trap of distortion and misinterpretation. Today, more than ever, is it becoming more difficult to ethically consume and interpret media, today, then, must our efforts be multiplied, fortified, and taught. The Advent of printing saw the flourishing of ideas and the entering of the world into a renaissance of thought and a furthering of scholarly pursuits; a great power has been bestowed on us – the same power, however cliché it may sound, is coupled with (as Uncle Ben once said) great responsibility: a human duty to uphold the Truth and be purveyors of Wisdom.

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Noli Me Tangere • José Rizal

Nestled in the waters of the far east is a land of great renown, beauty, and opportunity: The Philippines, beautiful are its mountains, captivating are its seas, and most gracious are its people.

Subjugated by the conquistadores for thirty-three years and three centuries, it cannot be denied that the Spanish have radically changed the landscape of the Philippines, its history, its culture, its people. Spain, La Madre España, as she was called in those times, controlled every facet of life in the archipelago, from the paying of tributes, to the erection of pueblos and ciudades throughout the country, to the laws that governed the land – all these were subject to and enacted by the Spanish and their Filipino servants, but that was about to change.

Grave mismanagement and abuses were enacted by government officials, and since a separation of the Church and the State was alien to the Spanish State, so part of the church, too, was privy to the corruption. The brewing mistrust and discontent of the Filipinos were reaching its boiling point. Numerous rebellions have taken place throughout the country’s history – some even happening mere decades after the establishment of the colony in the islands. The slew of governors general that were harsh and unapologetically corrupt did not add to the Spanish’s favour.

The situation came to a point where members of the mestizo class – the illustrados – started speaking out for reforms and necessary changes to be made by the government to rectify the rampant corruption and mishandling made by the government. Among these illustrados was a Mestizo de Sangley, born in Calamba and educated in La Madre España’s universities: José Rizal.

A polymath in his own right, José, Pepé to those he was close to, wrote one of the greatest literary pieces that have impacted the flow of Philippine History. His Noli Me Tangere, Latin for “Touch me not,” – a verse from the gospel of John – served as the spark that stoked the flames for calls of revolution. Though Rizal did not intend to gain full independence from Spain (whom he still owed a debt of gratitude and loyalty to), the novel took into itself a life distinct from its author. The corruption, mockery, and exposition of the corrupt Spanish rule was enough to enliven the revolutionary tendencies of the men now known as the Katipuneros, among them the famed Andres Bonifacio.

Plato, one of the greatest philosophers, was among those who were sceptical of the use and benefit of art in the function of a great state. For him, the emotions stirred by the poets in their attempt to create art could be detrimental to creating an enlightened state. Rizal’s novel counteracts this thesis. When used correctly, the wonders of poetry and the arts can be beneficial to making ourselves masters of our own fate, and though the Philippines still has its fair share of problems and issues, the fact remains that we are in control: thanks to the arts, we are free.

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Hamilton • Lin Manuel Miranda

Musicals are a sign of evolution. Tracing their origin to the operas of old, Musicals are a dynamic reinvention of an ancient theatrical art form.

In his On the Fetish Character of Music and the Regression of Listening, Theodor Adorno lamented on the degradation of the musical arts. Having been a musician himself, Adorno criticised how capitalism and the desire for monetary gain has greatly affected how we view music and the way we think it should be utilised. He asserted that monetary gain has been overemphasised while sacrificing the integrity, ingenuity, and majestic power of music. Even if this thesis was iterated over a century ago, it maintains its integrity – which is most chilling and sobering to realise, and indeed, to affirm.

Despite this, however, Adorno expressed his hope that the regression of listening and the degradation of musical tastes can be reversed if new music could be introduced into the equation. To this regard, Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton is an indication that Adorno's hope lives, and indeed, thrives.

Hamilton, Broadway's first R&B, Hiphop, and Rap musical, aside from traditional musical styles. Additionally, the musical is a creative retelling of the history of one of America's patriots through 21st century lenses and tropes. Aside from their novel musical tropes, however, the utilisation of predominantly non-caucasian actors to tell the story of white men America then, as told by America now: a great use of irony in the backdrop of the rampant racism in the country. The musical is, indeed, a fresh take on the traditional musical –a rebirth. Not only has the musical led to a renewed interest in the theatrical arts, it has also been an avenue by which people, particularly the youth, it has also been a relevant commentary on the politics of the day.

Encouraging the symbiosis of communal history with the subjectiveness of rap, the musical is a testament to how individualism need not die in the name of communal ideas. Hamilton has led the people to the revitalisation of music and the reemphasis on the value of listening: in listening to the spoken word of rap, one not only enjoys the symmetry and beauty of the words, but is also informed about the message. The music sphere has, indeed, started a new renaissance, however, the continued flourishing of music and the progression of listening must be maintained, promoted, and exercised for it to truly impact the lives of the people.

Music is, after all, not divorced from the culture and lives of those who enjoy it; listening does not stop when the album ends or when the vinyl finishes its course, no, it continues into our lives. Listening to the voiceless cries of the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the disenfranchised – that is where we should lend our ears to, that is where this new renaissance should be oriented.

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The Mirror of Erised • J.K. Rowling

Hidden in one of Hogwarts’ many rooms stands a mirror that can let you see – but see what?

"The Mirror of Erised is an ancient, ornate mirror. It has clawed feet and a gold frame inscribed with the phrase " Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." The mirror shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart, a vision that has been known to drive men mad."

Though a work of fiction, the Mirror can still unearth some facts that we, the citizens of the third millennium, can still use, meditate, and expound on. Seeing into the mirror is not merely an attempt to behold one’s reflection, rather it is an exposition into our subconscious. Mirrors, as many believe, are portals into a different world – an alien world where things can either be the most ideal or the most dystopian. The mirroring of one’s reflection is, in a deeper sense, an experience of what it is to be gazed upon: it gives the onlooker a chance to analyse themselves. It is the tangible expression introspection, an embodiment of his self-consciousness.

Unlike mirrors in the real world, however, this mystical mirror exposes not merely our surface-level introspections – such is why many have wasted their days staring in front of it. The temptation to wallow in the potential of our desires is a human tendency: to overlook the now and skip to the future. It is not erroneous, nor even shameful, to want better things, however, the potentiality of these things must be eased into from our actual state, i.e., reality and our dreams must not be divorced, rather they must be bridged by a desire to self-actualise these dreams.

The mirror, thus, symbolises not only our greatest desires, but also our greatest obstacle in achieving them: our vanity. Mirroring the admonition of the great sphinx of lore, the Mirror urges the viewer to know themselves. The collapsing of the wall between what is and what could be is the promise that this mystical object brings, however, men’s hearts are often blinded by the very idea of their dreams, too blind, in fact, to see that beyond the satisfaction it gives, the mirror serves the onlooker a challenge: to see, and then to act, for it is only in acting that we realise what we see, it is in doing that the potential becomes actual.

As people of the 21st century, where instant gratification and ideals are almost always the norm, the Mirror of Erised urges us to put in the work – to strip ourselves of the things which we think make sense, but upon further examination, we come upon their inconsistency and unreliability as valid foundations. Contemplation and Action are necessary in seeing better, knowing better, and being better.

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David • Michelangelo (AD 1501-1504)

marble, 5.17 metres

Standing proud inside the Galleria della’Academia is the magnificent statue of David. This gigantic feat of marble is a testament to the great artistic prowess of none other than the famed Michelangelo Buonarroti: the creator of the dome of San Pietro and the famed Pieta, a Renaissance Master. However, that is not the story of David that I want to reflect upon today. 

The statue as we see it today is not in its intended location. Initially, it was commissioned to be put on the parapet of Il Duomo, the Cathedral of Florence, overlooking the city. David was, for the Florentine People, a symbol of hope –– of overcoming the evils of tyranny. During those times, the Florentines had just overthrown two tyrannical rulers: the Medici and Fra. Savonarola. The allegorical symbolism of David, however, was already prevalent even before this rendition of Michelangelo. Initially, the Medicis commissioned Donatello to create a statue of David displayed the sculpture in the Medici Garden, however, after their ouster from the city, the people of Florence took Donatello’s David and appropriated him to be a symbol of the city; where David defeated the Philistines with the help of Almighty God, the Florentines, in turn, defeated two tyrants with the same God’s help. 

David is, thus, more than a biblical character in the context of the Florentines. He was a symbol of rebirth and perseverance. A reminder of what they had overcome. For the people of this proud city-state, David embodied an inheritance of the legacy of right judgement and overcoming adversity. Going even deeper, David symbolises the perseverance of the republic and its triumph against those who would dare oppose it. The Florentines saw David as an embodiment of their underdog mentality –– that they went against the greats, both in money and charisma, and even so, they triumphed. 

This statue was deemed too beautiful (and too complicated) to hoist on top of Il Duomo, away from everyone’s view. The leaders of the city, realising the importance of the ideology that David embodied, i.e., resistance and triumph in the face of a great adversity, resolved to have him poised in front of the city’s town hall, known as the Palazzo della Signoria, where the leaders of the city met to conduct affairs of state. The statue’s direction is also of note, David’s gaze looking over to the city of Rome, where the Medicis took refuge after their ouster from Florence. 

Just as David is a symbol of pride and continuity to the Florentines, he is also a cautionary tale.He is the embodiment of what a true ruler must be, or rather who –– the Florentines, the people of Florence; a reminder that whenever a tyrant rises to quell the republic, the descendants of David –– the Florentines –– will always be there to defend her, and with God’s Almighty help, triumph against all odds.