Lanier de Guzman ART APPRECIATION

BSPH1-01 Aug. 13, 2018

Dangerous Abstract

I always believe that art is something we do every day unconsciously, because

life is science, and science has art. Like every morning when we wake up, we fix
ourselves before going to where we are going, and that is art. We drink coffee, and most
of the time we prepare it based on our taste preferences, and that is art. We are actually
living in a world of art, because the universe is God’s creation, and that is an
extraordinary art.

Recently, our class have been to art gallery of our school in Philippine Women’s
University where I saw a lot of weird things. Honestly speaking, there are art work that I
can easily recognize and appreciate. However, there are also crafts that will really
caught my attention or sometimes will drive me crazy for thinking which part of which is
the art. Sometimes, I will just passed by from block to block thinking those are boring
stuffs. But there are times that I cannot take off my eyes to some piece because it just
brings me to the other part of the world that I have never been and never imagine it
exists. All in all, I really admire all the artist for their bizarre imagination and how they
connect things, emotions, and current issues to their piece of talent.

On the last part of our tour, we saw a pile of garbage just in front of the art studio.
I think it was a mountainous scraps of fine arts students because those are just a pack
of broken ply woods and smells really really bad like the smell of mixed poops and
urine. And you can imagine how flies fly around and how the woods got rotten from the
sun and rain because of the bad weather this past few days. And I was thinking, why on
earth this college stock these skunks here beside our school. I think it is really a risk to
our health during heavy rains and flood.

After a closer look, I thought those are stuffs they use in rally, because on the
opposite side, there are like placards with words written on it. Maybe there were a rally
nearby school a few days ago and those opposers throw it there. Unfortunately, when I
study it again and again trying to figure out and connect the pieces, there are symbols
like thorned heart, eyes, bugs, worms, arrows and phrases like “Bahay ni Ben”, “Rat is
here”, “Cancer Tonya” and “Laro ng Silanganan”. It gets me more confused and in my
mind I’m screaming “What really are these thing here?!”

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Lanier de Guzman ART APPRECIATION
BSPH1-01 Aug. 13, 2018

Eventually, one teacher who we believed is a Dean, came and explained that
those were intentionally placed and arranged there as an art work to capture people’s
attention and be curious enough to ask what are the artists trying to show to the
community or what do they want to tell the world.

In line with the issue of excessive garbage specifically in Manila City, I think
artists are trying to open people’s mind and let them ask themselves question like “What
can I do help our community?” or “How can I help to make a change?” Most of the
Filipinos are complaining how bad the system is in the Philippines, but we can hardly
count those people who are truly concerned to the next generation and exerting efforts
to contribute to these advocate of change.

I think this art is also a way of spreading awareness about poverty because at
the back side were written “Bahay ni Ben” and I imagined mendicants who usually lived
on streets, parks and bridge trying to build a house made of scraps, surviving their day
to day living in hunger and begging. Through this art, I personally ask myself, “How can
a student like me support the advocacy of change in the Philippines?”

However, I still see this art dangerous to the resident’s heath who live nearby and
to street children as those rough edges woods, nails and tree branches can hurt people
specially when that thing collapsed or scattered by high flood. Or, when some gangster
intentionally use it to their gang fights.

In my own perception, this kind of art is really a bizarre and can successfully
serves its purpose. Those artist who created that art are undoubtedly admirable.

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