Art.
Three little letters however, it can make the world turn
Tart Art?
Sky is never the limit
By Elsa Joy T. Horiondo
B eauty is in the eye of the
beholder. A seemingly common
knowledge one must have heard about.
It is an analogy which represents that an
art will always be defined in the
interpretation of its spectators. And I,
myself, had witnessed an art exhibition
in Mercy College last January 13 which
definitely leaves every blinking eye a
mind-blowing expression and come up
with an inquiry of “Is that really an art? As well as “To what
extent is an art really an art?” The exhibition entitled “She Loves
Me Not” was said to be the thesis project conducted by a Master
of Fine Arts student Evelyn Ann Thompson. A thesis which is
like no other for some, disgusting for others and for him, a
loveless, manipulative act. He is Adam Sorenson, an English
Literature major at the said college; her pretended love and her
art. During the presentation, she publicized Adam’s proposal to
marry her which appeared to be such a surprised announcement
for him and his friends Jenny and his boyfriend Philip. And by a
closer look to Adam, there are lot of differences in his two large
images as revealed by Evelyn. He was somewhat like a fat, old
man at the first and then became a hunk at second. The second
Adam had changed his hair style, clothes, even looked like he has
undergone surgery and he seems to be more confident and
attractive. She had sculptured him well, physically and
emotionally. She also said that all that had happened to him was
not made by force or any ‘you must do this stuff’ but from his
own will. To top that all, she revealed in the program that their
relationship was just an act; an act for the sake of her so-called
art. Nonetheless, with her soaring confidence, she showcased to
the public what her art could do and no barrier would ever limit
it. And as an eyewitness, I could tell in that event that morality
and open-mindedness would always be the cue of the discussion.
Lastly, art must have a profound and sublime meaning. It
upside-down with its boundless principles. We as humans have
limitations and incapacities. Being imperfect, we tend to beat
around the bush; we conclude immediately with our emotions
and respond to our own norms. And that’s what some viewers did
in the exhibition. To display an art in an open society containing
various individuals with diverse perspectives is to subject that
certain thing in a public arguments and scrutiny. Thus, the artist
will not only decide if his piece is an art but also the community
is. Therefore, there is the concern of obeying the ethics, the
respect, the jeopardies and consequences that may be put upon
the head of Evelyn. It is an issue to the masses because of what
she did in a living and breathing human that is supposed to be
done on objects.
It was amazing of Evelyn to show without any fear her
boyfriend artwork, which is Adam himself. As a support, I would
like to inflict that everything is art. It is the by-product of feelings
and imagination and there’s no limitation to what a human can
imagine and feel. No gate can restrict art but the wall can prohibit
the taste. No matter what or where the input came from, it’s the
output and you who’ll decide. What I mean is that a piece of art
is dependent on the viewer and it’s up to him if he can make
beautiful storylines about it for he see a good taste in it or loathe
it at the top of his lungs for it shows immorality.
However, moralists will say that it violates the human
rights. That whenever you used or took human flesh or life it is
not an art anymore. As for them, they cannot see any artwork in
intervening with the natural anatomy of a man. It is like
destroying a unique and precious gem and then sharpened into a
fragment of trash. Destroying something is not a creative process.
In order for an art to be made, it should be honed from an
ingenious manner and not from a debauched procedure. For
example, it would never be an art if you killed someone and use
his blood on your painting. It has devalued another art, the life
itself. Whenever there is the association of unscrupulous act and
it contradicts with the moral principles of humanity, it couldn’t
be considered a manifesto but only a mere sore to the eye, an
irritation and like a pimple must be scraped off and vanished
immediately. Evelyn had destroyed the gem out of Adam,
physically and emotionally in that very scenario.
Moreover, the theme of an art is to express and not to
depress, suppress someone and provoke him to cuss in front of
your masterpiece. As for Evelyn, she humiliated him face-to-face
without even considering his own feelings. She also triggered
him and his friends, Jenny and Philip, to despise her and her
thesis before they walked out.
should leave a superficial beauty to the audience. It primary lies
to the intention of the artist and Evelyn did not state her intention
of why making her boyfriend a human sculpture chiselled only,
as she told us, by seduction. She refigured or even defigured her
artwork when indeed her artwork did not even know he has been
experimented and not loved all the while they were together.
How can that be an art that would give beautiful feelings to
viewers if in the first place it was never made with handsome
feelings at all?
To clear things out, art is not about its input but about the
output. Whatever or wherever it was made from or how it was
done does not affect its essence as an art. It only changes its
impact to the spectators. It could be a bad and a good art.
Humans have different emotions, beliefs, tradition, and
perspectives and it is with these variables that reflect their
reaction about a certain artwork. An art can be an art for him and
not for others. That’s the point of the story.
To express. That’s the role of an artist and it is showcased
in his arts. However, it is not always to impress. You may feel
sick upon seeing one, or don’t accept it, be angry with it or even
mock at it. You may and you can. Nevertheless, you could not
erase its conventional statement as an art. It is just a product of
artists’ feelings and imaginations and as a spectator; you behold
eyes and see for yourself if it is your pick of a beauty. Let us not
forget that art is made out of self-expression. Expressions are
from feelings and you cannot stop one from feeling something. If
that is what Evelyn felt, so be it. If her tolerance of making art
exceeds the right of a man, it’s her art, we can’t deny it truthfully.
As inversely proportional with feelings, definitions have
their own story to tell. Some art are crafted with void of
definitions and intentions. Therefore, the observers are the ones
who can put better or worst storylines on it. Adam’s friends
Jenny and Philip, as they don’t know Evelyn’s intention, had seen
Evelyn’s as cruelty and that is their meaning to her art. Truly is it
that the beauty and definition of art sits at the open-mindedness
of every endeavour. Love it or otherwise, it depends upon you.
Art should not be based if it is right or wrong. It should be
critique on the foundation of its artistic merit. Arts may have its
greatest enemy which is the non-existence of limits but it can be
flawed because the artists are not perfect creatures to achieve
perfection that is why there is good and bad arts. Moralists have
no place in an art gallery. It was pasted on the exhibit room of
Evelyn’s arts. It’s not the issue at all. The one’s not allowed to be
in were the persons who cannot accept the extensive definition of
art. We, humans, are the ones who have limitations because of
our discrepancies and inconsistencies. Why could we just be an
umbrella which works best when open? Such is a phrase which
was gotten on Miles Patrick Yohnke’s saying. Just open our
minds. We can be both moral and broadminded at the same time
interval.
Love, philosophy, beauty and art. They are the terms we
hardly given specific definitions. We don’t need to get our head
cracked just to find its real meaning. What is essential is that we
accept its aesthetic self and judge it in as mature as we can
whether they have limitations or not. Evelyn Thompson is just
one of the disciples and believers of arts and what it could do to
humanity. She was sent to give us that art is everything and not
just a cute and dweeby matter we awesomely think of. As we said
it has no limitation. Hence, “Don’t tell me that the sky is the limit
when there are footprints in the moon” -Eva Green.