Art and Offense

In 2011, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) mounted an exhibit that included Mideo
Cruz's "Politeismo” an installation comprised of an amalgam of many images including a statue
of Jesus wearing Mickey Mouse ears, a crucifix adorned with a bright red phallus, and a picture
of the face of Jesus with a wooden ash tray with penis tacked on the middle. Apparently
conceived as a piece to promote critical thought and perhaps debate on idolatry, it was seen by
many in this predominantly Catholic country to be a deliberate insult to their faith. Given the
public outcry and the strong denouncement from various religious and secular leaders, the
exhibit was abruptly closed. In addition to being threatened and having his work vandalized,
Cruz was charged with obscenity. However, he (as well as the administrators of the CCP) was
acquitted of these charges by the courts in 2013.

A case such as this allows us to consider questions on aesthetics, such as "Is it the point of the
work of art to be appealing or to be thought-provoking?" It also allows us to consider political
questions, such as "Who gets to decide which artists and which projects may or may not receive
funding from the state?" Our concern here is ethical, and perhaps we can recognize that a number
of highly significant ethical questions can be raised: Does the artist have an ethical obligation to
the sensibilities of his audience? Or does he have a moral obligation only to be faithful to his
vision and his art? What constitutes offense, and at what point is offense severe enough as to
require control or to justify retribution? Does a religious majority have a monopoly on the
understanding of what is right or wrong? Does an artist have absolute freedom of expression, or
are there proper restrictions to this right?

What do you think?

Questions:
I. Imagine a scenario in which an image of someone who is the object of religious devotion
(such as Jesus Christ or Mary, the Mother of Jesus) is placed side by side with a phallic
image

1. Is this an ethical issue? Why or why not?

Yes, this is an ethical issue. For religious group, the images of Jesus Christ and
Mary are sacred and therefore should be respected. To put a phallic image on both sides
of them is clearly unethical and inappropriate. Yes, this may be a form of art. And yes, art
can be anything. But, to disrespect the image that is well-devoted by religious group and
disguising it as a form of art, is a problematic on itself and very much unacceptable.
Whether you’re a believer or not of Jesus Christ and all the Saints, I think what is morally
appropriate thing to do is to respect everyone’s beliefs.

2. Does the question of the rightness or wrongness of this depend on which religion you
belong to? Explain your answer.

As what we have discussed last time about the multiplicity of religion and the
concern of what is really the moral standards for everyone, I think the question on
whether the ac was wrong or right is not dependent on your religion but instead on your
own moral values. Art is an interesting subject for me because of its rawness and the
emotions it portrays. Art, for me, is something that describes you. So, I think if you
wanted to talk about whether your art piece is right and wrong should be based on your
own moral standards. If it’s what he thinks is right, then there should be no question for
that because it’s he view, it's his opinion.
 II. Look for another example of an artistic creation – a painting, poem, or song that is a
source of either actual or potential conflict between the expression of the artist and a
sensibility that finds this offensive. Present the significant details and the reasons that the
conflicting sides might have on this issue.
The KNPP Clothing line
launched in 2020 by Makagago has
become controversial for their style
and design and the message they are
trying to convey. People were enraged
because most of his T Shirt designs
featured the female sexual part. People
think this is another case of men
objectifying women. But, in the
Facebook post made by KNPP Clothing Line, they said that objectifying women was not
their intention instead, they wanted to promote lack of nutrition because of not eating
properly. They said through their design, people will be reminded to “pay attention to
their nutrition”.
For years, women suffer from different kinds of discrimination. They are being
subject of rape jokes. They are being objectified by men who think they are superior and
that women should bow down to them. And this kind of clothing line is the many reason
why women are still struggling to fight off discrimination against them. Although, we
have our freedom of speech and freedom of expression, we still have to keep in mind the
scope of our reached audiences – how any people can be able to access your advocacies.
Makagago should have thought first the scope of his influence before he made the
clothing line. If his intention were like that, then he should have picked a more relatable
design and one that does not seem to put women in bad light.

III. Look for and list down other sources wherein we find a dialogue between ethics and the
various domains of aesthetic, culture, and religion.

There are a lot of articles online that discussed the influence of ethics on the
different domains. The Philosophical Therapist, in their website, they discussed about
Ethics and Aesthetics. In their article, they said that aesthetics can offer us insights about
objects, sounds and actions. It highlights how beautiful a thing is. However, they also
said that some actions that appear to be beautiful are actually immoral in a deeper sense.
Also, they said that “while aesthetics do feel right, ethics is right.” Another article is
about the discussion of ethics and culture. This was published in INTHEBLACK website
entitled, “How does Culture affects Ethics?”. Here, they highlighted the cultural and
individual differences and also discussed some historical events and if some cultural
practices can be considered morally right. The website, A Guide to Ethics published an
article entitled, “Ethics & Religion”. They discussed the importance of religious ethics
and some ideologies that is related to this subject.