Art... Right...

"But... but i'm a famous artist!
Of COURSE this is art... Look,
the TV news crews are here...!
Yehey..."

Dear Mr. Mideo Cruz,

I did not see your exhibit as i am currently out of town. But i did catch a lot news coverage about you and your supposed work that was on display at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). I also scoured the net and discovered that you are quite an established artist, having held exhibits abroad in major cities across the world.

I therefore conclude that you are an artist. A real one. Now that that's out of the way...

But the bits and pieces i've seen of your exhibit at the CCP is sadly, not art. Not in my eyes. And mind you, my eyes are not untrained. I've worked in the advertising industry as a creative professional for over a decade and a half. And while i have not won Araw Awards, Clios, and whatnots, I have had many important people respect and pay decently for my creative work, as well as my creative opinion. So i would like to think that my opinion can be considered a qualified one.

And no, sir. what little i saw is not art.

Just because you are an artist, it does not mean that whatever you produce is "art." Even those celebrity chefs like Anthony Bourdain (my wife's favorite TV chef/food critic), Jamie Oliver, and even the guy from Wok With Yan, etc. cannot just claim to put anything on our plates and palates just because "they are chefs." In fact, as chefs, i believe they are responsible for helping put together things that will provoke, reawaken, our taste buds, but ultimately help uplift our understanding of food. Just like artists like you. Supposedly.

And what's more, i don't think they were even done artfully. i've seen many provocative pieces in my time, but the ones i call and consider art are the ones that were produced with some heart. Some real passion that a creative person like myself will feel when we see the pieces. But no, you just wanted to try your luck with something like this. And sadly, with your relatively successful international track record, you got away with it. The real culprits here are the idiots at the CCP who did not consider the sensitivities of the citizenry in accepting and putting up such a show.

I am of the Catholic faith. But I do not particularly like to pray before statues, touch them with my handerchief, much less kiss their ceramic bacteria-laden feet. But that's me. These sentiments do not mean I have to stand by the statues at the nearest church and stop people from doing the above if they want to, or believe they have to. That's called respect, dude. Religion is a sensitive subject for many because it helps them get direction with their lives. I don't agree with all of them, but i respect them. Respect, dude. As the famous Rico J. Puno would say in his shows, "Respect, please."

Oh well... Let's all move on from this.

'catch you later.

G


P.S. congratulations, dude. You got a lot of coverage. Bravo.