#SIPAF2018

WE FIGHT WITH ART

WE FIGHT WITH ART

Art has played a very significant role in the history of the Philippines as it doesn’t only

serve as a platform of opinions but also the window to the past and the door to every Filipinos

hearts and lives. Artists on themselves have different opinions on the true meaning of beauty

but Philippine Arts reminds us whether on its positive and negative showcases that the true

beauty of art comes with deep concern in the present and future society brought by history.

There are lots of artworks in the Philippines and if you’re going to make a review on

these, the central idea you’ll find was nothing but the lives of every Filipinos, their love of

country tested by different political and social issues rising every generation, and their hope for

a better Philippines in the near future.

Philippines was not an exception to social classes. However, unlike other countries that

the artists were just like serving the upper classes exerting much creativity on their works to

conceal their true feelings, Filipino artists have shown bravery seeing art as a bridge to every

Filipinos hearts building up the fire on their spirits to stand up and defend our nation.

Today, Philippines is facing a lot of issues and you can never go wrong on voicing out

your opinions with creativity. The only constant thing in this world was change. Truly, the

constancy of art effect and its participation in political and social issues inside our country

remains with an even stronger power and conviction.

Recently, Solidarity In Performance Art Festival (SIPAF) 2018 was launched on

Polytechnic University of the Philippines Main Campus, Freedom Park, featuring performances

from students and from artists from different countries concerning controversial political and

social issues in our country and the rest of the world.

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Difference routines were showcased and various art theories presented in our

class were observed. Artistry was used as the platform of message the performers wanted to

relay to the audience. However, with all the differences, their commonality is that the idea of

Hedonism described as something in connection to pleasure wasn’t really present. Theories

suggest that for a work to be considered art, it should give satisfaction or again, pleasure.

Ironically, the pleasure was absent and the total opposite happened. That makes sense for it

was the main purpose of these acts – to let the viewers see the deeper context of the

happenings in our country and awaken their hunger and hope in fighting the negativities that

those issues brought. The pleasure was just conceived – serving as the turning point of the act

to be catchy and meaningful.

Hence, we came to know that all these realizations undergone a process. Like, how do

they made us think of the context of their performance, how they educate or enlighten us of the

present issue, how do they urge us to do something about these issues. Below are the in-

depths of these phrases:

Dawn of Queries

The SIPAF performances not just amazed us because of its undeniably mind-twisting

content but the fact that people actually gathered together to speak out their feelings about the

current happenings in our country, mostly the negative ones, through their God-given talents. As

we watched all the performances, we noticed that it all has something to do with the

government's malicious actions and decisions. That's why it all boils down to the question: Is

politics all dirty?

This question can't be answered without looking deep into the meaning of politics. Aside

from being the relationship between the powerful and not, it is the art of compromising to reach
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a certain end. Here's the thing - what do people do in order to achieve the certain ends they

wish?

Let's think of politics as a game. The main rule is to compromise. You do your part, I'll do

mine, and we both benefit from it. We are all allies. It's as simple as that, but a game becomes

complicated when the players don't want to play fair and square.

We are all players of the political game, citizens, businessmen, politicians, every person

you can think of. We all want to reach a certain end, which is why we compromise. However,

compromising isn't always favorable to both parties. Why? Simply because in this world,

someone will always be more powerful. Those with authority use powers for their own sake, not

for the sake of the common good. In a marriage, one of the two might often make decisions

without considering his or her partner's decisions or feelings. The decision making becomes one

sided instead of it being for two. In the government, a politician might have heard his or her

people's cry and suggestions but he or she does not listen because he or she would not benefit

from it. This is when allies become enemies. This is when the supposedly simple game

becomes complex and filthy.

This brings us back to the question: is politics all dirty? No. Politics itself is not, but those

who are involved in it make it dirty for their own good. Politics becomes dirty because of greed,

selfishness, and the desire to always have dominance over others.

Going back to SIPAF, it was intended to enlighten us in a way that we could be critically

aware of the major issues in the country like contractualization, extrajudicial killings and high

inflation rate, that these should not be ignored. We are the next generation and if we start

working now, sharing our sentiments, resolving minor issues in the community that could lead in
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eradicating major issues, then we could make the Philippines not just a better place, but the

best place to live in.

Enlightenment

Today, arts were used as a means to represent our opinions and what we think and/or

feel about different things. It can be in the form of dancing, singing, painting and etc. Through

art, connections can be made without even knowing each other.

In SIPAF 2018, a connection was made among the students, with the art as a medium,

and the reality of our government - the corruption of the government officials to be specific.

Corruption by definition is the "dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically

involving bribery and is one of the biggest and most common problem in the country. One word

making the lives of millions of people at stake not only the lives in the current generation but it

includes the lives of those in the future generations to come.

Through the dance in SIPAF, corruption of the government officials in the country was

shown. The black chair represents a position in the government. People danced in black clothes

embody the corrupted officials sitting in that chair and just like a baby they take small step

towards this sin at first. Who would have thought that this small step will be their biggest

mistake? Those who are in a seat of power will first start corrupting the money of the current

and future generations in a small scale. "It's ok," they thought. A little bit of cash won't hurt at all.

Little did they know that it's not just them who are thinking that way. In fact, there are lots of

them that are thinking the exact same thing. That "small" money that was corrupted by one

person multiplied by the number of people who's doing the exact same thing... Regardless of

the actual amount each person had "contributed", it would be longer be just "small" money -

small money that no one would care about if it disappeared. Next is dependence and

consistency. Since they had experienced the "taste" of this sin, they started craving for more.
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They started to become dependent to this money that was supposed to be for the country's

future. "Why bother working hard if you can get easy money like this?" And "Life is all about

strategy." Thoughts like this plagued their minds like an incurable disease. Then, the frequency

of getting this small money will increase so as the value.

The dancers started to move more and more frequent - a sign of habit - of consistency.

Their steps become bigger and bigger telling us that the small money that they will take will also

get bigger and bigger until they reach the point of addiction... No longer able to stop no matter

what. They couldn't stop and their senses are no longer intact. Unable to let go of that chair

that's giving them this sense of thrill. With the high risks of getting caught and the high rewards

of easy money it has... the sense of high and satisfaction they felt upon winning this dangerous

gamble consumes them. They have been doing it for so long that it's become an addiction- an

absolute necessity in their lives and a sudden withdrawal is no longer possible nor are they are

willing to.

How can corruption stop when those who are in positions... The ones implementing or

passing the laws are the ones doing it? It's like the trying to find the killer with the killer

disguised as your detective companion. This is the corruption in the Philippines. This is the

reality of our beloved country. A reality that even in the era of Jose Rizal back then had already

existed and continues to exist even now.

Art had always been beautiful and always carries a meaning. Through art, the dancers

managed to reflect the harsh truth in our country. Simple actions but filled with deep relationship

with all of us... where all of us are involved. At first, watching it definitely looks simple however

upon looking at the details of their performance, they’ll show us that there's symbolism in every

single thing. They makes people reflect at how could those who are in power keep on doing

this? Politicians were elected because the people believed in them. That everything those
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politician are doing is for the benefit of the greater good. Are they neglecting the trust given to

them by those who had elected them? And if so, why are they setting it aside? Because of

survival or of momentary greed? Whatever their reason may be, it does not justify their actions.

There are a lot of works regarding corruption and poverty in different forms and it has

always been maddening to read about it. Though their performance, it is visible what they

wanted to tell reach the audience. The audience, even though it is scorching hot, watched it until

the end – an evidence that the performers caught the attention of the viewers and left an impact

on them.

Dawn of Action

An art that showcase one of the most talked about situation that is happening in our

country, the Philippines – WAR ON DRUGS. For the past years, Duterte carried out “war on

drugs” leading to thousands of Filipinos death. The government launched the “Oplan Tokhang”,

a program which persuades suspected drug users and dealers to stop what they are doing.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), between July 1, 2016 to January 17, 2018, a

total or the “real numbers” of drug suspects that were killed were 3,987. The police claims that

they have no other choice for those who resisted and fought back but to kill them. Some people

claims (mostly people related to the killed drug suspect) that their loved-ones will not fight back

and the police did just killed them. Though we do not know what truly happened, the police

officers always states that the persons that they killed fought back and what they did was just

self-defense. Having this knowledge, the group was deeply touched by the performance done at

the freedom park.

The performance took place at 1 in the afternoon where the sun is at its peak. The group

who wore blacked shirt formed a circle and inside it were the coffin and the one who wears the

white dress. There is also a man who also wears black clothes who is just standing. Before the
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start of the performance the coffin in the center and the person who wears a white dress with

the face covered caught our eyes first. When they started, they changed the atmosphere and

set it as if we are at a place where people scream and shout with a great horror. As they

continue to cry and to shout they also said some lines as if they are praying. The performance

continues and the man who is just standing, started to speak. He shouted people who were

killed by the war on drugs. He shouted one-by-one the names up to the date when the specific

person was killed. When they are finished, they got up and carried the coffin and they

continuously to turn around in the freedom park. Watching the art performance brought a lot

of question on the watchers’ minds, and one of those is – Is it successful? A lot of Filipinos died

because of this war on drugs, but did it really lessen the number of users or it just did lessen the

number of Filipinos. Is death the solution to the long time problem of the Philippines? Every day

that passes by there are news all over different social media revealing how a person died due to

this issue; and in every news, witnesses claim that those who were killed are innocents. Some

was able to give evidences that prove the innocence of those people, however some wasn’t.

The performance art was able to portray the real situation in the Philippines. It shows

how war on drugs slowly kills its countrymen, and its painful impacts to the Filipinos. Rampant

killings, and injustices prevail in the past months and this performance was able to communicate

to people in a way that will touch their hearts. Watching it brought a lot of question on the

watchers’ minds, and one of those is – Is it successful? A lot of Filipinos died because of this

war on drugs, but did it really lessen the number of users or it just did lessen the number of

Filipinos. Is death the solution to the long time problem of the Philippines? Every day that

passes by there are news all over different social media revealing how a person died due to this

issue; and in every news, witnesses claim that those who were killed are innocents. Some was

able to give evidences that prove the innocence of those people, however some wasn’t. Despite
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the fact that MAYBE those people who were killed uses drugs, still the question remains on the

group’s mind. Is killing the solution? Come to think of it, many Filipinos, specifically policemen,

become heartless because they wanted to be promoted. Why do they want to be promoted?

Because of the difficulties that every Filipino faces - like inflation, poverty, hunger, or simply

“KAHIRAPAN.”

Yes, the performance was truly convincing. From their emotions to the voice of the

performers, we could really feel what they are portraying, and for us, it is grieving. We do not

know what their interpretation is but we could say that people who are also watching the

performance also felt the horror that they gave. What we saw brought sadness to our heart for

Filipinos are the one who kills their fellow Filipinos. And of course, the less fortunates are the

one who suffers. They are also the people who continuously hope for the betterment of the

country; however, it is not possible as long as selfishness reign the heart of others. Killings

became normal for everyone, that it seems impossible to never read any article or news that

does not contain it. Overall, the performance is too much to the point that even it is finished

there is still a part that stayed on us.

Furthermore, they made us realize that even though the issue lie-lowed it is still there

and it should not be ignored. It also served as an eye opener to people who were blinded by the

administration and thinks that killing is the solution to the problem. It shows not only the PUPian

but every Filipino how cruel the world is. This performance art shows that as the killings become

rampant, it’s not the problem that we put in the coffin; instead it is the country itself. Time will

come that we will not notice how deep we’ve buried the country in the ground, and when that

time came, hopefully it will never be too late to revive the dying country. Indeed, points and

views of audiences vary in a way, but all in all, the performances were efficient and it was seen

on how do its message entered the minds and woken up their spirit.
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Theories did matter on realizing the most effective way on examining an art and with the

performances in SIPAF 2018, it had successfully made people curious on the current news

followed by the enlightenment, bridging of ideas and finding ways to make a change – all

touching different aspects on how do we appreciate art to its extent, starting from the objective

to subjective areas.