`Blasphemous’ art at CCP, vandalized

[ts1n1ta]

Ganito lang yan pre.... ok art is an art accepted pero yung ginawa niyang kabastusan sa icon ng sinasamba ng lahat ng catholic,aglipayan etc.... ginawaan ng ganoon...sino ang di magagalit....ano ba ang religion ng demonyong yan? Ikaw may parents ka... ginagalang mo sila di ba? Papaano kung gamitin ang picture nila sa isang art na ganito?ano ang gagawin mo? Iisipin mo..ah its ok is an art... di ba magagalit ka rin?baka mapatay mo pa ang gumawa ng ganoon... kung ano ang nararamdaman mo sa gumawa ng ganoon?yun din ang nararamdaman namin.

Ah ganito lang "pre" no?

sobrang galit ka ba kay Mideo na gusto mo syang patayin? So base sa napaka emosyonal mong sagot, Sagrado Katoliko ka. Mabuti naman. Masaya ako para sayo.

Pero mabalik tayo, kung ginamit ang larawan ng mga magulang ko, unang una kong aalamin... Ano ba ang tema ng sining gagwin? Personal bang tungkol sa mga magulang ko ang painting? Ngayon kung pang-atake to sa pagkatao ng mga magulang ko o may malisyang manira ng puri, aba natural hindi ko magugustuhan ang gagawin nya. At pwede na ata under "libel" yun (correct me if i'm wrong).

Hindi ko sya pinagtatanggol per se. Ako naman ay nagiisip lang ng mas malawak na idelohiya dito. At hindi ako agree na kailangan i-censor ang sining.

[digitalron]

Art is an expression; not an imposition.

An artist uses various media to let the world know what he thinks and what he believes in. Whether the world agrees or disagrees is irrelevant. The final product may be aesthetically pleasing; it may be gut-wrenching; it may be thought-provoking; it may be puke-inducing; it may be tasteless and/or mundane. It really depends. However, never does art impose. So if an artist (I'm using the term loosely here) decides to deface some religious photos, it could mean many things: it could mean he does not believe in it, it could mean he is protesting the limits being imposed by the religion, it could mean he is challenging conventional notions about it, it could mean he is trying to stir some form of reaction, or it may mean he is just plain untalented and had to resort to such gimmickry to get noticed. His act may be blasphemous to some, funny to others, silly to most, even heroic to a few.

But in the end, it doesn't change anything about the religion the artist is tackling. And it doesn't impose on anyone.

I find it funny though that a lot of people raise loud howls of protests over such antics, but the same people fail to utter even a whimper when children are abused, and the poor and needy are ignored.

People who call themselves Christians ought to rediscover their history: got your left cheek slapped? Turn the right one. The early Christians were burnt or fed to lions, and these direct assaults on their faith never caused an uproar amongst the faithful.

Then one man -- perhaps an irrelevant man, arguably untalented even -- puts a phallic piece over some religious picture and people start to get their knickers twisted up. tsk, tsk, tsk.

If one's faith is strong, then no amount of gimmicky and kitschy antics should shake it.

[Stoner]

Have to agree. People are raising too much hell, to the point of calling for resignations. It's been taken down already. End of story. Why call for more public crucifixions? Such lynching is very unbecoming of the religion...

All this brouhaha made me recall the ridiculous outcry when the popularity of 'The Da Vinci Code' was at its peak.

[rensom]

Ah ganito lang "pre" no?

sobrang galit ka ba kay Mideo na gusto mo syang patayin? So base sa napaka emosyonal mong sagot, Sagrado Katoliko ka. Mabuti naman. Masaya ako para sayo.

Pero mabalik tayo, kung ginamit ang larawan ng mga magulang ko, unang una kong aalamin... Ano ba ang tema ng sining gagwin? Personal bang tungkol sa mga magulang ko ang painting? Ngayon kung pang-atake to sa pagkatao ng mga magulang ko o may malisyang manira ng puri, aba natural hindi ko magugustuhan ang gagawin nya. At pwede na ata under "libel" yun (correct me if i'm wrong).

Hindi ko sya pinagtatanggol per se. Ako naman ay nagiisip lang ng mas malawak na idelohiya dito. At hindi ako agree na kailangan i-censor ang sining.

Agree ako sa yo... di dapat i-censor ang sining... pero depende sa sining, Hiwalay ang religion sa art... pag pinag-sama it bad taste collapses. Saka kung matinong tao yang si mideo o demonio... dapat alam niya na marami siyang masasagasaan lalo na dito sa pinas dapat mag-isip sya. ISA SIYANG ANTI-CHRIST

[Ry_Tower]

As I have posted before, 2 bagay lang pinaka-source ng away sa mundo. Politics and Religion. Kaya kung gagawa ka na rin lang ng art at ayaw mo ng gulo, kesihudang sino mang artist yan, sana pag-isipan niya munang mabuti kung ano ba magiging consequence niyan.

As previously posted before, bakit hindi niya gawin yan sa lugar ng mga muslim kahit na sa isang private party pa niya sa Mindanao. Ewan ko lang ha.

[shadow]

As I have posted before, 2 bagay lang pinaka-source ng away sa mundo. Politics and Religion. Kaya kung gagawa ka na rin lang ng art at ayaw mo ng gulo, kesihudang sino mang artist yan, sana pag-isipan niya munang mabuti kung ano ba magiging consequence niyan.

As previously posted before, bakit hindi niya gawin yan sa lugar ng mga muslim kahit na sa isang private party pa niya sa Mindanao. Ewan ko lang ha.

bec Muslim is a violent religion. alam ko marami kokontra, but that's my opinion. sila lang yata religion allowed pumatay and barbaric ang mga parusa ng sharia law. which ironically eh meron silang halal food na dapat humanely kinatay mga kakainin mga hayop and yet pag dating sa tao. mas malala pa ang mga kaya nilang gawin...

and yes hinde ko rin kayang sabihin sa Mindanao opinion ko....

[digitalron]

As I have posted before, 2 bagay lang pinaka-source ng away sa mundo. Politics and Religion. Kaya kung gagawa ka na rin lang ng art at ayaw mo ng gulo, kesihudang sino mang artist yan, sana pag-isipan niya munang mabuti kung ano ba magiging consequence niyan.

As previously posted before, bakit hindi niya gawin yan sa lugar ng mga muslim kahit na sa isang private party pa niya sa Mindanao. Ewan ko lang ha.

Because he was prepared to face the consequences of his actions in Manila but not in a Musim-predominated enclave.

[buriroy]

Errr sorry, but no. ART is not made to IMPOSE ideas. You are to appreciate it or criticize it. If you are moved by the art, then good. If not, then it's okay, too. Besides, I don't think "Poleitismo" piece is meant to offend God. Do you think he is attacking GOD? On the contrary it is about the people who for so long have been, disrespecting God by sinning despite knowing what is right and just. Pano kanyo? Ganito na lang, many of us have been claiming that we are good Christians, and yet we are materialistic or we have perversions; we watch ****, we lie and cheat to our wives/husbands. Hindi ba parang "ginagagao" mo na din ang Dyos nun? Ngayon, ano kaibahan nun sa artwork ni Mideo Cruz? Why turn it against the person who can literally represent what we all have been doing on canvas as art. Many of you say that its tasteless, I agree. He could have made an abstract representation of those images he desecrated. Pero ito lang, you don't need to get personal. Who are you to say that he's a "trying hard avant-garde-mediocre artist". Do you even know what being an avant-garde artist is? What do they do. Do you have license to say that? Do you in every respect know the classifications to be an artist? tama ba ako?

I stand by what I said. A true artist should exhibit a high degree of sensitivity and that include's respecting the things that other people value and hold dear. If anyone sticks condoms and *** organs on the pictures of icons and even decent people (what if he did it to your mother's picture) and proclaims himself an artist, them I'm sorry but at the risk of getting personal, I will call this person uncouth and insensitive. Mideo Cruz wanted to shock us with his art and ended up disgusting decent human beings with his total disregard for other people's feelings

[holdencaulfield]

heresy- nine inch nails

He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see
He tries to tell me what i put inside of me
He's got the answers to ease my curiosity
He dreamed up a god and called it christianity
Your god is dead and no one cares
If there is a hell i will see you there
He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line
He made a virus that would kill off all the swine
His perfect kingdom of killing suffering and pain
Demands devotion atrocities done in his name
Your god is dead and no one cares
Drowning in his own hypocrisy
And if there is a hell i will see you there
Burning with your god in humility
Will you die for this?

*i love this song and i'm catholic. too bad i didn't get to see NIN in their last performance at the big dome.

[donbuggy]

Maybe Mideo Cruz's message is: Why are people worshiping a false image? Jesus Christ is not Caucasian.

[holdencaulfield]

Maybe Mideo Cruz's message is: Why are people worshiping a false image? Jesus Christ is not Caucasian.

"like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone"- 21 GUNS-GREENDAY

[yebo]

freedom of expression is absolute even of it tramples upon the beliefs of peoples, yan ang sabi nila (the artists). e di Ok your freedom is absolute.

but don't forget people also have a choice. people can always boycott your art.

let them have their absolute freedom of expression. but let them know your choice. stop patronizing art these artists make, and not just some of it but ALL of it. stop buying paintings, stop going to plays, stop going to performances. organize a boycott and let them learn that they can not insult peoples' beliefs and get away with it.

o baka may magsasabi dyan na bakit all art, bakit hindi lang yung offensive "art". e di ba absolute ang freedom of expression nila, dapat absolute din ang choice to boycott. dapat lahat. pag namatay na sa gutom mga yan imbes na cross ang ilagay sa nitso nila lagyan ng dildo na may condom.

i am not defending the catholic faith (i don't even listen to sermons anymore), i'm just disgusted that these artists can be so insensitive to peoples' feelings and beliefs. if they do not care about what people say then the best thing to do is to cut them off your life completely. BOYCOTT THEM!

[Monseratto]

The UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) gurantees blasphemy as a human right, which the Philippines is a signatory and is ratified by our congress. Anyone care to explain the difference between insulting religious feeling and blasphemy?

Blasphemy a UN-guaranteed human right, PHL group says - Nation - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

Blasphemy a UN-guaranteed human right, PHL group says
PATERNO ESMAQUEL II, GMA News
08/14/2011 | 03:00 PM


(Updated 4:54 p.m.) The Philippines is bound by a United Nations (UN) covenant “upholding blasphemy" as a human right, an advocacy group member said Sunday.

Garrick Bercero, a member of the group Filipino Freethinkers, pointed this out amid the furor caused by the Poleteismo artwork that allegedly offended Christianity.

In its General Comment (GC) No. 34 on Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) “affirms the superiority of the right to free speech over the so-called right against blasphemy," said Bercero in a statement on the group’s website.

Article 19 of the ICCPR provides for the freedom of expression as a basic human right recognized by the law of nations. Comments of the UNHRC are considered as a source of international law under Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, being "teachings of the most highly qualified publicists."

“Prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the Covenant," the UNHRC said in paragraph 48 of its comment.

On its website, Filipino Freethinkers described itself as an organization of atheists and “freethinkers" in the Philippines working for a secular Filipino society by promoting reason and science.



Requiring state parties to guarantee freedom of expression, the ICCPR “embraces even expression that may be regarded as deeply offensive," though subject to certain limitations, the group said.

Independently accessed by GMA News Online, GC No. 34 was adopted by the UNHRC during its 102nd session from July 11 to 29.

The Philippines “is legally bound by international law to follow GC 34" as one of its signatories and ratifiers, said the Filipino Freethinkers.

“With General Comment No. 34, the Philippine government may be compelled to repeal all the repressive and retrograde blasphemy laws we have in our books that the clerico-fascists keep dusting off and pulling out whenever society dares to go against their medieval aspirations," Bercero said.

On Thursday, Catholic lawyers filed a complaint against officials of the Cultural Center of the Philippines for allegedly violating a pre-war law prohibiting exhibits that offend religion. Also named respondent was Mideo Cruz, the artist behind Poleteismo.

GMA News Online was still trying to reach the involved lawyers to comment on the Filipino Freethinkers’ statement as of posting time.

In a Facebook message to GMA News Online, Karen Flores, who resigned as head of CCP Visual Arts division over the Poleteismo furor, said UNHRC’s GC 34, as well as readings on freedom of expression as a constitutional guarantee, “affirms that the right to free speech could not be superseded by the right to claim blasphemy against other beliefs."

“Hopefully, this would help liberate minds against the threat to curtail the development of the arts and how we could be more educated about it with respect to the diversity of Philippine culture," said Flores, who also shared the Filipino Freethinkers post on her Facebook page.

She added that GC 34 is “related to everything, not just to the exhibit."

“This current issue has on one hand promoted debate and exchange of views on the rights and responsibilities of both secular and religious groups; yet on the other, it can push us to the brink of chaos, where the harming of artists, the destruction of art and the resignation of the CCP Board become justifiable and ‘understandable’ due to accusations of blasphemy and offense to religion," Flores explained.

Prohibited speech

While upholding the right to freedom of expression, the ICCPR, however, may restrict certain forms of speech that goes against the “respect of the rights or reputations of others" and “the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals."

Entered into force in 1976, the ICCPR also prohibits “any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence."

“The right to free speech is not absolute, yes, but it is abridged only by the risk of actual harm. Offense does not constitute real harm, according to our current understanding of the word," Bercero explained.

“Certainly, there was no incitement of violence in Cruz’s piece against any person," the group member said, noting that Cruz and CCP board members have themselves received death threats. — KBK/LBG/MRT, GMA News

[angelsid]

with all due respect, the reference to the constitutional guarantee of free speech is not absolute, illimitable and boundless. Hence, when the exercise of the right has indubitably transgressed faith the said exercise is considered to have overstepped the grant. after all,the spirit of freedom is one of liberation, its exercise neither oppressive nor abusive.

[niky]

Nuh-uh.

The only thing prohibited under Philippine law is incitement towards rebellion or incitement towards violence towards any group or religion.

If it were a painting with the slogan: "Death to all Christians", it would violate the rule. As is, since it is simply construable as (tasteless) political commentary, it doesn't.

Otherwise any political cartoon lampooning any public figure would be against that rule.

[oliver1013]

Whatever it is, I think everybody got what they want, the artist is almost Christopher Lao in popularity, which I think will benefit his career. The exhibit has been closed, thus satisfying the masses. Soooo...sinong bagong personality ang pwede bombahin?

[niky]

Whatever it is, I think everybody got what they want, the artist is almost Christopher Lao in popularity, which I think will benefit his career. The exhibit has been closed, thus satisfying the masses. Soooo...sinong bagong personality ang pwede bombahin?

Hmmm... let's all pray for Gloria's speedy recovery!

Napaka-OA naman... she's been on the news every day for the last two weeks!

[shadow]

sarap ng Senate ngayon...ang daming exposures. lahat ng gov't agencies na gusto nila invite nag attend unlike the past admin.

[shadow]

Hmmm... let's all pray for Gloria's speedy recovery!

Napaka-OA naman... she's been on the news every day for the last two weeks!

just one news about her many people are waiting..and if it will take until the end of the year, guess it's ok to have her in the news everyday.