Even the unreliable Wikipedia knows what Polytheism is.
"Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....", says the free encyclopedia.
Thus, it was quite a surprise how the conservatives and the religious have stepped forwards to lambaste the works that composed Mideo Cruz' Politeismo art exhibit in CCP. I personally haven't gone to see the exhibit for myself, I've just seen photos and write ups online so my basis for coming up with this blog is primarily a first hand experience of being raised in the irony of religion.
Jesus, penis and piggy bank.
The Politeismo exhibit is a sort of pastiche, rooted from a postmodern inspiration, I believe. All the sample artworks appear like a collage of many different, detached yet related entities. It features a paradox, putting together the material world and the divine world into one life-size mirror mimicking what a typical Filipino Catholic has been raised with and practiced and passed on from one generation to another. The outrage from the CBCP and from Dr. Primitivo Chua, specifically, is a cry of dismay for the supposed sacrilege that the art exhibit inspires, if not, promotes. Whether it was out of faith or emotional burst, Dr. Chua's statement "Hindi gawa ng Pilipino 'yan. Gawa 'yan ng demonyo!" is a sad ignorant and sweeping remark. Maybe Dr. Chua does not know his History. Maybe he didn't know that early Filipinos were actually, polytheistic, that they indeed worshiped many different gods and goddesses. Our early folk tradition is in fact a labor to explain the hows and whys of life then--- long before the Spaniards made us swallow their religion. Mideo Cruz' art exhibition is not something new or even "modern". It is practically a reliving of our past and an exploration of what we have at present, which is unknown and known to us at the same time.
In a house of a devout Catholic family, an altar is something indispensable. With mini statues of Jesus and Mary or famous saints embellished with candles, flowers, prayerbooks and many other religious paraphernalia (When the little swaying light that the candles produce hits the face of the statue, man, it looks creepy at night. It reminds me of a Shake, Rattle and Roll installment). Such iconographic representation of belief inspires the idea of a person's need to have "models" or "figures" to see and to touch just so as the abstract idea of one's faith may be evident. This is indeed very Filipino-- not exactly demonic, right? The Black Nazarene Cathedral in Quiapo and the Our Lady Perpetual Help Shrine in Baclaran maybe considered as the source of Mideo's work, if only to tell the CBCP that they need not drop by CCP to catch a glimpse of what they consider sacrilege... If the demon has inspired the exhibit, to pertain to Dr. Chua's statement, who then inspires the scenes we typically see inside Catholic churches?
God?
Sinners in the hands of an angry god?
I don't disregard the fact that at some point, Mideo and his fellow artists have disrespected others' faith. He might have gone beyond the border of art and religion (which, for some, cannot be put together), and evaded the very idea of religious tolerance. Yet, we can't also shy away from the fact that Poleteismo is a vivid picture of the Filipino psyche. That the very mish-mash that Mideo's group put up is the very thing that runs in our heads on a daily basis. It is very short-sighted to say that Politeismo is all about religion defiled. As Mr. Victo Velasco puts it, it deals with every type of idolatry. To attack Mideo's art is indeed shallow just because pictures or images that embody the Catholic faith is put side by side women in two piece or with Mickey Mouse and FPJ. While the exhibit seems to present the irony behind Filipino religious practice and their love for pop-art and novelty works, it proves itself worthy to be recognized as a venue for deeper and substantial discussions for Filipino sociological-anthropological state in the 21st century. I don't think God will get mad at us if for once, we try to move out from our superficial view of Him.
The art exhibit does not have any problem, it is us who has a problem. Whether Mideo did the exhibit for the sake of art or not, we have been given the chance, this time, to think; not anymore to reverse what our history has been but to at least realize that our collective unconscious as a people will over and over again resurface for us to face and deal with.
Religion is a very sensitive topic, that once it sparks, a forest fire will follow. However, Mideo's Politeismo serves as an open door for us, the supposed modern and educated Filipino to take a step towards exploring possible means of landscaping our past that has been taken alien to us. Until when will we cover our eyes from seeing?
On second thought, Mideo didn't focus on religion... Now, what then is fuss about?
