EXPOSING THE FACE IN THE AGE OF MEMES
(or do you really need to use a
photograph to drive a point)
17 April 2015
“As a visual artist, one cannot run
away from storytelling.” That statement was part of the exhibition
notes/curatorial statement I wrote for my seventh one-man exhibition titled
Dramatis Personae held at the Baguio Museum in January 2014. In the said
exhibition, I mounted a series of paintings which I assembled as a cast of
characters as each character becomes the storyteller by themselves. I focused
on the face as the main platform of the exhibition because I believe that the face
is a dominant and influential instrument of interaction and communication.
So much faces were used as models by artists of the
past and the present. The most prominent remains to be that of Mona Lisa by
Leonardo da Vinci. Yet know ones know the real person behind the face of the
Mona Lisa even until da Vinci’s death. It took centuries to learn that it was
that of Lisa of Gioconda. Rembrandt, the Dutch master, became very notable with
his portraiture. To trim down a list of masters who used faces as subjects would
be hard but that would include Van Dyke, Sir Henry Raeburn, Ingres, J. L.
Davis, William McGregor Paxton and William Adolpe Bouguereau. Carravagio
painted the much-talked about Girl with the Pearl Earring. Who owns the face of
the girl? It was Carravagio’s “housemaid.” So popular was the painting that a
cinematic rendition with the same title was released and Scarlet Johansson played
the part. Time and again artists would attempt to paint a rendition of the face
of Jesus although his face was never really recorded.
Putting up the face became easier with the advent
of photography. From camera obscura to the latest gadget released, the
photograph explored and exposed so many faces. And in the developing turn of trends
and events in the past, like when Modernism gave way to Post-Modernism,
photography evolved as a fine art. And Ansell Adams was one of the greatest in
such field. Photography then was a work-intensive form of art with strict
guidelines. Add to that are the equipment and supplies simply to create a
photograph. And photography does not make a fine artist overnight. Take the
case of Herb Ritts. Or the fashion photographers Mario Testino and now Nigel Barker
who have elevated their works to art.
Fast forward. News from the turn of the millennium
until the present in the Philippine setting. Dolzura Cortes gave persons with
AIDS (PWA) a face. Flor Contemplacion gave us a victim’s face. Victims of
hazing came out of the dailies. So with victims of rape. Of sexual molestation.
Of fraud. The face of Jennifer Laude. Of Nicole Ann Smith. Vhong Navarro even
gained more prominence coming out as just a victim. And so was Katrina Halili. And
so with the faces of victims of every injustice and scam imaginable. But what
about the faces of perpetrators and victimizers? The “bad guys?” There was the
daily dose of the face of Hayden Kho. And Cedric Lee. And one Smith. And one
Pemberton. The issue of corruption and malversation of the countrywide
development fund, commonly known as pork barrel, was just talk in the recently
years. Soon we abhor the face of one Janet Lim Napoles when her photograph came
out as the mastermind of the infamous scam. So with the faces of several
senators indicted. Then there are the faces of those who called the shots
during the failed military operation that resulted in the death of SAF44. There
ensued a barrage of photographs of faces of victimizers that swim along the
daily grind of every Juan de la Cruz.
This was highlighted more with the
advances in cyber technology. So we all have accounts in various social media
platforms. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. We patronize Spotify. There is YouTube
and X-tube. It was even highlighted more with the advances in communication
technology gadgets. The mobile phone cameras. Megapixels. The handy tablet. 3G
and 4G. The Android.
Now faces and photographs are our daily
fare. Everyone now is a photographer. Or model as the case may be. Selfies and
Groupies and Memes. Oh yes, we have to contort or distort our faces to gain
mileage in line with this craze. We salivate at every sex scandal we watch. Or
laud anyone who makes a “fool” out of himself in front of the camera. We
readily click the LIKE button. We have to share the post. We post even our
nonsensical reactions just to send a comment. The number of “likes” and
comments is really an ego-boosting pill.
Reality. Inside the campus setting. For
so many times in the past, one has heard of victims and victimizers. The
greater question now is “Were they exposed?” Was anyone rational and bold
enough to stand up as the victim and point to his/her victimizer? Are we
rational and reasonable enough to give support to the issue? And when do we put
up the face and name of both victim and victimizer? Was there a grievance issue
recorded against anybody?
Recent turn of events made us put up a
face and name of a victim. Not to gain more prominence or sympathy. Or to
foster partisan patronage politics. It is because we need to put forward a
united stand. Yet are we not to put up the face of any victimizer much more of
his or her name?
Bullying is a legitimate issue inside
the campus. The current school administration frowns upon it. It is posted
everywhere inside the campus. Now a victim comes up. Imagine your reactions.
To accept grievances is one purpose of
a Student Welfare Committee. The function of every college council
representative is to be a grievance officer of his/her year level. But what
would a Grievance Committee be like if one shall shy away from exposing a face
and name of a victim and his/her victimizer? Ready answer. It shall be a
repository of blind-items. Like a student is being manipulated not to run for a
specific party during the student council election. Do not name the student and
the manipulator. Do not expose their faces. Like some students who have had the
experience with a professor who talked to them using the cuss words “P. I.” Do
not name the students and the professor. Do not expose their faces. Like those graduating
students who were given failing grades which shall hinder their graduation
because they joined a campus political party which is not much to the liking of
the professor. Do not name the students and the professor. Do not expose their
faces. Blind items. Very showbiz.
The heat of summer. Swim in ocean of
selfies. Take a plunge in a lagoon of groupies. Cliff-dive with memes.
