PLAYING with the word “television,” young artist Jett Stanley L. Osian highlights the idiot box in his painting called Tell Lie Vision to tell the tale of how TV – and media in general – shapes our daily lives.

The recipient of 2017 Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) special citation for the oil/acrylic on canvas category, Mr. Osian told BusinessWorld that he was inspired of the current situation in our society, filled with “fake news,” “post truth,” and pop culture, which influence how the audience perceives reality. “Mass media is powerful and influential, and we can see their effect in the country and across the globe,” he said: “Hindi naman kasi lahat ng balita sa TV totoo, minsan dinodoktor nila kung ano lang ang gusto nila ipakita sa madla. Parang sa North Korea, propaganda ang TV (Not everything we see on TV is the truth, sometimes the media edit it into what they want the audience to see. Like in North Korea, TV is propaganda).”

Tell Lie Vision shows a group of casually dressed people standing in a rice paddy looking at televisions hovering over their heads. The painting – done in black and white – looks hypnotic and scary at the same time.

“The power of the mass media has the ability to control, especially when we become passive receivers,” Mr. Osian said at the sidelines of the MADE awarding night on Sept. 21, which was the same day the country was placed under martial law 45 years ago. It was also designated by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as a “National Day of Protest” as people took to the streets to protest against his ongoing drug war, fake news, and the revision of history.

ART IS LIGHT
Metrobank Foundation’s president, Aniceto M. Sobrepeña, said in his speech that “art is our nation’s light” because artworks can be “tools to articulate the feelings and sentiments of then unfortunate events.”

“There will never be a single solution to our problems. Art cannot save us, but it can make us realize that there will be things worth saving,” he said, adding that art is a “catalyst for hope for all times and seasons.”

The award’s theme this year is about imagination, with painters and sculptors challenged to create works that could empower and provoke at the same time.

“This year’s theme affirms our advocacy to empower artists across the country to create new worlds and alternative realities rooted in every seedbed of creative genius: the human imagination. But more than this, it is a call to action. It poses a challenge to every Filipino to use the power of their artistic judgment to bring color to our nation,” said Mr. Sobrepeña.

HOPE IN ART
Another work that aims to be a catalyst for change and hope for the future is Pagtaguyod, which won the grand prize for sculpture.

Made of brass and steel, Pagtaguyod features give interconnected human figures, which are depicted in a dreamy and fluid manner, as a paper plane seemingly lifts them.

“It was inspired by a family. I want it to be a positive subliminal art to the people that in spite of our political affiliations and social distinction, at our core is our love for family. I placed the paper plane as symbol of hope, future, and progressive thinking,” said Pagtaguyod’s maker, Moreen Joy T. Austria.

She added, “We are a people of family, relationships, hope, and faith.”

The other MADE winners are two young amateur painters, Paul John Cabanalan and Marvin E. Quizon who are grand awardees for painting for their respective works Genesis and For Those Who Lived and Are Forgotten; renowned sculptor Abdumari “Toym” Imao who received a special citation for his sculpture, Monument for the Pursuit of Happiness, which uses his iconic symbol, the sarimanok. – Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

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