Thoughts about Poloteismo by Mideo Cruz

Composed on August 21, 2011

First of all, linawin muna natin, Kulo is not just by Mideo Cruz. It is made up of different exhibits, on of them is Poloteismo, whis is made by Mideo Cruz. Poloteismo talks about Polytheism - the worship of many gods. You can see the wall of the exhibit filled with religious, political, and commercial stuff, so you can easily get an idea of idolatry of such things. May nabasa pa akong articles explaining the meaning of using the penis in the crucifix. Sabi dun, the crucifix with the phallus resembles the preachings of priests, kung saan sila mismo ang nangre-rape sa mga babae. You get the point. True, it's blasphemous. But the penis symbolizes what we people have done to 'deface' God - you know, like proclaiming that marriage is holy but some couples still end up with annulment. It's like standing for something but doing the opposite.

I tried to appreciate the message behind the image, but i started to ask myself, "sino ba ang naglagay ng ari sa cross? tayong mga makasalanang tao ba o yung artist?" If it was the people who unknowingly blasphemed Jesus (which the penis symbolizes), then we should be ashamed of ourselves. Hindi natin napapansin, nababoy na pala natin yung image ni Jesus. But, if it was Mideo who chose the phallic object, I can say that he's gay. I mean, why did he use a penis when there are a lot of substitute objects to show the image of Jesus being defaced?

We can also apply the same idea to the other works in the exhibit, such as the statue of Jesus, sitting, that had Mickey Mouse ears, though another explanation is needed for using Mickey Mouse ears as blasphemy.

As i read some of the artist's justification, i learned that his exhibit "is actually [a] product of house cleaning." Then i immediately concluded that this guy just worked backwards - nung nagawa nya yung art nya, saka nya binigyan ng meaning. I can say that meron man syang gustong iparating na message, hindi nya yun pinag-isipang mabuti, kaya hindi maganda ang kinalabasan. Nagpapansin lang siguro sya, or nagrecycle, thinking what kind of art he can do with his junk.

To sum it up, i say Poloteismo is a shallow work of art. True, it is art, because it is a person's expression, but the meaning is vague, therefore making the art difficult to appreciate. O kaya gusto nya lang tayo pag-debatihin, na maari pang ikasira ng ating bayan. For one point, i also say that Mideo Cruz was successful in provoking people to think, as it being one of his objectives. Obviously, he did make me think.

Reference:

http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/08/05/artist-mideo-cruz-wants-to-provoke-critical-thought-gets-death-threats-instead/2/