Activity 1: The following is an article by Isagani Cruz about

the art installation of Mideo Cruz entitled, “Poleteismo”.

Read the article and compare your opinion with Isagani
Cruz’s claims, and answer these following questions: do
you agree or disagree with Isagani Cruz’s claims? Why or
why not? Refer to the Assignment Guide (Activity 1) for the
instructions.

Poleteismo is art, not Art

MINI CRITIQUE - Isagani Cruz (The Philippine Star) - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

This is the last of my series of columns on the controversy that surrounded Mideo
Cruz’s “Poleteismo.”
There is no question in my mind that the work, as a creative work, is protected by
the freedom of expression provision of the Constitution. It was wrong of the CCP to defy
the Constitution by stopping its display.
There is no question in my mind that the CCP should not have exhibited it in the
first place. There are literally hundreds of creative pieces that CCP could have
exhibited; to choose this particular one betrayed a lack of discretion and foresight on the
part of the CCP board.
There is no question in my mind that, if we use the generic definition of art, it is
art. It was exhibited in an art gallery (two, in fact, if we count the earlier version in the
Vargas Museum) and art critics say that it is art.
There is no question in my mind that, if we use the evaluative definition of art, it is
not art. This is the statement that I want to elaborate on today.
Let me use Venn diagrams. There is a huge set of things that may be labelled
expressions. This set contains the set of creative expressions we are talking about. But
it also contains other sets, such as the sets of graffiti, libelous statements in a
newspaper, slander, and the common example of someone shouting “fire” in a crowded
movie theater. These other sets are not creative expressions; they are merely
expressions. They are not the kind of creative expressions protected by the
Constitution.
Inside the set of creative expressions protected by the Constitution is the set of
things exhibited in an art gallery. Everything in an art gallery is art in the generic sense
of the word. But not everything in an art gallery is art in the evaluative sense of the
word.
Take the Louvre. Not everything there is art. Many pieces are merely old. Some
of the portraits are there because the persons being portrayed happen to be of some
importance in history, but the portraits themselves do not satisfy any of the formal
criteria for real art.
 Take something closer to home. Take a walk on the fourth floor (called the Art
Walk) of SM Megamall and look at the things being sold in the art galleries there. There
are some really good artistic works there, but there are clearly a lot more that should
never have been imposed on the public.
There are many objective criteria for saying that something is art. If there were
none, the judges at the annual Shell National Students Art Competition, not to mention
the annual Palanca Awards, would never agree on winners, but they often do —
unanimously. The saying that art or taste is purely subjective is simply not true.
One of these objective criteria is the ability of art to ennoble. I do not mean that
one should suddenly kneel down and pray upon seeing a work of art that deals with
religion. No tourist has suddenly become born again by staring at the Sistine Chapel
ceiling (I could be wrong).
What I mean is that, after stimulating or provoking or even incensing us, a work
of art should make us better persons. Clearly, “Poleteismo” did not do that. In fact, it did
the opposite. It made us worse persons.
The proof stares us in the face. Suddenly, some Catholics became terrorists,
threatening the CCP board members with bodily harm, trying to commit arson, behaving
like devils rather than saints, forgetting all about the command of Jesus to “Put your
sword away!” (John 18:11). Goodness, even bishops forgot to set the example of being
like Jesus, who preached love and not hatred!
If Mideo Cruz intended to make better Catholics of Catholics — to make them
distinguish between illusion and reality, between the image of Jesus and the real Jesus,
between a mere drawing of His face and His real face, between worshipping Jesus and
not the puny human representations of Him — then he failed miserably.
Instead of ennobling some Catholics, “Poleteismo” made them commit one of the
deadly sins — anger. It made them receive Holy Communion with hatred in their hearts
— the sin of sacrilege. It made them judge and therefore made them liable to be judged.
It made them throw the first stone even if — let us not be hypocritical — no human
beings except Jesus and His mother Mary were born without sin.
There is provoking and there is provoking. The kind of provoking that Mideo Cruz
did was not justified by the creative piece that he did. Critics always say that an artist
should “earn” the effect of his or her work. That means that there should be a deliberate,
successful effort by the artist to achieve whatever it is she or he wants to achieve. No
art piece can be conceived simply on the spur of the moment. Every art piece that
aspires to be art is always the product of long, careful, profound hard work.
Therefore, based on the reception of the work, “Poleteismo” flunked the test of
good art. It may be art, but it is bad art. It may be art, but it is not Art.

Indicators and Rating

 The introductory paragraph has a strong The introductory paragraph The author has an The introductory
hook or attention grabber that is has a hook or attention interesting introductory paragraph is not
appropriate for the audience. This could grabber, but it is weak, paragraph but the interesting AND is
be a strong statement, a relevant rambling or inappropriate for connection to the topic not relevant to the
quotation, statistic, or question the audience. is not clear. topic.
addressed to the reader. 3 points 2 points
5 points 1 point
The position statement provides a clear, The position statement A position statement is There is no position
strong statement of the author's position provides a clear statement of present, but does not statement
Statement
Position

on the topic. the author's position on the make the author’s

topic. position clear.
2 points
5 points 4 points No point
Includes 3 or more pieces of evidence Includes 3 or more pieces of Includes 2 pieces of Includes 1 or fewer
(facts, statistics, examples, real-life evidence (facts, statistics, evidence (facts, statistics, pieces of evidence
experiences) that support the position examples, real-life examples, real-life (facts, statistics,
Support for
Position

statement. The writer anticipates the experiences) that support experiences) that support examples, real-life
reader's concerns, biases or the position statement. the position statement. experiences).
arguments and has provided at least 1
counter-argument.
10 points 7 points 5 points
3 points
The conclusion is strong and leaves the The conclusion is The author's position is There is no
reader solidly understanding the writer's recognizable. The restated within the conclusion - the
paragraph

position. Effective restatement of the author's position is closing paragraph, but paper just ends.
Closing

position statement begins the closing restated within the first not near the beginning.
paragraph. two sentences of the
closing paragraph. 2 points
5 points 4 points No point
Sentence structure, punctuation, Sentence structure, There are some errors in There are many
spelling and capitalization are punctuation, spelling and sentence structure, distracting errors in
Grammar

correct; no errors. capitalization are punctuation, spelling sentence structure

generally correct with and capitalization punctuation, spelling
few minor errors. and capitalization
5 points 1 point
4 points 3 points

TOTAL POINTS: __________/30 points

Format: Century Gothic, 11, Single space,

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