Please pass this statement

What press Freedom?

Around three months ago, the National Press Club commissioned us to do an 8×32 foot-mural on the history of press freedom in the Philippines. A lot of problems were encountered during the production phase mainly because of the delays in the schedule of payment on their part, as stipulated in the contract we signed. Still, through the commitment and dedication shown by the members of our group, the mural was completed in time for the unveiling scheduled on October 26. Finally, we would be able to sleep a lot more easily.
Or so we thought.
We were shocked to be informed by one of their board of directors that changes were made in the mural without our knowledge.
We, the Neo-Angono Artists Collective, would like to express our outrage, revulsion and protest against the total lack of respect of the NPC for the integrity of the commissioned artwork, as shown by the slipshod alterations they caused in several parts of the said mural, to wit:

1. The erasure of a big portion of the newspaper held by the central figure, containing the statement of the International Federation of Journalists regarding the perceived effects of the anti-terror law on press freedom, and replaced by a hideous bird-monster in a cage;

2. The alteration of the headline of the newspaper Jose Rizal is holding from “Press Freedom Fighter’s Son Abducted” to “Press Freedom Fight Is On” and the defacement of Jonas and Edith Burgos’s pictures as well as the erasure of Jonas’s name;

3. The change of the tattoo on Andres Bonifacio’s left arm from the alibata “K” to a sappy red heart pierced by an arrow;

4. The erasure of the name of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines from the banners of the rallyists; Continue reading “What Press Freedom?” »

THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB’S CLUBBING OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

By John L. Silva

The National Press Club’s defacement and censorship of a commissioned mural in their club restaurant recalls to mind a celebrated incident involving the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and the Rockefeller Center.

In 1933, Rivera was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller to do a mural for the lobby of the RCA Building at New York’s Rockefeller Center. Rivera, a leftist, was well known for his grand murals replete with sinewy laborers in all forms of working poses. He had just finished a large scale mural with a similar theme for the Detroit Museum of Art sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and despite the bias for proletarian vistas, the liberal, art loving Rockefellers decided their center should have a Rivera mural too.

Rivera though added a portrait of Lenin in the mural and this was over the top for Nelson Rockefeller. Despite his wife Abby’s lament, who collected Riveras, Rockefeller confronted the artist demanding he remove the offending Lenin. Rivera, already paid for the mural, refused, was summarily fired, and the mural destroyed. Rivera would have his revenge by recreating the same mural back in Mexico with Lenin in his glory and the patriarch John D. Rockefeller inserted elsewhere drinking martini at the expense of the toiling masses. Continue reading “THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB’S CLUBBING OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION” »

REBEL WITHOUT A CLUE
Truth in art
By Patricia Evangelista
Inquirer
Last updated 01:01am (Mla time) 11/11/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The issue of the press freedom mural that was
bastardized by the National Press Club is one that has been zipping
down the highways of cyberspace, flooding e-mail inboxes, swamping
newspaper columns and television reports with outbursts of
indignation. The basic facts are these: that the NPC commissioned the
Neo-Angono Artists Collective (NAAC) to produce a mural depicting the
state of Philippine Press Freedom, that the NPC later decided that it
did not depict their “apolitical” perspective of what press freedom
is; that on the artists’ refusal to change the mural, the NPC took it
upon itself to “correct” the painting using a different artist; and
that, on the day Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo unveiled the mural,
astounding changes had taken place, least of all the alibata tattoo
on Andres Bonifacio’s arm morphing into a heart pierced with an arrow. Continue reading “Truth in Art” »

It is never too late to be what you might have been…

i got a message from raffy today. marvic leonen wants to meet me and other student leaders about chancellor rivero’s alleged 600 thou investiture cost. marvic leonen serves as vice President for Legal Affairs of the University of the Philippines System and is also a tenured Associate Professor of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines.

im a little nervous. i mean just talking with the chancellor gives me goosebumps, how much more if its some hotshot lawyer of the up system? i am not fond of mingling with bigwigs and politicians. its not my cup of tea but it seems ive been doing that a lot lately. what the hell, being the eic leaves me no choice really.

anyway, im meeting them for lunch tomorrow. im supposed to think and list down all the questions i could possibly ask.  we could really use what he says tomorrow in the paper. i hope he doesnt give me the ‘please dont record this’ bullshit. they all seem to do say that a lot and it irks me. i get the feeling they’re trying to reel me in, like a fish on fishing rod.

tin asked me a while ago what my opinion was about the whole investiture issue. well… for me, if the office really has nothing to hide then show us the liquidation papers. no use hiding it, in fact it may be the only way to redeem the ‘integrity’ of the office. as to my personal take on the chancellor herself…hmm..lets just say i was rooting for somebody else during the selection. hehe.