Contemporary Art Publics: Mapping Philippine Contemporary, Media, Technology, and Publics

Resum

The Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) closure of the Kulo exhibition last 2011 marked a shift in the public of Philippine art. The exhibition included the contentious Poleteismo, a site-specific installation by Mideo Cruz. The piece, which included religious and political icons first became controversial when it was featured in a criminal investigation show XXX. After which, the issue spilled over into print media and more intensely in social media. The controversy resulted to a pre-emptive closure of the exhibition and a senatorial inquiry. The cases filed against the artist and the CCP Board were eventually dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2013. The controversy brings forward the question of who the publics of art are and how the engagements with such publics should be. The publics of art expanded from those who are able to see the artworks inside the museum and galleries to those who’ve seen it in television, print media, and social media. New publics also include those who have not necessarily seen the entirety of the reproductions but parts and crops of it or even just the descriptions and articles about it, as interpreted by writers, journalists, and “netizens”. The event revealed how little the artists, curators, art historians, and art writers were able to engage with the new publics of art. Given the contemporary conditions of art publics, it is important to look at who the new publics and potential publics of art are. How should the art world engage with the publics of art? What are the possible strategies in the inclusion of the new publics in art discourse?