THE ART OF OUSTER: Concerned Artists of the Philippines mural in anti-Arroyo rally (left); at right, Bayan activists work on giant Gloria effigy for SoNA rally.                                      Right photo by Dabet Castañeda

Art once again takes to the streets.

Overtly political, straight to the point, and often transient in nature, these images and scenes delight, educate, and agitate media crews, photographers, bystanders, and activists everywhere. Unlike mainstream cultural objects, they may be viewed and experienced without having to pay entrance fees and expensive tickets, without glass cases all around, and without the silence of a solitary viewer.

Art historians classify these various forms and practices as "protest/activist art." Recent media reports have labeled such productions as "street" or "rally art." To activists, however, the mix of images, words, and sounds are produced with a definite purpose in mind. “Art for Oust’s Sake,” as some term it.

Presidential parodies

Effigies - puppets or resemblances of unpopular figures - have always been around with the social protests in recent Philippine history. The rallies of the past two months are not an exception, such as the effigy of a desperate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) being torched at the June 30 rally in Liwasang (or plaza) Bonifacio.

One of the bigger effigies, this time, is the yearly State-of-the-Nation (SONA) effigy sponsored by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) and facilitated by the artists' group, UGAT-Lahi.

This year's effigy depicts President Macapagal Arroyo as "Gloriang Tuko," a gigantic gecko (a species of tropical lizard) clinging voraciously at a replica of Malacañang Palace (a traditional local symbol of political power). It measures 15-ft long and 9-ft. high, taking into account the vertical clearance of traffic overpasses.

Similar to other SONA effigies of the President (such as the “Bye-Glo: Pesteng Pangulong Arroyo” effigy during the 2002 SONA rally), “Gloriang Tuko” is also mobile and "mechanized, albeit in a Third World sense," Raoul Rodriguez of UGAT-Lahi (literally, roots-race) says. Antonio de Guzman, an Industrial Design major at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (UP CFA) and a member of UGAT-Lahi, says the effigy's frame contains pulleys and levers that allow its head and tail to sway from side to side.

"Hinalaw (ang structure) sa concept ng snake na laruan na gumagalaw rin" (Its structure is based on the moving toy snake), Rodriguez says, as he cuts out architectural details from cardboard in the Bayan office's garage. A P20 bill, where an image of the Palace is printed, is pinned unto the massive wooden armature for his reference.

The symbolism of the "Gloriang Tuko" effigy is simple but sharp. As Renato Reyes, Jr., Bayan secretary-general, put it in a recent statement: "Gloria Tuko illustrates Arroyo's insistence on holding on to power despite widespread calls for her resignation."

Rodriguez says that the image of the gecko is an effective and literal illustration of the Filipino idiom, "kapit-tuko" (hanger-on) - a local term for someone who greedily clings to one's position of power. The tuko has rounded toes with suction cups that enable them to hang on even to vertical surfaces. This characteristic has been used in the vocabulary of local culture as a derogatory description of trapos (a Filipino concoction of traditional politicians), bureaucrat capitalists, and "puppet Presidents" who cling to the U.S. and the military to stay in power.

Since geckos are not predatory creatures by nature, Rodriguez says that the artists distorted and exaggerated GMA's facial features to convey her vicious and insatiable character.

"No offense to geckos, though," Rodriguez wisecracks.

The imagery seems apt in the context of the continuing discontent with the Arroyo administration. President Arroyo has been continually been described by commentators and laymen like a "kapit-tuko," ever since she ascended the presidency in 2001 and recanted her promise not to run in the 2004 presidential derby.

Earlier, the women’s alliance Gabriela came up with a small effigy of GMA as a smiling tuko stubbornly sticking to the Malacañang seal for the June 30 rally at Liwasang Bonifacio. Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiroz even ironically recalls in a column on Dec. 1, 2003 an anecdote about one of GMA's speaking engagements at a school in Lucena City south of Manila, where a tuko "loudly made itself heard, while she was speaking, to the laughter of students."

Collective efforts

UGAT-Lahi has traditionally facilitated Bayan’s SONA effigy projects since President Joseph Estrada's term. But Rodriguez emphasizes that the effigy is not theirs to claim as their "own," but is instead the collective product of the movement's publicists, cultural workers, volunteers, and supporters to produce art that rouses the masses into action.

The effigy is a concerted effort among all activists, the "product and process of collective brainstorming and work," Rodriguez emphasizes.

Up to 12 volunteers help out each day, while four artists work full-time. Production is fast and efficient. All are aware that their objective is to create an art work that will contribute to the success of the SONA mobilization on July 25.

"Parte ito ng mga protesta, upang makamit ang mithiin para sa demokrasya at ating karapatan" (This part of protests in order to attain our democracy and rights), Domeng Ilag-ilag, one of the craftsmen who built the effigy's frame, says. Ilag-ilag, who also produces some of the streamers, placards and props used by various people's organizations and non-government organizations for rallies, has been active in political demonstrations since the Marcos years.

Political, as well as artistic, commitment is a primary consideration. After days of non-stop work and sleepless nights at Bayan’s garage, the effigy's completion on the morning of the SONA protest does not mean the end of involvement for those who worked on it. "Sumasama talaga kami sa SONA at sa ibang rali pagkatapos, maliban kung may sakit," Naldo Wenceslao, also a craftsman, says.

Wenceslao, “Mang Naldo” to friends, also helped build the pulleys and armature. He feels no remorse at seeing the elaborate parody of the President destroyed when it is set ablaze at the height of the rally. "Hindi ito sayang dahil kahit ang pagsunog nito ay may kahulugan" (It’s not a loss because the burning itself has a meaning), Mang Naldo says.

Galleries of the streets

Effigies are not only the sole forms of protest art proliferating in the current anti-GMA rallies. Street murals made out of sack cloth or canvas and industrial paint, a form popularized particularly during the mid-1980s by groups such as Artista ng Bayan (ABAY or people’s artists), are also produced by cultural groups in the course of their alliance and organizational work.

In past weeks, organizations such as the Promotion of Peoples' Church Response (PCPR) also quickly produced murals to address burning issues such as the jueteng-gate and "Hello, Garci" scandals and campaigns. They did this, for example, in the protest against alleged human rights violations of Maj. Gen. Jovito S. Palparan and his men in Eastern Visayas and Southern Tagalog.

In cooperation with the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), an alliance called Artists for Democracy and the Immediate Ouster of GMA (ADIOS GMA!) was launched last July 12. "As artists and promoters of nationalist culture, we have to perceive, rationalize and give concrete situations a deeper meaning; envision what needs to be done; and depict these through our arts," the ADIOS GMA declaration reads.

The depiction of exactly "what needs to be done" is expressed in the mural they produced. Aptly titled, "Adios!" (Farewell), the mural depicts the broad masses of the Filipino people's basic sectors marching forward in unison and in kapit-bisig (arm-to-arm), under the slogan, "Isulong ang demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan!" (Onward with the people’s democratic rights!).

Meanwhile, fine arts students from the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, and other schools are working overtime, not only on their school plates, but also on forms that will rouse their fellow students into being involved in the growing movement calling for GMA's removal.

For instance, members of Alay Sining, a UP-based cultural organization, are working on a portable mural for the SONA rally. The image appropriates the painting entitled "The Scream," by Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch, a familiar image to most students in their college. Unlike Munch's 1893 painting, which depicts the individual in the throes of existential anguish, this mural shows the masses chasing GMA away, with Gloria clutching her face in horror.

Nawruz Paguidopon, a senior Visual Communication student at the UP CFA and the chair of Alay Sining's college chapter, says that the mural aims to bring across the group's call for social change and GMA's removal from office.

Other groups use technology to come up with similar forms. For instance, a giant tarpaulin poster sponsored by Youth-DARE (Youth Demanding Arroyo's Resignation and Removal) with the words "Ipaglaban ang kinabukasan ng kabataan at bayan" (Fight for the youth’s and nation’s future!) printed on it, shows the youth literally kicking Gloria (who clutches a cellular phone) out of the scene. The tarpaulin can be rolled up and displayed as a backdrop in various venues such as forums.

Simpler and cheaper than murals and tarpaulins - but just as effective - are the various creative placards produced by organizations out of cardboard, paper, or styropor. The potentials of humor,
improvisation, and creativity are clear in the various ways these forms and "gimmicks" are maximized in the protests leading to the Oust-GMA campaign.

Immediately after news of the "Hello, Garci" CD broke out, militants instantly staged an indignation picket at Morato in Quezon City on July 7. Adjusting to the quick turn of events, various organizations appropriated the image of the mobile phone (popularly used to mobilize support for the massive EDSA 2 mobilization against Estrada in 2001) and the CD to serve as symbols for the massive electoral fraud. For instance, a huge yellow cardboard CD labeled "Hello, Garci" became a major image during the launching of the Gloria Step-Down Movement (GSM) last June 20.

Some placards poke fun at the President and remind the public of GMA's other failures apart from the jueteng and CD scandals. Migrante's members, for instance, depict GMA as Sponge-Glo (a reference to the popular cartoon character Sponge Bob), a figure described as "super sumipsip ng pera ng Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)" (extremely greedy in extracting the money of OFWs). The workers of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1^st Movement), meanwhile, came up with a set of "tools to oust Gloria with" during their protest rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio.

Other placards even took on the form of comics, with dialogue and thought balloons beside images of GMA talking on her cellular phone. "Hello, Gary? Narinig mo na ba ang latest? Buking na tayo!" (Hello, Gary? Have you heard the latest news? We’ve been exposed!), one placard depicts the President as saying, to the amusement of onlookers.

Even smaller than placards are the silk-screen images and slogans on T-shirts and the cardboard or foam pins popular among students. But perhaps the smallest ones come in the form of miniature flags. To catch the attention of UP students in their early morning classes, Alay Sining alumni and other members pitched in to offer pandesal (a Filipino bread) with miniature flags (printed with the calls "Oust GMA!" and "Sumama sa SONA!" or Join the SONA!) held in toothpicks to their fellow students and dorm mates.

Tarik Garcia, a member of Alay Sining, says that they have to conceptualize different and innovative forms of popularizing the issue. "Natutuwa (ang mga estudyante)," Garcia says, "Kukuha sila tapos kapag nag-share na ng pagkain, nakikilala namin sila. Napapaliwanag yung (panawagan para sa removal ni GMA) at naiimbitahan na rin sila na sumama sa SONA" (The students are excited. They share the food and we get to know them. We explain the call for GMA’s ouster and they get invited to join the SONA), she says.

Portable concerts

After reproducing copies of the "Hello, Garci" CD conversations for mass distribution last month, militant organizations have turned to producing a slew of songs, skits, and performances all aiming to amuse, rouse, and educate the public about the various issues under the GMA administration.

Artist groups such as ARREST Gloria (Artists for the Removal of Gloria) were formed and have quickly produced their own songs and websites (www.arrestgloria.tk). Jingles composed by Gabriela, KARATULA (a youth theater group), KMU, Anakpawis, Migrante, and the like are being played over loudspeakers at rallies. Street plays and skits, such as "Maki Baka" of the UP Repertory Company also provide comic relief and points to ponder in between fiery speeches by mass leaders and chants.

Other organizations have been producing jingles based on popular songs. These include "The Wiretapped Album" by Migrants' Production of Migrante International, "Glorious Exit!" by Tunog Anakpawis of Anakpawis Party List, and the "Black album" by Kodao Productions.

The jingles prove to be informative, catchy as well as amusing. Some, such as "Hindi Ako Payag" (I Refuse) were composed during the height of the campaign against the Value Added Tax (VAT) and also remind the public of other problems apart from the Gloriagate CDs. Tunes such as KARATULA's rendition of "Trapo" by Yano mock GMA's claim to legitimacy in the face of massive electoral fraud charges ("Di na nga binoto…pero ba't nanalo?!" She wasn’t voted…Why did she win?!), and Migrants Production's rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence ("Hello Garci my old friend, it's time to talk to you again…they want me to break my silence…").

The jingles are also another way of consolidating the crowd. During the July 13 rally at Ayala Avenue, Makati, tens of thousands of rallyists and hundreds of flags rocked to the tune of "Gloria Step Down", sung to the tune of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down." The same goes for jingles that assert "Sigaw ng Bayan ay: OUST GMA" (sung to the tune of '”YMCA” by the Village People, complete with choreographed movements) and "Gloria…I'ts Time to Go" (sung to the tune of “Karma Chameleon”).

The "inspiration" for the jingles, of course, is no other than President Arroyo. Migrants' Production mentions "special thanks to Commissioner Garcillano and PGMA for making this album possible." And unlike most mainstream albums, these groups encourage others to spread the word (or music, as the case may be). "Pwedeng piratahin" (Piracy, allowed) as another declares.

Taken as a whole, the effigies, placards, streamers, shirts, songs, skits and speeches comprise and entire spectacle of protest that shows no sign of abating for now. As the rallies for GMA's removal grow exponentially, so does the resolve to find more creative forms of articulation and expression grow. The longer Macapagal-Arroyo stays as "kapit-tuko" illegitimate president, the movement and its creative minds won't run out of visuals, songs, and skits aiming to force her to go. Bulatlat

BACK TO TOP ■  PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION  ■   COMMENT

© 2004 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Publications

Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.