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Date Posted: 16:47:34 05/31/04 Mon
Author: on-line philippine news
Subject: National Artist awards

National Artist awards
scraping barrel's bottom

FIVE new National Artists have been chosen and I agree that it looks like we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. The artist Malang has sent a note listing five reasons why the awards should be suspended for the moment:

"1. Because of graft and corruption inside the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) awards committee.


"2. Because we are already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

"3. Because all the dead artists are being resurrected.

"4. The awards are becoming a laughingstock.

"5. Because of "palakasan [use of connections] in Malacaņang."

Malang said the awards could be resumed after a decade or two, depending on the new talents. During the term of Cultural Center of the Philippines director Deanna Ongpin, Malang said, the art workers voted in a workshop not to give posthumous awards for National Artist.

The judges of the present NCCA National Artist awards are controlled by people with an ax to grind, he said. If you are an enemy to them, even if you are a deserving artist, you have no chance of winning, he said.

"Why did I call nominees 'candidates'?" he asked. "Because the rules require nominations and voting. The candidates and their families and friends have to campaign. If nominated, you have to have an 'attorney' to defend you. What for?"

That's right. Why the need to be nominated by individuals or groups? Don't the judges know who the outstanding artists in their categories are? Artists in the Pulitzer Prizes don't have to submit entries. Everybody is considered; the secretariat does the screening of the finalists. And why do you have to campaign for yourself? If you are the modest type, you'll never win even if you are the best in your field. But the ambitious with a big ego will have himself nominated by family and friends year after year. Campaigning is for political contests, not for artists. Or is the National Artist Award now also a political contest?

And why does an "attorney" have to extol the talents of the artist-candidate? Don't the judges know the comparative abilities and talents of the artists in their respective fields?

To deserve the honor of being called "National Artist," one must be acknowledged by his peers as a giant in his field. The first National Artists were such undisputed greats, like Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos V. Franciso and Vicente Manansala for painting. But as the years went by, the respect for the succeeding "National Artists" became less and less and, in fact, generated controversies and criticisms. So why name National Artists at all if such awards will be questioned and not command any respect at all?

"The recently announced winners of the National Artist Award is strange," Malang continued. "My name is included among three other artists. All three are dead and two are comic-book cartoonists. I have nothing against cartoonists because I was once a cartoonist myself and was the first to make a daily comic strip in English. But the cartoonists should be given a different award instead of the National Artist Award.

"Assuming cartoonists are included in the awards, why are Tony Velasquez, creator of 'Kenkoy,' and Nonoy Marcelo not included? Both Velasquez and Marcelo are also dead. And why not Hugo Yonzon Jr. another cartoonist-painter, also dead, and a very talented, versatile and prolific artist? Is it because they are not from the University of the Philippines? Is it because they do not have any 'attorney' from UP [University of the Philippines]? It is becoming evident that the NCCA awards committees are controlled by the UP mafia."

Malang said the rules should be changed for the better. He suggested that awardees:

1. Should be chosen by their peers.

2. Must have a body of work.

3. Should have critical acclaim.

4. Must have many other awards.

5. Should have done much community work.

"During one of my interviews," Malang concluded, "I told the writer that I didn't intend to be a painter, neither to be a National Artist."

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