Recently, at Stanford University, we had the opportunity to see and hear about the works of its Pilipino American M.F.A. students Michael Arcega and Lordy Rodriguez.  They join a rare cohort of Pilipino Americans artists who have gone through the Stanford M.F.A program: Stephanie Syjuco, etc. The program is unique in that much of the first year is spent on aesthetic and critical theory as well as completing minor exhibits. Ideally these graduates are able to talk about art and THEIR art.  This Stanford event was a first attempt  to have Pilipino American artists talk about their art to a Pilipino American audience in Stanford. Such exchanges are critical and goes beyond merely viewing thier work passively and in a unilateral manner. In this instance, the audience had the opportunity to interrogate the artists about their aesthetics and choices they make in their art practice.  Rather purposely,  the programme I concocted was intented to test the power of symbols, art afterall is the interpretation of symbols, private and public, that a masterful artist is able to manipulate and render into an aesthetic experience or experiences.

Michael Arcega is one such artist. Already known among his peers and with a gallery following, Michael plays with the ironic and parodic sources of Philippine culture to evoke reflection and self-criticism.  We began the program with “Loping Honoring (2007)” an innocuously titled video. To the listener not familiar with the tune which in the video is sung with operatic fervor by a white singer, the song would be any marching tune, with sections sung with much fervor and bravado. To a Philippine audience, the tune is that of “Lupang Hinirang” or “Bayang Magiliw” – the Philippine national anthem. In the video as the tune is sung, Michael provided text captions of the lyrics in English. However, the text was  the output from the Microsoft Word spell check thereby rendering much of the Tagalog text into mangled English. Incredibly, in true Philippine fashion, the audience stood respectfully to hear the anthem to the end.  Grinning sheepishly at the end  the audience realized that they have been taken for a ride but  which in this instance the artist did not even expect.  The moment proves a point, art and its exhibition is usually situated in well defined contexts – galleries, exhibitions, etc.  Placed in the context of  ceremony, i.e. the the start of a programme, it takes on a different meaning. In contrast, when I saw the same video installed in the Art Gallery, it did not evoke a sense of seriousness.  Be it here or the Philippines, civic events are usually prefaced by a singing of the national anthem.  In the Philippines, as every school child remembers, the day always starts with the national anthem, inculcating a “sacred” moment as it were.  It reminded me of my student activist days demonstrating against the Marcos government. When the riot police started charging, the demonstrators sang the Lupang Hinirang anthem. Like automatons, the police halted and stood at attention until the end of the song, and then resumed their charge. By then the demonstrators had dispersed. Eventually, they  got wise to the ruse. It marked a new understanding of song power. In creating “Loping Honoring”, Michael’s obvious intent was to create a disjointed effect between an ideal operatic mode against translated text. There are occasional verbal congruences but for the most part  the text was gibberish English that created discordant text images to perfectly in tune song.  Much of Michael’s work operate on these symbolic puns or play-of-thought. His galleon foray in Tomales Bay  (The Maiden Voyage of El Conquistadorke, 2004) not only proves that Manila file folders are shipworthy by constructing a Manila galleon replica from the material. One can take the references of Manila folders as a double entendre: the Manila galleon that sailed from the Philippines carrying silk and chinoiserie to Acapulco then onward to Spain solidified Hispanic colonialism. Similarly, the “Manila folder”, a coinage that derives from American colonization of the Philippines, symbolizes the efficient bureaucratic scaffolding that marked American rule for 40 years. In another play-of-thought, In his SPAM/MAP work, Michael renders a geographic vision of the Philippines and Oceania in SPAM, that ubiquitous canned meat that America introduced to these peoples during WWII. The war brought devastation to livestock in the region depleting its sources of meat. SPAM as a substitute meat became a popular dish and eventually endearing it into Philippine cuisine and breakfast fare. This accounts why  SPAM as a staple item found in many balikbayan boxes brought home by diasporic Filipinos. Michael’s works are playful, insightful and reflective. It’s criticism is not edgy as seen in some Pilipino American art rather, the criticism is self-induced, asking the viewer to re-evaluate their own understanding of commonly known objects against commonly held conceptions or misconceptions.  These are but a few of his Philippine oriented works. A wider coverage of his installations are found in his website: http://www.arcega.us/Home.html