From the ivory tower to the streets

American poet John Ciardi who once told a group of businessmen, “An ulcer, gentlemen, is an unkissed imagination taking its revenge for having been jilted. It is an  unwritten poem, an  undanced dance, an unpainted watercolor.”

So it is with life without art. Prof. Felipe de Leon Jr., who has not aged a bit since he taught Humanities way back in my college days, points out that people without art in their lives  are pathetic, doomed, even.

They suppress their emotions. Worse, they have  no room for joy.

My college professor is one classic example.  Music has made him look the same way he did when he was standing in front our class of Communication Arts majors.  Art, it turns out, is his fountain of youth. 

And the good professor, along with kindred souls like Joel Torre, Leo Martinez, Gary Valenciano, Maja Salvador, Sheryn Regis, Mcoy Fundales of Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 and Orange & Lemons, want to share this feeling with others. For starters, they’re supporting the month-long Philippine Arts Festival which starts Feb. 1 at General Luna St., Intramuros, Manila, where the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Building is located.

Joel opened the presscon announcing the event by singing art’s praises. Leo, Gary and Sheryn gave videotaped messages supporting the project. Mcoy stood up during the open forum to admit he is  a  Joel Torre fan and a frustrated actor. More than that, he has pledged his involvement in the festival, preferably in the musical events lined up and in street dancing that will close the event at Remedios Circle.

But that’s getting ahead of the story. So many other interesting things are happening in between for lovers of the seven arts (architecture, cinema, literary arts, dance, music, theater and the visual arts).

For architecture, there’s a touring exhibit on the works of National Artist Juan Nakpil, architects Pablo Antonio, Leandro Locsin, Ildefonso Santos and prominent interior designers.

Cinema goes to the masses in SineSambayanan, where  classic to independent films will be shown  outdoors and in open spaces like public plazas.  A film review and analysis of the films will help viewers grasp their meaning. .

“We have also come up with the concept of Sine Maleta for the barangays,” says Teddy Co.  Here, a three-to-four member team goes to church plazas, bus stations and everywhere they can, even in the remotest barangays to show NCCA films. The team, armed only with a projector, will bring the best of NCCA films — those found worthy of grants, to the people.

The Sine Silip, on the other hand, will give sneak previews of 18 full-length films.

Shirley Halili-Cruz has big plans for the dance aspect of the festival, dubbed Ani ng Sining.

“Weekend dance concerts featuring the Bayanihan dancers,Ramon Obusan Dance Troupe, Ballet Philippines, the Shirley Halili-Cruz dancers and others will be held in big MRT stations,” she reveals.

This is NCCA’s way of exposing people, especially the young who are more exposed to pop dancing, to the tinikling, the pandanggo, sayaw sa ilaw, etc.  The events are by no means limited to Manila alone. The dance troupes will tour the country and perform in the provinces.

The celebration of literary arts will bring the works of National Artists Dr. Alejandro Roces, Dr. Edith Tiempo, Dean Virgilio Almario, Dr. Bievenido Lumbera and Francsco Sionil Jose  to various venues around the country.

Roces’ Something to Crow About will be represented by the Philippine Center of the UNESCO-ITI in Makati on Feb. 1. The Cebu Arts Council will interpret Tiempo’s poems  at the Marcelo B. Fernan Cebu Press Centre on Feb. 7. Almario’s poetry will be reworked as a group choral interpretation in UP Visayas on Feb. 13.  Highlights from Lumbera’s Hibik at Himagsikan will be staged at the Ilocos Norte National High School on Feb. 20. Sionil Jose’s Pragress wil be performed at the Ateneo de Naga on Feb. 28.

Music groups from Manila will interact with their barangay counterparts in bus stations, streets and other public areas under the Salimbayan program to promote music.  

A National Theatre Festival for Universities will see university-based artists interacting and exchanging ideas. The Western Mindanao State University is this year’s host.

Finally, for Visual Arts. Egai Fernandez announced that Kulay Kalye will bring painting to the streets, specifically General Luna St. in Intramuros.  Here, one can walk  down the street and see painters, including children expressing themselves through oil, acrylic, watercolor, even finger painting.

God forbid the day when art will turn into a mere museum piece — confined behind glass windows — to be remembered, but not savored as part of our colorful, checkered lives. On that day — thanks to computer games and art’s other enemies — the curtain will fall on such a rich heritage that could help us maintain our sanity in a world ruled by all things commercial and fast-paced.

Hopefully, Ani ng Sining will help turn the tide, and give our children a lifeline to cling to when daily problems and trials become too much for them to bear.