PROTEST PUPPETRY:

THE AESTHETICS AND PRODUCTION OF EFFIGY-MAKING, 2005-2012

Lisa Ito

DAS Graduate Students Research Colloquium, 26 February 2013

Outline

Introduction Objectives Framework Major protest puppets, 2005-2012 Conclusion

Introduction
Dissident Puppets: The Effigy in Philippine Radical Politics (2005) Undergraduate thesis at UP College of Fine Arts Survey of effigy as a form of Philippine protest art, National Capital Region (NCR) from 1964-2004

Picture here (maybe a funerary art thingie)

Effigies Funerary statuary to popular ritual to protest art Employs caricature, satire for subversion Reflexive, symbiotic relationships between technical and political aspects of production; representation and meaning; display and destruction

Objectives
Methodology Collation, examination of available visual data and texts after 2004 Qualitative methods, such as FGDs, KIIs to follow

Update the existing database of documented images Forward observations of changes that occurred within this period Update existing assessment, scholarship

Framework
Effigies assume a practical function as a propagandistic art form and a symbolic function as an integral part of the process, iconography and ritual of the political struggle of the national democratic movement in the Philippines.

Produced in the context of Philippine protest and revolutionary art, media Simultaneously reflects and helps shape political discourse Mediates between institutions of the visible and verbal

Framework
Iconic plane

Contextual plane

Presidents = most common personality represented in protest effigies from 1964 to present Not just person itself but the structure, system he/she embodies A means for people to visualize current issues

Transitional period between two Presidential administrations, credibility crisis End of exponentially unpopular administration under Pres. Arroyo Start of increasingly discredited, tenuous term under Pres. Aquino

Historical overview
Simple agitational propaganda used as early as 1964 Disappeared during the period of Martial Law in the 1970s Resurfaced during resistance against the dictatorship in the 1980s Increasingly popularized, developed in demonstrations from the 1990s to present

Practical and Symbolic Functions of Effigies

Aspect Themes and Imagery Materials Form Conceptualization Collective production Distribution and reception Burning or immolation Practical function Literal demonstration, depiction of issues and social problems Cheaper, readily available alternatives Concrete image of a personality or entity Systematic consensus-building process Faster production time, specialization or delegation of tasks, consolidation activity for members Media attraction before, during and after an event Convenient, inexpensive way of disposing an effigy Symbolic function Signified larger structural problems of Philippine society Popular and democratic character Symbol for policies, ideological frameworks Unity of form and content Formation of a consciousness that emphasized collective and democratized labor process Counter-positional to state/government propaganda Signified struggle to overcome and destroy prevailing structural inequalities

*Relationships between and across such functions can be interpreted as dialectic and interconnected, rather than discrete and segregated from each other.

Major protest puppets from 2005 to 2012

2004-2009: Capturing Pres. Arroyo's last term in effigies 2010-2012: Chronicling Disillusionment under Pres. Aquino

Overview
Seven years: (2005-2012) Eight major works for annual alternative SONA protests Artists' group UGATLahi, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) More systematic archiving and online documentation by peoples organizations (PO), media Dozens of smaller effigies by POs still undocumented

Visual focal point/centerpiece of event from POV of mass media Collectively produced by pool of visual artists, volunteers Use of cheaper/alternative / recyclable materials, components Large-scale yet mobile / portable and mechanized works

List of SONA Effigies Commissioned by BAYAN, 2005-2012

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Effigy (Title) Gloriang Tuko Kapit Tukong Gloria Hitler Diktador Tuta Gloria Reyna ng Kadiliman (Queen of Darkness)/ Manananggal ng Karapatan Sinking ship MV Pilipinas Gloria Forever Noynoy Magician Giant PeNoy Two-Face Event 5th SONA 6th SONA 7th SONA 8th SONA 9th SONA 1st SONA 2nd SONA 3rd SONA Size 15 x9 ft 13 ft 12 ft 21 x 10 ft 12 ft (h) x 10 x 11 14 x 15 ft 14 feet (h) 14 feet (h) Description Arroyo as a gecko clinging to Malacanang Palace Arroyo as a modern-day Hitler Arroyo as a manananggal Arroyo as the captain of the sinking MV Pilipinas ship Arroyo on top of a throne and bulldozer Aquino as a magician with a cape, wand and a hat Aquino as a rotten egg Aquino with two faces

2004-2009: Capturing Pres. Arroyo's last term in effigies

More effigies proliferated since 2005 as public discontent with administration grew Life-size productions produced as the central images for massive multi-sectoral mobilizations Smaller effigies also produced by organizations with artistically-endowed members Regular citations of different effigies by mass media, mass organizations

2004-2009: Capturing Pres. Arroyo's last term in effigies

2010-2012: Chronicling Disillussionment Under Pres. Aquino

For the first time, an effigy was not burned to challenge the current administration

Conclusions

Protest art and political discourse

Effigies have evolved as a form of popular protest art in the Philippines from 1964 up to the present, utilized by progressive peoples movements to not just entertain, but also to arouse, mobilize and capture the sentiments of the populace. Process and elements of the effigy as protest art are intertwined with the ways a political movement creates, defines and pursues political discourse. Progression of imagery in the case of effigies caricaturing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, from 2001 to 2009 conveyed the rising public disgust at the various failures of the administration.

Conclusions

Subversion and spectacle

Production of effigies and their rituals of protest systematically packaged as parody and public spectacle Effigies as protest art forms is emphasized during annual SONA protests held in conjunction with the official SONA ceremonies by the government Proliferation of digital technology and social media expanded the reception, archiving and distribution of effigy images

Conclusions

Building practice

Artists and groups developed artistic, political theory and practice over time Artists accept the process of destruction as integral to completing the The act of (not) burning can be a useful visualization of political strategy The 9 examples are but a fraction of the increasing number of effigies since 2005. From 2005 to 2012, UGATLahi made five effigies of Pres. Arroyo and three effigies of Pres. Aquino for each of the annual SONA mobilizations. More decentralized effigies by BAYAN affiliates possibly indicates that more effigies are being made over the years, with other art forms

THANK YOU! PROTEST PUPPETRY:

THE AESTHETICS AND PRODUCTION OF EFFIGY-MAKING, 2005-2012

Lisa Ito

DAS Graduate Students Research Colloquium, 26 February 2013