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On Art and History

In this portion we will be centering mainly on Renz Baluyot’s exhibit entitled By Sword and Fire which was
presented earlier on by Toff.

So here are again, a few of the artworks from the exhibit.


For a quick recap, By Sword and Fire focuses on World War II and the histories and relationships between
the Filipino and Japanese. Baluyot says that this show is about “how we are different and the same in the
context of culture and history, and efforts in learning and remembering traumas from the same events.”
Also he wishes to speak about the nobility in remorse and in asking for forgiveness while never allowing
the horrible past to be re-lived in the future.

In this light, with this lens on art and history, I will talk about Art in Creating a Narrative for the Filipino
Experience.

So going back to By Sword and Fire, perhaps the most general theme we can look into is Art and War.

All throughout history,

Artists have, blended colors, textures and patterns to depict wartime ideologies, practices, values and
symbols. During the difficult times of war, art as propaganda becomes an issue such that questions like
“Was it the job of artists to reconcile people to war?” come up. Definitely, attempting to capture and
convey the visceral horrors of the vulnerable body at war has taken many different forms.

This is why in a study “Art, War, and Truth – Images of Conflict”


it is said that
While destructive, war is a generative force like no other in fields encompassing history, politics, and
even in art.

As I said earlier, wars have led to various representations of the “truth” and these images have definitely
contributed to how conflicts are remembered today.

Consequently, it is unavoidable that complex truths like the ethical responsibilities of image makers and
the impact of war upon one’s homeland also become involved in this discussion about how art is utilized
to position a conflict within national narratives

Thus it becomes essential to identify what kind of truth artists portray as they are the people who are
capable of putting one truth above another in their representations.

This then creates a complex relationship between war, knowledge and power.

This connection enables us to study the social, political, and cultural fields that war helps constitute.

More importantly, this enables us to realize that art is not just purely documentary in nature. There are
certain conditions that inform these representations made about war and as such, there is a need to also
question the context with which art is made.

Looking at Renz Baluyot’s artworks: we can then ask for whom did he create his images?

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