Mideo cruz biography

Mideo Cruz is the artist behind the controversial artworks being exhibited in the Cultural Center of the Philippines. His works have enraged bishops with their supposedly blasphemous content and have made Pro-Life Philippines take up a moral crusade, threatening to sue the CCP and the artist in an effort to censor Mideo Cruz&#;s freedom of expression for perceived outrages against their faith. What follows is an email interview with the artist. The interview has been edited for grammar and clarity.

Kenneth Keng: Kindly briefly introduce yourself for the benefit of our readership.

Mideo Cruz: I’m a visual artist who commonly tries to cross borders of discipline in producing my works. The most notable work I&#;ve created in the past is the “banquet” for which I was awarded the Ateneo Art Awards in I&#;ve frequently been invited outside the country for my creative works and was awarded the CCP 13 artists awards in Actually I feel uncomfortable with this question can I just attach my CV?

Could you describe the piece in question?

Mideo Cruz: A wall collage; I started doing it since from things that I&#;ve collected since I’m in high school. The manner was practically inspired by what we see in common houses where people put pictures of celebrities, politicians, etc on the wall of their houses.

Relic

Relic (cross) originally titled relic of my nation, done in The making of the Filipinos after several layers of colonization. Partly inspired by how we got the name of the country in paradigm to the monarchal trend of collecting religious relics.

Poon (chirst the king) deconstructing the sacredness and reconstructing the icon with parallel meanings. Coca cola and mickey mouse as epitome of neo liberalism.

Most of the outcry has been about the phallic object placed on the works. Phalluses have been objects of devotion in many cultures; they use them as amulets, symbolic statues, etc. They might be a symbol of power and patriarc

Mideo M. Cruz is an interdisciplinary artist, who combines painting, sculpture, installation, performance and activism. Stemming from deep doubts, artwork of Cruz creates a provocative statement about the social structure. This interview explores collectivism in his artist practice. (Interviewed on November 22, , in Makati City, Philippines, Interviewer: Mayumi Hirano)

UGATLahi Artist Collective was formed in , when you were still an art student majoring in painting at University of Santo Thomas. How did it all begin?

We were young activists and we learned the value of the creatives in nurturing our ranks and expressing our thoughts. We wanted to understand more about life, bothered by existentialist dilemma to search the meaning of our existence and to see real things that were happening in contrast from the sanitized declarations of the existing institution. With a group of student activists/artists, we decided to establish a cultural group. We named it &#;Ugnayan at Galian ng mga Artistang Tanod ng Lahi&#; which later become &#;UGATLahi Artist Collective.&#; It started in a coffee shop in Malate on July after attending an affair in CCP. It then followed with a series of meetings and consultations in which during the process some suggested that we should be part of the Central Student Council Cultural Arm so we can have easy access to the school facilities in executing our programs. After then we started to formally launch activities such as workshops, poetry readings, symposia, collaborations among others. I remember one of our favorite descriptions of the aesthetic is as an analogy to cooking, how you put the ingredients to satisfy your taste and how your taste is appreciated by the others. Amidst the flood of discourses among us the four corners of the pontifical school seems not enough for our craving for learning and exploring more. In we decide to re-group outside the walls of the university.