[Opinion] The Art of Art

In the past few years, we have experienced a resurgence of interest in the arts with various exhibits, art installations, and museums opening its doors to the curious minds and snap-happy hands of the general public. In today’s society where social media has found an integral position in our daily life, thus transforming the way we consume and process information, it is of no surprise that this has extended to the way we perceive art as a form of expression. With traditional art forms being incorporated and transmuted into a more holistic sensory experience, this shift in medium does not come without any dissatisfaction and criticism to the said movement.

The “Van Gogh Alive” is one such exhibit that has received mixed reactions from the citizens of the internet upon learning of its arrival here in the Philippines. This travelling digital exhibit has gained popularity across the globe by providing its spectators with a unique viewing experience through projections of the late Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings onto walls, accompanied by classical music scores. According to Grande Exhibitions, the creators of the said exhibit, its goal is to “immerse audiences not only in the many timeless masterpieces of Van Gogh through huge projections, light and sounds, but also to tell a part of the painter’s life by showing where he created them”.¹

However, a recent buzz on Twitter had tongues wagging when a local influencer aired her thoughts about the said digital exhibit, due to her alleged elitism and art “gatekeeping”², which is defined as “the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something”. In her recently deleted tweets³, she expressed her dismay at Van Gogh becoming mainstream without people knowing the artist’s work as a whole, and her discomfort to its attraction to the casual social media user who would use it as an Instagram backdrop for content purposes without giving respect the artist. “But Van Gogh’s work on digital screens? I’d prefer going to a museum,” she tweeted.⁴

With the proliferation of the usage of social media, there will always be pros and cons to the behaviors elicited by its users. In this day and age where image is everything, and a person’s relevance in the digital world is defined by what you did, what you bought, what you ate, where you dined, and where you spent your holidays, the perceived shallow understanding to one’s art is indeed a matter to be concerned with- are you here to experience the artist or are you here for the ‘gram? However legitimate the concern is, it should not be a cause to discredit those who wish bringing a once seemingly inaccessible artist to the country for people to enjoy and be educated on his works and his life. A trip to see his art, which are housed in The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, is not something majority of our countrymen can afford. Art, although said to be for everyone, is after all still a luxury- a food for the soul indulged after the troubles of the everyday salary man- whose checklist for the day includes how to get to work, how to feed his family, and how to pay the bills- have been dealt with.

To which opinion has been greatly divided among the strict art purists and benevolent art enthusiasts — what say you? ■

1. ¹ ABS-CBN News. Immersive Van Gogh art exhibit to open in Manila.
2. ² Lexico.
3. ³ Biong, Ian. Inq Pop. Van Gogh for everyone: Influencer’s ‘elitism,’ ‘gatekeeping’ of Dutch master’s art draws flak, apology slammed.
4. ⁴ Id.

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