Carlo J. Caparas is Not Qualified to be National Artist

Many of us in the artists community were shocked and appalled that Carlo J. Caparas was named National Artist for Visual Arts and Film on July 2009. Although we recognize the work and accomplishments of Caparas within the comic book industry as well as television and film, we strongly believe that his body of work does not live up to the tradition of excellence the title of National Artist entails.

It is appalling to us that someone who has made a living exploiting the lowest common denominator in films such as "The Cecilia Masagca Story: Antipolo Massacre (Jesus Save Us!) ", "The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre 2 - God Have Mercy on Us ", "Lipa Arandia Massacre (Lord Deliver Us from Evil)", and "The Marita Gonzaga Rape-Slay: In God We Trust! " shall now be placed in the same league as Manuel Conde and Lino Brocka, the greatest filmmakers in the Philippines responsible for our greatest movies as "Ghengis Khan" and "Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag" respectively.

However, if one is looking for an objective reason for this protest, it would be this:

It is clear that "Visual Arts" and "Film" are two different categories. Therefore, "Visual Arts" refer to Caparas' work in comics. Caparas is a writer. He has never illustrated any of his comics stories, least of all his most popular ones. Panday and Pieta? They were illustrated by Steve Gan. Bakekang? It was illustrated by Mar Santana. Kroko? Illustrated by Hal Santiago. Totoy Bato? Illustrated by Tor Infante.

In the guidelines for selection of National Artist for Visual Artists, the category clearly covers:

"Visual Arts painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging;"

How can someone who is not an illustrator, therefore *NOT* a visual artist ever be named National Artist for Visual Arts? If Carlo should ever be given this title, the title should be shared with all the artists he collaborated with, for that is the nature of comics. It is a collaborative medium as Carlo himself points out many times during his talks.

If not, then this title should be removed, as it is not factually descriptive of who he is. In short, Carlo J. Caparas is NOT qualified to be National Artist. The guidelines unarguably points this fact out.

Our objection and resolve are strengthened by news that have recently come to light that Carlo J. Caparas did not go through the rigorous selection and assesment process of the National Artists voting board. Carlo J. Caparas is a SNAG, or "Singit National Artist ni Gloria". It is through this Presidential insertion process that a person who is not qualified to be National Artist manages to be one.

As Philippine artists and concerned citizens who feel that our artistic legacy as a nation is compromised by these events, we strongly and vehemently put forward this protest.