Even the jester plays a very crucial part in the king's court.
We've been taught that jesters primarily provide entertainment to the members of the court by performing a number of acts such as juggling, telling jokes and riddles. They're generally less known however for being very impressive satirists, that they even deliver news to the king when no one can muster the courage to do so.
Artists today work pretty much the same way; they are also still thought of as an unimportant appendage to society.
After rehearsing for a Christmas party presentation today, a co-worker's sister who works in another department was tasked to look into the rates offered by a particular make-up artist. They wanted to hire his services for the CEO's make-up for the Christmas event. She was asked by her boss to find out if they can request for a discount from the usual 1,500-peso fee.
Similarly, a photographer was dismayed over the unsatisfactory treatment he had been getting after taking pictures of the employees for a particular segment in the show.
It might not be the boss's fault. Business people always try to get the best bargains whenever money is involved, and we've all gotten used to doing that, especially when hiring the services of people who are inclined toward the business of creating.
It isn't the boss's fault. It's everyone's.
We've gotten used to abusing the resourcefulness and creativity of people who can, at times, conjure up brilliant ideas at the spur of the moment. So we give them a week's notice to prepare -- nay, create -- something, not considering the amount of time and effort it takes to make magic for these clients. We ask for discounts, without considering the fact that whenever these people undergo the processing of "creating", it is not simply skill that they put to use, but their hearts and souls too. And they have the gall to call it "art-art". "Sayaw-sayaw." "Drama-Drama." Repetitions in the Cebuano sense, where, if a word is repeated, the degree of importance of a particular concept is reduced.
A TED Talks speaker (I forget his name now) spoke of why people place art at the bottom of the pecking order. He traces it to the Industrial period, when the advent of mass production demanded more people specializing in maths and sciences. This in turn killed cottage industries and the businesses of artisans. And eventually, we lost that ability to determine the monetary worth of these kinds of products and services.
The academe was no less affected. Everywhere around the world, if you notice, more importance is given to maths and sciences. Visual arts, music, literature and theatre are deemed less important, which is why MAPEH is held only once a week in schools, and I don't even understand why they had to fuse that with Physical Education, which is an entirely different arena. Who said Physical Education was synonymous to Dance?
And why indeed, when we are a very talented people. Musically and theatrically inclined. Skilled hands. Adaptable. Imaginative. Why hold MAPEH once a week and teach kids how to make slippers and candles under the pretense of molding children into "well-rounded" beings? And be honest, when was MAPEH ever that enjoyable?
No one really takes these matters seriously; in fact, if they heard me ranting they'd think I was being too serious. This kind of reaction is actually representative of the general perception towards art: it is not as important.
Anna Wintor, editor of Vogue, talked of why many deride individuals who take their clothes seriously. She said that we tend to look down on or fear things we don't understand. I'd agree. We call them "fashionistas", the word leaving a bad taste in our mouths because of its supposed superficiality but in truth, it's an entirely different art form in itself that also requires a very good eye for aesthetics, just as much as, say, photography does.
On the flip side, one would not expect a third world country to be highly attuned to art, especially when everyone's busy trying to escape from an economic shithole. Then again, there are people who have access to it. There is a growing, impatient need for a paradigm shift, and we can start with them.
There is still, sadly, an apparent disrespect towards people and their respective crafts. And I think that the call center industry, for one, should be reprimanded for this disrespect, and it's high time we took offense at it.
Di uroy lalim magmugna, labaw na'g dali-dalion. Parehas kalisod sa pagtukod og -- ahem -- "business-business."
See, here's the thing -- what if you had a mall and said, "Can I ask for a discount for this product that I'm getting in your sari-sari store? You have a lot of customers anyway, and I'm sure you're earning from them. I don't think this'll hurt your sales."
